Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

After lunch, Zhou Rui took Xiao Niangao for a walk outside, which was Xiao Niangao's favorite thing to do. The new world outside was particularly attractive to her, and she couldn't stand lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) any longer.

"Eh... Eh." The baby couldn't speak yet, but its body gave instructions. It would lean forward in a certain direction, leaving Zhou Rui no choice but to obey.

An'an had already taken Zhou Ping to the village. Having just received the cloth tiger, she insisted on sharing it with everyone and wouldn't go home until everyone knew. Zhou Rui went with them; after all, he was back, and with someone to look after Xiao Niangao, it would be a good opportunity for the two of them to rest.

Lin Qiuyue sat on the stone bridge reading a novel, but her furrowed brows and the frequent putting down of the book showed that she couldn't concentrate on the content. During her free time, sitting on the bridge reading novels, listening to the sound of the stream flowing below, and smelling the fragrance of rice paddies on both sides of the stream was her favorite thing to do.

Lin Qiuyue put the book down again and inadvertently saw a picture that instantly relieved her somewhat depressed mood.

A boy was seen carrying a baby's foot in one hand and holding the baby's chest with the other, strolling through the wild grass. The baby leaned forward, its chubby hands trying to catch a butterfly that it knew it could not catch.

The boy walked around with a smile, always following the doll's guidance, as if the doll was holding a transparent thread in its palm. Until the doll inadvertently yawned, its surging energy finally running out, the boy turned the doll over and hugged it tightly, gently patting its back.

Little Rice Cake finally fell asleep, and Zhou Rui finally snapped out of his puppet-like state. Seemingly sensing the gaze on his back, Zhou Rui raised his head, turned around, and finally found the source of the gaze on the stone bridge.

Zhou Rui strolled over; after all, they were neighbors, so it was necessary to say hello.

"Good afternoon, Lin Zhiqing."

Lin Qiuyue blushed slightly, not expecting Zhou Rui to come over and talk to her. They rarely interacted, and their two occasional encounters led Lin Qiuyue to believe that Zhou Rui was a somewhat aloof person.

"Hello, Comrade Zhou Rui. Is this your niece? She's so cute! What happened to your face?" Lin Qiuyue was surprised to see the bluish-red bruise around Zhou Rui's left eye. Had he gotten into a fight with the villagers?

Some time ago, as a topic of conversation among the villagers, Lin Qiuyue had heard about Zhou Rui's family from the older women and aunts who worked with her. She was still somewhat curious about and admired Zhou Rui.

"Um... this little guy punched me right in the eye." Zhou Rui was a bit embarrassed; the usually shrewd and powerful Zhou Rui had actually been outmaneuvered by a toddler. He quickly changed the subject. "My niece, Little Rice Cake, isn't she adorable? Want to see her?"

Zhou Rui flashed a big smile, slightly shifting the doll in his arms to reveal his face. It was like a child who had just gotten a new toy and wanted to show it off to their best friend.

Lin Qiuyue was taken aback by Zhou Rui's unexpected cheerfulness this time, a stark contrast to his attitude during their previous two meetings.

However, Lin Qiuyue quickly recovered, propped herself up with her hands, took two steps forward, and lowered her head slightly to look at the baby in Zhou Rui's arms. A faint milky scent wafted into her nose; perhaps the baby had just fallen asleep and the power hadn't completely cut off yet. The baby occasionally blinked its little mouth, its eyelashes fluttering slightly.

Lin Qiuyue looked at the little doll in front of her, her rosy cheeks fluttering with excitement. She unconsciously raised her hand, wanting to touch it. But then she suddenly remembered that it belonged to someone else and stopped.

Zhou Rui seemed to sense her hesitation and smiled, saying, "It's alright, you can gently touch her."

Lin Qiuyue looked up at Zhou Rui, receiving an encouraging look, and then quietly extended a slender finger to gently touch the baby's face. The fingertip felt a warm, smooth sensation, and the chubby little face sank slightly under the touch.

The doll seemed to sense something, waving its little hand and then putting a finger in its mouth.

Lin Qiuyue was startled by the doll's movement and quickly withdrew her finger. At the same time, she chuckled softly, like a child caught sneaking food by her mother.

Zhou Rui gently swayed his arm while patting Xiao Niangao's back: "Fun, isn't it?"

"Yes, thank you, Comrade Zhou Rui. I feel very happy now."

"Why are you here all alone? Where are the other educated youth?" Zhou Rui asked. Since he had nothing else to do, chatting with someone would be a good way to pass the time.

"They had nothing to do during their two days off, so they went to other brigades to visit some educated youth they knew."

Zhou Rui nodded. He knew that these educated youths had come from afar to this unfamiliar place and were feeling uneasy. It was understandable that they would seek comfort from acquaintances during their rest time before the busy farming season.

"And what about you? Why didn't you go with them?"

"There were very few educated youths from Shanghai this time, and I didn't know anyone. Besides, they were all assigned to other communes, which are too far away, so I didn't go." At this point, Lin Qiuyue's voice lowered, and she slightly bowed her head. "And...and..."

"And what?" Zhou Rui pressed.

"Besides, I'm already feeling annoyed, and I'm not in the mood to wander around like them." Lin Qiuyue's words carried a hint of dissatisfaction, indicating that she had probably had a conflict with someone among the educated youth.

Tell me what's bothering you. I may not be able to solve it for you, but I can offer some advice.

"When we first came down here, we weren't prepared at all. We managed to scrape together enough money and ration coupons to buy a set of cooking utensils, so we had no choice but to cook together. We took turns cooking every day. We shared our food. Although Yangping and I ate less and were at a disadvantage, the male educated youths gathered more firewood than us, so we didn't complain about it."

As Lin Zhiqing recounted her story in detail, Zhou Rui listened quietly without interrupting.

"But we don't seem to have any plans. We cook as much as we can eat, and last month we were almost out of food in the last few days before the end of the month. But luckily, we brought some food from home when we first arrived last month, so we had enough. But this month..." Lin Qiuyue's tone changed noticeably.

"But this month, only halfway through, I found that we were almost out of food, and I had nothing left to eat in my bag. I suggested that we make a little less each day and plan our food supply so that we could make it to the end of the month, but they refused. Especially Xu Jun, who insisted that he wouldn't have the strength to work if he wasn't full. He also said that we had enough to eat last month and that I could just take some food to supplement my diet, but I had already finished my food a few days ago."

"I still have some national grain coupons left. My mother specially exchanged them for me before I went to the countryside, saying it was for emergency use. I dare not take them out, for fear that if I use them up, it will be the same next month, and then we will really have no food to eat."

After listening, Zhou Rui understood what Lin Qiuyue was troubled about. At the same time, he was thinking about who the male educated youth named Xu Jun was. However, he couldn't make sense of it. He wasn't familiar with any of the three male educated youths. He had only interacted with them once on the private plot, and none of them had left a good impression on him.