Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

The days in the eleventh month seem frozen in time, moving exceptionally slowly.

A while ago, there were three consecutive snowfalls that reached knee-deep, and the mountains and fields were all white.

The ridges of the fields, the treetops, and the eaves of the mud-brick houses were all covered in thick snow, and even the wind carried a stuffy smell of snow.

Zhou Rui spent two days clearing the mountain path leading to the children's school, chiseling all the ice shards on the slope into small, non-slip pits.

After that, she hardly went out at all, spending all her time at home taking care of the baby. Even when An'an went to school, Mao Mao's family would take her there on a snow sled.

He managed to secure twenty temporary worker positions for the forest farm this year through Zhang Zhenbei, even at the cost of reducing the forest farm's meat supply quota.

He didn't even touch the 600-jin meat supply quota he received each month, and directly handed it over to his senior brothers to arrange.

Finally, as previously agreed, Zhou Rui will be left with a share of the profits.

"Qiuyue, is your Zhou Rui still not up? The sun's already high in the sky."

Yu Sitian held the embroidery hoop between her fingertips, embroidering half of a landscape painting of Jiangnan. She sat in the room for half a day without seeing anyone, and finally couldn't help but steal a moment to ask.

The firewood in Zhou Rui's house burned brightly, and the mud bricks and stone walls were thick, so even though there was no kang (heated brick bed) in the main room, it was still warm and comfortable.

Yu Sitian and He Wei love to come here whenever they have free time.

Lin Qiuyue and Yu Sitian embroidered together, while He Wei sat beside them sewing shoe soles. The three women chatted as they worked, and it wasn't boring at all.

"That's right. Last night, Xiao Niangao and Xiao Yan'er were playing around until the wee hours, rolling around on the kang and sweating profusely. Zhou Rui had to coax them until midnight, so he ended up sleeping in late."

Lin Qiuyue didn't even raise her head. The needle tip landed on the most delicate petal patterns, and her hand moved with exceptional lightness.

"Still not awake? I've already finished sewing half of this shoe sole, just waiting to hold and play with the baby."

He Wei tucked the needle into the sole of her shoe, breathed warm air onto her hands, and rubbed them together.

They love coming here, partly because of the delicious food at the Zhou family's house, and partly because they miss those two little dumplings.

Her short legs made her run around wobbly, and she could be easily scooped up in your arms. Unlike the grown-up An'an, who is now as mischievous as a little monkey, running all over the yard and impossible to catch.

"What's the rush? We need to feed them first when they wake up. We can't just let you rub them however you want." Lin Qiuyue smiled, gently straightening the crooked embroidery thread with her fingertips.

"I want to play, I want to play!" Yu Sitian shook her arm and said coquettishly, "These two little ones are so chubby, their faces are as soft as freshly steamed rice cakes, who wouldn't want to touch them?"

"Zhou Rui said that this is because he slept a lot in the winter and grew fat, just like the cabbages in the field. He only grew fat when he was covered up."

Lin Qiuyue repeated Zhou Rui's absurd reasoning, and couldn't help but laugh out loud herself.

On the kang (heated brick bed) in the inner room, Zhou Rui was fast asleep when suddenly a soft little foot kicked him squarely in the face.

He groggily raised his hand and grasped the little chubby foot, his fingertips brushing against the fine, downy hairs on the sole.

Little Rice Cake immediately burst into laughter, and didn't forget to kick his arm with her other foot.

He opened his eyes and saw Xiao Yan'er lying by the pillow, staring at him with her big eyes, drool dripping down her chin and leaving a small, round wet stain on his pillow.

"You two little devils, you were making a ruckus until midnight last night, and you even woke up before me this morning, huh?"

Zhou Rui deliberately put on a stern face and gently rubbed Xiao Niangao's toes against his face, making the little guy laugh and burrow into the quilt.

He sat up, propped himself up on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), first scooped the two children who had slipped to the side of the kang back into the middle of the quilt, tucked the corners of the quilt in, and then put on his cotton-padded coat and went down to the ground.

The three women in the main room were chatting animatedly when they heard the door curtain rustle. Yu Sitian was the first to look up and smile.

"Hey, our Zhou Daddy finally decided to get out of bed? If you keep sleeping, the sun will be shining through the kang mat."

"There's corn porridge warming on the stove, and sauerkraut dumplings steaming in the pot, just waiting for you to get up and eat," Lin Qiuyue added without stopping her embroidery needle or looking up.

Just as Zhou Rui responded, a loud wail suddenly came from the inner room.

Little Niangao didn't sit properly and plopped down on the kang mat.

He quickly turned around and ran back. When he lifted the curtain, he saw the two children crying at each other. Xiao Yan reached out to pull her older sister, and then fell to the side herself.

He grabbed one in each hand and tucked it under his arm, like carrying two round, white steamed buns.

As soon as they reached the door of the main room, He Wei immediately stood up and reached out to take them: "Give them to me quickly, I've been waiting for ages, just wanting to hold these two little darlings."

After washing up, Zhou Rui held a bowl, one hand holding dumplings and the other holding porridge, and ate with relish.

Lin Qiuyue's dumplings were small, and he ate them one by one, more than a dozen in total before looking up.

Little Niangao nestled in Lin Qiuyue's arms, reaching out her little hands to grab his chopsticks. Her protective manner was exactly like Zhou Rui's: "Don't eat it, give it to your sister first."

"Don't move, your face isn't even dry yet." Lin Qiuyue gently pressed down on her small body, afraid that she would jump out of her arms.

"Sister, eat first." Little Yan'er nestled in He Wei's arms, her face flushed from being wiped, clapping her little hands as she spoke in a sweet, childish voice.

"These two little ones, so protective of each other at such a young age." Yu Sitian, standing beside them, pinched one's hand and the other's cheek, watching with great amusement.

Zhou Rui finished the last mouthful of porridge, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long sigh: "Having someone help take care of the child makes eating twice as fast."

Seeing him like this, with half a dumpling wrapper still in his mouth, Xiao Yan'er imitated him and leaned against He Wei.

The little girl patted her round little belly and mumbled, "Full, full."

The whole room burst into laughter, some even on the verge of tears. Only Xiao Niangao kept her head down, stuffing dumplings into her mouth, her cheeks puffed out like balls.

After breakfast, Zhou Rui moved the bamboo rocking chair to the middle of the main room, lay down on it, and listened to "The Red Lantern" playing on the radio. The melodious singing filled the room.

The two little children walked on the ground, humming along to the tune every now and then, but they were completely off-key.

"Zhou Rui, is it really possible for the brigade to get a movie this year?" Yu Sitian's hands didn't stop embroidery, and her mouth didn't stop either.

"I heard from Uncle Qi that Captain Zhang Aimin submitted an application to the county."

"They said everyone has worked hard all year and it's time to relax and do some spiritual and cultural development."

Zhou Rui closed his eyes, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest in time with the rhythm of the radio, looking just like a leisurely landlord.

"No problem. The film projection team hasn't set foot in our village for two years. Captain Zhang knows an old acquaintance in the county in charge of culture. This deal is almost guaranteed to work out."

"That's great. Last year we missed it, so a few of us girls drove over ten miles of snowy road to the next village to watch a movie. Our feet were so cold they went numb."

He Wei's eyes lit up immediately, and she quickened her pace while sewing the shoe soles.

Just as Zhou Rui was about to reply, he heard a loud knocking on the gate and Da Huang's barking coming from outside.

Gu Shaofeng's loud voice came through the door, shivering from the cold: "Junior brother, open the door quickly, I'm freezing to death."