Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

As Zhou Rui rushed towards the backyard, he saw that the door from the kitchen to the backyard was wide open, and three speckled hens were flapping their wings and flying around wildly.

Little Rice Cake, wrapped in thick cotton pants, stood in front of the chicken coop, her chubby little hands tightly holding a newly laid egg that still carried the warmth of the chicken's body, her cheeks stretched wide to her ears.

His eyes were fixed on her, as if he were about to devour the egg, shell and all.

"My little darling, are you going to empty the whole chicken coop?" Zhou Rui reached out and scooped him up, tapping his little nose, which was covered in chicken feathers, with his fingertip, making Xiao Niangao giggle.

Little Niangao didn't realize she had caused any trouble. Instead, she handed him a hot egg right under his nose, her soft saliva almost dripping onto the shell.

"Eggs, steamed eggs, I want steamed eggs."

"Wow, this is the first time we've seen a first-laid egg this year!"

Lin Qiuyue followed them to the backyard, staring at the small egg that was a size smaller than a regular egg and had a pale pink shell. Her eyes immediately curved into crescent moons.

I bought three batches of chicks, survived chicken plague and dodged weasels, and finally raised them to the point where they started to brood. This preciousness is more important than anything else.

"I'll go scoop out half a handful of crushed corn kernels, mix them with rice bran, and give these three hens a special treat. I guarantee they'll lay eggs for us every day from now on."

Zhou Rui smiled and shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the hen that was slowly hiding under the woodpile.

"Little Rice Cake scared them half to death; they might not want to go back to their nest to lay eggs for two or three days. Besides, there's only one egg in the nest right now; the other two hens haven't laid their eggs yet."

"Huh? There's a saying that hens won't lay eggs if they're scared?" Lin Qiuyue had only been in the countryside for a year and a half, and she hadn't really grasped all the old experiences of raising poultry in the countryside.

"That's right. The poultry in the mountains are wild, and when they get startled, they put their eggs back in."

Zhou Rui carried Xiao Niangao into the house, gently smoothing her ruffled little cotton hat with his fingertips: "For the next few days, we'll keep the backyard gate locked up. We can't let this little rascal sneak in and raid our nest again."

When the little rice cake in his arms heard that he couldn't go to the backyard, he immediately became unhappy. His chubby little hands patted Zhou Rui's back and swayed back and forth, while his little feet kicked at the waist of his cotton-padded coat.

"No, I won't leave! I'll take another one for Xiaoyan'er."

Lin Qiuyue, unable to bear her nagging any longer, quickly took out an egg from the bamboo basket in the main room that she had replaced a few days ago and used it to block her view while coaxing her.

"We don't raid chicken coops, but there's something warm in the basket, how about we take it to the little goslings?"

Little Rice Cake shook his head incessantly, his little hat swaying wildly: "I don't want the ones in the basket, I want the ones the hens just laid."

She didn't know anything about the difference between new and old; she only recognized the warmth she felt when she squatted by the chicken coop and reached into the haystack.

Looking at her rosy cheeks, Zhou Rui suddenly realized that Xiao Niangao was looking for playmates.

"Are you missing Xiaoyan'er? Your second uncle will take you to find her, okay?"

Little Rice Cake stopped kicking instantly, buried her face in Zhou Rui's neck, and nodded her soft little head like a chick pecking at rice.

Even the chubby little hand holding the egg loosened its grip a bit, as if afraid of crushing the only egg.

Lin Qiuyue quickly turned around and went back into the inner room. She found a piece of coarse cotton cloth that had been dried in the sun and wrapped the egg tightly, then stuffed it into the innermost pocket of her cotton-padded jacket.

He stuffed two handfuls of roasted pumpkin seeds and half a frozen pear into Zhou Rui's pocket before patting him on the shoulder and letting him leave.

The moment they stepped outside, Little Rice Cake became lively, completely unconcerned about the north wind blowing on her face, sitting in Zhou Rui's lap and pointing with her little finger.

Zhou Rui was usually away in the mountains and not at home. Lin Qiuyue didn't like to go far, and at most she would visit the educated youth compound next door. Little Niangao would be lying on the doorstep every day, looking at the road, and was already bored.

After walking half a mile, Little Rice Cake twisted its body and wanted to get down and walk by itself.

Zhou Rui first looked down at the thin ice shards on the ground, then looked her up and down at her thick cotton-padded coat and trousers, making sure that she wouldn't get hurt if she fell, before carefully putting her on the ground.

The little rice cake is wrapped up like a small cotton ball, and when it walks, it waddles like a little duck that has just learned to take its first steps.

He was walking too fast and tripped on the ice, but he didn't cry or make a fuss.

She pushed herself up with her little hands on the snow, patted the snow off her cotton-padded coat, and then wobbled forward to catch up with Zhou Rui.

Just as the old locust tree at the village entrance was becoming visible, Xiao Niangao stepped on a piece of ice buried under the snow. The chubby boy swayed and fell into a half-foot-thick snowdrift by the roadside.

Its round body was mostly sunk in, and despite flailing its limbs for a long time, it couldn't turn itself over.

"Uncle...Second Uncle, help me up..."

A soft, delicate shout came from the snowdrift, but Zhou Rui, who was walking ahead, didn't hear it.

I took two steps before I realized something was wrong. I looked back and saw that there was no one in sight.

"Small rice cakes?"

He quickly followed the sound back, and after walking a few steps, he saw the top of a small cotton hat sticking out of the snowdrift.

The chubby little boy, wrapped up round and plump, was flailing his arms around, his face covered in snowflakes.

Zhou Rui burst into laughter and couldn't stand up straight, swaying back and forth while holding onto a nearby tree trunk.

The little girl was sprawled out in the snow, kicking her arms and legs wildly, looking just like a fat turtle that had been flipped over, struggling to even lift her neck.

"Second Uncle! Pull me up!" Little Rice Cake's voice trembled with a hint of anger, her face flushed red.

Why is this person just standing there laughing? Didn't he see how much effort she put in and still couldn't get up?

On the rest of the journey, Xiao Niangao kept pinching Zhou Rui's cheeks.

Not only the face, but also the nose and ears suffered.

"Alright, alright. Second Uncle was wrong, I shouldn't have laughed at you." Zhou Rui kept apologizing, remorseful for his behavior of not helping someone in distress.

After nagging for a long time, Xiao Niangao finally calmed down and hugged Zhou Rui's neck again.

"Little goose, little goose, I'm here."

As soon as they entered Zhao Dazhu's yard, Xiao Niangao couldn't help but shout and kept darting down.

Zhou Rui wasn't paying attention, and the little rice cake fell to the ground.

"Little Goose!"

Hearing the noise from inside, Xiao Niangao screamed and rushed in. Zhou Rui quickly opened the door for her, otherwise she would have bumped her head on the door.

When Zhou Rui closed the door to block the cold wind and went into the inner room, Xiao Niangao was already lying on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), holding out the egg he had taken out.

Wang Xinghua sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), arms crossed, watching with a smile, making no attempt to stop them, just waiting to see the two little girls make a scene.

"Little goose, eat an egg."

"Eggs!" Xiao Yan'er's eyes lit up instantly, and she grabbed an egg and was about to smash it against the edge of the kang table.

Just as he exerted force with his wrist, Zhou Rui's palm slammed onto the edge of the table.

The eggshell felt soft and squishy in my palm, without breaking at all.

Little Yan'er looked up, bewildered: "Second Uncle?"

"Silly girl, this egg is still raw!" Zhou Rui laughed and snatched the egg from her hand.

"You can't eat raw eggs directly; your mother has to cook them before you can eat them."

He handed the egg to Wang Xinghua, raising an eyebrow and smiling, "Sister-in-law Xinghua, this is a first-laid egg that Xiao Niangao personally dug out of the henhouse today. It's one of a kind."

"She wouldn't give it to anyone else, she insisted on sending it to Xiaoyan'er."

Wang Xinghua held the round little egg, her smile stretching almost to her ears.

"Oh my, my Yan'er is so lucky to have such a loving older sister."