Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

As soon as Zhou Rui and his group turned to the edge of the threshing ground, they were dumbfounded.

The huge open space was already packed with people, and it was hard to find even a crack to fit a bench. Even the haystacks on the side of the field were full of teenagers.

An'an didn't even greet Zhou Rui. The moment her feet touched the ground, she ducked into the crowd and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Rui smiled and shook his head, not stopping her. The little girl, barely a teenager, was only thinking about running around with her friends; how could he possibly stop her?

The venue was packed with people. He was holding a stool, looking worried, when he saw Yu Sitian and He Wei squeezed into the group of educated youths and waving vigorously in their direction.

There were two empty seats next to them, so the stools they were carrying finally had a place to rest.

As soon as it got completely dark, the lights on the screen came on, and the familiar opening theme music from "Tunnel Warfare" wafted through the village via loudspeakers.

Although the images were in black and white, Zhou Rui watched them with great interest.

The mechanisms in the tunnels and the ambushes at the village entrance were all very well-made, much more appealing than the flashy special effects films of later generations.

At first, Xiao Niangao quietly leaned against Zhou Rui's chest, watching with great interest, her eyes not even moving.

But after sitting for less than half an hour, she couldn't sit still anymore. She twisted and turned, trying to squeeze out of the crowd.

Little Yan'er beside him was also restless, struggling to lunge towards Zhou Rui.

Yu Sitian, who was sitting next to Lin Qiuyue, had no interest in watching the movie at all. She was busy pinching Lin Qiuyue's soft little face, making the little girl feel uncomfortable.

"You stay here with Sitian and Hewei and keep watch. I'll take Xiaoniangao and Xiaoyan'er outside for a walk."

As Zhou Rui spoke, he took Xiao Yan'er from Lin Qiuyue's arms, and the two little girls seemed particularly excited.

The lanterns by the field flickered, casting swaying shadows on the screen, and the aroma of roasted melon seeds mingled with the heat of roasted sweet potatoes, filling the entire threshing ground.

A few teenagers squatted behind a haystack, secretly taking out cigarettes hidden in their cotton-padded jacket pockets.

Just as he lit the cigarette, Zhou Rui, who was walking over, glanced at him and, startled, pressed the cigarette and its flame into the snow, covered his mouth, and crouched down to burrow into the crowd.

Outside the crowd was a sugar figurine vendor, and Xiao Nian Gao pointed her finger toward him.

A wooden stick was stuck next to the stall, and the top straw was covered with sugar figurines of various animals.

An old man is making a tiger with a sugar spoon, and a little kid is waiting for him.

"Young man, would you like to buy a sugar figurine? I can make anything you want right away."

"Yes, but it depends on what my niece likes. Are all sugar figurines the same price?"

The old man's copper spoon was still half-covered in amber-colored syrup, and his knuckles were coated with a layer of caramel color that couldn't be washed off.

He smiled and gently tapped the spoon against the edge of the copper pot: "The big ones are one mao, the small ones are five fen. Whatever your little girl wants, I can make it with my hands."

Little Rice Cake's eyes were already glued to the newly made tiger. She poked at the air with her fingertips, then suddenly turned her hand to the biggest one on top.

"that."

It was a dragon in full flight, but Little Rice Cake didn't know what it was called; she only knew that it looked the biggest.

Little Yan buried her face in Zhou Rui's neck and rubbed against him, muttering softly, "I want a little rabbit, with long ears."

The old man selling candy was so happy that his beard stood on end: "Little girl, you have a good eye! This big dragon is 15 cents, and the little rabbit is 5 cents, that's 20 cents in total."

Without hesitation, Zhou Rui reached out and took out two cents.

The money I earn is meant for my family to spend; if I were to hoard it, I might as well stay home and relax.

Just as Zhou Rui handed over the two cents, a crisp voice suddenly called out from behind him, "Brother Rui, you're here too?"

He turned around and saw Xiaohua holding half a handful of roasted melon seeds in her hand, with Xiaohua following behind her, tiptoeing and looking towards the sugar figurine stall.

"I just brought my two girls out for a stroll, and they spotted this stall right away." Zhou Rui smiled as he accepted the sugar dragon and little rabbit from the old man.

First, put the warm little rabbit into Xiao Yan'er's hands, then hand the big, menacing dragon to Xiao Niangao.

"Brother Rui, Little Rice Cake, Little Goose." Chen Huaishu greeted them one by one and then squeezed into the stall.

"Grandpa, I want a cow. My sister said I was born in the Year of the Ox."

Little Rice Cake didn't hear what Little Locust Tree said at all; as soon as she took the bamboo skewer, she stuffed it into her mouth.

Little Yan'er held up the long-eared rabbit, brought it to her lips and gently licked it. The sweetness made her little eyebrows relax, and she buried her face in Zhou Rui's shoulder, giggling.

"Be careful with the little locust tree, I'll take the little girl for a walk."

As soon as Zhou Rui finished speaking, a burst of laughter suddenly came from the threshing ground.

It turned out that the screen was showing a clip of Japanese soldiers falling into a tunnel trap, and even the teenagers on the haystack were slapping their thighs and cheering.

He held Xiao Yan'er in his left arm and Xiao Niangao, who was clutching the sugar dragon tightly, in his right arm. Instead of crowding around, he walked slowly along the snowy path beside the threshing ground.

There were some unfamiliar people wandering around outside. Zhou Rui frowned. These people were not from the village, and they didn't look like they were there to watch a movie.

Zhou Rui decided to go find An'an, feeling that the village was somewhat chaotic and unsafe.

On his way to find An'an, Zhou Rui noticed a young man in a blue cotton jacket secretly slipping a hot boiled egg into a girl's hand.

Some men in the village were secretly holding their wives' hands downstairs, while others were holding other people's wives' hands.

Zhou Rui didn't care about these messy things; he just wanted to find his sister as soon as possible.

Before they could even find the person, they ran into Zhang Aimin, the production team leader.

"Ruiwa, Ruiwa, come here. I need to talk to you."

Zhang Aimin shouted at the top of his lungs, otherwise Zhou Rui wouldn't have been able to hear him in such a noisy environment.

"Captain, what's up?" Zhou Rui finally managed to squeeze through the crowd.

Zhang Aimin pulled Zhou Rui away from the crowd and to a secluded place.

"Ruiwa, I need your help."

"The people in this film projection team like to eat wild game. Could you go up the mountain first thing tomorrow morning?"

"No need to make a big fuss, just kill a few small animals, and I'll have them show movies in our village for two more days."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Rui immediately understood that although the county's film projection team had been brought over through Zhang Aimin's connections, the amount of filming was entirely up to them.

Zhang Aimin has figured out the other person's preferences and is preparing to prescribe the right medicine.

It must be said that although the new captain has some selfish motives, he is still quite good at doing things.

"I'm not trying to make things difficult for you, it's just that the village stewed an old hen this afternoon, and the two members of the film projection team were a bit..."

"Okay, I agree. I'll go up the mountain before dawn tomorrow and bring back the game before noon."

"Uh..." Zhang Aimin didn't expect Zhou Rui to agree so quickly, and he even forgot what to say next.

Only Zhou Rui dared to agree to return from hunting before noon.

The main reason is that Zhou Rui has a sixth sense; things like rabbits and badgers hidden underground can't be hidden from him at all.

"It would be best if you could get some more frogs." Zhang Aimin's voice was even lower, mainly because he was also craving it, as it was one of his favorite foods.

"Okay." Zhou Rui nodded. Since he had agreed, he would take on the task, even if it was a bit of a hassle.

Zhang Aimin nodded, feeling that Zhou Rui had finally matured and was willing to give him, the brigade leader, face.

Just as he was about to leave, Zhou Rui grabbed him instead.

"Captain, I also have something to tell you."

"What's the matter?" Zhang Aimin thought Zhou Rui wanted to make some demands.

"Many people from other villages have come tonight, and some of them don't seem like decent people. It would be best to ask the village militia to patrol around."