Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

It's so comfortable to rest; Zhou Rui rarely doesn't get up so early. No work, no hunting, no fishing. Already awake, Zhou Rui lies quietly in bed, wondering whether An'an on his left or Xiao Niangao on his right will wake up first.

It's a pity Zhou Ping sleeps next door, otherwise Zhou Rui might have dragged Zhou Ping into a bet.

After everyone got up, Zhou Rui leisurely washed An'an, fed Xiao Niangao milk powder, and made breakfast. It was so pleasant not to be in a rush.

After everyone had finished breakfast, Zhou Rui, unusually, took his family for a leisurely stroll around the village. The village entrance, the brigade headquarters, and the threshing ground were all filled with people chatting leisurely.

It's almost late August, and then it'll be harvest season for potatoes, corn, soybeans, wheat, and rice, among other crops. Each crop needs to be harvested and dried, keeping everyone incredibly busy with no time to rest. Except for those seriously ill and bedridden, the brigade headquarters won't easily grant leave. Everyone who can work, young and old, aunties, young wives, and other able-bodied people, will be out in the fields; no one is exempt. Even An'an can't escape it; she'll be joining the other children to chase birds, gather pig feed, or follow the adults to pick up any grain that's been missed in the fields.

An'an disappeared as soon as she entered the village. Her cloth tiger had been quite the sensation yesterday, so whenever children her age saw her coming, they would grab her and run away.

Zhou Ping also went to play with children of the same age. After all, different ages play different kinds of games. Zhou Ping could only stay at home to take care of the child and couldn't play those childish games with An An.

Zhou Rui could only carry Xiao Niangao around by himself. Anyway, Xiao Niangao was waving a rattle drum, and the direction the drum pointed was where he wanted to go. He had no choice but to follow along.

People around him would greet him from time to time, calling him Ruiwa, and Zhou Rui would respond to the elderly folks, be a polite and sensible child.

While Little Rice Cake was no longer excitedly jumping around and not directing Zhou Rui to keep walking, they finally had a chance to sit down and rest for a bit.

"Ruiwa, it's been a while since I've seen you. What have you been up to?"

"Seventh Grandpa didn't do anything. He just went out to hunt birds and catch fish during the off-season to prepare more food for the family."

"I heard you're a really good hunter, and you even hunted some meat for the guys building houses at the educated youth settlement."

"You flatter me, it's not that amazing. Grandpa Zhao only gave me this opportunity so I could earn more work points, which is basically hunting pheasants, ducks, and rabbits."

"Ruiwa, you've not only grown taller, but you've also raised your little niece well. Look at this little rice cake, her face is rosy, her fingers are still strong, she's gripping the rattle tightly. Come here, let me hug her." Aunt Gu teased the little rice cake from the side, not only teasing her but also wanting to hug her.

Zhou Rui doesn't mind; he likes it when strangers hug him. He wasn't shy as a child, so he's not afraid of trouble now that he's grown up. Unlike some kids who are extremely shy and become increasingly introverted and unambitious as they grow up.

"Of course, I'll raise my niece to be healthy and chubby. When she grows up, I'll send her to school, help her get into a vocational school, and then she can work in the city. If I can't raise my little niece to be successful, I'll be letting down my deceased brother." Zhou Rui was thick-skinned and didn't care at all about others praising him for raising his niece well; it was a fact.

However, he didn't mind putting a bad word about his uncle's family in front of the villagers, letting everyone know what a truly righteous brother does, instead of trying to take advantage of his deceased brother's death.

However, Zhou Rui hid it very well, never mentioning a bad word about his uncle's family, only emphasizing his own attitude towards his niece. Yet, this one sentence alone highlighted the disparity between the two: one was a minor child who wanted to pamper his elder brother's niece, while the other was a strong man who wanted to exploit his younger brother's childless family. If such gossip spread throughout the village, everyone would condemn them, and the uncle's family would be utterly disgraced.

People around them kept talking about Zhou Rui's family. Some said that Zhou Rui had really grown up, taking good care of his younger brother, sister, and niece, and was a qualified pillar of the Zhou family.

Zhou Ping is also a good son; not only does he stay home to take care of the children, but he also recently went to work as a handyman at the educated youth construction site to earn work points, willing to do any dirty or tiring work. An'an is also sensible, knowing to go with the older children to cut pig feed.

Of course, not everyone liked Zhou Rui. Some envious people whispered that Zhou Rui didn't know how to manage money and must have spent all the money he made from selling his jobs in the previous two months, which is why his whole family had gained weight.

They even spent money to buy fabric and have new clothes made, and bought toys for the little ones. How extravagant!

Especially the aunt who tried to rummage through Zhou Rui's backpack last time, after being humiliated by him, went behind his back and said that Zhou Rui was greedy and didn't work hard to earn work points, but only thought about going up the mountain to hunt meat all day long. She said that once the money ran out and he didn't have enough work points this year, she would see what his family would eat next year.

Zhou Rui couldn't hear what the people around him were talking about, but occasionally glancing around, he noticed some people giving him malicious looks while chatting, and he knew they weren't saying anything nice. Zhou Rui didn't care about any of that; he accepted the compliments to his face and ignored the whispers behind his back, since no one dared to say anything to his face anyway. Zhou Rui had made a name for himself in the village after his two fights; everyone knew that this young kid was ruthless.

Zhou Rui wandered around crowded places and encountered a few people his age, but not many, and he didn't know what they were doing.

While they were pondering, a group of children, both big and small, suddenly ran over, including An'an and Zhou Ping. An'an pulled Zhou Rui away, and Zhou Rui, not understanding why, quickly squatted down to listen to what An'an had to say.

It turned out that a group of young people were using slingshots to shoot sparrows by the field, followed by many children. At first, it was fine; they were just envious of the other children who had shot sparrows so they could roast and eat them. But then, for some reason, they started arguing. They were comparing whose older brother was better and whose younger brother had shot the most sparrows. Eventually, even An'an and Zhou Ping got involved.

Sure enough, An'an and Zhou Ping came to get reinforcements. The other unarmed younger siblings also went back to find help, determined to have a slingshot dragon and tiger competition in Jiaolongxia Village.

Zhou Rui couldn't understand why his younger siblings had signed him up for the competition after he had just chatted with them in the village. There was no prize money for the competition, only verbal praise, such as "Whose older brother is the best?"

Zhou Rui released Xiao Niangao to free one hand. "Second Brother didn't bring his slingshot today either."

Then I felt two more things in my hands. It turned out that Zhou Ping had run home at some point and brought me his slingshot and pellets.

"Alright, alright, I'll go see what your tournament is like." Zhou Rui got up helplessly and followed a group of kids out of the village.

Beside a rice paddy, a group of teenagers, each with their little tagalongs, were making a fire on the stream bank to roast sparrows.

Besides Zhou Rui's group, there were about seven or eight other long lines converging on the stream bank along the paddy field ridges. The stream bank grew increasingly noisy, with teenagers greeting each other and children chasing and playing around, making the first Jiaolongxia Village Slingshot Dragon Tiger Competition a lively affair even before it started.