Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Zhou Rui skillfully wove the vines with both hands, watching the basket slowly take shape, feeling very satisfied. Suddenly, something fleshy climbed up his back, and a head poked out from behind.

"Second brother, what are you making up?"

An'an, covered in sweat from playing outside, had her hands, which were wrapped in mud, as she clung to Zhou Rui's neck.

"Guess what Second Brother is making up? If you guess right, I'll reward you with a White Rabbit candy."

"Oh." However, An An didn't seem very interested in White Rabbit candy, her tone was quite indifferent, it seems she usually eats too much candy.

"Is it a basket for fish? It's so long, it must be for big fish." An An opened her arms and stretched them out as far as possible.

No. You're guessing.

"Yes, that's for storing meat. Fill it up and hang it up so the rats can't eat it."

An'an didn't hinder Zhou Rui's speed at all, and the basket was almost finished.

"That's not right either. You little glutton! Why do you keep guessing it's just pretending to eat?"

"Haha... I can't guess, brother, tell me?" An'an couldn't guess, so she had to resort to her coquettish charm.

"Wait a minute, I'll put the things away, then you'll know what it is." Zhou Rui took out a small knife and carefully polished the finished basket, removing any small burrs.

Then, right under An'an's nose, Zhou Rui wrapped the basket with cloth, laid a thick quilt on it, put a small pillow on it, and even cut up a perfectly good mosquito net and draped it over the protruding part at one end.

"Wow, this is Little Rice Cake's bed. A tiny bed!" An An exclaimed, raising her hands high.

"Come on, let's put the little rice cake in and see if she likes it."

Zhou Rui carefully carried the still-sleepy Xiao Niangao inside and placed her down. Xiao Niangao smacked her lips, turned over slightly, and continued to sleep soundly, seemingly quite content.

An'an peered at the basket from the edge and asked, "So, once she has her own bed, she won't sleep with me anymore?"

"No, that's not it. She still sleeps with us, but when we go out to work, we can take her little bed with us, and she sleeps in it while watching us work. What do you think?"

"Okay, that way Little Rice Cake won't have to be tied to Second Brother's back all the time. Second Brother works very hard."

No matter how many times, Zhou Rui was always deeply moved by An An's concern, and his feelings never faded.

Zhou Rui gently rubbed An'an's nose: "The main thing is that it's time to harvest the crops. There are a lot of small flying insects in the cornfields and rice paddies, and the leaves can cut people. It wouldn't be good if Xiao Nian Gao got bitten by the insects. Look, there's also this mosquito net. When you turn it upside down, it can cover the little bed, and the insects won't be able to get in."

"Second brother is awesome!"

A short while later, Zhou Ping also returned. He was startled when he saw the crib that Zhou Rui had woven, and couldn't understand why his second brother could always make such strange things.

"Second Brother, what are you making for lunch?" Zhou Ping has been going to Aunt Changchun's house a lot lately. Perhaps it's because he's seen Liu Kangri cook so much that he's starting to try and take over the kitchen from Zhou Rui.

Although Zhou Rui didn't want his younger brother to work too hard, Pingwa liked it, so Zhou Rui didn't want to discourage his confidence.

"How about we cook fish? We haven't had fish for days."

"Yay! I want steamed fish and fish with pickled cabbage." An'an couldn't wait to start ordering.

"Sure, let's see if your third brother can make it."

"Okay. Third Brother, I've recently learned two tricks that will satisfy you." Zhou Ping was becoming more and more confident, and everything was developing in a positive direction.

The family sat together for dinner. Every now and then, the three of them would pick out boneless parts of the fish and put them into the small rice cake bowl. If they were fed too slowly, she would bang on the table and throw a tantrum. She just couldn't stop, she simply couldn't stop. But this was the best compliment for Zhou Ping; even the baby loved the fish he made.

Zhou Rui ladled a bowl of fish soup into his rice. "Not bad, you've definitely improved."

"Right? I told you I had a talent for cooking. I just learned by standing next to Uncle Kangri all the time." Zhou Ping accepted Zhou Rui's assessment without the slightest hesitation.

"Second brother, the fish in the fish pond at home are almost gone."

"Hmm, you've finished eating?" Zhou Rui thought about it; it had indeed been a long time since he'd set out fish traps. "I'll go get some this afternoon; we can't be without any fish at home."

"It's not good to set fish traps in broad daylight, the villagers will see and learn from it." Under Zhou Rui's influence, Zhou Ping has now learned the true meaning of being cautious and never shows off in front of others.

"I won't use fish traps, I'll take you and An'an fishing." Zhou Rui said nonchalantly, as he had more than one option.

"Can I invite Ping An and Shunli to go fishing together?" Zhou Ping asked cautiously. He had recently become quite close to Liu Ping An and his brother, so he always invited them to join him for fun activities.

Zhou Rui didn't deliberately try to explore the children's friendships, but he felt that it would be good for Zhou Ping, who was at the age of 18, to have more friends.

"Sure, why not?"

"Okay, I'll go call them right now." Zhou Ping put down his bowl and ran off.

"Let's eat first and then go."

"I'm stuffed……"

"Really." Zhou Rui shook his head.

"Honestly, Third Brother is so insensible. How can he run around right after eating? He'll get a stomachache." An'an said seriously.

Zhou Rui pinched her taut little face with his hand: "My An'an is so cute. Are you full? If you are, help me watch over Xiao Nian Gao. Second brother will go wash the dishes."

"Go ahead, go ahead. I'll keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't roll around." An'an waved her little hand, calm and composed.

There was no bamboo near Jiaolongxia Village, so they just cut down a few relatively flexible branches to make fishing rods. Zhou Rui didn't expect them to catch any fish; he just brought them out for fun. They didn't go upstream, as it was further away and the water was shallower.

There was a good spot by the rice paddies in the village, where the water was deep and the fish were big. The five of them lined up in a row, each with a fishing rod, and the hooks were all made from sewing needles. Zhou Rui had Xiao Niangao's little bed to his left and An'an to his right, and he didn't dare let An'an stray too far. If they didn't catch any fish, that was fine, but if they did, Zhou Rui was afraid that An'an would be dragged away by the fish.

Under the sunlight, Zhou Rui squinted, not even looking at the water, only feeling the movement of the fishing rod with his hand. Suddenly, he heard a clicking sound coming from next door, and opened his eyes to look.

An An quickly covered her mouth.

Zhou Rui said helplessly, "Are you still hungry? You even stole some of the oil residue we used for fishing."

"No, I'm just bored sitting here, so I'm looking for something to do."

Indeed, An'an has been quite energetic lately and can't sit still. I should have brought some peanuts and melon seeds with me.

"You need to be quiet, or you'll scare the fish away."

Just then, An'an's fishing rod twitched. She quickly threw away the oil residue in her hand and gripped the rod with both hands. Without any casting technique or playing the fish, An'an simply pulled it up forcefully. The fish flew into the air, and a three-pound crucian carp fell onto the shore.

Zhou Rui was a bit dumbfounded. He, a top expert, hadn't even gotten a win yet, and this little guy had already caught a fish.

Liu Ping'an and his two companions, however, were very accommodating. Seeing An'an catch a fish, they immediately surrounded her. They were incredibly envious and showered An'an with compliments, making the little girl laugh heartily. She kept asking for fishing tips, hoping to be the next one to catch a fish.

Zhou Rui rolled his eyes, utterly unable to bear the sight. Instead of asking such a seasoned fishing expert for advice, he was going to fawn over a six-year-old.

The sun was setting when Zhou Rui carried his bucket home. Liu Ping'an and Liu Shunli carried another bucket, filled with fish they had caught themselves. Both buckets were full of fish, but not a single one belonged to Zhou Rui. "It must be like this during the newbie protection period," Zhou Rui reassured himself.