Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

For dinner, Zhou Rui fried an egg, braised cured pork with soaked dried bamboo shoots, and made his favorite crucian carp soup.

Although it wasn't a holiday or anything, it was still the busy farming season. An'an and Pingwa were tired from picking up beans behind the adults, so they couldn't be deprived of nutrition, or they would get sick.

"Eat more, what are you dawdling for?" Seeing that the two of them hadn't touched their chopsticks much, Zhou Rui kept piling meat and eggs into their bowls.

"Second brother, make more vegetables tomorrow. Eating meat every day is too greasy," An'an said softly, picking at her rice with her chopsticks.

"Yes, yes." Zhou Ping didn't say anything, just nodded in agreement.

There are some things An'an can say that he can't. If he were to say them, his second brother would really beat him up.

"What's wrong? You two have been eating well for a few days and you're already being picky? Do you want to go back to the miserable days of going hungry for three days and then going hungry for nine meals?" Zhou Rui said with a displeased expression. He felt that he had worked himself to the bone to earn money for this family so that his younger brother and sister could have meat to eat every meal, but the two of them were not grateful.

Seeing his second brother's face darken, Zhou Ping quickly lowered his head and shoveled rice into his mouth. His second brother's reputation in the village was growing day by day, and at home, he was the undisputed head of the household. Although his second brother had never seriously beaten him, Zhou Rui was quite frightening when he put on a stern face.

However, Zhou Anke didn't share Zhou Ping's awareness; she wasn't afraid of her second brother at all. She believed that the only person in the family who could bully her was Xiao Niangao, and no one else.

"No, I'm not a picky eater, Second Brother, please don't wrong me. It's just that the little sparrows in the village have been saying lately that I've gotten fat and am not pretty anymore. I was thinking, if I eat more vegetables and less meat, I'll become prettier."

Zhou Rui stared wide-eyed, utterly astonished. He truly hadn't expected that his six-year-old sister would have the anxieties of a modern woman in this era—thinking about losing weight at such a young age.

"She's talking nonsense. It's better to be a little chubby." Zhou Rui said seriously, picking up Xiao Niangao and placing her in front of An'an: "Look, is Xiao Niangao prettier before or now?"

Little Rice Cake hadn't even finished eating when Zhou Rui used her as a prop. Seeing An An in front of him, he used both hands and his head to nibble at her.

"Ah...haha, it tickles. Little Rice Cake, stop it, my face is covered in drool. It looks good now, it looks good now, brother, hurry up and take her away."

Seeing that An'an had succumbed to Xiao Niangao's tyranny, Zhou Rui nodded and hugged Xiao Niangao back into his arms.

"I told you, chubby is prettier, isn't it? Look at Little Sparrow, isn't she skinny and not pretty at all? That's why I'm telling you this." Zhou Rui was really going all out, willing to slander the village girl's looks in order to change An An's aesthetic sense.

"Really? It really is good-looking when you're chubby." Zhou An was still a little skeptical and stared intently into Zhou Rui's eyes.

Zhou Rui wasn't guilty at all. Being fat is the aesthetic standard for most people in this era, and nobody likes a skinny woman who looks like she could be blown away by the wind.

So Zhou Rui opened his eyes wide and looked at An An, trying his best to let An An see the sincerity in his eyes: "Of course it's true, your second brother would never lie to you."

Just as the two were locked in a standoff, a shout rang out from outside the door.

"Ruiwa, Ruiwa, are you home?"

Zhou Rui quickly got off the kang (a heated brick bed), turned around, and rubbed his sore eyes. An'an was really too difficult to deal with.

Zhou Rui stepped out of the room. Standing outside the courtyard wall was a thin, frail woman. Her face, bathed in the setting sun, was full of sorrow, and her brows were furrowed with an unyielding worry.

"Auntie?" Zhou Rui asked hesitantly.

"Ruiwa, you've suffered so much!" Zhou Xiaolan strode into the yard, grabbed Zhou Rui's hands, and tears streamed down her face.

Zhou Rui was somewhat taken aback. What was so bitter about me? Since my rebirth, I've worked hard to hunt and earn money, and my family has meat to eat every day. It's not bitter at all.

"Auntie, we're not suffering. We have enough to eat every day. Look, I've even gained weight."

Actually, when they passed through the village, some villagers mentioned Zhou Rui's hunting skills and how well he was doing, but Zhou Xiaolan couldn't believe it. They'd been forced to live in the most remote and dilapidated house in the village; how could he be doing well?

They sold the new house to pay off debts, and they also sold their job opportunity. How long could that little money last for the children? Besides, Zhou Rui was wearing tattered clothes and wasn't very clean while working. Without a woman in the house, how could they possibly make a living? Thinking of this, and thinking of her best brother, her tears flowed like a burst dam.

Seeing Zhou Xiaolan's state, Zhou Rui was somewhat moved and quickly changed the subject.

"Auntie, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Come in and have a bite to eat." Zhou Rui helped his auntie into the house, but his eyes were cold. This girl came back to her parents' home, and he didn't even offer her a meal. Was his grandfather really that heartless?

"No, no, your uncle is still waiting for me to take care of him at the health center. I have to rush back." Zhou Xiaolan looked at Zhou Rui's clothes and assumed that Zhou Rui's family was really in dire straits. She couldn't bring herself to ask for money again. Perhaps the little money the family had left was the last thing Rui's family could rely on.

How could Zhou Xiaolan possibly break free from Zhou Rui's strength now? Zhou Rui grabbed Zhou Xiaolan's fleshy arms with both hands and kept pulling her into the house.

"Auntie, you absolutely must eat before you leave. How can you travel if you're too weak? Eating won't take up much time. I'll go to Aunt Changchun's house later to borrow a bicycle for you."

Since Zhou Xiaolan entered the courtyard, Zhou Rui gradually began to recall his childhood. His aunt was a kind-hearted woman who was good to everyone around her before she got married. Unfortunately, in that family, Zhou Xiaolan's kindness was only reciprocated by Zhou Rui's father.

So sometimes Zhou Rui wondered if his father and aunt weren't born into the same family. How come their personalities were so different?

Zhou Rui pulled his aunt into the house. An'an and Zhou Ping still recognized her, after all, their aunt had come when Zhou Dashi passed away.

"Auntie." "Auntie, you're here. Please sit down, I'll get you some bowls and chopsticks."

Zhou Xiaolan was stunned as soon as she entered the room. There were three meat dishes and a bowl of rice on the small table on the kang (a heated brick bed).

What kind of family can afford to live like this? Three siblings plus a little one, eating so extravagantly—how many days can the money they earn from selling their jobs last?

Seeing Zhou Ping hand over a large bowl of rice, Zhou Xiaolan took it with trembling hands. Before even eating, she began to urge him to eat.

"Ruiwa, I didn't mean to criticize you. Now that you're the head of the household, you need to learn to plan ahead. At this rate, no amount of money can sustain you. Listen to your aunt, hold onto your money tighter, don't be so careless."

"Right? I told you my second brother's cooking was too greasy, and I asked him to make some more vegetable dishes, but he..."