Reborn in 1982, the prodigal son returns

Lin Nuo woke up before dawn. The kang (a heated brick bed) was warm, and Su Wanqing was still asleep, breathing evenly, her eyelashes fluttering slightly. He dressed quietly.

There was no one in the kitchen; Zhao Xiuying hadn't gotten up yet.

Lin Nuo took the crossbow down from the wall. The stock felt heavy in his hand. He checked the string again to make sure it wasn't worn too much and wouldn't break.

He then took a small pickaxe from the storeroom. Qi Dawu had brought it the day before yesterday, saying that his father used to collect herbs.

Lin Nuo got up and walked along the village road towards the foot of the mountain. The sky was just beginning to lighten.

Following the directions given by Zhang, Lin Nuo walked through the pine forest and stopped on a sunny slope. The snow on the slope had mostly melted, revealing the withered grass and pebbles underneath.

He squatted down, took out a notebook from his pocket, and turned to the page on "Windproof". The drawings in the notebook were detailed, with long, thin roots that branched out and leaves that looked like feathers, growing in clumps.

He searched the slope for a while and found a few small plants next to a clump of bushes. The leaves were withered, but the roots were still buried in the soil. He used a pickaxe to dig through the frozen soil, but after a couple of digs, the soil was too hard, and the pickaxe only made a white mark.

He dug a few more times, and a crack appeared in the frozen soil. He used his hands to remove the loose soil, revealing the roots underneath. The roots were thin and long, yellowish-brown, and branched, exactly like the picture in the notebook.

He carefully dug out the root, shook off the soil, and smelled it. It had a unique medicinal fragrance with a slightly bitter taste.

That's right, it's for wind protection.

He put the saposhnikovia root into the basket on his back, and then looked around and dug up five or six plants in total. They weren't very big, but their roots were quite thick.

This stuff seems to cost 1.2 yuan per jin at the supply and marketing cooperative.

It's more expensive than pork.

As he was digging, he noticed several depressions in the snow on the ground, not made by people, but by hoof prints.

The hoofprints were large, with two separate lobes, and the edges were blurred by snowmelt. It was clear that they belonged to a wild boar.

And there was more than one, big and small, heading deeper into the forest.

Lin Nuo crouched down, pressing his fingers against the hoofprints; they were icy cold, the edges already frozen solid. He looked up into the depths of the forest, where the dense pine trees blocked out all light, creating a dark, impenetrable canopy.

The old forest has everything, but he always stays on the outskirts and generally doesn't venture into the deep mountains and forests.

These days, tigers and bears are still quite active.

I never expected there would be wild boars outside the old woods.

Lin Nuo touched the crossbow on his shoulder. A crossbow was fine for hunting rabbits and pheasants, but for hunting wild boars? That was suicide. Wild boars had thick hides and tough flesh; crossbow bolts couldn't penetrate them. If you angered one, it could send a person flying with a single thrust.

Linno stuck the pickaxe into the basket, stood up, and patted the mud off his knees.

I'm not going any further. Life is more important than money.

I originally wanted to dig up more medicinal herbs, but my luck wasn't great today. I encountered wild boar tracks as soon as I entered the woods, so I decided to turn back.

He walked back along the way he came, glancing back at the depths of the woods as he went.

If you had a gun, you could sell a wild boar for over a hundred yuan. Wild boars aren't castrated, and the pork has a strong, unpleasant smell, so it's not very popular. The supply and marketing cooperative sells it for 5 cents a pound.

But it's just a thought.

After coming down from the mountain, Lin Nuo didn't go straight home. Instead, he turned a corner and headed towards the school at the village entrance.

From afar, the crisp, clear voices of children reciting their lessons could be heard, carrying far through the cold air.

"人...人, a stroke to the left and a dot to the right..."

He tiptoed to the window. The window paper was newly pasted, white and translucent. He peered through the gaps in the paper.

Su Wanqing stood in front of the blackboard. She wore a clean, navy blue cotton-padded jacket and a red scarf around her neck. She held a short pencil in her hand and pointed at the words on the blackboard.

A large "人" (person) character was written on the blackboard in chalk, with a line of smaller characters next to it: "One stroke to the left and one stroke to the right, supporting each other."

Twelve children came today, one more than yesterday. Anzi sat in the first row, her braids tied tightly, her back straight, and she recited along loudly.

Pingzi sat next to her, initially playing with his fingers. When Su Wanqing called his name, he quickly put his hands on the table and sat up straight, but his eyes still couldn't help but glance out the window.

Lin Nuo saw an enamel mug on the table next to the blackboard. The mug was white with blue flowers and had a chip in it. There were several pencils stuck inside, and next to the mug was a small stack of cut white paper with a piece of chalk stuck under the edge of the paper.

He watched Su Wanqing's retreating figure, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

The bell rang for recess, but actually there was no bell. Su Wanqing tapped the iron plowshare hanging on the door frame with an iron bar. The sound was crisp, and with a "clang," the children scattered.

Lin Nuo pushed open the door and went in.

"Second Uncle!"

Anzi was the first to see him, ran over, and looked up at him:

"Second Uncle, look at the words I wrote!"

She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. On it was a crookedly written character for "person"—the horizontal stroke was slanted, but the downward stroke was correct. Lin Nuo squatted down to look at it and said:

"Well written, better than my second uncle's."

Anzi chuckled, revealing two missing front teeth.

Pingzi ran over and hugged Lin Nuo's leg, not saying a word, just holding him. Lin Nuo patted his head:

"Pingzi, did you listen to Teacher Su?"

"I heard it."

Hirako's voice was muffled, coming from behind his legs.

Su Wanqing stood in front of the blackboard, still holding the piece of chalk in her hand. She watched Lin Nuo talk to the children, a smile playing on her lips.

Sunlight streamed through the paper window, falling on her face and illuminating it, making her red scarf glow brightly in the sunlight.

Lin Nuo stood up and walked over to her. He reached into his pocket and took out two crumpled coins. He unfolded them, flattened them, and secretly slipped them into the cloth bag hanging on the wall when Su Wanqing wasn't looking.

The cloth bag was pieced together by Zhao Xiuying from scraps of cloth, patchy with gray and blue. The opening wasn't tied tightly. After putting the money in, he pressed it down with his hand to make sure it wouldn't fall out.

What are you doing here?

Su Wanqing asked, her voice not loud, but more natural than before.

"Just passing by, dropping by to see Teacher Su."

Su Wanqing rolled her eyes at him and didn't ask any more questions. She turned to greet the children:

"Line up, let's go back to the classroom."

The children swarmed around, and Anzi, holding Pingzi's hand, ran ahead.

Lin Nuo stood at the door, watching Su Wanqing lead the children into the classroom, and the door closed in front of him. The door was old, the hinges were oiled, and it only made a slight creaking sound when it closed.

She smiled, turned around, and walked back.

When Lin Nuo arrived home, Qi Dawu was already waiting for her in the yard.

He crouched against the wall, hands tucked into his sleeves, neck hunched. Seeing Lin Nuo enter, he stood up, his lips moved, but he didn't speak. His complexion was poor, ashen, and his eye bags were deeper than usual.

"What's wrong?"

Lin Nuo put the basket on the ground.

Qi Dawu lowered his head, his voice muffled:

"Brother Nuozi...my brother...Qi Dayong came to see me today."

Lin Nuo didn't speak, waiting for him to continue.

"When he heard that I was getting married on the 26th of the first lunar month, he went to the Zhou family to make a scene."

Qi Dawu's Adam's apple bobbed:

"He wants half of the gift money."

"Uncle Zhou ignored him and kicked him out. But when my brother left, he said he wouldn't give him any money and that he'd wait for him to ruin his wedding day."

After Qi Dawu finished speaking, he squatted down, held his head in his hands, and his shoulders trembled slightly.

Lin Nuo squatted down in front of him:

"Da Wu, what do you think?"

After a long silence, Qi Dawu's voice came from under his arm, muffled:

"I...I don't want him to come. He'll definitely cause trouble...Xiaoyu's eyesight isn't good, what if he scares her? Uncle Zhou and Aunt Zhou are so old, they can't take any more trouble."

His voice grew softer and softer:

"But... he's still my brother."

Lin Nuo patted him on the shoulder:

"Leave this to me. You can focus on preparing to be the groom."

Qi Dawu raised his head, his eyes red and his lips trembling. He wanted to say something, but couldn't.

Lin Nuo didn't delay and went straight to Lin Weidong's house.

Lin Weidong was drinking tea in the main room, holding an enamel mug in his hand. When he saw Lin Nuo enter, he put the mug down.

"What's up?"

Lin Nuo recounted how Qi Dayong had caused trouble.

After listening, Lin Weidong remained silent for a while:

"Qi Dayong just wants money. He didn't get any benefit from his younger brother's wedding, so he's resentful."

"Give him some to shut him up."

Lin Weidong placed the jar on the table:

"Five or ten yuan was enough to get rid of him. I talked to him on his behalf, so he didn't dare to refuse."

Lin Nuo nodded:

"Alright, sir. You decide the price, I'll pay."

Lin Weidong glanced at him:

"Where did you get the money?"

"I made some money selling pheasants and rabbits."

Lin Weidong didn't ask any more questions and waved his hand:

"Don't worry about this, I'll handle it. I'll talk to Qi Dayong. If he knows what's good for him, he'll take the money and leave; if he doesn't..."

He didn't continue, but Lin Nuo knew what he meant. The Lin family was a prominent family in the village, and the Qi family was the only one. No matter how ruthless Qi Dayong was, he wouldn't dare to go against the entire Lin family.

"Thank you, sir."

"No need to thank me. Da Wu is a pitiful child. He finally has a family, and we can't let someone ruin it."

After Lin Nuo got home, her mother called her over to cook:

"Second brother, I didn't realize you were such a good cook."

"Your mother can take a rest from now on."

Lin Nuo didn't say anything and could only follow his mother to do chores.

Lin Nuo followed Zhao Xiuying into the kitchen. Zhao Xiuying tied on her apron, glanced back at him, her gaze sweeping over his face, a half-smile playing on her lips.

"Second brother, have you and Wanqing... slept together recently?"

Lin Nuo paused, her hand holding the knife still, and the tips of her ears turned bright red. The last time was on her wedding night. Too embarrassed to turn around, Lin Nuo lightly tapped the knife against the cutting board.

"……not yet."

Zhao Xiuying clicked her tongue, poured out the water from the basin, turned around, wiped her hands on her apron, and lowered her voice:

"Do you think I'm blind? Wanqing's complexion clearly shows they're still sleeping separately. Nuozi, your wife finally moved back. Mom's still waiting to hold her grandson, so you better keep trying."

Lin Nuo's ears turned bright red, and he mumbled:

"Okay, Mother."

Seeing his expression, Zhao Xiuying couldn't help but laugh and patted his arm.

"If you know, then hurry up. Don't just focus on hunting rabbits; we also need to fight the battles that need to be fought."

Lin Nuo's hand holding the knife trembled, and he almost cut his finger. He looked down, the scallion on the cutting board was cut in half, and the knife stopped in the middle, not moving for a long time.

Zhao Xiuying stopped talking, turned around to wash the pot, and couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.

Lin Nuo didn't want to force Su Wanqing; it was best if she was willing herself, just like after she went to the South in her previous life.

As it was getting dark, the sound of a bicycle bell came from outside the courtyard gate.

Lin Nuo came out of the kitchen and saw a person standing at the door pushing a bicycle. He was wearing a gray cotton-padded coat, a Lei Feng hat on his head, his face was red from the cold, and clear snot was hanging from his nose as he sniffed.

"Is this Lin Jianjia's house?"

"Yes."

The man took an envelope and a package from his bag in the back seat of the car and handed them over:

"Lin Jian asked me to bring it back. He's busy at the factory and can't come back."

Lin Nuo took it. The envelope was made of kraft paper, sealed with glue, and the handwriting was messy. The package was wrapped in old newspapers and tied tightly with hemp rope.

The man rubbed his hands together and turned to leave, but Lin Nuo called out to him:

"Want to come in and have some water?"

"No, no, I have to hurry back. It's dark and the roads are difficult to travel."

He hopped on his bicycle, pedaled a couple of times, the bike slipped on the snow, but he steadied himself and rode off.

Lin Nuo took the letter and the items into the main room.

Zhao Xiuying came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron:

"Who's here?"

"The third brother sent a message back through someone."

Zhao Xiuying paused for a moment, took the envelope, looked at it twice, but didn't open it. Lin Weiguo came out from the inner room, stood at the door, and didn't say anything.

Zhao Xiuying handed the envelope to Lin Weiguo:

"You dismantle it."

Lin Weiguo took it, pried open the seal with his fingernail, and pulled out the letter. The letter was torn from a workbook, with horizontal lines, and folded twice. He unfolded it and held it up to the kerosene lamp to look at it.

The handwriting is messy, but still legible:

"Dad, Mom, Second Brother: I'm doing well at the fertilizer factory, so don't worry. That package is for An Ziping; I didn't buy them anything for the New Year. I'll take leave to come back and see you after I'm done with this."

After reading it, Lin Weiguo didn't say anything. He folded the letter and put it in his shirt pocket.

Zhao Xiuying's eyes reddened, and her voice choked slightly: "This child, he doesn't even come back to visit. It's the New Year, and he's all alone out there..."

Lin Nuo opened the package. The old newspaper was torn open, revealing two sets of children's stationery: pencils, notebooks, and erasers, all bound together with rubber bands. There was also a bag of fruit candies, wrapped tightly in colorful wrappers.

"Mom, the third son is doing well in the city, don't worry."

Lin Nuo said:

"He'll come back once he's settled down."

Zhao Xiuying hummed in agreement, picked up the fruit candy, looked at it, put it down again, and turned to go back to the kitchen.

That evening, just after the group finished dinner, the courtyard gate was pushed open.

Lin Jiang stood at the door, wearing a drab gray cotton-padded jacket with worn-out cuffs. He stood outside the threshold, hesitating for a moment before not coming in.

"Second son."

"Big brother? Come in and have a seat."

Lin Jiang walked in and sat down in the main room. Zhao Xiuying poured him a bowl of hot water, but he didn't drink it, instead rubbing his fingers on the side of the bowl.

"Second son,"

He spoke, but his voice was soft:

"Your sister-in-law sent me to find you."

Lin Nuo didn't respond, waiting for him to continue.

"She said... farming income is too low, and you can't save much money at the end of the year. An Ziping is getting older every day, and there are more and more places to spend money."

He paused:

She said you could make a lot of money by hunting pheasants or rabbits. She wanted me to go into the mountains with her.

When Lin Jiang said this, he didn't look at Lin Nuo. His eyes were fixed on the water in the bowl, the surface of which reflected the light of the kerosene lamp, swaying back and forth.

Lin Nuo looked at his older brother. Lin Jiang's face appeared even darker under the light, with high cheekbones, deep-set eyes, and deep wrinkles on his forehead, like plowed land.

"Big brother, do you want to go or not?" Lin Nuo asked.

Lin Jiang remained silent for a moment. He placed the bowl on the table, the bottom of which hit the table with a dull thud.

"think."

他 说:

"I want to buy more things for Hirako Yasuko."

Lin Nuo nodded:

"Okay. We'll leave before dawn tomorrow morning. I'll show you the way and we'll set a few traps."

Lin Jiang sighed, stood up, dusted off his knees, walked to the door, and then stopped.

"Second son."

"Um."

"Thank you."

Lin Nuo was stunned for a moment. His older brother had never said "thank you" to him in his entire life. Lin Jiang left as soon as he finished speaking, as if afraid of being caught up with.

Lin Nuo stood in the main room for a while before turning around and going back to the east room.

Su Wanqing was already lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), the calligraphy copybook closed and placed beside her pillow. She glanced at him but didn't ask anything.

Lin Nuo took off his cotton-padded coat and lay down. He reached out and took her hand.

"I'm taking my older brother into the mountains tomorrow," he said.

Su Wanqing hummed in agreement and moved her fingers in his palm.

Lin Nuo closed his eyes.

"Oh no, I forgot to send over the things that Lao San mailed."