Reborn in 1982, the prodigal son returns

half a month later.

As dawn broke, a faint orange-red hue appeared on the eastern horizon, as if someone had lightly swept watercolors across a gray-blue paper. The chickens in the coop began to cluck, one after another, as if greeting each other.

Lin Nuo had been awake for a while, but he didn't rush to get up. He turned his head and looked at Su Wanqing, who was still sleeping beside him.

I can never get enough of looking at it.

These past two weeks have been really peaceful. The chicks have grown quite a bit, their feathers are glossy, and they're full of energy; the old foreman takes him into the mountains every few days to identify medicinal herbs, look for footprints, and set traps, and they've collected another batch of dried goods; Zhao Jianming has been urging them to deliver the goods several times, so there's no worry about selling the pheasants and rabbits.

Su Wanqing was not idle either. She taught during the day and wrote articles at night. She wrote almost a stack of manuscript paper and used up half a bottle of ink in her fountain pen.

Just as Lin Nuo reached out to put his arm around her waist, a bicycle bell suddenly rang out from outside the courtyard gate.

Then came a loud voice:

"Lin Nuo! Lin Nuo! The remittance slip! It's from the county newspaper!"

Lin Nuo sat up with a start, not even having time to put on her cotton-padded coat, and went out barefoot on the ground.

Su Wanqing also woke up, rubbing her eyes as she followed behind him, her hair messy, a red scarf draped over her shoulders that she hadn't had time to put on yet.

At the courtyard gate, Postman Liu had already propped up his bicycle, holding a manila envelope with a green money order attached. He grinned when he saw Lin Nuo come out.

"Brother Nuozi, you live here?"

"Congratulations! Your wife's article has been published again! It's on page three of the county newspaper. I read it myself, and it's really well-written!"

Lin Nuo asked curiously, "It's you, Xiao Liu."

Xiao Liu is the village chief's nephew. They played together when they were kids, but later he moved to the county town. They hadn't seen each other for so many years, how come he's now a postman? Xiao Liu smiled:

"Brother Nuozi, isn't this just about finding a job? It's not hard to find one in your area, I have to ask my uncle first."

Lin Nuo took the envelope, exchanged a few pleasantries with Xiao Liu, and then Xiao Liu turned and left.

"See you later, Brother Nuozi."

Seeing that Xiao Liu had left, he quickly called out:

"Teacher Su! Come quick!"

Su Wanqing was combing her hair at the door of the east room when she heard the call and came over:

"Six dollars...is it really published?"

Her voice was very soft, as if she were asking herself, or perhaps asking Lin Nuo.

Lin Nuo put his arm around her shoulder:

"What did I say? Teacher Su, you can do it!"

Just then, the loudspeaker at village chief Liu Guicun's house blared. The village chief certainly had to let the whole village know about this glorious event.

"Hey, everyone in Liujiagou, listen up! Su Wanqing! Comrade Su Wanqing's article has been published in the county newspaper! The payment is six yuan! Please give her a round of applause!"

The sound of the loudspeaker echoed over the village.

A group of people who got up early to go to town to sew clothes happened to pass by the Lin family's house.

First among them, Aunt Wang peeked at the remittance slip a few times, clicking her tongue twice:

"Wow, Teacher Su can write articles? That's amazing! Our village has a writer!"

Aunt Liu chimed in, her voice no quieter than Aunt Wang's:

"They were originally educated youth from the city, and they're cultured. They just didn't have the opportunity before, but now their talents are shining."

Someone muttered under their breath:

"The Lin family is incredibly lucky; some are raising chickens, some are hunting, and some are writing articles."

Zhao Xiuying followed behind, wiping her hands on her apron, and walked over:

"Six yuan...that's enough to buy several kilograms of meat."

However, she didn't say anything else.

Su Wanqing clutched the remittance slip, her fingers trembling slightly.

Lin Nuo reached out and gently patted the back of her hand. The sound was soft, but everyone around heard it.

"Teacher Su, this is just the beginning. There will be regional and provincial newspapers later."

Su Wanqing sniffed:

"Don't talk big, it would be good enough if you could get one published."

"If I say it's possible, then it's possible."

Lin Nuo grinned:

When has your man ever lied to you?

Aunt Wang, listening nearby, chuckled and nudged Aunt Liu with her elbow:

"This couple is getting more and more lovey-dovey."

Aunt Liu smiled, shook her head, turned around and walked back, but after taking two steps, she turned back again.

"Teacher Su, next time you write an article, please write about our village as well, so that the whole county will know about Liujiagou."

Su Wanqing nodded, blushing.

Lin Nuo had no idea that he would be the first person from Liujiagou to become famous and lose face.

When the sun was directly overhead, the old foreman arrived.

He was still the same as always, standing at the door:

"Walk."

Lin Nuo slung his musket over his shoulder and followed the old foreman into the mountains.

As they walked, the old foreman squatted down, seemingly having a gift in mind. He used a stick to part a clump of withered grass, revealing several short plants. Their leaves were tender green, and their stems were thick, gleaming with a dark green sheen in the sunlight.

Codonopsis pilosula.

The old foreman's voice was calm:

"The ones that have just sprouted in early spring have the best medicinal properties. Be careful when you dig them up, don't break the roots. If the roots are broken, half of the medicinal properties will be lost, and they won't fetch a good price."

Lin Nuo squatted down, leaned the musket against a nearby rock, and pulled out a small pickaxe from his waist. He first used his hands to push the withered grass aside, revealing a small patch of soil around the roots, and then carefully dug it up.

The roots of Codonopsis pilosula are yellowish-white, slender, and branched. When they emerge from the soil, a faint medicinal fragrance wafts into the nose. Lin Nuo shakes the soil off the roots, ties them with straw rope, and puts them in a basket.

He dug up five or six plants, carefully examining each one to ensure the roots were intact and unbroken. The old foreman stood by watching without saying a word, but he seemed quite satisfied.

The two continued walking. When they reached a stream, the old foreman suddenly stopped, squatted down, and pointed to the footprints on the ground with his stick.

"Wild boar. A big one, a male."

Lin Nuo squatted down and looked in the direction of the stick. There was a series of footprints on the muddy ground, the hoofprints as big as bowls, deeply embedded in the mud, and the edges were still a little damp. He gently pressed his finger on the footprints.

"No more than two hours," Lin Nuo said.

The old foreman glanced at him, neither nodding nor shaking his head, but there was something more in his eyes.

"How's your musket training going?"

"Within thirty paces, a fist-sized target will hit seven or eight times out of ten."

"good."

The old foreman stood up and glanced into the depths of the woods:

"That beast, it gets restless as soon as spring arrives. Next time you encounter a wild boar, don't panic. Aim for the base of its ears. The brain is behind the base of the ears; one shot and it's dead."

The old foreman took out a small cloth bag from the cloth bag at his waist, untied the rope, and took out a wooden whistle, about the length of a palm, with rough workmanship.

"Deer whistle. Use it in the fall. Take it for now and practice when you have free time."

Lin Nuo took the whistle and examined it from both sides. The whistle was carved from pine wood, and he planned to blow it.

"Stop bragging here!"

The old foreman glared at him, his voice not loud:

"You want to scare away all the deer within a ten-mile radius?"

Lin Nuo quickly stuffed the whistle into his pocket and chuckled:

"Uncle Zhang, how do you use this thing?"

"In autumn, when the male deer are in heat, if you blow this, the female deer will call out. The male deer will hear it, think it's a female deer, and run towards you."

The old foreman squatted down, picked up a twig from the ground, and drew circles on the muddy ground:

"When the time comes, find a secluded spot to crouch down, blow two or three times, pause for a moment, then blow two or three more times. When the stag runs over, aim for the base of its ear. Got it?"

Lin Nuo nodded vigorously, keeping the old man's words in mind.

He stood up and brushed the dirt off his knees:

"I'll remember that, Uncle Zhang."

It was already dark when we returned from the mountains.

Today was quite fruitful.

Lin Nuo carried a basket containing ginseng and two wild rabbits (snapped along the way).

The rabbit was very fat, its belly round and plump, all fat to the touch. He walked briskly, a smile playing on his lips that he couldn't suppress.

As you walk to the old locust tree at the village entrance, you'll find several old men squatting and chatting.

Wang Lao Er, with his sharp eyes, was the first to spot Lin Nuo. He stood up, his knee cracking with a "crack," and grinned.

"Hey, Nuozi's back? Went into the mountains again? You've had quite a haul!"

He craned his neck to look into the basket, which was covered with an old cloth, revealing only two furry rabbit legs.

"Codonopsis pilosula? That stuff is valuable!"

Wang Lao Er smacked his lips, his voice filled with envy:

"Nuozi, you can do everything now. Hunting, raising chickens, and digging for medicinal herbs, you're the most capable person in our village."

Zhao Dana chimed in, placing the enamel mug on the stone and brushing the dust off his knees:

"That's right. His wife can even write articles; it was even broadcast on the loudspeaker today. The couple has really made something of themselves."

Li San looked up at Lin Nuo:

"People used to say that the second son of the Lin family was a good-for-nothing, but look at him now, he's a late bloomer."

"What do you mean by 'late bloomer'? He just turned over a new leaf."

Wang Lao Er glanced at Li San:

"Who cares? At least he's doing well. He's the most capable young man in our village."

Lin Nuo felt a little embarrassed by what these people were saying, so he switched the basket to his shoulder and smiled.

"Uncle, you two chat, I'll head back now. They're waiting to cook dinner at home."

"Go ahead, go ahead."

Wang Lao Er waved his hand.

Lin Nuo quickened his pace towards home, and behind him he heard the old men's chatter. The voices weren't loud, but they were clearly audible in the twilight:

"How come the second son of the Lin family, who used to be so good, suddenly changed like this?"

"Everyone has their moments of enlightenment."

"He married a good wife. Su Wanqing is a well-educated and reasonable girl who keeps her husband in check."

"Control my ass! Look at Su Wanqing, so quiet and gentle, she doesn't seem like someone who needs to be in charge. She just figured things out on her own."

Anyway, life is going well.

Lin Nuo didn't turn around, but he was happy inside. He pushed open the courtyard gate and placed the basket at the kitchen door. Zhao Xiuying was busy in the kitchen. Hearing the noise, she poked her head out, wiped her hands on her apron, and nodded.

"You're back? Wash your hands and eat."

"Mother, I'm going to the county town tomorrow to sell the codonopsis. I'll keep the wild rabbit for Father to have with his wine."

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Lin Nuo had just come out of the east room, his cotton-padded coat unbuttoned, the cold wind blowing in making him shiver. He buttoned it as he walked, and when he reached the courtyard gate and pulled the latch, he froze.

A black sedan was parked under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village.

The car body gleamed in the morning light, and the license plate was white. Standing next to the car was a middle-aged man wearing a dark gray Zhongshan suit, the collar buttoned up tightly, his hair slicked back, and holding a kraft paper envelope in his hand.

He saw Lin Nuo come out of the yard, his eyes lit up, and he walked over quickly. His leather shoes made a "thump-thump" sound on the dirt road.

"Comrade, could you tell me how to get to Lin Nuo's house in Liujiagou?"

Lin Nuo paused for a moment, then looked him up and down:

"That's me. And you are?"

The man pulled a piece of paper from the envelope, handed it over with both hands, and was very polite.

"Comrade, I am a reporter from the provincial newspaper, my surname is Zhou, Zhou Jianguo. We have heard about your heroic act on the bus and would like to conduct an exclusive interview. This is a letter of introduction."

Lin Nuo took the paper and glanced at it. Black and white text, stamped with a red seal, read, "This is to inform our reporter Zhou Jianguo that he is going to Liujia Gou to interview about Comrade Lin Nuo's heroic act. We hope you will assist him." His mind went blank for a moment. He looked up at Zhou Jianguo:

"A reporter? An exclusive interview? Who told you that?"

Zhou Jianguo smiled, folded the envelope, put it in his pocket, and took out a notebook and a pen from his pocket:

"Comrade, the tip came from Comrade Shi Xiaopeng of the county public security bureau. He said that you held a flintlock pistol to the head of the criminal and saved everyone on the bus. We found this act very touching and wanted to report it."

Lin Nuo took a deep breath. Didn't he tell Shi Xiaopeng to keep it a secret? How did it still get to the provincial newspaper? Then he thought about it again. Shi Xiaopeng was a policeman, and reporting to his superiors was just procedure. It wasn't surprising that the provincial newspaper got the clue from the police system.

He turned around and shouted into the courtyard:

"Mother! We have guests! Make some tea!"

A surprised reply came from the kitchen:

"Coming! Who is it so early in the morning!"

Lin Nuo stepped aside and gestured "please" to Zhou Jianguo:

"Comrade Zhou, come inside and talk. The yard is messy, please don't mind."

Zhou Jianguo waved his hand and followed Lin Nuo into the courtyard. His gaze swept around the courtyard.

"Comrade, is that the same musket you used the other day?"

Lin Nuo took the musket off his shoulder and leaned it against the wall:

"Yeah. The old foreman gave it to me."

"The old foreman?"

"My master. Zhang, the foreman of Song Village, an old hunter. He was the one who fired that shot on the bus."

Zhou Jianguo's eyes lit up, and he quickly jotted down a few lines in his notebook with his pen:

"Is the old foreman in your village too? Can we interview him?"

Lin Nuo shook his head, a helpless smile on his lips:

"Comrade Zhou, my Uncle Zhang doesn't like talking to strangers. If you go to interview him, he might not even open the door for you."

Zhou Jianguo paused for a moment, then smiled and closed his notebook.

"Okay. I'll interview you first. Take your time, no rush."

Su Wanqing peeked out from the east room, her hair still uncombed, a red scarf draped over her shoulders, and her face still showing signs of sleepiness.

She saw a black car parked outside the yard, and then a middle-aged man in uniform standing next to the chicken coop. She paused for a moment.

Lin Nuo grinned at her, then turned to Zhou Jianguo and said:

"Comrade Zhou, this is my wife, Su Wanqing. She wrote the article, which was just published in the county newspaper."

Zhou Jianguo turned around, nodded to Su Wanqing, and his attitude was polite:

"Hello, Teacher Su. I've heard about your deeds; you set up a school in the village to teach the children to read. That's remarkable."

Su Wanqing's face flushed instantly, and she quickly shrank back.

"You guys talk first, I'll change my clothes."

Lin Nuo couldn't help but laugh.

Zhou Jianguo opened his notebook, tapped the paper twice with his pen, looked up, and gazed into Lin Nuo's eyes:

"Comrade Lin Nuo, let's start from the beginning. What exactly happened on the bus that day?"

Lin Nuo picked up the enamel mug and cleared his throat.

"That day I went to the county town to get chicks..."