Reborn in 1977, starting with severing ties with family.

Ma Weiguo was so scared he wet himself.

No one looked at him, and no one saw this scene.

After everyone had entered the small house, Zhang Jianjun turned around and shouted, "What are you all standing there for?"

Ma Weiguo pursed his lips and ran into the house. Zhang Jianjun casually closed the door and then propped it up with a piece of wood from the inside.

Looking back at the people in the room, they were all hanging their heads.

Three female educated youths were present. One was crying, another was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) with her arms crossed and her eyes were vacant, and the third was sitting on a small stool in a daze.

Four male educated youths, one standing there helplessly, another sitting on a bench with his head drooping.

One was sitting close together in the corner.

There was another one... Jiang Sen, who was stuffing firewood into the stove and lighting it.

After scanning the group, Zhang Jianjun made a preliminary assessment of the individuals.

He walked over to Jiang Sen, lifted the pot lid, scooped out a few ladles of water from the water vat next to him and added it in, then put a lid on top.

He said, "Everyone can eat now. If the flatbread gets cold, you can put it in the pot to reheat it."

Apart from Jiang Sen, everyone else looked at Zhang Jianjun with a somewhat confused expression.

Jiang Sen said, "Just put it in a pot and steam it again."

Zhang Jianjun nodded, "Yes, we call this place 'liu' or 'teng' (first tone)."

Now they understood. Everyone took out a cornbread from their bags and placed it on the lid of the large pot.

Jiang Sen also took out a lunchbox from his bag and put the cornbread inside.

Everyone carried the last one from the farm's canteen with them.

But they didn't realize that the journey would take a whole week, and after this meal, they probably wouldn't have anything to eat next.

I should have bought a few more to bring with me.

Jiang Sen wasn't too worried; he had food in his luggage, but it wasn't convenient to take it out.

Moreover, Zhang Jianjun made sure everyone didn't go hungry along the way.

There's plenty of food to eat in the mountains this month, including wild vegetables, fruits, and delicacies.

In winter, when going in and out of the forest, you need to bring enough dry food.

Jiang Sen silently tended the fire, adding two more pieces of firewood before slowly sitting down and looking around the small hut.

Everything here is the same as he remembers it.

A wooden house, a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove), and a half-wall separating the stove from the fire pit.

Behind the stove was a wooden dining table and two long benches, with a dish rack on the side, all covered by a cloth curtain whose color was indistinguishable.

Against the wall next to the door, there was a pile of ropes, buckets, and a carrying pole.

On the wall inside, there were several oddly shaped animal traps for hunting.

Next to the pile of firewood was a water vat with a wooden lid on top and a water ladle upside down on it.

Next to the water tank was a wooden shelf with two cloth bags on it, containing dried goods and some corn grits.

Dried goods and grains are eaten by people passing through, and they also leave something behind when they leave.

Money, tickets, or other food.

Zhang Jianjun didn't touch the food during the meal.

Jiang Sen's gaze as he surveyed the room was filled with memories and emotions, leaving Zhang Jianjun stunned.

"You...have you been here before?" he asked cautiously.

Jiang Sen snapped out of his daze and laughed, "How could that be? It just looks new."

Zhang Jianjun was somewhat incredulous; that look in his eyes was like the look of someone who had been away from home for many years and was now returning.

Moreover, it wasn't the look one should have in their eyes at eighteen or nineteen years old.

Looking again, Jiang Sen had lowered his eyes, staring at the fire in the stove, and remained silent.

Zhang Jianjun turned around suspiciously to look at the others.

After resting for a while, the others were no longer so afraid and were looking around.

But none of their eyes looked like Jiang Sen's.

Zhang Jianjun scratched his head, thinking, "Maybe, perhaps, maybe I've misread it!"

The pot boiled quickly. Jiang Sen lifted the lid, stood it against the wall next to him, looked up, and said, "It's done!"

Everyone took a tortilla, returned to their previous spots, and ate in silence.

Zhang Jianjun was eating when suddenly a lunchbox appeared in front of him, containing a few pieces of pickled vegetables.

Looking up, she saw Jiang Sen's somewhat embarrassed smile. "I didn't want to eat it during dinner."

Zhang Jianjun smiled, turned his head to look to the side, as if searching for something.

Jiang Sen said, "Tear it apart by hand!"

Zhang Jianjun looked at his hands, wiped them on his clothes, and then tore a few pieces of pickled vegetables into small pieces.

“Let’s distribute it among everyone!” he said, looking at Jiang Sen.

He was asking Jiang Sen with his eyes; if Jiang Sen disagreed, he wouldn't insist.

This time, Jiang Sen didn't keep the food to himself. When he took it out and handed it to Zhang Jianjun, he was prepared to share it.

If he doesn't share it, and only he can bring it up in the following days, it will make many people resent him.

That's right!

He'd make others resent him just for a bite of pickled vegetables.

There's nothing hard to understand about this; that's just how things are these days. A careless act can have consequences you never imagined.

Everyone was delighted and stepped forward to take a piece of pickled vegetable to eat, taking small bites, afraid that if they ate it all at once, the cornbread would be even harder to swallow.

Ma Weiguo was the last to come and get it. He was embarrassed, but he couldn't resist the temptation of the pickled vegetables and took it anyway.

Jiang Sen did not make any sarcastic remarks.

Zhang Jianjun felt much better.

After the meal, he said, "You three women can sleep on the kang (heated brick bed), and the rest of you can just stay anywhere in the room with me!"

Everyone was exhausted. The three female educated youths lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), covered with coats they had taken out of their suitcases, and fell asleep fully clothed.

Everyone else sat in their chairs, slowly leaned against the wall, and fell asleep.

Jiang Sen sat in front of the stove, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.

This is a habit he developed in prison: when he sleeps, he must be against the wall to prevent anyone from bothering him in the middle of the night or attacking him from behind.

They didn't know how much time had passed when the howling of wolves woke them up.

Zhang Jianjun got up and walked to the window to look outside. His straight back showed that he was very nervous.

Jiang Sen also got up and walked over.

The windows had glass, but wooden strips were nailed in both the inside and outside.

It doesn't affect the light and can also prevent attacks from wild animals.

For those who have adapted to the darkness, looking out from inside, the moon outside is bright and not too dark.

Several hungry wolves paced back and forth outside the hut, their green eyes flickering like will-o'-the-wisps.

Several wolves lowered their heads and sniffed the carcass of the wolf they had killed.

Suddenly, a wolf raised its head and let out a long howl.

In an instant, more than a dozen wolves rushed over from different directions and began to devour the food.

"They...are eating...their own kind..."

Jiang Sen turned his head and saw Bai Qiang. He was so frightened that his face turned pale again and he started to stammer.

Zhang Jianjun said, "Before winter comes, they won't waste a single bite of food. If there's too much prey to eat, they'll rush back to their wintering dens to store it up."

I imagined the scene: a pack of wolves drove them all to their den, and when winter came and they got hungry, they took one out to eat...

Jiang Sen couldn't help but shiver.

"Will they come in?" Wang Dajiang also came over.

Zhang Jianjun said, "They can't get in, but they'll keep following us."

"Huh?" a female voice called out, "Are we going to die... Waaaaah..."

Jiang Sen was about to explode with anger. It was Lu Xiu again. Couldn't he just calm down?

Cry, cry, cry!

All you do is cry!

If it weren't for her, they wouldn't have encountered the wolves, and none of this would have happened.

Everyone's face looked ugly.

Zhang Jianjun said, "As long as we reach the next rest stop before dark tomorrow, we'll be safe. Tomorrow, no one should fall behind! Okay, go back to sleep!"

Knowing that the wolves couldn't get in for the time being, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but they also lost their sleepiness.

They were all thinking to themselves, "Will I just die here, becoming food for these wolves?"