"Brother, I'm hungry!"
In the dim light, Niu Hong felt a suffocating sensation on his chest, hearing a weak, childish voice.
The voice sounded feeble and frail.
Niu Hong opened his eyes slightly, seeing a small hand tightly covering his nostrils. Looking at the little face, his heart suddenly jolted.
"Flower?"
"Brother, I'm so hungry!"
The little girl clung to the cold edge of the bed, her emaciated face with large eyes staring unblinkingly at Niu Hong, on the verge of tears.
"Good sister, I'll go find food right away."
Niu Hong said with concern, using his arm to struggle to prop himself up, feeling weak and powerless.
Looking at his little sister, his peripheral vision accidentally swept over the calendar on the wall.
It clearly read:
"November 11, 1961"
Niu Hong was shocked to the point of almost jumping off the bed.
Biting his tongue, it hurt!
Confirming he wasn't dreaming, Niu Hong instantly understood something.
He had been reborn, from an 82-year-old dying man back to 1961, 64 years ago.
This was the final year of the three-year natural disaster, and also the year when communal dining had just ended nationwide.
In this era, it would be difficult to find food at a neighbor's house.
His little sister, Niu Flower, died of hunger in this year, more precisely, on this very day.
November 11th,
His memory wouldn't be wrong, it was etched in his bones, unforgettable.
He remembered promising his sister to go find food, running through the entire village, only managing to beg for half a cooked bird's egg from Aunt Dongsheng's house.
When he returned home, he found his little sister had closed her eyes forever, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't feed her that half bird's egg.
He hated himself!
Hated himself for not taking his little sister with him when he went begging for food. If he had, she could have eaten the food as soon as it was obtained, instead of freezing and starving to death.
That year he was 18.
His little sister was 8.
His father, mother, and three younger siblings had already died in the previous two years due to the famine, leaving only his little sister Niu Flower and himself to rely on each other.
And he hadn't taken good care of her! Whenever he thought about this at night, he was filled with regret.
In the following years, whether serving in the military, becoming an officer, or working in a military factory after retirement, becoming the factory director, until the end of his life.
He often asked himself:
If God gave him another chance, would he still leave his little sister at home alone?
...
Outside, heavy snow was falling, the drought-stricken Xing'an Ridge finally welcoming its first snowfall of winter.
The Niu family village was covered in white, like a fairy tale world.
The cold wind occasionally blew snow into the house without a door, making Niu Hong shiver involuntarily, his mind becoming clearer.
Taking a deep breath, he felt the young body,
He found,
Even though he felt weak from hunger, the vitality unique to youth still made his heart race and emotions surge uncontrollably.
Niu Hong sighed inwardly: Being young is great!
Suddenly,
He noticed something unusual, his mind contained something extra.
To be precise, it was an arsenal!
Although retired for many years, Niu Hong immediately recognized the warehouse he had built himself, never expecting it to follow him back to 1961.
How amazing!
With a warehouse, there should be military rations inside, like compressed biscuits or canned food.
This thought had just flashed through his mind when Niu Hong discovered the scene inside the warehouse clearly appearing before his eyes.
The warehouse was neatly arranged with various thermal weapons.
Like firearms and ammunition, tanks and artillery, small drones, even several helicopters parked there.
Cold weapons like bayonets, sabers, daggers, and crossbows were also prominently displayed on the shelves.
Of course, there were also special operation firearms, ghillie suits, and countless military uniforms, boots, tents, etc.
There were even medical emergency kits.
...
"Come out."
Niu Hong's thoughts shifted, and a pistol appeared in his hand.
"Put away."
Thoughts shifted again, and the pistol returned to the shelf in the warehouse.
Hmm, nice, completely under control. Still the best, understanding his heart the most.
Try to put the little sister in the warehouse, that way she wouldn't be cold.
Thoughts shifted, Niu Hong found his operation failed.
Unfortunately, living beings cannot be stored in the warehouse.
Although he was reluctant,
However,
Being reborn with such a warehouse in 1961 felt pretty good!
What about military rations?
What about food?
Niu Hong didn't forget the most urgent matter at hand.
His consciousness quickly checked the warehouse, a hot heart slowly cooling down, then becoming as cold as a glacier.
Because he didn't find a single bite to eat.
"Damn!"
Niu Hong cursed inwardly, thinking he couldn't delay any longer.
According to his memory, his little sister couldn't hold on for long. He must immediately go to Aunt Dongsheng's house to beg for food. This time, he might as well not visit other neighbors!
Niu Hong straightened his little sister's wrinkled clothes, holding her in his arms, relying on great willpower to slowly stand up.
"Little sister, hold on, I'll take you to find food."
"Brother, it's snowing so heavily outside, I'll wait at home." Niu Flower said in a small voice, very understanding.
"Shh, don't say foolish things!"
Last time, because he listened to his little sister's suggestion, it caused a regret that couldn't be remedied for life.
This time, no matter what, he had to take her with him.
Niu Hong finished speaking, walked out of the room, and plunged into the snowstorm.
In Northeast China in November, it gets dark particularly early. Although it was only three o'clock, the sky was dark like evening.
The cold wind blew,
Niu Flower shivered in Niu Hong's arms, seeing this, he quickly opened his coat and wrapped her tightly.
The snow had been falling for a day and night, with every step sinking knee-deep, making crunching sounds underfoot.
To Aunt Dongsheng's house, a short distance of a few hundred meters, Niu Hong actually took more than twenty minutes to walk.
Looking down at the little sister in his arms, he found she was looking at him with big eyes.
His heart, which had been hanging, finally calmed down. As long as she was alive, there was hope.
"Knock knock knock, is anyone home?"
Niu Hong knocked three times on the fence door, then shouted loudly. He heard a young woman's voice from inside.
"Who is it?"
Then the door opened, and a thin, pretty young woman walked out.
"Such heavy snow, Brother Hong, why did you come? Come in quickly." Aunt Dongsheng Zhang Qiaoying said, stepping aside to let him in.
Niu Hong approached, and Zhang Qiaoying finally saw Niu Flower in his arms, asking in surprise.
"What happened to Flower?"
"Aunt, do you have any food? Just a bite, I'll pay you back later." Niu Hong said while brushing the snow off his body.
...
The room fell into a brief silence.
"Yingzi, take, take the bird's egg to Brother Hong." Niu Dongsheng, lying on the bed, looked at Niu Flower in Niu Hong's arms, breathing heavily.
"Brother Dongsheng, how's your back?" Niu Hong sat on the edge of the bed with Niu Flower.
Niu Dongsheng didn't speak, first showing a bitter smile on his face, then shaking his head, sighing deeply, and saying.
"It won't get better, the bone marrow is damaged, impossible to recover!"
"Brother Hong, the bird's egg was picked in autumn, not too fresh, only half left, give it to Flower!"
Niu Hong saw Shuanbao and Erya standing beside, two children, one three years old, one two years old, staring at the half bird's egg in Zhang Qiaoying's palm.
"Flower, come, eat it."
Zhang Qiaoying, seeing Niu Hong lost in thought, didn't hesitate, directly putting the bird's egg into Niu Flower's mouth.
"Aunt... Brother Dongsheng..."
Niu Hong's eyes became moist, his voice choked.
He knew what this half bird's egg meant. In this era of extreme food scarcity, half a bird's egg was a human life.
A human life! Worth as little as half a bird's egg.
"Brother Hong, can I ask you for a favor?"
Niu Dongsheng struggled to prop himself up, making his face better face Niu Hong sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Brother Dongsheng, why do you need to ask? We're brothers, your matters are my matters, speak, what do you need me to do?"
"Dear..."
Zhang Qiaoying tried to stop Niu Dongsheng from continuing, but saw him smiling bitterly, shaking his head at her, looking at Niu Hong.
"Brother Hong, can you help me with a helping hand?"
Niu Dongsheng's voice was weak but firm. In this harsh era, a helping hand meant taking on the responsibility of supporting his family. With his back injury leaving him paralyzed, he couldn't provide for his wife and children anymore. He was asking Niu Hong to become the breadwinner for their family, to help support Zhang Qiaoying and their children.