Returning to the small mountain village of '86, intelligence updated daily.

As departure approached, Zhou Rui didn't wear a coat, only a ripped light blue polyester shirt, confident in his good health and unafraid of the cold.

But before leaving the house, her grandfather, Zhou Yong'an, grabbed her and put a coat on her.

So Zhou Rui and Zhou Ming went together towards the Zhao family's house. They planned to borrow a tricycle from the Zhao family first, and then Zhou Ming would ride it back to pick up the meat.

Zhou Rui, meanwhile, was negotiating with Zhao Jianjun at the Zhao family's residence.

The weather is nice today. Although it rained again last night, it only lasted a short while before stopping.

The sunlight shone on the fields on both sides of the country road, giving off a peculiar scent, but judging from the weather, there were still dark clouds.

A short while later, Zhou Rui and his brother arrived at the Zhao family's gate again, and Zhou Ming nudged his brother Zhou Rui.

"Brother, go ahead, isn't that what you like best..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Rui put his hand on his younger brother Zhou Ming's shoulder and applied a little pressure.

"Hey bro, got a skinny nose? Come on, let me loosen up your muscles."

As he spoke, Zhou Rui exerted a little more force, and Zhou Ming cried out in pain for mercy.

The commotion attracted the attention of those inside the house, and a series of rapid footsteps could be heard coming from behind the door.

Just a few seconds later, the Zhao family's door opened, and Zhao Qingya stood behind it, looking at Zhou Rui with surprise and delight:

"Brother Rui, you've come to play with me again?"

Just as Zhao Qingya finished speaking, Aunt Li came out of the house.

"You little rascal, don't you think people don't have to do any work? All you think about is playing all day."

After saying that, Aunt Li smiled at the two of them and then warmly invited them:

"Come in and sit down. Have you eaten?"

"Auntie, have you finished eating? We won't stay any longer, we need to rush back."

Zhou Ming greeted him with a smile, and after he finished speaking, Zhou Rui went on to explain the purpose of their visit.

"Aunt Li, I'm so sorry to have to borrow your tricycle again..."

After saying this, Zhou Rui's face turned unusually flushed.

He was genuinely a little embarrassed, borrowing money every few days.

Fortunately, Aunt Li didn't seem to find it troublesome and readily said:

"Kid, don't be so polite with your aunt. Just take it and use it."

Aunt Li did not refuse, but was as enthusiastic as ever. After speaking, she turned around and went back into the house, as if to look for something.

This time, Zhao Qingya was unusually not disappointed. You see, she was quite disappointed when Zhou Rui came before and said he hadn't come to see her.

Perhaps it was because Zhou Rui had taken her to the market just two days ago, or perhaps it was because Zhou Rui had given her a gift.

In short, Zhao Qingya only felt affection and admiration for Zhou Rui, without any sense of loss.

But she continued:

"Brother Rui didn't come to play with me after all. How about I go to see Brother Rui next time? I'll bring you some dried meat then."

Zhao Qingya showed no sign of disappointment; in fact, she was easily satisfied, and Zhou Rui had perfectly grasped the girl's thoughts.

She had always wanted Zhou Rui to pay more attention to her; this is a common hope among teenage girls for the person they admire.

However, this only applies to Zhao Qingya. Most other girls her age in the village or even the entire town would not be so proactive.

They wouldn't have such obvious admiration; it would mostly be subtle.

Zhou Rui looked at Zhao Qingya, who had a beautiful face and a pretty appearance, and responded with a natural smile.

"Sure, you're welcome anytime."

Before Zhao Qingya could say anything more, Aunt Li's voice came from inside the house again.

"A daughter grows up and no longer obeys her mother; now she doesn't even want a home anymore—"

As Li Lan spoke, she walked out, holding two handfuls of sunflower seeds in her hand, and handed a handful to each of Zhou Rui's brothers.

"Grab some snacks."

Zhou Ming was about to leave when Li Lan stopped him. Now, with both borrowing and taking, he didn't know what to do.

He looked at Zhou Rui for help, and the latter glanced at Li Lan with gratitude and said:

"This is Auntie showing kindness to us younger generation, so we should thank her."

Zhou Ming then quickly thanked him and accepted the melon seeds.

Zhou Rui then added:

"If we become successful in the future, remember not to be ungrateful and to be filial to the elders who love and care for us."

Zhou Ming agreed repeatedly, saying he definitely would. After saying goodbye to Li Lan again, he rode the borrowed tricycle home.

In fact, elders generally don't care about so-called filial piety; they only do this because they genuinely like the younger generation.

However, Zhou Rui's tone was so clever that it made Li Lan burst into laughter.

Watching Zhou Ming leave, Zhou Rui finally revealed his second purpose for coming here.

"Aunt Li, why isn't Uncle Zhao home?"

Zhou Rui already had a guess in his mind. He guessed that Zhao Jianjun was not at home today, but at the factory. If it were before, when Zhao Jianjun was at home, he would have come out by now.

Sure enough, Aunt Li pulled Zhou Rui into the house before saying:

"Your Uncle Zhao is out at the factory today. What's wrong? Do you need to talk to him?"

Zhou Rui then realized and said:

"Is that so..."

"Yes, I do need to speak with Uncle Zhao. Hmm... it's quite important. Will he be back tonight?"

This matter is certainly important; selling deer antlers and tails can be a considerable business.

If Zhao Jianjun were here, he definitely wouldn't have refused.

Upon hearing that Zhou Rui was indeed in trouble, Li Lan pondered for a moment, then said with uncertainty:

"Your Uncle Zhao might come back tonight, but it's not certain. He's been gone for three days now, I heard it was an emergency."

Li Lan couldn't guarantee anything, and she was also puzzled. Logically speaking, Zhao Jianjun would always come home at least every three days after going to the factory.

But this time, it's been four days and they still haven't come back.

Zhou Rui also became suspicious. According to the timeline, that means that after he delivered the final payment to his family, he went to the factory the next day and hasn't returned since.

At the same time, some speculations began to arise in his mind.

Zhao Jianjun's small factory is not large in scale. Now is the time when individual businesses are booming, and the competition is fierce.

Maybe that's why.

But he didn't say it aloud; instead, he nodded and said to Li Lan:

"Alright, Aunt Li, when Uncle Zhao comes back, please tell him that I need his help with something."

It's very inconvenient to contact people right now, as telephones aren't widely available. If you're not in a hurry, you can only wait.

If you're really in a hurry, you can only call from the post office or supply and marketing cooperative, but the phone calls are expensive and the process is complicated.

Even though Zhao Jianjun wasn't there, Zhou Rui wasn't discouraged. However, fresh deer antlers and tails couldn't be kept for long, so even though he placed them in a shady spot in his house and wrapped them in dry grass, he still managed to keep them fresh.

However, the longest storage time should not exceed three days; after that, it must be soaked in alcohol or processed into dried product.

We can only wait and see if Zhao Jianjun comes back tonight. If he doesn't, then he'll have to take the goods to the county town to sell himself.

After chatting with Li Lan for a while about Zhao Jianjun's factory, shouts came from the country road outside.

"Brother, let's go, let's go sell venison!"