Reborn in 78, I made my fortune by working in the mountains, supporting three families on my own.

His first ex-wife, Qin Yuchan, was a teacher at a primary school in Tuanjie Township; his second ex-wife, Jiang Xinyue, was a thrifty and hardworking technician at a breeding farm; and his third ex-wife, Su Wanqing, was a doctor at the production brigade clinic.

His three ex-wives were all outstanding women, earning more wages and work points than most men.

Logically speaking, this family should be considered quite well-off.

Unfortunately, his predecessor was a disappointment, indulging in laziness, gambling, and other vices, which led to the family's financial difficulties.

As long as Zhao Lei can shoulder the responsibility of supporting the family, the future of the entire family is very promising.

Zhao Lei felt a warm glow inside, picked up his bowl, and shoveled a large mouthful of rice into his mouth: "Don't worry, I'll definitely make sure you live a good life!"

The family ate their meal under the kerosene lamp. Although each person had their own thoughts, the atmosphere was much warmer than before.

After finishing the meal, Su Wanqing stood up and offered to clear the dishes: "I'll go wash the dishes."

Qin Yuchan wanted to snatch it, but Su Wanqing stopped her: "Sister Yuchan, you should rest. You've been chopping wood all day."

Su Wanqing took the bowl and chopsticks to the kitchen.

Zhao Lei took out a few pheasant feathers from his pocket, found a pair of scissors and a ball of thread, and sat down under the kerosene lamp to start making shuttlecocks.

Yuanyuan squatted down beside him, watching intently, "Daddy, are you going to make a shuttlecock?"

"Yes, the shuttlecock I promised you."

Zhao Lei tried for a long time but couldn't get it right. In the end, Qin Yuchan couldn't stand it anymore and snatched it away.

"What do you know about needlework, you rough man? Give it to me!"

Qin Yuchan first wrapped the copper coins in cloth, then inserted the chicken feathers one by one into the feather tubes and tied them tightly with thread.

Several golden pheasant feathers were stuck together, which looked absolutely beautiful.

Yuanyuan's eyes lit up: "So beautiful! Auntie, you're amazing!"

Qin Yuchan smiled and patted her head: "You can take it out and play with your friends tomorrow."

The family sat around in the hall, the light of the kerosene lamp casting swaying shadows on the earthen wall.

"What's wrong with you two today?"

Zhao Lei couldn't help but ask, "They all look like they've lost their souls."

Qin Yuchan remained silent.

Su Wanqing was busy in the kitchen and couldn't hear anything.

"Yu Chan, what's wrong? You've been frowning ever since we came back from Dashiba."

Qin Yuchan's lips moved as if she was about to say something, but Su Wan returned after washing the dishes, wiping her hands as she walked into the main room.

"Wanqing, come and sit down too. I've noticed that you two are acting a bit strange today. Is there something you're hiding from me?"

Su Wanqing and Qin Yuchan exchanged a glance.

As if sensing something, the two seemed to be troubled by the same thing...

Finally, Su Wanqing sighed: "It's like this, I heard at the clinic today that a nine-year-old girl from the Taiyang Production Team next door was kidnapped by a bear and has been missing for two days and one night..."

Zhao Lei paused in his movements.

Qin Yuchan turned her head sharply: "Wanqing, is the child's name Wang Xiaofang?"

Su Wanqing: "You know him?"

"She...she is my student."

Suddenly, the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Only the flame of the kerosene lamp crackled and popped.

Little Stone had already fallen asleep in Jiang Xinyue's arms, making even breathing sounds.

Jiang Xinyue realized something was wrong and immediately took the two children to their room to sleep.

Zhao Lei was relieved upon hearing this news.

No wonder Qin Yuchan acted strangely today.

It seems most likely they heard the news at Dashi Dam...

Qin Yuchan murmured, "Wang Xiaofang is a very sensible girl. She wears two little braids and studies very hard... She even got third place in the last exam..."

Su Wanqing is also a mother, and she felt saddened by the little girl's death.

I never expected that the little girl would have such a relationship with Sister Yuchan.

I imagine Sister Yuchan must be feeling even worse...

Su Wanqing noticed that Qin Yuchan was in low spirits, so she stepped forward and took Qin Yuchan's hand: "Sister Yuchan, don't be too sad."

"How could I not be heartbroken? That's my student!"

As she spoke, Qin Yuchan's eyes reddened. "She didn't come to class yesterday. I should have gone to visit her home that day! If I had gone, maybe we could have gotten everyone's attention faster, and maybe we could have found him sooner..."

Don't think like that.

Zhao Lei put down the shuttlecock in his hand, his voice turning serious, "It's no use you going. That's a bear. What can a woman like you do?"

Qin Yuchan suddenly stood up: "No, I have to go to the Taiyang Production Team and visit Xiaofang's house."

"Now?"

Zhao Lei glanced outside and saw that it was completely dark. In those days, clocks and wall watches were relatively rare, let alone wristwatches and mobile phones for checking the time.

Zhao Lei's family has a wall-mounted clock, but it has stopped ticking for a long time because there is no electricity.

Buying a train-brand battery was a luxury and a hassle, so I simply stopped using it.

Although there are no clocks, everyone can estimate the approximate time, so it doesn't affect daily routines.

It's probably around nine o'clock now, and most people in the countryside would already be asleep.

"It's so late, and the road is difficult to travel. What can you do there? Besides, it's even more unsafe if there are bears."

"But……"

"Let's go tomorrow."

Zhao Lei's tone left no room for negotiation, "I'll go with you first thing tomorrow morning. If we go now, it'll be dark, and what if we run into someone on the way?"

Qin Yuchan wanted to argue, but seeing that it was pitch black outside, she eventually sat down.

Su Wanqing gently patted the back of her hand: "Sister Yuchan, Brother Sanshi is right, let's go together first thing tomorrow morning."

Qin Yuchan didn't say anything more, and silently shed tears with her head down.

Just then...

Suddenly, footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate, along with a clear, childlike voice.

"Mom! I'm home!"

Qin Yuchan suddenly raised her head, wiping away her tears: "Peipei?"

"Mom! It's me!"

The courtyard gate was pushed open, and a little girl with a ponytail skipped and hopped in.

Qin Dashan followed behind him.

"Brother-in-law?" Zhao Lei stood up abruptly when he saw that it was his brother-in-law.

Qin Dashan walked into the courtyard, carrying a cloth bag in his hand: "Leizi, you guys haven't rested yet? After Grandpa came back from the meeting at the commune, he asked me to send Peipei back to stay for a few days."

Zhao Lei walked over and took the cloth bag from Qin Dashan's hand: "Brother-in-law, come in and sit down."

"No, it's getting late, I need to get back quickly."

Qin Dashan waved his hand, "However, the old man said the pheasant was very good today."

Zhao Lei smiled knowingly.

Suddenly, it was discovered that Qin Dashan was carrying a homemade hunting rifle on his back.

This surprised him greatly.

"Brother-in-law, why are you carrying a gun?"

"Oh, you didn't know? A child from the next village was kidnapped by a black bear yesterday. Grandpa held a meeting today about this, and decided that all the militia teams would go into the mountains to hunt the black bear first thing tomorrow morning. Otherwise, if Grandpa likes Peipei so much, would he have let me send the child back tonight?"

Zhao Lei nodded to himself.

He had heard a lot about the bear these past two days; even when he went to the supply and marketing cooperative that afternoon, the boss mentioned it to him.

I just didn't expect things to escalate this much...

Even the militia was alerted.

However, a wild beast that could injure people was indeed very dangerous, roaming around the outskirts of Qingfeng Mountain, which was home to the three production brigades.

Qin Dashan continued, "Now, the Taiyang, Qingshui, and our Heping production brigades under the jurisdiction of Tuanjie Township have all received approval to eliminate the hazard. The meeting decided to issue a reward notice tomorrow: whoever can kill the black bear and eliminate the hazard will receive a reward of 50 yuan from each of the three production brigades, totaling 150 yuan!"

"150 yuan!"