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

Zhang Sheng slowly exhaled a smoke ring and said, "Brother, Bowen and Zongbao earned their money by hunting with Brother Lei. They don't have any other skills to make money, so they're not as good as us brothers."

Zhao Lei smiled and patted the two brothers on the shoulders, saying, "Don't be discouraged. The country is developing, and things will only get better in the future. I'll set an example for you so you'll have something to look forward to."

Several married men immediately started complaining.

"Oh, Zhao Lei, don't even mention it. We were all poor and doing just fine before. But you, on the other hand, have a big bicycle and a red brick house. Now my wife compares me to you every day and keeps nagging me about it."

"Yeah, Lei Zi, maybe you shouldn't build that red brick house. It's making us feel really uneasy."

These words were met with another burst of laughter and cheers from the surrounding crowd.

Before long, the large group of people arrived at the commune compound.

When they arrived, the courtyard was already packed with people.

Almost all the members of the Heping Brigade were present; including the elderly, women, and children, there were at least a thousand people.

The commune courtyard was filled with long wooden benches, and two old square wooden tables were placed in the center of the space.

Captain Qin Mancang, Women's Director Liu Hongxia, Militia Captain Qin Dashan, and a group of cadres from the brigade were already waiting at the table.

Qin Mancang stood up and glanced around.

Seeing that most of the people had arrived, he pointed to the wide red cloth hanging behind him.

The cloth was written in large, eye-catching characters with black ink brush:

Peace Production Brigade's Double Harvest Rally!

"Double rush" refers to the busy farming season in Southwest China around mid-July, which involves rushing to harvest early rice and rushing to transplant late rice seedlings.

The rice must be harvested within this time frame before the late rice seedlings are planted. Missing this period will significantly impact the entire year's harvest.

Qin Mancang cleared his throat and began to speak loudly: "Fellow villagers, comrades! Before our production brigade's mobilization meeting for the double harvest begins, I'd like to say a few words..."

Zhao Lei and his family found a place to sit down in the crowd.

Watching his father-in-law stand on the stage and speak eloquently, Zhao Lei muttered to himself, "Yu Chan, look, our dad's starting his old clichés again."

Qin Yuchan secretly pinched Zhao Lei, causing him to scream in pain.

"Listen carefully, the captain is speaking, why are you daydreaming?"

While rubbing his thigh, which had been pinched red, Zhao Lei grinned and said, "Ouch, I was just complaining, why did you hit so hard..."

Qin Yuchan put her finger to her lips and shushed, "Shh, little mouth..."

Zhao Yupei, standing nearby, immediately chimed in with a serious expression: "Don't say anything!"

Seeing this, Zhao Lei didn't know whether to laugh or cry and pursed his lips.

He nodded repeatedly, thinking to himself: Okay, okay, I won't say anything.

Jiang Xinyue and Su Wanqing, who were standing nearby, couldn't help but cover their mouths and chuckle when they saw this scene.

Zhao Lei wasn't interested in his father-in-law Qin Mancang's tired old rhetoric and was getting drowsy listening to him.

He thought to himself: What happened to saying a few words?

How many sentences have we already said? Why isn't this over yet?

Having gotten up too early in the morning, Zhao Lei was still thinking about going home to catch up on some sleep, but his father-in-law started talking and wouldn't stop.

"Um... folks, there are still a lot to tell you, so I'll stop here for now. But I'd like to say a few more words at the end..."

Zhao Lei was already prepared to lead the applause when his father-in-law continued the conversation.

He silently lamented in his heart: No, father-in-law, when will this ever end?

Qin Mancang spoke for almost half an hour before finally getting to the point.

The core of the entire mobilization meeting for the double harvest was to arrange matters related to the upcoming busy farming season and to notify all able-bodied young and middle-aged laborers in each household to return to their hometowns to participate in collective labor.

Whether they are studying, working, or running a small business away from home, no matter how successful they are, they must come back home to harvest rice.

In addition, other cadres of the commune mentioned the relevant matters of handing over public grain this year, and repeatedly urged everyone not to go out casually recently, to put aside their personal matters, and to devote themselves wholeheartedly to collective farming.

All laborers must obey the unified allocation of the brigade and adhere to the principle of prioritizing the nation, then the collective, and finally the individual.

Throughout the conference, one cadre after another took turns speaking on stage, which lasted for two or three hours intermittently.

Zhao Lei's three children were all sleepy. Zhao Yuyuan had fallen asleep in Zhao Lei's arms at some point. The little stone that Zhang Sanpo was holding had also fallen into a deep sleep.

Only Zhao Yupei sat upright on the long bench, swinging her legs, and listened attentively to the entire presentation.

Zhao Lei observed this and thought to himself: It seems that Peipei has the makings of a leader in the future.

He glanced down at Zhao Yuyuan, who was fast asleep in his arms, and muttered to himself: Yuanyuan, being well-behaved and cute is enough.

Little Stone is still young; we can train him slowly in the future.

Zhao Lei, respecting the children's personalities, silently considered their future.

At this moment, Jiang Xinyue gently patted Zhao Lei: "Sanshi."

Zhao Lei then came to his senses: "What's wrong?"

"Sanshi, after the meeting, you can ask Uncle Qin about the paperwork for our house renovation."

Zhao Lei slapped his forehead: "Right, right, I almost forgot. All the cadres in the brigade are here right now."

After saying that, Zhao Lei carefully handed the sleeping Zhao Yuyuan in his arms to Jiang Xinyue: "Xinyue, you hold the child, I'll go ask her."

Zhao Lei originally planned to consult his father-in-law, Qin Mancang, about the procedures required for building a house.

But Qin Mancang was chatting and laughing with a group of acquaintances in the village, leaving him completely ignored.

"Father, there's something I want to ask you."

"Hey, Leizi, get out of the way. Don't interrupt when adults are talking."

Zhao Lei felt helpless. He was already a father of three, but in his father-in-law's eyes, he was still like an immature child.

Seeing Qin Mancang chatting enthusiastically with the other cadres, he didn't want to disturb them.

I originally planned to have lunch at my father-in-law's house and take the opportunity to inquire about the house construction in detail.

As it turned out, Qin Mancang didn't go home at all; instead, he ate lunch with a group of cadres at the commune canteen.

Zhao Lei's entire family, along with Qin Bowen and Wang Zongbao, were invited by Qin Changlin to his home for lunch.

Looking at his family of seven, Zhao Lei felt a little guilty: "Uncle Changlin, how about we just forget about it and come over for dinner another day?"

Zhao Lei knew that Qin Changlin wanted to thank him for taking him fishing in the river for the past two weeks, which had earned them a lot of income.

Just as Zhao Lei was about to decline, Wang Zongbao quickly pulled him aside and whispered, "Brother Lei, have you forgotten what I asked you to do before?"

Zhao Lei scratched his head, unable to recall for a moment: "What's wrong, Zong Bao?"

But he couldn't bear to leave any of his wife, children, or sons behind.