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

Qin Mancang immediately shook his head.

"No. This is the peak season for both harvesting and planting, and all the labor force is crucial, especially the able-bodied young men. If I bring in the strong young men from the militia to ensure everyone's safety, and it delays the rice harvest, who can take responsibility?"

"But Captain, you can't expect us women and children to handle something this dangerous, can you?"

Hearing this, Qin Mancang found himself in a dilemma.

As the production brigade leader, he was responsible not only to the country and the collective, but also to the safety of the people's property.

Therefore, he was the person with the most inner turmoil.

Just then, Zhao Lei offered an idea: "Dad, why don't we just beat these beasts that are coming down the mountain?"

Qin Mancang suddenly turned to look at Zhao Lei.

hiss......

Yes, that's right!

My ex-son-in-law is absolutely right!

Instead of waiting for wild animals to wreak havoc on our crops, we should take the initiative and eradicate the problem completely.

Moreover, both his former son-in-law and cousin were top-notch hunters.

After figuring it out, Qin Mancang nodded to himself, and sure enough, he had a solution within three steps.

So he tried asking, "Lei Zi, cousin, are you confident you can take down these troublemaking beasts?"

Zhao Lei patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Dad, we usually go into the mountains to look for them."

Qin Changlin chimed in, "Yes, cousin, these beasts have delivered themselves to our doorstep, saving us the trouble of going back into the mountains to look for them."

Qin Mancang was overjoyed: "Alright, then I'll leave this matter to you. We weren't paying attention just now, and they ate dozens of kilograms of grain. That's a huge loss. If this happens a few more times, I'm afraid our production brigade won't be able to deliver our annual grain quota for this year."

Qin Changlin looked at Zhao Lei, waiting for his instructions.

Thanks to Zhao Lei, he had worked with Wang Zhongbao fishing for half a month last time.

Although the market fluctuates, he and Wang Zhongbao still earned more than a thousand yuan in the past two weeks.

This huge sum of money is very important to their family. If their fifth daughter gets into university this year, this money will cover a large part of their expenses.

Qin Changlin is also a grateful person. Zhao Lei has helped him make so much money, and he is completely convinced of Zhao Lei's abilities.

This young man possesses enormous potential and can no longer be viewed through the lens of the past.

Therefore, when Qin Mancang and a group of villagers asked if they could kill the wild animals that were harming their crops...

Qin Changlin, the most renowned old hunter in the brigade, turned to look at Zhao Lei, waiting for Zhao Lei to speak first.

Qin Mancang also noticed that his cousin was waiting for his former son-in-law to make decisions in everything, which surprised him and made him mutter to himself.

What's wrong with my cousin?

He's the most famous hunter in our brigade, so why is it that when asked about hunting wild boars, he doesn't dare to make his own decisions and keeps his eyes fixed on Zhao Lei?

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Lei said, "Dad, fellow villagers, as a member of our brigade, I will not let the grain that you have worked so hard to produce be wasted."

However, my time and energy are limited. I do heavy farm work every day, and if I also have to hunt wild boars and goats at night, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up.

Zhao Lei was telling the truth.

These past few days, the brigade has been busy with the double harvest, and everyone has been working in the fields for more than ten hours at a time.

They have to get up around four in the morning every day, and go to the fields to harvest and thresh grain before dawn.

Qin Mancang fully understood the difficulties Zhao Lei raised.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Lei Zi, how about this? I'll have a meeting with some of the brigade cadres later to discuss it."

Given that wild animals are damaging the grain at the Dashi Dam threshing ground, I have applied to have your hunters reassigned to specifically eliminate the pests. Your working hours and work points will still be recorded, and this will not interfere with your subsequent grain delivery and individual grain distribution quotas. Does this sound acceptable?

Zhao Lei had no objection to this.

He knew that although his father-in-law was the captain of the Peace Brigade, many decisions had to be made through democratic voting in meetings.

Qin Changlin chimed in, "Cousin, we can't let these animals that have come down the mountain go unchecked. If we let them ruin our grain at Dashi Dam, we'll lose several hundred kilograms of grain tonight alone."

Qin Mancang nodded repeatedly: "Yes, cousin, this is a big deal and can't be delayed. Leizi, cousin, you two keep an eye on things here. If those beasts come back and ruin the grain again, find out what kind of animals they are first. I'll go talk to the brigade cadres about this now."

Zhao Lei naturally preferred hunting to harvesting grains in the fields, and readily agreed.

Qin Mancang rushed back to the farmland and found the other brigade cadres. After a brief discussion, they all agreed with his proposal.

"Uncle Mancang, right now is the critical period for the harvest, and all the labor force needs to be put into harvesting grain. But protecting the collective harvest is also a top priority. I agree to form a pest control team to specifically protect the collective grain."

Women's Director Liu Hongxia nodded in agreement, "I feel at ease leaving this matter to Zhao Lei and Uncle Changlin. They are both well-known hunters in our brigade."

After this brief meeting on the ridge of the field, everyone reached a consensus and officially established a pest control hunting team.

Qin Mancang returned and informed Zhao Lei and Qin Changlin of the results of their discussion.

Zhao Lei felt that it would be difficult for the two of them to surround the wild beast, so he suggested to his father-in-law, Qin Mancang, that Qin Bowen come and lend a hand.

Not long after, Qin Bowen, his trousers rolled up and covered in mud, ran all the way to the grain drying ground at Dashi Dam.

"Brother-in-law, my father sent me here to be under your command. He said I'm joining the pest control team."

Upon seeing Qin Bowen, Zhao Lei smiled slightly: "Hey, Bowen, you seem quite happy to harvest rice? Are you unhappy about being transferred from the rice harvesting job? Why don't you go back to threshing rice?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Bowen was greatly alarmed and quickly begged for mercy: "Oh, brother-in-law, please don't! I still prefer hunting!"

As he spoke, Qin Bowen stretched out his arms and rolled up his trouser legs to show them off.

"Look at my brother-in-law, my hands and legs are covered in cuts from the rice stalks, and I'm so itchy. Harvesting rice every year is the most grueling time."

"Men are all a bit horny, it's normal. I think you just need to work on it!"

"Brother-in-law, I want to go hunting with you. Hunting grain is a nightmare. It's so hot and stuffy, and my whole body is itchy... When will this ever end?"

As the two were joking and laughing, Qin Changlin suddenly made a shushing gesture.

"Shh, don't make a sound, look over there..."

Qin Changlin pointed to the forest high above Dashiba, and Zhao Lei and Qin Bowen immediately stopped talking and stared intently at it.