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

So she pinched Wang Zhongbao hard again, making him wince in pain.

Wang Zhongbao increased his pedaling speed and caught up with Qin Bowen in an instant. This time, Wang Cuilan finally behaved herself.

With Zhao Lei right there, she really couldn't bring herself to provoke Wang Zhongbao again.

And so, not long after, the group returned to their respective homes.

After saying goodbye to Wang Zhongbao and his sister, Zhao Lei and Qin Bowen returned to Zhao Lei's home.

At home, Su Wanqing has already returned to work at the clinic.

Qin Yuchan is on summer vacation, and Jiang Xinyue has already resigned from her job. Both of them are at home taking care of the children and doing housework.

Upon seeing the two return, they warmly greeted them.

Jiang Xinyue said, "Sanshi, Bowen, you're back. Sanshi, have you had lunch? If not, I'll go heat it up right away."

Zhao Lei waved his hand: "No need, no need, we already ate at the red brick kiln."

Jiang Xinyue asked, "How did the talks go? Has the red brick deal been finalized?"

"It's settled. I've paid 50% of the payment, which is 700 yuan in total."

"What about the rest?"

As he spoke, Qin Bowen parked the car in the yard, while Zhao Lei handed the tea cakes and snacks that Factory Director Wang had given to Jiang Xinyue.

"Here, these are gifts from Director Wang. These snacks are for the children, and the tea should be of good quality. Keep them safe to use when entertaining guests in the future."

Zhao Lei and Jiang Xinyue were discussing issues related to building permits and site selection.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Qin Bowen park his car and run straight into the woodshed to find Qin Yuchan.

Zhao Lei immediately stopped Qin Bowen, afraid that the boy would blurt out what happened on the way.

"Bowen, come here!"

Qin Bowen, who was about to step into the woodshed, froze. "What's wrong, brother-in-law?"

"Come here, we have errands to run in a bit."

Hearing the commotion, Qin Yuchan came out of the woodshed and pointed at Zhao Lei with an annoyance.

"Sanshi, this is my younger brother. Don't order him around all the time. He's not your servant."

"Hey Yuchan, you're washing your clothes, why are you getting involved? Bowen and I are talking about serious business."

"Zhao Sanshi, I'm warning you, don't bully my brother, or you'll regret it!"

After saying that, Qin Yuchan went back to wash clothes indignantly.

With his second sister's support, Qin Bowen immediately straightened his chest.

"Brother-in-law, did you hear that? My second sister said you should stop bullying me."

Zhao Lei kicked him. "You brat, when did I ever bully you?"

Qin Bowen dodged aside and ran off to the main room to drink water and cool off.

Zhao Lei then talked to Jiang Xinyue about the house building application.

Jiang Xinyue said the application was finished and she would submit it that afternoon.

For the next few days, Zhao Lei and Jiang Xinyue focused all their attention on building the house.

The paperwork was submitted and approval was received quickly.

Considering that his old house was already dilapidated and that there were many children in the family, posing a real housing safety hazard, the brigade unanimously approved the house construction application at the brigade meeting.

Of course, many people were also doing it out of respect for Zhao Lei.

Recently, Zhao Lei has made many contributions to the team:

Putting aside the matter of hunting and killing a black bear that had injured people in the mountains, he protected the collective's grain during the busy harvest season.

They also often brought back wild game to improve everyone's meals, and the members worked with great enthusiasm. The Heping Brigade also finished its busy farming season early, far ahead of other production brigades.

Even though Zhao Lei's marriages with his three ex-wives were controversial in the eyes of others, the brigade still made a special exception and approved his application to build a house.

After receiving the approval documents, Zhao Lei and Jiang Xinyue immediately went out to survey and select a site around the village.

Jiang Xinyue first suggested that the old house be demolished and rebuilt on its original site.

Zhao Lei shook his head: "If we demolish the old house, it will take at least a month to build the new one. Where will the whole family live then? This is a real problem."

After careful consideration, Zhao Lei selected a piece of wasteland next to the bamboo forest on the back mountain as the site for his new house.

The location was carefully chosen, neither encroaching on collective farmland nor damaging forest land.

The location and feng shui are both excellent, and it is only about 30 meters away from the old house.

But after inspecting the venue, Jiang Xinyue gently shook her head.

"Sanshi, although this location meets the requirements for building a house, the lighting may not be very good, as the old house is blocking the light."

Zhao Lei smiled and reassured her, "Don't worry, Xinyue. Once the new house is built, the old one will be demolished, and then the view will be much wider."

Jiang Xinyue still couldn't let go of it.

Zhao Lei then went to Zhang Sanpo's house and invited Zhang Sangong and Zhang Lin, the two brothers, to come and help look at the foundation.

Within two minutes, Zhang Sangong arrived with his two sons.

"Lei Zi, are you planning to build a new house here?"

Zhao Lei stepped forward and warmly offered a cigarette to each of the Zhang brothers, Zhang Sangong and Zhang Lin.

"Yes, Third Master, what do you think of this piece of land? You're a seasoned craftsman, you've built countless houses, and you have a keen eye."

Zhang Sangong was an old bricklayer who had been helping villagers build houses for many years with his two sons, and he had a wealth of experience in selecting homesteads.

He circled the wasteland several times, looking it over, and nodded to himself.

"Lei Zi, the land itself isn't bad, it's just that the sunlight is blocked by your existing old house."

Zhao Lei waved his hand: "It's alright, San Gong. The old house is just a temporary place to stay. Once the new house is completed, I'll demolish the old one immediately, and the lighting problem will be solved naturally."

With the lighting arrangements finalized, Zhang Sangong was very satisfied and asked when construction would begin.

Zhao Lei said, "Your Excellency, I know nothing about the house building process, so I'll have to trouble you to give me some advice on this."

"Don't worry, Lei Zi, I'll take care of everything. I'll have Zhang Lin invite the fortune teller later to pick an auspicious day and time to break ground. As for manpower, besides the three of us, you'll need to find some extra help."

"Okay, Third Master. While I'm preparing the building materials these next few days, I'll also ask the neighbors."

"Okay, Lei Zi, if you don't have enough manpower, I'll help you call some more people."

"Then thank you very much, Third Master."

After selecting a homestead site.

To thank Zhang Sanpo's family for their help, Zhao Lei specially invited them to his home for dinner.

The table was laden with food, and the men toasted each other, drinking quite a bit of alcohol.

During the meeting, the group finalized all the details of building the house. Jiang Xinyue sat to the side, carefully recording all the matters.

the next day.

Jiang Xinyue went out to handle the relevant procedures for building a house, while Zhao Lei took Qin Bowen with him to the forest farm of the Taiyang Production Brigade.

Last night, Qin Yuchan specifically reminded him that he could go to Wang Shoushan for the timber needed to build the house.

Wang Shoushan was the father of the little girl whose life was taken by the black bear...

After asking around at the Taiyang Production Brigade, Zhao Lei and Qin Bowen arrived at Wang Shoushan's home.

His home is at the foot of Qingfeng Mountain, a detached house, easy to find.

"Uncle Shoushan! Uncle Shoushan! Are you home?"