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

Upon seeing the two brothers, Zhao Lei was both surprised and delighted: "Hey, Xiao Hu, Da Long, what brings you here?"

Wang Xiaohu chuckled: "Brother Lei, I know you're starting construction on your new house today, and you're short-handed. It's nothing for my brother and me to earn a couple less work points; our father kept telling us to come over early to help."

Wang Dalong, with his honest appearance, chuckled and said, "Hehe, Brother Lei, we're not too late, we're just in time to start work."

Zhao Lei knew that the two brothers remembered the kindness they had shown him in the past, and they immediately came to help when they heard that they needed manpower to build their house. He was very moved.

He quickly pulled the two of them down to sit: "Xiao Hu, Da Long, I, Zhao Lei, will remember this favor. Since you're willing to lend a hand, I won't stand on ceremony with you."

As the head of the family, Zhao Lei enthusiastically organized all the relatives and friends who came to help.

Jiang Xinyue and Qin Yuchan were busy in the kitchen for a while, but fortunately Qin Xiaocui and Granny Zhang came to help.

The women quickly brought out a sumptuous meal and placed it on the table.

When everyone saw the dishes that were served, they couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

One has to admire Zhao Lei's current wealth and generosity. When entertaining guests, he served three main dishes on each table: wild boar stewed with pheasant and braised mutton.

Everyone was drooling over it.

This kind of dish is not as lavish as many families during the Lunar New Year.

This shows how much Zhao Lei values ​​everyone.

With the host being so generous, everyone present was determined to give it their all in order to repay Zhao Lei's kindness.

The atmosphere at the gathering was cheerful and lively, but no one drank alcohol, as they had to work in the afternoon and couldn't afford to let drinking interfere with their work.

After finishing the meal, Zhang Sangong began to urge everyone to start working.

"Hey, everyone's had enough to eat and drink, right? Our hosts have been very kind to us. So when we get to work, don't slack off!"

Zhang Sangong made a series of jokes, which made everyone burst into laughter.

"Don't worry, Third Master. I ate too much just now, so this is a good opportunity to stretch my muscles."

"Yes, the work at Brother Lei's house is the work at my own house."

"Haha, if we're talking about Brother Lei building a two-story red brick house, this is definitely the first time in our Qingfeng Town."

"Absolutely! I wonder how beautiful this house will be when it's finished."

As he spoke, Zhao Lei led everyone to the new foundation not far away.

"Let's get to work!"

Before long, the women washing dishes in the kitchen heard a clanging and banging sound.

Jiang Xinyue suddenly looked at Qin Xiaocui and said with a smile, "Xiaocui, how's things going between you and Zongbao?"

Xiao Cui blushed immediately upon hearing this, and paused in her washing of dishes.

"Oh dear, Sister Xinyue, what did you say?"

Granny Zhang chimed in, "Xiao Cui, your father isn't a blockhead. Qin Changlin probably figured it out a long time ago, right? He didn't object, so I think your relationship with Zong Bao will work out."

When it came to her girlish thoughts, Qin Xiaocui became incredibly shy and just kept washing the dishes in silence.

The women couldn't help but burst out laughing when they saw this.

Not long after, Wang Guohua arrived with his men, bringing three cartloads of red bricks.

"Brother Zhao Lei, I'm sorry, I was a little late loading the goods. This is the first batch of 10,000 red bricks. Please take a look."

As soon as the red bricks arrived, everyone digging the foundation gathered around.

They rarely saw red bricks on ordinary days; only Zhang San Gong and his two sons, who worked as bricklayers year-round, had more contact with them.

Many people found it novel and picked up a red brick to tap on it.

Bang bang bang, a crisp sound rang out.

Wang Xiaohu said with envy, "Brother Lei, these bricks are really nice. They're square and neat, much nicer than the bluestone strips used for the foundation."

Seeing Wang Xiaohu's silly grin, Zhao Lei laughed and said, "Silly boy, work hard, and you'll build a red brick building someday."

"Oh, Brother Lei, I don't have your abilities. I'm lucky if I can even own a mud house."

"Don't be discouraged, young man. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

Zhao Lei casually offered Wang Xiaohu a promise, and seeing Wang Xiaohu's happy expression, he knew that Wang Xiaohu was quite receptive to this.

Then, under Wang Guohua's guidance, Zhao Lei roughly counted the number of bricks in the pile.

Estimating the quantities were about right, Zhao Lei nodded: "Brother Wang, no problem. Since you've come in person, why would I worry about a shortage of labor or materials?"

Wang Guohua laughed heartily: "Hahaha, brother, I love listening to you talk. Since there's no problem, I'll arrange for them to unload the goods. Have everyone help out and get the goods unloaded as soon as possible."

"No problem, Brother Wang."

After saying that, Zhao Lei called Qin Bowen to call everyone over to help unload the goods.

Apart from Zhang Sangong, Qin Changlin, and Wang Shouguo, who were older, everyone else present was a young and middle-aged man.

They worked with great efficiency, quickly unloading stacks of red bricks and piling them up on the ground.

On Wang Guohua's side, Wang Dazhuang also brought two workers to unload the goods.

I thought it would take a long time, but in less than twenty minutes all the red bricks were unloaded from the carriage.

Wang Guohua exchanged a few pleasantries with Zhao Lei: "Brother, I delivered 10,000 bricks today. I'll deliver another 10,000 or so next week, in three separate deliveries."

Zhao Lei nodded, indicating that there was no problem.

After all, it takes at least twenty or thirty days to build a house. The red bricks will be delivered in three batches, so it won't delay the construction period.

After saying that, Wang Guohua led Wang Dazhuang and the others to walk back with the carriage.

Before they had gone two steps, they heard a quarrel coming from Zhao Lei's old house.

"Hey! What's this?"

Everyone was startled and stopped what they were doing.

They all heard the sounds of men arguing coming from inside the old house.

Qin Bowen asked in confusion, "Brother-in-law, who's home? Why are they arguing?"

Without thinking twice, Zhao Lei hurriedly ran home with his shovel.

The others were not to be outdone; they all thought something had happened at home and rushed over as well.

Fortunately, the foundation of the new house was only about 30 meters away from the old house, and everyone arrived in the yard in no time.

Zhao Lei pushed open the door and saw a face he found extremely repulsive.

He was instantly enraged and rushed forward, kicking the other person to the ground.

With a bang, the other person was caught off guard and kicked away, rolling twice on the ground before regaining their balance.

He turned around in surprise, and when he saw Zhao Lei, he shuddered.

Without thinking twice, Zhao Lei grabbed a shovel and chased after them, ready to attack.

"You son of a bitch! You've got some nerve coming to my house and bullying my wife!"

Faced with the shovel swinging towards him, the pockmarked man was terrified and quickly raised his elbows to protect his head.

Jiang Xinyue, who was standing nearby, immediately scolded Zhao Lei: "Sanshi, don't be impulsive! You'll kill someone if you keep fighting like this."