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

"Brother Wang, that pockmarked guy has ulterior motives. You should use him less in the future."

"Yes, yes, I misjudged him. This time, I'll fire him immediately and never hire him again."

"Alright, Brother Wang, I guess there's still a lot of work waiting for you at the factory, so I won't keep you for dinner."

"Alright, Brother Zhao Lei, see you next time."

After saying that, Wang Guohua led Wang Dazhuang and the others back to the Taiyang Production Team in a horse-drawn cart.

After everyone had left, Qin Bowen leaned in and asked, "Brother-in-law, are we just going to let that pockmarked guy go like that? That bastard was deliberately trying to harm you!"

Zhao Lei nodded: "I know all that. He's just a freckled guy and he can't cause any trouble. He's nothing but a clown."

Zhao Lei waved his hand again: "Alright, everyone go back to your work, it's nothing."

And so, everyone returned to their respective jobs.

After Zhao Lei's house construction started, it attracted many villagers to watch.

Many neighbors would come over and squat nearby to watch the excitement, and some even came specifically to see what was going on with the house repairs.

After all, many of them had seen mud-brick houses built before, but building red brick houses was truly a first for the entire Heping Brigade.

The villagers were incredibly attentive to Zhao Lei's family.

"Hey, Lei Zi, your new house is about to be built. Are you planning to get married again?"

"Yeah, Lei Zi, you've really got some skills now. You're a celebrity in our production brigade now, even more famous than before."

"Hey Lei Zi, what's your relationship with Teacher Qin, Miss Jiang, and Dr. Su now? If you're still single, I can introduce you to someone. In our area..."

"Shut up, Lao Zhou. At your age, you're not going to use your eyes anymore? You're going to donate them to someone else? Can't you see? That family is doing very well; do they need you to introduce them?"

The villagers came over to join in the fun, and they said all sorts of things.

Some people joked, some envied, some were jealous, but most admired.

Others may not know, but surely their neighbors know?

Over the course of more than a month, they watched Zhao Lei grow from nothing to something, from poverty to wealth.

How can you feel good when people around you see others falling behind them?

Therefore, during this period, a hunting craze swept through the village once again.

Some of the young people learned from their mistakes and made changes, which did bring them some gains, but overall, they are still far behind Zhao Lei's hunting team.

However, most people only go for a short while and give up after taking a quick trip into the mountains.

Looking back at Zhao Lei, everyone had to give him a thumbs up.

Only by experiencing it firsthand can one truly understand how difficult hunting is.

Leaving aside hitting the vital points of a fast-moving prey with a single shot, just finding prey and not disturbing it is a profound art.

Therefore, everyone in the Peace Production Brigade looked at Zhao Lei with admiration.

Some young men even came to help Zhao Lei with his work in order to get closer to him.

Zhao Lei repeatedly refused, but couldn't resist the young men's enthusiasm.

Zhao Lei said that there were no extra spots available for hunting at the moment, but he still let the young men from the same village who helped with the work have a meal at his home.

Zhao Lei's three ex-wives were also extremely busy, having to cook for a dozen or twenty people every day, resulting in a huge drain on their household resources.

Fortunately, Zhao Lei had hunted some time ago and left behind a wild boar weighing over 200 pounds, as well as some other game, which provided a plentiful meal for his relatives and friends who were working.

However, this expense was not small, and Jiang Xinyue recorded every single one in her account.

After several busy days, Deng Canghai, who sells cement, had his subordinate Lao Hei deliver seven tons of cement.

Zhao Lei also took time out of his busy schedule to go into the mountains with a few young men to transport the timber needed for the construction site out at night.

Everything is proceeding in full swing.

The day will come when Boss Zhou Datou sends the army to deliver sand and gravel.

Zhao Lei looked at the approval slip, which stated that a total of fourteen tons of sand and gravel would be transported in two batches.

However, there were only five carriages on site, which Zhao Lei felt didn't match the number no matter how he looked at it.

He then asked Dajun, "Brother Dajun, are you sure there are seven tons of sand and gravel here?"

Li Dajun scratched his head and said somewhat apologetically, "Hehe, Brother Zhao, there are only five tons here."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Lei frowned immediately: "Wait, Brother Dajun, didn't you say it would be delivered in two batches? Does that mean the next delivery will be nine tons?"

"Brother Zhao, don't you know?"

"What do I know? What should I know?"

"Hey, Lei-ge, didn't you agree to give your uncle two tons of sand and gravel?"

Zhao Lei was stunned upon hearing this.

It took him a long time to remember that he did indeed have an uncle in Sanhe Township.

However, they haven't been in contact for many years.

The last time we contacted each other was when his mother, Zhou Guilan, passed away, which was about two years ago.

"What happened to him? What does it have to do with your delivery?"

Li Dajun said with difficulty, "Brother Zhao, didn't you agree to give it to him?"

Zhao Lei immediately flew into a rage: "What the hell! Brother Dajun, what kind of joke are you playing on me? I ordered the goods from you, paid for them, and you just delivered them to my house, right? What, did someone intercept them halfway there?"

Li Dajun suddenly realized what was happening, slapped his thigh, and said regretfully, "Oh dear, Brother Zhao, I'm sorry, it was indeed my oversight."

Zhou Minghong came to our factory, insisting that you had promised him two tons of sand and gravel. We found out he really was your uncle, so we didn't think much of it and gave it to him. So, you were completely unaware of this?"

Zhao Lei was so angry he laughed.

He thought to himself that this Zhou Bapi (a notorious swindler) had a history of coming to his door to steal things.

When he was young, Zhou Minghong often asked the Zhao family to help him out, even though his parents were still alive.

As a result, his father passed away and the family struggled to make ends meet, but Zhou Minghong did not offer any assistance.

Upon learning that Zhao Lei's mother was seriously ill, his younger brother Zhou Minghong never visited again.

This matter was a knot in Zhao Lei's heart that he couldn't untie.

He was furious when he heard that Zhou Minghong had intercepted his house repair materials halfway through the journey.

"Brother Dajun, why didn't you come and ask me before letting him take the goods? That won't do! How can I sign off on the goods if they haven't been delivered to me in full?"

In the end, Li Dajun had no choice but to change the permit to five tons and let Zhao Lei accept the sand and gravel.

Although Zhao Lei was very angry, the construction site was waiting for materials, so he had no choice but to agree for the time being.

Then, he patted Li Dajun on the shoulder and said solemnly, "Brother Dajun, this is your dereliction of duty, and you have to take responsibility. I need fourteen tons, not twelve tons. Not a single ton less, not a single grain of sand less!"

I don't care how you solve it, when the next batch of goods arrives, you must make up for the missing items.