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

Li Dajun was also quite helpless, and frowned as he advised, "Brother Zhao, I'm just an employee."

"Brother Dajun, since you're just an employee, you have no right to make decisions for me on your own, right? In the end, the problem lies with you, so figure it out yourself."

After saying that, Zhao Lei stopped paying attention to Li Dajun.

Li Dajun had no choice but to lead the workers back in the horse-drawn carriage, feeling rather dejected.

After returning home, he told his boss, Zhou Datou, the whole story.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Datou exclaimed, "This is outrageous!"

Making him lose money in business would be worse than taking his life.

So he fiddled with his big head and immediately made a decision, leading seven or eight tall and strong workers straight to Zhou Minghong's house.

As soon as I entered, I saw the old man and his son and children mixing lime and repairing the yard.

Zhou Datou immediately flew into a rage and roared, "Zhou Minghong! You dare to steal my things?"

Zhou Minghong was only in his forties. He was fair-skinned, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and had the air of a handsome older man.

Upon closer inspection, he does indeed bear a striking resemblance to Zhao Lei. It's often said that nephews resemble their maternal uncles, and this saying certainly holds true.

Zhou Minghong saw that Zhou Datou and his group were coming with hostile intentions.

He quickly called his wife and children to his side, and the whole family stood ready.

"Boss Zhou, what's wrong? Who made you angry?"

"Hmph! Zhou Minghong, are you playing dumb with me? Dajun just went to Zhao Lei's house and said that Zhao Lei never agreed to give you two tons of sand and gravel. Today I must get my things back."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Minghong immediately became displeased. He spread his hands, adopting a rogue-like demeanor: "Boss Zhou, don't make a fool of yourself! The sand and gravel have already been mixed with lime and laid on the ground. If you want it, then you can put it back yourself. However, you'll have to compensate me for the lime and soil I mixed in."

Seeing this, Zhou Datou laughed instead: "Hahaha, Zhou Minghong, we're even from the same clan. Do I need to tell you what kind of influence I, Zhou Datou, have in Sanhe Township?"

"You've already used the goods, so I'll lose money. At market price, I'll charge you two hundred yuan for two tons of sand and gravel, plus one hundred yuan for shipping, making a total of three hundred yuan. Pay me now, and I'll consider it a sale. If you don't pay, well, you know the consequences."

Zhou Minghong exploded upon hearing this: "What? The supply and marketing cooperative only sells it for a little over thirty yuan per ton, so it's only about sixty yuan worth of stuff in total. You're asking for three hundred yuan right off the bat? Are you robbing me?"

Instead of getting angry, Zhou Datou laughed: "Hehe, sorry, I really am robbing you today!"

Seeing that Zhou Minghong was unmoved by either soft or hard tactics, Zhou Datou waved his hand, and seven or eight burly workers behind him immediately rushed forward.

At first, the men in Zhou Minghong's family fought back fiercely, while the women also threw a tantrum and pulled at each other, turning the Zhou family courtyard into chaos in an instant.

Zhou Datou wasn't buying it at all. He promised each worker an extra twenty yuan so that everyone could give Zhou Minghong a good beating.

Having been beaten, Zhou Minghong finally calmed down.

He rummaged through the house and found a large stack of crumpled coins, totaling only a little over sixty yuan, which was more than two hundred yuan short of three hundred yuan.

Zhou Minghong quickly begged for mercy: "Boss Zhou, my family really can't afford it. How about you take all this mixed sand and gravel away, and I'll give you the lime and soil inside for free, okay?"

Zhou Datou refused to agree and gestured for the workers to beat Zhou Minghong up again.

Forced into a corner, Zhou Minghong and his family surrounded Zhou Datou, pleading for a few more days, promising to raise the 300 yuan debt.

Zhou Datou then returned to the factory and instructed Li Dajun to hurry up and deliver the remaining nine tons of river sand to Zhao Lei as soon as possible.

The matter of Zhao Lei's sand and gravel being seized was finally resolved, but this completely stirred up Zhou Minghong's hornet's nest.

the next day.

Zhou Minghong led his mother, who was Zhao Lei's maternal grandmother.

He rushed to Zhao Lei's house with his whole family, and started trying to get close to him from afar.

"Nephew, my dear nephew, your uncle has come to see you!"

Zhao Lei was squatting to the side moving bricks when he heard someone call his name, and he turned around abruptly.

He stood up and patted the dirt off his hands.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Zhou Minghong's fair and clean face.

A large family followed behind him, walking towards him in a lively and cheerful manner.

"Oh, my dear nephew! Your uncle has come to congratulate you!"

Zhou Minghong walked at the front, his eyes almost squinting into slits with a smile.

He kept calling him "nephew" affectionately.

Behind him followed his aunt, Li Xiuying, carrying a bamboo basket covered with a blue cloth.

Following behind was Zhao Lei's cousin, Zhou Shijie, a young man in his mid-twenties, who hung his head and looked unwilling.

Following closely behind was her cousin, Zhou Shifang, who looked on with curiosity, glancing around at the red brick foundation under construction.

Zhao Lei frowned, and the smile on his face vanished instantly.

He didn't go to greet them, but stood still, coldly watching the large family approach.

Qin Bowen, Wang Xiaohu, Zhang Lin, Zhang Sen, and others who were digging the foundation also stopped what they were doing and looked at the group of uninvited guests with curiosity.

Qin Bowen leaned closer and whispered, "Brother-in-law, who's this?"

"Not familiar with it."

"Um...this looks kind of familiar."

"Don't ask. This is my mother's younger brother; he's not a good guy."

While the two brothers were talking, Zhou Minghong had already walked quickly to Zhao Lei.

He looked Lei Zi up and down, then clicked his tongue in amazement: "Wow, Lei Zi, look at all those muscles! Your uncle's heard you're really something now, making a lot of money, you're really successful! You're truly my nephew!"

As he spoke, he turned to look at the foundation that was under construction.

"Wow, this foundation is beautifully laid! A two-story red brick house, wow, the best of its kind in Qingfeng Town!"

As Zhou Minghong spoke, he turned and called to his wife, "Xiuying! Xiuying! Quickly bring the things over!"

Li Xiuying quickly stepped forward and lifted a corner of the blue cloth covering the bamboo basket.

Inside, there was a basket full of eggs, neatly stacked, probably twenty or thirty.

She smiled and handed the basket forward: "Lei Zi, your aunt and uncle heard that your family is building a new house, so they specially collected these eggs as a lucky charm for you!"

Zhao Lei looked at the basket of eggs, but didn't touch it or reach out to take them.

There was no smile on his face; he merely glanced at Zhou Minghong indifferently and asked, "What brings you here?"

As soon as he said this, Zhou Minghong's smile visibly faltered.

But he quickly put on a smile again: "Oh, my dear nephew, your uncle hasn't seen you in so long, I've missed you! After all, your mother is my own sister, how could I, as your uncle, not think about you?"