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

According to information Zhou Minghong obtained from Zhou Datou, the boss, Zhao Lei is now incredibly wealthy.

He had dealings with Boss Wang of the red brick kiln and Boss Deng of the black market.

I've even heard that he has some connections with the deputy director of Jinxiu Textile Factory.

These are people that Zhou Minghong, a simple farmer, would never even dream of meeting, and he would never have the chance to make friends with them in his daily life.

He was puzzled...

Zhao Lei, who had been hiding from debt collectors for half a year and returned less than a month later, has changed so much.

He subconsciously glanced back at his carefree eldest son, Zhou Shijie, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind.

Damn it, should we kick this kid out and let him fend for himself for half a year too?

Who knows, he might actually amount to something?

But then he shook his head.

No way, that brat probably doesn't have the ability.

Zhou Minghong sighed, feeling increasingly uneasy.

If I had been even slightly nicer to my nephew back then, with Zhao Lei's current abilities, I could have squeezed a little money out of him, and my only uncle could have lived a life that others envied.

What a pity, what a pity. If my short-lived sister were still alive, this kid wouldn't be so heartless...

Just as Zhou Minghong was filled with regret, Zhou Shijie, who was sitting next to him, spoke up impatiently while casually smoking a cigarette.

"Father, Mother, what should we do now? Xiaolian said she won't be with me without these things."

Li Xiuying quickly comforted her son: "Oh dear, son, who can afford that much money these days? Even our brigade leader can't come up with two hundred yuan! Could you please ask Xiaolian for a few more days' grace so we can get our marriage certificate first? After that, the whole family will treat her well..."

"Mother, this won't do!"

Zhou Shijie frowned and shook his head. "Xiaolian's parents absolutely refuse; they insist on seeing the item first."

Li Xiuying had no choice but to reach out and tug at Zhou Minghong's sleeve.

Zhou Minghong was already annoyed, so he waved her away: "What's wrong?"

"Honey, say something!"

Li Xiuying said anxiously, "We've asked all our relatives and friends, and at most they can scrape together a little over a hundred yuan, which is barely enough to pay the betrothal money. But where are we going to get those two big items, the heavy-duty sledgehammer and the sewing machine?"

Mentioning the 28-inch motorcycles, Zhou Shijie suddenly remembered something and slapped his forehead: "Hey! Dad! I just saw four 28-inch motorcycles parked in Zhao Lei's yard, all brand new!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Minghong and his wife were both shocked and stared wide-eyed.

"What? Four 28-inch motorcycles?"

"Yes! They were all parked in Zhao Lei's yard, I saw it clearly!"

Zhou Minghong gasped, his mind racing with calculations.

Four 28-inch motorcycles must cost at least six or seven hundred yuan, right?

This...this brat, buying old-fashioned steel rods and building red brick houses, how much money has he actually made?

Li Xiuying, standing nearby, suddenly had an idea: "Honey, how about this? Since he's unwilling to lend money, how about we borrow the car?"

Zhou Shijie suddenly realized and excitedly chimed in, "That's right, Mom! Xiaolian said she wanted to see something, but we don't necessarily have to buy it! We can borrow a car from Zhao Lei's family, and we can barely scrape together the dowry. Let's trick Xiaolian into getting the marriage certificate with me first!"

Zhou Minghong thought about it for a moment, and after considering it in his mind, he felt that it made sense.

After all, it's just borrowing something. It's a normal thing for an uncle to borrow his nephew's bicycle.

Besides, even if the uncle doesn't return the things he borrowed from his nephew, what can the uncle do?

With this thought, Zhou Minghong perked up again, and even his steps became lighter.

The family of three walked a short distance further and caught up with their second daughter, Zhou Shifang, who had run away in a huff earlier, at a fork in the road.

The girl was squatting by the roadside, scribbling on the ground with a twig, her eyes still red.

This time, Zhou Minghong didn't scold her anymore; he simply said in a low voice, "Go home."

Zhou Shifang looked up at her father, snorted, stood up, patted her bottom, and followed behind.

Actually, Zhou Minghong came to our door today with two intentions.

The first thing they asked Zhao Lei to do, of course, was to borrow money for their eldest son's wedding.

The second thing was to find out about Zhao Lei's relationship with Director Li of Jinxiu Textile Factory, and see if he could get his second daughter a job there.

After all, it was a large state-owned factory, and they could earn several tens of yuan a month, which was many times better than digging in the fields in the countryside.

But who would have thought that they would be met with such a cold reception right from the start, and that their relationship would become so strained.

However, as Zhou Minghong walked and pondered, he gradually came to his senses.

After all, blood is thicker than water, and Zhao Lei had no other elders in his family except for his uncle.

The anger in Zhao Lei's heart now stems from resentment over past events, but despite the resentment, the bond of kinship remains.

If he just lowers his stance and does what an elder should do, Zhao Lei will probably soften over time.

Having made up his mind, Zhou Minghong secretly swore an oath in his heart.

He's determined to cling to Zhao Lei's coattails!

Meanwhile, on the other side...

At Zhao Lei's home.

Not long after Zhou Minghong and his family left, the workers gathered around to ask what had happened.

Zhao Lei waved his hand, unwilling to talk about his heartless uncle any further, and simply said, "It's nothing, this person has nothing to do with me."

But Zhang San Gong and Zhang San Po, who were pouring tea for everyone, knew exactly what was going on.

As neighbors for over a hundred years, the couple witnessed Zhao Lei's parents get married and start their own business.

In the past, the Zhao couple had a lot of arguments and disagreements because of their younger brother, Zhou Guilan.

Instead of showing any disdain for Zhao Lei's actions, they gave him their full approval.

Zhang Sangong, holding his teacup, patted Zhao Lei on the shoulder with a smile: "Leizi, you did the right thing! That Zhou Minghong was a scoundrel when he was young, and he's even worse now that he's old. You're doing just fine now, so don't get involved with him!"

Granny Zhang nodded repeatedly in agreement, "Yes, Lei Zi, you absolutely mustn't lend him money! Zhou Minghong is a bottomless pit; getting entangled with him won't end well! Don't forget, when your mother was seriously ill, even the money for her life-saving medicine was swindled away by that kid!"

Zhao Lei nodded repeatedly, his expression solemn: "Third Uncle, Third Aunt, don't worry. I'm not as foolish as my father. From my generation onwards, there has never been a coward in our Zhao family, and we will never be bullied!"

As he spoke, he turned and shouted at the three children playing with pebbles nearby.

"Peipei, Yuanyuan, Little Stone, did you hear that? This is our family's ancestral motto!"

Peipei looked up blankly, still clutching a small stone in her hand: "Huh? What did you say, Daddy?"

A burst of laughter immediately erupted in the courtyard.

The bad luck that Zhou Minghong brought earlier has mostly dissipated.

Zhao Lei didn't take it to heart. Seeing that the atmosphere had eased, he called everyone back to the work of laying the foundation.

However, when it was time for dinner, Qin Mancang, the father-in-law, suddenly showed up at the door with two unfamiliar men.

Zhao Lei hurriedly put down his bowl, stood up, and went to greet him: "Dad, what brings you here?"