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

Zhao Lei and Qin Bowen walked around the village and first found Wang Xiaohu by the grain drying ground.

The young man was covered in sweat and squatting by the roadside, panting.

Zhao Lei called out to him, and when Wang Xiaohu looked up and saw Zhao Lei, his eyes immediately reddened: "Brother Lei... the car is stolen, I'm so sorry..."

Zhao Lei patted him on the shoulder: "Let's not talk about that now, where's your brother?"

Wang Xiaohu stood up and pointed in the direction of the village entrance: "My brother went that way to look for cars, saying he was going to town to see if anyone was selling used cars."

Zhao Lei let Wang Xiaohu get in the car, and the three of them headed towards the village entrance. Not far away, they met Wang Dalong at a fork in the road.

Wang Dalong also looked dejected and walked listlessly. When he saw Zhao Lei arrive, he lowered his head and dared not look at him.

The group huddled together and explained what had happened.

Wang Dalong said he asked several families along the roadside, and they all said they hadn't seen anyone pushing a bicycle past.

Wang Xiaohu said he asked several neighbors in the village, and they all said they hadn't noticed it.

Piecing together the scattered pieces of information, everyone concluded that the car must have been stolen from the yard last night.

The car thief was quick and efficient; the barking of the dog didn't even alert the neighbors.

After listening, Zhao Lei patted Wang Dalong and Wang Xiaohu on the shoulders: "Alright, alright, stop searching here aimlessly. The car is gone, but at least you're safe. You two go home and rest. I'll figure something out."

Wang Dalong looked up, his eyes a little red: "Brother Lei, we didn't watch the car properly, we'll definitely pay for it..."

Zhao Lei waved his hand: "What compensation? You've worked so hard for me for so many days. It's just a car. Even if we can't find it, you don't need to pay for it. Go home, wash your face, and rest. We'll talk about it this afternoon."

Unable to refuse, the two brothers had no choice but to go home dejectedly.

Zhao Lei and Qin Bowen rode their bikes back. On the way, Qin Bowen asked, "Brother-in-law, what are you planning to do about this? Should we report it to the police?"

Zhao Lei thought for a moment: "I bought this 28-inch bicycle for 160 yuan, which is not a small amount of money. I definitely have to report it to the police; I can't just let it go to waste."

Qin Bowen thought for a moment and said, "Brother-in-law, why don't we wait a couple of days and see? If you report it now, won't you be alerting them?"

There aren't many cars around here, and ours is brand new. I reckon the thief won't be able to sell it anytime soon. If it hasn't been sold, it'll probably keep showing up around here. Wouldn't it be better to catch them red-handed than to report it to the police?

Zhao Lei thought this made sense, so he nodded: "Okay, let's not make a fuss for now and see how things go."

In the afternoon, the two brothers, Wang Dalong and Wang Xiaohu, came to Zhao Lei's house again.

The two of them were still dejected, looking like wilted eggplants.

When the people at the construction site saw them arrive, they all gathered around and asked what was going on.

The two brothers recounted the whole story of how their bicycle was stolen, which surprised everyone.

"How could my perfectly good car just disappear like that?"

"That car is brand new, it cost over a hundred yuan!"

"Who's so shameless as to break into someone's yard and steal a car?"

Jiang Xinyue stood to the side and listened for a long time, then suddenly thought of something.

He frowned and said, "Sanshi, didn't Li Xiuying come to borrow a bicycle a few days ago? We didn't lend it to her, and she even made some threats when she left. Could it be that her family has ulterior motives?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Lei's heart skipped a beat.

Thinking about it that way, it really is possible.

Li Xiuying had just been refused when she came to borrow the car, and then the car was stolen. What a coincidence!

Zhao Lei's old-fashioned bicycle was missing for two or three days, and there was no news of it happening in or around the village.

Feeling guilty, the brothers Wang Dalong and Wang Xiaohu continued to work at Zhao Lei's house every day as usual.

He just talked much less while working and didn't have his usual energy.

Zhao Lei tried to persuade them several times, saying that it was okay if the car was stolen, as long as they were safe. But the two brothers still felt that they hadn't kept a close eye on the car and had let Zhao Lei down.

That evening.

After finishing their work at Zhao Lei's house, Wang Dalong and Wang Xiaohu ate dinner and returned to the village entrance around 7 p.m.

From afar, I could see a crowd gathered under the banyan tree.

There was a lot of noise, as if something exciting was going on.

The two brothers weren't really in the mood to watch the commotion, so they kept their heads down and prepared to walk around it.

But as they got closer, they suddenly heard bursts of praise coming from the crowd, referring to the 28-inch steelyard.

"Hey Uncle Lao Gen, your car is really beautiful! Brand new 28-inch model, the luster, the workmanship, it must have cost a lot of money, right?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, Lao Gen, you're the first person in our village to ride a 28-inch bicycle! How much skill does it take to get one?"

"This car must cost over a hundred yuan? Uncle Lao Gen, you've really struck it rich!"

"Indeed! Look at this frame, how sturdy it is! And these tires are brand new, without a single scratch."

"Uncle Laogen, you're so enviable! Out of all the families in our village, you're the only one with this kind of status!"

Wang Xiaohu's ears perked up, and he tugged sharply at his brother's sleeve: "Brother, did you hear that? They're talking about '28-inch steel bars'!"

Wang Dalong heard this too and nodded: "Let's go take a look."

The two brothers pushed through the crowd and peered inside.

In the middle of the crowd stood an old man in his fifties, Zhou Laogen from their Taiyang Production Brigade.

This week, Lao Gen, who is usually just an ordinary farmer with three daughters and two sons, and who lives a frugal life, rode a brand-new old-fashioned bicycle today, looking incredibly proud of himself.

Zhou Laogen sat on the bicycle seat, one foot on the pedal and the other on the ground, showing off to the people around him with a smug look on his face.

"Hahaha, oh dear, how could my family afford a 28-inch motorcycle? I didn't buy it." Zhou Laogen waved his hand at the people around him.

Immediately, someone chimed in, "Uncle Lao Gen, you didn't buy it? Then where did you get this car from?"

Zhou Laogen chuckled, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear: "To tell you the truth, this was a gift from my future son-in-law!"

"Ouch!"

The crowd immediately erupted in uproar.

"Uncle Lao Gen, you've snagged a rich husband! Your family is going to be very wealthy!"

"Families that can afford a 28-inch motorcycle are all capable! They're working class, after all!"

Zhou Laogen's face was beaming with joy, but he pretended to be modest: "Oh, no, no, it's just that the young man is hardworking and filial. He insisted on buying me a bicycle, and I couldn't stop him."

"Uncle Zhou, what are you saying? If you just give your future father-in-law a cheap bicycle, his family's financial situation will be even better! Where did you find such a rich son-in-law?"

"Your second and third daughters are both married. Who found this partner? Was it your second or third daughter?"

Zhou Laogen laughed heartily: "It was given to me by my second child, Zhou Kailian's boyfriend."

"Oh! Kailian found a boyfriend? Then it won't be long before we're attending your family's wedding banquet, right?"

Zhou Laogen nodded repeatedly, "That's right, that's right! You all have to come and support us!"