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

"Something terrible has happened!"

The young man was panting heavily, and it took him a long time to catch his breath as he leaned against the door frame.

Su Wanqing jumped to her feet: "What happened? Did something happen to the people who went into the mountains?"

"No...no..."

The young man swallowed hard. "It was a bear...it was killed!"

Upon hearing this, the room erupted in chaos.

"Killed him? Really?"

"Who killed them? The militia?!"

"Is anyone injured?"

The young man said, "It was Zhao Lei from the Heping Production Brigade! I heard he shot the bear in the eye with an arrow, and the hunters shot him to death!!"

Su Wanqing's mind went blank.

Zhao Lei?

Brother San Shi?

Did he really go up the mountain?

She remembered that Zhao Lei had run out before dawn when she left home that morning.

So he really did go to hunt bears!

Too dangerous!

Su Wanqing's heart clenched suddenly, then slowly relaxed.

Thank goodness... thank goodness... it's good that you're back safe and sound.

The old Chinese medicine doctor next to her suddenly looked at Su Wanqing: "Zhao Lei? Isn't that your ex-husband, Su?"

"Incredible! To shoot a bear with a bow and arrow—that takes incredible courage!"

"That's right! I heard the bounty is 150 yuan! Your family's good days are about to begin!"

"I'd heard Zhao Lei was a scoundrel who abandoned his family, but I never imagined he had this kind of ability!"

Su Wanqing glanced at the time and said apologetically, "Comrades, now that the bear has been hunted down, can I apply to leave work early and go home?"

The old Chinese medicine doctor waved his hand, "That's right, Xiao Su, you should go home and check on things. There's basically nothing wrong here..."

"Thank you, Uncle Wang..."

……

On the other side, the Peace Production Brigade Commune.

After Zhao Lei and the others carried the bear meat into the production team's warehouse, his father-in-law, Qin Mancang, called him aside.

"Lei Zi, this bear was your main target, so according to the rules you get a bigger share. Which piece do you want?"

Zhao Lei thought for a moment and said, "Dad, I'll keep four bear paws for the kids to try. The rest of the meat will be handed over to the collective and shared among everyone."

Qin Mancang was taken aback and looked him up and down.

When did this kid become so generous?

The Zhao Lei of the past, who only cared about his own pleasure, would never have said such a thing.

Are you sure?

Qin Mancang asked again, "Bear paws are delicious, but there's not much meat. The rest of the bear meat is worth quite a bit of money."

"Yes, everyone put in a lot of effort today. If it weren't for everyone giving me the courage, I wouldn't have had a chance to make a move. Bear meat tastes better when everyone shares it."

Qin Mancang looked at Zhao Lei meaningfully and nodded.

"Okay, we'll do it your way."

The father-in-law turned around to arrange for the meat to be distributed.

In the courtyard.

The plastic film was laid out, and it was piled high with bear meat.

Qin Mancang tapped his pipe and looked at the militia members in the courtyard.

"Quiet down, everyone! We were able to take down this bear today thanks to Zhao Lei. According to the rules, the bear pelt belongs to him, right? Nobody objects?"

"Captain, I have no objection!"

"That's right, it's only right!"

"It's perfectly reasonable for Brother Lei to take the bearskin!"

None of the hunters or the strong young men objected.

Everyone knew in their hearts that if it weren't for Zhao Lei, they wouldn't have been able to even touch a bear's fur, let alone a bear skin!

Zhao Lei didn't stand on ceremony and carefully put the entire bear skin away.

This is a great thing; it keeps the kang (heated brick bed) very warm in winter!

Upon seeing this, the portly boss of the supply and marketing cooperative, who had been watching the commotion, immediately squeezed through the crowd to buy the goods.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, Brother Zhao Lei, are you selling this bear pelt? Name your price?"

The fat boss's eyes widened when he saw that it was a fresh black bear pelt.

Zhao Lei thought about it and realized that winter was still a long way off, so the bearskin wouldn't be of much use to him.

It would be best if it could be converted into money.

Finally, after some haggling, the chubby boss offered 100 yuan and successfully bought the property.

This is a pure wild black bear pelt, which is extremely rare and valuable!

If placed in a specialized market, it could sell for at least several hundred.

However, Zhao Lei didn't have the time or inclination for such thoughts. Besides, the bear skin had been riddled with holes from iron shot, so it wasn't considered high quality.

One hundred yuan is a lot for Zhao Lei; at least it's enough to pay off Lai Mazi's debt.

After receiving the huge sum of one hundred yuan, Zhao Lei took four bear paws and immediately went to the other two production brigades to collect the reward money.

……

The cadres of Taiyang Production Team and Qingshui Production Team were very straightforward. As soon as they heard that Zhao Lei had killed the black bear, they each immediately took out fifty yuan as a reward.

Not only that, the commune leaders even called him to their office.

A middle-aged man wearing glasses patted him on the shoulder: "Comrade Zhao, you've rid the people of a scourge and protected their lives and property. The organization has decided to give you an extra ten yuan!"

Zhao Lei accepted the ten yuan, beaming from ear to ear: "Thank you, leader! Thank you, organization!"

As he left the commune, he counted the money in his pocket again and again.

One hundred and fifty dollars in reward money, ten dollars in commendation, plus one hundred dollars from selling the bear skin.

He now has a huge sum of 260 yuan in his hands!

Two hundred and sixty yuan!

In this day and age, that's a huge sum of money!

The hundred yuan was more than enough to pay Lai Mazi, and the remaining money would be enough to keep the family well-off for a while.

Zhao Lei was in a great mood.

The awkward situation at home immediately eased up.

I felt lightheaded on the way home...

Meanwhile, Jiang Xinyue was feeding pigs at the farm.

"Xinyue! Xinyue!"

Aunt Wang from next door came running over, her face beaming with smiles. "Your man is something else! He killed a bear!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xinyue nearly dropped the pig feed spoon into the trough.

"What?"

"You don't know yet? The whole commune is buzzing with the news! Your Zhao Lei shot a bear in the eye with a bow and arrow and killed the treacherous black bear! He got all the reward money from the three production brigades, I heard it's several hundred yuan!"

Several women who were butchering pig feed nearby gathered around when they heard this.

"Oh, Xinyue, you've finally made it through!"

"That's right, that's right! Lei Zi has done a great job this time. Who will dare to talk badly about your family now?"

"It seems Zhao Lei has learned some skills outside and is back to make a name for himself!"

Jiang Xinyue's ears were filled with chattering sounds.

She was somewhat dazed...

Since being sent down to the countryside, she has been pointed at and gossiped about wherever she goes because of her family background.

Forced to marry Zhao Lei, a divorcee, she endured no shortage of disdain.

The capitalist's daughter!

A destitute family!

These labels were like shackles on her.

No one ever took the initiative to be friendly to her, let alone fawn over her.

But now...

Everything seems to have changed all at once!

"Xiao Jiang, why don't you take a break? I'll feed the pigs for you!"

"Xinyue, are you free to come over for dinner tonight?"

"Xinyue, your Yuanyuan and my girl get along really well. Let them spend more time together sometime!"

Jiang Xinyue looked at these faces that had suddenly become enthusiastic, and felt a mix of emotions.

All of this is because of Zhao Lei...

Zhao Lei suddenly became a hero for fighting bears, and people only started to curry favor with him because of Zhao Lei.

……