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

Qin Changlin exhaled a long puff of smoke and nodded.

"That's true. How I wouldn't want them to bring honor to their ancestors..."

And so, the group chatted, and time flew by.

They guarded the carcass of their prey, glancing up the hillside every now and then to make sure the wolves weren't approaching again.

About two or three hours later, a large group of young men, at least twenty or thirty in number, arrived on the mountain path to carry the game.

Huang Hongbo walked at the front and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Zhao Lei and the others were safe and sound.

He quickly came up to them: "Hey, Brother Zhao Lei, I'm so relieved to see you're safe. I was so worried on the way down the mountain, afraid something might happen."

Zhao Lei stood up with a laugh, tossing his cigarette butt into the fire: "Haha, Brother Huang, we should be thankful for those wolves. It was the best decision they made that they didn't attack us during the day. Otherwise, Uncle Changlin and I alone could have easily beaten them to a pulp."

Upon hearing this, Huang Hongbo burst into laughter: "Haha, Brother Zhao Lei, it's truly remarkable that you have this kind of mentality."

Oh, right, there's something I need to tell you. These people are all hired from the village. They carry the game for five yuan a trip.

Moving all this game will probably cost over a hundred yuan in shipping fees. You don't mind, do you?

Zhao Lei smiled and waved his hand: "No objection. We're all exhausted right now, so it's best to save some energy. Besides, this money is for everyone's hard work, so it's what we should pay."

After saying that, the group chatted for a few more minutes before starting their descent down the mountain together.

Zhao Lei and his companions were exhausted. On the way down the mountain, they only helped carry some small packages for everyone, leaving the heavy work of carrying the game to the porters.

People come here to make money, and Zhao Lei and his team are happy to earn five or ten yuan less. It's not worth exhausting them.

On the way down the mountain, Zhao Lei and Huang Hongbo walked together and talked about some details of selling the game. They also briefly mentioned that Wang Zongbao had arranged for him to go to the county town with Deng Shaohua to sell the game.

Huang Hongbo naturally had no objection and expressed his understanding.

By the time the group returned to Huangshi Township, it was almost noon.

All the prey was loaded onto three large horse-drawn carts, which Huang Hongbo had specially borrowed.

The carcasses of prey were piled up on the truck bed, forming a small mountain. The stench of blood and fur mingled together and could be smelled from afar.

As soon as the carriage entered the village, all the villagers along the way were startled and gathered around to watch the spectacle.

"My goodness! So many wild animals! Did they hunt the whole mountain bare?"

"My goodness, how much meat is that? I've lived for over forty years and this is the first time I've ever seen so much prey piled up together!"

"Huang Hongbo has made a fortune this time! Look at all those wild boars, they're so fat they're practically dripping with oil!"

"You bet! If I'd known hunting was so lucrative, I would have gone too. I heard last night they spent the whole night hunting wolves in the mountains. Tsk tsk, this money isn't easy to earn."

"When are you going to distribute the meat? Could you spare some for us? We haven't had any meat at home for a month!"

Amidst the murmurs of conversation, Zhao Lei and his group walked alongside the carriage, followed by envious glances from the villagers.

When they arrived at the village entrance, Huang Hongbo refused to let Zhao Lei and the others leave, insisting on taking them to his home for a meal.

Unable to refuse such hospitality, Zhao Lei could no longer turn down the offer.

Then he took Qin Dashan, Qin Changlin, Qin Bowen, and Wang Zongbao to Huang Hongbo's house.

Huang Hongbo's wife seemed to have received the news long ago, and she prepared a large table of dishes.

Although it was just ordinary home-cooked food, the hot soup and dishes tasted better than anything else to everyone who had spent the night in the cold mountains.

After a hearty meal, Zhao Lei and Huang Hongbo officially settled Wang Zongbao's matter, deciding that Wang Zongbao would stay in Huangshi Township and work with Deng Shaohua to sell the game in the county town.

After the meal, Zhao Lei made an excuse that he hadn't been home for a day and a night and needed to hurry back to let Qin Dashan and the others know he was safe, and then got up to say goodbye.

Huang Hongbo escorted her all the way to the village entrance before returning home.

On the way back, Zhao Lei kept thinking about one thing.

Wang Zongbao was left in Huangshi Township and would have to stay in the county town for at least two or three days. This matter had to be explained clearly to the Wang family so that they wouldn't worry.

So he rode his bike directly to Wang Zongbao's house and visited him in person.

Wang Sangong and Wang Shouguo were tidying up their farm tools in the yard when they saw Zhao Lei arrive, so they quickly welcomed him into the house.

Zhao Lei recounted the whole story.

Upon hearing this, the Wang family breathed a sigh of relief.

Wang Sangong said repeatedly, "We trust Lei Zi to handle things, and we have nothing to worry about with Zong Bao following you."

Wang Shouguo nodded in agreement.

After all, Zhao Lei had helped Wang Zongbao earn a considerable amount of money in the past month or so, and the Wang family's life was much more comfortable than before.

Furthermore, since Zhao Lei was the one who arranged the marriage between Wang Zongbao and Qin Xiaocui, the Wang family truly trusted Zhao Lei's words from the bottom of their hearts.

After explaining all this, Zhao Lei left the Wang family's house and rode his bicycle all the way home.

When he arrived at his doorstep, he parked his car, opened the gate, and went inside.

The courtyard was quiet, with wisps of smoke rising from the chimney of the kitchen.

Qin Yuchan and Jiang Xinyue heard the noise and both poked their heads out of the kitchen. They were stunned to see Zhao Lei standing at the door.

"Haven't you eaten yet?"

Zhao Lei acted as if nothing had happened, and went inside to take off his gear and change his clothes.

Qin Yuchan was the first to react, frowning and yelling, "Zhao Sanshi! So you finally decided to come back!"

Zhao Lei trembled upon hearing this.

That's all I wanted to say!

Every time Qin Yuchan called him Zhao Sanshi, it meant she was already very angry.

Zhao Lei was also feeling uneasy.

After all, I haven't spent the night outside since I came back, so I broke my rule today.

"Hey Yu Chan, what are you shouting for? Don't let the San Gong and the others working next door hear and laugh at you."

"Heh, so you're afraid of being laughed at? Tell me! Which vixen's house did you sleep at last night?"

"Yu Chan, I'm innocent! I told you I was going hunting in Huangshi Township, where did this fox spirit come from?"

Jiang Xinyue interjected suspiciously, "Sanshi, you used to always come home no matter how late it was. What happened this time?"

Zhao Lei took off his clothes, which were already sore, and covered Qin Yuchan's face with them, which prompted her to throw a flurry of punches.

"Come here, smell me, does it smell like a vixen?"

"Hey Zhao Sanshi, you're going to die! You stink! How long has it been since you took a bath?!"

"Aren't you looking for a vixen? Smell me and see if I smell like her perfume?"

Qin Yuchan broke free from Zhao Lei's sneak attack and threw her smelly clothes into the yard.

"Pah! Pah! Pah! It smells like perfume, but it reeks of pungent body odor!"

Zhao Lei, shirtless and showing off his well-defined muscles, said, "I'll teach you to talk nonsense! This is your punishment for slandering me!"

"Wash those stinky clothes for me, or I'll spank you tonight!"