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

Deputy Factory Director Li smiled and agreed. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the two parted ways.

Zhao Lei waited for a short while at the entrance of Jinxiu Textile Factory before Qin Bowen arrived carrying large and small bags.

Zhao Lei glanced at the bag and saw it was full of snacks and several new outfits. He couldn't help but ask in confusion:

"Bowen, I remember you don't usually like snacks, why did you buy so many?"

Qin Bowen chuckled, deliberately changing the subject and unwilling to elaborate on the matter: "Hey brother-in-law, didn't you say you were planning to buy a new car? Come on, come on, I'll go with you to the car dealership to take a look."

"Oh, right, right, right."

Distracted by his question, Zhao Lei didn't press the matter further.

The two turned and went to the car dealership in town, where they picked out a brand new tricycle.

This truck has a large cargo bed at the front and two rear wheels, so it has a large carrying capacity.

Zhao Lei spent nearly two hundred yuan to buy it. He rode it around for a while and felt that it was much more stable than a 28-inch motorcycle. It would be more convenient for hunting in the mountains and transporting goods in the future.

Qin Bowen didn't stand on ceremony at all and threw all the things he had bought into the back of the tricycle.

When Zhao Lei looked at the truck, he saw that most of the items belonged to Qin Bowen, except for the wires and light bulbs, which he had purchased himself.

So the two of them went to the supply and marketing cooperative and made a large purchase, buying a lot of daily necessities, food, two bolts of cloth, several packets of pastries and a bag of milk candy.

With the cargo bed crammed full, Zhao Lei slowly rode his tricycle toward the village.

As soon as the two entered the village, their brand-new tricycle immediately attracted the attention of a group of women chatting at the village entrance.

The villagers had rarely seen such an object. Even a 28-inch bicycle was a rarity in the village, let alone a three-wheeled cargo bicycle.

As soon as Zhao Lei rode to the village entrance, all the neighbors on the roadside craned their necks to look at him.

"Hey Lei Zi! What kind of new car did you buy? It has three wheels!"

"A three-wheeled bicycle, is it specifically used for carrying goods? How much does it cost?"

"Wow! Lei Zi, you've struck it rich! You just got a cheap old bicycle, and now you've bought a new tricycle!"

"This truck bed looks really big; it can hold several bags of grain. In the future, when we go into the mountains to hunt, we can just put the game in the truck without having to carry it around."

"Zhao Lei, you're really something! You're the only one in our village who rides a tricycle! If I need to haul something in the future, could I borrow it?"

Zhao Lei, riding on his bike, greeted his neighbors with a smile: "No problem, just let me know in advance if you need it."

As Zhao Lei cycled along, he once again became the focus of attention for the entire village, with villagers coming up to greet him.

A group of children chased after the tricycle, their laughter echoing throughout the village road.

Zhao Lei parked his bike at the gate of his own yard.

Just as they were about to move the goods into the yard, the three children had already run out and were circling around the tricycle.

Peipei reached out and touched the truck bed, then looked up at her and asked, "Daddy, is this our truck?"

Zhao Lei bent down and patted her head: "Yes, she's from our family. From now on, when I take you to the market in town, you'll ride in this cart."

Peipei clapped her hands excitedly: "Great! I want to take a tricycle to the market!"

Zhao Yuyuan immediately stretched out her little hand to Zhao Lei: "Daddy, I want to go in and sit down."

Zhao Lei, who always doted on his child, picked up Yuanyuan and put her in the truck bed, saying, "Okay, okay."

This made things lively. Two-year-old Zhao Yufeng saw his older sister jumping around in the truck bed and insisted on going up too.

Helpless, Zhao Lei put his youngest son into the truck bed again.

Seeing this, the eldest daughter, Peipei, also tried to climb into the car.

Qin Bowen quickly pulled her aside: "Peipei, wait a minute. After your uncle and your dad have finished unloading the things from the car, you can have some fun."

"Oh, okay, I'll help too."

After saying that, Peipei obediently followed along to move the things.

The three ex-wives came out of the house, their faces showing a mixture of surprise and delight as they looked at the truck full of supplies and the brand-new tricycle.

Qin Yuyuan walked around the vehicle, then patted the cargo bed: "You were out for half a day and came back with just a tricycle?"

As Zhao Lei unloaded the items, he replied, "The old-fashioned 28-inch truck is inconvenient for carrying things. A three-wheeled vehicle will be much more practical for hunting and hauling goods in the future."

Jiang Xinyue took stock of all the items she had bought: "Buying so much stuff, it must have cost a lot of money, right?"

Zhao Lei unloaded the last bag of flour and dusted his hands: "You have to spend money when you earn it. It's okay to spend a little money. The key is for us to live a good life. We should get all the necessary items."

"By the way, I ran into Director Li of Jinxiu Textile Factory today. I asked him about workstations. He said the factory is short of staff right now, so it's not easy for outsiders to get in."

Jiang Xinyue nodded: "I understand, it's okay, there's no rush now."

Su Wanqing is off work today and happens to be at home.

She was already used to Zhao Lei buying a lot of things, and had grown accustomed to his family-oriented nature.

Su Wanqing saw several children jumping and playing in the back of a tricycle, making the metal back of the vehicle rattle and clang.

He quickly frowned and stepped forward to scold, "Alright, all of you get off right now, don't damage Dad's car."

Peipei immediately put on a pleading look: "Third Aunt, I want to play a little longer."

Su Wanqing reached out and helped Zhao Yupei out of the car: "Peipei, you're about to start school and you're still so playful. Quickly call your younger siblings down so they can play somewhere else. This car isn't cheap; Dad will be heartbroken if you damage it."

"All right."

Peipei blinked, feeling a little disappointed.

Children forget things quickly; they soon forgot about it and ran off to play in the mud with their younger siblings.

As night fell, kerosene lamps were lit in the old house, and the family sat around in the main room.

Jiang Xinyue laid the account book flat on the table, with an abacus next to it, and the paper was covered with densely written accounts.

Zhao Lei leaned back in the wooden chair and smoked, Qin Yuchan sat beside him sewing shoe soles, Su Wanqing held Xiao Shitou and sat on the threshold to coax him to sleep, while Peipei and Yuanyuan had already gone to the next room to lie down and rest.

Jiang Xinyue moved the abacus beads a few times, cleared her throat and said, "Today I've finished sorting out all the accounts, so let me first tell you about the various expenses at home."

Zhao Lei nodded: "Let's talk about wages first. The construction of the new house is almost finished. Da Long, Xiao Hu, Zhang San Gong's family, Zong Bao, as well as my brother-in-law and Bo Wen, and a bunch of other people who came to help out, although they all said they were just helping out, we can't take it for granted. We must pay them every penny they owe."

Qin Yuchan put down the shoe sole in her hand and continued the conversation: "You're right. They really put in a lot of effort to help us, so we must settle their wages privately, otherwise it will be awkward if we meet again in the future."

Jiang Xinyue fiddled with the abacus: "I'll calculate it based on the normal market price. Zhang Sangong is a skilled craftsman, earning 2.5 yuan a day. He worked a total of 42 days, with a three-day break in between, so he actually worked 39 days."

Thirty-nine multiplied by two yuan and fifty cents equals ninety-seven yuan and fifty cents. I'll round it up to one hundred yuan.