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

Qin Bowen shook his head: "Brother-in-law, this place is exactly the same as when we left, there's not a single change."

Zhao Lei could tell Qin Bowen was somewhat dejected, so he patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "It's alright, Bowen, this was entirely expected. Musk deer are naturally timid, and having witnessed their companions being hunted down here, they certainly won't return to the dung heap so quickly. I reckon they'll have to wait until at least tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Will they be back tomorrow?"

"Have you forgotten what I told you? Musk deer have designated areas for relieving themselves. When they come out to forage tonight and find this area safe, they'll return. Don't worry, we'll go up the mountain again tomorrow to check; the traps have already been set here."

"Alright, brother-in-law."

The two brothers had no choice but to return home early.

Today we only hunted one musk deer weighing over 20 kilograms on the mountain. Without the heavy load, my steps down the mountain were much lighter.

In just over an hour, we reached the foot of the mountain and arrived at the bushes where tricycles and old-fashioned bicycles were stored.

Zhao Lei parted the branches and leaves to check, and found that the two cars were parked in the same spot, and the chains had not been touched.

He put the machete and all the other equipment into the tricycle bed, and Qin Bowen also put his basket in there.

Zhao Lei thought to himself that it was really unnecessary to ride a tricycle up the mountain today; he could have just carried the game on his back.

They had originally planned to use a tricycle to transport large game, but unfortunately, they were unlucky.

Fortunately, they successfully retrieved a musk sac, so the trip was not in vain.

Based on current market prices, this musk pouch could fetch at least several hundred yuan, but the exact amount would need to be inquired at the supply and marketing cooperative.

"Bowen, let's switch vehicles. You take the tricycle back to my house, and I'll keep the old-fashioned bicycle."

Qin Bowen asked, somewhat puzzled, "What's wrong, brother-in-law?"

Zhao Lei didn't hide anything and told the truth: "It's not too late yet. If we hurry, we can still get to the supply and marketing cooperative. Before they close, I want to ask about the current purchase price of musk deer pods."

"Okay, brother-in-law, I'll ride the tricycle back first, you can take the old-fashioned bicycle."

After exchanging a few words, Zhao Lei rode his old-fashioned bicycle alone to the brigade's supply and marketing cooperative.

But things didn't go as planned. By the time he arrived, Fatty Chen from the supply and marketing cooperative had already gone home after get off work.

Liu Hongxia, the women's director who had just come out of the commune compound, saw Zhao Lei's dejected face and took the initiative to ask, "Oh, Lei? Are you planning to come and buy something? The supply and marketing cooperative just closed."

Zhao Lei recognized Liu Hongxia and greeted her with a smile: "Sister Xia, I'm not here to buy anything. I just wanted to ask what kinds of mountain products the supply and marketing cooperative is currently accepting, so I can look for them more specifically when I go into the mountains in the future."

"Lei Zi, everyone has seen how good you are at hunting in the mountains now. You've even built a new red brick house. You're probably one of the wealthiest families in our brigade, right?"

Zhao Lei quickly waved his hand: "Oh, Sister Xia, don't make fun of me. I don't have any savings. After the house was repaired, my family was dirt poor. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to inquire about buying mountain products."

"That's true, but your new house is really impressive. I passed by and took a look the other day. It's completely different from our old-fashioned mud-brick houses."

"Sister Xia, I just want to set an example for the villagers. Just you wait and see, my house has just been completed, and next year many families in the village will definitely follow suit and build red brick houses."

"That's right. Everyone was living a peaceful, poor life, but you built a brick house first. My husband keeps saying that he wants to build one too."

Liu Hongxia was speaking when she suddenly remembered something. "By the way, Lei Zi, did you encounter any wild bees when you went into the mountains?"

"Wild honey?"

Zhao Lei was puzzled. "Sister Xia, do you need wild honey?"

"Yes, we do need it; honey is in very short supply right now. But I'm not just asking you for honey. My thought is that if you happen to encounter a swarm of bees in the mountains, please let me know when you get back."

"Sister Xia, if you don't want honey, why are you looking for a bee colony? Do you want to eat bee pupae?"

Bee pupae are the young bees, and villagers in Southwest China, especially in the mountainous areas of Yunnan and Guizhou, know that they are a highly nutritious food.

Some people find it repulsive, while others absolutely love it. Whether deep-fried or steamed with side dishes, it's tender, juicy, and packed with protein.

However, these things are hard to find and extremely dangerous. To get the bee pupae, you have to destroy the beehive, and if you're not careful, you'll get stung all over your body.

If you encounter highly venomous bees such as wasps or tiger hornets, the situation becomes even more dangerous. In recent years, there have been cases in Qingshuigou where people have died from bee stings.

When Liu Hongxia mentioned the bee colony, Zhao Lei couldn't immediately figure out her intention.

Liu Hongxia explained with a smile, "Hey, Leizi, I didn't want to eat bee pupae. Our brigade's livestock industry is too singular; apart from raising pigs, we can't raise chickens and ducks on a large scale."

I heard a while ago that a brigade in Huangshi Township made a lot of money by raising bees, so I was wondering if our Heping Brigade could also develop beekeeping?

"Beekeeping?"

Zhao Lei had heard a little about this, but he wasn't an expert. "I remember that beekeeping requires a queen bee for the worker bees to settle down and produce honey. Simply catching wild bees in the mountains to raise probably won't work. Sister Xia, you're not planning to go into the mountains to catch wild bees to raise, are you?"

Liu Hongxia's face showed a hint of helplessness: "Lei Zi, do you think this method is feasible?"

Zhao Lei quickly waved his hand: "Sister Xia, haven't some people in Huangshi Township already successfully raised bees? Why not just go there to ask for advice and learn the techniques? Why risk going into the mountains to catch wild bees?"

Liu Hongxia sighed deeply: "Hey, Lei Zi, you don't know the inside story. There's only one family in Huangshi Township who knows beekeeping techniques, and they consider it a unique skill, so they're absolutely unwilling to teach it for free."

Previously, your father-in-law and I went to their brigade leader to discuss borrowing two or three boxes of bees to learn how to raise them, but we were refused.

"I had absolutely no other choice, so I thought I'd try going up the mountain to look for wild bees."

Zhao Lei understood Liu Hongxia's predicament and nodded in agreement: "Okay, Sister Xia, if I encounter a swarm of wild bees in the mountains, I'll come back and let you know immediately."

"That's great, Lei Zi."

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while and then talked about Jiang Xinyue's recent situation.

Zhao Lei said that Jiang Xinyue used to be at home overseeing the construction of the house, but now she is focusing on taking care of the children.

Liu Hongxia said that if Jiang Xinyue wanted to return to the pig farm to feed pigs, she could help her smooth things over to get her back to work, but Zhao Lei politely declined.

He really couldn't bear to see his wife go to the farm and suffer that hardship again.

Moreover, Zhao Lei had already planned to arrange for Jiang Xinyue to work as a worker at Jinxiu Textile Factory.

Although it's still far from certain, it's at least showing some promise. If it really doesn't work out, we'll see when the time comes.

After saying goodbye to Liu Hongxia, Zhao Lei returned home.

As soon as he entered the house, Qin Bowen came up to him: "Brother-in-law, how did it go? How much money did the supply and marketing cooperative give us?"