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

Zhao Lei shook his head.

Qin Bowen immediately became anxious: "What's wrong, brother-in-law? Does our supply and marketing cooperative not accept it? If the supply and marketing cooperative in the brigade doesn't accept it, then let's go to the town."

"No, that's not what I meant."

"What's wrong, brother-in-law?"

"When I got there, Fatty Chen had just left after get off work, so I didn't get to ask him."

Upon hearing this, Qin Bowen breathed a sigh of relief: "Oh dear, brother-in-law, you scared me! I thought we'd wasted our time today. It's alright, brother-in-law, if we didn't find out today, we can go tomorrow."

Not long after, Su Wanqing returned home from get off work.

As soon as she entered the door, she frowned and exclaimed, "Huh? What's that weird smell? It's everywhere in the house!"

Little Stone, who was playing at the entrance of the yard, saw his mother return and immediately ran over: "Mommy, stinky!"

Seeing the little guy pinching his nose, Su Wanqing immediately squatted down and let Xiao Shitou Zhao Yufeng lie on her lap.

She glanced at Little Stone's bottom and assumed the boy in his open-crotch pants had soiled himself.

Upon closer inspection, I found that her fair and tender buttocks were covered in ash, so I gently patted them twice.

Jiang Xinyue happened to come out to hang up the clothes and chimed in, "Wanqing, don't look anymore, the child didn't poop on you."

"What's this smell? Why is it so pungent?"

Su Wanqing sniffed carefully, "Now it actually smells like medicine."

Li Qingsong, the village doctor of Heping Brigade, was a well-known traditional Chinese medicine doctor in the surrounding area, and he taught Su Wanqing almost all of his skills.

When Su Wanqing first entered the room, she was greeted by a strange, foul smell. After careful examination, she realized that the smell was actually medicinal.

Qin Yuchan came out to help hang up the clothes, and her gaze swept over Zhao Lei and Qin Bowen, who were chopping firewood.

"You'll have to ask them. They brought back a smelly lump called musk from the mountain today, and they're treating it like a precious treasure. I told them to throw it away, but they're still guarding it. What kind of 'fragrant sachet' is that? I think 'stinky sachet' would be more appropriate."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Lei immediately turned around and retorted, "Yu Chan, you're supposed to be a teacher, this is called musk, not some kind of stinky sac."

"I said it's a stink bug, so it is a stink bug. Look, when you bring it home, the whole house smells weird, there's no fragrance at all. You can stand the smell, but I can't."

Musk?

Upon hearing this, Su Wanqing's eyes lit up immediately, and she asked anxiously, "Brother Sanshi, did you get some musk on the mountain? Let me see it quickly."

Qin Bowen piled the firewood on the woodpile, looked at Su Wanqing, and suddenly realized, "Oh brother-in-law, didn't you say before that this is a precious Chinese herbal medicine? Sister-in-law Wanqing knows medicine, she must know how much this is worth!"

Zhao Lei's heart skipped a beat, realizing how he had forgotten Su Wanqing, with someone knowledgeable about medicinal herbs right in front of him at home.

He immediately instructed Qin Bowen to take out a musk pouch wrapped in oiled paper from his backpack and hand it to Su Wanqing.

Su Wanqing took it, examined it carefully from all angles, and gently poked the sac with her finger, feeling the plump kernels inside.

Taking a deep breath, the strong scent hit her head, and Su Wanqing immediately confirmed that it was indeed musk.

Seeing that she had given a definite answer, Qin Yuchan and Jiang Xinyue quickly surrounded her.

Jiang Xinyue asked, "Sister Wanqing, do you mean this thing is really a precious Chinese herbal medicine?"

Su Wanqing nodded: "That's right, this thing comes from a wild animal called a musk deer." Then she turned to Zhao Lei, "Brother Sanshi, did you catch a musk deer today?"

Zhao Lei pointed to the basket hanging by the door, filled with animal hides and chunks of meat: "Um, Wanqing, do you know how much this musk can sell for now?"

Su Wanqing pondered for a moment and said, "This medicinal herb is extremely valuable; our clinic has none in stock. Master Li has a tiny bit privately kept, just a few grams. Musk is quite expensive, and your musk pouch is in excellent condition, so I reckon it's worth a lot of money."

When the price was mentioned, Qin Yuchan, who had been indifferent, immediately perked up.

Jiang Xinyue also opened her eyes wide, full of anticipation.

Qin Bowen, looking every bit the money-grubber, couldn't wait to ask, "Sister-in-law Wanqing, tell me quickly, how much can this sell for? Today, my brother-in-law and I went into the mountains and hunted an adult male musk deer. This is the one we took from it, just this one."

Su Wanqing pondered for a moment and said, "Now, Chinese medicine shops are buying one gram of musk for more than twenty yuan."

"More than twenty yuan per gram?"

Qin Yuchan exclaimed in surprise, "Wanqing, are you kidding me? This thing is actually so expensive?"

Jiang Xinyue chimed in, "Yes, this musk sac alone looks to weigh around 200 grams. At that rate, wouldn't such a small piece be worth over 8,000 yuan?"

Upon hearing the number, Qin Bowen jumped up on the spot in excitement: "Holy crap! We're rich!"

Zhao Lei had previously told him that a kilogram of musk could sell for more than 20,000 yuan, but he was still half-believing and half-doubting, thinking that his brother-in-law was just exaggerating.

But now that Su Wanqing, who understands medicine, says so, it's no longer a doubt.

Sister-in-law Wanqing is honest and kind-hearted, and would never lie to anyone.

The fact that a musk sac the size of a child's fist could be worth more than eight thousand yuan completely overturned his understanding.

Previously, he had formed a hunting team with his brother-in-law and Uncle Changlin, and went to Huangshi Township for a large-scale hunt. They sold all the game, weighing several thousand kilograms, and only managed to raise a little over eight thousand yuan.

Today, just this small musk sac is equivalent to the harvest of an entire team back then.

Just as Qin Bowen was still reeling from the shock, Zhao Lei poured cold water on him: "Bowen, I told you before that you can't price it based on the weight of the whole musk sac. It's mixed with a lot of impurities. After drying and cleaning it, you'll only have about 10 or 20 grams of pure musk kernels left."

Su Wanqing immediately chimed in, "That's right, Bowen. Don't be fooled by the fact that this musk sac weighs about two hundred grams with the skin on. The only valuable part for medicinal use is the musk kernel inside. The outer skin is just used to lock in the aroma and preserve the medicinal properties. It's like buying something; the outer packaging isn't valuable, but the medicinal materials inside are."

Even after hearing this explanation, Qin Bowen was still very excited.

Even if it's only 20 grams, it can still sell for four or five hundred yuan, which is a considerable income.

Yesterday they hunted a female wild boar weighing about 200 pounds. The supply and marketing cooperative only bought it for one yuan per pound, so the whole boar would fetch a maximum of 200 yuan.

The small musk sac in front of him was worth far more than a wild boar weighing over 200 kilograms, which truly broadened Qin Bowen's horizons.

Su Wanqing turned to look at Zhao Lei, her face full of doubt: "Brother Sanshi, you actually recognize musk? I remember you used to know nothing about these medicinal herbs and game."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Lei vaguely tried to explain, "Oh, this is a skill I learned from several experienced mountain runners during the past six months of my trip away from home."

Hearing him say this, all the doubts in the three women's hearts disappeared.

Since Zhao Lei returned home more than a month ago, he has displayed a wealth of expertise in everything from hunting in the mountains to identifying medicinal herbs and processing game. His skills even surpass those of Qin Changlin, a veteran hunter with decades of experience...