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

At first, they were all puzzled. In the past, Zhao Lei could only rely on luck to steal a bird's nest, let alone hunt. He could not earn money to support his family or build a red brick house.

Now that Zhao Lei himself said that he had been studying under a master outside, everything made sense. Everyone put aside their doubts and understood why he was now so adept at mountain climbing and had knowledge far beyond that of ordinary people.

Qin Yuchan, on the other hand, developed a strong interest in Zhao Lei.

She walked over and poked the oil paper package on the table. "Wanqing, you really think this smelly little thing can sell for four or five hundred yuan? You're not kidding me, are you?"

Qin Yuchan was a teacher after all, and she had a considerable amount of knowledge and experience. But she had only ever heard of musk, never seen it, and had no idea that it could be so expensive.

"Wanqing, if you put it that way, if our Sanshi kept bringing this back every few days, wouldn't we be rich? Why would we need to farm or go to work?"

Su Wanqing smiled and shook her head: "Sister Yuchan, it's not as easy as you say. The musk deer is also called a fragrant deer, and their population is relatively small."

"Moreover, only male forest musk deer possess musk. Catching one to extract its scent sac is incredibly difficult; it's a matter of luck."

Jiang Xinyue seemed to be thinking further ahead. While neatly stacking the clothes that had been hung out to dry, she interjected, "Sister Wanqing, I've heard of musk before, but I've never seen it in such a primitive state."

"I thought it was made of some kind of plant, but it turns out it's something from an animal."

Qin Bowen, standing nearby, chimed in, "Yeah, sister-in-law, I was shocked at first too. Don't let its strange taste fool you; once you see how it's made, you'll find it even more amazing."

Jiang Xinyue's interest was piqued, and she pressed for details, asking, "How did it form? Do you know?"

Qin Bowen suddenly raised his chin smugly and said, "Hehe, Sister Xinyue, you didn't see it, but this Lin She has a bulge in the navel area, and it can open and close."

"Ugh, you could smell that weird odor from far away. The forest musk deer likes to bask in the sun, so it exposes its belly and opens its musk pouch, which attracts a swarm of ants and flying insects to crawl into its musk pouch. It disgusted me when I saw it."

Jiang Xinyue said, "You mean, this musk sac is full of reptiles?"

"That's right, sister-in-law. When it closes its musk sac, it traps those ants and crawling insects inside. My brother-in-law said that musk may be formed from the long-term sedimentation of the corpses of these insects."

The family discussed among themselves. But when it came to understanding traditional Chinese medicine, perhaps only Su Wanqing, the medical expert, knew the most, so everyone turned to look at her.

Su Wanqing patiently explained to everyone, "Although I have a background in Western medicine, Master Li also taught me a lot about traditional Chinese medicine. He said that musk can be used in medicine to promote blood circulation, relieve swelling and pain, and can also be used externally to treat bruises and sprains."

"As for making fragrances and perfumes, those are exquisite things that only city dwellers can afford. We don't usually see them here."

Suddenly, Su Wanqing seemed to remember something and added, "Oh, right, if you grind musk into powder, dissolve it in alcohol, and apply it to your temples, it will be very effective for headaches and fevers."

After listening, Qin Bowen curled his lips and shook his head: "Huh? Sister-in-law Wanqing, I can't stand the smell even through the oil paper and musk pouch. And you're going to put it on your temples? Won't you smell this weirdness all over your body? It stinks."

Zhao Lei, however, poured cold water on Qin Bowen's hopes: "Are you dreaming? This thing is so expensive, wouldn't it be a waste to use it on you?"

Zhao Lei's words immediately made all three ex-wives burst into laughter. Afterwards, they chatted about the interesting things that happened on the mountain, and after a while, the three ex-wives looked at the sun and went to start a fire to cook.

Dinner was a big pot of wild boar stew with radishes, served with some pickled vegetables and white rice—it looked incredibly appetizing. The children were also crying out, they were starving.

Little Stone was squirming around on the stool with a smug look on his face. Su Wanqing held him down and fed him a small bowl of meat soup before he finally calmed down.

While eating, Qin Bowen kept thinking about the traps on the mountain: "Brother-in-law, we probably need to go early tomorrow morning, right? We can't leave those traps set today for too long."

"What if we manage to catch something, but it escapes? Wouldn't that be a huge loss?"

Zhao Lei, eating rice soaked in meat broth, nodded upon hearing this: "Yes, you're right. Let's go early tomorrow morning."

"Brother-in-law, when should we meet? It'll take some time before we get into the mountains."

"Let's meet around 6 o'clock at the fork in the road leading to Qingfeng Mountain. Don't oversleep, kid."

"Oh, brother-in-law, don't worry! When have I ever slept in when it's important?"

Su Wanqing asked from the side, "Brother Sanshi, are you going into the mountains again tomorrow?"

"Yes, we set quite a few snares on the mountain today. We'll have to check them out tomorrow."

Qin Yuchan suddenly asked, "Sanshi, didn't you say you were going to have a housewarming party? When is it? Have you decided yet? School starts soon, and I have to go back to work."

Zhao Lei thought about it and realized that it really couldn't be delayed for too long. He would try to get this done before Qin Yuchan started school and work.

However, he estimated that the wild boar he had hunted in the past two days and the musk deer he had collected would only fetch a few hundred yuan if sold to the supply and marketing cooperative. He feared he wouldn't have enough money to host a proper housewarming party.

Zhao Lei couldn't bring himself to ask Qin Bowen or Wang Zhongbao for help, so he could only pin his hopes on tomorrow's trap, hoping to catch a few more adult male musk deer.

By the time they finished eating, it was already dark. Qin Yuchan handed the family flashlight to Qin Bowen: "Brother, it's getting dark. Take the flashlight with you and be careful on your way home."

Qin Bowen nodded and looked at his second sister, Qin Yuchan: "Don't worry, sister, I'm a grown man. What am I afraid of walking alone at night?"

Looking at Qin Bowen, who was half a head taller than her, Qin Yuchan suddenly smiled with relief: "That's right, the little snotty kid who used to follow me around calling me 'Second Sister' has grown so much taller than me now."

"Sis, you're only just realizing this now? I'm still growing, so I'm only a little shorter than my brother-in-law. In a couple of years, I might even be taller than him."

Qin Yuchan said with a smile, "It's already very good. You're taller than your eldest brother now, so you're the tallest man in our Qin family."

The siblings exchanged a few pleasantries and jokes, then Zhao Lei mounted his old-fashioned bicycle and, using a flashlight, escorted Qin Bowen home. After seeing her brother off, Qin Yuchan turned around and happened to see Zhao Lei clearing away the dishes...