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

From now on, let alone finding a proper job, joining the army, or being recognized for excellence, they will not be able to hold their heads high in the village, and will be pointed at and ridiculed everywhere.

Even more seriously, it will jeopardize my father's position as battalion commander and my elder brother's future as militia captain.

Upon thinking of this, Qin Bowen felt a chill run down his spine.

Although he was still seething with anger and feeling frustrated, he had completely calmed down.

If his father hadn't slapped him awake, the consequences would have been unimaginable if he had actually hit Fatty Chen.

His brother-in-law's words completely woke him up.

The anger in his chest had mostly subsided, but his resentment towards Fatty Chen remained.

Qin Bowen looked up at Zhao Lei and asked in a low voice, "Brother-in-law, what do we do now? Are we just going to leave the stuff as is?"

Zhao Lei stomped out the cigarette butt on the ground, his tone calm and steady.

"What else can we do? Go to the police station and report it."

"Let's see if the authorities can find any clues."

"It would be best if we could find it, but if we can't, we'll just have to accept our fate."

He turned to look at the sullen Qin Bowen and offered words of comfort.

"Don't look so down, the sky isn't going to fall."

"We've also set up more than forty animal traps in the mountains. We'll go up the mountain again to patrol tomorrow morning."

"We've lost three things, but maybe we can make up for it with other wild foods found in the mountains."

Upon hearing this, Qin Bowen's eyes lit up instantly, his gloomy expression vanishing.

"Yes! Yes, brother-in-law! We still have animal hides! We'll definitely have more when we go up the mountain tomorrow!"

Zhao Lei nodded gently, his tone reassuring.

As the old saying goes, you can't have everything.

"We lost something valuable for no reason this time, but God will most likely compensate us in some other way."

He deliberately spoke in a positive light to soothe Qin Bowen's depressed mood.

These words are like a two-dollar lottery ticket bought on a dull day.

Regardless of the outcome, as long as we have expectations, we will have hope and confidence.

Zhao Lei sighed inwardly.

This was a little habit he had for many years before his rebirth.

He doesn't like gambling or being greedy; he occasionally spends two yuan to randomly buy a lottery ticket when he has nothing to do.

Whether you win or not doesn't matter; the key is that at the moment you buy it, you'll have a lingering thought in your heart.

What if? What if you hit the jackpot and win five million?

Even if the hope is slim, it can keep people looking forward all day and prevent them from falling into despair.

The same principle applies today.

The fact that you've lost two thousand yuan worth of musk deer pods is already a done deal. There's no point in being depressed and agonizing over it. It's better to calm down and wait for things to turn around.

After calming Qin Bowen down, the two continued on their way to the Qingfeng Town Police Station.

Upon hearing that it was a theft case, the on-duty police officer asked the two to wait outside the reporting room for a while, and said he would summon them after he finished his work.

Before long, a summons came from the office, and the two pushed open the door and went in.

Zhao Lei looked up and was immediately delighted to see that it was an acquaintance.

Sitting behind the desk was Officer Li Mingjie.

Last time, when Wang Zongbao and Qin Changlin's fishing boats were stolen, and Zhao Chenghu and his gang caused trouble, it was Li Mingjie who stepped in to handle the case, personally arresting the people and closing the case. He was efficient and fair in his work.

Li Mingjie recognized Zhao Lei at a glance, his eyes lit up, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Hey, it's you!"

He paused for a moment, unable to recall the specific name.

Seeing this, Zhao Lei smiled, stepped forward, offered a cigarette, and introduced himself generously.

"Officer Li, it's me, Zhao Lei from the Heping Brigade. We meet again."

Li Mingjie and Zhao Lei were about the same age and had cheerful personalities. He accepted the cigarette and waved with a smile.

"Don't keep calling me 'Officer Li,' it's too formal. My name is Li Mingjie, just call me Mingjie in private."

Zhao Lei silently noted the name in his mind, but remained polite and composed in his speech.

"We're brothers in private, but at work I still have to call you Officer Li. We can't break the rules."

This well-chosen remark made Li Mingjie feel exceptionally comfortable.

He subconsciously straightened his chest, patted his police uniform, and felt much more at ease.

He cleared his throat, adopted a serious work posture, and pretended to be attentive.

"Ahem, Comrade Zhao Lei, this isn't a place I come to often. What brings you here again? What's wrong this time?"

Zhao Lei looked helpless and spoke bluntly.

"Officer Li, my house has been burgled, so I've come to report it."

Upon hearing this, Li Mingjie immediately frowned.

"What? Something's gone missing again?"

He secretly felt a mix of amusement and exasperation, and sighed silently.

I don't know what kind of constitution Zhao Lei has, but he keeps getting into trouble and losing things every now and then, with one case after another.

However, he maintained the serious and dignified demeanor of a public security officer, revealing little of his personal emotions.

He reached out and pulled out a letter and a pen from the table, then spoke seriously.

"Alright, Comrade Zhao Lei, please explain in detail."

"Tell us everything in detail, including what was lost, the exact time, the location, and how it was discovered."

Zhao Lei and Qin Bowen nodded in unison, without hiding anything.

He recounted the entire story in detail, from staking out the mountains to hunt musk deer and taking three musk sacs, to the breakdown of negotiations with Chen Fugui at the supply and marketing cooperative and the ensuing argument, to the theft at his home at night and the discovery of the missing items in the morning.

Li Mingjie held the pen, the nib scribbling as it flew across the paper, quickly recording every detail of the case, not daring to miss a single thing.

After working for a long time, he finally finished writing down the whole story.

He then handed the transcript to Zhao Lei.

"Please check the records carefully to see if they are accurate and if there are any details that need to be added."

Zhao Lei quickly scanned the entire transcript; the content was clear, complete, and without errors.

He smiled and nodded: "No problem, Officer Li, it's exactly the same as what happened. By the way, your handwriting is beautiful and elegant."

Being praised in public made Li Mingjie feel very comfortable, and he couldn't help but smile, but he pretended to be humble.

"Let's not get into these idle chatter."

"Serving the people is my duty. If you have any difficulties, we will naturally do our best to help you."

He suppressed his smile, returned to his work mode, and asked in a deep voice.

"Based on your description, the thieves were extremely precise in their targeting, specifically coming for the high-priced musk deer pods."

"I'm asking you, have you offended anyone recently? Do you have any suspicious enemies? This is most likely a targeted crime, not a random theft."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Mingjie's eyes fell on the words "musk bag, forest musk" on the record, and he suddenly stopped.

Seeing this, Qin Bowen quickly asked, "Officer Li, what's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Li Mingjie narrowed his eyes and looked at the two of them intently.

"Comrade Zhao Lei, the musk deer you mentioned, is it the mountain musk deer? Isn't that a protected animal now?"

Zhao Lei understood immediately; this young police officer was meticulous and highly alert.

"Officer Li, we live off the mountains and have been hunting for generations. There are currently no explicit laws prohibiting the hunting of musk deer, and we never hunt mothers or cubs. We only take mature animals and never kill indiscriminately."