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

Meanwhile, inside the house, Zhao Lei and Zhou Defu were talking about Liu Yishou.

Upon hearing this nickname, Zhou Defu immediately remembered it.

"Oh, you mean him! The one who's missing three fingers on his right hand?"

Zhao Lei nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, that's him! Where does he live? I need to talk to him about something."

Zhou Defu looked puzzled: "Lei Zi, could it be that he stole something from your house?"

"No, he didn't steal anything from my house. I just asked him for some information."

"Okay, come with me, I'll show you the way."

The two walked to the gate of the courtyard. The area was hilly, with layers of high and low earthen slopes that blocked the view, making it impossible to see the houses in the distance.

Zhou Defu waved his hand: "Forget it, Lei Zi, I'll take you there myself. There are many residents in that area, and I'm afraid you'll get lost and waste time."

"Will this interfere with Captain Zhou's work?"

"There's nothing urgent to do today. We were just weeding in the field anyway, so it's fine. Let's go."

Zhou Defu greeted his wife inside the house, and Zhao Lei mounted the old-fashioned bicycle with Zhou Defu on the back, and rode off towards Liu Yishou's house.

Not long after, Zhao Lei followed Zhou Defu to Liu Yishou's house.

Before me stood a dilapidated, low mud-brick house. The courtyard was deserted, and inside sat only a gaunt, withered old man.

When Liu Yishou saw the village head leading a strange young man to his door, his face was full of doubt. Only after he understood that the young man had something to ask him did he put down his work.

Zhao Lei didn't beat around the bush and told the whole story, briefly explaining how his musk had been stolen.

He has already reported the case to the police station and is now pulling strings everywhere, trying to keep an eye on the downstream of the stolen goods and follow the shipping line to find the thief.

Liu Yishou initially refused outright, claiming that he had long since left the circle and would no longer get involved in such disputes.

Seeing this, Zhao Lei handed over the prepared cigarettes and fine wine.

Zhou Defu, who was standing nearby, also helped to persuade them, and brought up Deng Changhai's name again, explaining that it was Deng Changhai who had recommended them.

After several rounds of negotiation, Liu Yishou finally relented.

"Young man, your name is Zhao Lei, right? Okay, I'll ask someone in the industry to keep an eye out for you in this matter. Once there's any news, leave your address, and I'll have someone come and inform you."

In those days, there were no telephones; all messages relied on people running errands to relay them.

Zhao Lei clearly told him his home address, and after receiving Liu Yishou's permission, he took his leave, rode his old-fashioned bicycle, and carried Zhou Defu back home.

On the way, Zhou Defu was filled with curiosity.

"Lei Zi, what exactly is musk? Why would a thief target this stuff instead of stealing money or bicycles?"

Zhao Lei shook his head helplessly: "Uncle Zhou, this is a long story. To tell you the truth, this musk is extremely valuable, worth at least a thousand yuan."

"What? Over a thousand yuan!"

Zhou Defu's eyes widened instantly, his face filled with shock. "Such a valuable treasure can actually grow in the mountains! It seems this thief knew the value of this thing well in advance, and only targeted this one, ignoring everything else."

Zhao Lei nodded: "That's right, that's why I've been asking around and trying every possible way to find this thief."

Zhou Defu patted his chest: "Lei Zi, you helped our Zhoujia Village before, and you're a genuine person. I admire you from the bottom of my heart. I'll keep a close eye on Liu Yishou for you, to prevent him from agreeing verbally but disobeying behind your back."

Zhao Lei's expression was grave: "Uncle Zhou is right. This old man is shrewd and we have to be careful. If he colludes with thieves and leaks our information, that would be troublesome."

"Don't worry. Liu Yishou is from our Zhoujia Village. He's been involved in a lawsuit before. If he dares to cause trouble again, he'll be jailed for life. It's not worth the risk for him."

The two returned to Zhou Defu's home and chatted for another ten minutes or so.

It was already three or four o'clock in the afternoon, and Qin Bowen was still nowhere to be seen.

Seeing this, Zhou Defu said, "Lei Zi, don't rush off. Stay at my place for a while. Have dinner here, and I'll have my wife cook a couple more dishes for you."

Zhao Lei waved his hands repeatedly: "Uncle Zhou, there's no need to be so polite. I still have a lot of things to take care of, and it looks like Bowen won't be back for a while, so I'll head back first. When he gets back, please tell him that I'm leaving now."

Zhou Defu tried to persuade Zhao Lei to stay several times, but seeing that Zhao Lei was determined, he did not insist and saw him off to the gate of the courtyard.

Zhao Lei mounted his old-fashioned bicycle and rode away alone.

By the time Zhao Lei got home, it was already past four in the afternoon. He was exhausted and covered in sweat after a long day of running around.

Qin Yuchan was puzzled when she saw that only Zhao Lei had returned and her younger brother Qin Bowen was nowhere to be seen.

"Sanshi, where's my brother? Why did you come back alone?"

Zhao Lei walked into the main room, picked up a large rough porcelain bowl, gulped down a large bowl of tea, and exhaled a long breath of stale air.

"This kid probably has his eye on Captain Zhou's daughter."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yuchan's eyes lit up immediately: "Oh? Whose daughter is she?"

"The youngest daughter of Zhou Defu in Sanhe Township is named Zhou Qingqing."

Zhao Lei recounted the entire day's events to Qin Yuchan.

From gathering information on the black market to finding Liu Yishou in Zhoujia Village, and then to Qin Bowen bringing gifts to Zhou Qingqing's door, after finding out that Zhou Qingqing was gathering firewood in the back mountain, he quickly followed her there.

After hearing the whole story, Qin Yuchan couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! My little brother has finally gotten it!"

His curiosity was immediately piqued, and he bombarded him with questions, as if he were checking someone's household registration.

"What does Zhou Qingqing look like? Is she pretty? Can she read? What kind of work does she do? How old is she?"

Zhao Lei, panting, waved his hand and said, "Yi Chan, let me catch my breath first."

"You've been resting for half a day, and you still haven't recovered? Are you getting old?" Qin Yuchan glanced at him sideways.

Zhao Lei rolled his eyes at him: "Fine, I'll tell you. That girl is quite pretty."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yuchan's face lit up with joy: "Your taste has never been bad. If you say it looks good, then it must be good."

In the Qin family, Qin Bowen is the only unmarried male member.

For ordinary farming families, their son getting married is the most important event.

As the elder sister, Qin Yuchan was like a mother to her, and she cared for her especially.

"When you have time, take me there again. I need to see this girl with my own eyes."

Zhao Lei was both amused and exasperated: "It's not even a hint yet, and you're already this eager? It's not like you're dating anyone."

Qin Yuchan curled her lip: "My brother's marriage is just like my own family's business. As his older sister, almost like a mother, how can I not care? I have to investigate carefully. If he marries a domineering and shrewish woman, my parents will suffer in the future."

Zhao Lei joked, "How wicked can a wicked woman be? Could she be worse than you?"