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

The private room fell into a deathly silence. Everyone was too afraid to breathe, realizing that what was happening today was no small matter.

Seeing that the deterrent effect was effective, Qin Dajun raised his hand to signal.

Everyone tilted their heads back and drank the strong liquor in their glasses in one gulp.

Setting down their glasses, everyone spoke in unison: "Brother Jun, what exactly do we need to do?! Just tell us!"

Qin Dajun's gaze swept over the crowd, and he slowly uttered a single word: "Steal."

Upon hearing this word, no one in the room was shocked.

This group of people were just petty thugs who had been doing this kind of thing for years, and they were already used to it.

The crew-cut young man's eyes lit up, and he immediately replied, "Brother Jun, this is my specialty! Who to steal? What to steal? The time and place—just a word from you!"

Qin Dajun seized the opportunity to make grand promises and set traps, eloquently recounting his pre-prepared rhetoric.

"Where do you think my recent money came from? I made it by dealing in rare and valuable Chinese medicinal herbs!"

"Those who live near mountains live off the mountains, and those who live near water live off the water. The precious medicinal herbs in these deep mountains are comparable to soft gold. A single plant can sell for an astronomical price, more valuable than gold!"

The crowd gasped in disbelief: "That valuable?!"

"That's right!"

Qin Dajun nodded, continuing to mislead, "However, these top-grade medicinal herbs are extremely difficult to find. I haven't managed to dig them up myself, but I've heard that recently, someone in our circle has been hoarding a batch of top-quality, precious medicinal herbs, preparing to quietly sell them for a profit of several thousand yuan!"

The crew-cut young man immediately realized: "Brother Jun, you mean we don't steal money or grain, but only these valuable medicinal herbs?"

"right!"

Qin Dajun slapped his thigh and went along with the hype, "Besides, this stuff is the safest! Ordinary people never register or file the medicinal herbs they keep at home! Even if we get caught, we can just say we took some weeds by mistake or mistook something for something else. At most, we'll get a lecture, but we won't have a criminal record. There's absolutely no risk!"

This group of people has never been to school, has a narrow perspective, and is simple-minded.

Completely fooled and convinced by Qin Dajun's flowery rhetoric, they were overjoyed.

Little did they know that precious Chinese medicinal herbs are also valuable private property, and stealing them is still a serious crime!

All that remained in their hearts was the dream of getting rich overnight.

Seeing that everyone had taken the bait, Qin Dajun finally revealed his true purpose.

"My rules are very simple."

"All of you, use your connections and networks to gather as much information as possible over the next two days!"

"Investigate who in the Qingfeng Town area is hiding valuable medicinal herbs, and who is secretly finding channels to sell them and resell them for profit!"

"Let's pull a fast one, double-cross each other! We'll intercept this batch of incredibly valuable medicinal herbs, cash it all out, and split it evenly among ourselves!"

The crew-cut young man was the most experienced thief, had the widest network of connections, and was the most daring among them. He was the youngest but also the most ruthless.

After hearing the plan, his eyes lit up, and he automatically conjured up images of getting rich quick, living a life of luxury, marrying a wife, and building a house. He immediately patted his chest and guaranteed:

"Don't worry, Brother Jun! Leave it to me! I'll mobilize all my acquaintances to gather information overnight, and I guarantee I'll get a clear picture for you!"

The others echoed their sentiments, all displaying great enthusiasm.

With huge profits in sight and the dream of getting rich guaranteed, the seven completely put aside all their concerns, made a decision on the spot, and all went out to gather information.

With fine wine and delicious food, and the dream of getting rich quick, the group drank to their hearts' content.

They drank from dusk until after 10 p.m., a full four hours of eating and drinking.

Everyone at the table was completely drunk and staggering, except for Qin Dajun, who remained sober and dared not get too drunk.

She was afraid that she might say something inappropriate while drunk, revealing her true intentions and ruining her cousin-in-law's big plan.

The banquet ended, and everyone dispersed, eagerly anticipating their fortune.

Slightly drunk, Qin Dajun returned home late at night.

As soon as he entered, Wang Xiaoli, who had been waiting for a long time, saw that he was covered in alcohol and looked disheveled.

The pent-up grievances finally erupted, and she cried and made a scene, arguing with the other woman.

Qin Dajun, who was in a bad mood, didn't bother to coax or persuade him. He simply slapped him twice, instantly calming him down.

Wang Xiaoli was both scared and angry, but she dared not say another word. That very night, she took a kerosene lamp and ran back to her parents' home crying.

Qin Dajun was too lazy to deal with household chores and went straight to sleep.

He was absolutely certain.

With substantial investment, carefully crafted communication strategies, and extensive networking, everything was meticulously arranged.

The net cast tonight will soon yield clues.

Sure enough, the information they had gathered arrived the next morning.

At noon, the sun was high in the sky.

Qin Dajun's wife, Wang Xiaoli, was beaten and sent back to her parents' home by him.

Seeing that he had gotten completely drunk the night before, his parents didn't dare to provoke him and went to work early.

In the large earthen-tiled house, only Qin Dajun was lying on the bed, fast asleep.

His house was dilapidated and simple, with the courtyard wall being nothing more than a bamboo fence haphazardly woven from bamboo strips, and the gate wide open.

The house was so poor that even mice that came in had to leave on an empty stomach, so there was no need to close the door at all.

Liu Erwa rushed in, stormed into the bedroom, and began shaking Qin Dajun on the bed.

"Brother Jun! Brother Jun! Wake up!"

Qin Dajun groaned in his sleep, his head throbbing as if it had been hit by a heavy hammer. He sat up groggily, his anger rising to his head.

"Holy shit! Who is it? Can't you see I'm sleeping?"

He was about to get angry when he looked up and saw Liu Erwa, whose face was full of barely suppressed excitement.

"Brother Jun, we have news!"

"What fucking news?"

"It's that precious medicinal herb we were talking about yesterday!"

Upon hearing these words, Qin Dajun shuddered, and the effects of the alcohol instantly dissipated.

He rubbed his eyes haphazardly, wiped away the sleep from the corners of his eyes, and stared wide-eyed.

"What? Say it again, there's news?"

"After drinking yesterday, Xiaopingtou went back home and, fueled by alcohol, spent the whole night asking around with several friends. This morning, news came from over there that someone was inquiring about when the drug dealers would arrive in Qingfeng Town."

Another guy who frequently travels to Yunchang County also said that people are asking how it's possible to enter Yunchang County without registering. The guy with the crew cut sensed something was wrong and immediately asked me to come and inform him.

Upon hearing this, Qin Dajun felt a surge of excitement and secretly rejoiced that the money had been well spent, as they had indeed uncovered a clue.

He rolled out of bed, hurriedly put on his clothes, splashed some cold water on his face, and then turned to instruct Liu Erwa.

"Go back and continue digging deeper with Xiaopingtou. If there are any new developments, come find me immediately."

Seeing him about to leave, Liu Erwa quickly asked, "Brother Jun, where are you going?"

"I have other things to do. Keep a close eye on things I told you to do, and report back immediately if there's any movement, understand?"

"I know, Brother Jun!"

Liu Erwa responded and left.

Once Liu Erwa was out of sight, Qin Dajun didn't dare to delay and hurried towards Zhao Lei's house.

When Qin Yuchan arrived at the courtyard gate, she was somewhat surprised to see who had come.

"Dajun, what brings you here? What's wrong?"