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

Feeling restless with nothing to do, Zhao Lei decided to go to Dashiba to fetch some more firewood.

He locked the gate and was just about to step out when a strange figure suddenly appeared at the door.

The man had a backpack slung over his shoulder, covered tightly with a gray cloth, and wore a wide-brimmed straw hat for sun protection. He was also wearing a white shirt and blue-gray trousers.

He was sweating profusely, his shirt was soaked with sweat, and there was a ring of black sweat stains around the collar, making him look very strange.

Zhao Lei stopped and looked the newcomer up and down.

"May I ask who you are?"

The man was about forty years old, with a strong physique, a mustache, and a rugged face, which showed that he was also very handsome when he was young.

He leaned against the doorframe, a smile on his face.

"Brother, your red brick house is very conspicuous; I can see it from afar."

Zhao Lei frowned slightly: "May I ask what business you have with me?"

"My name is Su Minggui, and I'm here to see Zhao Lei. Is this his old house?"

Zhao Lei felt a chill run down his spine.

I don't recognize this person at all; I've never seen him in the surrounding area before. He must be from out of town.

The backpack was covered by a gray cloth, from which a faint smell of Chinese medicine wafted.

A thought suddenly struck him: Could this be Su Minggui, the medicine dealer from Yunchang County that Deng Changhai had mentioned?

Zhao Lei remained calm and said, "I am Zhao Lei. Are you Su Minggui?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man burst into loud laughter.

"Haha, it seems you knew I was coming all along. It wasn't a wasted trip. We're quite destined to meet."

The man who came was Su Minggui, a medicine dealer from Yunchang County who had come to buy medicinal herbs!

Zhao Lei's heart skipped a beat, thinking to himself, "I've searched high and low without finding it, but it's right here without any effort at all."

I just asked Deng Changhai to make the connection yesterday, and today the other party took the initiative to come to my door. The timing is perfect.

He quickly stepped aside and raised his hand, warmly inviting, "Brother Su, please come in. I was just about to go out. You've come at the perfect time. Please come in and have a seat, let's chat."

Su Minggui's gaze swept over the brand-new two-story red brick house next to him, then looked at the old mud-brick house where Zhao Lei was currently living, and he couldn't help but tease, "Brother Zhao Lei, your new house is so beautifully built, why are you still living in this old mud house? Are you deliberately trying to reminisce about the past and appreciate the present?"

Zhao Lei pushed open the wooden door to the main room and waved his hand with a smile: "Brother Su, you're joking. The new house has just been completed, and the furniture and other items inside haven't been properly furnished yet, so we'll just have to make do here for now."

The two sat down, and Zhao Lei quickly brewed some coarse tea.

"Brother Su, you came at just the right time. If I had been out running errands any later, we would have missed each other."

Su Minggui also secretly felt that it was a coincidence.

He had just arrived at the underground black market for medicinal herbs in Qingfeng Town at noon when Deng Changhai came to his door, saying that Zhao Lei had rare and precious medicinal herbs in his possession, and gave him detailed information about Zhao Lei's home address, urging him to come over immediately.

You know, Deng Changhai had mentioned to him before that he only came to Qingfeng Town twice a month. No one expected that he would arrive so soon after the conversation.

After a few pleasantries, Su Minggui got straight to the business, his smile fading slightly: "Brother Zhao Lei, Boss Deng said you have some rare and valuable medicinal herbs, but I still have no idea what they are."

"Musk," Zhao Lei said calmly.

Su Minggui's eyes suddenly lit up, and he leaned forward: "Musk? How much do you have? How well is it preserved?"

As a professional drug dealer who travels around the surrounding towns and villages year-round, musk is considered a top-tier commodity.

Autumn is the peak season for male musk deer to secrete musk, but musk deer are wary and timid by nature, making them difficult for ordinary hunters to catch. In all his years in the business, he has collected very little musk.

More importantly, ordinary hunters don't know the tricks of the trade, and their methods of extracting and storing the incense are crude, which easily diminishes the medicinal effects. Most of the incense is of inconsistent quality, and he has always wanted to collect some high-quality incense.

Zhao Lei shook his head: "To be precise, it's not just musk, it's the complete musk sac."

Upon hearing this, Su Minggui slapped his thigh hard, his face full of shock.

When ordinary hunters obtain a musk deer, they usually just break open the sac and take out the musk to sell. The original sac skin is damaged, and the medicinal effect is easily lost due to volatilization.

Many people cannot distinguish between impurities and pure musk, and they haphazardly process and ruin good products.

Unlike whole musk sacs, natural sacs can firmly lock in the medicinal properties, and the value of selling a whole musk sac is much higher than that of loose musk sacs.

He instantly realized that the young man in front of him was knowledgeable and had truly mastered the art of musk.

"Do you have a complete musk deer sac? How many are there? What's their condition? Quickly show them to me so I can take a look!"

Zhao Lei smiled, but a sense of unease crept into his heart. He could see that Su Minggui desperately wanted this item, but the three musk pods had already been stolen, and he had no way of producing the actual product.

"These are all top-quality goods."

Su Minggui saw that he only made verbal promises and did not show any intention of getting up to get the things.

The enthusiasm on Su Minggui's face slowly faded, replaced by a hint of anger: "Words are meaningless, Zhao Lei. No matter how good your words are, show me what you have to prove before they count."

Zhao Lei hesitated and made no move.

Su Minggui's face darkened, and his tone became impatient: "Brother Zhao Lei, are you making fun of me? I've come all the way from Yunchang County, and you have goods but refuse to show them. What's the meaning of this?"

Zhao Lei handed him a cigarette and gently advised, "Brother Su, don't be angry. I did hunt the animal myself, but it's not in my possession now."

Su Minggui raised his hand and pushed him away, his tone indifferent: "I don't smoke. Not in your hands? Who did you sell it to?"

Now that things had come to this, there was no point in hiding it anymore. Zhao Lei gritted his teeth and decided to tell the whole story.

He needs Su Minggui's connections to help him track down and catch the thief who sold the stolen goods.

"Brother Su, I'll tell you the truth. The three intact musk sacs were stolen the night before last."

Then, he briefly recounted to Su Minggui the whole story of how he went into the mountains to hunt a male musk deer, how he safely collected and preserved the deer, how he was pressured to accept a lower price at the supply and marketing cooperative, how he brought the deer home to find a high-priced buyer, and how his house was burglarized that night.

As Su Minggui listened, he would sometimes exclaim in surprise, sometimes curse angrily, and sigh repeatedly.

Finally, he let out a heavy sigh: "Zhao Lei, Zhao Lei, you're still too young. In the world of martial arts, how can you not heed such a simple principle as not flaunting your wealth?"

Zhao Lei scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

He was so focused on selling the medicinal herbs that he overlooked the wickedness of human nature, which led to him suffering a great loss for no reason.

"Brother Su is right. Ever since the theft, I've been trying to find the thief. I asked Boss Deng to contact you, hoping you could lend a hand."

Su Minggui immediately understood: "Oh, you want to intercept the thieves downstream of the medicinal herb shipments?"

"That's exactly what I meant. I wonder if Brother Su would be willing to lend a hand?"