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

To everyone's surprise, Su Minggui waved his hand dismissively, his attitude resolute: "Hmph, Zhao Lei, let's be frank. This is the first time we've met, and we haven't even closed a single deal yet. Why should I offend someone for your personal matters?"

Zhao Lei's heart sank. The other party's concerns were reasonable. They had no personal relationship, and the other party had no obligation to get involved in his dispute.

Su Minggui continued, "I'm just a traveling herb dealer who goes from village to village collecting medicinal herbs. Whoever has the goods, I trade with them. I never ask where the goods come from, nor do I need to."

Medicine dealers have their own rules for survival. The source of medicinal herbs is a core secret of herb gatherers and hunters. If a medicine dealer inquires about or leaks the source of the herbs at will, it is equivalent to cutting off other people's source of income, and no one will dare to do business with him in the future.

More importantly, if he stands up for Zhao Lei this time, he might offend people who might later try to sell the stolen goods to him.

Once word got out, sellers who had access to grey market goods would distance themselves from him, cutting off their business opportunities.

Su Minggui's refusal was entirely due to a businessman's instinct to seek profit and avoid harm.

Zhao Lei understood the implications and didn't press the matter further. He changed the subject, saying, "Brother Su, I understand your concerns. How about we try a different approach? I'll discuss future business with you as a long-term, established partner. Is that alright?"

"A regular partner?" Su Minggui looked puzzled; he had never heard of such a thing before.

Zhao Lei patiently explained, "Since I can hunt high-quality musk deer pods as soon as autumn arrives, I can also maintain a stable production of various valuable mountain medicinal herbs in the future. From now on, I will prioritize supplying you with the goods I have when you come to Qingfeng Town."

Su Minggui rolled his eyes a few times, and his gaze toward Zhao Lei became more scrutinizing and distrustful.

The young man in front of me is not yet thirty years old, and his empty promise of long-term supply is not convincing to business people.

In the business world, empty promises are worthless. Just like someone driving an ordinary van to negotiate a big deal is far less convincing than someone driving a luxury car, only when strength is on full display do words carry weight.

Zhao Lei noticed the other party's doubts, turned around and walked to the woodshed, picked up a piece of dried musk deer meat, and placed it on the table: "Brother Su, empty words don't count. My hunting skills are known to everyone in the surrounding area. You can go and ask Boss Deng."

Su Minggui scoffed, "I know you're a skilled hunter, but what does that have to do with my medicinal herb business? I don't deal in wild game."

Zhao Lei was slightly taken aback, only then realizing that Su Minggui was an extremely pragmatic person who only cared about tangible benefits and was impervious to persuasion.

However, it must be admitted that this person has an extremely high sensitivity to business opportunities. As soon as he heard that there were rare and precious medicinal materials, he rushed over without stopping for a moment.

With the current stalemate, Zhao Lei needs to offer something more substantial to get Su Minggui's help.

Zhao Lei quickly pressed his advantage, continuing to persuade him: "Brother Su, this two-story red brick building behind me was earned by hunting over two months. I'm absolutely confident in my ability to hunt musk deer and extract their sacs."

He wanted to continue his build-up, but Su Minggui impatiently raised his hand to interrupt: "Alright, alright, Comrade Zhao Lei, if you have goods, we can discuss the price and make a deal. If you don't, we'll wait until you have some. My time is precious. If you don't have any actual goods here, I have to rush to the next place to collect medicinal herbs."

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Minggui made a move to get up and leave.

Seeing that the clue he had finally found was about to go completely dead, Zhao Lei hurriedly reached out to stop the other party, his tone urgent: "Brother Su, please help me this once! I'm really uneasy that the thief who stole the musk pods hasn't been caught. You just need to give me a little hint about who was stealing the musk pods, and I promise I won't implicate you after it's done. Moreover, I'll sell you those three musk pods for 90% of the market price."

Su Minggui scoffed, "Hahaha, Comrade Zhao Lei, even if you offered those terms, I wouldn't help you. I'm a businessman; I only care about tangible benefits. I know this batch of goods is illicit; I can easily drive the price down to 70%. The other party is eager to sell the stolen goods and get away with it, so they'll definitely agree. Why should I offend someone and give up such easy profits for you?"

Zhao Lei gasped inwardly, secretly marveling at this man's cunning nature; he was a sly old fox who only cared about profit, intending to exploit the situation for his own gain.

He had no choice but to keep raising the stakes, gritting his teeth and offering his bargaining chip: "Brother Su, let's establish a long-term partnership. From now on, all the precious medicinal herbs I hunt in the mountains will be supplied to you first, and sold at 10% below market price. Just give me a heads-up, it's just a small favor."

In Zhao Lei's calculations, even if he reduced the price by 10%, the selling price would still be far higher than the supply and marketing cooperative's purchase price, and he would still be able to make a profit.

Moreover, he already frequents the mountains, so collecting medicinal herbs along the way is a natural extension of his income.

More importantly, the thief is skilled in theft. If he can steal the musk pouch today, there is no guarantee that he will not do it again in the future. He must find this person as soon as possible.

Su Minggui, having spent years in the world of medicinal herbs, had seen too many people make empty promises and didn't believe Zhao Lei's empty promises at all.

Instead, he retorted, "Comrade Zhao Lei, you're a hunter. Do you even know how to identify medicinal herbs when you go into the mountains? Musk is a substance from the musk deer. Can you distinguish the herbs growing in the soil? They recognize you, but do you recognize them?"

One sentence left Zhao Lei speechless.

He was completely ignorant about herbal medicines, and if he hadn't happened to hunt a musk deer, he would never have gotten involved in the Chinese medicine business.

He also noticed that Su Minggui's way of addressing him had changed from "little brother" to the distant "comrade," clearly indicating that he wanted to distance himself from him.

Undeterred, Zhao Lei pondered for a moment and said, "Brother Su, although I don't know much about herbs, my wife does."

Su Minggui scoffed, "Your wife? She's just a country woman from Qingfeng Town. She might recognize common herbs like mugwort, which aren't worth much."

"My wife is different. She studied medicine properly and is now the village doctor stationed in our brigade."

Su Minggui remained unmoved and waved his hand, saying, "Comrade Zhao Lei, let's call it a day. I have other matters to attend to. We can discuss further cooperation later." With that, he insisted on leaving.

In his haste, Zhao Lei blurted out, "Brother Su, don't worry! My wife shares your surname and is also from Yunchang County. You might even know each other!"

Su Minggui abruptly stopped, turned around sharply, and asked in bewilderment, "What's her name? When did this young female doctor come to Yunchang County for rural work?"

Zhao Lei quickly stepped forward: "Her name is Su Wanqing. She's a local from Yunchang County. After she married me, we haven't been back to her parents' home for many years."

Su Minggui froze on the spot, his eyes glazed over, as if he were lost in a distant memory.