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

Zhang Sangong exhaled a smoke ring.

"Zhang Li got into university and has already registered. Zhang Ting failed the exam and is too embarrassed to go home, so she's doing odd jobs to earn some money to try again."

Zhao Lei's face immediately lit up with surprise.

"Wow, Zhang Li got into university? How come I didn't hear a thing about such a big thing?"

Zhang Lin chimed in, "Brother Lei, Lili received her acceptance letter some time ago. She came back once in between, but you were busy with a lot of things to do then, running up the mountain and taking care of things at home, so you probably didn't make it."

"Getting into university is a huge joyous occasion, why don't you throw a banquet to celebrate? None of you have mentioned it to me."

As Zhao Lei spoke, he reached into his pockets, then remembered that he had entrusted all his money to Jiang Xinyue for safekeeping. He called out towards the kitchen, "Xinyue!"

"What's wrong?" Jiang Xinyue's clear voice came from the woodshed.

"Zhang Li got into university. Give me some money, and I'll give you a red envelope as a gift."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Sangong quickly waved his hand to stop him, looking anxious: "Hey Leizi, this won't do, there's no need to do this."

Zhang Lin also chimed in, "Brother Lei, you really don't need to."

Zhang Sen chimed in, "That's right, Brother Lei, how could I possibly accept your red envelope?"

Zhao Lei ignored the father and his two sons' refusals and strode into the kitchen. Jiang Xinyue was wiping the water off her hands, preparing to get the money.

Zhao Lei said, "Give me one hundred yuan."

Jiang Xinyue looked up at him, her eyes full of surprise, clearly asking if one hundred yuan was too much.

Zhao Lei clicked his tongue softly, gesturing for her to keep quiet. Jiang Xinyue then took out a hundred-yuan bill from her pocket and handed it to Zhao Lei.

Zhao Lei took the money and turned to leave. Zhang Sanpo, who was adding firewood to the stove, spotted him immediately.

Granny Zhang didn't hear the conversation between the couple in the kitchen clearly; she only saw them taking out money, so she didn't ask any further questions.

Soon, a series of pushing and shoving sounds came from outside the courtyard.

"Hey Lei Zi, what are you doing? You really don't need to!"

"Yeah, Brother Lei, how could we possibly take your money?"

Zhao Lei's voice followed: "San Gong, Lin Zi, Xiao Sen, this is a red envelope for Zhang Li, you have to accept it. University life is expensive these days, consider this a small token of my appreciation."

"Lei Zi, absolutely not. There are three strong men in our family, how can we not afford to support our own daughter? We've already paid her tuition and prepared her living expenses." Zhang San Gong repeatedly declined.

Zhao Lei insisted on giving it to Zhang Sangong, forcefully stuffing the banknotes into Zhang Sangong's pocket and stepping back two paces.

"Third Master, this money is for Zhang Li. If Lili makes a name for herself in university, just remember me as her older brother."

Zhang Sangong clutched the hundred yuan in his pocket, his face full of embarrassment, and secretly gave his two sons a wink. Zhang Lin and Zhang Sen immediately flanked Zhao Lei from the left and right.

Seeing this, Zhao Lei chuckled: "Oh, you're still putting on that act! What are you doing? Do you think I can't even give out a red envelope?"

Several grown men started chasing and playing around in the courtyard, making quite a commotion. Zhang Sanpo and Jiang Xinyue, who were inside the house, heard the noise and quickly came out, only to see Zhang Lin and Zhang Sen chasing Zhao Lei around the yard.

"Zhang Lin, Zhang Sen, what are you two doing!" Granny Zhang shouted.

Zhang Sangong took the money out of his pocket and waved it around: "Honey, look, Lei Zi insisted on giving you this red envelope after hearing that Xiao Li got into university. It's quite a large sum."

Granny Zhang was taken aback: "Ah? So much money? Lei Zi, you mean well, but how could you give such a generous red envelope?"

While dodging the two women's pursuit, Zhao Lei shouted back, "Third Aunt, this is just a small token of my appreciation. I consider myself Xiaoli and Xiaoting's brother, and I have no other intentions than to wish those two sisters a good life."

Granny Zhang laughed and joked casually, "Oh, I thought you had your eye on our Xiaoli and wanted to take another wife."

Jiang Xinyue stood aside and glared at Zhang Sanpo.

Granny Zhang quickly waved her hand sheepishly, "Oh, it was just a joke."

After a lot of laughter and commotion, the Zhang family finally accepted the red envelope.

Zhao Lei also specifically instructed that when Zhang Li and Zhang Ting returned to their hometown, he should invite them to his home so they could recognize him as their older brother.

Zhang Sangong and his son nodded repeatedly, their gratitude for Zhao Lei's kindness growing ever stronger.

As the old saying goes, a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. Zhao Lei didn't have any close immediate family members to begin with, and his only maternal uncle had long since cut off all contact with him.

Among the families of Qin Yuchan's ex-wives, the Qin family with whom she had a relatively harmonious relationship was the latter.

The relationship with Su's father-in-law is gradually improving, and he is also getting closer to Su's mother-in-law. At least he still has his fourth uncle to rely on.

Jiang Dingtian, Jiang Xinyue's father-in-law, is the only one whom Jiang Xinyue has never even met.

Zhao Lei continued to chat at Zhang Sangong's house.

Zhang Lin, Zhang Sen, and Zhang San Gong, father and son, will be going out to work early tomorrow morning. They will be gone for more than half a month, and Zhang San Po's house will never be so lively again.

As they were talking, Zhao Lei looked up towards the direction of his new house and saw someone approaching the gate in the distance.

The man stood outside the courtyard shouting loudly; the voice belonged to Qin Bowen. Zhang San's house and the Zhao family's new house were not far apart; they could be clearly seen from the courtyard.

Zhao Lei immediately shouted, "Bowen, I'm here!"

Qin Bowen looked up upon hearing the sound, quickly stopped his bicycle, and ran towards them.

Zhao Lei looked at his walking posture; his steps were limping and looked particularly awkward.

When the others ran closer, Zhao Lei was startled.

Qin Bowen, with a bruised and swollen face, barely managed to move forward, supporting himself with one hand on his foot.

Zhang Lin, Zhang Sen, Zhang Sangong's family, Jiang Xinyue and her two children were all stunned when they saw Qin Bowen's disheveled appearance.

Zhao Yuyuan spoke first: "Uncle, what's wrong? Your nose is bleeding."

Zhao Lei quickly stepped forward and reached out to support Qin Bowen: "Bowen, what happened? Did you fall off your bike?"

Everyone around them swarmed around them.

Jiang Xinyue frowned: "It doesn't seem like it. You wouldn't fall down like that. You must have been in a fight."

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed so. Qin Bowen's left eye was bloodshot, his eye socket was swollen and purplish-blue, and there was a clear handprint on his cheek.

Zhao Lei was extremely anxious: "Bowen, what happened? Tell me quickly!"

Upon seeing Zhao Lei, Qin Bowen could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

"Brother-in-law, I've been beaten up."

A surge of anger welled up in Zhao Lei's head: "Damn it, who hit you?"

"Brother-in-law, I followed your instructions and went up the mountain today to collect snares and game. While I was preparing the game, I ran into Ma Laosan's gang. They came up to me and tried to take my game. I argued with them for a bit, but they outnumbered me and swarmed around me, attacking me. They said that the wild animals on this mountain now belonged to them, and whoever found them first got them. They even threatened to beat me up every time they saw me in the future."

After hearing these words, Zhao Lei's head buzzed, his breathing suddenly became heavy, his chest heaved violently, and his anger surged upwards.

"Ma Laosan! This is absolutely outrageous!"

Jiang Xinyue asked with a puzzled look, "Who is Ma Laosan?"