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

In her letter, Wu Huili, the mother, wrote:

"My dearest daughter, Xinyue, it is as if I am seeing you in person as I read this."

I'm sorry we haven't been able to exchange emails for a long time.

On the one hand, we are worried that you will be implicated too much, and on the other hand, your younger brother Jiang Chengfeng has suffered a misfortune and has been imprisoned.

My mother has been very upset these past few days, running around trying to resolve this matter…

Upon seeing this, Jiang Xinyue felt a sudden tightness in her chest.

Jiang Chengfeng has been locked up?

She never expected that such a thing would happen in her family after not communicating for more than half a year.

After quickly reviewing the letters again, I finally understood the reason behind it.

It turned out that his younger brother, Jiang Chengfeng, was young and impetuous, and couldn't stand the open and subtle targeting and ridicule from others, so he lost his temper and started a fight with them.

Eventually, the matter escalated, and he was taken to jail.

Logically speaking, such matters can be big or small in the countryside; every family has its share of conflicts.

The difficulty lies in the fact that the Jiang family has been labeled as capitalists, and they are viewed with prejudice wherever they go.

This incident caused quite a stir.

No matter how much Jiang Xinyue's mother, Wu Huili, pleaded, the injured children refused to budge and even demanded exorbitant sums, asking Wu Huili to pay 300 yuan before they would issue a letter of understanding.

Half a month had passed since the incident, and Wu Huili had no other choice but to send this letter to Jiang Xinyue.

After reading the letter, Jiang Xinyue muttered to herself, "Three hundred yuan? Just a few young people had a little argument, and they're demanding three hundred yuan? That's clearly bullying!"

After a long while, Jiang Xinyue let out a long sigh.

There was nothing he could do; his father, Jiang Dingtian, was under investigation in Beijing.

As a result, the family was torn apart, and they suffered enough bullying.

But no matter what, she couldn't ignore the tragedy that had befallen her brother.

But what to do with such a huge sum of three hundred yuan?

In their family's past, three hundred yuan wouldn't have been much of her usual pocket money, but now it has become a bargaining chip to get her brother's freedom back.

What should I do?

Jiang Xinyue was filled with mixed emotions. She remembered the money Zhao Lei had given her, which she had hidden in a crack in the mud wall of her home.

Zhao Lei has had a very fruitful few days since she returned: starting with hunting bears, she earned over 280 yuan, and later returned another 100 yuan to Lai Mazi...

He gave some of his own money to Qin Yuchan to help with household expenses, and now he has 154.63 yuan left.

Regardless of the fact that this money represents the entire savings of the family, even if all of it were mailed to the mother, it still wouldn't be enough!

There will never be another bear in Qingfeng Mountain that can collect a bounty, and Jiang Xinyue will never let Zhao Lei risk his life again!

If you want to save up the remaining half of the compensation by earning work points alone, it will take forever.

Does this mean my brother should spend six months in jail?

Jiang Xinyue couldn't bear it.

So, as soon as she got off work, Jiang Xinyue went to find Qin Chunlan, the women's director in charge of the breeding farm.

Jiang Xinyue: "Sister Lan, how many work points have I earned this month?"

Qin Chunlan checked the records and replied, "Xiao Jiang, you've done a good job this month. By the end of the month, you should have at least two hundred work points."

Jiang Xinyue asked somewhat awkwardly, "Sister Lan, how much would it be if we converted it into money?"

Qin Chunlan frowned slightly: "As for the money, it's hard to say for sure, but the fluctuation shouldn't be too big. With your two hundred-plus work points, you should be able to exchange them for about ten yuan."

Jiang Xinyue was clearly disappointed.

Perhaps it was because Zhao Lei had given her so much money a couple of days ago that her expectations were unknowingly raised.

Hearing that he had worked almost full-time for a whole month and only earned a dozen yuan, he couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment.

Jiang Xinyue murmured softly, "Ah, only a dozen yuan..."

Women's Director Qin Chunlan quickly advised, "Xiao Jiang, a dozen yuan is not a small amount. Many strong men don't earn that much in a month."

I never imagined that someone who used to live such a privileged life could now be so humble and work so hard. It seems your labor reform has been very successful, and I will write a proper evaluation for you this year.

Jiang Xinyue quickly bowed and thanked her.

She then bid farewell to the women's director and went home after get off work.

She was worried all the way, constantly thinking about her younger brother Jiang Chengfeng.

What should I do if I'm still short so much money?

She tried to scrape together 300 yuan in compensation on her own.

But as it turns out, she overestimated herself and underestimated the value of three hundred yuan in today's world.

After much thought, she realized she only had one option: to rely on Zhao Lei...

Around 7 p.m.

Inside the Zhao family's house.

Hot food had been prepared long ago, and the aroma of wild boar stir-fried with chili peppers was irresistible.

The three children were already crying from hunger, but Qin Yuchan stopped them and told them to wait for Zhao Lei to come back before they could eat.

Before long, it got completely dark, and Zhao Lei returned carrying a full basket of things.

Many villagers sitting at their doorsteps eating along the way saw him, especially his basket, which was full of all kinds of daily necessities.

Upon seeing this, neighbor Granny Zhang exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my, Lei Zi, have you emptied the entire supply and marketing cooperative?"

Zhao Lei retorted irritably, "Third Aunt, last time you said you'd marry your granddaughter off to me, to be my fourth daughter-in-law. I was thinking of getting the house all ready, preparing to marry a new daughter-in-law."

Granny Zhang was so angry that she choked on her food and patted her chest for a long time before she could catch her breath: "You damn brat, you still have your eyes on my granddaughter."

"Get out! Don't think that just because you killed a black bear and earned a reward, I'll give you my granddaughter in marriage!"

Zhao Lei: "Third Aunt, I think you're just sour grapes. Look at me now, I have plenty to eat and drink, meat at every meal, I can support a whole family, so what's wrong with introducing Tingting to me? Do you think she'd be doing me a disservice?"

Zhao Lei sniffed the air: "Hmm, I can smell the meat coming from my house. Grandma, what did you have for dinner?"

The old woman couldn't argue with Zhao Lei at all. Looking at her bowl, she saw only a few vegetable leaves, with not a drop of oil.

He angrily flicked his sleeve, turned around, and went back into the house!

Seeing the old woman get the short end of the stick, Zhao Lei was in a great mood.

The heavy load on his back seemed to lighten considerably as he walked briskly toward his own yard.

"Hey, Dad's home!"

Zhao Yupei was playing with her younger siblings at the door when she spotted Zhao Lei in the distance and shouted excitedly.

Zhao Lei: "Kids, come here, come see what Dad brought back for you!"

The little ones had already seen the basket filled with all sorts of new things, and the older ones, leading the younger ones, rushed forward and surrounded Zhao Lei.

Looking at the children's adorable faces, Zhao Lei felt a surge of satisfaction and contentment.

All my hard work and exhaustion these past few days have been worth it!

Life is getting better day by day.

This warm and lively everyday life is exactly what Zhao Lei has never had before, yet longs for day and night.

"San Shi is back?"