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

In this day and age, 10,000 yuan is an astronomical figure, while a house in a county town can be bought for 2,000 or 3,000 yuan.

His family only has a couple thousand yuan in savings, so they simply can't afford that much.

But he couldn't refuse outright right now, so after a moment of silence, he slowly said, "Okay."

Ma Dali, Qiangzi, and Ganjiangdou all smiled at the same time.

"Where's the money?"

Zhao Lei smiled and said, "It's impossible to carry such a large sum of money with me all the time. I need more time to raise it. How about this, you guys choose a location, I'll go back and gather the money, and then come back to complete the transaction."

Qiangzi immediately retorted, "No way! What if you turn around and report me to the authorities as soon as you leave? I think you're just deliberately stalling for time. You'd better hand over the money now!"

Zhao Lei shook his head with a wry smile: "Brother, who would carry 10,000 yuan in cash with them when going into the mountains? It's so inconvenient to carry that much money deep in the mountains."

Qiangzi thought about it and agreed, then turned to look at Ma Dali with a troubled expression.

Ma Dali weighed the matter repeatedly in his mind, unsure whether Zhao Lei's words were true or false.

If they agree, there are too many variables in letting Zhao Lei go back to raise money, and if they are not careful during the transaction, they may fall into a trap.

He hesitated for a moment.

Ganjiangdou's eyes lit up, and he came up with an idea. He pulled Ma Dali aside and whispered to him.

"Brother, we're just after money. If he can really come up with this money, this matter can be settled."

Ma Dali replied in a low voice, "I also want to get the ten thousand yuan, but letting him go back is too risky. If he reports to the authorities and brings men to ambush us, we'll all be arrested."

"Brother, how about this? We'll keep the child, and send one of us to the hotel in town to wait for him to bring the money. The other two of us will wait in the car with the child. Once we get the money, we'll just push the child out of the car and drive away. What do you think?"

After thinking for a moment, Ma Dali felt that this method was feasible.

As the two turned their backs to each other and whispered their conversation, Zhao Lei looked around and his gaze met that of Qiangzi, who was on guard.

Qiangzi was the only one left staring at himself, motionless, wary of Zhao Lei's unusual movements.

Zhao Lei stuck his machete into the ground to indicate that he had no weapon, and reached into his pocket.

Qiangzi warned sternly, "Don't move!"

A moment later, Zhao Lei took out a pack of cigarettes, lit a match, and took a deep drag.

"I'm exhausted from chasing you all this way. I'm just having a smoke, don't be so tense. There are three of you and I'm all alone, what can I do?"

Qiangzi thought about it and agreed. He stared at Zhao Lei puffing out smoke, his dry lips pursed, and his craving for cigarettes kicked in.

They had been traveling through the mountains and forests for a long time, and the cigarettes they had been carrying had long since run out.

Zhao Lei saw through his thoughts and raised his hand to shake the large bottle of liquor in his hand.

"Want one?"

"Okay, give me one."

Qiangzi reached out to take it.

Zhao Lei threw the entire bag of Daqianmen cigarettes at him.

The way it's thrown looks casual, but the landing point is tricky, it's thrown high and off-center.

Qiangzi instinctively stepped to the side and reached out his hands to take the cigarette.

"Wow, you're smoking Daqianmen cigarettes? You're really rich!"

He was somewhat surprised as he caught the cigarette.

At that very moment, Zhao Lei suddenly took action!

He took two steps forward, bent down and picked up the sleeping little stone next to the tree stump, then turned and plunged into the dense forest.

Qiangzi had just taken the cigarette when he heard a noise and looked up, just in time to see Zhao Lei carrying the child and running into the depths of the woods.

He slammed the cigarette to the ground, drew his knife, and quickly chased after the attacker.

The commotion startled Ma Dali and Gan Jiangdou. The two turned around abruptly and saw Zhao Lei's figure disappearing into the woods with the child in his arms. Qiangzi had already given chase.

Ma Dali cursed angrily, "Damn it! Qiangzi, you can't even keep an eye on the people?"

Dried cowpea took off after him, shouting, "Big brother, don't let him get away!"

Ma Dali cursed under his breath and shouted, "Zhao Lei, stop! If you run any further and we catch up, neither of you will survive in the mountains!"

Zhao Lei had already snatched the child, three or four steps ahead of the three people behind him.

He seized the opportunity by taking advantage of the moment when the other party was distracted and launching a sudden attack.

Hearing angry curses coming from behind, Zhao Lei ignored them completely and continued running wildly into the depths of the dense forest.

"Zhao Lei, stop right there! You son of a bitch, I'll kill you! Stop and we can talk, we just want money!"

Curses and shouts came from behind, along with the rustling sound of branches and bushes being violently smashed.

Zhao Lei carried the small stone on his shoulder, protecting the child's head with one hand, and deliberately ran through areas with dense tree branches.

In such dense forests, visibility is limited, and if the pursuers pause even slightly and choose the wrong direction, they will be left far behind.

Zhao Lei put all his decades of hunting skills in the mountains to good use at this moment.

It is difficult for ordinary people to accelerate in the forest, and they are likely to crash into tree stumps and branches.

Zhao Lei, however, was different. He dodged left and right, his movements as swift as a cheetah as he moved through the mountains and forests.

In the blink of an eye, Ma Dali and the others could barely see Zhao Lei anymore; they could only see the branches and leaves of the trees in front of them swaying incessantly.

Ma Dali and the other two were both anxious and annoyed.

"Damn it! Zhao Lei runs like a rabbit!"

Panting heavily, Ma Dali shouted, "Don't say anything more, hurry up and chase him! If he gets away, we won't get the money, and we'll face legal trouble!"

The three chased after him desperately, but they couldn't run fast at all in the dense forest.

Just as we sped up by using a small open space, tree stumps and branches suddenly appeared in front of us.

They don't often go into the mountains and don't know the tricks of running in the forest. Their arms and shoulders are constantly scratched by tree branches, and their skin bleeds.

Ignoring the excruciating pain, he gritted his teeth and desperately chased after them.

Zhao Lei, carrying the child, cut through the thorns and brambles ahead, fleeing swiftly through the forest.

He quickly determined the direction and ran straight towards Hongyan Town.

As long as he gets to the main street of the town, even if Qin Bowen and Qin Dajun's group can't come to his rescue in time, the dense crowd can stop these vicious thugs. This is his only way out right now.

Zhao Lei led the way, deliberately choosing routes through dense forests and overgrown branches.

The vines and branches kept whipping him, leaving deep and shallow scratches and wounds on his face and arms.

Compared to the injuries Ma Dali and the others sustained from being stabbed and scratched by tree trunks and bark, his injuries were relatively minor.

He could clearly hear the shouts of the pursuers behind him gradually fading into the distance, and a surge of joy welled up in his heart, but he dared not be careless in the slightest.

The forest floor was thickly covered with dead branches and leaves, and many tree holes and mud pits were completely covered by dead leaves. If you were not careful, you would fall into danger and be overtaken by the people behind you.

The most important thing now is to avoid the traps and not let the hard-won gap be shortened.

The shouts and curses behind me continued.

"Zhao Lei, stop running! You can't get far with the child in your arms! Don't push us too far, we don't want anyone to die!"

Zhao Lei sneered inwardly.

Let them shout and scream; the louder they shout, the faster their energy is depleted.

He carried the small stone in his arms as he ran, but consciously conserved his energy, avoiding exhaustion in the second half of the journey.