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

"Fine...fine, Zhao Lei, you win!"

Faced with the Qin family's relentless pressure, Lai Mazi took two steps back. "Ten days, just ten days! One hundred yuan, not a penny less!"

After saying that, Lai Mazi and his two accomplices slunk away.

Qin Yuchan breathed a sigh of relief, shoved the lamp into Zhao Lei's hands, and glared at his back with her hands on her hips: "Pah! What a piece of trash! You think you can bully the Zhao family because they have no one to rely on?"

Then he turned his head and looked Zhao Lei up and down.

"Are you...are you alright?"

Zhao Lei felt a warmth in his heart and shook his head: "It's nothing."

At this moment, Qin Dashan, the eldest brother-in-law, came forward with several cousins.

Qin Dashan lived up to his name; his towering figure resembled a mountain, and he had thick eyebrows and big eyes. He was a militia platoon leader in the production brigade.

Suddenly, he grabbed Zhao Lei by the collar: "Zhao Lei! How dare you come back?"

"Brother!" Qin Yuchan quickly stepped forward and grabbed him.

Qin Dashan didn't let go, his spittle almost landing on Zhao Lei's face: "Where have you been all these past six months? Do you know what kind of life my sister has been living raising her child alone?"

When Peipei misses her dad, she looks out the window every day. And you, you run away to hide from your debt collectors! What kind of man are you?!

Despite being 1.8 meters tall, Zhao Lei was so badly scolded by his brother-in-law that he couldn't even lift his head and just stood there letting the other person yell at him.

At this moment, Su Wanqing came out of the house carrying Xiao Shitou, with her daughter Yuanyuan following behind.

"Brother Dashan... Brother Sanshi ran away from home because he was afraid of implicating us..."

"Afraid of being implicated?"

Qin Dashan turned to look at her, "Wanqing, stop defending him! If he was really afraid of getting involved, he shouldn't have gambled in the first place! Now he's leaving this mess for you women and running away. What kind of behavior is this?"

Jiang Xinyue, the second ex-wife, leaned against the gate of the courtyard, her slender figure exposed by the lamplight, her fair and pretty face devoid of any color.

She didn't speak, but just looked at Zhao Lei quietly, her gaze wandering.

Seeing her brother getting more and more agitated, Qin Yuchan stamped her feet anxiously, "Brother! Let go! Are you going to wake up the whole village in the middle of the night?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Dashan released his grip and glared fiercely at Zhao Lei: "Fine, I'll give you some face."

Zhao Lei straightened his collar, took a deep breath, and glanced at Qin Dashan's face, then at Qin Yuchan, Su Wanqing, and Jiang Xinyue, before finally returning his gaze to Qin Dashan.

"Brother-in-law, I know I was wrong!"

"I used to be a scoundrel, gambling, accumulating debts, running away, and abandoning my wife and children at home. I was not human."

snort!

Qin Dashan snorted coldly.

Zhao Lei continued, "But this time I'm back, and I don't plan to leave again. I'll take care of Lai Mazi's debts myself. From now on, I'll make sure Yu Chan, Wan Qing, Xin Yue, and the children live a good life."

"What are you going to do? You've been hiding out there for half a year, how much money do you have on you?"

Zhao Lei didn't explain, but said firmly, "Brother-in-law, I know it's no use saying anything more. Give me ten days, and you'll see the result in ten days... okay?"

Qin Dashan stared at Zhao Lei for a long time, while his cousins ​​looked at each other in bewilderment.

Qin Yuchan came to her brother's side and tugged at his sleeve: "Brother, please trust him one more time."

"Just keep spoiling him!"

Qin Dashan, exasperated, shook off his sister's hand.

He then sighed, "Alright, it's getting late, let's head back. Zhao Lei, let me make this clear: if you run away again, don't even mention Lai Mazi, I'll be the first to break your legs!"

After saying that, Qin Dashan turned and left with his cousins.

After a long while, the courtyard gate fell silent.

Only the night wind made the dilapidated wooden door creak.

Zhao Lei looked at the three women, unsure of what to say.

In the end, Jiang Xinyue spoke first.

She placed the kerosene lamp on the stone stool in the yard and said softly, "When I came back from work today, I heard Aunt Wang next door say that Lai Mazi brought his men this way, and that she thought she saw you come back..."

"I was afraid something might happen, so I ran to find Sister Yuchan."

Hehe, looks like you still care about me.

Zhao Lei secretly rejoiced.

These ex-wives, though they complained and hated him, became more anxious than anyone else when they heard he was in danger.

Su Wanqing put the child down and told Xiao Shitou and Yuanyuan to go inside first.

The two children had just been startled awake and were still groggy, but they obediently went inside.

Suddenly, only the couple and their three companions remained in the courtyard.

Qin Yuchan was the first to lose her temper, walking up to Zhao Lei and punching him on the shoulder: "You rascal! You finally decided to come back!"

Zhao Lei, though still a little sore from the punch, chuckled and asked, "Where's Peipei? I haven't seen her."

Peipei is the eldest daughter of Zhao Lei and his ex-wife Qin Yuchan.

"I'm at my parents' house, sleeping with my mother."

"I originally wanted to bring her back, but I was worried something might happen to you, so I came here first."

Zhao Lei nodded: "Then I'll pick her up tomorrow. The whole family should be together."

Su Wanqing stood to the side, looking at Zhao Lei, and cautiously asked, "Brother Sanshi, are you really... not leaving?"

Looking at her red-rimmed eyes, Zhao Lei nodded solemnly: "I'm not leaving! I'd rather die than leave. The four of us living a good life together is more important than anything else!"

Isn't a warm bed and a wife, kids, and family life the best?

With three ex-wives, all of whom are voluptuous and beautiful, why would he even bother leaving?

Next, I just need to make sure my wife and kids are well fed!

Upon hearing this, Su Wanqing's tears immediately fell.

So she quickly turned her face away, wiped it haphazardly with the back of her hand, and said in a slightly choked voice, "Then you should rest early, I'll go cover the child with a blanket."

After saying that, he turned and went inside.

Jiang Xinyue glanced at Zhao Lei, whispered, "I'll go help Sister Wanqing too," and then followed him inside.

Suddenly, only Zhao Lei and Qin Yuchan remained in the courtyard.

Qin Yuchan sniffed, forcing back her tears, and said in a deliberately fierce tone, "You're sleeping in the woodshed tonight, don't even think about coming into my room!"

Zhao Lei was both amused and exasperated: "Fine, I'll sleep in the woodshed then..."

Qin Yuchan glared at him, turned around, took two steps, then stopped and said with her back turned, "You...you weren't hungry outside, were you?"

Zhao Lei felt a warm glow inside: "No, it's fine."

"That's good." Qin Yuchan said, and quickly walked into the house.

Finally, only Zhao Lei remained standing in the courtyard, looking up at the starry sky.

Ten days, one hundred yuan is no small sum...

Zhao Lei pondered that his family was currently penniless, so finding a father-in-law wasn't realistic.

At that point, forget about giving him money; you'd be lucky if he didn't get a beating.

After thinking it over, he realized that the only way to clear his debts in a short time was to rely on his decades of experience as a forest ranger in his previous life and go hunting in the mountains.

Having made up his mind, Zhao Lei finally slipped into Jiang Xinyue's room.

This second ex-wife was originally a capitalist's daughter who was sent to the countryside for re-education. She was pretty and charming, but unfortunately, her family background was bad. In order to survive, she ended up marrying Zhao Lei in his second marriage.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Xinyue not only did not have the problem of being pampered, but also relied on her knowledge and foresight to take the lead in proposing to start a standardized pig breeding industry in the production brigade, which greatly increased the income of the brigade.

Unfortunately, due to her family background, the credit didn't go to her, and she's still not well-liked in the brigade...

At night, Jiangxinyue uttered coquettish complaints repeatedly.

"You're already being naughty as soon as you get back? Sister Yu Chan just told you to sleep in the woodshed!"

"Oh dear, how can you be so heartless? Keep your voice down, they can't hear you..."