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

Zhao Lei worked until well past midnight to feed Jiang Xinyue...

The next day.

Early in the morning, Zhao Lei found an old, dusty bow in the corner of the woodshed.

"Old buddy, I'm counting on you!"

Last night, as he rode his horse at full gallop, he racked his brains about how to make his whole family live a better life.

Earning work points through labor in the production team was too slow; at most, one could earn ten centimeters a day, and clearing out the debt seemed like a distant dream...

In this day and age, it is still very difficult to do business outside the supply and marketing cooperative model. If things are not handled properly, it may lead to speculation and other troubles!

It wasn't until his gaze fell upon the undulating mountains of Jiangxinyue that Zhao Lei slapped his forehead!

Yup!

In my past life, I guarded the mountain for decades. The mountain was full of treasures!

.......

Zhao Lei snapped out of his thoughts and continued wiping and tidying up the bow and arrows.

"After sitting for more than half a year, the bowstring is just a little loose. It looks like we can go up the mountain this morning!"

Then Zhao Lei checked each arrow in the quiver one by one.

Although the iron arrowheads were a bit rusty, it wasn't a big problem.

Tetanus Arrow might have unexpected effects!

On the other hand, it was Jiang Xinyue's turn to make breakfast today.

For some reason, I just couldn't get up today; I actually slept in, which is quite unusual for me...

As a doctor, Su Wanqing's workplace was quite far from the brigade clinic.

Having gotten up early, Su Wanqing only glanced at Jiang Xinyue's door before smiling knowingly and silently taking over her duties.

Just then, Su Wanqing, who had come to get firewood, happened to see Zhao Lei fiddling with a bow and arrow: "Brother Sanshi, what are you doing...?"

"I plan to go up the mountain today!"

"Going up the mountain? Going off to raid bird nests and wander around aimlessly again... Can you please stop causing trouble? Didn't you say you'd changed in front of Brother Dashan yesterday? You said you wanted to live a stable life!"

Although Zhao Lei's family had passed down some hunting skills, he had neglected them.

Instead of doing any production work for the production brigade, they would use the excuse of hunting in the mountains.

Most people waste a whole day and come back empty-handed, at most they might find some bird eggs.

Zhao Lei knew his ex-wife didn't believe him, but he was no longer the naive man he once was.

Having guarded the mountain for decades in his previous life, his hunting skills were not only superb but also outstanding!

"Wanqing...you've gotten so thin. My bones hurt terribly from the fall yesterday. I still prefer a little bit of meat in my body. I'll go get you two some meat!"

When a woman questions your weaknesses, respond with your strengths!

It works wonders!

Sure enough, Su Wanqing blushed with embarrassment when she recalled what happened yesterday, and her tone softened.

"Brother Sanshi, things haven't been peaceful on the mountain lately. A few days ago, Qin Changlin, a hunter from the next village, was scratched and had to be rushed to our clinic overnight where he needed seven or eight stitches before he was out of danger..."

Zhao Lei raised an eyebrow smugly.

My wife still cares about me.

"I know, I'll be careful."

Zhao Lei smiled at her and said, "Don't worry."

Su Wanqing didn't say anything more in the end.

She took two whole-grain cakes from the kitchen and handed them to him: "Take these with you, don't go hungry."

Zhao Lei took the pancake, stuffed it into his pocket, and strode out of the courtyard gate.

The back mountain wasn't far from the village; Zhao Lei reached the edge of the forest in half an hour.

It was just dawn, and the fog was very thick in the woods.

Dew still clung to the branches, and footsteps rustled as they stepped on the fallen leaves.

Zhao Lei took a deep breath to calm himself and focused all his attention on his senses.

Finally, twenty minutes after he entered the woods, he found some traces of pheasant activity.

He followed cautiously for another half hour, when a pheasant's call filled him with joy.

found it!

Zhao Lei held his breath, nocked an arrow, drew his bow, and prepared to fire.

"Whoosh!!"

Suddenly, a pheasant took flight from the bushes not far away!

Zhao Lei suddenly turned around and fired an arrow!

Snapped!

The pheasant, which had taken flight, suddenly plummeted to its death!

Meanwhile, pheasants in other bushes were startled and flew away in all directions.

Zhao Lei reacted quickly, firing three arrows in quick succession and shooting down two more!

Including the one on the ground, we've already caught three.

Zhao Lei quickly picked up the pheasant and continued deeper into the forest...

Time slips away quietly.

By noon, Zhao Lei had six pheasants hanging from his waist.

It was so heavy that it almost broke my belt.

He sat down by the stream to catch his breath, took out a grain pancake and ate a couple of bites with the stream water, feeling quite pleased with himself.

Six pheasants. My brother-in-law, Qin Dashan, has helped the family a lot, so we should send two of them to my father-in-law's family for a treat.

My eldest daughter, Peipei, is still at my in-laws' house, so I'll go pick her up and take her home.

Take two more and sell them to the supply and marketing cooperative...

I'll use the remaining two to give my wife and kids some extra protein tonight.

Having made up his mind, Zhao Lei stood up and patted the grass clippings off his pants.

"Let's head back!"

So they went down the mountain path...

On the way back to the village, Zhao Lei encountered several hunters coming down the mountain, passing over a hillside.

The leader was Qin Changlin, a well-known veteran hunter in the brigade.

Qin Changlin, holding a palm-sized rat in his hand, was boasting to the people next to him, "Look, this is a top-quality field mouse, it's delicious roasted! Who among you is as lucky as me today?"

The hunters nearby had empty hands and looked rather grim.

"Uncle Changlin, stop showing off. We're lucky we didn't run into a bear. I think we shouldn't go into the mountains anytime soon..."

"That's right. I don't know what's wrong with us lately, but all the prey in the mountains seem to have made a pact to hide. We don't dare to go deep into the mountains even when there are bears. If this continues, life will only get harder and harder."

"It's probably because of the bear; it scared these animals, so it's unlikely we'll find anything on the outskirts!"

Qin Changlin and the others sighed, and when they looked up, they saw Zhao Lei walking out of the woods.

Zhao Lei had a long string of pheasants hanging from his waist.

The three of them were stunned!

Their golden feathers gleamed in the sunlight, and each one was so plump it was practically dripping with oil, weighing at least two or three pounds!

"This... Zhao Lei?" Qin Changlin's eyes widened. "You hit him?"

Zhao Lei smiled faintly: "Yeah, I was lucky."

Several hunters gathered around, their eyes filled with envy.

"Holy crap, six pheasants! I haven't hunted that many in a month!"

"Zhao Lei, didn't you run away? When did you come back?"

Qin Changlin glanced at Zhao Lei's prey; all six pheasants were hit with a single arrow!

Moreover, the arrow wounds were either in the neck or the chest and abdomen, all of them fatal!

luck?

Encountering prey is certainly a matter of luck, but successfully approaching and hitting the target with an arrow is no longer just luck!

"Lei Zi, your hunting skills are still as good as ever! You're even better than your dad was back in the day!"

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Zhao Lei left first.

Qin Changlin and a few other hunters were left with expressions of surprise and envy.

There is no harm without comparison!

After thinking it over, the group gritted their teeth and decided not to pack anything or go down the mountain today. They turned around and disappeared back into the forest!

On Zhao Lei's way back to the village, the villagers pointed and whispered among themselves whenever they saw him from afar.

"Isn't that Zhao family's kid? Why is he back?"