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

"You young people are all strong and vigorous, but when it comes to hunting, an old guy like me has more experience. They say having an elder in the family is like having a treasure, you see..."

Zhao Lei immediately understood.

So it turns out Uncle Changlin has come to offer his pledge of allegiance.

Zhao Lei thought about it.

Indeed, Qin Dashan was quite good at marksmanship.

Wang Zongbao and Qin Bowen are only beginners; they often fail to hit the target even after two or three shots.

This is indeed extremely deadly for hunting!

The good thing is that these two lads are full of energy and their strength is quite useful.

Moreover, Wang Zongbao also demonstrated his talent in selling wild boar meat.

Qin Changlin is indeed the most famous old hunter in Heping Production Brigade. Although he is now over fifty years old, he is very healthy and can trek for several hours through mountains and rivers. Sometimes he is more energetic than the young people.

Zhao Lei thought Qin Changlin was indeed quite good. Having another skilled hunter would definitely improve hunting efficiency.

In the end, Zhao Lei made the final decision.

"Sure, Uncle Changlin, as long as you don't mind us being a burden!"

Qin Changlin was overjoyed.

Although he is an experienced hunter, for some reason, he has been having bad luck lately, or perhaps he just didn't choose a good day.

Since entering the mountains, the harvest has always been mediocre.

Even catching a pheasant is considered good; he has excellent marksmanship and hunting skills, but he can't find any prey.

After hearing about the wild boar herd appearing in Qingshuigou, he was itching to get his hands on one.

But Zhao Chenghu was both his strength and his weakness.

This kid spread the word everywhere, and now waves of people are preparing to go to Qingshuigou to hunt wild boars. According to several hunting teams he knows, they all want to go.

A rift also emerged in Qin Changlin's old hunter team, with several middle-aged young men preparing to go into the mountains alone, leaving him and some of the old hunters behind.

After all, why would these old guys need to share a piece of the pie when there are wild boar herds that are already in sight?

As for Qin Changlin, he was always the leader on every hunt. This time, when they went to hunt wild boar, he would most likely take the lion's share. So, the young and strong hunters formed their own team and abandoned him.

Qin Changlin originally intended to work alone, but the risks were extremely high, and transporting the prey was also a difficult task.

Just as he was struggling to make a decision, his youngest daughter, Qin Xiaocui, suddenly muttered that Wang Zongbao and Zhao Lei from the militia had gone hunting all night and had split several hundred yuan.

This piqued Qin Changlin's interest, and after some questioning, he learned the details.

After thinking it over, I decided that teaming up with Zhao Lei would be a good idea.

Earning a few hundred yuan is an astronomical figure; it's enough to feed the family for quite some time.

That's why he shamelessly braved the light rain to find Zhao Lei.

Zhao Lei agreed so readily, which made him feel relieved.

The two chatted for a while.

Seeing that the rain had stopped outside, Qin Yuchan reminded Zhao Lei, "Sanshi, now that the rain has stopped, why don't you go to the Taiyang Brigade and check what the price of red bricks is at the kiln recently?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Changlin asked, "Lei Zi, what do you need red bricks for? What are you planning to repair at home?"

Zhao Lei didn't hide anything: "Uncle Changlin, our family is getting bigger and bigger. I'm planning to have a second or third child, so I'm thinking of building a house for the family."

"Building a house? That makes sense. Your house was built by your grandfather's generation in our brigade, and it's definitely got a lot of problems after all these years. Lei Zi, when do you plan to start construction? I know several bricklayers, and they're all very skilled. We had them do the new tile work and rammed earth wall work for our house, and they're all very good at it."

"I don't plan to build a mud-brick house; I plan to build a red brick house directly."

Upon hearing this, Qin Changlin was taken aback: "What? A red brick house? How much did that cost?"

In the entire Heping Production Brigade, not a single family had built a red brick house.

Only the neighboring Qingshuigou production brigade has developed well in recent years, with two or three families building red brick houses.

Because of the red brick kiln, several families in the Taiyang Production Brigade also built red brick houses.

In those days, those who could afford to build a red brick house were all wealthy and exceptionally well-off individuals.

Qin Changlin was greatly shocked when Zhao Lei suddenly said he wanted to build a red brick house.

After all, Zhao Lei has only been back for a few days, and he already has plans to build a red brick house.

After thinking it over carefully, he realized that his choice to come to Zhao Lei today was the right one.

Zhao Lei has been hunting these past few days and has had a good harvest. He earned more than two hundred yuan just from hunting a bear last time.

Qin Changlin couldn't help but gasp, thinking to himself: It seems that Zhao Lei and his men really did load a lot of goods last night, otherwise how could they have the confidence to build a red brick house directly?

Zhao Lei smiled calmly and said, "Uncle Changlin, times are changing. Mud-brick houses will eventually be phased out. I just wanted to fix my house right away. You see, when it rains, it pours outside and drizzles inside. And if there's a strong wind, I can't even sleep well."

Qin Changlin nodded repeatedly, looking at the puddle on the ground, and chimed in, "Yes, Lei Zi, what you said makes sense. Whenever you start work, just let me know, and I'll come help. You don't need to pay me; just treat me to a meal."

Zhao Lei was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Alright, Uncle Changlin, then I won't stand on ceremony with you."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Qin Changlin happily left.

Through this communication with Zhao Lei, the two got closer and finalized their idea of ​​teaming up for hunting in the future.

Zhao Lei sat in the main room, watching Qin Changlin's departing figure, and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Hey, should I ask Zongbao's opinion? If Uncle Changlin finds out his youngest daughter has been mistreated while working with his future father-in-law, will he break Zongbao's legs?"

Zhao Lei was enjoying a rare moment of peace today. It was raining outside, and he wandered around his old house, taking the opportunity to check on its condition.

You wouldn't believe it until you look closely; it's truly a sight to behold...

Several roof beams were already teetering on the verge of collapse, and the rubble overhead resembled a starry sky, mottled and fragmented.

There were seven or eight leaks in the main room alone, and all the basins and bowls in the house had to be brought out to catch the water, so Zhao Lei had to carry water out to the yard from time to time.

"Sigh, it seems I can't delay any longer. With all the rain in the summer, I wonder if my old house can withstand it?"

Just as Zhao Lei was worrying, his second daughter, Zhao Yuyuan, ran over holding a white object and exclaimed with delight, "Dad, look!"

"What's wrong, Yuanyuan?"

"Dad, look at this, can we eat it? It seems like Auntie used to pick a lot of these and cook them for us, they were so delicious."

Zhao Lei took the item from Zhao Yuyuan's hand and looked at it closely.

This thing is about the size of a palm; it's a white, umbrella-shaped mushroom.

Zhao Lei was overjoyed: "Isn't this a termite mushroom? Yuanyuan, where did you find it?"