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

"Oh my, what's that on his waist? He's hunted so many pheasants!"

"Didn't this kid run away because he owed Lai Mazi gambling debts?"

"A gambler who abandoned his wife and children still knows how to come back; he probably couldn't make it outside anymore."

"Exactly, what a pity for three such good girls! How could they have fallen for him in the first place!"

Zhao Lei ignored him and kept walking towards his father-in-law's house.

Qin Dashan's land was at the east end of the village, and Zhao Lei could see his brother-in-law bending over and weeding in the field from afar.

"Brother-in-law!"

Qin Dashan straightened up and frowned when he saw Zhao Lei: "What are you doing here?"

Zhao Lei walked over and took off two of the fattest pheasants from his waist, handing them over: "Brother-in-law, these are for you."

Qin Dashan was stunned.

Looking at the two pheasants, then at Zhao Lei, his expression changed several times.

"Did you hit him?"

"Just went up the mountain to shoot, every arrow hit its mark, wasn't that awesome?"

Qin Dashan took the pheasant, weighed it in his hand, and couldn't help but glance at Zhao Lei a few more times.

"Goodness, you haven't lost your hunting skills."

Qin Dashan's tone softened considerably, and he even chuckled, a rare occurrence for him.

"That's what I liked about you back then: you're reliable, hardworking, and strong, which is why I married my sister to you."

Zhao Lei scratched his head: "Brother-in-law, I was wrong before. I will make sure that Yu Chan and her mother live a good life from now on."

Qin Dashan was very satisfied to see the changes in Zhao Lei.

Even though his sister and Zhao Lei had already divorced.

But this silly girl seems determined to become a member of the Zhao family, and there's nothing he can do about it.

Now that Zhao Lei has changed, her brother-in-law is genuinely happy for his sister.

Qin Dashan sighed and patted Zhao Lei on the shoulder: "Alright, it's good that you have the intention. Yu Chan is just stubborn but soft-hearted, so try to coax her more."

Peipei misses you too. Dad went to a meeting at the commune today, and Peipei went with him. Once you get past Grandpa, you can bring Peipei back...

"Eh!"

Zhao Lei responded, feeling a warm glow inside.

After saying goodbye to his brother-in-law, Zhao Lei went to the supply and marketing cooperative.

The supply and marketing cooperative was located in the commune compound, in a mud-brick house with a faded sign hanging at the door.

A chubby middle-aged man was sitting behind the counter, dozing off.

Zhao Lei knocked on the counter: "Comrade, do you buy pheasants?"

The middle-aged man opened his eyes and saw the two plump pheasants around Zhao Lei's waist; his eyes immediately lit up.

"Buy, buy, buy! How much?"

"Name your price."

The middle-aged man climbed over the counter, examined the pheasants closely, and exclaimed in admiration, "Good stuff! Quite fresh... Well, it was originally about two yuan and sixty cents each."

There's a shortage of mountain produce lately. I'll give you three yuan for one, six yuan for two, how about it?

This price was not low in 1978; an average worker's monthly salary was only twenty or thirty yuan.

A pound of pork costs only about one yuan.

"OK."

Zhao Lei readily nodded.

The middle-aged man happily accepted the pheasant, licked his lips, and handed Zhao Lei a stack of money, some with small change and some with round numbers.

Zhao Lei took the money and counted it; it was exactly six yuan.

Just as he turned to leave, the middle-aged man suddenly lowered his voice and reminded him, "Brother, I have something to tell you. There have been bears in the mountains lately, so be careful when you hunt, and don't go too deep into the mountains."

Zhao Lei paused, "A bear?"

"That's right! Yesterday, a child from the next village was kidnapped by a bear, and now someone has died!"

The middle-aged man looked outside, then leaned close to Zhao Lei's ear and said, "Brother, to be honest, a leader came to the compound today and is having a meeting about this."

I heard that other brigades have offered rewards: fifty yuan to anyone who can kill that black bear that injured someone!

Fifty dollars!

Zhao Lei's heart skipped a beat.

He touched the three yuan in his pocket, then remembered that he still owed Lai Mazi one hundred yuan, and his mind quickly began to calculate.

"Okay, I understand, thank you, comrade."

Zhao Lei nodded, turned around and left the supply and marketing cooperative.

Instead of going straight home, Zhao Lei turned a corner and headed towards the brigade's breeding area.

The breeding grounds are located at the entrance of the village.

A row of pigsties, housing more than a dozen pigs.

These are all common property of the production brigade.

Jiang Xinyue, the second ex-wife, works here, responsible for feeding pigs and cleaning the pigsty to earn work points every day.

Zhao Lei saw Jiang Xinyue squatting by the pigsty from afar.

Jiang Xinyue wore a simple floral print shirt, which still couldn't hide her graceful curves.

At this moment, he was pouring pig feed into the stone trough; his movements were swift and skillful, clearly those of an experienced worker.

There were several women nearby, some carrying water and others chopping pig feed.

"Xinyue."

Jiang Xinyue looked up and saw Zhao Lei, somewhat surprised: "What brings you here?"

Zhao Lei took out six yuan from his pocket and shoved it into Jiang Xinyue's hand: "Here's the money from selling the pheasants today."

Jiang Xinyue was still a little taken aback.

Zhao Lei didn't care about any of that and took over the work from him, helping to feed the pigs.

"What are you standing there for? You're the chief financial officer of our company, isn't it only right that I hand over my earnings to you!"

Jiang Xinyue was originally the daughter of a capitalist in the city. Her knowledge and experience were second to none. After discussing it for a while, the ex-wives unanimously agreed to let Jiang Xinyue take charge of managing the family's income and expenditure.

Jiang Xinyue lived up to expectations, managing the family's finances meticulously, knowing exactly what money should be spent and what shouldn't.

If she hadn't been so frugal, the family would have faced even greater hardship during the six months Zhao Lei was away.

Therefore, after Zhao Lei obtained the money, the first thing he thought of was to hand it over to the finance department.

At this moment, several women nearby also noticed this scene and stared wide-eyed at the handful of money in Jiang Xinyue's hand.

Six yuan!

The men in her family work themselves to the bone for a month and only earn a little over ten yuan. Zhao Lei earned so much money on his very first day back!

"Oh my, Xinyue, your man must be making a lot of money outside?"

"Yeah, yeah, Lei Zi, have you made something of yourself out there?"

"Xinyue, you're so lucky! Even after the divorce, Zhao Lei still entrusted you with the finances!"

Jiang Xinyue blushed as they spoke.

Zhao Lei looked at the pretty woman, her face covered in sweat and flushed, and inexplicably grinned foolishly.

My wife is so beautiful!

Am I crazy? Why would I divorce such a good wife?

This once pampered capitalist heiress, who never lifted a finger, now sits by the pigsty feeding pigs after marrying him, her hands covered in calluses and cuts from cutting pig feed.

Seeing Jiang Xinyue's hands, Zhao Lei felt a pang of heartache again.

The determination to give them a better life has become even stronger!

"I'll head back now. I'll make you chicken soup tonight." Zhao Lei waved the other two pheasants in front of Jiang Xinyue.

After saying that, he turned and left.

Behind her, several women from the pig farm were still chattering and asking Jiang Xinyue questions.

Jiang Xinyue looked up at Zhao Lei's departing figure, tears welling up in her eyes.

Muran lowered her head again, carefully folded the stack of money, and tucked it into her bosom.

"Has he really changed...?"