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

Zhao Lei secretly made up his mind to go to town this time to see if there were any suitable items to buy for his family.

He didn't even want to think about motorcycles anymore. These days, motorcycles are incredibly expensive, and no ordinary rural family owns one.

Even though Zhao Chenghu's family was well-off, his older brother Zhao Chenglong only rode a 28-inch bicycle.

Even in the 21st century, it would have been around the early 2000s that motorcycles were a common possession for rural families, which is still more than 20 years away.

Cars and such are even more of a luxury!

Meanwhile, his three ex-wives were also busy rummaging through drawers and cupboards at home, looking for things to put the fish in.

In the end, since they couldn't find anything decent to put the fish in, they had to cover the two baskets they used for carrying things at home with two thick layers of waterproof cloth to use as fish containers.

Although it looks rather shabby, there's nothing we can do about it; this is all the family can afford.

Zhao Lei secretly decided that he should buy two large foot basins for the family!

Many things are only discovered when you actually need them, and then you find you have none at all...

Just as Zhao Lei and his two brothers-in-law finished loading the fish, Wang Zongbao arrived at the gate of the courtyard in his oxcart.

Zhao Lei waved goodbye to his ex-wives, and the four brothers put on their straw hats and raincoats again, braving the drizzle to drive their oxcart to Qingfeng Town.

Having learned from their previous experience selling wild boar meat, the brothers were quite adept at it this time, heading straight to the textile factory gate.

As soon as Wang Zongbao started hawking his wares, he immediately attracted several nearby residents.

"Fish for sale! Fish for sale! Fresh, big fish just caught from the river!"

"Hey guys, you're really hardworking! It's been raining quite heavily today, and you even went out fishing?"

"Hehe, Auntie, look at these fish, they're all jumping around! They were just caught not long ago, they're incredibly fresh."

Several residents holding flower umbrellas stared intently into the basket.

Sure enough, the fish inside were lively and energetic, and there were some water plants floating in the basket.

Everyone saw that the young men hadn't lied; the fish were indeed very fresh.

"Alright, young man, pick out a big silver carp for me."

Zhao Lei immediately picked out a large silver carp weighing four or five pounds from the basket. "Auntie, how about this silver carp? It's priced at 35 cents, but you can take it for 1.6 yuan."

The woman, who was in her fifties, saw that Zhao Lei was tall and handsome, and had a pleasant voice.

She had originally planned to haggle over the price, but Zhao Lei kept calling her "Auntie," which made her very happy, so she simply bought it for 1.6 yuan.

The other people who had come over just to watch the fun couldn't resist buying one or two fish each when they saw that Zhao Lei and his group had indeed caught fresh fish.

One by one, several other merchants saw their neighbors returning with large fish and, seeing how tempting they were, came to patronize their businesses as well.

In just half an hour, Zhao Lei and his team had already made a good profit selling fish, selling thirty or forty catties of fish.

But once the initial excitement wore off, the streets suddenly became deserted.

The four brothers leaned against the eaves of the textile factory gatehouse and waited for another half hour.

Only one or two people walked by sporadically on the street; the fish simply wouldn't sell.

Qin Bowen asked anxiously, "Brother-in-law, what happened? Why is everyone suddenly gone?"

"Bowen, it's been raining all day. Although the rain isn't as heavy now, many people aren't going out much."

Wang Zongbao nodded repeatedly: "Yes, there are hardly any pedestrians on the street."

Qin Dashan comforted them, "Let's wait a little longer. I reckon everyone will be heading out soon."

And so, the four brothers squatted under the eaves, utterly bored.

Zhao Lei, as if possessed, went to the supply and marketing cooperative next door and bought several packs of Hongmei brand cigarettes.

These cigarettes aren't cheap; each pack costs 34 cents, second only to popular brands like Daqianmen and Mudan. They're considered mid-to-high-end cigarettes in ordinary rural areas.

After all, most rural people were still smoking Yangqun or Baocheng cigarettes, which cost nine cents a pack.

Zhao Lei bought cigarettes and gave a pack to each of his brothers.

Qin Dashan asked in confusion, "Lei Zi? Why did you buy cigarettes? And Hongmei at that? That's too much money!"

"Brother-in-law, you should smoke less of those cigarettes, they're strong. Try this instead."

Wang Zongbao didn't stand on ceremony at all, saying "Thank you, Brother Lei" while searching for his matchbox. He only realized after finding it that the matches were already soaked.

Zhao Lei thoughtfully handed the match over, protecting the flame. One match lit four cigarettes, and finally, the flame was handed to Zhao Lei, who casually waved it out.

This move was considered a classic. Later, when lighters became more common, few people used matches anymore. Zhao Lei missed this elegant way of lighting a fire for a long time.

Since his rebirth, Zhao Lei has rarely smoked. I don't know what's wrong with him lately; perhaps he's under a lot of pressure.

Yesterday, Zhao Chenglong gave him a cigarette, which he enjoyed immensely. Today, inexplicably, he started smoking again.

On a rainy day, under the eaves, four brothers squatted in the corner, puffing away on cigarettes.

It looked somewhat shabby, yet it was also quite meaningful.

After smoking several cigarettes, no one came to buy fish anymore.

Qin Dashan threw away his cigarette butt, getting impatient as well: "Leizi? How about we go somewhere else? It's really because of the weather today, there aren't many people on the streets."

Zhao Lei thought about it for a moment and felt that it made sense.

After all, the brothers had been here for almost an hour, wasting a lot of time, and the rain not only didn't let up, but it also showed signs of getting heavier.

Zhao Lei waved his hand: "Alright, load the fish into the car, let's go somewhere else."

Just as the brothers had loaded the baskets onto the oxcart, the gate of the textile factory was suddenly pushed open, and two middle-aged men in white shirts and trousers hurriedly walked out.

One of them, who looked quite well-off, looked around as soon as he stepped out of the factory gate and spotted Zhao Lei and his group at a glance.

Seeing them about to leave, he quickly jogged a few steps to catch up and called out, "Hey, young men, wait! Are you selling fish?"

Zhao Lei and his companions turned around in surprise, thinking to themselves: Business has come in.

Two middle-aged men ran up and peered into the basket.

Seeing the lively fish, a smile appeared on his face, and he reached out and scooped one up for a closer look.

"Hey guys, how much are these fish? They look pretty good to me."

Zhao Lei smiled and stepped forward to offer cigarettes. "Boss, these are all fresh fish that we just caught from the river. Silver carp are 35 cents a pound, and the smaller ones are cheaper. I'll give you a price quote for the other types of fish one by one."

The two middle-aged men exchanged a glance, their eyes landing on the Hongmei cigarettes Zhao Lei offered. They complimented, "Oh, you even smoke Hongmei! Looks like you fishmongers make quite a bit of money."

"Oh, boss, you're joking. We're just braving the heavy rain to earn a little money. If we catch a cold, we don't even know if the money we earn will be enough for medical expenses."

The middle-aged man burst into laughter at Zhao Lei's words, then waved his hand generously: "Alright, young man, I'll take all of these fish."