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

Upon hearing this, Qin Bowen and Huang Zongbao's eyes widened: "What? You want it all? There are still eighty or ninety pounds left!"

The middle-aged man laughed heartily: "Haha, young man, don't think that just because you only have two baskets, I can eat several hundred more pounds of food."

Zhao Lei said, "That's great, boss. As long as you want fish, I'll find a way to get you more."

The middle-aged man felt a strong connection with Zhao Lei and waved his hand, saying, "Sure, brother. Then, could you please help me carry these two baskets of fish to the factory? It's raining outside, so it's inconvenient. I'll pay you when we get there."

After saying that, the two middle-aged men led the way, had the gatekeeper open the gate, and led Zhao Lei and the other three into the factory.

The four brothers, in pairs, parked the oxcart outside and carried the baskets into the textile factory.

After arriving at the factory, we went straight to the canteen.

Zhao Lei then learned that the middle-aged man he was talking to was actually Deputy Director Li of the textile factory, and the person next to him was Old Su, the workshop director.

The fishpond owner who supplies the factory canteen has suffered heavy losses because the fishpond was washed away by the continuous heavy rains of the past two days, and the canteen has been out of fish for two or three days.

Deputy Factory Director Li learned from the gatekeeper that a few young men were selling fish at the gate, so he rushed out and bought all of Zhao Lei's fish in one pot.

Zhao Lei and his brothers were busy sorting and weighing the fish.

After finishing his work, Zhao Lei went up to talk to Deputy Factory Director Li.

"Director Li, we have a total of 92.6 jin of fish. We'll also give you the loach and eel as a gift; they're all fresh local produce and very nutritious."

Deputy Factory Director Li glanced at the loaches in the bucket, estimating that the loaches and eels together weighed about two or three pounds, and nodded with a smile, saying, "Brother Zhao Lei, you're too kind. Then I'll gladly accept your offer."

The two chatted for the time it takes to smoke a cigarette.

Deputy Factory Director Li readily settled the bill for the fish, totaling fifty-eight yuan and sixty cents, but he insisted on rounding it up and gave Zhao Lei sixty yuan.

"Director Li, you gave me more than a dollar extra. I feel so bad about that."

"Brother Zhao Lei, just accept it. The loach and eel you gave me are worth quite a bit of money, so overall I'm the one who got a good deal. Besides, it'll be easier to calculate the bill if you four brothers split it up when you get back, since it's a round number."

"Thank you very much, Director Li. By the way, Director Li, you just said that your supplier's fishpond was washed away?"

Speaking of this, Deputy Factory Director Li sighed and said, "Yes, I didn't expect the torrential rain in Qingfeng Town this time to be so severe, it just wouldn't stop. I estimate that it will take more than ten days for our suppliers to clean up the fishponds and resume supplying fish. So, Brother Zhao Lei, if you want to make this money, I'll buy as many fish as you catch in the next two weeks."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Lei readily shook hands with Deputy Factory Director Li: "Brother Li, we brothers haven't been doing this business for long, but since you have this need, I'll try my best to supply it, but I can't guarantee that it will be available every day."

Deputy Factory Director Li repeatedly praised Zhao Lei, saying, "Brother Zhao Lei, then we'll have to trouble you. Our factory consumes about 200 catties of fish every day, and at the very least, we need to improve the meals every two or three days. Pork is expensive, after all. If the workers don't eat well, they won't have the energy to work, which will affect our factory's production targets."

Zhao Lei patted his chest and said, "Alright, Brother Li, I'll take on this job. But... although we're skilled at fishing, we lack the tools."

"Brother, this is easy. I'll write you a letter of introduction. If you lack the tools, just go to Sanhe Township and find Old Zhou."

Zhao Lei asked疑惑地问道, "Brother Li, who exactly is this Old Zhou?"

"Haha, Old Zhou, he's the fishpond owner I told you about who's been in trouble. With my letter of introduction, he'll definitely be able to help. But whether he charges or not, and how well you can negotiate, is up to you. He has plenty of tools; he's busy repairing the fishpond right now and doesn't have time to fish."

"Okay, then I'll trouble you, Brother Li."

"Haha, no problem, no problem. You've solved my immediate problem. But since I've helped you, you have to promise me that you'll deliver at least two hundred catties of fish every two days."

After thinking it over, Zhao Lei realized that with a stable buyer and no worries about sales, it was a sure-fire way to make money.

Besides, even if the brothers can't catch any fish, they can still buy them from the countryside at a lower price and make a considerable profit from the difference.

Zhao Lei was confident he could handle the matter, so he immediately nodded emphatically in agreement.

Subsequently, Director Li wrote a letter of introduction by hand and handed it to Zhao Lei.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the group took their leave.

As Zhao Lei and his group walked out of the Jinxiu Textile Factory, Qin Bowen, with a host of questions in his mind, finally couldn't help but ask, "Brother-in-law? Was that the deputy director of the Jinxiu Textile Factory?"

"Yeah, how could someone with that kind of air of authority be fake?"

"But brother-in-law, he's the deputy factory manager. Why are you calling him 'factory manager' all the time? Isn't that calling him by the wrong title?"

Wang Zongbao chimed in with a puzzled tone, "Yeah, Brother Lei, and you two seem to get along quite well."

Zhao Lei patiently explained to the two younger colleagues, "You two are just too young and lack social experience."

But then Zhao Lei thought again, it's not really their fault. Most rural people in this era are simple and honest, without so many ulterior motives.

People of high status like Deputy Factory Director Li are rarely contacted in daily life, let alone initiated conversations with them.

"Bowen, Zongbao, remember this from now on. The Hongmei cigarettes I bought for you, while not top-of-the-line, are still quite presentable in Qingfeng Town. On one hand, greeting people with a smile and offering cigarettes is a way to build rapport and quickly shorten the distance between you and a strange man."

Furthermore, when addressing a unit leader who also holds a deputy position, the word "deputy" should be omitted when the head of the unit is not present.

Qin Bowen, having at least a high school education, understood immediately.

Omitting the word "deputy" sounds better and implies the auspicious expectation that the other person will be promoted to the official position in the future. With the word "deputy" in the title, it always sounds like the person is inferior.

But Wang Zongbao didn't even finish elementary school and only attended a few night school sessions in his spare time. How could he possibly understand these social niceties?

"Brother Lei, why did you omit the word 'Deputy'?"

Qin Bowen patiently explained it to him, and Wang Zongbao finally understood and nodded repeatedly.

This one small incident opened the door to a new world for Wang Zongbao.

In the future, he ventured out into the world and made the most of the interpersonal skills and social maneuvering he had learned from Zhao Lei.

Wang Zongbao was not good at studying, but he was particularly keen on figuring out how to conduct himself in society, calling him "Brother Lei" affectionately.

"Brother Lei, I have another question. Usually when we sell to individual vendors at our stall, we give them a discount. Today, Factory Manager Li bought everything, but not only did you not give him a single penny off, he even offered to pay more. Why is that?"