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

Qin Yuchan turned to look at the clock on the wall in the main room. The hour hand was almost pointing to six o'clock, and her heart tightened: "Hiss...right, it's already dark outside at six o'clock, why haven't they come back yet?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Lei immediately became anxious: "Where did they go this afternoon?"

"It's just that you and Big Brother left not long ago, and the rain subsided a bit, so Wanqing took Xinyue to pick mushrooms in the back mountain. I figured they should be back by now..."

Unable to rest easy, Zhao Lei picked up the straw raincoat and hat he had just taken off and put them back on: "No, I have to go into the mountains to look for them."

"Wait, San Shi, bring the flashlight."

Qin Yuchan hurriedly took out the flashlight that Zhao Lei had bought recently from her home; it was practically the only electrical appliance in their house.

"You stay home and look after the children, I'll go pick them up."

"Okay, be careful on the road, it's slippery in the dark."

Zhao Lei nodded emphatically and turned to step into the rainy night.

The sky was overcast and oppressive at that moment.

Thick, dark clouds hung heavily in the sky, indicating that tonight would definitely be another downpour.

Zhao Lei didn't dare to delay. Taking advantage of the fact that the rain was still light, he rushed to the back mountain with a flashlight.

"Honestly, it's raining, what are you two doing running around like that?"

Passing by Granny Zhang's house, Zhao Lei saw her walking out so late and called out loudly at the door, "Lei, where are you going so late? It's about to rain heavily, can't you just stay home?"

"Third Aunt, Wanqing and Xinyue haven't returned yet. Have you seen which direction they went?"

"Oh dear, they're still not back. I saw them heading down the side path behind the mountain this afternoon, saying they were going to pick mushrooms."

"Thank you, Auntie. I'll go find them."

Granny Zhang was also a little worried when she heard that Su Wanqing and Jiang Xinyue hadn't returned yet: "Lei Zi, do you need any help?"

Zhao Lei quickly waved his hand: "No need, Auntie. You're so old, don't catch a cold in the rain. They're probably on their way back now, I'll go pick them up."

"Alright, alright, Lei Zi, be careful. Call for help if anything happens."

Zhao Lei thanked Granny Zhang and followed the directions she gave him to head towards the back of the mountain.

Most of the elderly people in the village are like this; they can be sharp-tongued, but when they're in trouble and need help, they're more enthusiastic than anyone else.

In the countryside of this era, the saying "a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative" best reflects the warmth and human touch.

Despite the increasingly heavy rain, Zhao Lei trudged step by step through the muddy road.

As they hurried toward the back of the mountain, they called out the names of Su Wanqing and Jiang Xinyue.

Even after he passed through the bamboo forest and entered the dark woods, he still couldn't see the two figures.

What happened?

Logically, I should have been back by now that it's dark. Could it be that I went the wrong way?

Zhao Lei walked for another ten minutes or so, but still didn't see anyone.

Just as he was becoming increasingly anxious, Su Wanqing's familiar voice finally came from the dark woods in the distance: "Sanshi? Is that Brother Sanshi?"

Hearing the other person's voice, Zhao Lei finally relaxed and quickly waved his flashlight, shouting, "Wanqing, it's me! Is Xinyue with you? Why are you all still not home so late?"

Despite his complaints, Zhao Lei quickened his pace.

Before long, he arrived at the side of his two ex-wives.

Only then did they realize that Su Wanqing and Jiang Xinyue were both soaked to the bone, their faces were pale and their lips were purple from the cold.

Zhao Lei disregarded everything else and quickly took off his raincoat and draped it over Su Wanqing, then put the bamboo hat on Jiang Xinyue, while he himself was exposed to the rain.

As Zhao Lei got closer and shone his flashlight on Su Wanqing's ankle, he noticed blood flowing from it, and his heart skipped a beat: "What happened? What's wrong with your foot?"

Su Wanqing said weakly, "It's nothing serious, I just slipped and fell on the slippery road and twisted my ankle."

"Then why are you bleeding?"

"I just checked it myself, it's just a minor scratch, nothing serious."

Zhao Lei then looked at Jiang Xinyue, who was shivering from the cold beside him: "Xinyue, what about you? Are you hurt?"

Jiang Xinyue replied tremblingly, "I don't have any problems, it's just that it gets dark too quickly, and we can't see the path at all once we enter the woods. We've been wandering around in this forest for about half an hour."

After Jiang Xinyue said that, Zhao Lei looked back at the woods he had come from.

That's right, this awful weather, there's not a ray of light at all.

Outside the woods, you can still vaguely see the road conditions, but once you enter the woods, it's completely dark.

If he hadn't brought a flashlight, he might have wandered around in the woods for ages.

Seeing his two aggrieved ex-wives, Zhao Lei felt very sorry for them.

Beside the two women were two baskets filled with mushrooms.

When Zhao Lei saw the two baskets of mushrooms of different colors, he became even angrier: "What are you guys doing out picking mushrooms in this awful weather? Couldn't you have waited until the weather was better?"

Jiang Xinyue muttered with her head down, "Didn't you say you wanted to repair the house? Wanqing and I have low wages, but we wanted to help out, so we thought the mushrooms on the mountain would grow well after the rain, and we could pick some to sell..."

"Hey, who gave you permission to make money?"

Zhao Lei was perhaps too worried about the two of them, and he unconsciously spoke a little too quickly.

He was about to give the two of them a lecture, but when he saw his two beautiful ex-wives looking pitiful and wronged, he swallowed all his accusations.

With a final sigh, he crouched down, his back to Su Wanqing, and said, "Never mind, let's go home first. As long as you're alright, that's all that matters. Wanqing, come on up, I'll carry you back."

"Brother Sanshi..."

"Stop dawdling. We've been married for ages, are you afraid I'll take advantage of you?"

Jiang Xinyue, standing to the side, transferred the mushrooms from the two baskets into one basket, carried it on her back, and then took the flashlight from Zhao Lei's hand.

"Wanqing, Sanshi is right. Why be so polite with your own man?"

In the end, Su Wanqing could only obediently lie on Zhao Lei's back.

Suddenly, Zhao Lei felt a chill on his back, followed by the softness of their bodies pressed tightly together.

The two were already soaked by the heavy rain, and now they were in close contact.

A blush rose on Su Wanqing's pale cheeks.

But Zhao Lei wasn't really in the mood for tenderness, so he had Jiang Xinyue hold a flashlight ahead, and the three of them quickly descended the mountain.

The mountain road was slippery, and the rain was now heavy enough to be the size of beans.

Su Wanqing was a little better off wearing a raincoat, but Zhao Lei's eyes were almost closed from the raindrops.

Su Wanqing couldn't help but whisper in his ear with heartache, "Brother Sanshi, why don't you put me down and let me walk? I feel like my feet don't hurt as much anymore."

Zhao Lei feigned anger and retorted, "Leave? What are you leaving for? I just saw your feet are all swollen. Don't go to work tomorrow either..."