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

In the kitchen, Zhao Lei was busy boiling water, removing the hair, and gutting the animals.

Even the chicken giblets and innards weren't thrown away; they were cleaned thoroughly and kept for stir-frying, making for a rare and delicious dish.

Chop the chicken into pieces, put it in a pot of cold water, bring it to a boil over high heat, and skim off the foam.

There weren't many seasonings at home, just salt, a few peppercorns, and a small handful of dried chili peppers.

Zhao Lei let out a long sigh!

Ugh!

Before his rebirth, he was a bachelor, an old man receiving government assistance, who, despite his advanced age and inability to earn much money, still had no worries about food, clothing, or shelter.

The family is currently full of young and middle-aged men and women, yet they are still struggling to make ends meet.

This allowed him to directly experience the changes in the country's strength and prosperity, how it had developed from poverty to a point where everyone had enough to eat and drink in just over twenty years.

"But it doesn't matter. The wheels of time will soon turn, and with the newfound understanding and perspective, I'm sure I'll achieve something great in this life!"

Zhao Lei snapped out of his thoughts and continued cooking.

Pheasant is naturally delicious, so it doesn't need much seasoning to bring out its original flavor.

The firewood chopped today made the fire in the stove burn very brightly, making Zhao Lei's face glow red.

He washed a few potatoes, cut them into large chunks, and after the chicken had been simmering for half an hour, he added the potatoes to the pot and simmered them together.

Before long, the potatoes had soaked up the chicken soup. Zhao Lei took a bite and found them soft, tender, and flavorful, seemingly even more delicious than meat.

Gradually, a rich aroma of meat wafted from the kitchen...

The fragrance was so strong it seemed to waft through the doors and windows into the yard.

Yuanyuan was playing with her younger brother in the yard when she suddenly took a deep sniff and exclaimed, "It smells so good!"

Little Stone followed suit, sniffing, "Smells...smells good!"

Yuanyuan pulled her younger brother to the kitchen door and peeked inside: "Daddy, is the chicken soup ready?"

"Almost there, just a little longer."

"But it smells so good, and my stomach is rumbling." Yuanyuan touched her stomach, looking pitiful.

Zhao Lei was amused by her. He scooped a small piece of chicken out of the pot, blew on it, and put it into his daughter's mouth: "Try it to see if it's salty."

Yuanyuan chewed a couple of times, then her eyes lit up: "Delicious! Daddy, the meat is so delicious!"

Little Stone stepped forward, stretching out his little hands: "I want it! I want it!"

Zhao Lei scooped up another small piece, blew on it to cool it down, and fed it to his son.

Little Stone smacked his lips, chewing for a long time until his mouth was covered in oil.

By the time dinner was served, it was completely dark.

The main room of the adobe house was very simple.

There was only an old, square wooden table, a kerosene lamp, and a few long, shiny wooden benches.

A large bowl of chicken soup was placed in the middle of the table, with golden chicken fat floating on the surface, emitting a fragrant aroma.

A large bowl of braised chicken and potatoes, a plate of stir-fried chicken giblets with dried chili peppers and garlic sprouts, spicy and appetizing, and a plate of pickled radish strips, sour and crunchy.

The dishes weren't particularly plentiful, but by today's standards, it was comparable to celebrating the Lunar New Year.

There are no rice cookers nowadays; every family eats rice cooked over a wood fire.

Su Wanqing had just returned from the clinic and smelled the delicious aroma as soon as she entered. She exclaimed, "What's for dinner today? It smells so good!"

"Pheasant!" Yuanyuan answered quickly, "The pheasant Daddy hunted!"

Su Wanqing changed into her canvas shoes and walked in. Seeing the dishes on the table, she smiled, a rare occurrence for her: "You actually caught a pheasant on the mountain today?"

"Of course, when has your man ever lied to you?"

Zhao Lei raised an eyebrow smugly, "Go wash your hands, dinner will be served when Xinyue comes back."

Before long, a weary Jiang Xinyue returned home from the darkness.

Jiang Xinyue already knew that Zhao Lei had caught six pheasants and had a good harvest today, so she wasn't surprised.

The long-lost aroma of meat made my mouth water.

"It's been so long since I've eaten meat..."

Jiang Xinyue murmured, a sudden pang of sorrow welling up in her eyes.

His family background was problematic; he was a big capitalist who had been criticized and denounced.

As a result, she was spoiled by her family from a young age and had meat at almost every meal.

When he was a child, he even disliked eating meat.

It wasn't until his whole family was sent to the countryside for labor reform that he realized what a wonderful life he had been living before.

Jiang Xinyue suddenly looked at her daughter who was lying on the table.

The daughter, Zhao Yuyuan, was staring intently at the meat on the table, her little nose constantly sniffing the aroma of the meat.

"It's just that Yuanyuan has suffered..."

Jiang Xinyue has resigned herself to her difficult life, but she feels regret and heartache every time she sees her daughter suffering with her.

Zhao Lei quickly called his family to gather around for dinner.

The whole family sat around the square table, a total of six people. Now, only the eldest daughter, Zhao Yupei, was missing, and the family would be complete.

"Hey? Yu Chan, when is Pei Pei coming home?"

Zhao Lei asked twice before Qin Yuchan finally realized, "Ah? Peipei is at my parents' house. The old man missed his granddaughter, so he let her stay there for a few days."

"Mom and Dad, when are we eating?" Little Yuanyuan asked impatiently.

Zhao Lei then waved his hand, "Alright, alright, let's eat!"

Zhao Lei first put a big chicken leg on Yuanyuan's plate: "Here, give the big chicken leg to Yuanyuan."

Then I put another one on Little Stone's plate: "Little Stone got one too."

The two children immediately hugged the chicken leg with great joy, gnawing on it with juicy mouths and beaming with delight.

Zhao Lei then served each of the three women several pieces of good meat.

Jiang Xinyue took the bowl, whispered a thank you, and lowered her head to eat slowly.

Qin Yuchan held her bowl, eating absentmindedly, poking at the food in the bowl with her chopsticks for a long time, but barely taking a few bites.

Su Wanqing was the same; despite seeing delicious food, she didn't seem to have much of an appetite and put down her chopsticks after eating two pieces.

Zhao Lei saw this and found it increasingly strange.

Just as he was about to ask, Jiang Xinyue suddenly put down her chopsticks, took out a small cloth bag from her bosom, and opened it to reveal a stack of money inside.

"This is the six yuan that Sanshi made from selling pheasants today. I've put it in the account."

Jiang Xinyue put the money on the table and turned to Qin Yuchan. "Sister Yuchan, it's time to buy some new clothes for the children. Little Shitou is still wearing Yuanyuan's old clothes; it's not really appropriate for him to wear girls' clothes. Take out three yuan, sister, and buy some cloth for the children."

Qin Yuchan snapped out of her daze, glanced at the money on the table, and nodded: "Okay, I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow."

Jiang Xinyue then looked at Zhao Lei: "I'll save the remaining three yuan. Peipei will be starting elementary school in September, so we need to prepare the tuition fees in advance."

Zhao Lei nodded repeatedly: "Of course, of course. The four of us making the most of our lives is the most important thing!"

A smile appeared on Jiang Xinyue's face, and she said a few more words, which was unusual for her.

"You hunted six pheasants today, that's a good start. If you can go up the mountain often in the future, you can earn just as much money each month as you do work points. If you work for a few more months and pay off the debt you owe Lai Mazi, our family's life will be much better."

Qin Yuchan listened and finally showed a genuine smile: "Xinyue is right. If you can really change, our family will have hope."

Su Wanqing nodded gently, "I hope you're not just a flash in the pan, and don't disappoint us again..."