It turned out that the contents of the basket were… snakes!
Lu Zhaozhao, fearless in every other circumstance—even able to stay calm while performing bloody surgeries—had only one thing she truly feared.
That was snakes.
The thought of their slippery, cold, smooth, almost eel-like bodies made her break out in goosebumps all over.
And just now, without any preparation, she had been confronted with such a shocking sight. Naturally, she had been completely terrified!
Hearing her scream, the two little ones who had been playing outside, along with Gu Yan inside the house, rushed over.
“Little Aunt, what’s wrong?”
“Lu Zhaozhao, what’s wrong?”
“Snakes! So many snakes!”
Lu Zhaozhao pointed at the basket not far away, her voice trembling with fear.
Gu Yan immediately understood and hurried to her side, helping her up while soothing her:
“Don’t be afraid. They’re all dead. I was planning to take them to town to sell.”
“So… the thing you caught the most while hunting in the mountains… were snakes?”
Lu Zhaozhao found it unbelievable. She had read novels before, and the most common prey for hunters was supposed to be wild boars.
Why did it turn out completely different with him?
Wild boar meat was so delicious!
Gu Yan didn’t understand her thoughts, but he nodded seriously and explained:
“Animals in the mountains are very clever and hard to catch. Snakes are the most abundant, so they’re relatively easier. Also, these are all non-venomous and completely dead, so don’t worry—they won’t bite you.”
“Yes, Little Aunt, don’t worry. They’re all dead. Our meals have always depended on the snakes Little Uncle caught.”
“That’s right. Snakes can be sold for money, and money can buy rice!”
The two little ones saw how scared she was and quickly nodded in agreement.
In their minds, these creatures were basically the same as delicious food. Little Uncle had said they didn’t bite, so there was nothing to fear. They couldn’t understand why Little Aunt was so frightened.
Indeed, women needed to be protected.
Momo quietly vowed in his heart to protect Little Aunt. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have such tasty meals to eat.
After being consoled by one adult and two children for a while, Lu Zhaozhao finally calmed down.
But afterward, no matter what Gu Yan said, she kept her distance from him and his basket.
The look of disgust on her face was far too obvious.
Gu Yan felt helpless. To him, snakes were no different from rabbits—both were animals that could be sold for money.
So the two of them walked side by side, talking at a distance, heading toward the town.
The closest town to Xinghua Village was Ping’an Town, roughly ten li away. On foot, it would take them about half an hour.
Lu Zhaozhao hadn’t walked such a long distance in a while. She stopped to rest several times along the way before slowly following Gu Yan to their destination.
Upon reaching town, they went straight to a general store—a place Gu Yan often sold his game to. The store owner bought all kinds of goods, which Gu Yan found convenient, so he always sold to him.
Seeing business arriving, Shopkeeper Yang called out warmly:
“Oh! Brother Gu, you’re here again. What did you hunt today?”
“Good day, Shopkeeper Yang. Same as before: pheasants, rabbits, and snakes. All caught this morning. Fresh, guaranteed,” Gu Yan said politely, his expression neutral.
“All right, all right. I trust Brother Gu. Then let’s do it like before: for all this, I’ll give you two taels of silver. Is that okay?”
“Okay…”
Gu Yan had just uttered a single word and hadn’t even thanked him when a sharp voice interrupted.
“Wait, Shopkeeper. Did you say two taels of silver?”
Lu Zhaozhao hadn’t intended to interfere. She had planned to quietly wait for her husband to sell the goods, then use the money to buy seasonings and ingredients for some tasty meals for the family.
But after hearing the conversation, she immediately sensed something was wrong.
Even as a newcomer, she knew that selling all this for just two taels of silver was a terrible deal.
For one, the snakes carried bile, which was medicinal and valuable. Add the meat from all these snakes—despite her dislike for snakes—she knew snake meat was good, and she had heard it was incredibly delicious.
In her previous life, she had known that many in the south loved snake soup for its exquisite taste.
All of this, and Shopkeeper Yang was only offering two taels of silver? That was outrageously unfair!
Hearing the woman’s voice, Shopkeeper Yang assumed she hadn’t heard correctly and repeated himself:
“I said two taels of silver. Little wife, are you Brother Gu’s wife?”
“Oh, he’s my husband, Shopkeeper. Isn’t this too unfair? All this, and only two taels of silver?”
Hearing that, Shopkeeper Yang instantly grew agitated. “Why is this little wife so impolite? Selling here saves you so much effort, and you still complain? Two taels of silver. Take it or leave it. If not, turn right out the door and figure it out yourself.”
He had thought Brother Gu was easy to deal with, which was why he liked buying his goods—high profits every time. But today, a little wife had accompanied him, cleverer than that foolish boy, and immediately saw the deal was very profitable.
But if there wasn’t money to be made, he wouldn’t have bothered. He had thought the wild game would sell so easily! Such naivety.
Lu Zhaozhao was hot-tempered. Seeing this man speak so unfairly and disrespectfully, she immediately grabbed Gu Yan to leave.
Though Gu Yan and Shopkeeper Yang were old acquaintances, they were only on nodding terms. He followed Lu Zhaozhao out of the store.
Once outside, he couldn’t help but ask:
“Is Shopkeeper Yang really taking advantage of me?”
“Yes, Gu Yan. No matter what, your goods could never be worth only two taels of silver. Did you always sell your game to him? Did he always only pay two taels?”
Lu Zhaozhao said firmly. Remembering their earlier conversation, she realized this was not their first transaction. Knowing Gu Yan had been taken advantage of for so long made her heart ache.
She felt sorry for the money!
Gu Yan nodded and then shook his head. Then he said, “Sometimes, if there’s a bit more goods, he’ll give three taels.”
After saying this, he regretted it a little. He truly hadn’t known how much he was losing!
He had only thought that selling to him allowed him to get silver quickly, so he didn’t want to bother. Back when he was in the Capital City, a single meal cost dozens of taels of silver, and he had never cared about prices. Not knowing this was understandable.
But now, times had changed. He was no longer the carefree young master who could squander money.