Ye Zhifeng was extremely surprised when he saw the twenty yuan.
That was more than half a month’s salary for a town worker. Since Ye Xiaoli could earn that much money, she clearly still had some value.
“How many days did it take you to earn this money?”
Ye Zhifeng was excited.
This was a golden hen that could lay eggs. If he married her off so early, who would earn money for him in the future?
Ye Xiaoli opened her mouth to tell the truth, but Ye Jin spoke first.
“Xiaoli spent half a month earning that money. She has to do housework and make money at the same time, so it hasn’t been easy.”
“That’s right, that’s right. It took me half a month to earn it. Making money is harder than I imagined, but not impossibly hard.”
Ye Xiaoli nodded repeatedly.
She was still quick witted enough to catch on immediately.
If she told her father she could earn twenty yuan in a single day, she might expose Jinjin’s secret.
Besides, with her father’s personality, he would definitely take every cent she earned. In the end, none of the money she worked so hard for would belong to her, and she still would not be able to stand proudly on her own.
Jinjin really was clever.
Saying she earned twenty yuan in half a month was believable while also making her father reconsider her value.
“Hand it over. Give me all the money!”
Ye Zhifeng rudely snatched the money from Ye Xiaoli’s hand and stuffed it into his pocket.
“Dad, I worked hard to earn that money. Are you really taking all of it?”
Ye Xiaoli stomped her feet in anger.
Ye Zhifeng rolled his eyes at her.
“You’ve been eating my food for free all these years. What’s wrong with letting me spend some of the money you earned? Other people’s daughters already buy liquor for their fathers. You’re this old and still eating free meals at home. Starting today, you owe forty yuan a month for food expenses!”
Ye Zhifeng’s eyes darted around.
If his daughter could give him forty yuan every month, there was no harm in keeping her around for another couple of years.
“But weren’t you planning to marry me off? Once I’m married, I’ll be eating someone else’s food, and any money I earn will belong to my husband’s family. How could I bring it back to support you?”
Ye Xiaoli’s thoughts were a mess.
She felt hopeful, yet afraid that hope would vanish.
So she deliberately used the lines Ye Jin had taught her to provoke her father.
“Forty yuan a month means four hundred and eighty yuan a year. Someone wants to marry a daughter of the Ye family for only two hundred yuan? He can keep dreaming!”
Ye Zhifeng rapidly counted on his fingers and soon finished calculating.
Ye Xiaoli’s face immediately lit up with joy.
Just a few days of earnings had changed her father’s mind.
It seemed that working hard and making money really could change her fate.
“Exactly. Uncle Ye raised such a wonderful daughter. You really shouldn’t let her husband’s family benefit so cheaply!”
“Dad, how about this? The next time someone comes to propose, ask for three thousand yuan. What do you think?”
“My daughter is worth at least three thousand yuan!”
Ye Zhifeng became completely carried away.
Seeing that her goal had been achieved, Ye Jin covered her mouth and laughed.
The crisis had been resolved, and Ye Xiaoli was beaming as well.
Gu Yan removed his backpack and quickly armed himself while crouching on the ground.
The wolf pack was not idle either.
Step by step, they closed in on him.
The wolves were almost upon him.
Gu Yan took out a fire starter and lit the homemade explosive charges he had just prepared.
He hurled them toward the center of the wolf pack.
Firelight flashed.
The wolves instinctively retreated several steps, but they were too slow.
With a thunderous boom, the two charges exploded in the middle of the pack.
The explosives were not particularly powerful, but the deafening sound was enough to send many wolves scattering in terror.
The Wolf King howled desperately to rally them, but the pack could not overcome its fear.
Gu Yan drew the dagger from his waist and, using the moonlight as cover, leaped toward the Wolf King.
He moved with the agility of a leopard.
In the blink of an eye, he was astride the Wolf King’s back.
The Wolf King’s pride could never tolerate being challenged by a weak and insignificant human.
It roared furiously.
Every muscle in its body tensed as it twisted violently and sprinted despite the extra weight.
Its only goal was to throw off the annoying parasite clinging to its back.
The young Wolf King was powerful and vigorous.
Its muscles bulged as it ran.
It constantly changed directions and occasionally whipped its head around.
One careless mistake from Gu Yan would send him flying or even cost him a chunk of flesh.
Gu Yan’s left hand clamped around the Wolf King’s neck like an iron vise.
His right hand gripped the dagger and drove it downward.
The bones around a wolf’s neck were thick and tough, further protected by dense fur.
An ordinary knife could never pierce them.
Gu Yan’s dagger was forged from fine steel.
It was not capable of cutting through iron like mud, but with the right angle, slitting the Wolf King’s throat was far from impossible.
He adjusted his position and stabbed again.
Spots of blood appeared on the Wolf King’s snow white fur.
The wound itself did not cause significant damage immediately, but it gave Gu Yan a precise target.
Every strike that followed landed in the exact same spot.
The Wolf King sensed death approaching.
Ignoring the pain, it threw back its head and howled desperately, calling for its subordinates to return.
The howl worked.
The wolves began converging once more.
Taking advantage of a brief opening, Gu Yan lit two more explosive charges.
The wolves that had just returned scattered in terror again.
Seizing the opportunity, Gu Yan stabbed the Wolf King several more times.
Its howls grew weaker.
Its resistance steadily diminished.
The man and the wolf remained locked in struggle for another half hour.
In the end, the Wolf King collapsed heavily from blood loss and exhaustion.
“It’s finally dead. What a troublesome beast.”
Gu Yan skillfully skinned the wolf.
His knife work was exceptional.
Apart from the deliberate cuts he had made earlier, the entire pelt remained perfectly intact.
In truth, with his actual skill, he never needed to fight the Wolf King for so long.
The main reason was that the wolf’s fur was simply too beautiful.
It was an extremely rare pure white color.
A pelt like this would certainly fetch a high price at the market.
Even if he kept it for himself and made fur clothing, it would be an excellent choice with the right craftsmanship and design.
He tied the wolf pelt around his waist and cut off both hind legs.
Wolves spent their lives running.
The muscles in their legs were dense and powerful.
If he wanted to roast them, they would require special preparation. Otherwise, they would be nearly impossible to chew.
Gu Yan continued walking until he reached the foot of the mountain.
Finding a sheltered corner out of the wind, he started a fire and roasted the meat.
The wolf meat was chewy.
The wolf pelt in his arms was warm.
Gu Yan opened his backpack and took out scissors and needle and thread.
Using the firelight for illumination, he gave the pelt some basic processing.
In his mind, he pictured the graceful silhouette of a young woman.
Following that image, he cut the pelt into a cloak.
The leftover scraps were trimmed into decorative edging for the hem and cuffs.
Two braided strips of wolf fur hung from either side of the collar, ending in soft little pom poms.
The design of the cloak was simple.
Yet it possessed an understated elegance.
The wolf fur was flawless white, without a single impurity.
The tips of the fur shimmered faintly beneath the moonlight.
If she wore it, she would be breathtakingly beautiful.