Shen Qingyue didn’t dare chase too far. Shen Dabiao and Hunter Chen wouldn’t be able to handle wild beasts—if they were attacked while she was gone, it would be over. Without hesitation, she turned back.
“The big tiger got away. I didn’t catch it.”
There was obvious regret in Shen Qingyue’s voice.
“If it ran, it ran—we’ve still got plenty of prey.” Shen Dabiao stared blankly at the animals on the ground. “One wild boar, seven wolves, and a black bear. That’s at least a thousand jin altogether. How are we supposed to get all this home?”
Shen Qingyue picked some hemostatic herbs, had Shen Dabiao chew them up and apply them to Hunter Chen’s wound, gave him simple bandaging, and fed him two anti-inflammatory pills before slowly saying,
“Hunter Chen is badly hurt—we need to find a doctor quickly!”
“Dad, you help him down the mountain first. Leave these animals to me.”
In the past, Shen Dabiao would never have believed Shen Qingyue could deal with so much prey, but after seeing her skills with his own eyes, he trusted her without question. He helped Hunter Chen up and left.
“Be careful. After I get down the mountain, I’ll send people up to help you.”
Shen Qingyue hummed in acknowledgment.
Once the two were gone, she brought up the system shop.
Food was hard to preserve in this era, and hauling over a thousand jin of meat to the county seat to sell would be too troublesome—better to sell it directly to the system.
“System, the fur on these seven wolves is basically intact—meat and hide included. Will you take them?” Shen Qingyue asked silently.
The system quickly replied:
【Wild gray wolves ×7, 200 star-coins each, total 1400 star-coins.】
Shen Qingyue complained inwardly. Pork belly in the system shop sold for fifteen star-coins per jin; each wolf weighed at least sixty jin, yet it was only worth two hundred—this buyback price was ridiculously low.
Then again, in the real world they would only sell for a few taels of silver, so the system was still better.
She didn’t hesitate. “Sell.”
The seven wolves on the ground vanished.
Her account balance increased by 1400 star-coins.
“System, bears are worth more than wolves—bear gall, paws, and hide are all good stuff. The buyback price should be higher, right?” she continued.
【Black bear, weight 400 jin, fur intact. Buyback price: 1500 star-coins.】
Shen Qingyue nodded. “Sell.”
After a crisp coin-chime, another 1500 star-coins were added to her account.
She took the opportunity to sell the medicinal herbs in her bamboo basket to the shop for sixty-two star-coins—though she kept some rehmannia for Shen Dabiao.
At present, her total balance was 2962 star-coins.
In a great mood, Shen Qingyue decided not to sell the last wild boar to the system—otherwise it would be hard to explain.
She grabbed the boar by its front legs and dragged it downhill. Just as she reached the foot of the mountain, she ran into a group of people.
Shen Dabiao was at the front, with a crowd of villagers behind him.
They talked over one another:
“Dabiao, did Gou Dan really hunt a wild boar, seven wolves, and a black bear all by himself? You didn’t lie to us, did you?”
“How could anyone in the world be that amazing?”
“I don’t believe it.”
“Me neither.”
Shen Dabiao looked proud. “You just haven’t seen it—you’re frogs at the bottom of a well. My son really has that ability!”
Shen Qingyue felt a little embarrassed by the praise and greeted him first. “Dad, why did you bring so many people?”
“I only called three at first, but when the villagers heard you’d caught over a thousand jin of prey, they all wanted to come take a look.” Shen Dabiao peered behind her. “Huh? Why is there only a wild boar? Are the others still on the mountain?”
Shen Qingyue produced the excuse she’d prepared:
“The deep mountains are dangerous. I thought I’d move part of the prey to the outer area first. I’d just finished moving the boar when I turned back and saw the rest were gone—probably dragged away by fierce beasts.”
Shen Dabiao panicked. “Seven wolves and a black bear, all gone? That’s so much silver lost!”
Shen Qingyue lied smoothly. “There was nothing I could do. The inner area is too dangerous—I couldn’t search inch by inch. If something happened to me, I might not even come back alive.”
Shen Dabiao sighed heavily. “Life really is more important than money. At least we still have one wild boar.”
After listening to Shen Dabiao brag all the way over and now seeing only one boar, the villagers couldn’t help teasing:
“One person fighting seven wolves—no storybook would dare write that.”
“Ten grown men couldn’t guarantee subduing a black bear without injuries, let alone one person.”
“Look at Gou Dan—he doesn’t have a scratch on him.”
“Dabiao, you exaggerated too much.”
Shen Dabiao was annoyed. “I didn’t lie! My son really beat wolves and a black bear to death with his bare hands!”
Big trees attract strong winds—Shen Qingyue didn’t want trouble.
She grabbed Shen Dabiao to stop him from talking.
“Uncles, my dad was just joking—don’t take it seriously.” She waved slightly, signaling them to make way. “I need to go home and deal with the wild boar now. Please step aside.”
Only then did the villagers react— even if she hadn’t caught wolves or a bear, being able to hunt a wild boar was already impressive.
The village head was the first to step forward, asking tentatively, “Gou Dan, this boar you hunted must weigh at least two hundred jin. Do you need people from the village to help?”
Shen Qingyue really disliked the name “Gou Dan” and corrected him sternly on the spot: “Don’t call me Gou Dan. Call me by my full name—Shen Qingyue!”
Er Laizi stared straight at the boar, practically drooling. “Gou—” He quickly changed it. “Shen Qingyue, are you selling the boar meat?”
Everyone in the village looked at her eagerly.
Their eyes were full of longing for pork.
The Shen family had a bad reputation in the village—this was the perfect chance to improve it.
Shen Qingyue curved her lips slightly and said clearly,
“We’re all from the same village, so of course I’ll look after everyone. I’ll sell the boar meat at the price from a good harvest year—twenty-two copper coins per jin. Each household can buy up to two jin. Anyone who wants some can come buy it.”
Shen Dabiao raised his thick eyebrows. “It’s a famine year now—pork at the market costs sixty copper coins per jin, and even coarse rice has gone up to thirty. How can wild boar meat be only twenty-two? That’s a huge loss!”
Shen Qingyue patted his shoulder and said firmly, “I said I’d take care of everyone, so I’m not charging high.”
Afraid she might change her mind, the village head hurriedly pulled out forty-four copper coins and put them in her hand. “I’ll reserve two jin of boar meat.”
Er Laizi followed suit and took out his coins. “I’ll reserve two jin too.”
Some villagers who hadn’t brought money crowded forward:
“I’ll go home and get copper coins in a bit—let me help carry the boar first.”
“Thanks.” Shen Qingyue didn’t refuse. The strength talisman was about to expire, and with the original body’s stamina, dragging a boar would be difficult—having help was even better.
A group of villagers carried the boar back to the Shen household.
They boiled water, scraped off the bristles, and butchered it—
Shen Qingyue didn’t have to lift a finger.
Qingshui Village had seventy-eight households. Aside from the Lin family in the east end and the Yang family in the west end, every household bought some boar meat—some two jin, some one.
In total, she sold 2,464 copper coins’ worth.
There were still eighty jin of boar meat and one pig’s head left.
Shen Dabiao eyed the copper coins on the table greedily and reminded her, “You promised before that the money from hunting in the mountains would be split evenly—remember?”
He hadn’t been to the gambling den for quite a while, and his hands were itching.
Once he got the money, he was definitely going to play a few rounds.