“Good that no one got hurt. Come on, everyone, help carry this bear and tiger down the mountain,” Zhou Yunda said when he heard that the three of them were safe.
So the villagers carried the black bear and tiger while the trio followed behind back home.
Once they placed the bear and tiger in the courtyard, Zhou Yunda asked Li Wanting, “Dàshān’s wife, how do you plan to handle these two beasts?”
“Big Uncle, we don’t know either… let’s sell them!” Li Wanting thought for a moment and said.
“Mm, that works. Old Lin, where do you usually sell your catches?” Zhou Yunda turned to ask the hunter.
“In the Spring Breeze Restaurant in town—they accept wild game. These bear and tiger aren’t common. Since they’re fresh, you can get a good price,” Lin the hunter advised, glancing at the animals.
“So… what do you think, Dàshān’s wife?” Zhou Yunda asked Li Wanting again.
“Then we’ll follow Uncle Lin’s advice. Let’s take them to town to sell,” Li Wanting decided immediately.
“All right. I’ll go get a cart. Old Lin, you stay and help take them to town. The rest of you can leave—thanks for your help today,” Zhou Yunda bowed politely.
“The village head is too polite. It’s our duty,” the others said humbly, then left.
Zhou Zimo grabbed a stool from the house for Grandpa Lin to sit while waiting for the village head.
“Dàshān’s wife, you were lucky this time. If it hadn’t been that the two beasts fought each other, you and the kids would have been in danger. Next time, don’t rush into the deep mountains like this,” Lin the hunter warned.
“I know, Uncle Lin. Thinking about it now still scares me,” Li Wanting said, patting her chest nervously.
“Mm, selling these two could earn quite a lot, at least 200 taels. That’ll be enough for you and the kids to live comfortably for years. You should take good care of the children,” Lin the hunter said with a smile.
“Yes. With this money, we can buy a few acres of land. At least the three of us will have some security,” Li Wanting said slowly.
“Mm, if anything comes up, just let me know. I won’t refuse to help,” Lin the hunter reminded her again.
“All right, Uncle Lin. I understand,” Li Wanting replied.
Li Wanting chatted with Lin for a while until Zhou Yunda returned with a cart. The three of them loaded the black bear and tiger onto it.
“Dàshān’s wife, it’s getting dark. Leaving the kids at home isn’t safe. If you trust me and Uncle Lin, we can go to town to sell them. We’ll make sure every bit of the money comes back to you. What do you think?” Zhou Yunda asked.
Li Wanting thought it over and said, “Hearing that from you, of course I trust you and Uncle Lin. You’ve always treated Dàshān well. Go ahead—I’ll cook at home and wait for you to return.”
“All right,” Zhou Yunda and Lin the hunter said, then drove the cart off to town.
Li Wanting took out the two rabbits from the space to clean, and Zhou Zimo helped start the fire and wash vegetables.
“Mom, are Hu Bao and Hu Niu hungry? They keep licking my hands,” Zhou Zimeng said, playing with the tiger cubs.
“Hu Bao and Hu Niu?” Li Wanting looked at her daughter, puzzled.
Zhou Zimo also looked at his sister, confused.
“Yes! Those are the names I gave the tiger cubs. The bigger one is Hu Bao, the smaller one Hu Niu,” Zhou Zimeng said proudly.
“Hey, that’s a nice name. Let me see,” Li Wanting said, washing her hands and walking over. It was true—the cubs had lost their mother right after birth and had been hungry for a long time.
“I’ll get some goat milk from the space to feed them,” Li Wanting said, then quickly disappeared into the space.
“Hu Bao, Hu Niu, wait a bit! Mom is getting you milk. You’ll have food soon,” Zhou Zimeng said, muttering to herself even though the cubs might not understand.
Zhou Zimo shook his head with a helpless smile and continued working.
Li Wanting returned with the milk, and together with her daughter fed the cubs. They drank eagerly and then fell asleep.
Li Wanting prepared braised rabbit, cold wild vegetables, and coarse rice porridge. She set aside a portion for the three of them to eat, leaving the rest for the village head and the hunter.
After some time, Zhou Yunda and Lin returned with the cart.
“Dàshān’s wife, the bear and tiger sold for 248 taels. Here, all of it,” Zhou Yunda said, handing a bag of silver to Li Wanting.
“Thank you, Big Uncle and Uncle Lin. You’ve worked so hard. Come inside and have some food,” Li Wanting said, taking the bag.
Lin the hunter waved his hand, “No need. Big Uncle and I each had a bowl of noodles in town. You should hide the silver safely.”
“I understand, Uncle Lin. Big Uncle, this 8 taels—2 for you, 2 for Uncle Lin, and the remaining 4 to split among the others who helped today,” Li Wanting counted out 10 taels and handed them to Zhou Yunda.
Zhou Yunda was surprised. He didn’t take it at first and frowned, “What are you doing? Put it away. This isn’t necessary.”
“Just take it, Big Uncle. Otherwise, I won’t dare ask for your help next time,” Li Wanting said, pressing the silver into his hands.
“Ah, you child…” Zhou Yunda didn’t know what to say.
“Old Zhou, just take it. It’s the child’s way of showing gratitude,” Lin the hunter persuaded him.
“All right, I’ll accept it this time. Oh, and here’s your household registration for you and the children. Since the family connection is broken, your household should be separated. From now on, you can live with your children in peace!” Zhou Yunda handed Li Wanting the papers.
Li Wanting took the documents and said softly, “Thank you, Big Uncle.”
Zhou Yunda waved, “All right, let’s go, Old Lin.”
“Take good care of the children!” Lin the hunter reminded once more before leaving with the village head.
Li Wanting felt warm inside, almost in tears. Truly, people make all the difference!
She went inside, looked at the household registration, and finally felt at ease—no more ties to that old manor.
She retrieved the remaining 2 taels and 200 wen of silver from the pillow and combined it with the 248 taels, then stored it in the space.
Now that they had money, they could go to town tomorrow and buy what was needed. And the old witch would get her payback soon.
She stored the remaining braised rabbit and other food in the space, blew out the oil lamp, and took the children into the space to wash up and sleep.
That night was dreamless. When Li Wanting woke up, Zhou Zimo had already fed the poultry, collected the eggs, harvested the melons, fruits, and vegetables, fed the tiger cubs, heated the leftover rabbit, and set everything neatly on the table.