Chapter 26

Because Li Wang said he could finish weaving in the afternoon, Cheng Duo went back to skin the wolf fur and arranged to meet him at the big tree at the village entrance.

Considering the purchasing power of the villagers, Cheng Duo cut the meat into small pieces and wrapped them in leaves. Later, he would sell them in bundles for a few coins each, without the trouble of weighing them.

The most important thing was that he avoided arguing with the village women. He would sell only that much, and whether they wanted it or not was up to them.

As for the salted meat, he would sell it for an extra wen. It was a bit wasteful of his salt, but since the meat wasn't fresh anymore, he might as well sell it.

To Cheng Duo's surprise, it was Yong-ge who came to bring him the bamboo raft in the afternoon. When Yong-ge noticed Cheng Duo looking at him, he shifted uncomfortably and said, "My dad was worried that you're not familiar with the people in the village, and they wouldn't dare to ask about the price. So he sent me to check it out…"

Not being familiar was just a polite way of saying it. The truth was that Yong-ge's father thought Cheng Duo had a terrible reputation in the village. Not only could Cheng Duo punch a cow to death, but he could also kill a person…

It would be strange for anyone to approach such a fierce-looking person selling meat at the village entrance.

Of course, this was only part of Yong-ge's guess about his father's considerations. In fact, Li Wang intentionally sent Yong-ge to help Cheng Duo, perhaps to show him how capable and virtuous Yong-ge was.

Since they had already been hired by Cheng Duo to work on the fields, it wouldn't be a big deal for Yong-ge to help sell some meat as well.

Cheng Duo agreed straightforwardly, "Alright, you help me sell." The young ger was thin, just good to leave him a portion as wages.

Cheng Duo explained his selling method to Yong-ge. At first, Yong-ge thought it was cheap, but upon careful consideration, it didn't seem so straightforward.

However, compared to the pork that sold for over ten wen per jin, Cheng Duo's method was indeed more acceptable to the villagers. When they went to buy pork, it wouldn't be enough to buy just a few liang. They would have to buy at least half a jin. Otherwise, the butcher would look at them sideways, and everyone would feel embarrassed.

In fact, the poorer people were, the more they didn't want to be looked down upon. Rich people pretending to be poor at least had the confidence in their hearts, but the embarrassment of poor people couldn't be hidden. So sometimes, even though they knew that the offal at the meat stall was cheaper, they couldn't afford it due to the lack of money and didn't dare to ask for the price.

Yong-ge helped Cheng Duo set up the stall. Cheng Duo told Yong-ge which meat was fresh and which had been salted. Then, he irresponsibly became the sleeping boss—he climbed up onto one of the lower branches of the big tree and took a nap.

Of course, Cheng Duo had considered that if he stood in front of the meat stall, the villagers might be hesitant to come over. But if he wasn't there, he was afraid that Yong-ge might be bullied. Therefore, he chose a spot not too far away to stay.

Lying there, he could see the meat stall, and likewise, people coming to buy meat could see him. The distance wasn't too close or too far, allowing people to approach without hesitation.

Cheng Duo's meat stall had just been set up for a short while when a few curious children playing nearby poked their heads out.

"Tie Dan, Da Tou, come here," Yong-ge waved to them.

Tie Dan and Da Tou looked at Cheng Duo and saw him lying on the tree as if he were asleep. They nudged each other and walked closer.

At first, the children were a bit scared, but when they saw the piles of meat on the leaves, they couldn't take their eyes off them.

"So much meat!" Da Tou exclaimed, but then he covered his mouth in surprise. Da Tou himself was startled and timidly glanced at Cheng Duo. Seeing that he didn't react, the children all breathed a sigh of relief.

Yong-ge wasn't bothered by his young customers and pointed to a pile of wild chicken heads, necks, and some scattered meat on a leaf, saying, "This pile is three wen. Do you want it?"

Three wen!

Tie Dan and Da Tou's eyes lit up. This was meat! If they bought it, they could add some wild vegetables and black beans to cook together, and they could have a good and filling meal!

Tie Dan is the son of Li Da zhuang and also the eldest grandson of Village Head Li. Village Head Li was able to lend five taels of silver to Li Mancang in one breath, not only because of their kinship, but also because his own family conditions were good.

Otherwise, he may have the intention but not the ability.

So Tie Dan and a few others discussed it, and they decided that three of the children would contribute one wen each, while the other children would contribute other food items. After the discussion, they went home to get money and other things.

Of course, there are many ways to "get" things. Tie Dan had saved some money, so he just needed to dig into his small treasury. Da Tou and another child didn't have money, so they either pestered their parents for it or resorted to stealing secretly…

After Da Tou and the other child came out of their homes, their parents chased after them. They wanted to see what their own children wanted/stole money for?!

"Run!" Tie Dan and the others placed the money in front of Yong-ge and ran off with their portion of meat.

Da Tou's mother and Second Fatty's grandmother immediately noticed that they had taken something from Yong-ge's stall, but Yong-ge didn't stop them.

The two of them approached aggressively, but Yong-ge smiled and greeted them, "Aunt Cuihua, Grandma Dagui!"

Both of them spoke at the same time, "Yong-ge, what are you… selling meat?"

They both glanced at Cheng Duo simultaneously, not understanding what was going on between the two.

Yong-ge felt embarrassed, but still tried hard not to blush, "Cheng Duo invited my father and me to help him with farming, and he also said he wanted to sell meat. So my father asked me to come and help."

Then he changed the subject, "Aunt Cuihua, Grandma Dagui, do you want to buy meat? It's very cheap. Look at all this meat, it's only five wen for everything!"

Five wen was indeed not much…

Upon hearing that the meat was cheap, both of them gained confidence. They asked Yong-ge about the price of each pile of meat on the stall, and then they picked and chose, each selecting a pile they liked.

However, it wasn't easy to get them to buy. Since Yong-ge was easy to talk to, they haggled with him to lower the price by one or two wen.

Cheng Duo couldn't stand it anymore and impatiently sat up, saying, "The price is what it is. If you don't want to buy, then leave!"

Both of them were afraid of Cheng Duo, so they quickly paid the money, grabbed the meat, and ran off.

By this time, people had already noticed the stall at the entrance of the village. When they saw those two carrying things over, they curiously approached to inquire. As a result, the news spread like wildfire. Even the neighboring Niu Family Village and Yangshu Village came to know that a new hunter in Yang Village was selling meat at the village entrance. The key point was that the meat was especially cheap, only three to five wen per package, and the expensive ones didn't exceed eight wen…

As a result, those with a little spare money and a craving for meat came running to buy. Yong-ge's mouth became dry from talking, but he managed to sell most of it.

Cheng Duo also nervously felt that the wages paid to this "partner" were worth it, and he would give him more money…

During that time, three ruffians from the neighboring villages came and tried to get some meat on credit. They even harassed Yong-ge, but Cheng Duo jumped down from the tree and beat them up.

He thought that scaring those who wanted to buy meat away, but he underestimated the villagers' enthusiasm for spectacles. Not only did they not leave, but more and more people gathered around the stall.

Seeing that Cheng Duo finished beating up the people and returned to the tree, some of them were eager to come closer…

"Yong-ge, why are you selling meat?"

"How much is this meat sold for? I heard it's three wen for a bowl, is that true?"

There was also a sharp-eyed young woman who immediately noticed, "Yong-ge, why do you look better?" 

The crowd suddenly erupted with laughter, "Yeah, you look much better when you're cleaned up."

"It's not just being cleaned up, obviously you've become fairer!"

"And it seems like you've gained a little weight…"

Some people took the opportunity while Cheng Duo wasn't paying attention and secretly asked Yong-ge, "You're helping him sell meat, does that mean… you two are getting closer?"

"No, no, I'm just here to help…" Yong-ge explained the reason again in front of everyone and tried to divert the attention of the uncles, aunts, and young gers to buying the meat.

Of course, these people had already decided which piece of meat they wanted and even grabbed it before paying. They hesitated because they didn't want to give money but didn't want to leave either, so they kept pestering Yong-ge.

Of course, there were also a few who couldn't afford even three or five wen, standing on the side and making sarcastic remarks…

Seeing the situation becoming chaotic again, Cheng Duo closed his eyes and cleared his throat, and it had an immediate effect. The people standing in front of the meat stall no longer hesitated and generously opened their purses. They were afraid that Cheng Duo would think they were there to steal meat and beat them up.

After buying the meat, everyone didn't leave. They wrapped the meat in leaves and stood nearby, chatting.

Even some well-off individuals took the opportunity to ask Yong-ge, "Will there be meat to buy every day from now on?"

Yong-ge didn't know, so he could only look at Cheng Duo. Cheng Duo, who knows when, started chewing on a stalk of grass and vaguely said, "We'll sell whatever we have left from hunting!"

When the villagers heard that he would continue selling meat, they suddenly began to think that Village Head Li was right to insist on keeping Cheng Duo in the village. They were no longer afraid of being unable to buy meat when they were craving it!

In a hurry, Village Head Li, who had arrived upon hearing the news, said, "…"

His thoughts were not as deep as they seemed!

Of course, Village Head Li's thoughts were not complicated either. He just thought that having someone in the village who could fight would be useful in case they needed to compete with other villages for water or if they were bullied in the Twenty-Li Slope… At least they had a way to seek justice.

As for whether Cheng Duo would agree or not, that would depend on whether they could convince him.

In any case, with someone like Cheng Duo around, no other village would dare to provoke the people of Yang Village easily!

Village Head Li looked at the people in his village and couldn't help but sigh: they were all stubborn and focused too much on their own interests!

In fact, not only Village Head Li, but some unmarried young women and young ger who heard the news also hurriedly came. They rarely went out, so when they heard there was something lively happening at the village entrance, they came in groups of two or three.

Among these people was Feng-ge, who had just sent a rich dowry.

He had secured a highly enviable marriage and had just received a pair of silver hairpins and bracelets. Naturally, he wanted to come out and let the villagers have a look, while also giving them a chance to praise him.

Otherwise, once he got married and left, he wouldn't be able to hear such things anymore.

Feng-ge's thoughts were not difficult to understand. Even the famous Xiang Yu once said, "Wealth and glory do not return to the hometown, like walking in the night with brocade robes." So one can imagine the psychology of this young ger who was marrying far away, eager to show off in front of his fellow villagers.

Moreover, he heard that Yong-ge had become more attractive and had befriended the new hunter, and there were even people envying him.

If he didn't go, how would others know that a hunter was nothing compared to the wealthy merchant's son he was going to marry!