Chapter 8: Trouble Befalls the Zhang Family

“Hmph!”

“Hou Wu, why must you speak so crudely, you filthy rascal?”

Seeing Li Yuanjing’s face darkening like stormy waters, Xue An smiled, fully in control.

“Scholar Li, I understand—anyone would be upset in your situation. But our master is renowned for his kindness. He would never let you suffer a loss.”

“Let’s do it this way.”

“Normally, a girl like her is worth only five taels of silver. Our master, merciful as he is, knows your parents have just passed, so he’ll give you ten taels.”

“With that, you can repay our master’s loan and still have two or three taels left over. Isn’t that wonderful?”

By now, Li Yuanjing saw that Yuniang at the doorway was trembling all over. Suddenly, he laughed.

“Steward Xue, many thanks for your master’s generous offer.”

“But Yuniang is my wife, not some commodity. I won’t agree to this! The debt will be repaid when the time comes, but not now!”

“You may leave!”

“Hm?”

Xue An’s beady eyes widened.

“Li, you really want to refuse a toast and drink the punishment instead?”

“Bear in mind, autumn taxes are due soon, and Ma, the boss from Cold Mountain, will be collecting his share. Are you prepared? Can you pay off so much at once?!”

Beside him,

Hou Wu, eager to regain face, rolled up his sleeves.

“Steward Xue, why bother wasting words with this wretch? Let’s teach him a lesson so he knows not to shout nonsense again! Refusing even our master’s kindness—he’s asking for death!”

“Swish!”

Li Yuanjing drew his hatchet again, sneering.

“Hou Wu, aren’t you bold? Why don’t you shout louder so the village chief can hear your bravado?”

“The IOU’s terms are clear: repayment isn’t due until the fifth of next month. Try anything reckless, and see what happens!”

“Uh…”

Xue An, Hou Wu, and the rest froze, instinctively cowed.

The chief of Spring Village, though nearly sixty, had spent over a decade fighting on the Liaodong front in his youth, and his fierce reputation still lingered.

Though Spring Village was a settlement of immigrants and lacked strong clan power, under the chief’s leadership, the villagers were united.

If Xue An and Hou Wu dared to cause trouble, the old chief truly would draw his blade.

“Yuniang.”

“If these men refuse to leave, raise your voice and call for the chief! His house is just up ahead, he’ll surely hear you!”

Seeing Xue An and his men falter, Li Yuanjing spoke to Yuniang.

“Yes, brother.”

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Yuniang obediently cleared her throat, ready to shout.

“Li, you’re ruthless!”

Xue An and his group could no longer keep up their act. He glared viciously at Li Yuanjing, hurling threats as he retreated.

“Just wait! When the time comes and you can’t pay, we’ll see how we deal with you! Even the emperor himself won’t save you then!”

Soon,

The scoundrels vanished from sight.

Behind the big tree outside,

Wang Cuihua, seeing even Xue An fail to subdue Li Yuanjing, wished she could turn him into a paper doll and curse him to death.

But,

She too felt intimidated by Li Yuanjing now, and dared not linger, quickly swaying her ample hips as she hurried away.

Li Yuanjing noticed Wang Cuihua’s figure, a cold smile curling at his lips.

That shameless woman—she’s courting death!

“Brother, I was so frightened… I thought you would abandon me…”

Yuniang now clung tightly to Li Yuanjing’s arm, her small body pressed against his, tears streaming down her face.

Li Yuanjing instinctively wanted to tease her, but suddenly remembered: the girl before him wasn’t some pampered heiress from modern times, but the gentle, pitiable Yuniang…

He quickly hugged her, smiling.

“Silly girl, what are you saying? You’re the treasure I cherish most. Even if the emperor offered his empire for you, I wouldn’t trade.”

“Brother, is that true?”

She was still so young. A few tender words from Li Yuanjing and her eyes brimmed with tears, overcome with emotion, giving him ample opportunity to take advantage…

…

After a comfortable meal—breakfast and lunch together—Yuniang drank a bowl of hot brown sugar water to restore her strength.

Li Yuanjing then had Yuniang tidy up the fish from last night, locked the door, strapped on his hatchet, and set off to survey the wild, mountainous terrain behind the village.

His trip to the county had taught him well.

Fish were far less valuable than mountain game.

Even a common rabbit could fetch about a tael of silver.

Given the current grain price of thirty copper coins per jin, a rabbit could buy thirty jin of grain.

Of course,

The high price of game like rabbits wasn’t without reason.

Qizhou, located in the central region of the Great Qian, was supposedly spared the worst of the north’s droughts and the south’s floods.

But reality was different.

Qizhou suffered drought one year, flood the next—worse than anywhere else.

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People struggled to survive, let alone the wild beasts of the mountains.

Now,

Even the most seasoned hunters might not catch a rabbit in a month.

But Li Yuanjing wasn’t after rabbits.

He wanted—

Wolves!

He didn’t know the exact price of wolf meat, but he was well aware of the value of wolf pelts.

With troubles in the northeast and northwest, pelts from those regions no longer flowed into the capital, yet demand from city nobles remained high.

So local pelts were consumed.

In Fengcheng County, nestled in the mountains and known as a source of pelts, even a small, average wolf pelt sold for nearly three taels of silver.

Not to mention the larger, better ones.

Wolf pelts were convenient to carry, making them ideal for Li Yuanjing to trade in town.

Moreover,

At night, Li Yuanjing often heard wolves howling in the hills, confirming their presence.

The only reason ordinary folk couldn’t catch them was due to various difficulties.

He spent the afternoon scouting the hills behind the village. When he saw the local women heading home with firewood, he felt confident and returned home at his own pace.

But,

As soon as he arrived, Li Yuanjing became instantly alert.

Yuniang had finished cleaning the fish, but unlike usual, she hadn’t prepared dinner in advance. Instead, she paced anxiously, clearly distressed.

“Yuniang, what’s wrong? Did someone bully you?”

Li Yuanjing’s face darkened as he rushed to her side, gripping her delicate hand.

“Brother…”

Seeing him, Yuniang finally felt reassured. She pressed herself close to him, wiped her tears, and said:

“Brother, it’s not me… it’s Aunt Zhang’s family, something happened there.”

“It seems that the second son of the Zhangs, who works in the county, accidentally lost a bag of white sugar belonging to his employer. Not only did his employer break his leg, but now demands he compensate for all the losses…”

“Brother, Aunt Zhang and her family have always helped us. I… I want to take two jin of grain to visit her…”

“He lost a bag of white sugar?”

Li Yuanjing’s brows furrowed tightly.

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