Chapter 171 I love the money on the table!
Lin Shu thought: No wonder there was such a loud noise. Not to mention the adults, even the little kids who were watching the fun were chattering and making a lot of noise.
Even so, she was able to stay in bed for a while after hearing the noise, which showed that she was very carefree.
Lin Shu took the step forward but she secretly took it back, planning to hide in the house for a while.
She liked to see people with rosy complexions, but when a group of people gathered together to watch a fun, especially a fun at home, she didn't like to join in the fun.
Lin Xiaopu, however, spotted her with sharp eyes, but didn't call out to her. Instead, he followed her into the inner room and called out to her, "Sister, you're awake!"
She said excitedly: "A lot of people came to our house! They all came to see the black bear. Some little kids insisted on following their elders to join in the fun. They were scared to tears when they saw the skinned black bear. Several aunts were also scared pale. Don’t you think it’s funny? These people are afraid but still want to watch. Unlike me, I am not afraid at all. Among that group of little kids, only Wang Yingen can compare with me in courage." Lin Xiaopu started to show off as she spoke.
Lin Shu laughed at this. "You're still bragging about your own stuff. So what's going on right now? Are we just here to join in the fun?"
Lin Xiaopu immediately pouted. "Sister really understands. Most of them are here to watch the fun. After all, many people have never seen a blind bear in their entire lives. But some are hoping to get a bargain and exchange their belongings for a piece of fresh meat. But you can imagine what they can come up with. Pots, pans, spoons, bamboo sieves, etc. can be exchanged for pork, but how can they exchange them for a black bear? I heard from Brother Aye that black bear meat can be sold for two hundred coins per pound in town!"
Lin Xiaopu grinned as he spoke, "But don't worry, sister. Brother Aye has already refused. He said that all the meat will be sent to the town to sell."
Lin Shu raised her eyebrows slightly, "Isn't there anyone who is dissatisfied?"
"What are you dissatisfied with? Everyone knows that black bear meat is expensive. They are just trying to take advantage of our father because he is so kind. If they can't get it, then forget it. After all, we have more than one black bear. Brother Aye also hunted a wild boar. If they can't eat the black bear meat, they want to have a share of the wild boar meat. Besides, Brother Aye said that a whole one is easier to sell. If there are any missing parts, they won't get a good price. By the way, he also said-"
Lin Xiaopu deliberately kept the question a secret, pausing for a moment before saying with a grin, "He also said he hunted the black bear just to sell it for money to marry my sister. Now that he's said that, do the villagers still have the nerve to chase him for meat?"
Lin Shu was not shy when she met Lin Xiaopu's playful eyes. She curved her eyebrows and said that she liked A Ye's sense of "property".
Before the relationship was confirmed, no matter how much he felt attracted to her, A Ye would not take a single step beyond the line. But after the marriage was decided, he never hid anything and wanted to announce to everyone that he was getting married, and that the person he was marrying was her.
"Aren't you going to deal with that wild boar today?" Lin Shu asked again.
"The wild boar is still breathing. Brother Aye said it's no problem to let it go for a day or two. We can sell the black bear first and then the wild boar meat. Some villagers wanted to help Brother Aye deal with the black bear, but Brother Aye got up early today and has already gutted it and dealt with all the leftovers. There's no need for the villagers' help. Brother Aye is now packing it up and preparing to carry it to town to sell it."
Upon hearing this, Lin Shu pondered: If a bear this size sells for two hundred coins per jin, even the largest restaurant in Jingxi Town wouldn't be able to eat it all in one sitting. However, there are local wealthy families in the town, and these wealthy families have their own social circles. Bear meat is rare, so these people can buy it and give it away, so there's still some room for sale, but it will take some effort.
"Sister, do you want to follow Brother A Ye to the town to sell black bears?" Lin Xiaopu asked expectantly.
Lin Shu was fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan and said lazily, "If you want to go, go. I don't want to go."
After entering June, the weather had become even hotter in just a few days. She hadn't even bothered to leave the house for the past two days. What was she going to town with Ah Ye for? To help sell the goods? This thing was easy to sell. Ah Ye was also very smart in this regard, so she didn't need her help.
Lin Xiaopu leaned on his head and sighed, "I want to go with him, but even if Brother Aye carries a black bear, I can't catch up with him. I'd better not go and hold him back. When Brother Aye comes back after selling his goods, he will tell us about it."
"Yes, that's right." Lin Shu said with a smile.
She didn't intend to deal with the onlookers outside, so she just watched the crowd through the window for a while. However, Lin Xiaopu kept coming in and out, and she looked very happy.
Not long after, the noise outside had obviously died down. Lin Xiaopu came into the house to report on the progress. "Sister, Brother Aye has already left with the black bear! But the black bear's skin is still hanging by the wall. They said it needs to dry in the shade for a few days. I guess those who haven't left yet are just looking at the skin..."
Zhou Ye informed Lin Dashan and He Guixiang, then left with the black bear on his back, carrying a basket on his back. He didn't make any special mention of Ashu because he knew she wouldn't go with him this time.
However, Zhou Ye did not rush to the town with the black bear on his back, but went to the village head's house first.
He didn't stay long and left after a while. No one knew that a pottery jar was missing from his backpack when he left.
In Zhang's house, the headman was holding the pottery jar, feeling emotional.
All the villagers went to Lin Laoer's house to watch the fun. A few of the village head's family also went, but the village head did not go.
He didn't expect Zhou Ye to send this thing.
What was contained in the pottery jar was nothing but the gallbladder of the black bear hunted by Zhou Ye, which was also the most expensive part of the entire bear.
Zhou Ye had prepared this early in the morning. After cutting out the bear gallbladder, he dried the surface moisture and buried it in lime powder. He then placed the gallbladder in a ceramic jar, covered the mouth of the jar with a layer of oil paper, and sealed it with clay. This way, it could be stored for two to three years without any problem.
In addition to the bear gall, Zhou Ye also gave the bear skin to the village head, but because the bear skin needed to be dried in the shade for a few days, he did not bring it to the village head's house immediately.
Just now, when the village head heard Zhou Ye say that he would hand over these two things to the government through him, he was stunned.
The Dayan Dynasty had the "Land Law", which prohibited private hunting of wild beasts such as black bears and tigers that could generate high profits. Although legitimate hunters could hunt black bears, they also had to pay bear bile and bear skins as taxes to the government. However, in remote mountainous areas like Jingxi Town, the corresponding management and enforcement were extremely loose, and most of the transactions were private and not reported to the government.
The village head never expected that Zhou Ye was so familiar with the policies in this regard. Not only that, he was also so law-abiding and "honest" to the extreme.
But the village head has lived for so many years and doesn't think that Zhou Ye did this just because he was honest.
Even if it is really because of honesty that he is able to give up these two most valuable things, it is not something that ordinary people can do.
Others may not know, but the village head knows that after the bear bile entered the market, it was passed around several times and was finally sold for ten gold coins!
Ten taels of gold is equivalent to ten taels of silver and one hundred strings of copper coins. For farmers like them who have been working on the land for generations, that is a sum of money that many people would find extremely difficult to earn in their entire lives.
And the fur is the most desired thing by rich and powerful families. If you have the corresponding channels, you can sell it for dozens of strings of cash. If you don't have the channels, you can sell it for ten strings of cash.
But Zhou Ye gave these two most valuable things as soon as he said so. Such a mentality is not something that ordinary people can have.
Although Zhou Ye is just an ordinary farmer now, the village head has a hunch that this kid will never stop there in the future. There are many jobs that can be done in this world. Even if it is just doing manual labor, he thinks Zhou Ye can make something of himself.
~
Compared to the last time he went to the town to sell wild boar meat, Zhou Ye came back very late this time, and only came back when He Guixiang was preparing dinner.
Lin Shu made ice jelly at noon and specially left him a small half basin, which she cooled with mountain spring water. As soon as A Ye came back, he could eat the sweet and cool ice jelly.
After drinking half a bowl of ice jelly, Zhou Ye's heat disappeared immediately.
Lin Shu looked at him with a smile, and waited until he had taken a breath before asking, "Are you sold out? Are they selling well?"
He Guixiang and Lin Xiaopu both came over.
Zhou Ye had a smile on his face, and he looked so carefree and cheerful.
He brought the backpack he brought back to the main room. There were some sundries on the surface of the backpack. After the sundries were removed, Zhou Ye directly poured the contents onto the table.
“Clatter—”
What Zhou Ye poured out from the backpack was actually a pile of money!
There were several silver ingots and quite a bit of broken silver. The most abundant items were strings of copper coins, each string equaling one string. There were at least forty or fifty strings of copper coins piled here! The rest were scattered coins. Together, they filled the table, but because the pile was so large, many of the loose coins had tumbled over the edge.
Several gasps were heard one after another.
Not to mention He Guixiang and Lin Xiaopu, even Lin Shu, who had some experience, was shocked and opened her eyes wide.
"Aye, how come it sold for so much money?!" He Guixiang exclaimed.
She knew that black bears were valuable, but she thought that forty or fifty strings of copper coins for one black bear was too much. However, there were forty or fifty strings of copper coins on the table alone, not to mention the silver ingots and loose coins.
This, if converted into silver, it would be at least a hundred taels! !
Lin Shu and Lin Xiaopu both turned their heads from the table full of money to Zhou Ye, their eyes wider than the other.
Zhou Ye said, "I walked to the town first, and then took an ox cart to the county. This black bear was born in the county."
He Guixiang and the other two were surprised again. They all thought Zhou Ye had gone to the town, but who would have thought that Zhou Ye had actually gone straight to the county?
Zhou Ye then began to explain in detail.
If the black bear were sold as a whole, forty or fifty strings of cash would be the most it could fetch. But Zhou Ye didn't mind the trouble and sold the pieces separately.
"...Bear fat and bones, for example, can be used to make medicine, so I sell them exclusively at pharmacies. Bear fat can be sold in finer pieces. Perinephric fat is white and odorless, and can be used to make plasters, fetching five guan per jin. Subcutaneous fat, however, has a slightly fishy smell and fetches one guan per jin. And then there's the bear bones. The long bones of the limbs can be soaked in medicinal wine to treat rheumatism, the spine and ribs can be boiled into ointments, and the skull can be calcined for medicinal use. Each piece sells for a different price.
There are many pharmacies in the county, so if I don't sell to this one, I can sell to the next one. It's the pharmacies that beg me to sell, not me begging them to buy. At first, the pharmacies tried to undercut me, but when they saw that I was knowledgeable and had a firm attitude, they didn't dare to cheat me and gave me a good price.
The other parts of the bear have their own selling methods. Bear paws are always in demand, but their price is undeniable. The bear meat was distributed among several restaurants and soon sold out. I sell it for 220 coins per pound. If you are not in a hurry to return, you can ask for more. Then there are the bear tendons and bones, which also have their own places. There are many wealthy and prestigious families in the county, and they are all happy to buy these rare things, and they don’t mind paying more..."
After Zhou Ye finished speaking, Lin Shu looked at him with sparkling eyes.
The first time she went to the market with Ah Ye, she saw that Ah Ye was a very studious person and very capable of dealing with people, not as honest as he looked. But this time, she was still shocked by Ah Ye.
How can someone be so hardworking and yet so smart and capable? She really loves A-ye like this!
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The author has something to say: Zhou Ye: I really love this kind of Ah Shu.
Lin Shu: I really love A Ye like this.
[Milk Tea] Okay, lock it up.
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