Chapter Thirty-Seven: Tearing Off the Skin of the Half-Sister
“My son went with a hunting team to hunt wolves in the western mountains last week. He finally managed to find this white wolf king tooth, but it was stolen right away.”
The man lies without batting an eye; he just spouts nonsense.
"Hmph, you skinny little brat, how could you possibly get this tooth? You must have stolen something from my house and dared to sell it here!"
The store became so quiet that you could hear the wind outside the window.
The guests who had been watching the commotion stopped in their tracks, looking at each other with suspicion as their gazes gradually fell on Qin Zhining.
"That's right. She just said she chased wolves for three days and three nights, and I knew something was off."
"She's just a little girl, too weak to even kill a chicken. Let alone fight a wild wolf, she'd probably cry if she saw one."
"Maybe it really was stolen. This man looks like a hunter from the foot of West Mountain. He can't just extort money from people for no reason, can he?"
"Sigh, he seemed so honest, how could he do something like this..."
Whispers of discussion slowly spread, and some people even shook their heads quietly, their eyes filled with disdain as they looked at Qin Zhining.
Even the guests who had originally stood on Qin Zhining's side took a step back, clearly believing the man's words and thinking that Qin Zhining had been lying.
Manager Xu's hand froze in mid-air, and his face darkened.
In his line of work, the biggest taboo is accepting stolen goods. If you get into trouble, you won't make any money, and you'll even get into legal trouble.
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, the man straightened his back even more, a smug look on his face. "Gentlemen, I'm telling the truth. There's absolutely no lie."
My surname is Chu, and I live at the foot of West Mountain. Let me repeat myself so that everyone understands.
Last week, my brother went with a hunting team to hunt wolves and found this white wolf king's tooth. The whole family was hoping to earn some money to pay for our parents' medical treatment, but it was stolen right away. Look, this tooth—if I remember correctly, it's the one my brother found.”
Qin Zhining didn't rush to defend herself. She first looked at Manager Xu and said in a calm voice, "Manager, he said that the Fang Wolf King's teeth belong to his family. Does he have any evidence?"
The man retorted, "Evidence? These teeth are proof. My brother said there's a small notch on the tip of my tooth. You dare show it to everyone?"
Qin Zhining smiled, took out a crumpled piece of animal hide from her sleeve, and placed it on the counter. "This is a wolf pelt. The fur is silvery-gray, unlike the snow-white 'White Wolf King' you mentioned. The county magistrate will know once he examines it."
Besides, you said you lost it last week. I got this tooth three months ago while hunting in the mountains behind my house in the countryside. Your brother can't possibly lose something he hasn't even gotten his hands on three months in advance, can he?
She paused, her gaze falling on the man's hands. "Also, you said you deal with hunters in the Western Hills? Then you should have calluses on your hands from holding a bow and marks from carrying prey."
But your palms are smooth, without a single speck of animal hair between your fingers, only thin calluses from grinding an abacus. Could it be a pawnshop clerk from the neighboring county, trying to take advantage of this valuable tooth?"
The man's face instantly turned a deep liver color, and he opened his mouth but couldn't speak.
The surrounding customers also realized what was happening and pointed at him, yelling that he was "trying to extort money."
"Manager Xu, you've been in the dental business for so many years. With your experience, you should be able to tell the age of this tooth, right? There's a difference in time between three months ago and last week."
Shopkeeper Xu picked up the tooth and examined it closely. His face darkened, and he gave a wink to the two shop assistants, shouting, "Throw him out. If he dares to cause trouble again, send him straight to the authorities."
Seeing that his extortion attempt had failed, the man could only slink away through the crowd.
Just as the man was chased out, the young shop assistant returned carrying a heavy silver ingot. "Manager, the silver has arrived. Please weigh it."
Just as Shopkeeper Xu was about to weigh the food, a sarcastic voice came from the shop entrance again, "Oh, isn't this my good sister who's 'fleeing from the countryside'? What are you doing here arguing with someone over a piece of broken bone?"
Everyone turned their heads and saw a young woman of about sixteen wearing a light green silk dress and a silver hairpin in her hair, followed by two maids. She covered her nose with a handkerchief and looked at Qin Zhining with eyes as if she were looking at a beggar.
Qin Zhining raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself, "What a small world! I always run into unpleasant people."
Qin Zhiyu—you'd better not mess with me, or I'll make sure you have the face to come here but not the face to leave this general store.
The visitor was none other than Qin Zhiyu.
She was accompanying Aunt An to buy rouge when she heard the commotion. When she came in and saw it was Qin Zhining, she immediately perked up.
Qin Zhiyu walked to the counter, glanced at the bag of silver, and her lips curled up even more. "It's just a wolf's tooth, is it worth so many people surrounding it?"
You probably tricked this from some hunter, didn't you? Even though our Qin family has fallen on hard times, we wouldn't let you embarrass yourself with something of dubious origin.
If you're short of money, just tell me, and I'll give you a few taels so you won't be selling 'junk' here and offending other people's eyes."
Those around who recognized Qin Zhiyu began to whisper among themselves.
Manager Xu realized it was a domestic power struggle and watched coldly without intervening.
Qin Xiaoxiao clenched her fists and bared her small fangs at Qin Zhiyu, ready to beat her up at Qin Zhining's command.
Ever since Qin Xiaoxiao became mute, her favorite thing to do, without exception, is to beat people up.
Especially someone like Qin Zhiyu, who is easily beaten, loves to provoke others, and never learns her lesson after being hit.
Qin Zhining didn't get angry. She picked up the bag of silver and weighed it in her hand. Her voice wasn't loud, but the whole shop could hear her. "Oh, Qin Zhiyu—the eldest daughter of Magistrate Qin, my dear half-sister, you are so generous."
However, the junk you're talking about can actually be exchanged for money. Isn't that infuriating? So, my dear half-sister, the monthly allowance you receive from your aunt probably isn't even enough to buy a single cent of this 'junk' of mine.”
Qin Zhiyu's face turned pale instantly. "You—you dare to talk back? I'm your older sister."
"Sister?" Qin Zhining raised an eyebrow. "When I was sent to the countryside, why didn't you say you would 'reward' me with money?"
When I was starving and cold in your house, and had to work all day without rest, why didn't you say you were my sister?
"Tch—now that I can make money, you're criticizing me for 'making a fool of myself.' I bet your sister is unhappy that I have money."
She deliberately looked at the maid behind Qin Zhiyu, "I heard a few days ago in the countryside that my sister secretly took the jade hairpin that my mother left behind."
If everyone found out about this, do you think they'd laugh at me or at you?
Woqu—I told her not to let everyone know about this, but she still said it out loud in public. She's really infuriating!
Qin Zhiyu was trembling with anger, but dared not make a scene, fearing that Qin Zhining would reveal other things.
She glared at Qin Zhining fiercely, gritted her teeth, and said, "You just wait!" Then she left in a sorry state with her maid.
The surrounding customers burst into laughter, but no one condemned Qin Zhining for doing something wrong.
However, before Qin Zhining could leave the grocery store, the Scarface brothers returned, bringing her very bad news.
"Young Master Qin has been lured to a casino."
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