At that moment, the First Daughter-in-law and the Third Daughter-in-law, who still lived with the Bai Parents, arrived after hearing the news. Seeing that Bai Mother was inside the hut, they entered as well. Bai Mei was initially curiously observing the wild boar like the other villagers, but when she saw her sisters-in-law, she also followed them into the hut.
Her First Sister-in-law was the type of woman who was lazy and spoke rudely. Although her Third Sister-in-law was a Ge'er like Xiao Han, he was not like Xiao Han. The Third Sister-in-law was cunning like a fox, and his constantly calculating eyes were quite chilling.
Bai Mei did not get along well with those two. This was because those two had been the ones who pressured the most to force her Second Brother out of the house. Since Bai Mei loved her Second Brother, she hated those two who constantly spoke badly about Bai Li.
While the two elder women inside were talking, Xiao Han was holding the little ones in his arms, listening quietly without saying a word. He would not be displeased even if his mother-in-law took away his husband's money. He knew that it was all for their benefit. At least he still had good in-laws, and his mother-in-law loved his children. Besides, he knew that his mother-in-law was a just and fair person.
At that moment, the other daughters-in-law of the Bai family entered the small house. The Eldest Daughter-in-law, Zhou Shi, said,
"Mother, we came after hearing the news."
The Third Daughter-in-law, Su Shi, followed Zhou Shi and smiled. His eyes darted around the small house before settling on Xiao Han and the children, and a flash of contempt passed through them.
He had never set foot in this house before. If it weren't for the news about the wild boars, he would not have dreamed of coming here for the rest of his life. He hated Bai Li, who was too favored by the Bai family.
Zhou Shi was no different. This was the first time she had ever been to her younger brother-in-law Bai Li's house. The house was as poor as she had expected. It simply could not compare to the main Bai family house. At that moment, these two daughters-in-law felt that they themselves were living at a higher standard, while Bai Li and his family were inferior.
Bai Mei had followed right beside them, and when she saw their facial expressions, she became extremely angry. How dare those scoundrels still look down on her Second Brother, even though he now owned two large wild boars?
Tu Shi and Muo Shi also stopped their conversation when the others arrived. The matter concerning Bai Li was none of the daughters-in-law's business.
Zhou Shi sat down on the brick bed (Kang), placing her hand on her abdomen as if afraid her bulging belly would not be noticed, and said:
"Mother, the wild boar in front of the house is truly enormous. Is it really true that Second Brother-in-law caught it?"
Before Bai Mother could even say anything, Bai Mei retorted angrily:
"What do you mean by that, First Sister-in-law?! My Second Brother also caught pheasants yesterday, and didn't you even eat quite a bit of it?!"
Zhou Shi was ashamed by Bai Mei's words, but because she was shameless enough, she did not care.
"Little Sister-in-law, I just couldn't believe it. A wild boar is not the same as a pheasant, is it? Pheasants are easy to find, but a wild boar is dangerous, isn't it?"
Bai Mei could not tolerate this. She could no longer stand this woman, who had become hateful ever since she got pregnant.
"Oh my! If pheasants were really as easy to find as First Sister-in-law says, then everyone would be able to eat meat every day! Don't talk such nonsense!"
Zhou Shi ignored Bai Mei and did not continue the argument. Instead, she addressed Bai Mother:
"The wild boar is really big, isn't it, Mother? If we make dried meat out of it, just one boar would be enough to sustain Second Brother-in-law's family for the whole winter!"
After that, she made another statement with a hidden meaning:
"Su Shi and I are only pregnant for the very first time, so it would be wonderful if we could eat a lot of meat. It would be nourishing for the baby, wouldn't it, Mother?"
Zhou Shi's intention was clear. She was thinking that if they excluded the one pheasant sent to the Village Chief's house yesterday, two of the four pheasants had been sent to the Bai house, so one of the two wild boars should also be given. She was truly craving wild boar meat.
Su Shi also shared the same thought as Zhou Shi, but he did not want the wild boar meat. Instead, he was hoping for the money from selling one wild boar to be given to the Bai house, and he expected Bai Mother to give them a small portion of that money.
In short, both of them were greedy people.
Zhou Shi's words caused the faces of Bai Mother and Tu Shi to turn grim, and Bai Mei's eyes also became fierce with anger.
These two had never once seen the good in her Second Brother, yet now that her Second Brother was doing well, they were trying to get benefits for free. It was truly ridiculous.
Bai Mother felt it was natural that she knew the characters of her daughters-in-law well. She decided to tell them directly and definitively so they would not keep hoping.
"First Daughter-in-law, you lack foresight. How could the second son possibly eat wild boar meat that is so valuable? It must definitely be sold."
Zhou Shi did not want to give up yet. If she could not eat the meat, she still wanted the money.
"In that case, the money is quite a lot...."
Before Zhou Shi could finish her sentence, Bai Mei shouted out, cutting her off:
"The money belongs to Second Brother! Have you forgotten, First Sister-in-law? Second Brother has officially separated from the family! Is the First Sister-in-law trying to manage the finances of her younger brother-in-law's household? People will misunderstand, you know! If First Sister-in-law wants to talk about money, you should go out and hunt yourself before talking!"
Bai Mei's blatant criticism made even a person like Zhou Shi feel ashamed. Zhou Shi awkwardly glanced at Tu Shi and Bai Mother, then stole a glance at Xiao Han, and began to lash out in embarrassment:
"Little Sister-in-law! What are you saying in front of Xiao Shi (Xiao Han)? He might misunderstand! I was just trying to say that they will definitely receive a lot of money!"
It is truly a terrible thing to hear that a Sister-in-law is trying to manage the finances of her younger brother-in-law's household. If this news were to get out, people would think that Bai Li and Zhou Shi are having an affair!
Xiao Han, however, did not say a word. He just held his little sons and listened silently. He also did not think that Bai Li and Zhou Shi would be having an affair. Although Bai Li was trashy, he preferred beautiful people, so he would not even be interested in Zhou Shi.
Bai Mei scoffed. This Zhou Shi was shameless/thick-skinned. It was obvious that she wanted to take benefits from Bai Li. She only dared not speak further because Bai Mei had pointed it out.
Bai Mother and Tu Shi also looked at each other and decided to remain silent and say nothing more. This was because nothing would happen, no matter what Zhou Shi said or what Su Shi thought, unless it was with the consent of the Bai Parents.
A slightly tense atmosphere had settled over the small house, but after a short while, a shout came from outside:
"Uncle Bai! Village Chief! Bai Li and Jiang Ting are back!"
When a villager caught sight of Bai Li carrying a wild boar and Jiang Ting accompanying him, he shouted, causing everyone at the scene to become restless. The women and Ge'ers from the small house also came out, and the crowd made way for Bai Li.
Some strong villagers helped take the wild boar from Bai Li. They found that this boar was slightly larger than the one that was already there. The wild boars were so massive that even their tusks were quite large.
Jiang Ting was drenched in sweat and extremely exhausted, but he had a strange expression on his face. This was because, although he, Jiang Ting, was definitely stronger than Bai Li, he could only carry the wild boar for a short time, and Bai Li was the one who had carried most of it. Even so, Bai Li was still relaxed/unburdened.
It was obvious that Bai Li was very thin. Could it be that his bones were just extremely strong?
"Come here and drink some warm water to relieve your fatigue."
The Village Chief had anticipated this situation, so he had cooled down some bowls of warm water earlier. Bai Li and Jiang Ting did not refuse. They sat down and drank the cooled warm water while the villagers remained very noisy.
"What huge wild boars!"
"If I were to meet one of these in the forest, I would have unknowingly drunk Granny Meng's soup by now."
"These things are even bigger than a person! How many jin do you think they weigh?"
"No matter how many jin it is, Bai Li is definitely going to earn a lot of money."
"All of you are just looking at the money. Don't you realize where Bai Li found these things?"
"Now that you mention it, it makes sense. With two wild boars, did Bai Li actually climb all the way to the top of the mountain fearlessly?"
"My heavens! On the upper part of the mountain, there are bears, wolves, and tigers! This guy, Bai Li, is extremely bold."
"Jiang Qing said that Bai Li found these animals at the foot of the mountain and killed them because he was worried they would come towards the village."
"Oh my God! The foot of the mountain?! If they had come towards the village from the foot of the mountain, terrible things would have happened!"
"It's a good thing Bai Li found and managed to kill them. Otherwise, we can't say that these beasts wouldn't have reached the village."
"That's right. If these beasts had reached the village, the village would have been greatly devastated."
The people gathered around the large wild boars and were noisily discussing them. They were debating whether the former trash of the village was now the one who had saved the village.
Some, however, could not believe that Bai Li had climbed the mountain and hunted. But then again, no one would just give two wild boars to them for free if Bai Li himself hadn't killed them. And the arrow wounds on the necks of these wild boars made it obvious that they had died because of these arrows.
The Village Chief ignored the noisy villagers and said to Bai Li:
"Although autumn has arrived, it's not very cold yet. If we keep the meat until tomorrow, it won't be fresh. You should go to the town to sell it today. Your father has already brought the cart."
Bai Father nodded his head at the Village Chief's words. Because there was no one in their village who could afford to buy these wild boars, they would only succeed if they went to the town to sell them.
Then the Chief continued to speak:
"You have to consider whether you want to go and sell it in the Port City or in the small town. The Port City might get you more money, but it's far away so you won't be able to return within the same day. If you sell it in the small town, you will also get a decent price."
Bai Li also considered this. The closest town to their village would take about one and a half to two hours by cart, and the Port City was much further away, so even if they went quickly with the cart now, they would only arrive in the late afternoon. That would mean it would be nighttime after they finished selling the meat.
However, since Bai Li only wanted to think about getting more money...
"Village Chief, I want to go and sell it in the Port City. I'm worried that both wild boars won't sell in the small town. The Port City is crowded with people and has many restaurants, so not only will we get more money, but we can probably sell all of it."
It was estimated to be around ten o'clock in the morning now. In fact, killing the wild boars had not taken much time.
Bai Father also agreed with what Bai Li said. Although the small town was crowded, it was nothing compared to the Port City. The Village Chief also felt that Bai Li's words were logical. The wild boars were too big. Since the restaurants might not want to buy an entire one, there was a chance they would have to cut them up and sell them in parts, and staying in the city for one night was not a big problem.
"In that case, let's not waste any time. The Port City is far away, and the sooner we go, the better."
Bai Mother wanted to check her Second Son for injuries, but since they were going to the Port City, everyone got busy preparing.
The villagers helped to load the wild boars onto the cart, and they would also take some knives and weighing equipment with them.
The people going to sell the wild boars at the Port City were five individuals: Jiang Ran, who was the Village Chief and also close to the Bai family, and his eldest son, Jiang Ting; Bai Zhou (Bai Father) and his eldest son, Bai Jiang; and finally, the essential person, Bai Li. The cart, carrying two wild boars and five people, quickly departed from the village.
Before Bai Li got onto the cart, he also had to ask Bai Mother to take in the Ge'ers from his family for the night, since they would likely not be able to return this evening. Bai Mother told him not to worry about that and simply warned him not to waste the money they would earn.