After the wild boars had departed from the village, the busy villagers also left one after another, and only a few overly curious people remained at Bai Li's house. Most of them were women and Ge'ers.
Therefore, Tu Shi, the elder, and Mao Shi looked at the people who had not yet left and sat down at the table outside the house. There were only five chairs at the table, and after Tu Shi and Mao Shi, Zhou Shi and Su Shi, who were pregnant, also sat down, leaving only one chair remaining. The one who subsequently took that chair was Xiao Han's stepmother, Lei Shi, from the Xiao family, who arrived late.
Because Xiao Han was afraid of his stepmother, he merely stood quietly with his head bowed behind Bai Mother, while Bai Xiaofu and Bai Xiaowu were each settled in the laps of Mao Shi and Tu Shi. The two little Ge'ers were too adorable, and they simply could not resist them. This was especially true for Tu Shi, who did not have a Ge'er in her house.
Although Lei Shi had heard the news early on, she had not believed it and did not come. She only believed it after people returning from Bai Li's house repeatedly confirmed it and arrived, but she was disappointed because the wild boars had already left the village. Lei Shi also wanted the wild boars. If possible, she even wanted to follow them all the way to the Port City to demand the boars. However, she remembered that the Village Chief was also there and thus did not carry out this plan.
Mao Shi did not look kindly upon Lei Shi. And why would she? Lei Shi had demanded a hundred taels of silver for Xiao Han. She had threatened to sue Bai Li in court for raping Xiao Han if the hundred taels of silver were not paid. That was the only reason the Bai family had to take out the hundred taels of silver they had painstakingly saved for Bai Wu's tuition fees. Subsequently, the intelligent Bai Wu had to abandon his studies.
The truth was that Bai Li's mistake was real. However, in the lives of these farmers, even families considered to be well-off only had a betrothal gift of one tael of silver for a bride, with a maximum not exceeding five taels. Even if they were to sell Xiao Han to a rich person, they would not be willing to spend more than thirty taels of silver on him. It was obvious that Lei Shi had deliberately extorted money from the Bai family.
However, if the case had gone to court, Bai Li's life would have been ruined, so the Bai family had to reluctantly hand over the money, and Mao Shi hated the extremely greedy Lei Shi.
It was certain that Lei Shi's arrival today could not be for a good reason.
Just as they had thought, Lei Shi said shamelessly:
"Oh, Sister Tu Shi is here as well. I only came to speak with my in-law, Mao Shi. Since this is a family matter, you can listen if you want to, but it is up to you."
What Lei Shi meant was that because Tu Shi was the Village Chief's wife, she could not be directly expelled, but since it was a family affair, she should not interfere.
Although Lei Shi was a country woman, she was slightly literate, and since the Xiao family did not farm, she did not look rough or rugged. Compared to Tu Shi and Mao Shi, who were of a similar age, she appeared quite a bit younger. In fact, all three of them had been lucky enough to marry good men.
Bai Zhou was wealthy, and Jiang Ran was the Village Chief. Xiao Liu's (Xiao Han's father) job was also profitable and not demanding.
Tu Shi also hated this foxy woman who pretended to be capable and virtuous. She scoffed but did not intervene.
Therefore, Lei Shi said:
"I heard the news that Son-in-law Bai got two big wild boars today, but he did not come to call on his in-laws' house. Mao Shi, my in-law, do you think this is right?"
Although they had already sensed it the moment she spoke, it became even clearer that Lei Shi had come for profit. Xiao Han's feverish face grew even redder with shame. Xiao Han knew that he was not worth a hundred taels of silver, but he could not stop his stepmother. He had always felt indebted to the Bai family because of this incident. This very fact was also why he never dared to fight back, no matter how much Bai Li tormented him.
Mao Shi's face gradually hardened. This woman, Lei Shi, was extremely greedy for money. It was precisely because of her greed that she wanted to become the concubine of Xiao Liu, who earned money daily. When the main wife died, the concubine then became the new main wife.
Back then, Bai Li's situation was fearful of the court, which was why she had handed over the silver, but now Bai Li and Xiao Han were married and even had children. If she tried to extort money again, Mao Shi would only spit at her.
"Lei Shi, what nonsense are you speaking? Didn't you say at that time that if you received a hundred taels of silver, you would sever all ties with both Xiao Han and Bai Li? Everyone in the village heard those words! Did you actually not keep your word? You live in the same village, yet you haven't even come to see Xiao Han, let alone little Xiaofu and Xiaowu! And yet, you expect my son to come and call on you? He is perfectly fine with just his father and three brothers!"
Upon hearing these words, Lei Shi lost face but did not retreat.
The other villagers present were all gossipy and nosy people. They watched the show quietly without making a sound.
Lei Shi continued:
"It is obvious that those words were spoken in anger. Your son raped our Xiao Han, didn't he? Shouldn't we be angry!! We only said that because we were angry at the time! But your son is disrespectful and hasn't even visited his in-laws' house for three whole years. Now that he has gotten the wild boars, he still doesn't call on his in-laws' house. What an utterly trashy son-in-law!"
Mao Shi's eyes widened in fury. How could Bai Li dare to go to their house? Xiao Liu would try to chop him with a knife whenever he saw him. It was only after they paid the hundred taels of silver that Xiao Liu stopped appearing with a knife. If Bai Li had called on the Xiao family this time, as Lei Shi suggested, would that not be the same as agreeing to give the wild boars to the Xiao family?
Although Lei Shi was using clever words and saying that Bai Li did not come to call them for help even after getting the wild boars, the truth was that she had come to make trouble because he did not share this good fortune with his in-laws. Even a three-year-old child could understand this.
Bai Li, who was on the road to sell the wild boars, did not know that his mother-in-law was causing trouble at his home. He was sitting with his legs stretched out in the back of the cart and thinking about something. Then he spoke to the others in the cart:
"Father, Village Chief, let's go through the small town."
The cart was being driven by the Bai family's eldest son, and the rest of the people could not help but smile as they kept looking at the big wild boars. Father Bai was confused by Bai Li's suggestion and said:
"It will take longer if we go through the small town. Why do you want to go into the town?"
Since the original Bai Li had been a ruffian in that small town, they could not help but be suspicious when he said he wanted to go into the town. However, Bai Li explained:
"It doesn't matter if we are a little late. We have to sleep in the harbor town tonight anyway. Even though the small town is small, there might be some people who want to buy wild boar meat. If we pass through the town, we will have advertised our goods, and they can come and buy them in the harbor town."
Since the explanation was highly logical, their suspicions disappeared, and they agreed to pass through the small town. Bai Li was also extremely happy. Since he had arrived, he had not had a single coin in his hands. After selling these wild boars, he would finally get some money.
Although he had never had money before, he already knew how the currency worked through the memories.
One thousand copper coins were equal to one tael of silver, and one thousand taels of silver were equal to one tael of gold.
According to Bai Li's estimation, these wild boars would yield over a thousand taels of silver.
(AN/ Since this story is a fictional creation, the currency values may not be accurate to the outside world.)
While he was rejoicing with such thoughts, their cart overflowing with wild boars had already entered the small town. After that, the gaze of everyone in the town fell upon the cart containing the wild boars.
The people in the town were stirred up by the cart containing the wild boars. Bai Jiang (Bai Li's eldest brother) asked if they should stop the cart, but Bai Li told them to just drive as fast as they had been going.
Bai Li did not believe that no one would run up to ask about the boars.
Just as expected, it was not long before some people came running after the cart and shouted out:
"Hey!! Stop the cart for a moment! Are the wild boars for sale? We want to buy some!"
However, since the cart did not stop, they were forced to keep running after it.
Bai Li shouted back:
"We are going to sell them in the harbor town! If you want to buy, come follow us!"
At that, the people following the cart slowed down for a moment, but they quickly shouted back:
"We will follow after getting the money! Save some for me!"
"Some for me too! I will come quickly!"
"Count us in too, hey!"
"Please save some for us too!"
"You have to save a lot! I am buying a large amount!"
However, the cart drove away quickly, and only Bai Li's loud cry of "Alright!" was left ringing in the small town.
Nevertheless, the news that wild boar meat would be sold in the harbor town had already spread throughout the small town, so those who wanted meat were preparing to go to the harbor town.
Although they could buy ordinary pork at the market, how could it compare to wild boar meat? The wild boars did not even appear once a year, so all they could do was rush to buy them.
According to Bai Li's estimation, the cart only arrived in the harbor town at around three to four o'clock in the afternoon. Even so, they had traveled at top speed, and they were afraid they would be delayed until dark if they had gone at a normal speed.
The reaction of the people in the harbor town was not much different from that of the small town. As a result, people were following the cart, and by the time they stopped the cart in a spacious open area, there was already a huge crowd.
When the crowd saw the cart stop, the people immediately said:
"Uncles and Younger Brothers, are these wild boars for sale? If you are willing to sell them whole, I will buy one for three hundred taels of silver."
Bai Li's lips curved slightly at those words. Three hundred taels of silver? Would he sell it for less than half of what he expected?
Therefore, Bai Li said, maintaining a polite smile:
"Brother, these wild boars are for sale, but not whole. You can buy as many jin as you want."
The crowd nearby was relieved upon hearing Bai Li's words. Since most people could not afford to buy a whole wild boar, they only wanted to buy by the jin, and if someone bought the whole animal, they would not be able to buy any.
Someone from the crowd asked after seeing Bai Li's group lighting a fire to boil water:
"Younger Brother, you are going to boil water to remove the bristles (hairs), right? In that case, we will go home and fetch the money first. How much are you selling it for per jin?"
At that, Bai Li replied:
"I will not sell it by the single jin. You can start buying from a minimum of three jin. It's five taels of silver for three jin. When you Brothers and Sisters go back to fetch your money, please spread the news to other people in town who do not know yet."
The crowd didn't hear Bai Li's last words. They were so shocked just by the phrase 'five taels of silver' that they jumped up.
It wasn't just the crowd that was shocked; the Bai father and sons and the Jiang father and son were also stunned. The Village Chief (Jiang Ran), who was standing near Bai Li, even took a step back and muttered in his mind:
"One tael of silver per jin is a reasonable market price, yet you want five taels of silver for three jin? Are you not afraid people will say you are a bandit robbing on the road?"
Father Bai was also secretly tugging on Bai Li's sleeve because his son was asking for a price that was a little too high, but Bai Li pretended not to notice.
A man from the crowd who was dressed slightly better also asked:
"Younger Brother, isn't five taels of silver for three jin a little too much?"