Cheng Zongyang knew his second uncle had some well-connected friends, so coupling his uncle's warning with his own suspicions, he took the opportunity to ask:
"Second Uncle, have you heard any rumors?"
Cheng Guangshan said in a low voice:
"Nothing specific, but the way those crooked merchants are acting is cause for alarm. They're raising grain prices day by day, and you can guess their motive. Besides..."
At this, he glanced around the shop. Only after the person picking up medicine had left the clinic did he lower his voice and say:
"Last night, I was called to the Li Family residence for a house call. I accidentally overheard some people talking about grain. It seems the last shipment of Official Grain to the County Town was robbed by mountain bandits. A lot of officials were killed, and word of it hasn't reached the town yet. That's why the grain merchants in the know have started jacking up their prices."
Cheng Zongyang's heart sank. He understood what his second uncle was telling him.
He knew exactly what it meant for the grain supply that kept the County Town stable to be gone. It also meant the County Town would no longer be peaceful. He asked with concern:
"I know what to do. Second Uncle, will you be alright?"
Cheng Guangshan was very pleased with his nephew's intelligence—he understood things in a flash. He smiled, nodded, and said:
"I'll be fine. The family still has some savings."
Cheng Zongyang then said, "Alright, I'll get started on the arrangements. Also, if the County Town becomes unsafe, come back to the village as soon as you can. It's still safe there."
Cheng Guangshan patted Cheng Zongyang's shoulder reassuringly.
"Don't worry. If even the County Town isn't safe, then things have truly descended into chaos. At that point, the villages will probably have it even worse. We might have to head to the Prefecture then."
Cheng Zongyang didn't say any more, just confirmed:
"Okay, I'll bring the things over tomorrow afternoon."
"Good. Be careful on the road," Cheng Guangshan urged.
After leaving the clinic, Cheng Zongyang glanced at the twenty-six taels of silver he had left and headed for a rice shop.
Now that he had this information, he couldn't just wait around.
The price of grain was changing daily. He had to buy some every day to store at home. And even if he didn't keep it at home, he could send it to the Wilderness World for storage and take it out slowly in the future.
The Wilderness World was basically his own personal dimension.
'Perhaps in the future, I should build a house, cultivate land, put up fences, and so on directly in the Wilderness. That way, even if things really get chaotic and I lose my source of income, I can still get food from the Wilderness World.'
At this thought, Cheng Zongyang's view of the Wilderness World's purpose expanded. It wasn't just for hunting; it could also serve as his ace in the hole for future development.
Arriving at a seed store, Cheng Zongyang used some loose copper coins to buy a variety of vegetable and fruit seeds. The rest of his money was for buying grain like rice and flour.
He didn't have much money right now, so compared to White Rice, Old Rice was more cost-effective. Old Rice was just rice that had been stored for a year or two; there was nothing wrong with it.
As long as it wasn't moldy or off-tasting, he could tolerate it. Once he had more money, he could buy more White Rice.
One jin of Old Rice cost fifty-five cents, while one jin of White Rice was eighty cents.
Cheng Zongyang bought three hundred jin of Old Rice and one hundred jin of White Rice in separate batches, spending twenty-four taels and five mace. In a deserted corner of the County Town, he placed the rice sacks into the market stall.
Next, Cheng Zongyang left through the East Gate and entered a forest. When he emerged, he was dragging a terrifyingly large brown bear.
His actions immediately attracted the attention of many passersby, who gathered to watch.
A giant bear—who wouldn't be shocked by the sight?
"Young man, did you kill this bear?" a passerby couldn't help but step forward and ask.
Cheng Zongyang ignored him, continuing to drag the wooden frame toward the East City Gate with some effort.
The passerby looked at Cheng Zongyang. He wasn't particularly tall, but his muscles were taut, and he carried a Bow and Arrow and a Firewood Knife on his back. The man felt he had just asked a stupid question.
Dressed like that, and with enough strength to drag a huge bear, he was clearly no ordinary person.
The only explanation was that this young man was a Martial Artist!
Realizing this, the man who had asked the question didn't dare say another word and took a few steps back, afraid of attracting trouble.
You don't mess with a Martial Artist.
Others also noticed the situation. They were amazed by the bear's enormous size and shocked by the Martial Artist's power!
No one thought the young man was an ordinary person. Even if an ordinary person could kill a bear with traps, they could never drag such a massive beast!
Even two men together might not be able to pull it as easily as this young man.
The lazy guards at the gate saw this and wanted even less to do with it. Someone who could take down a bear was not a person to be trifled with.
They weren't that blind!
For just a few taels of broken silver a month, why risk your life?
And so, while Cheng Zongyang's actions drew many amazed onlookers, no one stepped forward to bother him.
"Brother, is the Bear Gall from this bear still available?"
In the County Town, someone noticed the wounds on the bear and came forward to ask.
"Sold," Cheng Zongyang replied curtly, continuing to drag the makeshift stretcher toward the Celestial Fragrance Tower.
"What a pity," the man lamented. He wasn't interested in the bear meat.
He made his way to the back door of the Celestial Fragrance Tower, followed by a number of onlookers.
Hearing the commotion in the rear courtyard, Zheng Yan came to the back door. He too was stunned to see Cheng Zongyang actually dragging a bear.
This was no small bear.
"Xiaocheng, this bear...?" Zheng Yan looked at Cheng Zongyang, puzzled.
Cheng Zongyang wiped the sweat from his forehead, caught his breath, and then said:
"Steward Zheng, I won't hide it from you. These days, life in the villages isn't like in the County Town. A group of Hunters from some nearby villages went into the Inner Mountain. They suffered heavy casualties to kill this bear."
"As you can see, the paws and the Bear Gall have already been bought. Only the meat is left. Since I'm familiar with you, they asked me to sell it. I get a ten percent cut of the silver coins. In the future, I can go into the mountains with them too. Steward Zheng, what do you think? Could you raise the price a little?"
Seeing Cheng Zongyang's sincere expression, Zheng Yan didn't doubt him.
He was well aware of the dangers of Tianduan Mountain, so he could understand why Hunters would team up to enter the Inner Mountain. Still, he smiled and said:
"Xiaocheng, if the Celestial Fragrance Tower belonged to me personally, then of course. But business is business, and I have to make money for the Tower. The most valuable parts of this bear are gone. I can't raise the price."
Cheng Zongyang cursed the smiling tiger inwardly, but put on a helpless expression. "Steward Zheng, the bearskin and the pizzle are valuable items too. But at this price... We can do it your way, but this humble one has a request, if the Steward would be willing to hear it?"
"Speak," Zheng Yan said gravely.
"I hope that in the future, Steward Zheng can do this humble one a favor. Of course, it wouldn't be anything difficult or unreasonable for you. If you agree, I'll even give you this bear and its hide for free today."
"Hahaha, you're a sharp one, kid. I wasn't wrong about you. Fine, I agree. But we'll still pay you for it," Zheng Yan agreed. He knew perfectly well that the story about the bear was just an excuse.
He also understood that the boy had agreed to his price, even including the bearskin, which meant he was practically selling the bear for a pittance. But by making this request, Cheng Zongyang was trading the bear and a low price for a future favor.
Of course, the main reason was that the boy's conduct over the past six months had been very much to his liking. He had been thinking of taking him under his wing anyway.
"Then let's weigh it," Cheng Zongyang said, cupping his hands in a salute.
"I'll do it," Zheng Yan said, walking over to the brown bear.
Suddenly, his right hand shot out, grabbing the Skin and Flesh of the brown bear's belly, and then he hoisted it up right in front of Cheng Zongyang.
In an instant, the brown bear was lifted about half a meter off the ground.
"Incredible!!"
"Steward Zheng is mighty!!"
"So strong! Is this the power of an Eighth Grade Martial Artist? To lift a huge bear with one hand!"
"They all say Steward Zheng is strong enough to lift a cauldron. His reputation is well-deserved!"
"..."
The surrounding onlookers gasped in amazement, stunned by Zheng Yan's feat.
Cheng Zongyang was no exception.
For all these years, he had only ever heard that Zheng Yan was an Eighth Grade Martial Artist, but he had never seen him in action. The man always had a smiling, cheerful demeanor.
He had, however, accidentally seen Zheng Yan strike once before and knew he was a ruthless smiling tiger, but he had always pretended not to know.
But seeing him casually lift a seven-hundred-plus-jin brown bear with one hand today truly shocked him to the core.
'Is this the Power of a Martial Artist?' Cheng Zongyang murmured to himself.
Before obtaining the Wilderness World, he had no intention of pursuing Martial Arts Training.
The reason was simple: no money, no money, and still no money!
But things were different now.
With the resources from the Wilderness World, he could trade them for money and gain access to the path of Martial Arts.
With Martial Arts and his own strength, hunting beasts in the Wilderness World would be as easy as flipping his hand!
"The Weight is approximately seven hundred fifty jin," Zheng Yan said, setting the brown bear down and looking at Cheng Zongyang with a calm expression.
"Alright, we'll go with the Steward's estimate," Cheng Zongyang agreed. He didn't care about the exact weight; it was meaningless.