Chapter (7) "A Trip to Port City to Sell the Boars" (Part 2)
Meanwhile, the first and third daughters-in-law, who had stayed at the Bai house, arrived after hearing the news and immediately came inside when they heard Auntie Bai (Mo Hua) was there. Little Bai Mei (Bai Li's sister) was initially curious about the boar like the other villagers, but when she saw her sisters-in-law, she followed them inside the house too.
Her first sister-in-law was a lazy woman who spoke crudely. The third sister-in-law was a ge'er like Xiao Han, but he was nothing like Xiao Han. The third sister-in-law was cunning like a fox, and his ever-calculating eyes were enough to send shivers down your spine.
Bai Mei did not get along well with those two. Why? Because they were the ones who pushed hardest for the family to kick out her second brother, Bai Li. Bai Mei loved her second brother, so she hated these two women who always spoke ill of him.
Inside the house, while the two older women were talking, Xiao Han held the kids in his arms, listening quietly without saying a word. He wouldn't complain even if his mother-in-law took his husband's money. He knew it was for their own good. At least he still had kind in-laws, and his mother-in-law loved his kids. Plus, he knew his mother-in-law was a fair person.
Just then, the other daughters-in-law of the Bai family walked in. The eldest daughter-in-law, Zhou Xi, said, "Mother, we came as soon as we heard the news."
Su Xi, the third daughter-in-law, smiled behind Zhou Shi. His eyes swept over the small shack, stopped at Xiao Han and the kids, and a look of contempt flashed across his face.
He had never set foot in this house before. If he hadn't heard the news about the wild boars, he would never have considered coming here in his life. He hated Bai Li, who the Bai family favored so much.
Zhou Xi was no different. This was the first time she had ever visited her brother-in-law Bai Li's house. The house was as poor as she expected. It couldn't compare to the main Bai family house at all. At that moment, these two daughters-in-law felt superior and felt that Bai Li and his family were inferior.
Bai Mei, who stood beside them and saw the expressions on their faces, was furious. How dare they look down on her second brother even though he now owned two massive wild boars.
Tu Xi and Mo Xi stopped talking when the others arrived. Bai Li's business was none of these daughters-in-law's concern.
Zhou Xi sat down on the brick bed, placing her hand on her bulging belly as if afraid no one would notice her pregnancy.
"Mother, the wild boar outside is truly huge! Is it really possible that little brother-in-law Bai Li hunted it?"
Before Auntie Bai could say anything, Bai Mei angrily snapped, "What do you mean by that, First Sister-in-law! Didn't my second brother hunt pheasants yesterday, and didn't you eat a lot of it!!"
Zhou Xi was embarrassed by Bai Mei's comment, but she had a thick skin, so she didn't care.
"Little sister-in-law, I'm just surprised! A wild boar is not the same as a pheasant. A pheasant is easy to find, but wild boars are dangerous, aren't they?"
Bai Mei was having none of it. She couldn't tolerate this woman, who had become even more hateful since she got pregnant.
"Oh please! If pheasants were as easy to catch as the First Sister-in-law says, everyone would be eating meat every day! Don't be ridiculous!"
Zhou Xi ignored Bai Mei and decided not to continue the argument. Instead, she turned to Auntie Bai.
"The wild boar is huge, Mother. If we make dried meat, the second brother-in-law's family will have enough for the whole winter with just one boar."
Then, she added a meaningful comment: "This is the first time Su Xi and I have been pregnant. It would be great if we could eat more meat to give strength to the baby, wouldn't it, Mother?"
Zhou Xi's intention was clear. Excluding the one pheasant sent to the Village Elder yesterday, the Bai family received two pheasants out of four. So, she thought they should receive one of the two wild boars. She was just craving wild boar meat.
Su Xi shared the same thought as Zhou Xi, but he didn't want the meat. Instead, he hoped that the money from selling one boar would be given to the main Bai house, and Auntie Bai would give them a portion of that money.
In short, both of them were greedy.
Zhou Xi's words made Auntie Bai and Tu Xi's faces sour, and Bai Mei's eyes hardened with anger.
These two women never had a good thing to say about her second brother, and now that he was doing well, they shamelessly wanted a share of the profit for free. How ridiculous.
Auntie Bai, knowing her daughters-in-law's nature, decided to shut them down immediately so they wouldn't harbor any false hopes.
"First Daughter-in-law, you are short-sighted! How could your second brother's family possibly eat such valuable wild boar meat? It must be sold!"
Zhou Xi didn't want to give up yet. If they couldn't have the meat, she wanted the money.
"Then the money will be quite a lot..."
Before Zhou Xi could finish, Bai Mei cut her off.
"The money belongs to my second brother! First Sister-in-law, have you forgotten? Second brother has officially split from the family! Are you trying to manage the finances of your brother-in-law's house? People might misunderstand, you know! If First Sister-in-law wants to talk about money, go hunt some meat yourself!"
Bai Mei's blunt accusation even made someone as shameless as Zhou Xi embarrassed. Zhou Xi nervously looked at Tu Xi and Auntie Bai, then glanced at Xiao Han, and became angry out of shame.
"Little Sister-in-law! What are you saying in front of Xiao Xi (Xiao Han)? He might misunderstand! I was just saying that they will get a lot of money!"
A sister-in-law trying to manage her brother-in-law's finances was truly scandalous. If this news got out, people might suspect Bai Li and Zhou Xi were having an affair.
Xiao Han didn't say anything. He just held his sons and listened quietly. He didn't think Bai Li and Zhou Xi were having an affair. Even if Bai Li was a scoundrel, he preferred high-status women and wouldn't even be interested in Zhou Xi.
Bai Mei snorted. This Zhou Xi was truly thick-skinned. It was obvious she wanted a share of the profit from Bai Li. She didn't dare to continue after Bai Mei pointed it out.
Auntie Bai and Tu Xi exchanged glances and decided to stay silent. Whatever Zhou Xi said or whatever Su Xi thought, nothing would happen without the Bai parents' consent.
The small shack became filled with an awkward atmosphere, but soon, a shout came from outside.
"Uncle Bai! Elder! Bai Li and Jiang Ting are back!"
A villager, who saw Bai Li carrying the boar with Jiang Ting beside him, shouted, and everyone instantly became agitated. The women and ge'ers rushed out of the shack, and the crowd parted to make way for Bai Li.
Some of the strong villagers helped Bai Li put down the boar, and they noticed that this boar was slightly bigger than the first one. The boars were so massive that their tusks were quite large.
Jiang Ting was sweaty and exhausted, but there was a strange expression on his face. He was sure he was stronger than Bai Li, yet he could only carry the boar for a short time, and Bai Li was the one who carried it the most. Even so, Bai Li still looked quite light on his feet.
Bai Li is visibly thin. Could his bones just be incredibly strong?
"Come and have some hot water to relieve your exhaustion."
The Village Elder, who anticipated the situation, had already cooled some water in cups. Bai Li and Jiang Ting did not refuse. They sat down and drank the cooled water while the villagers outside were noisy.
"Those wild boars are huge!"
"If I had run into one of these in the forest, I would have already been drinking Granny Meng's soup without even knowing it!"
"These things are bigger than a person! How many jin (approx. 500g) do you think they weigh?"
"No matter how many jin they weigh, Bai Li is definitely going to get a lot of money."
"You guys are only focused on the money. Don't you realize where Bai Li found these boars?"
"Now that you mention it, I wonder if Bai Li bravely went up the mountain, despite these two boars!"
"Oh god! There are bears, wolves, and tigers on the upper mountain! This guy, Bai Li, is incredibly bold!"
"Jiang Qing said Bai Li found them at the foot of the mountain and killed them because he was afraid they would come to the village."
"Goodness! The foot of the mountain! Something bad would have happened if they reached the village!"
"It's a good thing Bai Li found them and managed to kill them. Otherwise, we can't say they wouldn't have come toward the village."
"That's right! If these things reached the village, the village would have been greatly damaged!"
The people were huddled around the wild boars, discussing loudly. They were discussing whether the former village trash had now become the savior of the village.
Some still couldn't believe Bai Li had gone up the mountain to hunt. But if Bai Li hadn't killed them himself, no one would just give him two free wild boars. Besides, the arrow wounds on the boars' necks clearly showed that they died from those arrows.
The Village Elder ignored the noisy villagers and said to Bai Li.
"Although it is autumn, it's not very cold yet. If we leave the meat until tomorrow, it won't be fresh. You should go sell them in the city today. Your father has also brought the cart."
Bai Li's father nodded in agreement. Since no one in their village could afford to buy these boars, they would have to sell them in the city.
The Elder continued, "You need to decide whether to sell them in the small town or the port city. The port city will fetch more money, but it's far, and you won't be able to return today. If you sell them in the small town, you'll still get a decent price."
Bai Li considered this. The closest town to their village took about an hour and a half to two hours by cart. The port city was farther away; even if they left quickly with the cart now, they would only reach the city in the late afternoon. By the time they sold the meat, it would be night.
However, Bai Li wanted to get more money.
"Elder, I want to go sell them in the port city. I'm afraid both boars won't sell out in the small town. The port city is crowded and has many restaurants, so we can get more money and sell all of them."
He estimated it was about ten in the morning now. Actually, killing the boars hadn't taken much time.
Bai Li's father agreed with him. Although the small town was busy, it was nothing compared to the port city. The Village Elder also thought Bai Li's words were logical. The boars were huge. Since restaurants might not buy the entire animal, they might have to butcher and sell them in pieces, and staying overnight in the city was not a big issue.
"Then let's not waste any time. The port city is far. The earlier we leave, the better."
Auntie Bai wanted to check her second son for injuries, but since they were going to the port city, they became busy with preparations.
The villagers helped load the boars onto the cart, and they also brought knives and some weighing scales.
The group going to the port city to sell the boars consisted of five people: Jiang Yan (the Village Elder, who was close to the Bai family), his eldest son Jiang Ting, Bai Zhou, his eldest son Bai Jian, and, of course, Bai Li. The cart, carrying the two boars and five people, quickly left the village.
Before getting on the cart, Bai Li asked his mother to let his family stay at the Bai parents' house for the night since they wouldn't be back until tomorrow. Auntie Bai told him not to worry about that and warned him not to squander the money they would earn.