Chapter 146
The four of them walked through the gate, chatting and laughing with bamboo baskets strapped to their backs. As soon as he entered, Lu Gu spotted the large bamboo basket Shen Xuanqing often carried, already placed in the yard. Beside it, on a tree stump, were two eggs.
Shen Xuanqing set down his basket, now filled with chestnuts, and said with a smile, “Pheasant eggs. Got lucky and found them.”
Pheasant eggs were more common in summer but became scarce as the weather cooled. These two had been discovered by Da Hui in the grass. Remembering Lu Gu mentioning he had dried some dipicai but lacked eggs to stir-fry with, Shen Xuanqing had brought them back.
“I didn’t see any pheasants, but I did catch a fat rabbit for dinner.” He pulled the plump wild rabbit from the basket and then took out four fox furs to show Lu Gu and the others.
“White fox furs.” Shen Yaoqing’s eyes widened in astonishment at the sight of the two pure white furs.
Shen Xuanqing grinned even wider and handed them over for inspection. After catching wind of the white foxes, he had spent three frigid nights in the wilderness. But this time, the hardship had paid off handsomely. On his way back, he had been eager to show Lu Gu the furs, only to find that Lu Gu hadn’t come out to greet him. The disappointment had instantly drained all his joy.
Lu Gu and Shen Yan crowded closer, the three of them examining the two flawless white fox furs. Not a single stray hair marred their pristine whiteness, and the skinning had been done expertly, leaving the furs undamaged.
Having lived with the Shen family for so long, Lu Gu was no stranger to game and their furs. In the past, he wouldn’t have dared to touch them, but now he ran his fingers over the soft fur. Even without knowing market prices, he could tell these were top-quality furs that would fetch a high price.
After Shen Yan took the furs, Lu Gu looked up at Shen Xuanqing, his heart swelling with pride.
Our Erqing is truly amazing!
“How much could these be worth?” Shen Yaoqing murmured, stroking the furs. But when he glanced up and saw his younger brother covered in dust and grime, his hair filthy, his clothes and neck stained with grass juice, his face and hands smudged green, and even small scratches from thorns and branches, he realized just how much hardship Shen Xuanqing had endured in the mountains.
Recalling Lu Gu’s words about Shen Xuanqing spending three nights away, Shen Yaoqing could only imagine him huddled in some remote cave, braving the bitter cold.
Life was hard for country folk, but at least farmers could return home at night. Hunters, on the other hand, faced wild beasts and treacherous terrain, this was no ordinary man’s work.
No wonder he earns so much, Shen Yaoqing thought with a silent sigh. He’s earned every copper coin.
Shen Xuanqing didn’t notice the others’ gazes. All he saw was the excitement and admiration in Lu Gu’s eyes, and warmth spread through his heart. His grin turned smug. What did hardship matter? Providing for his fulang was what truly counted.
“Second Brother, you should put these away,” Shen Yan said, carefully returning the furs to him. These were treasures, they had to be kept safe.
Shen Xuanqing took them back and said, “Last year in the prefectural city, I sold two silver fox furs for sixty taels. These two are pure white without a single stray hair, much rarer. They’ll definitely fetch a higher price. Last time, I didn’t dare ask for too much, but this time, especially for the white ones, I’ll push the price up.”
“Back then, though I sold directly to a wealthy family, I could tell from the steward’s and Brother Zhou’s words that those furs would change hands a few times before reaching the nobility. If gifted, fine, but if sold, their value would multiply several times over.”
In other words, these two white fox furs could sell for over sixty taels. Even though Lu Gu had once seen two hundred taels, this still felt like an enormous sum. Shen Yan, who had seen even less of the world, gaped in astonishment.
Shen Yaoqing, however, was more composed. Having traveled and experienced more, he, like Shen Xuanqing, understood the value of fox furs.
The nobility were beyond the reach of country bumpkins like them. Without connections, they couldn’t even get close to their gates. There was no point dreaming of making a fortune.
“Black-hearted bastards,” Shen Yaoqing cursed with a laugh, though he didn’t truly mind. This was just how the world worked.
Their villages were close to the mountains, and aside from farming, many ventured into the hills to forage for wild delicacies, hoping to strike it rich.
Not to mention bear paws, items like bird’s nests, bamboo fungus, and monkey head mushrooms were all highly valuable. Sometimes, merchants came to the villages to buy mountain goods. What seemed like astronomical sums to villagers, ten or twenty taels were mere pocket change to these traders, who could resell them in the prefectural city for several times the price. Shen Yaoqing had seen it all before.
For country folk, land and crops were the top priority. Tilling and weeding took up most of their time, leaving little for foraging. And in recent years, wild delicacies had become scarcer. Sometimes a whole day in the mountains yielded nothing. Few had struck it rich from mountain goods lately.
Shen Xuanqing chuckled at his brother’s words, then packed away the furs and began unloading the rest of the basket. His knife needed sharpening, and his arrows required maintenance, he couldn’t afford to be caught unprepared in the wild.
Lu Gu and Shen Yan headed to the kitchen to cook, while Shen Yaoqing scooped hot water from the clay pot to butcher the hare. No one was idle.
No comments:
Post a Comment