Making A Fortune Through Hunting To Support My Wife - Chapter 9

Xu Bogong (the Second Great Uncle) sat high at the head of the Eight Immortals table. He lifted his eyes to look at Xu Jing, who stood below him, and raised his elderly, steady voice slightly.

“I heard from your wife that you went hunting in the mountains?”

Xu Jing had no intention of denying this, nor was there any need to. She nodded in acknowledgment. “Yes, I…”

Thud! The copper tobacco pipe in Xu Bogong’s hand struck the tabletop, cutting off her words.

“This is absolute nonsense!”

“What kind of place do you think Mt. Dayue is? You have no proper tools, you don’t know the mountain paths, and you have no hunting skills. How dare you go in alone?!”

“If something happened to you, what would your grandmother and your wife do? You are the only seedling left in this family. How could I face Daping if you don’t come back?”

Xu Jing had expected this. Her Second Great-Uncle had called her over primarily to scold her. If it were the original owner of this body, they would have stood there silently taking the verbal lashing, but Xu Jing was not of that temperament.

Waiting for him to finish, Xu Jing looked up and forced a smile. “Second Great Uncle, I know you are worried about me. But the family is in debt. If I don’t go into the mountains to find some wild game to trade for silver, our land will be seized.”

“If the land is gone, what little remains won’t be enough to keep us fed.”

“You know life will be hard once the land is gone, so why did you make that seven days pact with the Wang family? It was purely impulsive!”

Xu Jing acted aggrieved. “But they were at our doorstep demanding payment. As the only male in this house, shouldn’t I shoulder the responsibility?”

“I can’t let my grandmother, at her age, worry about these things and bear the infamy of being a debtor who won’t pay, can I?”

As she spoke, Xu Jing glanced at Grandma Xu, whose expression was souring by the second.

“But couldn’t you have discussed it with me first? I am your Second Great Uncle, the Wang family would have to give the Xu family some face.”

Xu Bogong was both gratified that Xu Jing was stepping up to lead the household and angry that she was a hot-headed youth who had made such a boastful, heavy commitment.

“Second Great Uncle, it is only natural to pay back what is owed. Even if the Wang family respects you, they likely couldn’t grant us much more time. They need the money for a wedding, their son is waiting. Our family must pay.”

“Relying solely on crops or manual labor won’t be enough to gather the silver in time.”

Xu Bogong took a puff of his pipe, looking surprised at Xu Jing’s logical and methodical analysis. He hadn’t known that “Jing-ge” was so articulate and sensible.

He pondered for a moment before finally speaking slowly, with implication: “How could it not be enough? Can’t you just borrow the money?”

“With this mess hanging over us, who would lend us anything? Surely you aren’t suggesting that you would lend it to me, Second Great Uncle?”

Xu Jing said this with a smile, intending to checkmate his offer. She truly didn’t want to borrow money from him. With the Poria she dug up and the wild pheasants she caught, she planned to sell them at the market tomorrow morning, upgrade her equipment, and head deeper into the mountains. She wasn’t worried about catching more game.

Xu Bogong exhaled a cloud of smoke from his nose and pulled out a pre-prepared money bag, placing it on the table.

The bag was heavy. It drew the eyes of everyone in the room except for Xu Jing and Song Yu, especially the members of Xu Bogong’s own family who were listening in. Their eyes turned red with envy, that money was saved up coin by coin. Why give it to Xu Jing?

“Father!” “Grandpa!”

Several men from Xu Bogong’s family couldn’t help but shout as they saw him push the bag toward Xu Jing.

Xu Bogong slammed his pipe on the table, his white eyebrows furrowed over his eyes as he barked, “Shut up!”

Turning back to Xu Jing, he said warmly, “I have some money here. Take it and pay back the Wang family first. From now on, live a good life with your grandmother and your wife…”

Xu Jing sighed internally. If Xu Bogong weren’t being sincere, he would be easier to deal with. She couldn’t bring herself to coldly reject such genuine help.

Before he could finish, Xu Jing reached out and pushed the money bag back to his side of the table.

She smiled and said, “Second Great Uncle, I know you are looking out for your grand nephew. But this is money your family worked hard to save. Your lives aren’t easy either. I can’t just take it.”

Seeing him about to speak, Xu Jing’s expression turned serious. “To be honest, I have a way to get the money within these seven days.”

“If I can’t gather enough by then, I will shamelessly come back and borrow from you. I’m sorry to trouble you to clean up after my mess.”

With that, Xu Jing bowed deeply, her apology sincere and heartfelt.

Seeing her so polite and sensible, Xu Bogong found his words stuck in his throat.

However, Grandma Xu didn’t feel the same. She had been invited by Xu Bogong not just for the sake of appearances, but with the hope that he would pressure Xu Jing. Over the last few days, her usually quiet “grandson” had changed. Not only had she become sharp-tongued, but she had also dared to talk back, act disobediently, and take family money without permission.

Now, in front of outsiders, Xu Jing was acting filial and humble, nothing like her recent rebellious self.

Grandma Xu narrowed her eyes and said gloomily, “You certainly have a silver tongue. If you don’t get the money, won’t you just be troubling your Second Great Uncle again?”

The sudden intervention of her voice brought a silence to the room.

Xu Jing looked up at her grandmother, her smile unwavering. “It would indeed be a trouble to Second Great Uncle. That is my plan, Grandma. Do you have a better way?”

Caught off guard by the request for advice, Grandma Xu choked on her words. She had no better way. She simply wanted to borrow the money from the uncle, pay the debt, and keep the land. As for how Xu Jing would pay the uncle back, since Xu Jing had made the boast, it was her problem.

Feeling frustrated, Grandma Xu habitually put on a stern face and scolded, “Your Second Great Uncle is a busy man. Since he agreed to help you, stop making trouble. Just tend to the fields properly. Once the grain is sold, we can pay it back. A farmer should have the conduct of an honest farmer.”

Xu Jing narrowed her eyes at this but didn’t argue. She turned to Xu Bogong and cupped her hands to both elders.

“Second Great Uncle, Grandma, let’s treat this as a test for me. It’s only seven days, it’s not long.”

Grandma Xu wanted to say more, but Xu Bogong, unlike her, was a reasonable man. He could see that Xu Jing simply didn’t want to borrow from his family. He couldn’t force a loan on someone.

“Fine, then. We will do it your way,” Xu Bogong decided, taking another puff of his pipe.

As Grandma Xu opened her mouth, he added, “Jing-ge, you lost your parents young. Your grandmother raised you bit by bit, the hardships she endured are beyond words. Her kindness in raising you is greater than the heavens. You cannot be unfilial now that you are grown.”

Xu Jing’s heart sank at these words, but she didn’t let it show. She remained smiling. “I know it wasn’t easy for Grandma to raise me. How could I be unfilial? As long as there is food in this house, even if I go hungry, I would never let her starve.”

Xu Bogong looked at her, tapping his pipe gently on the table as if to drive the point home. “Good. Take care of her. I know you’re a sensible person, so I won’t say more.”

The debt of being raised by Grandma Xu was indeed great. Since Xu Jing had replaced the original owner, she would take on those responsibilities. But as for unreasonable demands outside of those responsibilities? She would never yield.

By the time they left Xu Bogong’s house, it was pitch black. Grandma Xu walked ahead without sparing a glance for Xu Jing, clearly still angry.

Xu Jing turned and shrugged at Song Yu, a look of helplessness on her face. Song Yu avoided her gaze and continued walking in silence.

Xu Jing pursed her lips. Her “wife,” influenced by the original owner’s past behavior, clearly still disliked her.

The three returned to the Xu courtyard in silence. Grandma Xu went to her room, and Song Yu went to the kitchen to cook. As for Xu Jing, she went to the small storehouse to retrieve the water celery and the wild pheasants from her basket.

It was hot out, and since the pheasants were dead, Xu Jing was worried the meat would spoil. She had to clean them tonight and hang them in a cool place.

When Xu Jing appeared at the kitchen door holding three pheasants and the water celery, Song Yu was busy washing rice.

“Here, let’s have stir-fried water celery tonight.”

“As for the chickens, we’ll eat half of one tonight and save the other half for tomorrow. The other two won’t keep in this heat, so I’ll take them to the market to sell.”

Xu Jing’s sudden voice startled Song Yu, making her flinch slightly. Song Yu hid her reaction and looked up at Xu Jing. The moment she did, her gaze froze on the pheasants.

For the first time, Song Yu couldn’t hide her emotions. Her eyes widened with surprise. “Wild pheasants? You caught them?”

Xu Jing nodded with a smile. This was how a young girl should look, not that lifeless shadow she had been before.

“Of course. If Second Great Uncle hadn’t called us over, we’d be eating fragrant chicken already. I remember we have some dried mushrooms. Should I soak them so we can make stewed chicken with mushrooms?”

Song Yu’s eyes brightened for a second, but then dimmed as she remembered something. She shook her head. “We still owe money. We should save the chickens to help pay the debt.”

“I told you, don’t worry about the money. I can handle it.”

Xu Jing lifted the heavy pheasants and laughed. “Look, I caught these on my very first day in the mountains. Once I sell the other two and the Poria tomorrow, I’ll get better tools. I’ll only catch more after that. There is absolutely no need to worry about the money.”

Since she had to live with Song Yu for a long time, Xu Jing was willing to spend time explaining her plans to give her some peace of mind.

“I’ll leave the celery to you to wash. I’ll handle the chickens.”

As she spoke, Xu Jing stuffed the celery into Song Yu’s hands and went to fetch water to process the birds.

Song Yu stared at the celery for a few seconds before recovering. She bit her lip and placed the vegetables in a basket on the stove.

She actually wanted to ask. How did Xu Jing find Poria? Did she even know what raw Poria looked like?

Because her own mother was sickly, Song Yu knew a fair bit about herbal medicine and how expensive it was. Seeing Xu Jing busy, Song Yu suppressed her curiosity and didn’t press further.

It didn’t matter how Xu Jing found it. Only one thing mattered. Poria could be traded for money.