Ma Baichuan quickly called out, "One hundred and ninety-one taels."
Manager Li: "One hundred and ninety-two taels."
"One hundred and ninety-three taels."
"One hundred and ninety-four taels."
The two went back and forth, neither daring to rashly raise the price by too much.
The one hundred and ninety taels just now was already a high bid.
Ma Baichuan gritted his teeth. If this continued, two hundred taels might not even secure it.
Manager Li anxiously stole a glance at Song Jinzhao's attitude. The tiger pelt absolutely could not go to someone else.
Ma Baichuan took a deep breath, pulled Manager Li aside, and said in a low voice, "If we keep arguing like this, we'll both lose out."
"For the sake of the County Magistrate, let me have the brown bear. The evening banquet is still missing a dish of steamed bear paws."
Manager Li thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement. "Alright."
Song Jinzhao saw that the two men had clearly reached an understanding when they returned.
It seemed the price could still be pushed a little beyond two hundred taels.
Ma Baichuan spoke first, "Miss Song, sell me this brown bear. I'll offer ninety taels of silver."
Manager Li: "For this tiger, I offer one hundred and five taels."
Song Lahuang desperately winked at Song Dazhuang, urging him to sell quickly.
Song Dazhuang shook his head slightly, squinting his eyes to signal that Song Jinzhao should decide.
She was familiar with the restaurant managers; perhaps she could get an even higher price.
Song Jinzhao stared at the two men, her fingers lightly tapping on the cart handle.
In Xining City, only these two restaurants could afford these items. To sell for a higher price, they'd have to go to the prefectural city, which was too far.
"Add five taels each, and you can take them away."
Manager Li frowned, looking troubled.
Ma Baichuan was the first to take out silver notes and coins, handing them to Song Jinzhao.
"Deal. If you have more good finds in the future, Miss Song, please remember my Tingyun Restaurant. The price I offer will definitely be higher than Shiyouji's."
Manager Li clenched his back teeth.
That old fox. He was currying favor with Song Jinzhao.
If he didn't agree, he would come off worse.
"Fine, one hundred and ten taels it is."
After receiving the silver, Song Jinzhao handed ninety-five taels to Song Dazhuang.
"The money from the tiger is mine. I won't take a share of the brown bear money. You thirteen can discuss among yourselves how much each gets."
The youngest, Song Fengshou, spoke up, "We didn't help at all with killing the tiger, so we shouldn't get a share anyway. You should also get a portion from selling the brown bear."
Song Jinzhao tucked the one hundred and ten taels of silver into her pocket. "This matter started because of Song Shigen. His family lost a member. If you insist on giving me a share, then take five taels and give it to Tudan's family."
The seven men exchanged looks. Song Dazhuang took the money and said, "Alright, we'll give your share to Tudan's family."
When they returned to the village, the white mourning banner was already hung at Tudan's doorway, and the sound of weeping filled the courtyard.
The choked, hoarse crying of a child was particularly distinct.
If Song Shigen hadn't chosen to lure the brown bear away alone, but had instead abandoned Tudan and climbed a tree by himself, he might not have died.
The bond between father and son was deep, but sadly, Tudan still lost his father.
Song Jinzhao kowtowed three times before the mourning hall and then went home.
After kowtowing, all thirteen men who went up the mountain went to the village chief's house.
In the end, they gave six taels of silver to Tudan's family.
Song Fengshou took eight taels of silver. The others divided the rest equally, and those who were injured received an extra half-tael for medical expenses.
When Second Song found out that Oldest Song had gotten seven taels, he stomped around the house in anger.
"If I had known, I would have gone too."
Second Aunt Song said nothing and went out to fetch water.
Go where? The moment he heard there was a bear on the mountain, he practically wanted to curl into a ball and hide under the bed. Marrying him was the worst luck in eight lifetimes. That was a whole year's tuition for Yaozu!
Song Dazhuang went to pick up the children in the evening but was two quarters of an hour late. When he arrived, he found that Song Yongnian and Song Yaozu hadn't come out yet.
Song Qiming explained, "Today they couldn't recite the texts they were supposed to memorize, so the teacher kept them after class."
When the two children finally came out, their eyes were red.
Sitting on the ox-cart, Song Yaozu held his reddened palms and wiped his tears. "I don't want to go to school anymore."
It was only when the four children got home that they learned about the major event in the village that day.
Song Qiming stared at Song Jinzhao's clothes, torn by the tiger, feeling a pang of fear. "Tudan's father died?"
Song Shixue nodded. "I even went to pay my respects."
Just as the villagers thought the matter was over, that very night, wolf howls echoed from the mountains again.
No one could sleep.
In the morning, Song Jinzhao took Song Qiming to the village chief's house.
"Tell the villagers not to go up the mountain recently. The mountains are unsettled."
Song Mancang wore a bitter expression, his head hanging low.
"Who knows what's going on this year. In the past, you'd never see jackals, wolves, tigers, or leopards in the outer areas, let alone run into them halfway up the mountain."
Song Jinzhao frowned. "They were probably driven out by beasts fighting over territory in the mountains. Before last winter, I saw a tigress on the north mountain, even bigger than the one we killed yesterday."
Beyond the mountain range lay Yunzhong City. Thinking about the incidents of Northern Bandits running rampant around the New Year...
Perhaps something happened back then, causing the wild beasts to leave their original territories.
Song Mancang's eyes widened, and he covered his chest, his heart pounding.
How big must that be? It won't come down the mountain, will it?
For the next few days, the villagers no longer dared to go up the mountain to gather firewood. No one even dared to go near the foothills, afraid that wolves, brown bears, or tigers might suddenly charge down from the mountains.
The rice seedlings grew well, and the villagers began transplanting them.
Song Jinzhao stood with her feet in the muddy field, her arms repeating the mechanical task.
Song Qiming, who had finally gotten a day off for the spring holiday, was also in the field helping transplant seedlings. Even Song Shixue brought Song Anhao to sit on the ridge.
Once Song Qiming got tired, someone else would immediately take over.
...
"Hyah! Hyah!"
A group of twenty riders galloped into Yunzhong City. Qin Guo, who had been waiting at the General's Manor for some time, bowed deeply and said respectfully, "This humble official pays his respects to Duke Qing."
Chu Liuyun dismounted and helped him up. "General Qin, there's no need for such formality. What has the situation in Shuobei been like recently?"
The group entered the General's Manor. As they walked, Qin Guo reported, "Since around the New Year, Shuobei soldiers, disguised as bandits, have been frequently harassing our border and even took advantage of the chaos to raid two villages."
"After I led the Jinglei Army to capture them, we discovered the swords they used were engraved with the official seal of the Shuobei government. That's when we realized they weren't bandits or ruffians, but Shuobei soldiers in disguise."
The meeting hall was filled with officers of various ranks, all of whom stood and saluted upon seeing Chu Liuyun enter.
Upon discovering those men were not bandits, Qin Guo immediately wrote a memorial and had it delivered post-haste to the capital.
Shuobei Kingdom was growing restless, and war was a very real possibility.
After reading the memorial, the Emperor of Dongzhao Kingdom privately summoned Chu Liuyun and ordered him to proceed to the border to reorganize military affairs, in preparation for a potential attack by Shuobei.
