Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
At first, Yan Qixun had thought that even though her family members were big shots, they still had to rely on her to earn money. But after looking at the situation, she changed her mind.
Based on the current situation with her mother and her siblings, she would be considered a bigshot in her father’s world. However, she still didn’t know what her father and eldest brother were like now— whether have they invoked past memories.
‘A big shot in my father’s world? My father’s hidden talent hadn’t even been revealed yet. My mother was once a world-renowned poet, my second brother was an immortal, one of my sisters’ was a miracle doctor, and the other was a fairy. Now, I feared no one. Being in a family filled with bigshots, I can live happily just by lying down. I don’t even have the motivation to fight anymore.’
She cursed in her heart, but her face was filled with joy.
Then Yan Lingsu happily said, “Second Brother said we should keep the tiger skin. We can give one to Great-grandfather, and the other one will be given to Uncle Lu. We will leave the two red fox skins to Mother and the badger skin to the three of us to make a waistcoat.
“I can just sell the tiger bones as medicinal wine. We can also sell tiger meat. As for the deer meat, we will deal with it the same way we did before. We will keep the meat for ourselves, and then we will sell the antlers after they’ve been cleaned.
“We will keep the three-hundred-year-old ginseng, the one-hundred-year-old ginseng, as well as the big Ganoderma mushrooms. They might come in handy in the future. We’ll just sell the younger ginseng and the smaller Ganoderma mushrooms after they’ve been cleaned.
“With the money from selling these things and our family’s savings, we can afford to build a courtyard. What do you think, Mother?”
Gongyu Mingxi remained silent. It was just as Yan Qixun said. In the future, Gongyu Mingxi would have the life that Yan Qixun promised.
However, she didn’t express her opinion. “You kids can decide for yourselves. It’s just that it’s going to be winter soon. I’m afraid that it won’t be possible to build a courtyard.”
Yan Qixun then suggested, “Why don’t we lay the foundation first? We can order green bricks and tiles, then get Second Brother to collect some wood and prepare it. Then we will be able to start building the rest of it at the beginning of spring.”
Gongyu Mingxi nodded in agreement. Building a house with wood was a big deal. Her second brother could go to the mountains to collect wood. That way, they would be saving a lot of money. He can also make furniture on his own and save even more money.
So, they would only need to buy green bricks and tiles. With the money from their savings and the money they would get from selling the medicinal herbs and the prey, they would have enough to build a large courtyard.
Brother Monkey waved his hand. “Mother, you don’t have to worry about silver. Regarding the prey, I had mentioned that I would give Grandfather Zuo a piece of tiger skin, so Uncle Lu asked for two deer, some chickens, and some rabbits. What we have now is ours to keep. There’s no need to split it with Uncle Lu.
“I shall go deeper into the mountains in a few days. If my luck is good, I might be able to hunt for two more tigers. When I succeed, I will leave a piece of tiger skin for Mother and sell the other. I will be able to sell it for another hundred taels of silver.”
Yan Lingsu also smiled. “There aren’t many people in the deep mountains. So there’s no shortage of high-quality medicinal herbs available. It’s not something that the other regions are fortunate enough to have. We only had to walk around two mountains to come across one three-hundred-year-old ginseng and two more that were one-hundred-years-old.
“I didn’t even touch some of the other ginseng as they were only a few years old. I just picked this ginseng that is only a few decades old, so when I cleanse them and sell them, they will be worth at least a few dozen taels of silver. Not to mention that there are also the Ganoderma mushrooms. It’s worth just as much as ginseng.
“Second Brother and I can always go back to the mountains to get more medicinal herbs. We will sell some of them and keep the rest for ourselves. I can use them to make some medicine for when we need it in the future. Second Brother will accompany me to get more medicinal herbs. That way, our family will be able to live a prosperous life.
“Before the new year, Second Brother will return to the mountains two more times so that we won’t have to worry about anything else.”
Gongyu Mingxi was still concerned, however. “The mountains are dangerous, no matter what. My heart has been racing these past few days. Our family has eaten and drank enough. We also have enough money to build a courtyard. We don’t have to take any more unnecessary risks.”
Brother Monkey said, “We have the medicine bag that Yan Lingsu prepared, so venomous snakes shouldn’t be a problem. We wouldn’t have to worry even if we get bitten by them. Yan Lingsu will have antidotes, and I can handle the bigger prey. You want my sisters to attend the Imperial Examinations, right? That is why it will be better if we can save more money. It saves us from entering the city without any money.”
What he didn’t mention was the fact that he was an immortal in the past life. Even if he was in a mortal body, the big animals in the mountains feared him. Searching for big prey was a lot of effort. Some of the more intelligent ones hid away the moment they saw him. If it weren’t for his quick reflexes, he would not have been able to catch up to the bigger animals.
Gongyu Mingxi rolled her eyes. “What do you mean? Not only do I want your sisters to attend the Imperial Examinations, but I also want you to attend them too.”
The Monkey King would have to become a bitter college candidate when he would return from the mountains. Brother Monkey scratched his head. “I know, mother, I will pass.”
Gongyu Mingxi laughed and did not argue with her son. She only instructed, “Rest first. I will prepare some food for you and Yan Lingsu.” After all, her children would get hungry in the mountains for a few days.
Yan Qixun did not say anything about helping her mother. When Yan Lingyu saw the tiger, she would stay away from it even though it was dead. She quickly followed her mother to the kitchen while Yan Qixun squatted beside the tiger to examine it.
After all, the tiger was considered the king of the mountains. Even being dead, the tiger had a terrifying presence. Ordinary people wouldn’t dare to approach it. Yan Qixun had seen tigers in a park before, even though the tigers in the park were not as intimidating as wild tigers.
She pitifully touched the tiger and sighed. “As expected of the king of the mountains.”
She then proceeded to touch the skin of the red fox. Thinking of her mother’s natural beauty, she could not help but wonder how much more beautiful her mother would be if she wore a scarf made from a red fox. It would be worth a lot if they were to sell it. Yan Qixun could not bear the thought of selling it. It would be better to keep it so that her beautiful mother could wear it. However, it was a pity that the red fox wasn’t big enough. Otherwise, she would’ve been able to make it into a coat for her mother.
However, the badger had beautifully colored fur, and the three sisters each made a waistcoat for themselves. It was beautiful.
As for the tiger bone wine, it piqued Yan Qixun’s interest. “Yan Lingsu, I don’t think the wine that we need to soak the tiger bones in is available at the market right now. But let’s buy some wine to steam it and make it into a higher quality wine before soaking the tiger bones in it. The effects will be much better compared to brewing it.”
Yan Lingsu nodded and said, “The wine these days isn’t so good. It’s naturally better to use high-quality wine, and since you know how to make it, Second Brother can go to town and buy some wine tomorrow.”
Brother Monkey agreed.
Yan Qixun, however, quickly went to the room to draw a blueprint of the steamer. “I will draw up some plans tonight. Tomorrow, I will go to town to find someone to make steam wine. The equipment will be done as soon as the tiger bones have been cleaned. Can you bring me along, Second Brother?”
“Sure. We still have to sell tiger meat, badger meat, chickens, and rabbits anyway. We might be able to keep some rabbits this time. There are a few of them that have beautiful fur. There are even one or two with pure gray fur.”
Yan Qixun replied, “Yes, we can keep some of them. We can give some to Granduncle and Aunt Guo to keep, as well as Grandmother Zuo. After I am done spinning rabbit wool, I will pass some to both families.”
Yan Lingsu said, “I’m probably too busy dealing with medicinal herbs and tanning animal skin, so I can’t help much. We shouldn’t sell the rabbits that Second Brother managed to catch. Instead, we will make them into preserved meat.”
“After the skins are done tanning, we will make a few rabbit fur coats and blankets. Although they aren’t sable or fox fur, they are much better than cotton clothes and quilts..”