Wang Li and Mu Xueli drove the cart horse at a gallop, arriving before 9 o'clock at the spot where they had hitched the plow yesterday.
By now, Mu Xueli's gray horse and Wang Li's white horse had already eaten all the fodder in their feedbags and were standing there, baring their teeth as they gnawed on tree bark.
That's right, gnawing on tree bark.
Mainly because people always say mules, horses, and donkeys are "straight-gut animals" with no stomachs, so they have to keep eating and defecating constantly.
But in fact, mules, horses, and donkeys do have stomachs; it's just that their stomachs are rather special.
Because although they have such large frames, their stomachs are very small, and regardless of whether they eat or not, their stomachs continuously secrete gastric acid. So they have to keep eating to neutralize the acid.
Therefore, families raising mules, horses, and donkeys would stuff their troughs full of dry hay when they went to sleep at night.
Even some people who were extremely meticulous about feeding their horses would get up in the middle of the night to add more hay. The saying "A horse won't fatten without night grass" refers to exactly this.
So, although the gray horse and the white horse had eaten all the fodder in their respective bags, they were still hungry. Of course, even if they weren't hungry, they'd have to eat, or they couldn't stand it.
One feels the most distress for the livestock one raises oneself. Seeing the two horses like this, Mu Xueli and Wang Li immediately fed them fodder before driving the cart horse, with the dogs in tow, continuing toward the tiger carcass.
From the time Wang An killed this tiger until now, nearly 20 hours had passed, so the tiger's corpse had already become stiff as a board.
However, except for Daqing, the other six dogs were still afraid of this dead tiger, every single one of them with their tails tucked between their legs.
No help for it; this suppression from the bloodline is absolutely not something that can be adapted to or changed in a short time.
The tiger's corpse was hardened, lying rigidly on the ground, which brought no small difficulty to Wang Li and Mu Xueli's skinning work.
Fortunately, this tiger had guarded Yezhuling and lacked for no food; the subcutaneous fat on its body was extremely thick. So, aside from the tiger's muscles hardening due to rigor mortis, the subcutaneous fat had not frozen hard as ice.
After all, the tiger is one of the three "Pure Yang Saint Bodies"; to completely freeze its subcutaneous fat hard as ice would properly take some time.
Anyway, with Mu Xueli's knife skills, it was still operable.
Actually, skinning a stiff corpse like this normally requires waiting for it to thaw, but the tiger's corpse couldn't be seen by anyone, so even if it was difficult to skin, it had to be done in the mountains.
After skinning for a while, Mu Xueli couldn't help but say
"Lao Wu, why don't you start a fire? These big paws are stiff as boards; the only place the knife can go in is that layer of fat, and it's freezing my hands off."
Wang Li nodded
"Mhm, sure thing. I'll go chop some firewood."
Usually, after killing game in the mountains, one immediately guts and skins it, and one wouldn't feel the cold on one's hands, because after an animal dies, within two or three hours—that is, before rigor mortis sets in—the corpse is still warm.
But with this tiger dead for this long, that was out of the question; even a "Pure Yang Saint Body" wouldn't work.
As he spoke, Wang Li took his axe and walked toward a nearby fallen log.
Once Wang Li got the fire going, the surrounding temperature rose considerably.
The two continued skinning. Mu Xueli said
"These front paws are really huge. Counting the tail, I figure it's got to be over 3 meters long? Don't know how my brother-in-law managed to survive that swipe."
Wang Li also remarked with feeling
"Mhm. My Fourth Brother surviving is a true stroke of luck. This big guy, I reckon he's bigger than a horse."
The two worked together, and the speed was still quite fast.
By the time the whole tiger skin was peeled off intact, Mu Xueli then moved his knife toward the area around the tiger's penis.
Watching Mu Xueli cut the tiger penis, Wang Li suddenly asked
"Mu Ge, that tiger penis my Fourth Brother used for the Three-Penis Liquor—how much did he pay for it?"
Mu Xueli didn't even look up
"Cost 3,000-something yuan."
He paused, stood up, and thought carefully for a moment, then pointed his right index finger at the sky and said firmly
"Right, 3,042 yuan. Old Xiao Pao asked for 4,000. My brother-in-law only had 3,000-something on him at the time. He said that's all he had, take it or leave it. Old Xiao Pao wrinkled his nose and sold the penis to my brother-in-law."
Pausing, Mu Xueli added with great bewilderment
"Don't know why my brother-in-law, so young, spends his days not thinking about using this penis for wine, then that penis for wine. Oh, and those bones, all sorts of them for making wine too."
The tiger penis Wang An used for the Three-Penis Liquor was bought from a man led by Old Xiao Pao, named Su Yaquan.
Su Yaquan's father, Su Lao Heng, when alive, was a very famous old hunter. It's said that back in the day, wielding a side-by-side double-barreled shotgun, he killed several tigers.
And this penis came from one of the tigers Su Lao Heng killed in his lifetime; it had been stored at Su Yaquan's home for many years.
Because he urgently needed money, Su Yaquan took the tiger penis to Old Xiao Pao, who had wide connections, hoping Old Xiao Pao could help sell it for cash.
The reason for finding Old Xiao Pao was that Old Xiao Pao and Su Yaquan's father, Su Lao Heng, had been sworn brothers back in the day.
But although the tiger penis was valuable, due to the tiger's special status, the situation was often that sellers couldn't find genuine wealthy buyers, while genuine wealthy buyers wanting a tiger penis couldn't find genuine sources.
After all, no one dares to make this trade public, fearing it would expose the relevant personnel. If those people were exposed, in the end, not only would the penis be confiscated, but the people would likely have to spend some time inside.
Finally, after much thought, Old Xiao Pao approached Mu Xueli, who had already become wealthy.
But although Mu Xueli's family had money, they absolutely wouldn't spend several thousand yuan to buy a tiger penis that has no damn use for ordinary people!
That's right, although the tiger penis is valuable, it really has no damn use.
Because aside from the rich chasing after it, for ordinary people, it's not as practical as a mule or horse that can pull a cart or plow, not even as valuable as a big fat pig.
When it comes down to it, it's just a tiger's penis bone.
But Mu Xueli had a decent relationship with Old Xiao Pao, and there were some personal favors mixed in, so Mu Xueli thought of his brother-in-law, Wang An.
Wang An heard it, felt 4,000 yuan wasn't expensive, and happily went over.
Who knew when he reached into his pocket, Wang An only had 3,000-something in cash on him. So Wang An gritted his teeth, steeled his heart, and said, "Just this much, take it or leave it."
In this era, not to mention the countryside, even in the city, there weren't many people who could pull out 3,000 yuan in cash to buy a tiger penis.
You have to know, 3,000 yuan in this era was equivalent to several hundred thousand in later generations!
So, Old Xiao Pao frowned and looked at Su Yaquan. Seeing Su Yaquan nod, he sold the penis to Wang An for 3,042 yuan.
No help for it. Although everyone knows a tiger penis is a good thing and valuable, the premise is that you have to be able to find a wealthy buyer. (End of Chapter)