Chapter 252: Blood Boiling with Rage
Aside from the items they shared, there were lynx and white wolf pelts on the sled.
There were also 30 wolf and dhole carcasses, as well as a jar of deer blood wine.
Lynx and white wolf pelts were considered relatively precious furs, primarily because they were very rare; Wang An planned to have Wang Shuai handle them.
In terms of quality, Wang An felt that mink fur was actually the best; its hair was the only kind that didn't prick the eyes.
Because the human eyeball is extremely sensitive, any foreign object touching it while the eyes are open is unbearable.
Mink fur was different. In other words, if one poked an open eyeball with mink fur, there would be little to no reaction or sensation.
This time, Wang An still used two horses to pull the sled. Although the heavy snow from before the New Year had frozen solid, Wang An found that two horses were considerably faster than one.
Galloping along without delay, Wang An soon arrived at the county town.
As soon as he entered, the streets of the entire town were covered in paper scraps left over from exploding firecrackers.
No matter the era, the Chinese people placed great importance on the Lunar New Year.
As Wang An drove his sled and looked around, he suddenly heard a shout: "Happy New Year, Big Brother!"
Wang An turned his head and saw that it was indeed Qiao Xiaohu, whom he had been looking for. Qiao Xiaohu was currently wandering aimlessly through the street.
Wang An said with a smile, "Happy New Year to you too, Xiaohu."
Because there were too many things on the sled, there was no room for Qiao Xiaohu to sit.
Looking at the sled full of goods, Qiao Xiaohu asked in confusion, "Big Brother, did you go into the mountains during the first lunar month?"
Clearly, Qiao Xiaohu was aware of the saying that mountain hunters do not kill living beings during the first lunar month.
Wang An chuckled and said, "What mountains? I stayed put for the whole month and did nothing. These were all taken on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month."
Wang An then briefly explained to Qiao Xiaohu how the wolves and dholes had entered the village.
After listening, Qiao Xiaohu's eyes widened, his face full of shock, and he muttered, "That's fucking terrifying!"
Wang An laughed and said, "Hahaha, what's there to fear? If they didn't come, who would bring me money?"
Qiao Xiaohu blinked, clearly terrified of this particular method of "bringing money."
Upon arriving at Qiao Xiaohu's house, they followed the usual routine: payment for the meat and unloading.
The sled of meat Wang An had brought last time was calculated to be around 620 to 630 yuan, but unexpectedly, Qiao Xiaohu had sold it for a high price of over 670 yuan.
Subtracting the 27 yuan, Wang An only took 570 yuan and said to Qiao Xiaohu
"The extra 6 yuan is for you to buy some good food for your grandfather and grandmother. Give them my regards for me."
Qiao Xiaohu grinned and said, "Then I'll thank Big Brother on behalf of my grandparents."
Wang An gave Qiao Xiaohu's head a playful pat and said with a smile, "If you dare embezzle it, I'll kill you."
Qiao Xiaohu nodded with a laugh, "That's impossible. No matter how reckless I am, I wouldn't steal from my own grandparents."
Wang An suddenly remembered something important and asked, "Right, Xiaohu, what's the situation with that Duan Tiger now?"
At the mention of this, Qiao Xiaohu seemed to have found a source of joy.
He said with great excitement, "That tiger-idiot is miserable right now. His former underlings didn't even let him spend the New Year in peace; all the glass in his house was smashed by people..."
Qiao Xiaohu rambled on, spittle flying from his mouth. Although he was talking about someone else's misery, his expression of schadenfreude was fully displayed.
After hearing this, Wang An felt much more relieved and said, "Hahaha, that's good. Alright then, go take a peek when you're free. I'm heading off now."
Having said that, Wang An drove his sled away.
Although it was unlikely that Duan Tiger could make a comeback, given Wang An's caution, he would not let his guard down.
After all, Wang An knew that the great master Sun Bin, who wrote *The Art of War*, was a man with disabled legs.
Going straight to the supply and marketing cooperative, Wang An had to make several trips to carry all the pelts inside; only a jar of wine remained on the sled.
He had to carry them inside; Wang An was afraid the lynx and white wolf pelts would be stolen, even though they were in sacks.
These two pelts were incredibly expensive; even a small amount of damage would be heartbreaking. As for the wine jar, Wang An felt no one would touch it.
Whether it was the staff of the cooperative or the people shopping, everyone was beyond shocked and envious as they watched Wang An carry pelts back and forth.
The shock came from the fact that the pelts Wang An carried were all from wolves, dholes, or Asiatic black bears—all of which were formidable beasts.
The envy came from the fact that these things were worth a significant amount of money.
However, seeing Wang An dressed as a hunter, many people simultaneously extinguished any ill intentions in their hearts.
After all, compared to money, life was more important!
After a round of inspection and measurement, the prices of all the pelts were written on a piece of paper by the receiver.
Wang An took the paper and glanced at it
Wolf pelts: 26 x 30 = 780 yuan Dhole pelts: 14 x 30 = 420 yuan Bear pelts: 3 x 30 = 90 yuan Total: 1290 yuan
Wang An remembered that bear pelts were 25 yuan each before the New Year; he hadn't expected the price to rise after the holiday.
Price hikes were good; the more they rose, the better!
Holding the receipt, Wang An went to the medicinal herb counter. After inspection, measurement, and weighing, the prices for all the bear gallbladders were written on another piece of paper.
Wang An took the paper and checked it carefully
Brown bear copper gallbladder: 615 Brown bear iron gallbladder: 665 Black bear copper gallbladder: 570 Black bear iron gallbladder: 300 Black bear grass gallbladder: 200 Total: 2350
Taking the two receipts, Wang An went to the cooperative's finance office and exchanged them for 3,640 yuan. Another three and a half stacks of "Big Unity" ten-yuan notes were in his hands.
It must be said that the feeling of collecting money at the start of the year was extremely refreshing.
As Wang An walked out of the cooperative happily carrying his sack, he noticed a dignified-looking old man standing by his sled, shoving and arguing with two young men.
Listening to the conversation between the three, Wang An's blood immediately began to boil.
He heard the old man say, "You're so young and haven't learned anything good, yet you've learned how to steal..."
One of the young men said, "You old fossil, what's it to you? We didn't steal from your house."
Meanwhile, the other young man was tugging at the straw mat on Wang An's sled.
Seeing this, Wang An immediately flew forward in an uncontrollable rage.
Fearing the wine jar would break, Wang An had wrapped it in several layers of straw mats.
Now, as the brat pulled, the jar inside the mat was revealed.
Just as the brat pulled back the mat and reached for the lid of the jar, he was kicked far away by the charging Wang An.
One must know that when Wang An sprinted, his instantaneous explosive speed was incredibly fast—one could say he was not inferior to a dog.
Immediately after, the furious Wang An dropped the sack in his hand, lunged forward, and stomped both feet heavily onto the brat's arm.
A crisp "crack" sounded from the brat's arm, followed by a miserable howl.
To be honest, the sound was quite wretched, showing just how much pain the brat's arm was in.
But why would a man like Wang An care about that?
Thus, Wang An's two large feet began to dance in turns.
Although Wang An kicked fiercely, he actually used the tops of his feet, so the brat probably didn't feel too much pain.
Because *yuen-hsiang* shoes were essentially made of soft leather, they were comfortable to wear, but one couldn't put much force into a kick.
Crucially, if he kicked too hard, his own toes would hurt.
Three or four seconds later, the brat who had been ambushed by Wang An lost all combat capability.
Wang An then immediately turned and walked toward the young man who had insulted the old man.
At this moment, both the kind-hearted old man and the insulting youth were still in a state of bewilderment.
When Wang An fought or beat people, he absolutely never gave the opponent time to prepare.
Furthermore, the saying "don't hit the face" was pure nonsense to Wang An.
So, while the youth was still somewhat dazed, Wang An threw a punch.
Although the youth was wearing a cotton hat, everyone's trigeminal nerve—specifically the area below the ear—is very vulnerable to hits.
Thus, Wang An's ambush succeeded again; one punch sent the somewhat dazed youth into a state of complete oblivion.