Seeing Mu Xueli and Wang Li, Wang An greeted them with a smile
"How did you two sleep? All rested up?"
Mu Xueli smiled and said
"I'm doing alright. I went to bed early last night and woke up late this morning, so I feel pretty refreshed."
Wang Li, however, said listlessly
"I'm just so-so. I was sleeping soundly when I was woken up by a bout of diarrhea. Once I finished in the toilet, I couldn't get back to sleep. Sigh, ah...!"
After speaking, Wang Li let out a long yawn. Perhaps because the yawn lasted so long, tears actually welled up in his eyes.
Upon hearing Wang Li's words and seeing his actions, Mu Xueli burst into loud laughter.
She laughed so hard she was doubling over, swaying from side to side, nearly breathless.
Once she had finished laughing, Mu Xueli said while still giggling
"Hahaha, that piece of shit really came at the wrong time. What a nuisance."
Wang Li said helplessly, "Tell me about it. Can't even get a peaceful night's sleep, damn it!"
Wang An was also laughing happily on the side, though not as exaggeratedly as Mu Xueli.
After a while, Wang An spoke
"Alright, let's split the tiger bones first. Then we can all go home and buy a jar of liquor to soak them in. I've heard that tiger bones can be soaked for up to 15 years."
Hearing this, Mu Xueli said in surprise
"They can be soaked for 15 years? Oh my god, no wonder this stuff is so expensive."
Wang An smiled. "I only heard it; I don't know if it's actually accurate."
Mu Xueli didn't respond to that, but instead asked Wang An with a face full of hope
"Brother-in-law, do you think if my dad keeps drinking tiger bone wine—like, if he drinks it for 15 years straight—his health will be completely restored?"
To be honest, while tiger bone wine was very powerful—absolutely effective for joint diseases like rheumatism or chronic cold-legs, and even capable of curing them at the root—it was different for a condition like Mu Hua's, which was purely caused by frostbite. Whether it was deer bone wine, bear gall bladder wine, or the most powerful tiger bone wine, they could only provide relief; curing it completely was unrealistic.
This was because Mu Hua's body had already suffered a deficiency that was irreversible.
As the saying goes: removing a disease is like pulling silk!
Therefore, for many illnesses, as long as they can be stabilized so they don't flare up, or flare up less often, that is already a magnificent achievement.
However, although Wang An knew this, he absolutely could not say it.
As long as a person holds onto hope, they will be full of fighting spirit regardless of what happens; the concept of giving up simply won't exist.
So, after thinking for a moment, Wang An said to Mu Xueli
"It should be fine. As long as we make sure Dad persists in drinking a little bit every day, even if he isn't completely cured, as long as it doesn't flare up again, that'll be enough."
As soon as Wang An finished, Mu Xueli's face lit up with joy, and she immediately replied
"Yeah! When the time comes, our whole family will help him remember every day. We definitely can't let him miss a dose."
Wang An nodded with a smile. "Right, the most important thing with this stuff is persistence."
Talking as they went, the group arrived at the lower room and carried out the entire set of tiger bones.
It had to be said that tiger bones were indeed extraordinary.
It is common knowledge that among all domestic livestock, ox bones are considered the hardest, especially the lower leg bones, which are both hard and heavy.
But if an ox bone and a tiger bone of the same size were weighed, the tiger bone would weigh approximately three times as much as the ox bone.
In fact, this was the reason why the striking power of a tiger's paw was so immense.
The most valuable parts of the tiger skeleton were the four tibiae—the leg bones.
If one compared the tibiae to ox bones, a tiger tibia of the same size would weigh about five times as much as an ox bone.
Wang An divided the bones according to the rule of 40% for himself and 30% each for Mu Xueli and Wang Li.
Thus, Wang An took two tibiae, the skull, and 20% of the other bones.
Mu Xueli and Wang Li each took one tibia and 40% of the other bones.
Once the distribution was complete, the two of them hurried home with their bones in hand.
It was clear that everyone was extremely interested in tiger bone wine.
Of course, Wang An was no exception.
As soon as the two left, Wang An carried his bones into the house.
The best way to preserve tiger bones was to keep them soaked in liquor; only then would none of the tiger bone's potency be wasted.
However, it was worth noting that brewing tiger bone wine was different from other medicinal wines.
With other wines, one could mix in various herbs like ginseng, lingzhi, or goji berries, but not with tiger bone wine.
To be precise, if one wanted to use the tiger bones for a long time, nothing else should be added.
Inside the wine jar, there should be nothing but tiger bones and liquor—and it had to be high-proof liquor.
Furthermore, there was another difference in brewing tiger bone wine: it had to be tightly sealed during the process.
Additionally, the initial soak required at least two full months; otherwise, the potency of the tiger bone would not be fully released.
This morning, Wang Dazhu had already bought the liquor. He bought quite a lot—two large jars, totaling 100 jin.
Naturally, to ensure the alcohol content was high enough, he bought high-grain liquor.
Seeing Wang An using the liquor to clean the tiger bones, Wang Dazhu leaned in and said
"These tiger bones are treasures. Back in the day, only the Emperor could use such things. If a commoner was caught hoarding them, it was a capital offense."
Seeing his father's nostalgic expression, Wang An smiled and said while cleaning the bones
"Aren't you the Emperor in our house? My mother is the Empress, I'm the Crown Prince, Xueqing is the Crown Princess, Xiao Yi is a Prince, and Xiaomei and Xiaoli are the Princesses."
After saying this, seeing the look of disbelief on his father's face, Wang An continued smiling
"Imperial Father, what are you thinking about? Why not share it with your son?"
Hearing this, Wang Dazhu finally snapped out of it and scolded with a laugh
"I was thinking about deposing the Crown Prince and appointing a new one."
Wang An immediately pretended to look aggrieved
"Imperial Father, you're just messing with me. You've made me upset; I'll just make you the Retired Emperor."
Upon hearing this, Wang Dazhu couldn't sit still. He stood up from his small stool and lunged toward Wang An.
Wang Dazhu didn't punch him; instead, he raised his hand and flicked Wang An's forehead.
*Snap! Snap! Snap!* Three crisp sounds echoed from Wang An's head.
While flicking him, Wang Dazhu said fiercely
"You little brat, you actually have thoughts of usurping the throne? You dare make me a Retired Emperor? I'll give you a Retired Emperor! I'll give you a Retired Emperor!"
Enduring the pain, Wang An rubbed his head with his arm and begged for mercy
"Oh, my dear father! You're flicking me to death! I was wrong, Dad! I'll never make you a Retired Emperor again. I'll be the Emperor, I'll be the Emperor, alright?"
(End of Chapter)