After He Liang finished speaking, he realized no one was paying him any attention.
Just as he was feeling awkward and at a loss for what to do, Ma Guoqiang gave He Liang a tug.
He Liang looked at Ma Guoqiang in confusion, only to hear Ma Guoqiang whisper angrily, "If you don't know how to talk, then don't talk! Why are you prying into everything? If I asked you how much money your family has, would you actually answer?"
Though Ma Guoqiang's voice was low, the five of them were all sitting around the campfire—how could they not hear him!
He Liang fell silent, seemingly aware that he wasn't particularly popular, and began to eat his meat in silence.
After a while, Ma Guoqiang thought it over and decided to lay everything out on the table, because they truly needed bear gall!
However, while they were on the sled, he had heard everything Wu Dong said. From Wang An's nonchalant response, he had realized that Wang An was merely helping out of the goodness of his heart!
Whether it was He Liang or Wu Dong, they had not only failed to earn the other's trust, but seemed to have even provoked his resentment and suspicion! If one wanted to ask for a favor, it was best to tell the truth!
Lying could only deceive oneself; no one believed it at all!
He said, "Fellow countryman, please don't take offense. We entered the mountains to hunt bears for their gall, not to treat an illness, but to neutralize a poison."
It turned out that one of their elders had been poisoned. Their identity was inconvenient to disclose, but Wang An guessed they were an official! The poison was a chronic one, and quite formidable—it caused the victim to sleep all day, with very little time spent awake.
They had consulted many doctors, but no one knew what was wrong. Later, the authorities sent a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), who said that a "Golden Gall" from a bear could act as an antidote.
Then, the family began collecting bear gall. In this era, bear gall was not scarce anywhere in the country, so they collected quite a lot and fed it to the elder. However, while it worked, it only served to reduce the amount of time spent sleeping.
The TCM practitioner said that ordinary bear gall powder wouldn't do; it had to be fresh gall, and specifically Golden Gall, for the effect to be good!
Fresh Golden Gall wasn't hard to find, and through their collection efforts, they had obtained quite a bit, and the effect was indeed significant, but it could never eradicate the poison completely.
The TCM practitioner added that they had to use a large Golden Gall—meaning the gall from an old black bear or a large brown bear—for there to be a chance of a permanent cure.
Once this condition was set, things became difficult. Although they were casting a wide net and using their connections to search simultaneously, they had yet to have any success!
As for what kind of gall a black bear or a brown bear produced, unless they killed them and extracted it, no one would know!
While Golden Gall was something they could encounter, and fresh gall was easy enough to come by, finding an old black bear or brown bear was, frankly, quite difficult!
The older they were, the higher their intelligence, and the deeper into the mountains they would run. If it weren't for the fact that animals were not allowed to become "spirits" after the establishment of New China, they might have been able to speak human languages!
Even if they found an old brown bear or black bear, it still had to possess Golden Gall, which reduced the odds to one-third!
In other words, they would need to find at least three old black bears or brown bears, and even then, there was no guarantee they would encounter Golden Gall!
As the old saying goes: "An old man is cunning, an old horse is slippery, and an old rabbit is hard for an eagle to catch!"
Once a black bear or brown bear grew old, it wasn't just a matter of whether they were hard to catch; finding them was an immense struggle in itself. Not to mention, they were fierce beasts!
When digging out a den, a person could die or be maimed in an instant! What would be the fate of hunters facing such ancient creatures?
Hearing Ma Guoqiang's words, Wang An showed no reaction, because this could only be considered them "showing their hand." Whether this "hand" was real or fake still remained to be confirmed!
Seeing that Wang An still wasn't speaking, Ma Guoqiang said tentatively, "Fellow countryman, if you know of any village that has fresh, large Golden Gall, I'll pay two thousand—no, I'll pay three thousand to buy it from you."
The implication of this was that he was actually trying to ask what kind of gall the large brown bear Wang An had hunted produced!
Wang An continued to eat his roasted meat without any reaction, but Mu Xueli couldn't help but steal a glance at him. Seeing Wang An's expressionless face, she immediately realized how awkward her glance had been! She quickly turned her head and used a branch to pick up meat!
But was anyone present here not a shrewd individual? One must never underestimate these "second-generation" elites! In this era, there were no true wastrels among the second generation!
Even among the second-generation elites Wang An had encountered before entering the "fence" in his previous life, there wasn't a single true idiot. Even if a second-generation elite were a true idiot, the people around him would certainly not be!
Mu Xueli's glance had essentially exposed the fact that they possessed Golden Gall or had information regarding it!
However, Wang An had experienced much greater waves than this. For just these three little "mackerel," and considering a Golden Gall was such a minor matter, to be honest, it truly didn't matter!
Seeing Mu Xueli's expression, the three men were naturally very pleased. That was how things worked: as long as there was a lead, everything would become much easier to handle!
To increase trust and reach a deal, Ma Guoqiang continued, "Actually, we came from Bingcheng. Although Wu Dong's family is in Bingcheng, he works in the county government, so we can be considered 'insiders'!"
This was the brilliance of the second generation. With a few sentences of truth mixed with lies, they could close the distance between themselves and you. They said everything they should say, and didn't let a single word slip regarding what they shouldn't!
It simultaneously revealed their status and identity—that they were not ordinary citizens—making you wary so you wouldn't harbor any ill intentions toward them!
It also made you feel as though you hadn't actually gained anything yet, but you felt as though you had gained a massive benefit! It also let you know they were trustworthy! In this era, even if government personnel were only on the surface, they were considered trustworthy—at the very least, they were "positive" figures!
Wang An felt that the fact these three were injured was indeed true; they hadn't injured themselves on purpose!
But after encountering him, the coordination of these three was quite good. The order in which they appeared might have been unintentional, and perhaps he was just overthinking it!
But with the way these three had pivoted back and forth, anyone else in his position would have believed them!
Of course, Wang An believed them too, but he didn't believe the words of the three of them; he believed in this man named Wu Dong!
Because his various behaviors when buying the roe deer were not fake at all. That indifference toward money was not an act; he truly had the strength to be that way!
"Fine. Once I hear something, I'll go to the county seat to find you. Just have the money ready," Wang An said indifferently.
Hearing Wang An's agreement, Ma Dong said happily, "Fellow countryman, you can come directly to the government compound to find me when the time comes. Just mention my name to the gatekeeper or the watchman, and it'll work."
After Wang An gave his word, the group began to chat casually.
Wang An and Mu Xueli also told them their names. Being young people, their guard dropped, and the five of them had a very pleasant conversation.
Just as Wang An had suspected from the implications in their words, the three of them were indeed second-generation elites—both children of officials and children of military officers. In Bingcheng, or rather in Heilongjiang province, their family strength was quite formidable!
However, from some of their more despondent remarks, it could be heard that none of them were the type heavily cultivated by their families; they were all marginal figures.
But even marginal figures like them were still far above the heights that the vast majority of ordinary people would reach in a lifetime!
Thus, regarding human nature, no matter who it was, they never knew when to be satisfied!
But for Wang An, knowing these three was not bad. Many things that couldn't be bought at a good price from ordinary people could be sold at a high price to them! Moreover, they had a profit motive!
For example, primitive furs, or the fur of tiger cubs!
To Wang An, aside from his family, human interaction was nothing more than you helping me and I helping you, or to put it bluntly, you utilizing me and I utilizing you!
We simply take what we need to achieve our respective goals!
As they chatted, the group eventually fell asleep on the brown bear's pelt.
Wang An finished scalding and storing the large iron gall of the brown bear, only to find that the bear's tusks had already been knocked off by his brother-in-law! He then piled wet pine logs onto the campfire and lay down to sleep on the black bear skin!