Chapter 251

When they arrived at the old village chief’s house, everyone started calculating their own income.

This was the first time selling rabbits, more of a trial run; each family dared not sell too many, only bringing out two or three.

“If they sell well, great; if not, we can still eat them ourselves,” they thought.

They had considered many possibilities, but they hadn’t expected to sell them at this price.

More than a hundred wen for one, and nearly four hundred wen for three! How many old hens would they have to sell to earn this much money?

And besides, how could they match the quantity of rabbits with old hens?

Xu Laosan was the first to ask, “Old Village Chief, what do you think would be a suitable thank-you gift?”

The other men, fearing the chief might not understand the difficulty, hurriedly added, “It shouldn’t be too little. I hear Brother Wenhua isn’t short of money; they say his family made quite a bit selling rice wine last year, and he spent several months studying at the martial arts school in the prefectural city!”

“If it’s too little, he might not be willing to go. Who would we sell the rabbits to then? We can’t just eat them ourselves if we can’t sell them.”

Upon hearing the last sentence, the children in the courtyard drooled.

Their minds wandered to thoughts of not selling them. That way, they would have rabbit meat to eat! Not bad at all.

Originally, some people were reluctant to raise prices, but upon hearing they might not sell, they immediately became nervous.

It’s not good to offer more money voluntarily, but if what they offer isn’t enough, others won’t value it, and they’ll only end up eating these rabbits.

Meat was indeed delicious, but after removing the fur, organs, and bones from one rabbit, how many people could a meal satisfy?

But with the money from selling one rabbit, even if it’s just a hundred wen, and even though black noodles are now six wen per jin, they could buy sixteen or seventeen jin!

Sixteen or seventeen jin of black noodles would be enough for a large family to eat for two or three days.

At times like this, filling one’s stomach was the priority!

The old village chief pondered.

He had no experience either; this was the first time the village was selling rabbits, and he didn’t know what would be appropriate.

Li Wen approached his father and suggested, “Dad, let’s not be greedy. Whatever these rabbits could have sold for originally, that’s what we should earn. Any extra should belong to Brother Wenhua. If someone isn’t happy with that, they can sell them themselves; after all, they won’t lose out.”

The old village chief nodded in agreement with his eldest son’s viewpoint.

The people in the courtyard had no objections.

However, one person asked, “Do you know how much these rabbits could have originally sold for?”

“They haven’t sold them before, so how would they know that number?”

Li Wen straightened up and proudly said, “I overheard the buyers saying that if someone else were selling, they wouldn’t accept anything less than seven or eight wen per rabbit!”

The courtyard fell silent.

No wonder their rabbits were selling at this price.

After waiting for a while, the old village chief spoke up, “Let’s set the price at five wen per rabbit. We’ll still make a profit. If anyone is greedy and unhappy about it, they can sell them themselves. How’s that?”

“I’m willing.”

“Me too.”

In no time, every household handed their copper coins to Li Wen.

Wang Guifen brought out a cloth bag, added her share, and after counting it several times to ensure nothing was missing, Li Wen carried the cloth bag and walked towards Fan Jin’s house.

Shuiqing couldn’t believe she would earn money just by accompanying Wenhua to sell rabbits. But on second thought, selling goods wasn’t easy— it might seem simple, but it was as difficult as climbing to the heavens for some people.

This money was rightfully Wenhua’s.

Butcher Hu laughed beside her, his eyes gleaming, constantly praising the old village chief as a thoughtful man.

Li Wen was happier to hear praise for his father than for himself.

Without hesitation, he stuffed the cloth bag into Hu Wenhua’s hands and ran off.

Butcher Hu, seeing his son earn again, joyfully took the cloth bag, eager to count how much was inside.

But as soon as he lifted it, his eyes widened in surprise. “This cloth bag is quite heavy! It must be three or four hundred wen!”

Hu Wenhua was also surprised. He had thought the amount wouldn’t be too little, but he hadn’t expected this much.

“The way the old village chief handles things, no wonder everyone in your village is obedient. If it were someone else, it might not be so smooth,” Hu’s mother praised with a smile.

If it weren’t for the money, honestly, Wenhua wouldn’t have gone back and forth so many times. After all, there’s no way to go back if you don’t go now.

But now things were different; with money involved, he would go willingly and actively.

Hu Wenhua didn’t leave the copper coins with his mother; instead, he took them directly into his own room.

Hu’s mother teased her daughter, “In the past, whenever your brother earned money, he would let me keep it for him. But now, even a single copper coin, he’s keeping it all in his own room.”

Her daughter had married early, and he was the only one left at home. Otherwise, others might think she, as the mother, was overly controlling!

Shuiqing had a thought in her mind.

But she couldn’t say it.

Meanwhile, Butcher Hu said, “The kid is grown up now; it’s good for him to have some money in hand. He earned it himself; we can’t keep it for him his whole life.”

Hu’s mother just said it casually and didn’t take it to heart.

Jiang, He, Hu heard that his nephew had earned three to four hundred copper coins in just one trip and cheered, rushing inside, shouting for sweets!

Shuiqing listened to the noisy commotion and looked at Fan Jin, who had been quiet since he returned.

Receiving her inquiring gaze, Fan Jin softly said, “We sold our rabbits for money; I’ll bring it to you in the room.”

Shuiqing knew that going back to the room wasn’t just about putting away the money; there was something to discuss.

Upon hearing her son-in-law’s words, Hu’s mother assumed he was handing the money to her daughter, happily pulling her husband outside to look at the rabbits.

With these rabbits earning money like this, should they also raise some to sell?

Then she thought about their narrow house in Niutou Town; it was hard enough to raise three chickens, let alone rabbits.

There was also the issue of cutting grass and storing fodder…

Following Fan Jin, Shuiqing entered the house.

Fan Jin first took out the money earned from selling the rabbits and handed it over, saying, “We had twenty-three rabbits; we sold twenty and gave three to the Fan Damu family.”

“Mm.” Shuiqing understood. Fan Jin hadn’t gone there just to sell rabbits this time; their family didn’t lack this bit of money either.

Giving three rabbits to the Fan Damu family wasn’t about being close to them or flattering them; it was to gather information.

“I saw Big Brother sneakily follow after him when he left. It turns out he went to find Fan Damu. I waited until he left to go in, saying we raised rabbits and brought him three to taste fresh.”

“Fan Damu thought we were flattering him and even said my brother had just come to ask for help.”

“What kind of help?”