Tao Shan was following the blood trail to search for the wolf’s tracks, while Qin Fang was observing the surroundings of the traps.

The dead wolf had fallen into the trap and was pierced in the belly by sharp objects.

Then it had eaten a wild rabbit laced with knockout and tranquilizing drugs, bleeding to death in its coma.

The nearly dead wild boar was clearly in a similar situation; however, it was estimated that the boar had thicker skin than the wolf and was much larger.

Therefore, the boar was pierced in the hind leg, and its blood volume was greater than that of the wolf, which was why it had not died after a night.

“General.”

Captain Lu and others finally arrived.

Qin Fang waved, “Come quickly and bring the wolf and wild boar up.”

The soldiers said, “We’ve struck gold right off the bat. Looks like today’s fortune is good!”

Captain Lu replied, “This luck is left behind by the previous team; don’t get your hopes up.”

The soldiers laughed, “Then we’ll borrow a bit of luck.”

Then everyone burst into laughter.

A few of them worked together to drag the wild boar and wolf up.

The wolf wasn’t large, but the wild boar was very fat.

“This wild boar must weigh four or five hundred pounds! I’ve never seen such a fat wild boar.”

“When we were in the tribe, sometimes the cattle and sheep we raised were that fat. But later, the feed for cattle and sheep gradually decreased, so they haven’t been this fat since.”

The one speaking was a former tribesman, now also a citizen of Qi.

Qin Fang recruited these former tribesmen as soldiers, which made them feel quite gratified and even more grateful to Qin Fang.

Because the military camp was willing to let them in, it showed that Qi had no guard against them.

Hearing this, Qin Fang’s mind stirred: “Are you good at raising cattle and sheep?”

The soldier replied, “Our tribe used to be nomadic, relying on cattle and sheep to trade for food. So we never worried about having meat back then. But aside from meat, there was nothing else to eat. If we can’t raise cattle and sheep, we probably wouldn’t even have meat to eat.”

Qin Fang said, “When we go back today, I’ll give you a few days off. Bring those who are good at raising cattle and sheep in Yunxiang County to the General’s residence. By the way, since you’re good at raising cattle and sheep, are you good at raising horses?”

The soldier replied, “Sure. For those experienced hands, raising cattle and sheep should be similar to raising horses, right? Hehe, I’ll have to ask about this.”

Qin Fang said, “No problem; you can go tomorrow.”

The soldier replied, “Yes.”

Qin Fang instructed, “Captain Lu, arrange for them to search the mountain. The wild beasts we know of are wild boars and wolves. From the footprints around the traps, there should be a large pack of wolves. If you encounter the pack, signal each other; don’t be reckless. I hope everyone can return the same way they came.”

“Yes.”

…

Today, Yang Haiyan was also busy. She took Granny Lian to go shopping.

Although Qin Fang had five thousand taels of silver and a monthly salary of one hundred and twenty taels, they couldn’t just live off the mountain.

She didn’t plan to open a pastry shop anymore due to the butter issue. When she ran a shop in the small town, the source of the butter was hidden from Aunt Fan and the others.

Now that they were in the county, with many people and gossip, it would be hard to conceal the origin of the butter.

But in this era, butter couldn’t be produced. So she decided not to open a pastry shop.

But if she didn’t plan to buy a pastry shop, what should they do?

Yang Haiyan asked, “Granny Lian, what do you think we should do for a living?”

Granny Lian thought the pastry shop business used to be quite good, making twenty taels a month, which was better than slightly better shops in the county.

So she didn’t understand, “Are you not going to open a pastry shop anymore?”

Even though Yunxiang County was barren, there were still wealthy people, and no matter how barren, it wouldn’t be worse than the towns by the border.

Why wouldn’t they open it?

Yang Haiyan replied, “The reason our pastries sold well at the border was because they were fragrant, right?”

Granny Lian said, “That’s true. I’ve tasted quite a few pastries, but none are as fragrant as ours.”

They had always thought it was due to the sheep’s milk.

Yang Haiyan said, “That’s because a type of fragrant oil was added, and that fragrant oil is only available at the border. So, it’s not suitable to open a pastry shop in Yunxiang County.”

Aunt Fan and Aunt Hong both knew about the butter situation, but Yang Haiyan explained it as fragrant oil to them.

Granny Lian suggested, “Then we can buy pastries that don’t need fragrant oil.”

Yang Haiyan thought for a moment; that made sense.

They could try making small cakes and cookies without butter and also make some potato sticks, sweet potato sticks, and fried dough twists, which all didn’t require butter.

With that in mind, Yang Haiyan said, “Let’s go buy a few shops. The best would be connected and larger. Once the vegetables in the estate and the fruits in the orchard are harvested, we can continue selling.”

“Ah,” Granny Mama sighed.

Yang Haiyan wasn’t particularly concerned about the location of the shop she wanted to buy.

A good location would be great, but if she couldn’t find one, a more ordinary spot wouldn’t be an issue.

It was probably the “celebrity effect” at play; as long as the promotion was done well, it would be fine.

For instance, if the general’s wife opened a shop… that kind of promotion would surely attract plenty of customers!

After wandering around the streets for a while, Yang Haiyan caught a whiff of delicious street food. “That smells so good over there! I wonder what they’re selling.”

Granny Lian suggested, “Shall we go take a look?”

Following the enticing aroma, they approached a cluster of stalls selling various snacks.

The reason for the abundance of food stalls was clear: they were right outside the county’s only academy.

Yunxiang County was quite impoverished, but the academy there was well-equipped, catering to students of various levels.

Apart from the county academy, there were private schools, but very few locals attended them.

Most children from Yunxiang County enrolled in the county academy simply because it was more affordable.

Yang Haiyan watched the busy stalls filled with students buying snacks and couldn’t help but remark, “Even though Yunxiang County is poor, the business here is quite good.”

Granny Lian agreed, “Indeed! Just in this short while, that baozi stall has already served a dozen customers. The business is booming… Look over there; isn’t that Cheng Ge’er?”

Yang Haiyan glanced in the direction Granny Lian pointed and confirmed, “It really is him!”

They saw Qin Shoucheng with Kun Daying, Lu Dawei, and others at the baozi stall, buying buns and steamed buns before heading back into the academy.

After watching for a while, Yang Haiyan and Granny Lian decided to leave.

---

Beast Mountain

“General, this path must have been man-made, right? Although the vegetation is lush and shows no signs of recent foot traffic, the condition suggests it was once a road, and not a narrow one,” Captain Lu observed.

After a morning of searching, a team of soldiers had discovered a path on the mountain.

Qin Fang pondered, “Magistrate Yang mentioned that no one has entered Beast Mountain for over twenty years. If this is indeed a man-made path, it’s likely from twenty years ago when King Liang created it. After all, that was his territory, and he forbade anyone from entering. There’s also the possibility that the villagers frequently traveled up here before it became King Liang’s territory, which led to the creation of this path.”

From the path’s condition, it was clear there were steps; it couldn’t have been made solely by foot traffic.

Captain Lu added, “I believe the possibility of it being made by villagers is quite slim.”

Qin Fang nodded. “Indeed, it’s highly unlikely. Villagers are accustomed to using mountain paths and wouldn’t waste their effort building a road. Moreover, constructing steps requires considerable manpower and resources.”

A soldier asked, “General, should we go up and take a look?”

Qin Fang replied, “Yes. It’s said that King Liang loved to hunt, which is why he prohibited the common folk from entering. If this path was indeed left by King Liang, it indicates how much he enjoyed hunting. But wait a minute, why would he build this road? Hunting isn’t typically done along a path; why create it specifically?”

This line of thinking only made the road even more puzzling.

“Let’s go; we’ll send a team up to investigate while the rest continue searching the mountain. Safety first.”

“Yes, sir.”

Qin Fang led Captain Lu, Tao Shan, and ten soldiers along the stairs, pushing aside the grass that obscured the path as they ascended.

A forest that had seen no foot traffic for twenty years was undoubtedly dangerous.

Whether it truly hadn’t been entered in two decades was uncertain, but it was believable that it hadn’t been visited in several years, evident from the growth of grass and trees in the area.

As they delved deeper, sounds of movement could be heard in the grass.

Humans fear wild animals, and vice versa; thus, animals would avoid humans, and those that heard the noise would flee.

Moreover, by late May, nature was in full bloom, and the beasts of the forest had no shortage of food.

If they weren’t hungry, they wouldn’t attack humans unless they sensed danger.

“Everyone, stay alert. Besides wild boars and wolf packs, there are tigers up here. The thick grass can impair our judgment and senses, so we must remain vigilant,” Qin Fang instructed.

“Yes, General, we will be careful.”

The path was lengthy, and after an hour of walking, Qin Fang was convinced that this staircase was not made by villagers.

The path wound steeply, and they had been walking for quite some time.

The effort required was too great for villagers to have undertaken.

The construction of such a path indicated the existence of wealth and manpower.

Thus, Qin Fang suspected it was likely the work of the long-deceased King Liang from twenty years ago.

After walking for an hour without any sign of where they were, Qin Fang said, “Stop. We should be near the summit. Tao Shan, climb a tree to get a better view and confirm our position.”

“Understood.” Tao Shan found a tall, straight tree and easily climbed to the top. After surveying the area, he exclaimed, “General, I’ve found something!”

Hearing Tao Shan’s call, everyone quieted down to listen.

“What did you discover?” Qin Fang asked.

“There are houses to the southwest, and they’re not small,” Tao Shan reported.