The villagers all knew that the wolf pack was lured by Wu Laopo and her people, so their deaths brought a sense of relief.

The women who initially wanted to curse them held back their words, thinking of their gruesome demise—torn apart and devoured by wolves.

Instead, they chose to pretend nothing had happened, and the rest of the villagers also remained silent on the matter.

In total, the villagers had killed seventeen wolves, with only a few people sustaining injuries. It was considered a well-fought battle.

Everyone understood that their victory was largely due to Shen Qingwan, who stood at the front lines.

Nearly half of the wolves had fallen by her hands alone, while the combined efforts of the village men only managed to take down a few.

Her combat prowess was truly astonishing.

After today, it was likely that no one would dare provoke Shen Qingwan again.

Zhang Qiao’er, witnessing Shen Qingwan’s skill, was in utter disbelief.

Wasn’t she just a widow?

How could she possess such formidable abilities?

Who was she, really?

Could it be that everything she had shown before was just an act?

Zhang Qiao’er had always looked down on Shen Qingwan and hated her the most. She never wanted to see her succeed. However, after witnessing what happened to those who opposed her, Zhang Qiao’er wisely decided to stay quiet and not provoke her for the time being.

“Head wife, how should we distribute the wolves?” someone asked. Wolf meat wasn’t particularly tasty, but wolf pelts were valuable and could fetch a good price. Besides, even if the meat wasn’t the best, it was still better than coarse grain cakes and wild vegetable buns. Compared to those, wolf meat was a delicacy.

Shen Qingwan glanced at the wolves.

Each one weighed at least seventy to eighty pounds.

Even after skinning and gutting, they still had about sixty to seventy pounds of meat each.

With seventeen wolves, there was more than enough for the entire village to feast.

“Uncle, let’s distribute the wolf meat now. As for the pelts, we can sell them in Linzhou City and add the money to the thirty taels we already have as the village’s communal funds.”

Their journey to Suzhou was still long, and they would likely need silver along the way, so there was no rush to split the money now.

The village head nodded in agreement. “Alright, we’ll do as you say.”

Surprisingly, no one objected to Shen Qingwan making the decisions.

It seemed that, unconsciously, the villagers had already come to accept her leadership.

Instead of moving elsewhere, they decided to butcher the wolves on the spot.

Under Hunter Zhang’s guidance, the pelts were carefully removed.

Meanwhile, faint howls echoed from the distant mountains, as if the remaining wolves were mourning their fallen comrades.

The village head was worried that more wolves might attack, but Shen Qingwan shook her head.

The pack had already developed a fear of them and wouldn’t return unless their numbers exceeded thirty. Otherwise, they wouldn’t dare attack again.

Leaving this place, however, would be riskier.

If they tried to handle the meat elsewhere, desperate refugees might swarm in to steal it. But here, the remaining refugees had already witnessed the village’s strength.

Even if they harbored thoughts of robbing them, they wouldn’t have the courage to act.

For now, staying put was the safest option.

Without needing instructions, some women had already started a fire to cook the meat.

On the road as refugees, the thought of eating real meat was almost unimaginable.

Hunter Zhang and his group took the butchered wolf meat to a large rock and began dividing it.

The village had over 300 people, and with over a thousand pounds of meat, each person could get at least three pounds.

For a family of several members, that meant twenty to thirty pounds of meat—a rare luxury.

Each household lined up according to their family size to receive their share. There was no picking or choosing—whatever chunk was given had to be accepted.

No one had any complaints.

The largest household received over forty pounds of wolf meat.

The Lu family, led by Old Lu, got eighteen pounds. As for Shen Qingwan, her portion was set aside separately.

She specifically requested ribs, which had less meat and were usually unwanted. No one expected that she would only take ribs.

By the end, there were still over twenty pounds of ribs left, all given to Shen Qingwan, along with a front leg weighing about eight pounds.

No one objected.

After all, she had killed half of the wolves herself.

Bai Yong’an, without needing a word from Shen Qingwan, set up a large pot over the fire.

Two children gathered dry firewood nearby.

Shen Qingwan threw a spice packet into the pot.

As the stew simmered, a mouthwatering aroma spread through the valley, causing the refugees nearby to instinctively inch closer.

She instructed Hunter Zhang to distribute the wolf heads, tails, and offal to the refugees.

Though they hadn’t helped in the battle, giving them a small share would prevent any nighttime trouble.

“Qingwan’er, what did you put in that pot? Why does it smell so good?” The village head sniffed the air, finally realizing the incredible fragrance came from Shen Qingwan’s pot.

Their stew smelled good, but hers was on another level.

Shen Qingwan handed him a spice packet. “Uncle, this is a seasoning mix for braising meat. Just throw it into the pot.”

The village head hesitated but eventually accepted it with a sheepish grin. “Alright, I’ll take it thick-skinned. The scent alone is making the children drool.”

He had two grandsons and a granddaughter, all around the same age as Xiaoyu, so Shen Qingwan understood his concern.

After he left, she asked Xiaoyu to deliver a packet to Old Man Lu as well.

The old man happily accepted it.

Bai Yong’an watched the pot bubble with anticipation, then looked at Xiaoyu and Xiaochen before chuckling.

He turned to Shen Qingwan. “Girl, do you still have that hidden weapon Xiaoyu carries? Want to sell me one?”

Shen Qingwan was about to ask why he needed it, but then she realized—Bai Yong’an was wealthy.

On a long journey like this, he could easily be targeted. A concealed weapon could be a lifesaver.

She rummaged through her belongings and pulled out a small metal box along with a vial of potent anesthetic.

“No need to talk about buying. Consider it a gift. The needles inside are ordinary silver needles. Just soak them in this liquid before loading them. Once shot, the target will be unconscious for an hour or two. If you want to use it lethally, you can soak them in poison instead.”

She explained how to use it, and Bai Yong’an was momentarily stunned.

He hadn’t expected her to give it to him for free. He was genuinely touched.

Little did he know, Shen Qingwan was only doing it out of guilt.

After all, she had emptied out his gold vault and granary—this was just a small token of compensation.

If firearms weren’t too shocking for this world, she would have given him a gun for protection.

“Girl, take this.” Bai Yong’an suddenly handed her a jade token engraved with the Bai family name. “With this, you can withdraw up to ten thousand taels of silver from any branch of Wantong Bank or access any Bai family business at will.”

Shen Qingwan stared at him, stunned by the sudden wealth.

Should she take it? Or should she take it?

“Then, thank you, Second Master,” she finally said, accepting the token. With this, she had officially latched onto the golden thigh of the Bai family.