Chapter Twenty-Five: I Had Originally Intended to Give You the Tiger Bone

"Deliver it directly to the Chen family estate and ask for Steward Chen," Bai Mianmian instructed as they neared the village.

She added a warning alongside the directive.

"Uncle, you take the meat back to the village and distribute some to those who helped. As for the bones, the tiger skin, and the tiger pizzle, help me sell them to the Chen family. Don't try to drive down my price just because you're on good terms with Steward Chen. If the price isn't right, I'll come knocking. In these times, wild game isn't easy to come by. Of course, I know exactly who helped and who didn't, so don't try to pull a fast one on me."

Zhang Qiang felt like a thousand horses were galloping through his mind. He couldn't believe he was actually taking orders from this girl. The problem was, he was genuinely considering asking Steward Chen about the price. Meanwhile, those who hadn't had the chance to help were now filled with bitter regret. Tiger meat was a luxury; they said if you ate just a few bites, you wouldn't even need a padded coat during the snowy season.

"I would have been happy to give away the tiger bones if I'd been treated with kindness, but unfortunately, good people are hard to find. Such is the way of the world; human hearts are not what they used to be," Bai Mianmian sighed, pulling Zhang Huilan around a corner. She was exhausted and didn't want to walk a single extra step, so she took the small field path that was a shortcut to the Zhang house.

Seeing the expressions of those who had only helped after she was already halfway there—their faces cycling through shades of green and white—was quite a sight. They felt the frustration of being insulted while being in the wrong. As for those who hadn't lifted a finger at all, their inner turmoil was intense; they had the urge to tear her sharp mouth apart.

"Sister-in-law?" Mrs. Xiao asked.

Old Mother Zhang rubbed her temples and said feebly, "Do as she says. Distribute the meat." Since the meat was already given, why should they refuse it? Besides, everyone had contributed... mostly because she knew that if she refused, it might upset certain people.

"Second brother, third brother, you two should help negotiate the price. After all, we are relatives; if she does well, we do well." The Zhang brothers thought naively that if Bai Mianmian had money, she wouldn't cling to their family anymore. Finally, their pace pushing the small cart became a little lighter.

The villagers felt uncomfortable, but no one wanted to turn away from good things or miss out on a spectacle. They discussed it and mostly followed along to watch the excitement.

"I've slaughtered pigs and sheep, but never a tiger. Qiangzi, could you let me have a hand in butchering this one?"

"I was thinking the same thing. Brother Qiang, can we open up the tiger and take a look?"

"That depends on Steward Chen. I don't even know if he'll want it," Zhang Qiang said, though he was tempted. After all, he and his brothers had been the ones to plunge their blades into the tiger; it was something to boast about.

"I'll try my best to talk to Steward Chen and negotiate for everyone. If he wants it, even if we don't get to butcher it, we can at least take a look."

"I don't think he'll refuse. This is a rare treasure. Not long ago, I heard that Steward Chen was ordering stags from the hunters in Kaoshan Village. This is a male tiger; it's worth far more than a deer!"

"I heard that too. Come to think of it, tiger blood wine is also excellent."

"What a waste of that tiger blood."

"Should we go back up the mountain and scrape up some blood clots to soak in wine and see how it turns out?"

Once the men started talking, they couldn't stop. They inadvertently drifted toward topics of masculine pride, with even the spilled tiger blood becoming a subject of interest. Of course, talk was just talk; no one dared to be careless about going up the mountain these days. They didn't have Bai Mianmian's confidence.

"Since I can't gather firewood, I might as well head into the city tomorrow."

"There are plenty of odd jobs in the city these days, but it's a wasted trip."

"Going to check is better than sitting around at home! The head tax has gone up again this year; who knows what things will be like next year!" The conversation shifted to the hardships of life.

On the other side of the field, Zhang Huilan, who had deliberately kept her distance from Old Mother Zhang and the others, nudged the figure in front of her. "Are you planning to use money to pull strings?"

She had been pondering one question the whole way: Why was Bai Mianmian so fearless? That day, when she demanded money from them, perhaps it was because the Bai family treated them poorly and she wanted to scrape by. But now, having already forced her grandfather to find a way for her, she was still acting this way. Was she truly trying to live a good life, or...

"Actually, your idea isn't bad. I heard that the Chen family once used money to resolve the matter of Young Master Chen causing the death of a farm girl! But this tiger, even if we sell the whole thing, it won't fetch that much money. To grease the wheels properly, I'm afraid it's still far from enough."

She was a simple farm girl from an isolated village. Her thoughts should have been naive and innocent. Once again, Bai Mianmian felt a twinge of envy for the "Heavenly Chosen Daughter."

"Do you think I don't know the logic you just stated?" she said lazily. "There is only one way to solve this: go deeper and dismantle it from the roots."

The young girl was smart; before long, she muttered, "If they can hide all the kidnapped children in the city, it means they have connections within the city guard. Daring to shift the blame onto you means they have someone who can speak for them at the magistrate's office. If you use money to pull strings, the cost would surely have to be far higher than what the other side spends. But if you find an opportunity to stir up trouble elsewhere... perhaps this group of people could draw someone else's attention."

"Such a simple matter, and you think your grandfather doesn't know?" Bai Mianmian turned back with a smile. "He just can't find anyone to help!"

Was the old village head unable to find help? In truth, he hadn't even dared to think in that direction. Who was he? He was nothing more than a tenant farmer. He lacked the influence to rally people to support the girl, and he had no silver to support a campaign of reporting them!

"Are you really incapable of martial arts?" Zhang Huilan suddenly leaned in.

Bai Mianmian gave her a sidelong glance. "If I were capable, I would have handled it myself. Why would I need to hide at your house? Do you really think your home is so fragrant that everyone wants to crowd into it?"

"If this turns out badly, you can't really blame me," she said, grabbing her. "How about we cooperate?"

"Let me tell you, if this isn't solved, you'll never be able to go home. You still have younger siblings; can you really rest easy? I heard that Old Mother Bai treats your second branch very poorly. With you gone, she's likely to mistreat them even more."

"Do you think I would let them continue to suffer?" she said with a cryptic smile. "Look, my new clothes are quite nice, aren't they? They cost quite a bit. From now on, they will have money every day; their lives will be quite carefree!"

Zhang Huilan had tried to be sincere and help her solve her problems, but Bai Mianmian had handed her a bombshell in return. Zhang Huilan stared at her retreating back, unable to regain her composure for a long time.

"Fubao?" Seeing her walking far behind, Old Mother Zhang hurried her pace. The young girl snapped out of her daze, her eyes filled with confusion.

"Grandmother, is there really such a person in this world who would sell their own sisters because they couldn't bear to see them suffer? Is being a slave or a servant really better than living a quiet life as a family?"

Old Mother Zhang looked into the distance; that annoying figure was already waiting by their courtyard wall. "Fubao, everyone is different. We can't control others," she comforted her.

Mrs. Jiang felt she had caught onto something. "Did this person sell her younger siblings?"

"Heavens!" Mrs. Han exclaimed.

In fact, if one thought about it, this possibility was easy to imagine. The Bai family was much worse off than theirs, and from Old Mother Bai down to her two daughters-in-law, none of them were easy to deal with. They themselves wore clothes covered in patches; how could they possibly let someone else's children wear anything good? Even in the village, she had never heard the women of the Bai family speak kindly of the second branch's children—not even before the children's mother remarried.