Yang Mingzhi arrived at Jiang Family Village when the sky had already completely dimmed.
He went to his brother-in-law's front door and knocked, but it was not Jiang He who answered the door, but Jiang He's father, Jiang Cheng.
"Mingzhi! What brings you here?"
Jiang Cheng was nearly fifty, with graying hair.
"Uncle Jiang, my dad hunted two big wild boars in the mountains and would like some help to bring them down," Yang Mingzhi said.
"Big wild boars!" Jiang Cheng was even more surprised. Although there were many hunters in Jiang Family Village, encountering large game was not common.
Animals like wild boar were rarely encountered throughout the year.
"Yes, two big wild boars, and two smaller ones too!" Yang Mingzhi added.
At this moment, several more people came out from the Jiang household. "Dad, who's here?"
"It's Mingzhi! Mingzhi, come in first and we'll talk," Jiang Cheng said.
The Jiang family was similar to the Yang family, also a large family living together without being divided into separate households.
Jiang Cheng had four sons, with Jiang He being the youngest, eighteen years old, a year older than Yang Mingzhi.
After entering the Jiang household, Yang Mingzhi briefly recounted Yang Zhengshan's hunting of the wild boars, which left all the members of the Jiang family astonished.
In fact, the living conditions of the Jiang family were somewhat better than those of the Yang family. Not only did the Jiang family have fields, but they could also go hunting in the mountains, even if it was only small game, they were often able to enjoy some meat.
If they managed to hunt small animals like foxes or martens, they could even make a small fortune.
The fur from foxes and martens was quite valuable; if it was from a red or white fox, one pelt could sell for several tens or hundreds of Silver.
Jiang Cheng was an experienced old hunter, and all four of his sons were hunters who frequently went into the mountains for game, often coming across unexpected fortunes.
Thus, the Jiang family lived a much better life than the Yang family.
After listening to Yang Mingzhi's story, Jiang Cheng's cloudy eyes immediately lit up.
"Is your father-in-law's injury healed?"
The two families were related by marriage and close, so naturally, Jiang Cheng knew that Yang Zhengshan was a Martial Artist and aware of the old injury Yang Zhengshan had.
"It's healed!" Yang Mingzhi grinned.
"Very good~~" Jiang Cheng, overjoyed, immediately instructed the eldest Jiang son, "Eldest, go to your third uncle's house and let him know to prepare. We'll head into the mountains first thing tomorrow!"
"Youngest, have your wife go back to her parents' home tomorrow morning, and ask Ming Cheng to bring the ox cart over."
The Jiang family was very experienced in transporting large game down from the mountains, so without even needing further explanation from Yang Mingzhi, Jiang Cheng had already arranged everything.
The next day, as soon as it was slightly light, Jiang Cheng took seven or eight strong men into the mountains.
They were more familiar with the mountain environment and before noon, they found Yang Zhengshan.
"Father-in-law!"
From a distance, Jiang Cheng called out warmly.
Ah, a Martial Artist.
Although many in Anning County practiced martial arts, real Martial Artists were few.
There wasn't a single Martial Artist in Jiang Family Village. Besides Yang Zhengshan, only the Clan Leader, Yang Zhengxiang, was a Martial Artist in Yang Family Village, which shows how rare Martial Artists are.
Having a Martial Artist as a relative by marriage was indeed a great thing for the Jiang family.
"Old Brother Jiang, sorry for the trouble!" Yang Zhengshan, seeing a crowd of strong men, said calmly.
In fact, he was quite pleased inside, but the original character of his persona was more of a reserved one.
This tied into the original injury he had, but now that the injury was healed, Yang Zhengshan felt he could start changing that reserved persona. However, this change in persona needed to be gradual.
"Dad!"
This was not called out by Yang Mingzhi, but by Jiang He.
Hmm, a very spirited young man.
Jiang Cheng looked at the side where the wild boars lay and clicked his tongue, "Impressive, a spear through the throat, indeed a Martial Artist is no ordinary person."
These hunters had to rely on traps to hunt wild boars; even bows were ineffective. The boars' skin was thick and unless they used a Strong Bow or hit a vital spot, they could only inflict minor injuries.
Achieving a spear thrust through the throat like this was something they simply couldn't do.
"Let's proceed!"
With a wave of his hand, the men behind Jiang Cheng immediately brought ropes to tie up the two big wild boars and then carried them down the mountain.
Although Yang Zhengshan had not slept all night, thanks to the Spiritual Spring Water, he was still very spirited.
Village men like them were very strong, easily carrying wild boars weighing over 300 pounds without much effort.
But of course, their speed couldn't match that of being unburdened. When they returned to Jiang Family Village, it was already past eight in the evening.
"Dad!"
"Dad, you aren't hurt, are you?"
As soon as they returned to the Jiang home, Yang Mingcheng and Yang Yunyan came up to greet them.
Yang Zhenshan looked at his eldest daughter blankly and commented that his two adopted daughters were both quite beautiful, resembling their mother, who had bright eyes and white teeth. Although the two adopted daughters weren't great beauties, they were definitely pleasant to look at.
"I'm fine!" Yang Zhenshan waved his hand.
Yang Yunyan kept bringing him towels and water, which made Yang Zhenshan feel a bit embarrassed.
These daughters came so easily; he really wasn't quite used to it.
"Father-in-law, the wild boars have already been loaded onto the cart!" said Jiang He as he approached.
Yang Zhenshan didn't linger any longer. He simply thanked them and left the Jiang family with his two sons after leaving behind two young wild boars.
The two young wild boars weighed nearly one hundred pounds in total, a token of gratitude for the help from the Jiang family.
Jiang He didn't decline. This was a custom in Jiang Family Village: help in the mountains must be rewarded; otherwise, no one would be willing to help without compensation.
If it were only his own family, he could help for free, but this time his third brother's family also helped, so they couldn't refuse the reward.
Returning to the Yang family home, they were inevitably met with surprises.
Both Ms. Wang and the Li family were delighted to see the two large wild boars.
After finding out that Yang Zhenshan's injuries were healed, Ms. Wang's smile stretched from ear to ear.
His youngest daughter, Yang Yunxue, looked at Yang Zhenshan with shining eyes full of admiration, filling him with a sense of accomplishment.
"Grandpa is so awesome!"
"Big wild boars, big wild boars!"
His two grandsons cheered joyfully.
Not just his own family, but even the neighbors were stirred up.
"Uncle Zhengshan, did you catch these?"
"Is Uncle Zhengshan's body healed?"
Even in the middle of the night, many people came to see the two large wild boars.
There were no hunters in Yang Family Village, and there wasn't much game in the mountains behind the village, so almost no one went hunting there.
Yang Zhenshan hunting the two wild boars was definitely a matter worth talking about excitedly in Yang Family Village.
Plus, with Yang Zhenshan's health restored and the village having an additional Martial Artist, it was truly good news for the Yang Family.
The excitement lasted until midnight, and then the neighbors finally left.
After staying awake for two days and a night, Yang Zhenshan felt exhausted. The moment he lay on the kang (traditional heated bed) and his head touched the pillow, he fell asleep.
The next morning, Yang Zhenshan went with his son Yang Mingcheng to the county town in a cart.
As soon as the two large wild boars entered the market, they attracted quite a bit of attention, and soon a middle-aged man in a blue long robe approached the cart.
Yang Zhenshan eyed the man before him.
The man was dressed in a blue long robe and had a long beard with a well-nourished appearance, which indicated he was likely from a wealthy family.
He was identified as being from a wealthy family rather than a rich and noble one because the Da Rong Dynasty had strict regulations regarding the attire of commoners.
Commoners were allowed to use silk, gauze, satin, and cloth for their clothes, avoiding dark, purple, green, willow yellow, ginger yellow, and bright yellow colors. They could use ochre, blue, and blue-green.
However, merchants and prostitutes were treated the same, only allowed to use satin and cloth. If a family had one member who was a merchant, the whole family was not allowed to wear silk and gauze, nor wear fur coats in winter.
This man was either a merchant or a well-off commoner.
"How much for these two wild boars?"
"Thirty silver!" replied Yang Zhenshan.
He had not considered keeping any of the wild boar meat because wild boar meat has a peculiar taste, and if not cooked well, it would be difficult to eat.
Simply put, he did not trust Ms. Wang's cooking skills. Eating wild boar meat was not as good as buying domestically raised pork, and moreover, domestic pork was cheaper.
"Okay, I'll take them all. Help me deliver them!"
The man waved his hand generously, which surprised Yang Zhenshan, who had been ready to haggle.
He had encountered a tycoon!
He didn't even bargain; if he had known, he would have asked for more.
But since he had already named his price, Yang Zhenshan had no reason to back out, and he instructed Yang Mingcheng to follow the man out of the market with the cart.
Only upon arriving at the destination did Yang Zhenshan realize that this man was not a tycoon but the steward of the county magistrate's house because they had reached the back yard of the county government.
A low-ranking official is equivalent to a gatekeeper at the Prime Minister's, and the steward of the county magistrate's house being so well-nourished indicated that this county magistrate was quite wealthy.
The steward didn't make things difficult for Yang Zhenshan, paying promptly and even mentioning that if there were any more large game in the future, they could be sent directly here.
Yang Zhenshan agreed but whether there would be any more was another question.
He was not a professional hunter, and getting the two large wild boars was largely a matter of luck.
Moreover, he didn't plan to become a hunter; he was a Martial Artist and had many other ways to make money. There was no need to be a hunter.
After receiving the silver, Yang Zhenshan returned to the market and did some shopping.
Pork, pig bones, fabric, cotton, and delicious meat buns, among other things.
Winter was approaching, and the household needed to stock up on some cotton clothes.