When they arrived home, Thomas Emerson immediately tied up the rabbit and the foxes and laid them on the ground. He said, "It's still early, so I'll go sell the rabbit right away. As for the foxes, though they're beautiful, fox meat has a strong odor. I'm not sure if the tavern will accept them."
Upon hearing this, Abigail and Mary both looked worried. "We can't just kill them and eat them, can we? The meat smells awful—would anyone even eat it?"
Lily Emerson, who knew these were sapphire foxes, one of the rarest and most valuable species, thought for a moment. While their meat might not be edible, their fur could fetch a good price. She encouraged her father, "Dad, why don't you go ask at the Moonlight Pavilion? If the price is too low, we can always keep them and raise them. When they grow up, I'll take them to the county to sell. I'm sure someone there will appreciate them."
Thomas nodded. "Well, that's all we can do."
They left the fox that had been killed by the other in the house, while Lily prepared to roast the rabbit. The rest were taken to the town to be sold by Thomas and Abigail.
After they left, Lily called Jacob to help set up a rack for roasting the rabbit. She skinned the rabbit and marinated it with some spices for a while. When she placed it on the rack over a fire, the aroma immediately filled the air.
"Are you roasting a rabbit? It smells so good! Can I just sit here and smell it?" a small figure hesitantly asked from a distance.
Seeing that Lily and her brothers were all staring at him, Aiden, her cousin, looked nervous.
"I'm not here to steal your rabbit, really. I just want to smell it," he added quickly.
Jacob, who was always quick to act, immediately raised his fist when he saw his cousin. "What are you doing here? Didn't you get enough last time?"
"I… I…" Aiden hesitated, wanting to run but too distracted by the irresistible smell of the roasting rabbit to move.
Lily furrowed her brow. She remembered that yesterday, this same cousin had unexpectedly helped them. So, she told Jacob to let it go and not make trouble for him.
"If you want to come over, just come. The rabbit will take more than half an hour to cook," Lily said lightly.
Upon hearing this, Aiden immediately ran over eagerly and took a deep breath near the rabbit. "It smells so much better than what my mother cooks!" His mouth watered as the aroma hit him.
"Do you often sneak around the back mountain to watch us?" Lily suddenly asked. She remembered Aiden had mentioned something like that yesterday.
Aiden turned red and looked a bit embarrassed. "Well… my mom is strict, and there's no one my age to play with in the village. I don't do it on purpose, but every time I come over, you're always cooking something delicious. I just can't resist…"
Lily found it a bit amusing. What surprised her more, though, was that Aiden didn't just rush to grab the food like before.
What Lily didn't know was that Aiden had been shaken by the incident with his cousin's injury. His mother even blamed Lily's family for it. Reflecting on how his own mother was unreasonable when he had disputes with other kids in the village, Aiden began to understand that maybe if he wasn't so reckless, others would want to play with him.
He was genuinely happy now—after all, his cousin was actually willing to talk to him and even let him enjoy the aroma of the roasted rabbit.
Seeing Aiden acting much less annoying, Lily didn't mind him as much. What she truly disliked were unruly kids, and they were often the product of careless, spoiled parents. In comparison, she found Aiden's parents pretty disgusting.
Because preparing the rabbit and roasting it had taken up some time, it wasn't long before Thomas and Abigail returned, both beaming with joy. They must have sold it for a good price.
Aiden, having been given a few pieces of rabbit meat by Lily, had already been sent away. Lily smiled and walked over to her grandmother.
"Grandma, how much did we get for it?" she asked.
Abigail smiled and tapped her forehead. "You little money-grubber. You've only just gotten home, and you're already thinking about money, not even stopping to drink a glass of water."
Mary, who had brought two cups of water for Thomas and Abigail, also teased her, "Lily, you can't get enough of money, can you?"
Lily wasn't upset since she knew they were just joking. She stuck her tongue out playfully. "I know, I know. But don't you like money too?"
"Not knowing your place," Abigail said with a feigned scowl before her face lit up with excitement. "Well, we've really made out this time!"
"How so?" Mary asked, curious.
Seeing Abigail smiling broadly, Thomas explained, "The tavern bought the rabbits for five coins per pound, and both of them weighed about fifteen pounds. They gave us 75 coins in total."
Mary was shocked. "That much?"
"Wait, I'm not done." Thomas continued, "At first, the Moonlight Pavilion said they wouldn't offer much for the foxes, as only the fur was valuable. But because they were small, they were only willing to offer twenty thousand coins . Then, a wealthy young lady staying at the tavern saw the foxes and was so captivated by their fur color that she immediately offered forty thousand coins, saying she wanted to use the fur to make a collar for her grandmother."
"Forty thousand coins?" Mary was astonished. "What luck!"
"Well, it's all thanks to our good fortune, and to little Lily here for catching such a prize." Abigail gestured grandly, handing the 75 coins from the rabbit sale to Lily.
Abigail added, "Your father and I talked on the way back. This forty thousand coins is all thanks to you. But we'll use this money for the house. The change from selling the rabbits is your pocket money."
Lily took the coins, stunned. She couldn't believe her grandmother was being this generous—giving her money, and so much of it too!
Seeing the dazed look on her granddaughter's face, Abigail sighed quietly. Who said I'm being generous? It was your dad who insisted that all the money was earned by Lily, so we couldn't let her suffer alone.
She had felt a sharp pain in her chest when she handed over the money.
"How much house can we build with forty thousand coins?" Lily asked, genuinely curious. She really wanted her own room.
Thomas did some quick math. "With that much, we could probably build a three-room brick house and a kitchen."
Lily felt disappointed. That meant her parents and Emily would have one room, her older brother would have his own, and she'd still have to share a room with her grandmother.
Just as Lily was about to suggest refusing, a wild boar's scream suddenly echoed from nearby.
Everyone froze, standing still in shock.
The wild boar, eyes fixed on them, stood alongside a dead wild deer that had been knocked over by the boar's charge. Lily cursed inwardly. The boar's keen sense of smell must have been drawn by the roasted rabbit's aroma.
She had known it wasn't safe near the mountain, especially after the poisonous snake incident, but she hadn't expected things to get this dangerous. Now, even a mid-sized predator like this boar had come down.
The boar wasn't large, maybe around 150 to 160 kilograms, but its presence still sent a chill down Lily's spine.
Wild boars, though not as terrifying as tigers or lions, were among the most difficult creatures to deal with. Not only were their tough hides nearly impossible to pierce, but in her past life, Lily had heard stories of wild boars knocking even bears out cold with a single charge.
What were they going to do now?