Chapter 20 - 20 17: Drawing a Tiger but Ending Up with a Cat, The Bully Returns_3
20 Chapter 17: Drawing a Tiger but Ending Up with a Cat, The Bully Returns_3
Translator: 549690339
A mu of good land producing 1,500 jin of corn is considered a very good yield.
Converted into silver money, it’s only worth about 1.5 taels of silver.
If one mu of land needs ten baskets of fertilizer, costing fifty wen apiece, that’s a total of five hundred wen!
After subtracting the laborer’s wages, the cost of seeds, there’s hardly any profit left.
Wang Furen asked about it twice but didn’t make a purchase, and that was exactly the reason.
There was nothing else, it was just too expensive.
There’s hardly any profit to be made.
Qin Niu had now obtained a bear skin, so selling or not selling the fertilizer didn’t really matter to him.
Working in the field was merely a ruse to deceive others.
He planned to set off with the bear skin before dawn tomorrow to sell it for a good price in the city, then return with some cultivation materials.
He hadn’t been busy for long when he heard someone calling him.
“Ah Niu, get your ass over here!”
A thunderous roar erupted from not too far away.
Qin Niu stood up straight and looked outside the corn field, only to see Wang Haikun’s robust figure appearing on the road not far off.
Seeing this person pay an unexpected visit, Qin Niu felt a slight heaviness in his heart.
Damn it, it seemed that the village bully had heard the news and was coming to plunder again.
Wang Haikun had gotten a big windfall by easily snatching that wolf skin last time.
That wolf skin could be sold for at least 1.5 taels of silver, equivalent to half a year’s salary for an ordinary person.
How could Wang Haikun not be eager?
“Master Kun, what brings you here?”
Qin Niu steadied his spirit and went to meet him with a hoe on his shoulder.
He decided to start with small talk first.
This time he had learned his lesson from the previous time, and it was impossible for others to find out.
At most, they might suspect something because of his frequent trips into the mountain late at night. He had to keep his cool.
“Cut the crap and hand over the game right now!”
Wang Haikun’s face darkened, his eyes shining with a fierce light as he stared intently at him.
Upon hearing this, Qin Niu knew it was virtually as he had surmised. Wang Haikun was asking for the game to be handed over, not the bear carcass.
Additionally, even though Wang Haikun seemed fierce in tone and ferocious in expression, it was just the usual tactics he used to intimidate common folks.
There was cunning hiding in the depths of his eyes.
He was trying to trick Qin Niu.
Qin Niu’s strength had improved greatly since a month ago. His Blade Technique had reached a level of minor achievement, with a 10% chance of unleashing a Critical Chop.
Even before drinking bear blood, his cultivation had already reached Onfold 37.6/100.
Now he would only be stronger.
Should he actually fight Wang Haikun, his chances of winning were at least seventy percent.
If he could catch Wang Haikun by surprise with a sneak attack, it was almost a sure win.
So at this moment, faced with the number one bully of the village, Qin Niu actually felt quite calm inside. This was the confidence and self-possession that came with having great strength.
With knowledge as your inner treasure, you exude an elegant demeanor.
Having power naturally brings fearlessness and composure.
However, Qin Niu still put on a facade of timidness and subservience on the surface.
“Master Kun, please come to my house and see what I eat every day! Where would I get game from?”
Qin Niu was well-prepared, confident he could deceive Wang Haikun.
His response was natural, without a hint of a crack.
“Hmph, stop bullshitting me here. Someone saw you going in and out of the mountain last night, surely you’ve got some game and don’t want others to know. Be smart and hand it over, or don’t blame my Black Tiger Fist for being merciless.”
Wang Haikun glared, his eyes as big as copper bells, and clenched his fists so hard they crackled ominously.
He positioned himself as if ready to strike.
“Oh, Kun Ye, Kun Ye, you’re truly wronging me here. I saw that the corn in the fields was almost ready to tassel, and worried about the rain forecast for these few days, so I dug up some fertile mud from the mountains to use as fertilizer in the middle of the night.”
Qin Niu’s face wore an expression of panic as he explained himself repeatedly.
Wang Haikun lifted his gaze toward the cornfield.
“That’s right, those fertile mud are all carried back from the mountains by me. I’ve been busy until now and haven’t even taken a break!”
Qin Niu pointed to the piles of humus.
Wang Haikun, seeing the mounds of fertile mud piled up like small hills, was partly convinced.
However, this man was always cunning and wasn’t going to give up just yet.
“Take me to your house to have a look!”
“Please, Kun Ye!”
Qin Niu appeared extremely cooperative, which again alleviated some of Wang Haikun’s suspicions.
Following Qin Niu to his home, Wang Haikun sniffed with his nose as he entered.
Then he looked around the interior of Qin Niu’s house and saw nothing suspicious.
He walked over to the stove and lifted the lid of the pot.
Inside, there were some wild vegetables and tree bark being cooked, with only a few grains of corn visible.
“Pah! Is this swill for pigs or for human consumption?”
Wang Haikun could hardly stand the smell.
This was no food for humans!
“You see, if I had game meat would I be eating this? Let me also take you to see the backyard, Kun Ye!”
Qin Niu displayed an attitude of actively facilitating the inspection.
The more proactive and natural his expression, the more it would dispel Wang Haikun’s doubts.
Wang Haikun followed him out to the backyard and saw nothing but a large pile of firewood that seemed suspicious.
He strode to the front of the firewood pile and casually kicked some of the wood aside to check.
Qin Niu followed behind, subconsciously licking his lips.
This was the gesture he made before making a Critical Chop against the Black Bear or the old wolf.
If Wang Haikun found the bear meat hidden in the woodpile, Qin Niu would likely take a desperate chance and leave the man behind.
Of course, the consequences of doing so would be severe.
“Wang Haikun! You’ve come yet haven’t stopped by my place for a cup of tea. Are you criticizing my hospitality from last time for not being thorough enough?”
The voice of Wang Furen came from outside the house.
Was this a deliberate diversion to help Qin Niu?
Wang Haikun had already dismissed his suspicions, and he found nothing even after kicking the firewood pile.
Then came Wang Furen’s voice calling out to him from outside the house.
He promptly turned and walked outside.
“Damn it, that bastard Xie Laizi talked as if it was true, saying that Ah Niu from the village has brought home game meat again. If he dares to trick me, I’ll have to teach him a lesson,” Wang Haikun cursed as he left.
After hearing this, Qin Niu’s gaze flashed with a hint of murderous intent.
If Wang Haikun was a fierce tiger, then Xie Laizi was the haunting ghost, specifically assisting the tiger in his deeds.
“Kun Ye, calm down, Uncle Xie was also trying to earn some credit in front of you so as to lessen…”
Qin Niu, on the other hand, was actually speaking on behalf of the despicable Xie Laizi.
There was, of course, a profound reason for this.
Mid-sentence, he suddenly stopped talking.
“Lessen what?”
Wang Haikun turned his head to stare at Qin Niu with an unfriendly tone, demanding an answer.
Already cunning and suspicious, the less Qin Niu was willing to talk, the more Wang Haikun wanted to know.
Qin Niu put on an expression that looked like he had let something slip, with a hint of fear.
“It’s nothing, nothing at all!”
Qin Niu, normally not very talkative, managed to perform his part very well in this moment.