The Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Heroine in the Old Abusive Article - Chapter 14

A strange heaviness settled in her heart.

A desk had been set up in front of Chen Manor, where a man dressed as a scholar sat, likely the steward, with two servants standing behind him.

“Three rabbit pelts and one wild boar hide, totaling two hundred and ninety coins. Place the goods over there,” the man said, recording the transaction in his ledger.

The hunter who had just sold his pelts bowed and nodded, pocketed the coins, placed the hides in the designated spot, and left with a smile.

There weren’t many people selling hides, and soon it was their turn. Qin Zhao unrolled their bundle, and the steward signaled his servants to count the pelts.

Twenty-two rabbit pelts in total.

The steward couldn’t help but look up, surprised to see two fair-faced Female Qianyuan. “Did you hunt all these yourselves?” he asked.

Qin Zhao nodded.

Qin Yang glanced at the notice board beside them, feigning ignorance. “Steward,” she said with a smile, “how much are you paying for rabbit pelts?”

“Thirty coins each,” the man replied.

Qin Yang nodded. “To be honest, we heard they’re buying them in the county town too, and the prices there are…” She trailed off, leaving the implication hanging in the air—a smart person would understand.

Qin Yang turned to Qin Zhao and asked, “Second Sister, what do you think?”

Qin Zhao pursed his lips, silent for a moment before replying, “I’ll go along with your decision.”

Qin Yang couldn’t help but press her hand to her forehead. If Qin Zhao didn’t speak up soon, she wouldn’t be able to keep up the act. She couldn’t tell if he was genuinely naive or just playing it too smart.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. Qin Yang feigned reluctance before finally gritting her teeth and saying, “Hunting isn’t easy for us sisters. Naturally, we want to get the best price. Besides, we have more than just this. Oh, and how much are you paying for wild boar hides?”

Hunting was a dangerous occupation, and few were willing to venture into the mountains for it. When the man heard they had more goods, including wild boar hides, his expression shifted. Wild boars were notoriously tough creatures; if not killed outright with a single blow, they could easily gore a hunter to death. Such incidents were common in past years.

He hadn’t expected these two slender Female Qianyuan to possess such skill. A hint of admiration flickered across his face as he pondered for a moment. “The prices are set by our master. I’m just the steward and can’t make such decisions. How about I report the situation to him and get back to you both?”

“Then we’ll trouble you, Steward,” Qin Yang said.

Seeing that the two women were reasonably polite, the man beckoned to a servant behind him and whispered a few instructions. The servant hurried away.

Qin Yang casually glanced at the animal hides they had collected. Most were rabbit pelts, with very few larger hides. Even these likely amounted to less than what Qin Zhao had brought alone.

No wonder the steward had rushed to report her casual remark—they were struggling to meet their quota.

“By the way,” Qin Yang asked with a smile, “what does Patriarch Chen need so many hides for?” Her face was deceptively harmless, and her smile was particularly endearing, making it hard for anyone to resist liking her.

The steward glanced at the two women, figuring there was no harm in telling them. He chuckled, “To be honest, our master runs a leather goods business. Last year, the Northern Region suffered a severe snow disaster. The local shamans have predicted even heavier snow this winter, and with heavy snow comes bitter cold. So our master plans to collect a large batch of hides and transport them north.”

A snow disaster in the Northern Region?

Isn’t this a plot point from the novel’s introduction of the Destined Alpha? The residents along Dongling’s northern border frequently suffered harassment from the Northern Region people. The imperial court had repeatedly dispatched troops to repel them, but the Northern Region people excelled at mounted archery. By the time Dongling’s soldiers arrived, the raiders had already looted their targets and vanished, leaving the court in a perpetual state of frustration.

Coincidentally, the Northern Region was struck by a once-in-a-century blizzard, causing severe shortages of coal and winter supplies. Many Northern Region civilians succumbed to the extreme cold and froze to death. Seizing this opportunity, the Destined Alpha submitted a memorial to the Dongling Emperor, proposing a military campaign to annihilate the Northern Region.

However, when the Dongling army reached the Northern Region, they proved unable to withstand the harsh climate. Despite thorough preparations, their campaign was plagued by mishaps. Instead of conquering the Northern Region, the Dongling forces were largely buried by an avalanche, suffering catastrophic losses.

In the end, the Destined Alpha resigned from his official post, left the Capital, and eventually arrived in this region, where he encountered the Female Lead who had escaped.

Yet the novel provided no further details about the Northern Region’s situation in the following winter, making it impossible to verify the truth of these accounts. Still, the matter of selling animal hides…

Qin Yang sighed. Even if she wanted to help, she didn’t have a single coin to her name.

“I see,” Qin Yang nodded, her voice tinged with regret. “Poor people of the Northern Region.”

“Who can argue with that?” the steward sighed. “These days, life is hard everywhere.”

As they spoke, a servant hurried back and whispered something in the steward’s ear.

After a moment, the steward smiled. “Young ladies, you’re in luck! Our master says, why bother going so far? We’ll pay you whatever the county is offering, plus an extra five wen per rabbit pelt. That’s thirty-five wen per pelt. How does that sound?”

Qin Yang pretended to hesitate, then gritted her teeth and said, “Thirty-five it is.”

In truth, she had no idea what other buyers were offering. She was simply bluffing, knowing that buyers like this always try to lowball prices. This confirmed that the profit margins were indeed higher than claimed, but she didn’t dare push for too much, fearing they might refuse the deal altogether.

Strike while the iron is hot.

“That’s 770 wen total. Take it and remember to bring your next batch here,” the steward said.

Qin Yang smiled and accepted the money, saying earnestly, “Of course. Patriarch Chen is so generous, it saves us sisters a lot of trouble.”

The two placed the rabbit pelts in the designated spot and left.

Qin Yang handed the money to Qin Zhao, who took out 110 wen and gave it back. “This is your share,” Qin Zhao said. “The extra five wen per pelt is all yours.”

Qin Yang accepted the money without ceremony. There were two reasons for this: first, she had indeed earned it through her own cunning, and second, she was currently penniless, lacking even the most basic necessities like food for herself and Wen Jin’an.

Speaking of which, Qin Yang realized she should stock up on provisions in her personal space. While grain was relatively cheap, it wasn’t practical since she was still living with the Qin Family and had no way to cook. She’d have to buy ready-made meals to take back. Fortunately, her space had a preservation function, keeping items exactly as they were when stored.

“Oh, I also want to buy some supplies to take back,” Qin Yang said.

“Mm,” Qin Zhao replied casually.

“Do you know where they sell seasonings?” Qin Yang asked.

“Why do you need those?” Qin Zhao looked at her, puzzled.

“Your cooking is terrible. Adding some seasonings might make it edible,” Qin Yang said bluntly.

Qin Zhao fell silent for a moment, then pursed his lips and continued, “There’s a general store up ahead. They should have what you need.”

The general store did indeed carry seasonings, but Qin Yang nearly fainted when she heard the prices. A dou of salt cost twenty wen, which was manageable, but a liang of pepper was a staggering seven thousand wen! How could ordinary people afford such extravagance?

It was practically more expensive than gold!

No wonder the Qin Family’s kitchen only had salt. She had initially assumed they were poor, but now it was clear that these so-called seasonings were far beyond the reach of ordinary people.

When she left, Qin Yang had only bought one dou of salt.

Now all that remained was to buy steamed buns, but she needed to do this away from Qin Zhao. After all, she planned to store everything in her personal space, and having him around would make it impossible.

She quickly made up an excuse to send Qin Zhao away and hurried to a steamed bun stall on the street.

Steamed buns cost one wen each, while meat buns were two wen apiece. She ordered fifty steamed buns and ten meat buns, leaving her with only twenty wen. She stored both the food and the remaining coins in her personal space.

When she returned to the agreed-upon meeting point, the ox-cart was already preparing to depart. Qin Yang hopped aboard.

“Did you find everything?” Qin Zhao asked.

“Huh?” Qin Yang suddenly remembered the lie she had told earlier to avoid him. She instinctively touched her nose to hide her embarrassment.

“Yes, I found it. Are we heading back now? Didn’t you say you wanted to bring back some fish?” Qin Yang cleared her throat, quickly changing the subject.

Qin Zhao didn’t press further, offering a simple acknowledgment.

“Are we still going up the mountain?” Qin Yang asked, her mind lingering on the stream Qin Zhao had mentioned. “It’s getting late. Wouldn’t it be dangerous to go into the mountains at night? Many wild animals hide during the day and come out to hunt at night. Even experienced hunters avoid the mountains after dark.”

“We’re not going up the mountain,” Qin Zhao replied, his words as concise as ever.

Not going up the mountain, and we’re on the ox-cart heading home… Does that mean we’re going back to the Qin Family?

But didn’t he just agree to go?

Qin Yang’s confusion deepened. The ox-cart suddenly lurched violently, and she quickly grabbed the side to steady herself.

“Ladies, I’m so sorry about the bumpy ride,” the old ox-cart driver sighed, his voice tinged with resignation. “The road’s full of rocks. We had a heavy rainstorm recently, and landslides washed debris onto the path. Please bear with it.”

Qin Yang surveyed the road and saw it was indeed littered with rocks of all sizes. Having only recently transmigrated, she didn’t know the details of what had happened, but the scattered debris made it clear the old man’s words rang true.

“Won’t all these fallen rocks slow us down?” Qin Yang wondered. “Why haven’t the villagers cleared them away?”

Logically, this should be a major road with plenty of traffic. Why hadn’t anyone bothered to clear the path?

“Ah!” The old man sighed heavily again. “Who has the heart for such things these days?”

“Huh?” Qin Yang’s confusion deepened.

“The recent heavy rains caused landslides,” the old man explained. “Our year’s worth of rice crops were ruined. With the fields destroyed, the young men left to find work elsewhere. Only the elderly, women, and children remain. At my age, I can’t do much myself. Luckily, we still have an ox. I drive the ox-cart to earn a little extra income…” The old man’s voice was tinged with helplessness.

Qin Yang fell silent, her mood inexplicably heavy.

Fortunately, the somber atmosphere didn’t linger. Qin Zhao soon called for her to disembark. They still had some distance to travel before reaching the Qin Family’s village.