Chapter 41 Sold for over 700 yuan!

Chug, chug, chug...
On the dirt road of Dafang Village, the sound of a tractor carried far into the distance, shattering the tranquility of the mountain village.

Tang Jiancheng's house remained brightly lit, and the excitement on everyone's faces had not faded in the slightest.

"To be honest, when I saw all the ammunition in the cartridge cases used up, my heart turned completely cold. I thought to myself we had taken a huge loss this time. But who would have thought that Jiancheng didn't waste a single round, and with every single shot, he brought down twenty-one of them!" Tang Xingde said in a booming voice, drawing bursts of gasps and exclamations.

Even though the villagers had already heard this story many times, hearing it again now, they still found it fascinating and deeply shocking.

"Uncle Genshui, did your Jiancheng practice shooting somewhere before?" someone asked.

Tang Genshui also found it unbelievable. In his impression, Tang Jiancheng certainly enjoyed brandishing weapons and roughhousing, but didn't all boys like that? He didn't seem particularly out of the ordinary.

"Could he have learned from someone in the township all these years?" said Tang Jianwen, Tang Jiancheng's eldest brother. "Over the past few years, he went to the township whenever he had free time and always came back smelling of alcohol. We all thought he was just drinking to drown his sorrows, but actually, could it be that he drank because he had to learn skills from someone?"

Hearing this, everyone else thought this explanation sounded quite plausible.

If Tang Jiancheng had heard this, he would have given his eldest brother ten thousand likes; such boundless imagination was truly unmatched!

Just at that moment, the headlights of a tractor cut through the dark, followed by the familiar chugging sound.

"Whose tractor is that, coming to our village this late?"
"Could it be the one Jiancheng called?"
"It's possible! It must be the one he called to haul the meat! Come on, let's go out and take a look."

A crowd of people rushed outside and saw that the tractor was indeed heading straight toward Tang Jiancheng's house.

"Jiancheng, you found a buyer so quickly?" Tang Xingde hurried forward to meet him.

"Tian悦, these are all the villagers from our village. This is Xingde Brother, who went hunting in the mountains with me, and that is my dad..."

Tang Jiancheng made the rounds of introductions and then led Tianyue to his parents' house.

Liu Fangfang was still observing her postpartum confinement and was in no condition to receive guests, so everything had to be hosted at his parents' place.

Huang Tianyue nodded in greeting to the villagers all the way. Upon stepping into the room, the very first thing that met his eyes was wild boar meat piled up like a mountain in the main hall!

Shock!
Amazement!
Incredulity!

Hearing about it and witnessing it with one's own eyes were two completely different things.

Taking several deep breaths to calm himself down, Huang Tianyue finally composed himself and said, "Brother Jiancheng, you are simply too amazing! No more words needed, let's weigh it, load it onto the truck, and we can find another time to drink together."

"Alright."

Tang Jiancheng knew he had a lot of business at his restaurant, so he didn't press him to stay longer and immediately proceeded to weigh the meat and settle the accounts.

It had already been weighed earlier, and although the snowy weather added a little moisture weight, the difference was negligible.

In the end, it was calculated based on two thousand three hundred and eighty-two catties.
At thirty cents a catty, the total came out to seven hundred and fourteen yuan and sixty cents.

Tang Xingde's share was three hundred and sixty yuan.

When he took the thick stack of large-denomination currency, Tang Xingde's hands were trembling!

In this era, and in the countryside at that, five yuan could last several months. Holding a full three hundred and sixty yuan right now meant seventy-two five-yuan bills!
That was enough to last over a dozen years!

"Thank you, thank you..."
Perhaps overwhelmed by emotion, Tang Xingde, a rugged countryman, actually shed tears.

Yet, upon reflection, it was entirely understandable.
Tang Xingde had lived through too much grievance and suppression over the years: his leg was broken, his wife had passed away, his house had collapsed, and he still had five sons to raise. If it had happened to an ordinary person, they would have long since broken down!

"Jiancheng, take this ten yuan to buy candies for your nieces."
After his emotions stabilized, Tang Xingde pulled out a bill and stuffed it into Tang Jiancheng's pocket.

"Xingde Brother, what are you doing!"
Tang Jiancheng reached out to pull it back out, but Tang Xingde pressed his hand down firmly. "Jiancheng, don't think it's too little. Your older brother only has this much capability right now. When I make a fortune in the future, I'll buy better candies for my nieces! That's it, just keep it, I'm heading off."

With that, Tang Xingde truly picked up his crutch and limped away.

"This fellow is afraid you won't call him along for hunting in the future, so he's giving a little pocket money for your nieces to buy candy. He's quite a thoughtful guy!" Huang Tianyue said softly in Tang Jiancheng's ear.

Tang Jiancheng smiled and said nothing.
He knew very well why Tang Xingde did this, but he figured he would help him out when he could; after all, they were from the same village.

"Tian悦, won't you stay for a meal before leaving?"
"No, I have too much to do at the restaurant."
"Alright then, let's call Mayor Chen next time and we'll all have a drink together."
"You got it, Brother Jiancheng, see you later!"

Huang Tianyue climbed onto the tractor and left.
The other villagers chatted for a while longer before dispersing to their homes.

Tang Jiancheng's brothers were the last to leave. Before each of them departed, Tang Jiancheng made them take a set of internal organs back with them. The brothers tried to refuse, but unable to withstand Tang Jiancheng's insistence, they all accepted with broad smiles.

"You boys should all properly thank Jiancheng. Whenever he has something good, he never forgets you. As elder and younger brothers, don't forget about Jiancheng when you have good things in the future either." As they stepped out the door, Yuan Yuezhu couldn't help but lecture them.

"Mom, you don't even have to say it, we'll definitely do that!"
The men laughed and walked away.

"Dad, Mom, you both worked yourself to the bone today. Since Liu Fangfang is still in confinement, take this money and buy yourselves whatever you like."
Tang Jiancheng was far more generous when giving money to his parents, pulling out ten large-denomination bills all at once.

"What are you doing? Helping you is what we ought to do, how could we take your money?" Yuan Yuezhu glared at him.
Tang Genshui also sank his face and said, "Put the money away! You've only just earned a little cash and you're already starting to show off, aren't you?"

Tang Jiancheng laughed. "Some of this money is to show my filial respect to you both, but the majority of it is for Jianbing to get a wife."

Once he said this, the elderly couple found it hard to refuse.
Jianbing had already turned eighteen, and after the new year, he would be nineteen!
In the countryside, reaching this age without having a match made was considered quite late.
Back in the day, Tang Jiancheng had married at seventeen and already had a child.

"Fourth Brother, I don't even have a house, how am I supposed to get a wife?" Tang Jianbing muttered in a muffled voice.
"Don't worry, your older brother will figure something out." Tang Jiancheng patted Jianbing's shoulder.

He held a deep sense of guilt toward this younger brother from his past life.
Because their homes were close, this younger brother was the closest to him among all his siblings, and in his past life, he had taken meticulous care of him.
Yet, because of the burden Tang Jiancheng became, Jianbing never married his whole life, pouring all his energy into helping raise Tang Jiancheng's daughters.
In this lifetime, he was resolved never to let his younger brother remain a bachelor for life. Not only that, he had to find him a beautiful and virtuous wife!

"Alright, it's getting late, you should all get some rest early."
Tang Jiancheng turned and walked home.

Having been busy the entire day, he had finally returned home. Only at this moment did he feel a wave of bone-deep exhaustion wash over him, his eyelids growing too heavy to keep open.

"Daddy! You were so amazing today!"
"Daddy, wash your face and hands, let's eat!"
"Daddy, let me hang up your coat for you."

Walking back home and listening to his daughters' crisp, heart-warming voices, Tang Jiancheng smiled, feeling that every ounce of effort he had put in was entirely worth it.