Cui Hongyu carefully examined the injuries of the two tigers. "Their wounds are a bit swollen and red; they must be inflamed. We can only try using Houttuynia cordata."
Fortunately, there was a good supply of Houttuynia cordata at home.
Cui Hongyu boiled some water with Houttuynia cordata and used it to clean the wounds of the two tigers.
She then mashed some fresh Houttuynia cordata and applied it to the wounds.
Fortunately, these two tigers were too weak to put up much of a struggle, so treating them was much easier.
There were some thick iron chains at the village entrance. Chen Xiaobei ordered people to use them to secure the three tigers.
After securing the tigers, Chen Xiaobei was troubled. Leaving them tied under the large locust tree was not a solution. He had to find a way to sell them.
Selling tigers obviously required finding a wealthy buyer.
He naturally thought of Liu Ce. Liu Ce had bought wolves from him before. Since he wanted wolves, would he want tigers too? He would have to ask to find out.
The next morning, Chen Xiaobei took several bundles of green vegetables and headed to Xiaojia Town.
Li Dong had gone to the county town, but he couldn't rush there himself. He didn't want Li Dong to become too dependent on him.
So, it was better to go to Xiaojia Town first to sell the vegetables, and then find Liu Ce to sell the tigers.
Upon arriving at Xiaojia Town, the first establishment he saw was a restaurant called Sihai Restaurant.
The three-story building was grand and spacious, clearly a high-class establishment.
Chen Xiaobei held a bunch of green vegetables and stood at the entrance. A waiter immediately approached with a smile.
"Brother, are you here to dine, or...?"
Indeed, it was a bit early for dinner at this hour, and the waiters were still tidying up. Chen Xiaobei held up the green vegetables. "My family grows vegetables. May I ask if you need any green vegetables here?"
The waiter shook his head. "No, no. We have people who buy them specifically. You should try somewhere else."
He waved his hand impatiently. "Go on, go on. Hurry along."
Just then, a voice suddenly called out, "Xiao Si, who are you talking to?"
Hearing this voice, Chen Xiaobei's eyes lit up. It sounded so familiar. Wasn't that Feng Xiaoyue?
Indeed, as the voice spoke, Feng Xiaoyue emerged from the back.
Feng Xiaoyue looked up and saw Chen Xiaobei. After a brief moment of surprise, she let out a strange exclamation.
"Brother Xiaobei, is that you?"
The waiter, called Xiao Si, looked at Feng Xiaoyue and then at Chen Xiaobei with surprise.
"You... you know each other?"
Feng Xiaoyue nodded. "Yes, yes. Xiao Si, Brother Xiaobei is my savior."
Hearing Feng Xiaoyue say this, a smile spread across Xiao Si's face. He cupped his fists towards Chen Xiaobei. "Xiao Si was blind and didn't recognize your importance. Brother Xiaobei, please don't take offense."
Chen Xiaobei smiled. "It's alright, it's alright. Go on with your work."
Feng Xiaoyue pulled Chen Xiaobei to sit on a nearby chair and then turned to pour him a cup of water.
"Brother Xiaobei, why are you in Xiaojia Town?"
Chen Xiaobei held up the green vegetables. "Many people in the village have started growing vegetables, and they can't sell them. I thought since Xiaojia Town has many restaurants and inns, I'd come and ask."
Hearing this, Feng Xiaoyue smiled. She took the green vegetables and looked at them. "Leave this to me. I'll help you canvass these restaurants. You can just relax here and have some tea."
With that, she turned and left. Chen Xiaobei couldn't let her do all the work while he waited, so he quickly turned and followed her out.
Seeing both of them leave, Xiao Si's gaze suddenly turned fierce.
He spat, "Brother Xiaobei, the way they call each other... they sound too close. It's obvious something's going on. Hmph, all my kindness to you was wasted."
Chen Xiaobei and Feng Xiaoyue were unaware of this. They started canvassing from one establishment to another. To Chen Xiaobei's surprise, Feng Xiaoyue had only been here for about a month, yet she seemed to be familiar with the proprietor of every restaurant. Moreover, they all gave her face. As long as she asked, they would agree to take thirty jin, twenty jin, or ten jin.
After walking down the entire street, Chen Xiaobei felt a bit dizzy. "Miss Xiaoyue, can we take a break? Let me catch my breath. I can't even remember who ordered how much."
Feng Xiaoyue smiled and pointed to her forehead. "It's all in my head. I'll write it down for you later. You can just deliver according to the list."
My goodness, Chen Xiaobei was instantly stunned.
Yesterday, when he went to the county town, he had written down four or five restaurants in his head and given the list to Li Dong. He had even smugly thought Li Dong was slow-witted.
But now, Xiaojia Town had dozens of restaurants. Feng Xiaoyue claimed to have them all memorized. Her memory was far beyond his.
After this round, the orders were substantial. Dozens of restaurants had placed orders totaling over six hundred jin.
Coupled with the sales in the county town, the market for the village's green vegetables was solved.
This made Chen Xiaobei excited. He hadn't expected the demand for green vegetables in Xiaojia Town to be so high. It seemed he needed to expand his operations.
Holding the list written by Feng Xiaoyue, Chen Xiaobei was filled with mixed emotions.
A talented and resourceful girl with an extraordinary memory had been cruelly cast aside by fate. Alas, such is the irony of life.
After bidding farewell to Feng Xiaoyue, Chen Xiaobei leisurely headed to the county town.
When he arrived at the county town, he first went to see Old Wu. Old Wu's vegetable stall was piled high with green leafy vegetables. It was clear Li Dong had delivered them.
Good, as long as the vegetables could be delivered, Chen Xiaobei didn't approach to greet them. He turned his donkey cart and headed to find Liu Ce.
When Liu Ce heard that Chen Xiaobei had arrived, he quickly came out to greet him and led him into a small reception room next to the main entrance.
The reception room next to the main entrance was typically where servants and stewards entertained their friends and relatives.
Of course, being invited here meant Liu Ce didn't consider him an outsider this time.
"Brother Xiaobei, what brings you here?"
Chen Xiaobei got straight to the point and told him about catching three tigers on the mountain.
Of course, he claimed to have caught them himself and did not mention Yang Zhi.
Liu Ce listened with great surprise. "You caught three live tigers? You're truly amazing."
"Steward Liu, please take some time to see them. Please make an offer."
Liu Ce readily agreed to Chen Xiaobei's enthusiastic invitation, but he quickly raised a new concern.
"The tigers are deep in the mountains. How did you get into the mountains again?"
Chen Xiaobei had already prepared an answer. He knew that building a cable bridge on the mountain was such a major undertaking that Liu Rumei would eventually find out, as her people would also have to enter the mountain.
So Chen Xiaobei did not hide anything. "There is a large canyon on the main peak of Qingniu Mountain. Someone paid us to build a cable bridge."
Hearing this, Liu Ce frowned. "Oh? Who was it?"
"A man named Sun Jian. Because I am the headman of Hetou Village, he approached me directly. The price was suitable, so we couldn't refuse."