Li Dong was first stunned by Chen Xiao Bei's words, then he chuckled, "It does make some sense. Let's go check out another place then."
Chen Xiao Bei shook his head, "No, I'm not in a hurry for money right now. Take this fifty taels first."
"We won't sell the remaining ginseng for now. Let them know that Hua Hao Hall has a treasure, and then we'll come back to sell."
Li Dong didn't quite understand, but he knew one thing: to trust Chen Xiao Bei.
The incident at Hua Hao Hall also gave Chen Xiao Bei an idea. The four large snakes shouldn't all be sold.
After much thought, he decided to try his luck with Steward Cao Yuan Xiang. He didn't go to Liu Ce because Chen Xiao Bei didn't want Liu Ru Mei to know he had gone into the mountains again.
First, he bought three sacks, packed three snakes into them, and left only one outside.
Cao Yuan Xiang was quite surprised to see such large snakes. He said with a smile, "Brother Xiao Bei, you always manage to bring me some strange and unusual things. This big snake, name your price."
Chen Xiao Bei gritted his teeth and said resolutely, "Fifty taels, not a copper less."
Cao Yuan Xiang laughed heartily, "No problem, no problem."
Seeing Cao Yuan Xiang so agreeable, Chen Xiao Bei began to regret it. He should have asked for a hundred or even two hundred taels.
Soon, someone came out with fifty taels of silver and handed it to Chen Xiao Bei.
As he handed over the money, Cao Yuan Xiang shook his head with a hint of regret, "Brother Xiao Bei, this snake is a male. If you can bring me a female snake, I'll give you a hundred taels of silver."
"Damn, I was too hasty," Chen Xiao Bei muttered to himself. He really hadn't paid attention to that.
"Alright, I'll go back up the mountain immediately and hope for the best."
After speaking, Chen Xiao Bei turned the donkey cart around to head back. After they had gone quite a distance, he exchanged a look with Li Dong, and they both smiled.
But after the laughter, a question from Li Dong stumped Chen Xiao Bei again.
"Brother Xiao Bei, you're not planning to keep a couple of these snakes at home, are you?"
Actually, Chen Xiao Bei was thinking exactly that. More snakes would naturally devalue them. As the saying goes, rarity makes things precious.
But snakes were different from other things.
Dogs and pheasants could be tethered and raised.
But what about snakes? You couldn't tether them.
He remembered that in his previous life, as a child, he had found a nest of snake eggs.
He put the eggs in an unused water缸. Later, a small snake did hatch, but his plan to raise snakes was ultimately discovered by his father and brought to an end.
However, this incident gave him an idea. As long as the缸 was large enough, snakes could be raised.
With this thought, he excitedly drove the donkey cart towards the pottery shop.
The pottery shop had a large ceramic缸, about as tall as a person and as thick as three people embracing.
This type of缸 was used for storing grain.
The shop owner explained that the ceramic缸 was made so tall to prevent rats from climbing over.
Chen Xiao Bei paid no attention to these explanations. All he wanted was to get one back and raise these three snakes well.
Of course, such a large缸 came with a staggering price, costing five taels of silver.
As before, rarity made things precious. Chen Xiao Bei had no choice but to pay the price without any room for negotiation.
Fortunately, the shop provided good after-sales service and was responsible for delivery.
Leaving the county town, Li Dong asked with some bewilderment, "Do you really want to raise these snakes?"
Chen Xiao Bei nodded, "I'll raise them for a while, then sell one female snake to Cao Yuan Xiang, and keep the other two."
Back home, Chen Xiao Bei immediately asked Li Dong to find someone to dig a pit in the corner of their yard. He wanted to dig a large pit and bury at least half of the large缸 in the ground, otherwise, it would be too inconvenient to feed the snakes by climbing a ladder.
Meanwhile, in Xiao Jia Town, the Yang brothers, Yang Zhi and Yang Bo, found a small tavern and had a hearty lunch. They were naturally happy that so many of their brothers were still alive. After eating their fill, they headed back towards the inn.
Upon entering the inn, the waiter greeted them with a smile, "Gentlemen, are you here to stay?"
Yang Bo nodded, "Yes, could you get us a quiet room?"
"Certainly, gentlemen, please follow me. I'll take you to the back courtyard."
The young waiter led Yang Zhi and Yang Bo to the back courtyard. As they stepped into the courtyard, they bumped into someone.
The person met Yang Zhi's gaze, and Yang Zhi appeared surprised, exclaiming, "Hu Lao Qi, is that you?"
"Se-second master," Hu Lao Qi stammered, then suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, "Brothers, Second Master is here! Second Master is here!"
After a brief silence, the doors of more than a dozen rooms opened almost simultaneously. The brothers of the Vermilion Bird Gang rushed out. Seeing Yang Zhi and Yang Bo, some shouted with excitement, while others jumped and danced. However, only one person wasn't happy, and that was Tu Ba.
Hearing the shout, Batu's heart sank.
How could this be? How could Yang Zhi be alive?
Yang Zhi and La Er Do were at the front. They were surely dead.
But this wasn't the time to dwell on it. He still had to pretend to be very happy and quickly greet them.
Batu walked out and enthusiastically hugged Yang Zhi and Yang Bo.
"Second Master, it's wonderful that you're alive, truly wonderful."
After speaking, he turned to the waiter beside him and said, "Quickly prepare a banquet."
Yang Zhi had already eaten and drunk enough, but feeling happy, he had to brace himself to continue eating and drinking.
The banquet was set, and Batu, raising his wine cup, respectfully said to Yang Zhi, "Second Master, Batu begs your forgiveness with this first cup."
Yang Zhi looked at him doubtfully, "Brother Batu, what do you mean? What sin have you committed?"
Batu appeared very respectful, "Second Master, in the battle of Qing Niu Mountain, Third Master died, and you and the Gang Leader were missing. The group couldn't be without a leader, so Batu dared to become the leader of the Vermilion Bird Gang. Now that Second Master has returned, Batu..."
Yang Zhi understood Batu's words. When the group lacked a leader, it was natural to elect a new one. However, the death of their third brother, La Tu Er, still made him feel a bit uneasy, especially since he didn't yet know that it was all La Tu Er's conspiracy.
"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. I don't blame you. So many people need a backbone!"
"Second Master, there's another matter. After days of investigation and inquiry, I have a general idea of who ambushed us at Qing Niu Mountain. It was Liu Ru Mei who betrayed us!"
Upon hearing this, Hu Lao Qi and others were filled with righteous indignation and echoed his sentiments.
"It was that treacherous woman, Liu Ru Mei."
Yang Zhi nodded, "Yes, I went to see Liu Ru Mei, but she denied it."
Batu deliberately slammed the table in anger, "It doesn't matter if she denies it. These are all established facts. Tonight, we'll go and wipe out the Liu family to avenge our fallen brothers!"
Yang Zhi quickly waved his hand, "That's not appropriate, not appropriate. We can't be too hasty. We need to plan this carefully."