Chapter 34: It Returned With Firm Footsteps

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“That’s what I’m talking about. The little money you have from the bounty would not even be enough for this wolf to eat a few meals. It would be hilarious if your family had to starve thereafter, that would make people laugh their heads off for sure, haha.”

This time, even the village chief’s wife, Liu Yan, tried to persuade her.

“Little Li, I have to advise you against it this time as well. Although what these aunties have said are a little unpleasant, they are the truth after all.”

“A wolf is different from a dog as it only eats meat. We can’t afford to raise it. Why don’t you let it go back to the mountains? If it doesn’t work, we’ll sell it then.”

At this moment, the wolf cub seemed to understand what was said. It suddenly darted out and roared at the old women who said that it was useless. Then, it ran straight to the mountain.

The villagers were shocked by the wolf’s roar. They remain in shock and cursed non-stop.

“Look, what did I say? It’s an ingrate. It ran away before she even raised it. It will never be loyal enough!”

…

The surrounding villagers spoke one after another, as if they were gleeful that they had won.

Zhou Xiaoli was not disappointed. On the contrary, she felt that the wolf cub would definitely return.

Hence, she said, “It’ll be back soon. You don’t have to worry about it.”

The onlookers looked as if they had heard a joke. They all laughed at Zhou Xiaoli’s whimsical idea of raising a wolf. Now, it was all for nothing.

“Alright, alright.” Seeing that those people were getting more and more outrageous, Liu Yan stopped them.

Then, she said to Zhou Xiaoli and Wei Chiyu, “Your uncle and I are relieved to see that you’re back safely from the mountain. Alright, I won’t talk anymore. I have to go back.”

Then, she said to the onlookers, “It’s getting late. Don’t you have to go home and cook?”

The meaning behind her words was obvious, which is for them to scatter.

However, they pretended not to understand and interrupted several times, unwilling to leave.

It was obvious that they were coveting the wolves in the courtyard!

If the wolf cub hadn’t run away, Zhou Xiaoli wanted to close the door right there and then. Out of sight, out of mind.

Just as Zhou Xiaoli was wondering if she should scold the onlookers to send them away, a nimble figure entered her sight.

“Little Wolf, you’re back!”

As if it had heard Zhou Xiaoli’s voice, the wolf pup ran even faster with its short legs.

When everyone heard the sound, they turned around and saw the wolf cub running back with a rabbit in its mouth.

When it reached the crowd of villagers, the little wolf cub even slowed down and walked with its head held high and with an air of arrogance.

It placed the hare in front of Zhou Xiaoli as if it was asking for credit.

Zhou Xiaoli was also stunned. “Did you hunt this?”

The wolf pup let out a howl and circled around Zhou Xiaoli’s leg, as if answering her question.

Everyone: “…”

Zhou Xiaoli smiled and picked up the wolf pup. She praised, “The wolf pup is amazing!”

“Howl~” The wolf cub cried out, as if responding to Zhou Xiaoli’s praises.

Liu Yan was shocked. “Why does this wolf seem to understand human language?”

“It seemed that way, right? When I first saw it, I felt that it was very intelligent.” Zhou Xiaoli said proudly.

Not only had the wolf pup returned, but it had also brought back prey. Many villagers were envious.

With this wolf cub around, doesn’t it mean that the Zhou family would not lack prey every day in the future?

What kind of dog shit luck did the Zhou family have!

Once a person’s eyes turned red with jealousy, they would burn from it and lose their rationality completely.

This is what happened to Old Madam Ma, who had been hiding quietly behind the crowd as she greedily stared at the wild rabbit on the ground.

After the previous incident, she did not dare to provoke Zhou Xiaoli anymore. However, she had always held a grudge in her heart against her for stealing her donkey away.

Hence, when everyone’s attention was on the wolf cub, she wanted to take away the wild rabbit sneakily.

However, the wolf pup immediately discovered her and instantly jumped onto her.

Now that the wolf cub was still young, Old Madam Ma was not very afraid. She raised her leg and was about to kick it away.

Zhou Xiaoli immediately shouted, “Ah, you have to be careful. I heard from Physician Feng from Dazhuang Village that if you get scratched or bitten by wild wolves and dogs, you will be infected with a ‘mad dog disease’. Once infected, you will go crazy and bite people. You will also die in a few days.”

When Old Madam Ma heard this, she was shocked. She stopped in her tracks and turned to run back. The wolf cub chased after her.

Old Madam Ma was chased around by the wolf cub until she was in a sorry state. She even tripped over her left foot and fell to the ground. Two of her teeth were knocked out by the fall.

The wolf cub jumped onto Old Madam Ma’s back and tore at her clothes.

Zhou Xiaoli was also worried that the wolf cub would have bitten Old Madam Ma for real, so she called the wolf cub back.

The wolf cub obediently jumped down. However, before jumping down, it peed on Old Madam Ma’s neck…

Liu Yan shook her head and sighed. “Old Madam Ma, why haven’t you changed your bad habit?! Wasn’t the lesson last time enough for you?!”

At this moment, Old Madam Ma could not care less. When she heard Liu Yan mention what happened the other time, she was afraid that Zhou Xiaoli would use the rabbit to blackmail her again.

She got up from the ground and ran home without looking back. She even locked the door.

Liu Yan shook her head and said to Zhou Xiaoli, “Alright, I think it’s fine as long as this little thing knows how to catch its own prey. If you want to keep it, then keep it.”

It was just as well that they have a powerful and protective animal guarding the house. They would not be bullied then.

With that, Liu Yan went home.

The other onlookers were now a little apprehensive of the ‘mad dog disease’ that Zhou Xiaoli mentioned.

Seeing that they couldn’t get any benefits, they reluctantly dispersed.

Finally, the world was quiet.

The next day.

Early the next morning and after breakfast, Zhou Xiaoli and Wei Chiyu rode the donkey cart out of the house.

They first went to the mayor’s house to collect the bounty.

The mayor was shocked when he saw the cart full of wolf corpses.

After hearing their story of how the wolf pack had been defeated and would no longer be a threat to the villagers, he praised them for being young and promising. At the same time, he gave Wei Chiyu 100 taels of silver.

He casually asked, “How do you plan to deal with the wolves’ corpse?”

Zhou Xiaoli told the truth and said that they were going to sell it in the county.

The mayor said ruefully, “There’s so many of them. I’m afraid it won’t be easy for you to sell them all.”

Wei Chiyu: “I can go to a few more restaurants.”

“That’s true. It’s just a little troublesome to do so.” The mayor smiled and changed the topic. “However, I do have a sales channel. The price might not be as high as what the restaurant can offer, but I can take them all at once.”

Zhou Xiaoli and Wei Chiyu looked at the mayor, waiting for him to continue.

“Wolf meat can be used to make dried meat. It’s the most convenient to carry around as an army ration. Coincidentally, I know the people stationed in the army north of the Yellow River. I’ll give you fifty taels of silver, and you’ll give me all of the wolves’ corpses. How about that?”

They could indeed earn more from selling to the restaurants, but with the mayor’s help to sell it, it would also save them a lot of trouble.

After all, there were more than 10 wolves. No matter how good the restaurant’s sales were, it could not take in that many at once.

They inevitably had to go to several restaurants.

In that case, it would not be a bad idea to sell it all to the mayor too.

Zhou Xiaoli thought so, but she didn’t know what Wei Chiyu was thinking, so she looked at him.

The two of them looked at each other and saw agreement in each other’s eyes.

“In that case, thank you for the offer, mayor.”

Thus, the two of them reached an agreement with the mayor and sold all the wolves to him.

The mayor then handed the money to Wei Chiyu.

Right then, there was a commotion from outside the door.

“Mayor, Sir! Don’t be fooled by them. They did not hunt the wolves at all!”