After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 81 Conflict Erupts in Town

As she spoke, she opened the bucket lid.

Shen Yi leaned closer to examine it, then hesitated and said, "This should be a broadmouth fish. I've seen it a few times in the Daxun River, but the largest one I've ever seen was only a little over a pound. The broadmouth fish you caught must weigh six or seven pounds, and you even caught two, three, or four at once."

Shen Yi carefully counted them on both sides, then gasped, "There are eight! Honey, how did you do that? Do you know how much a single wide-mouthed cat like that can sell for?"

A glimmer of expectation shone in Su Tai's bewildered eyes. "How much?"

"More than two ounces," Shen Yi said.

Su Tai blinked hard, then clutched her chest. "So, these fish can all sell for over eighteen taels?"

“Wealthy families would absolutely scramble to get it,” Shen Yi added.

Su Tai decisively put away the bigmouthed fish. "Brother Shen, you can help me sell the big fish. I'll try to catch some more fish that weigh two or three pounds each."

Two or three kilograms is quite a lot for the villagers. If they could have a fish like that during the Spring Festival, everyone would show it off for a long time. If it's too big, people wouldn't dare to accept it.

Shen Yi nodded. "Tomorrow happens to be the market day in Moshi Town. I'll go and ask the town official if they'll accept it."

People tend to travel around at the end of the year, so there shouldn't be any trouble selling them.

With Shen Yi's words, Su Tai worked even harder to catch fish.

Early the next morning.

Shen Yi still went out at dawn, but this time he brought back fresh fish.

To keep the fish warm, he also covered the donkey cart with a thick straw mat.

After the donkey cart arrived in town, Shen Yi was thinking of crossing the main street to Liu's residence when he unexpectedly ran into Xiong Kai and Mo Laotian, who were pushing a cart.

Xiong Kai glanced at Shen Yi's donkey cart with jealousy, his gaze landing on the cart full of thatch, and let out a disdainful sneer.

Shen Yi remained expressionless, his eyes fixed straight ahead, completely disregarding them.

Xiong Kai was annoyed and deliberately blocked Shen Yi's way. "Come and see, come and look! Fresh venison, sixty coins a pound. Don't miss it!"

Mo Laotian hadn't noticed Shen Yi at first, but seeing Xiong Kai's strange behavior, he turned around and looked at Shen Yi in surprise, "You're here to the market too?"

Shen Yi nodded slightly.

Mo Laotian continued to chat enthusiastically, "I heard you got married to that girl from the Su family. Why didn't you bring your wife with you?"

"Father!" A sweet cry came from behind Shen Yi.

Mo Chunxiang quickly slipped out of the crowd, her gaze lingering on the donkey for only a moment before she didn't even glance at Shen Yi. "Mind your own business. My legs are sore from walking, I can't walk back!"

Old Mo had no temper in front of his daughter. "Then what do you suggest we do? We haven't sold all our venison yet, we can't just push you back!"

Mo Chunxiang lowered her head unhappily, sulking to herself.

Old Man Mo immediately felt sorry for her, "Good girl, just bear with it a little longer, or I'll give you money to rest at the teahouse?"

"I don't want to!" Mo Chunxiang raised her head defiantly and said, "From now on, I will only take a car when I go out. I don't want to walk. You can ask Xiong Kai to buy an oxcart or a donkey cart."

Mo Laotian's expression changed slightly, and he scolded in a fake manner: "What nonsense are you talking about! You're a mother now, how can you still be so willful? That oxcart costs ten taels of silver, it's not something you can just buy on a whim. Don't make things difficult for Xiong Kai."

Mo Chunxiang, holding back her anger, looked at Xiong Kai and asked loudly, "If others can afford it, can you?" Xiong Kai had wanted to show off his abilities in front of Shen Yi, but he was publicly humiliated by Mo Chunxiang, which made him so angry that his face turned black.

Unfortunately, his father-in-law was right there, so even if he wanted to cause trouble, he couldn't.

He really couldn't bear to spend ten taels of silver to buy an oxcart. After all, livestock are hard to take care of in the dead of winter. If he spent so much silver all at once, would he even be able to celebrate the New Year?
Mo Chunxiang, however, seemed oblivious and pressed on, "Can we buy it or not?"

Mo Laotian glanced at his sulking daughter, then at his son-in-law's long face, and felt quite displeased. He stepped forward and pulled Xiong Kai away, saying, "What are you doing standing in the middle of the road? No one else can pass!"

Shen Yi curled his lips in a mocking smile. Seeing that Xiong Kai had made way, he pulled on the rope and made the donkey run.

Mo Chunxiang's face darkened, and she gritted her teeth in resentment, hesitating to speak.

Originally, she thought she could take advantage of Xiong Kai's jealousy and make demands of him in front of Shen Yi. She thought that Xiong Kai would agree to her demands for the sake of his male pride. However, she did not expect that Xiong Kai valued money more than his pride and would not budge even after all this.

Shen Yi is no man at all; he didn't even take the opportunity to kick Xiong Kai while he was down. He really is a coward!

After Shen Yi left, Mo Laotian muttered to himself, "I wonder what he was doing bringing so much thatch to town?"

Mo Chunxiang was furious and sneered, "What else can you do! Only an ignorant coward would treat a pile of straw as a treasure!"

A beauty like her took the initiative to ask for a ride. If Shen Yi were a man, he should have seized the opportunity to give her a ride instead of remaining indifferent like a block of wood!

Mo Laotian was angered by Mo Chunxiang's outburst and scolded her angrily, "Shut your mouth."

Can't you see Xiong Kai is about to explode with anger? Is his daughter mentally challenged?

"Shen Yi!" A loud shout from afar drew the attention of the three people on the turbulent side, who all turned to look.

Shen Yi quickly stopped the donkey cart. "Governor, what a coincidence!"

Liu Tiechui walked over with a hearty laugh. "What a coincidence! It's market day today. What are you doing with a cart full of thatch? Repairing a house?"

Shen Yi shook his head, stepped forward and lifted the thatch to reveal buckets of fish inside.

Liu Tiechui's eyes widened instantly. "So many big fish? You caught them?"

Shen Yi nodded without changing his expression, "I caught it in the Daxun River. I've been saving it up for several days and only brought it out during the market. I'll go to the restaurants first to ask if anyone wants it, and then I'll ask those wealthy families if they'll take it."

"No! Let me see first! How many donkeys do you have in total?" Liu Tiechui excitedly pulled on the reins of the donkey cart, preventing Shen Yi from leaving.

Shen Yi looked helpless. "There are eight large-mouthed fish weighing six or seven pounds each, five carp weighing four or five pounds each, and one carp weighing ten pounds each. They're here."

With the lid lifted, the fish's tail thrashed wildly, splashing water all over Liu Tiechui. He laughed heartily, "Great! Great! You've really helped me a lot! I'll take all these fish. Please take them back to my residence."

Upon hearing this, Xiong Kai, who was not far away, immediately rushed up and blocked Liu Tiechui's path, asking with a fawning smile, "Governor, we have venison at home, would you like some?"

Liu Tiechui was somewhat annoyed by Xiong Kai's actions in stopping him, but upon hearing about the venison, he decided to go and take a look.

Before Mo Laotian and his daughter could be happy, Liu Tiechui walked away with a sullen face.

The three were puzzled.

Unwilling to give up, Xiong Kai stepped forward and pressed, "Governor, our venison was just caught; the animal hasn't been dead for long. Is there a problem?"

Liu Tiechui stopped, stood with his hands behind his back, and glared angrily at Xiong Kai. "Heaven cherishes life, and even hunting requires that one not kill everything. Yet you attacked a pregnant doe. Your sin is grave! I'm afraid that eating such venison would leave me with resentment and I would not be able to enjoy it!"