A daily intelligence report; in chaotic times and famine years, grain is plentiful.

"Mo'er, tell your father the truth, is this true?"

Chen Dashan remained skeptical.

After all, hunting a tiger is simply unbelievable.

Chen Mo had guessed that his father wouldn't believe him, so he could only explain, "Father, this matter is very important and can't be made too public. Please trust me this once. Tomorrow I will go to town and inquire about the government's reward for killing the tiger. If it's true, our family can get a hundred taels of silver, but we'll have to share it with Sun Dazhu."

"One hundred taels?"

Chen Dashan was startled again.

He never imagined that his son would dare to take such a risk, and that he would actually succeed.

"You're being ridiculous! Are you hurt?"

Chen Dashan's voice was urgent.

"Don't worry, Dad. With Sun Dazhu's help, we caught that tiger in no time."

Chen Mo said in a relaxed tone.

But only he and Sun Dazhu knew the difficulties involved.

He almost lost his life trying to hunt down this tiger.

But now it seems that all the risks were worthwhile.

Seeing his son's serious tone, Chen Dashan knew it was true and instructed him, "Next time, talk to your father about anything. Don't take risks on your own."

"I know."

Chen Mo nodded.

"Go change your clothes and go get some sleep."

Chen Dashan gently patted Chen Mo's shoulder.

His son is becoming more and more successful...

"I'm going to sleep for two hours. Dad, remember to wake me up. I need to go to town around noon."

"Go."

It was already daylight.

Chen Mo changed his clothes, lay down, and fell into a deep sleep, unaware that even the system notifications from today could wake him.

Last night, I was so exhausted from dealing with the tiger that I felt like my body was falling apart.

With the tiger in hand, Chen Mo didn't pay much attention to the system intelligence for today. He simply picked up the intelligence about the town and collected it along with the other information.

After noon, Chen Mo set off for the town.

Shannan Town is not far from the village; it takes only an hour to get there.

The town was completely different from the dilapidated village. Although it was not prosperous, it at least had a lively atmosphere.

Most of the shops in town were open, and the streets were bustling with people.

Now, bandits are causing trouble in Qingfeng Village to the north, and people from many surrounding villages are fleeing with their families, some stopping in towns along the way.

There were also many ragged refugees in the streets and alleys of this town.

Chen Mo had no interest in strolling around. He came into the city to see for himself whether there was really a bounty.

He arrived at the town's government office, but saw no notice or reward offer.

"Could it be that the system's information is incorrect?"

Chen Mo frowned slightly.

However, the system's intelligence has never been wrong in all these days.

Chen Mo looked at the officials in front of the yamen and knew he couldn't ask too many questions, lest he attract too much attention.

He planned to inquire in other parts of town.

Arriving at the teahouse in town, Chen Mo rested for a while and drank a bowl of hot tea.

The teahouse was filled with people from all over the country.

In places like this, people usually talk about things outside.

Chen Mo deliberately sat in a crowded area, listening to the people chatting.

"Brothers, I've heard there are tigers on Black Wind Ridge. Is that true? I was planning to travel north through Black Wind Ridge tonight."

Chen Mo asked.

Everyone turned around and, seeing Chen Mo bring up the matter, joined in the discussion.

"Young man, be careful. There really are tigers in Black Wind Mountain. You might as well stay in town for the night to avoid losing your life."

Others offered serious advice.

For a time, many people talked about the tiger eating people.

After all, tigers hadn't appeared in the Black Wind Ridge area for many years, and news of their recent appearance had already spread far and wide.

But they didn't know that the tiger had already been killed by Chen Mo.

"You may not know this, but notices have already been posted in the north of the city, offering a reward for the capture of the tiger."

At this moment, someone suddenly spoke up.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat. He quickly put down his teacup, deliberately pulled his chair closer, and asked, "Brother, I just came from the village and haven't heard of this before. Is it true?"

When Chen Mo responded, the man replied, "Of course it's true, and it's a full one hundred taels."

"Hehe...it's more than a hundred taels."

The person standing nearby laughed.

"More than one hundred taels?"

Chen Mo feigned surprise.

"Could there be an extra reward?"

"There is a reward, but it's not from the government."

The man replied in a low voice.

"If it's not the government, then who is it?"

Chen Mo's curiosity grew even stronger.

"Did you all know that a new military commander recently arrived in the northern city?"

The man said mysteriously.

"Of course I know, they were sent by the imperial court, weren't they?"

Most of the people present had traveled extensively and had heard of this person.

"That's right, but do you know what happened? His son went hunting in the mountains a few days ago and was injured in the leg by a tiger. He almost lost his life. So, General Zhao was furious and decided to offer a reward of two hundred taels of silver to hunt down that tiger."

"Two hundred taels?"

Chen Mo was startled, but his face remained calm.

"Is there really that much? How come it's a hundred taels less than what the government has?"

Chen Mo asked, puzzled.

"Young man, you are still young, of course you don't know the reason behind it."

Someone else added that as soon as these words were spoken, the other tea drinkers also looked over, and they all showed knowing smiles on their faces.

Seeing their expressions, Chen Mo had already guessed what was going on.

The town's government officials are nothing more than trying to profit from this or to get that new magistrate Zhao.

"If that's the case, why not just go directly to that Lieutenant General Zhao to claim the reward instead of going through the government office?"

Chen Mo pretended not to understand and asked a question.

"Then you don't understand."

Seeing Chen Mo's interest, the tea drinkers nearby began to chatter on and on.

"The five hundred soldiers that General Zhao brought were supposed to be here to suppress bandits, but they have been in the north city for so long and haven't made much of a move. Instead, they've been using the pretext of suppressing bandits to collect money and grain from various places."

"What does this have to do with the reward?"

Chen Mo pretended not to understand, but he recalled that the village had gathered all the households earlier for the purpose of collecting new grain.

It turns out that it was because of General Zhao's troops.

"Young man, you're still too naive. This is a big deal. The government troops came to suppress bandits, but they've done nothing but focus on a tiger. It'll sound terrible if word gets out. So, we've handed the matter over to the town government."

"Someone whispered."

These ordinary people had long been dissatisfied with the government and were also plagued by bandits, making their lives extremely difficult. They could only vent their frustrations in this teahouse.

Chen Mo also got the gist of it.

If you want to claim the reward for the tiger, the best way is to go to the government office.

However, Chen Mo remembered that many people in the town's government had connections to the Wang family.

If they really came knocking on their door like that, the Wang family would probably receive the news in less than half an hour.

Since the government's approach is not working, the only solution is to go directly to that Lieutenant General Zhao.

Another plan emerged in Chen Mo's mind.

But Chen Mo dared not gamble on whether these government troops were connected to the Wang family...