My sister broke off her engagement to marry someone richer? My older sister married me and became in

Lu Changgui's voice trembled slightly. He walked around the table twice before finally turning his gaze to Lu Qingshan.

All eyes in the room were on Lu Qingshan.

Unbeknownst to them, Lu Qingshan had become the backbone of this family.

The ginseng, solemnly placed in the center of the table, emitted a calming fragrance under the dim light of the kerosene lamp.

Lu Qingshan knew that if this ginseng with six leaves were left for several decades, its value would increase more than a hundredfold, enough to buy a mountain of gold.

But he couldn't say.

He reached out and gently pushed the ginseng towards Old Master Lu.

"This ginseng is not for sale."

"Keep this to nourish my body. My legs have been a chronic problem for a long time, and I need good things to take care of them."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room was stunned.

Wang Guifen opened her mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

Old Master Lu was the first to react. He tapped his pipe on the table leg, puffed out his beard, and glared.

"Nonsense!"

"Getting married and building a house, doesn't that all cost money? This stuff can be exchanged for a lot of money, and getting things done with that is better than anything else! My old bones are fine with cornmeal porridge, I don't need this precious stuff!"

"Sir, the money is enough."

Lu Qingshan's voice was not loud, but it was very steady.

He pointed to the things piled up in the corner.

"Bear bile, bear paws, wolf skin, wolf bones—selling these things would be enough to build a big brick house, and then we could marry Sister Xiulan in style."

He paused, his gaze falling on Old Master Lu's patched trouser legs.

"We won't sell that big bear pelt yet, it's too conspicuous. We have two wolf pelts, we'll keep one for you to make knee pads, it'll keep you warm when you go into the mountains in winter."

Old Master Lu rubbed his knees, his lips moved, and the words of cursing were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back, finally managing to squeeze out only one word from his throat.

"Um."

Lu Qingshan looked at Lin Xiulan, who hadn't said a word but was quietly adjusting his collar, and his gaze softened.

"I'll go to the city first thing tomorrow morning to find Manager Zhao from the supply and marketing cooperative."

"That's settled then."

He made the final decision, and no one in the room objected.

Looking at his son's uncompromising attitude, Lu Changgui felt both reassured and unfamiliar.

He knew that from now on, his son would be in charge of the family.

……

The next day, just as dawn was breaking.

Lu Qingshan did not alert anyone in the village.

He carefully rolled up the best-quality wolf pelt, and then carefully wrapped the two bear paws, a bear gallbladder the size of a fist, and the cleaned wolf teeth and bones in cloth, and put them into a slightly worn burlap sack.

He slung his bag over his shoulder, greeted Wang Guifen and Lin Xiulan who were already up, and quietly left the house.

Upon arriving in the county town, he went straight to the supply and marketing cooperative, familiar with the area.

There weren't many people in the supply and marketing cooperative.

Lu Qingshan spotted Zhao Zhiqiang fiddling with the ledgers behind the counter at a glance.

Zhao Zhiqiang also saw him, put down the ledger, and immediately put down a smile, emerging from behind the counter.

"Oh my, Brother Lu! What brings you here? What a rare guest, truly a rare guest!"

As he spoke, his eyes swept over Lu Qingshan's backpack. Then, becoming even more enthusiastic, he ushered Lu Qingshan into the small storeroom at the back.

"No one visits the temple without a reason; looks like we're opening for business today."

Lu Qingshan didn't stand on ceremony and followed him into the warehouse.

"Manager Zhao, thank you for what happened last time."

"Hey, don't be so formal!" Zhao Zhiqiang waved his hand, poured him a cup of hot water, and said, "We're practically family. So, what brings you here today?"

Lu Qingshan put the burlap sack on his back on the ground, untied the rope, took out the rolled-up wolf skin, and spread it on the table.

"Manager Zhao, I brought you some local mountain products."

As soon as the wolf skin was unfolded, Zhao Zhiqiang's eyes widened.

The fur was glossy and smooth, without a single blemish, especially the black stripe along its back, which ran perfectly from head to tail.

"nice one!"

Zhao Zhiqiang reached out and touched the thick fur, praising it profusely, "This hide, not a single scratch, the skinning technique is truly superb! Brother Lu, you really are... incredibly skilled!"

He rubbed his hands together, already calculating which high-ranking officials and dignitaries he could sell this product to, and how much profit he could make from it.

"Brother Lu, name your price..."

"Manager Zhao, don't worry."

Lu Qingshan raised his hand and stopped him.

Zhao Zhiqiang was taken aback.

Lu Qingshan took out a small wooden box wrapped in several layers of thick cloth from the bag and solemnly placed it on the table.

Then there were two bear paws wrapped tightly in oil paper.

He pushed the things forward a little.

"This is the main course for today."

Lu Qingshan looked at Zhao Zhiqiang, his tone calm.

"However, I suspect you might not be able to eat all of this."

Zhao Zhiqiang's smile froze on his face.

He looked at the wooden box, then at Lu Qingshan, and began to have doubts.

Something that Lu Qingshan would take out so solemnly must be no ordinary item.

But he's a supply and marketing cooperative manager, a big shot in the county town. What is there that he can't stomach?

With a touch of curiosity, he reached out and opened the small wooden box.

The moment the lid was lifted.

A rich and strange aroma mixed with bitterness instantly entered my nasal cavity.

An oval-shaped object, deep purple and almost black, lay quietly on a red cloth mat.

Zhao Zhiqiang's breath hitched for a second.

His hand froze in mid-air, the smile on his face gradually solidified, and his eyes widened as he stared intently at the bear gall bladder.

He wanted to speak, but it felt like something was blocking his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.

His hands trembled as he looked again at the two enormous bear paws.

The thick paw pads and sharp claws all testify to the strength of its owner in life.

"Oh my God..."

It took Zhao Zhiqiang a long time to squeeze out a few words, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

The color drained from his face, replaced by a flush of ecstatic joy.

He suddenly looked up at Lu Qingshan, his eyes filled with the same way he looked at a monster.

"Brother Lu... this... this is... bear... bear gall?"

"Mm." Lu Qingshan nodded.

Zhao Zhiqiang gasped, rubbing his hands together incessantly, and excitedly spun around twice, muttering to himself.

"Bear bile! The quality is so good... My God..."

He suddenly stopped and grabbed Lu Qingshan's wrist with astonishing strength.

"This stuff...and bear paws...where did you get these?"

After asking the question, he slapped himself.

"Look at my loose tongue! I know the rules, I know them!"

He quickly calmed himself down, looked at the things on the table, then gave a wry smile and shook his head.

"Brother Lu, you're absolutely right."

"I can't eat this."

"Don't even mention me, even if you emptied the entire county's supply and marketing cooperatives and medicinal herb companies, you still couldn't handle this much demand!"

He held up one finger, his voice extremely low.

"Don't even think about getting this for less than three or four thousand yuan!"

After saying that, he seemed to remember something, and a sharp glint suddenly shot out in his eyes.

He leaned close to Lu Qingshan's ear, his voice even lower, tinged with barely suppressed excitement.

"However, while I can't eat it, I know someone who can definitely eat this stuff!"

"Who?"

"A big boss from the south! He's known in the underworld as 'the dragon crossing the river,' and he specializes in collecting these top-tier items!" Zhao Zhiqiang said in a low voice, spitting as he spoke.

"He just returned from Guangkou and is staying at the county guesthouse, worried that he hasn't received any good gifts!"

"Brother Lu, if you trust me, I'll take you there right away!"

"Manager Zhao! This favor is more important than anything!"