Hunting 81: Gathering Goods in the Mountains, I Spoil My Ex-Wife to the Extreme

Hearing Lin Xiulan's virtuous words, Li Yunshan suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

He recalled his past life of being idle and irresponsible, and how he had foolishly divorced Lin Xiulan. He felt sorry for her.

Lin Xiulan's demands were not high. She didn't ask for her man to be successful enough to live in a mansion and eat delicacies. She just wanted her family to live peacefully and happily together. Even if they ate corn porridge and lived in a dilapidated brick house, she would be happy.

Li Yunshan secretly vowed in his heart that if he ever went astray again and did anything to betray Xiulan and the others, he would be struck by lightning.

"Xiulan, are you cold?" Riding his bicycle, the cold wind whistled in his face, and even Li Yunshan could feel a chill rushing towards him.

"A little, but with you blocking the way in front, it's not too cold. I've dressed Dou Dou warmly enough, so she shouldn't be cold. Don't worry." Lin Xiulan hugged Dou Dou even tighter as she spoke.

"Okay, just keep an eye on DouDou."

Without further ado, Li Yunshan rode his bicycle along the dirt road toward the county town.

Soon they arrived in the county town, where people were coming and going on both sides of the street, and shouts and bargaining were heard from the shops. This lively scene could only be compared to the market days in the commune.

"The county town is really lively." Looking at the bustling streets and the constant flow of people coming and going in and out of the shops, Lin Xiulan couldn't help but exclaim in amazement. This was much more lively than the market day in the commune.

"It's already so lively even though it's cold now. When spring comes and the weather warms up, the county town will only be more lively," Li Yunshan said with a smile.

But in his heart, Li Yunshan was thinking about whether he should spend some money to buy a house in the county town.

After all, no matter what, the county town is better than the commune. Whether it is transportation, logistics, education, or the prosperity of business, the county town is far superior to the commune and far superior to the village.

When Li Yunshan thought about education in the county town, he couldn't help but think of Dou Dou.

In his past life, he was a good-for-nothing and never took care of Dou Dou after divorcing Lin Xiulan.

Lin Xiulan, a woman struggling to make a living, had little time or energy to care for Dou Dou. As a result, Dou Dou not only picked up many bad habits but also struggled academically. She dropped out of school before graduating from junior high and got married early.

When Li Yunshan was later hospitalized, he heard from Lin Xiulan that Dou Dou was not doing well either.

The thought of this made Li Yunshan feel suffocated.

"Let's see how much this tiger skin can sell for. If I have enough money, I'll buy a house in the county town," Li Yunshan thought to himself.

They arrived at the county hospital very quickly.

After parking the bicycle, Li Yunshan led Lin Xiulan and her daughter to the ward.

However, neither Gao Hongmei nor Su Lihua were there.

I ran to ask the nurse, and she said he was still in the operating room and hadn't returned yet.

Li Yunshan then took Lin Xiulan and Dou Dou to find Gao Hongmei and Lin Xiulan.

When they arrived outside the operating room, they saw Gao Hongmei and Su Lihua pacing anxiously.

"Big sister, Uncle Gao hasn't come out yet?"

"Yes, they've been inside for over three hours."

Gao Hongmei looked worried, and her words revealed her anxiety.

Just then, the operating room door opened, and doctors and nurses pushed a hospital bed out. The doctor said, "Could Gao Zhankui's family please come over here?"

"Oh, oh, oh." Gao Hongmei suddenly realized and rushed over, glancing at Gao Zhankui lying on the hospital bed: "Doctor, how is my father? Did the surgery go smoothly?"

"Are you Gao Zhankui's family member? He's doing quite well. He's just been put into a deep sleep by anesthesia and should wake up in an hour or two. The surgery was also successful. The bone has been set with steel pins. With proper rest, he should be able to walk again, although his gait might be slightly lame," the doctor explained.

"That's alright, thank you doctor, thank you so much."

Gao Hongmei was finally relieved and quickly expressed her gratitude.

Then the group took Gao Zhankui back to his ward.

However, outside the ward, Li Yunshan stopped in his tracks: "Xiulan, take Doudou in. I... you know, Hongmei's father doesn't like me, and he just had surgery. I'm afraid he'll get angry when he wakes up and sees me."

"Okay, then you can go ahead and get busy."

Lin Xiulan knew that Gao Zhankui didn't like Li Yunshan very much, so she told him to go ahead and do his work.

"I'll come pick you and DouDou up tonight."

After saying that, Li Yunshan left.

He rode his bicycle around the main streets of the county town for a while, and after asking around, he finally arrived at a herbal medicine shop in the west of the town.

Herbal medicine shops specialize in buying and selling Chinese herbal medicines, and you can smell a strong aroma of Chinese medicine from a distance.

He parked his bicycle, took the bundled tiger skins and walked towards the counter: "Shopkeeper, do you accept the skins here?"

Behind the counter, the shopkeeper, a middle-aged man wearing glasses, looked refined and scholarly. When Li Yunshan asked if he bought hides, he couldn't help but frown: "Young man, this is a Chinese herbal medicine shop. We only sell Chinese herbal medicines. If you want to buy hides, you've come to the wrong place."

"Do you buy tiger skins, shopkeeper?" Li Yunshan ignored the shopkeeper's words and placed the tied tiger skin on the counter.

"It really is tiger skin?"

The shopkeeper originally thought Li Yunshan was going to sell ordinary leather, but when he saw that it was tiger skin displayed on the counter, his eyes lit up.

He wouldn't buy things like wild boar skin, rabbit skin, or sheep skin, but tiger skin is a different story.

Why?

Because this thing is extremely rare and hard to come by; it's valuable because it's priceless and unavailable for purchase.

"Young man, could you please step aside and we can talk in the back?"

The shopkeeper's tone became much more polite.

"Yes, please go first."

The shopkeeper instructed the shop assistants to watch the shop, and then led the way: "Hehe, young man, follow me."

Upon reaching the back room, the innkeeper rubbed his hands together and said, "Young man, could you let me take a look at your tiger-skin palm?"

Li Yunshan untied the tiger skin that had been bound and spread it out on the long table.

The shopkeeper stared in astonishment as the tiger skin was slowly unfolded: "Young man, is this a tiger skin that was just skinned recently?"

"It was just peeled off a couple of days ago."

"Just skinned a couple of days ago? You...you're Li Yunshan, the tiger hunter from Xiangyang Commune?"

The shopkeeper was puzzled at first, then adjusted his glasses and carefully examined Li Yunshan for a while before saying something uncertainly.

"Yes, I am Li Yunshan from Xiangyang Commune."

"From the moment you walked in, I felt that you looked familiar, but I never thought about it in that way."

The shopkeeper smiled, his gaze falling on the enormous tiger skin spread out before him: "Such a large tiger skin, with glossy fur, how much do you plan to sell it for?"

"Shopkeeper, please give me a price. If you think it's reasonable, I'll sell it." Li Yunshan said, arms crossed.

"This..." The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting around a few times, before tentatively saying, "This tiger skin of yours is bigger than any I've ever seen, and its fur is very glossy. This is top-quality goods. How about four thousand yuan?"

"Four thousand yuan?" Li Yunshan was somewhat dissatisfied, so he said, "Shopkeeper, two years ago, a hunter in the commune next door killed a tiger, and that tiger skin sold for four thousand yuan. That tiger skin wasn't even as big as mine. My tiger skin is this big, it's worth at least six thousand yuan."

"Six thousand? That's too expensive. It's not something I can decide on my own. I need to call and ask my boss."

The shopkeeper smiled wryly. He was just an employee working for his employer, and this six thousand yuan deal was not something he could decide.

"Alright, shopkeeper, then I'll trouble you to make a call and ask," Li Yunshan said.

"Alright, young man, you sit down first, I'll go make a phone call."

After the shopkeeper finished speaking, he went to make a phone call. He returned shortly afterward: "Young man, please wait a moment. Our boss heard that you want to sell tiger skins and is on his way. He also wants to take a look."

"Sure, I'll wait."

Li Yunshan wasn't in a hurry; he had plenty of time.

Next, the shopkeeper had the shop assistant serve tea to Li Yunshan, and the two chatted while drinking tea.

After finishing a cup of tea, the owner of the herbal medicine shop arrived. He was a middle-aged man wearing a Zhongshan suit and with his hair neatly combed.

"Young man, this is our boss."

The shopkeeper introduced Li Yunshan to the shop.

"My surname is Tang. Young brother, you must be Master Li Yunshan, the tiger hunter?"

The middle-aged man had the air of a businessman, but he was quite amiable and humble.

"Yes, Mr. Tang, this is the tiger skin from the tiger I hunted. I asked for a high price, but the shopkeeper said he couldn't make the decision. I'm sorry to have troubled you to come all this way."

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all. We're in business, it's normal for us to travel all over the country. Coming here won't be a problem." Boss Tang waved his hand with a smile, then looked at the tiger skin that had been spread out.

His eyes lit up at first glance.

He carefully stroked the tiger skin for a while, then examined it to see if there were any flaws, such as any additional tears caused during the hunt.

After a careful inspection, Boss Tang said, "Master Li, this tiger skin of yours is worth six thousand. If you're interested in selling it, I'll give you that price, how about it?"

This price was actually about the same as what Li Yunshan had estimated.

"Okay, six thousand it is."

Li Yunshan also knew when to stop.

"Hehe, Master Li is a straightforward person."

Mr. Tang smiled and then told the shopkeeper to go to the bank to withdraw money.

About half an hour later, the shopkeeper returned with the money, and Boss Tang personally handed a thick stack of ten-yuan notes to Li Yunshan: "Master Li, this is six thousand yuan, please count it."

Six thousand yuan, that's six hundred 100-yuan bills.

Li Yunshan took the money, counted it twice, and it took him about half an hour to finish counting it. After confirming that everything was correct, he put it in his pocket.

"Master Li, if you ever find anything like this again, remember to come to me!"

As he saw Li Yunshan off, Boss Tang said warmly.

"Okay, no problem." Li Yunshan nodded, but suddenly asked, "Boss Tang, you bought this tiger skin to take overseas, right?"