Xu Ren, the young master of the Xu Family Pharmacy, saw the Compound Bow hanging atop the woodpile. He walked closer and said, "I'll only take the Snake Gallbladder if it's fresh. I don't want one from a dead snake."
Cui Hao lowered the giant snake disguised as a bundle of firewood from his shoulder and looked up at the young man speaking. He was fairly good-looking, dressed in an Azure Cross-Collar Robe. His neck was thick, and his clothes bulged with muscle. He looked like a martial artist.
Cui Hao pulled aside an armful of dry grass, revealing a section of golden-yellow snake.
Xu Ren stepped forward to look and drew a sharp breath. "Is it still alive?"
"Yes."
Xu Ren reached out with both hands, lifted the carrying pole to test its weight, then said, feeling how heavy it was, "The others would give you no more than fifteen taels. I'll give you twenty."
Whether he was selling the Four Treasures of the Study or buying rice, Cui Hao always asked around at several places. This time was no different. "It's not easy to land such a big catch. I want to check with a couple more pharmacies."
As he spoke, Cui Hao started to hoist the pole back onto his shoulder.
"Wait." Xu Ren hurriedly raised a hand to stop him, a bitter smile on his face. "Young man, I'm not trying to fool you. When it comes to rare medicinal ingredients like this one, if you go alone to those crooked shops... they might drive the price down to almost nothing, or even make up an excuse to cheat you out of your goods. You're on your own and don't have much power. You might not be able to get justice."
"If something that upsetting happened, you'd be cheated, and I'd miss out on a fine treasure."
Seeing Xu Ren's earnest, trustworthy expression, Cui Hao set down the pole and asked, "What's this snake good for?"
"The gallbladder can improve eyesight and detoxify. The meat and blood are a great tonic for martial artists."
His predecessor had no interest in martial arts, but Cui Hao wanted to get stronger. He hoped eating the snake might make him sturdier, so he asked, "I'll sell you half the snake meat. The gallbladder stays with me."
"...The gallbladder is the most valuable part. Many Old Wealthy men and martial artists would pay a fortune for it. It's no use to you."
"I'll eat it myself."
"You're young and don't have bad eyesight, and you're no martial artist. Eating it would be a waste. I'll add another two taels and give you twenty-two taels for the whole thing."
Cui Hao shook his head. He had enough money; that was all he needed. His body was his greatest asset.
Realizing the hunter wasn't going to budge, Xu Ren made a pained counteroffer. "Leave me all the snake's blood, and I'll give you six taels of silver."
"It lost quite a lot of blood when I caught it."
"That's fine. If it's alive, it still has blood."
The deal was struck. Cui Hao got six taels of silver, then went to the pharmacy's back courtyard to portion out the meat.
When he left the pharmacy, the load on his shoulder was much lighter. Just as he was about to buy liquor, Xu Ren hurried after him and handed him a medicinal packet about half the size of a brick. "Soak the gallbladder in strong liquor for seven days. It's free. Come back next time you have something good."
Cui Hao accepted the gift and took the packet to the tavern next door to buy high-proof liquor. There, he ran into a neighbor nicknamed Lai Zi Tou, who lived just three houses away.
The man carried a pound of fatty pork in his left hand and a wine jar in his right. He swaggered along, shoulders rocking from side to side, looking triumphant.
"Xiao Haozi," Lai Zi Tou greeted him with a beaming smile. "Bought all that firewood after selling Su Yun, huh?"
"Only a heartless man would sell his wife. Uncle Lai, where did you strike it rich? Can you take me along?"
They weren't cut from the same cloth, so Lai Zi Tou turned and walked away.
Cui Hao bought two pounds of high-proof liquor and carried it home in a gourd.
Standing outside his own yard's wooden gate, he called out.
"Well, look who's back, Xiao Haozi!" Aunt Li came out from next door to chat. "Did you catch anything?"
Cui Hao turned around and showed her the pheasant hanging on the outside of the woodpile. "I caught a pheasant."
The eight chicks might have been starving or thirsty. They were quiet now and no longer cheeping.
The half-snake's meat was hidden under a lot of fine, dry grass, so Aunt Li couldn't see it.
"Lai Zi Tou may have sold his wife and children," Aunt Li said, ever in the know. "There's been no sound from his place all afternoon. Usually, those two boys of his make quite a racket."
Just then, Su Yun opened the wooden gate from inside and came out, reaching to take the burden from her husband's shoulder.
Cui Hao gently brushed Su Yun aside and went into the kitchen. He set the burden down and removed its disguise, revealing golden skin and pink flesh inside.
He let the eight chicks out, gave them water and a little minced snake meat, and hoped they would survive until tomorrow.
"Have you figured out where the money for your taxes is coming from?" Aunt Li asked Su Yun as they chatted by the yard gate.
At the mention of the taxes, worry clouded Su Yun's face. She gave a slight shake of her head.
"Lai Zi Tou may have sold his wife and children already. You need to be careful."
Su Yun had also noticed some familiar faces disappearing from the village. She insisted, "Aunt Li, Brother Hao won't sell me."
"You never can tell..." Aunt Li lowered her voice. "Keep your eyes open. If anything seems wrong, run."
Su Yun shut the yard gate from inside, wedged it with a wooden stick, then turned and went into the kitchen.
"Ah!" Su Yun cried out in surprise. "I've never seen a golden snake before. It's huge!"
"This is a Golden Python. The people at the pharmacy said eating it can strengthen your body."
"Wash up and eat," Su Yun said excitedly. "We can turn it into smoked meat later."
"I'm in a good mood today, Sister Yun. We're having pheasant tonight."
Su Yun didn't know why her husband was in such a good mood, but she agreed. Picking up the dead pheasant, she said, "I'll clean it now. The food's in the pot, so have a little first to tide you over."
He lifted the lid. In the middle was a bowl's worth of brown rice, along with a bowl of snake soup. Two coarse-grain flatbreads clung to the side of the pot.
He covered the pot again, ladled out a dipper of water, and went into the yard to wash his hands and face. Then he took six taels of silver from his clothes and walked over to Su Yun, who was preparing the pheasant. "Sister Yun."
Su Yun looked up and saw the silver in Cui Hao's hand. Her eyes widened in disbelief. She looked at Cui Hao, then at the silver again, and tears began streaming down her face.
"I sold half the Golden Python to Xu's Pharmacy," Cui Hao explained. "Here are six taels of silver. We have enough for the taxes now."
Su Yun threw herself against Cui Hao and wept.
"Tomorrow, we'll sell the chicks," Cui Hao said, gently patting her back. "We'll go into town while we're at it and buy cloth. I'll get you two sets of padded clothes."
Now that they had silver, the pressure had eased. Why would she need padded clothes? Su Yun clung to her husband and couldn't bear to let go.
After a long while, Cui Hao urged her, "Hurry and prepare the chicken. I bought liquor. Let's have a couple of drinks tonight."
Su Yun wiped away her tears and nodded. She carefully pulled the wooden arrow out of the pheasant.
Cui Hao washed a coarse pottery jar, set aside two taels of the strong liquor, and poured the rest into the jar. Then he put in the medicinal packet and the Snake Gallbladder.
He sealed the jar with a lotus leaf gathered in summer and a piece of oilcloth.
Next, he cut the snake meat into pieces and soaked them in salt in a wooden basin. He would smoke the meat tomorrow. If properly prepared, it could keep for over a year, or even longer.
Su Yun started frying and stewing the pheasant.
"By the way," Cui Hao said as the couple worked, remembering something. "While I was out today, did Zhou Menghu and those hoodlums under him come by?"
"No. Aunt Hua told me they were at her place today. They kicked the door in and tried to force her to sell Lingdang."
Aunt Hua was Jiang Huagou's wife. The couple had no sons, only a daughter, Lingdang.
Thinking of how Zhou Menghu had been eyeing Su Yun, Cui Hao decided he would buy iron arrows tomorrow to improve his odds.
As Cui Hao thought about striking first, Zhou Menglong was taking advantage of nightfall to buy people in the village.
As the deadline for paying taxes drew closer, more and more people began selling their wives and children. Zhou Menglong had made quite a bit of money, but what he wanted most right now was... Su Yun.
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