The Fantastic Little Farmer

Chapter 222: Chapter 222: Selling Snake Meat

Li Cuicui and her lackeys fled. The crowd of onlookers surrounded Zhang Yun, bombarding him with questions.

Zhang Yun truly hadn’t expected Li Cuicui to use such a ruthless trick. He guessed that Li Jin and Li Xiaowu had also been deceived by her, actually believing that the deed had been done. Since this concerned his moral character—not to mention his taste in women—Zhang Yun patiently explained the situation to everyone.

By the time he invited everyone inside for tea, he realized Xiuxun had already left. Aside from her stepping forward to speak up for him earlier, the two hadn’t even had a chance to exchange greetings. Leaving the crowd to chat downstairs, Zhang Yun returned to his room and glanced toward the window of Xiuxun’s room.

He took out his phone, found Xiuxun’s contact, and sent her a message. ”Thank you for earlier. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t have been able to defend myself. People always prefer to believe the worst.”

After sending it, he waited anxiously for an entire minute. Time felt like it was crawling.

He checked his other messages. In the village group chat, people were already gossiping about what had happened. When he returned earlier, someone had even been standing outside cracking melon seeds while giving a live text broadcast to the group.

Zhang Yun usually kept the group chat muted. Now, he skimmed the chat logs but didn’t bother to clarify anything. He had already explained everything to the people downstairs. Typing in a group chat wouldn’t be as clear, and if there was any ambiguity—or if someone took a screenshot out of context—it would just turn into another running joke once it spread.

Zhang Long, however, sent him a private message. ”How did you get tangled up with her? Did you let loose the moment we left? Bro, you need to control yourself! You’d even do Li Cuicui? Aren’t your standards a little too low? Hahahahaha!”

”Screw you! If I actually sue her, you guys have to testify for me. Just say you went home a bit later and saw her holding my clothes, and that I was with you the whole time.”

”No way! We’re not committing perjury! That’s illegal. You handle your own romantic debts, man!”

”Tomb raiding is illegal too, but you still did it, didn’t you?”

”Cut the crap, you’re the one who went into the Ancient Tomb. I never went in.”

”Piss off!”

Remembering official business, Zhang Yun left a message for Zhang Lifeng. ”I think I found a ten-year-old Fufeng Grass. Get the other medicinal ingredients ready. I’ll deliver it to you tomorrow!”

The old man had driven over overnight yesterday, which was a very stand-up thing to do. Plus, since this concerned his father’s health, Zhang Yun decided not to put on airs and would deliver it personally. After a brief thought, he also sent over a photo of the cobra he had taken with his phone.

”I killed a massive cobra. See if it has any medicinal value.”

Zhang Lifeng didn’t actually believe he could find Fufeng Grass so quickly. Even if he did, it was probably just ordinary Fufeng Grass. Because of this, he didn’t react much to the first message, figuring he would just check the quality tomorrow.

However, a cobra of that size was incredibly rare, prompting him to call Zhang Yun immediately.

”Zhang Yun, where did you get this snake?”

”I killed it in the mountains.”

”You killed it?”

”Is that a problem? Or do you not believe me?”

”This snake is highly venomous, and it’s exceptionally large. You were alone? You didn’t get poisoned, did you?”

”Nope.”

”Why didn’t you catch it alive... well, fine, you probably couldn’t have anyway. You’re already incredibly lucky! Wait for me, don’t chop it up for dinner yet. I’ll be right there! Let me take my pick first!”

”How many pounds do you want? I’ll save it for you and deliver it together tomorrow.”

”Don’t chop it! I’m coming over right now!”

With that, Zhang Lifeng hung up in a hurry.

This left Zhang Yun not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Was the old man trying to revitalize his manhood? Was he that eager to eat it fresh?

However, the Fufeng Grass wasn’t ready yet, and the snake was still inside the Peach Blossom Spring Space. If he made it appear out of thin air, it would scare his father half to death. Considering Zhang Lifeng’s resolute and swift working style, Zhang Yun guessed the old man had already driven out of the hospital. He hurried out the door, pretending to head into the mountains for a trip.

Xiuxun... still hadn’t replied. Everyone had work to do, so she couldn’t possibly be staring at her phone all the time.

Zhang Yun rushed over to the fish pond and pulled the massive snake out. Because it was too big, he didn’t bother using a bamboo basket. Instead, he draped it over his neck, hoisted it onto his shoulders, and carried it home.

The afternoon sun was scorching. No one was heading into the mountains, and the fields were devoid of workers. It wasn’t until he entered the village that he ran into people.

”Holy shit! Zhang Yun, where did you get such a huge snake?”

”It’s a cobra! Is it dead? Did you kill it?”

Seeing such a massive cobra, the men exclaimed in excitement while the women grew tense and afraid. Some clueless children tried to step forward to poke its tail, only to be yanked back by their mothers.

”That’s a lot of meat! How much are you selling it for? I’ll come by later—save a couple of pounds for me to nourish myself!”

No one had ever seen a cobra this big. Along the way, people stopped to look and ask questions. The younger villagers couldn’t resist stepping up to take selfies with it, eager to be the first to post it on their social media feeds.

By the time Zhang Yun returned home, the news that he had killed a giant cobra had already spread throughout the village group chat. Many people followed him to watch the spectacle, while others hurried over the moment they heard the news.

Zhang Youcai was one of them. He rushed into the courtyard, shouting at the top of his lungs, ”Nobody fight me for this! I’ll buy it no matter how expensive it is!”

”Haha, Boss Zhang, you’re using your wealth to bully people again!”

”Cai, you want to nourish yourself, but we want to as well. Don’t be greedy.”

Zhang Yun dropped the snake in the courtyard. The young people who had followed him were touching it and posing for photos, while the middle-aged villagers salivated over the snake meat.

”This cobra is venomous, isn’t it? Can we still eat it?”

”The venom isn’t in its whole body. As long as you remove the venom glands, it’s perfectly fine.”

”This thing must weigh dozens of pounds. Hehe, I want two pounds!”

Zhang Yun clapped his hands. ”If anyone wants to touch it or take pictures, hurry up and do it now. As for how to handle this snake... I’m sorry, everyone, but I’ve already promised to sell it to Dean Zhang from the county hospital. We’d only eat the meat, but he’s an experienced practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine and can use many of its parts for remedies. Besides, it’s hard to come across a cobra this big. Giving it to him to treat patients is much more important.”

”That’s fine, we just want to eat the meat. The snake gall and other stuff can go to the doctor.”

Zhang Youcai immediately chimed in. ”Zhang Yun, although it’s a good thing that Dean Zhang is using it for medicine, you still need to collect money for it. Also, regarding the snake meat, it shouldn’t just be first come, first served. It should be sold to whoever offers the most money.”

”Hey! Zhang Youcai, I don’t like the sound of that. So what if you have a few lousy bucks? Are you trying to crush us with your wallet?”

”Yeah! We got here first, so of course we should have priority. Don’t you understand the rule of first come, first served?”

Zhang Youcai knew Zhang Yun was too polite to say it, so he took the initiative to play the bad guy. Smiling, he said, ”Well said, my friend, priority! But priority has a prerequisite, and that is priority under equal conditions. Otherwise, if you come first and want to buy the whole thing, does he have to sell it all to you? Would everyone else have to buy it from you?”

”I never said I wanted the whole thing!”

”I’m just giving an example. Just like how Zhang Yun promised it to Dean Zhang before he even got back. Based on your logic, shouldn’t the snake belong entirely to Dean Zhang? Would we have to buy it from him?”

Zhang Youcai was a smooth talker, rendering everyone momentarily speechless. After all, Zhang Yun himself had said it. If they were going by who was first, then Dean Zhang was technically the first in line.

”That’s why I’m saying, basing it on price is the fairest method,” Zhang Youcai continued. ”If Dean Zhang has to pay a high price, he’ll only buy the parts he absolutely needs, leaving the meat for us. Otherwise, if it were sold at the standard market price for farm-raised snakes, do you really think he couldn’t afford to buy a few dozen pounds of it? Couldn’t he just haul it back to the county and resell it for an even higher price?”

Zhang Youcai put on an earnest expression. ”I’m doing this for everyone’s sake. Pricing it high is the only way we can keep any of it here. Those willing to spend can buy a bit more, and those who aren’t can buy a bit less!”

The crowd felt a bit sour, still feeling like he was using his wealth to push them around. However, his logic also seemed sound. If he didn’t use money to secure it, they might not even get a single taste.