**Chapter 21: Selling Tiger Pelts**
**Qingjiang County, West City.**
People laughed in each other's faces, their lips carrying a three-pointed understanding of the world.
The sound of horseshoes on the green slate road was like falling rain. All around was bustling—the shouting of wine shops, the copper scales in front of rouge stores, the crisp sound of broken silver plates in tea houses.
"Dad was right."
"The world bustles for benefit. The world rushes for profit."
"More people, more demand—naturally, all kinds of trades emerge."
"This West City has more street vendors and small shops, but the total of all their profits might exceed the profits of the big shops in the East City."
He rode on.
Soon, he arrived at the Cloud Pavilion Inn, where Xu Mingyuan was temporarily staying.
Just as he reached the inn's entrance, he saw Xu Mingyuan, Zhou Ming, Zhao Dalong, and the others coming out.
"Aiyuan."
Xu Mingwei called out.
Xu Mingyuan turned his head and suddenly smiled. "Big Brother."
The group walked over quickly.
"Brother, what brings you here?"
"Eldest Young Master." Everyone greeted him in turn.
Xu Mingwei nodded and smiled. "I went into the mountains yesterday and got some harvest. I need to sell some pelts. Dad said to give the money from the pelts to you."
"I figured you know Qingjiang County better than I do, so I came to you first."
"You came to the right person. In the past few years in the county, I've built up some connections." Xu Mingyuan laughed. "If you go directly to a pawnshop or somewhere else, you won't get a good price."
"Brother Zhou, go ahead with what we discussed earlier. I'll take care of this with my brother first."
"Understood, Second Young Master."
Zhou Ming left directly with Zhao Dalong and the others.
Xu Mingyuan said, "Brother, let's walk and talk. What kind of pelts did you hunt this time?"
"Green wolf? Leopard? Silver fox?"
"See for yourself." Xu Mingwei opened his backpack and let him have a look.
"The color—tiger?"
"The pelts look good. Are they damaged? By the bulk, there should be more than one pelt, right?"
"Two. Male and female. The male tiger was half a man's height at the shoulder and weighed over a thousand pounds. The tigress was a bit smaller, but still larger than an ordinary tiger." Xu Mingwei explained in detail. "They had a cub. I brought it home for Snow to have as a playmate."
"Raising a tiger cub as a playmate?" Xu Mingyuan was a little surprised. Not everyone had the courage for that.
After all, when it grew up, ordinary warriors would be no match for it at all.
If you weren't careful, even a first-rate warrior could be severely injured.
"Dad said it was fine for Snow."
"Well, Dad should be right."
After a moment's thought, he no longer dwelled on the issue.
He was quick-witted. In just a moment of effort, he came up with a way to talk up the price of these two pelts.
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The two of them arrived at East City and entered an antique tea house.
This tea house was called "Yuanxuan." It had three floors.
The first floor was the main hall, filled with eight-immortal tables everywhere. A storytelling platform was built in the center. Every day, storytellers took the stage and told tales of heroes, famous figures, and strange anecdotes.
Most tables had a large pile of peanuts.
From time to time, a waiter would call out in a sharp, pinched voice, "Coming right up!"
The second floor had private rooms.
The cost of a single private room for one sitting was enough to listen in the main hall for half a month.
The third floor required advance reservation.
"A tea house?" Xu Mingwei was surprised. "We're selling here?"
"Brother, this Yuanxuan is the most famous tea house in East City. Its owner's surname is Chang—Chang Haowen. He's twenty years old."
"I've heard of his background. The tea house is just one of the businesses he runs. I met him by chance."
Just then, a waiter walked over and shouted, "You two gentlemen, please sit. What would you like?"
"I'm looking for Young Master Chang."
The waiter paused, then immediately ran to the counter and said something to a middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man looked over, then came to them and said with a smile, "It's Young Master Xu. My young master was just talking about you a few days ago."
Xu Mingyuan returned the greeting. "Manager, is Young Master Chang available today?"
"He's on the second floor. I'll take you up."
They went to the second floor.
*Knock, knock.*
"Sir, it's me."
"Xu Mingyuan?" A magnetic voice came from inside. "Let him in."
"You two, please." The manager opened the door, invited them in, then returned to the counter downstairs to continue his work.
The space inside was not small. Several chairs made of eucalyptus and yellow pear wood were arranged around a coffee table.
A young man sat languidly. He wore a jade and silver crown on his head and a red-gold cloud-patterned robe.
His face was like crown jade, with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes. The corners of his lips always carried a three-pointed, carefree smile.
Beside him, a young girl of about sixteen fanned him with a jade fan, serving at his side.
"Brother, come, sit down."
"Someone said you brought someone with you today."
Chang Haowen slightly turned his head and saw the two of them. A little surprised, he noticed that their features were somewhat similar. He smiled and said, "Is this your brother or your cousin?"
Xu Mingyuan sat down very casually, gesturing for Xu Mingwei to sit as well. Then he introduced him. "This is my big brother—my own brother. His name is Xu Mingwei."
"Riding the wind and waves, mighty like a fox."
Chang Haowen praised, "A mountain has a spirit, and clouds give it mood. A good name."
"You flatter me, Young Master Chang."
Xu Mingwei's hands were clasped. His back was as straight as a green pine. There was no obsequiousness in his eyes, nor any arrogance.
Chang Haowen looked at Xu Mingyuan slightly. "I don't suppose we're just talking about tea today?"
"Connecting feelings, and taking care of a little business."
Xu Mingyuan grinned. "Just say it."
"Take a look at these two pelts and give us your appraisal."
Xu Mingyuan took the two tiger pelts out of the bag. He and Xu Mingwei spread them out.
Chang Haowen's face showed no change in color. He examined them carefully.
"Yes. These are also tiger variants. I estimate that even a first-rate warrior would have been in great danger trying to take them down. And these two tiger pelts are very complete."
He thought for a moment, a glimmer of light in his eyes, and continued, "Either the hunter struck the eyes or the throat—a clean hit—or he used brute force, punching through flesh and bone, directly blasting them."
"Either way, the person who killed these tigers is very skilled."
"Young Master Chang's eye is as keen as ever." Xu Mingyuan smiled and praised, "But there's more to the story."
"Oh? What is it?"
"These two tiger pelts—one male, one female—belonged to a mated pair of tigers."
"They fought fiercely and died protecting their cub."
"Is that so." Chang Haowen's expression remained unchanged. He looked at Xu Mingyuan, then smiled. "Brother Xu, you're not trying to sell me these things, are you?"
"How much do you think they're worth, Young Master Chang?"
"Two variant tiger pelts are worth a thousand taels on their own. And this story—it could add another hundred or two hundred taels."
"Do you believe what I say?"
Seeing his expression, Xu Mingyuan smiled.
"It's not unusual for merchants to seek profit and embellish their goods."
"What if I can prove it's true? Would Young Master Chang be willing to receive them for, say, twelve hundred taels?"
Chang Haowen smiled, unconcerned. "If you can prove it, I would pay more than twelve hundred taels to collect them."
"But how would you prove it?"
"Simple. Young Master Chang probably thinks the story I told earlier was made up by the younger son."
"But unfortunately, the tiger couple's cub is in my house. Young Master Chang only needs to send someone to my home to see it. If the cub is there, then the story is naturally true."
Hearing this, Chang Haowen's expression changed slightly. "You want to raise a variant tiger cub?"
"Even if it's raised from a young age and its claws are blunted, it will eventually reveal its forest nature. One careless moment, and it could tear out its owner's throat."
"Even if it's not a demon tiger, taming it requires the skills of a beast tamer—methods that come close to those of cultivators."
Xu Mingyuan smiled. "If in the future it does indeed show harmful behavior, my family will naturally not keep this menace."
His words carried seven or eight parts truth.
After a moment's thought, Chang Haowen said, "Brother Xu is a merchant. You once told me that though merchants seek profit, they must also stand on integrity."
"Of course, I believe in you as a person. So verification isn't necessary."
"If your family really can tame it in the future, please bring it to visit me once or twice."
"Haha, then thank you, Young Master Chang. But as for a visit—that's still far off. For now, let's just settle on the pelts."
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