Reborn in 80: Starting with hunting in the mountains to get rich

Upon hearing that Li Ju'an had arrived, Sun Weimin became restless and unable to lie still. He wanted to ask Li Ju'an what the situation was at the ranch, whether they had discovered that he was behind it, and whether they would hold him accountable.

Sun Weimin gave Li Ju'an a wink, signaling him to come over.

The Taoist priest hired by the Sun family was still boiling talisman water. The old lady cried and begged the priest to hand the talisman water over so she could give it to her beloved grandson.

Sun Weimin smelled the familiar scent of talisman water and felt so uncomfortable that he wanted to gag. He stared at Li Ju'an with a pitiful expression, trying to signal him to drive the Taoist away.

Li Ju'an found it amusing and silently mouthed, "How will you thank me if you get rid of me?"

When Sun Weimin saw that he was about to make an exorbitant demand, and that smiling face was exactly what it looked like, he glared angrily and mouthed, "You brat, don't be so arrogant. You want my thanks? My thanks are very expensive."

Li Ju'an shrugged, leaned back on the table in a nonchalant manner, and really didn't care anymore. When the Taoist priest ran over waving his ritual implements, he shouted loudly, "There's spilled here and there, and there's dirt there too. Hey, I just saw Sun Weimin's leg twitching; it must be dirt clinging to his leg."

The Taoist priest actually waved his whisk and sprinkled the boiling talisman water onto his legs.

Sun Weimin was already annoyed by the snow in the dead of winter, and the cold water on his body made him even angrier. He felt like he could only feel at ease if he tore the thing in the stinky Taoist priest's hand to pieces.

Li Ju'an watched with glee as the women's wailing and howling echoed like a tidal wave, making his chest feel tight and his head throb with pain.

Sun Weimin felt that if his uncles and aunts didn't return soon, he would be driven to his death by his sisters-in-law. He could only take advantage of the moment when the Taoist priest went out to talk to his mother, and weakly waved his hand to call Li Ju'an over, saying, "Li Ju'an, you win, you fucking messed with me. How's the situation at the ranch? Has Captain Wang investigated the matter? Has the bomb been found?"

Li Ju'an raised an eyebrow, keeping everyone in suspense, and said, "If you want to know, just go to the ranch yourself. You can wait for your father to come back."

Sun Weimin was so anxious that he was tearing his hair out. He begged and pleaded, "Li Ju'an, aren't you deliberately making me anxious? Look at the situation our family is in now. Even a normal person would be driven crazy. How can I wait for my father to come back? I'm afraid I'll really go crazy when he comes back."

Suddenly, Aunt Sun let out a wail, overwhelmed with grief. She thought of her deceased husband and eldest son, who had also been hunting in the mountains when they were blinded by weasels. They had gone missing for several days before being found frozen to death on the mountain.

Aunt Sun's cries came in rapid, mournful waves. Sun Weimin closed his eyes in anguish, adopting a posture of utter despair, sprawled on the bed, stared blankly at the roof beam, and said, "Please, Li Ju'an, if you can make the house quiet, I'll not only stop calling you grandpa, but I'll call you Li Pao every winter from now on, and I'll even go hunting in the bear enclosure with you."

Li Ju'an immediately shouted, "You said it, remember it well."

"Yes, that's what I said, so what?"

Spurred on, Sun Weimin shouted back with equal force. His love for hunting bear granaries was common knowledge throughout the village. He would go and hunt bear granaries every winter, without fail. His marked locations included captured bear granaries and those that remained; he had countless marked spots.

Even Li Guaizi and Old Zhang from the security department, who wanted to farm bear pens in the winter, had to ask him first, calling him "Young Master Sun" with a grin, to hear about good bear penny locations.

Li Ju'an was overjoyed at the thought of getting so many bear paws and bile for free. So much bear paws and bile were beckoning him this winter. He could assemble a bear-hunting team; his winter's work wouldn't have been in vain.

Li Ju'an stood up and called out, "Aunt Sun, Aunt Sun, everything's alright. Sun Weimin is awake."

Upon hearing this, Sun Weimin quickly closed his eyes and pretended to be dead, afraid of being exposed. He muttered to himself, "This method won't work; the ranch will still catch me and make me pay for the old sow."

Grandma Sun came over and said, "Li family nephew, what's wrong? What happened to my dear grandson that bewitched him while he was in the mountains?"

Li Ju'an didn't explain, but continued along with the old lady's words: "Sun Weimin has run into a fox spirit."

The Sun family members gasped in surprise. The Fox Spirit held a high place in the hearts of the Sun family elders; spirits and monsters were generally viewed with dread.

"How did we end up running into the Fox Spirit?"

"Tell me about the youngest son of the Li family in detail."

"Did we really encounter a fox spirit? Isn't this like being possessed by an evil spirit?"

Li Ju'an continued, "I also happened to see that fox spirit. It was a red fox, very beautiful, and quite clever and difficult to fight."

Grandma Sun was hard of hearing and had given up her water pipe. She walked over with her cane, earnestly called out to Sun's mother, and looked Li Ju'an up and down.

She saw that the young hunter was tall and strong, with well-proportioned muscles, a good look for a hunter, and very upright. The old lady nodded in satisfaction, took Li Ju'an's hand with her aged hand, and carefully instructed him: "Good boy, go into the mountains and shoot down that fox spirit for this old woman. Don't ask for money, just ask the Sun family for anything."

Sun Weimin was so frightened he almost jumped up. Good heavens, this was giving Li Ju'an a chance to extort money!

You're being foolish, old lady.

Li Ju'an grinned, revealing his clean, white teeth, and said with a smile, "You're too kind, Grandma."

Sun Weimin breathed a sigh of relief. "Listen to that, isn't that right? You're being modest, saying you don't want anything, and I'll sit up and not pretend anymore."

Li Ju'an continued, "Grandma, I really do have something I want. Every year, Sun Pao goes into the mountains and brings back a large batch of hides. I'd like to buy hides from Sun Pao for 20% less than the market price."

He will have a long-term collaboration with Mrs. Qin Shuang, the owner of the Hong Kong auction house, to sell leather goods.

Sun Quande often went into the mountains to collect hides, and merchants from all over were vying for his goods. If one could secure a supply from Sun Quande, there would be no shortage of supplies for his future cooperation with Qin Shuang.

Grandma Sun nodded seriously and agreed: "I promise you, it's no big deal. What's money compared to my precious grandson? As long as you can defeat the fox spirit and keep my grandson healthy, this little bit of money is nothing. I'll talk to him for you, and I guarantee I'll get it."

Li Ju'an grinned and shouted loudly, "Alright!"

Sun Weimin clenched his fists and jumped out of bed, shouting, "Grandma, don't listen to him! He's lying to me! I'm fine, nothing's wrong!"

Li Ju'an laughed and said, "Isn't he awake now? Don't worry, Grandma, I'll go into the mountains right now to fight the fox spirit, and I guarantee Sun Weimin won't fall into a coma again."

The old lady nodded and said, "Well done, nephew of the Li family. I trust you to handle things."

Sun Weimin was so angry that he almost fainted from catching his breath.

He had just agreed to let Li Ju'an brush the bears every winter when the old lady agreed to let Li Ju'an buy the Sun family's hides for less than 20% of their original price.

So Li Ju'an is profiting from both sides!

"Damn it! You black-hearted white dumpling, you're so cunning."