Reborn in the Great Northern Wilderness in 1982, I farmed and hunted to support my whole family.

Li Mu carried the deerskin on his back and traveled swiftly, soon arriving in the county town.

The county town was bustling with activity, with people coming and going and a dazzling array of stalls selling all kinds of goods.

Li Mu weaved through the crowd, searching for stalls that bought and sold leather goods.

After walking a short distance, we saw a stall with a sign that read "Buying Leather Goods". The stall owner was a middle-aged man with a full beard, who was busy haggling with customers.

Li Mu walked over and placed the deerskin on the stall: "Boss, take a look at this deerskin, how much is it worth?"

The middle-aged man looked up at Li Mu, then at the deerskin, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "Wow, this is top-quality sika deer hide! Young man, where did you get this deerskin?"

Li Mu chuckled: "To be honest, boss, I found this by chance in the back mountain yesterday. How much is this hide worth?"

The middle-aged man carefully examined the deerskin and, after confirming that there were no flaws, said, "Young man, the deerskin of yours is of excellent quality, and the fur is glossy and shiny. It must be worth at least this much!"

The fingertip waved in the air.

Li Mu was secretly pleased; the price was higher than he had expected. He feigned composure and asked, "Boss, are you saying five thousand?"

The middle-aged man shook his head and said with a smile, "Five thousand? Young man, you're overthinking it. I meant five hundred!"

Upon hearing this, Li Mu was stunned.

He had thought the deerskin would sell for at least five thousand, but the stall owner was only willing to offer five hundred.

"Boss, your price is too low! This is a sika deer hide that I risked my life to get. Can't you give me more?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man laughed: "Young man, although your deerskin is of excellent quality, it's not something you can only find here. What kind of leather goods don't I have at my stall? Five hundred yuan is already a high price for your deerskin."

Upon hearing this, Li Mu became even more furious. He knew the stall owner was deliberately trying to drive down the price, but there was nothing he could do, since he had secretly hunted the deer hide and couldn't make a fuss.

Thinking of this, Li Mu suppressed his anger and began to negotiate with the stall owner: "Boss, as you know, this sika deer hide is very rare. Your price is really too low. Do you think you can add a little more?"

The boss was a shrewd old fox; he saw that the young man was easy to fool.

“Young man, your deerskin is good, but it’s not irreplaceable. I handle countless leather goods at my stall every day. What kind of deerskin haven’t I seen? I’ve seen plenty of young men like you, thinking you can sell your good stuff for a good price. Dream on!”

"Are you still going to sell it or not? If not, take this deerskin somewhere else and see if anyone is willing to pay a higher price!"

Li Mu turned and left, and the boss spat.

"What kind of shoddy goods do you dare to sell here! You're just a newborn calf that doesn't fear a tiger!"

Li Mu was now worried. If he couldn't sell the deerskin for a good price, wouldn't he lose money?

Why not look elsewhere? Maybe we can find a discerning buyer.

Li Mu carried the deerskin on his back and wandered through the streets and alleys of the county town, looking for potential buyers.

He walked past stall after stall, asking about prices, but the answers he received only disappointed him.

Some stall owners either complained that the price of deerskin was too high, or they simply didn't know its value and belittled it to the point of being worthless.

They walked until they reached the end of the county town, where Li Mu saw a rather impressive-looking leather goods store.

He went inside, placed the deerskin on the counter, and said to the shop assistant, "Where is your boss? I have some excellent sika deerskin here that I want to sell to him."

The shopkeeper glanced at the deerskin, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, and quickly led Li Mu into the inner room.

A moment later, a middle-aged man dressed in fine clothes came out, picked up the deerskin, and examined it carefully. His eyes revealed a hint of approval, clearly quite satisfied with the quality of the deerskin.

“Young man, your deerskin is indeed excellent. The fur is glossy and the texture is soft. It’s top-quality.”

Upon hearing this, Li Mu was secretly delighted; it seemed he had finally found a discerning buyer. He feigned composure and asked, "Then, sir, how much do you think this deerskin is worth?"

The middle-aged man smiled slightly and gestured with his finger in the air: "How about this, I'll give you a thousand yuan, how about it?"

Upon hearing this, Li Mu began to calculate in his mind. Although the price still didn't meet his expectations, it was significantly higher than the prices quoted by the other vendors. Moreover, judging from the middle-aged man's demeanor, he seemed to be a person of status and wouldn't lie to him.

Thinking of this, Li Mu nodded: "Okay, one thousand it is, deal!"

"Alright, young man, you're very generous! I'll have someone bring you the money right away."

As he spoke, he instructed the shop assistant to fetch the money. A moment later, the assistant returned with a thick wad of banknotes and handed it to Li Mu.

Li Mu took the money, counted it carefully, and after confirming that it was correct, handed the deerskin to the middle-aged man.

He thanked the middle-aged man, turned and left the fur shop, first going to a department store to buy a bag of salt and some seasonings. Remembering he still had venison to marinate at home, he hurried back.

As soon as Li Mu stepped into his house, he saw Jiang Xuefen busy in the yard, preparing to marinate venison.

"Mom, I'm back, and I've got the money." Li Mu waved the banknotes in his hand, his face beaming with joy.

Jiang Xuefen looked up and saw the money in her son's hand. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes: "It sold so quickly? How much did you sell it for?"

"Mother, guess?"

Jiang Xuefen rolled her eyes at him: "Hurry up and tell me, stop keeping me in suspense."

Li Mu then said, "One thousand yuan! That shopkeeper knows his stuff; he recognized the quality of this deerskin at a glance."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuefen was overjoyed: "So many? Mu Zi, you're really something!"

Li Mu handed the money to Jiang Xuefen and said, "Mother, I also bought some salt and seasonings. Let's quickly marinate the venison, or it will spoil."

Jiang Xuefen responded, and her elder brother Li Qianjin returned from outside.

"Brother, I have something to tell you."

He briefly recounted how Li Mu had sold the deer hides and used the money to buy salt and seasonings, and Li Qianjin was overjoyed to hear it.

"Mu Zi, you're getting more and more capable these days. A thousand yuan for this deerskin is quite a lot!"

"Here's the money, brother."

Li Qianjin was stunned; he hadn't expected his younger brother to give him the money.

"Muzi, what are you doing? This money is hard-earned, I can't take it."

Li Mu insisted on putting the money into his elder brother's hand: "Brother, you know our family's situation right now. Dad is getting old and can't do heavy work, and Mom is taking care of the family all by herself, which is quite hard for her. You and your sister-in-law just got married, and you need to build a new house in the spring, which will cost money everywhere. As your younger brother, I can't just watch you suffer, can I? Take this money and buy some things for your sister-in-law. It's just a small token of my appreciation."