After transmigrating into the body of a widow, I became the richest man in the capital.

Chapter 42 Zhang the Bald Collects Animal Hides
"My surname is Zhang, and everyone calls me Baldy Zhang. I've been collecting furs in town for a while now, and I used to hunt in the mountains quite often. To be honest, I've never met a hunter as skilled as you, especially since you're a woman. How should I put it? Uncle, don't let my fierce appearance fool you; I value talent. When I asked if you were the young widow from the Liu family, I didn't mean anything by it, and I didn't mean to bully a young widow!"

Su Xiaoxiao quickly said, "No, Uncle Zhang."

Actually, this uncle looks like a pretty good person, very loyal.

He said that the villagers in Baihua Village who bullied Su Xiaoxiao were simply too immoral. Such people should be respected, so why bully them?
Su Xiaoxiao also expressed her agreement.

And so we arrived at Zhang the Bald's shop. The shop looked quite large, and there were three employees. They came out and offered to help carry the tiger into the shop, but the two of them couldn't even lift a single tiger skin.

Su Xiaoxiao didn't say anything, but simply picked up a tiger skin and walked inside.

The other men were stunned. Zhang the Bald scolded them, "Look at you all, you eat my food all the time, but when it really matters, you're not even as strong as a weak woman."

The young men all grinned, thinking to themselves that this woman was too formidable; even if the three of them were tied together, they would still be a match for her.

After Su Xiaoxiao carried both tiger skins inside, Zhang the Bald didn't hesitate at all and directly took out sixty taels of silver and handed them to Su Xiaoxiao.

"take it."

Su Xiaoxiao thanked Zhang the Bald, somewhat incredulous, "Is this tiger skin really that valuable?"

Zhang the Bald also explained to Su Xiaoxiao, "Actually, you don't have to peel off the whole tiger skin. Some buyers like to buy the whole tiger as a collectible. In that case, you can get a hundred taels of silver for a tiger."

Upon hearing this, Su Xiaoxiao thought, "Doubled? Then wouldn't she be losing out by going through all that trouble to peel it and resell it?"
Having received the silver, Su Xiaoxiao began to wander around the market.

Holding so much silver in her hands, Su Xiaoxiao felt it was quite dangerous; if she took it back to the village, it would definitely attract unwanted attention.

I suppose the villagers will soon find out that I sold two tiger skins in town.

Su Xiaoxiao realized that she should deposit the money into the town's bank as soon as possible.

Since she wanted to settle down in this town, Su Xiaoxiao decided to come and investigate the town thoroughly first, so that she would have a clear understanding of the situation.

After leaving the market, Su Xiaoxiao headed east towards the town, where some wealthy people were said to live.

The further you go, the quieter it gets, and you can see many beautifully built houses.

The road was very clean, without even a blade of grass in sight. Moreover, those who usually passed by Su Xiaoxiao were all tall, imposing horses, making Su Xiaoxiao's oxcart seem rather insignificant in comparison.

When Su Xiaoxiao saw those beautifully built houses, she thought how wonderful it would be if she could live in one of them.

Each mansion was surrounded by high walls, with guards standing watch at the entrance. "That's much safer," Su Xiaoxiao thought. "If I lived in a mansion like this, would those scoundrels like Granny Liu still be able to climb in and steal anything?"
With a wall this high, they'd probably break their legs trying to climb over it.

Su Xiaoxiao walked for a while longer and felt a little tired, so she decided to find a place to rest and take a break.

There happened to be a noodle stall on the street, so Su Xiaoxiao decided to rest there for a while.

"Boss, give me a bowl of pork crackling noodles."

When Su Xiaoxiao sat down to eat her noodles, she asked the owner for information.

"Boss, do you live around here?"

Upon hearing this, the noodle stall owner quickly waved his hand and said, "How could that be? Even if I sold noodles for several lifetimes, I still couldn't afford a house here!" Since the owner said he couldn't afford a house even after several lifetimes of business, Su Xiaoxiao asked, "How much does a house cost?"

The shopkeeper pointed to a house in the distance and said, "See that? Even the smallest house there costs three hundred taels of silver. And it's located on the very edge. If you want a house in a better location, a larger one, it will cost over a thousand taels of silver."

Su Xiaoxiao was speechless. She really didn't expect that housing prices in the pre-Tang Dynasty were already so high.

Besides, this is still in a town. If we went to the capital, wouldn't the housing prices be even more out of reach?

After finishing her noodles, Su Xiaoxiao quickly paid and left.

The noodle stall owner didn't pay much attention to Su Xiaoxiao's question. Besides, everyone has the right to dream, right? Faced with such grand mansions, who wouldn't be tempted and want to live in one themselves?
Su Xiaoxiao was dressed in ordinary peasant clothes and was driving an inconspicuous oxcart. Just as the noodle stall owner thought, she certainly didn't seem like someone who could afford to buy a house here.

Su Xiaoxiao was somewhat disappointed when she heard the price.

The thought of living in such a big house makes me wonder how long I'll have to work hard.

This world is truly a place where comparing yourself to others is infuriating.

Su Xiaoxiao found a bank, deposited all the money, bought some rice and pastries, and then returned to the village.

On the way back, Su Xiaoxiao thought about many things.

It seems that buying a house like that will be a bit difficult for me.

Su Xiaoxiao was somewhat disappointed. On her way back to the village in the oxcart, she heard the villagers talking behind her back, saying that Su Xiaoxiao had made a lot of money this time. Those people were just a little envious.

They were all jealous of Su Xiaoxiao's ability to make money, simply because Su Xiaoxiao was a young widow whom they all looked down upon.

Su Xiaoxiao didn't care about anything else. She returned home and had just entered the yard when she saw Da Bao and Xiao Bao crowding around her.

She thought the two children had rushed up to her because they saw she had bought a lot of delicious pastries.

But no, "Mother, you're finally back! Sanlang's in trouble!"

Upon hearing this, Su Xiaoxiao quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

With a sob in his voice, Da Bao said, "On the way back, we ran into my uncle and grandma. My grandma came over and tried to snatch the old hen we were holding. Aunt Sun gave it to us and told us to take it home and raise it, saying it might have laid eggs."

“Xiao Bao and I refused, so Grandma reached out to hit us. Then Sanlang came to block it, and my uncle got very angry and pushed Sanlang into the ditch next to us. Sanlang’s leg was so badly injured that he couldn’t move it.”

Upon hearing this, Su Xiaoxiao understood what had happened, and she quickly rushed into the house to check on Sanlang.

Sanlang's right thigh was covered in blood, and Su Xiaoxiao was so anxious that she wanted to reach out and pull up his pants to take a look.

Saburo quickly stopped him.

"No, Miss Su, my injuries are not serious, I'm fine."

Su Xiaoxiao simply couldn't believe what he was saying. What did he mean by "not serious"? His right leg was covered in blood, how could he say it wasn't serious?
(End of this chapter)