Chapter 18 - 18 Chapter 17: Drawing a Tiger but Ending Up with a Cat, The Bully Returns_1 (2/2)

The bear’s head was strapped to his waist with a belt, dangling at his side.

Quite heavy, at least twenty pounds.

Once he got home and skinned it, there would be many meals to come.

The bear’s head was full of bones, and making soup out of it would surely have strengthening effects on the sinews and bones.

He was clever, choosing to bring the bear carcass to a forest closer to the village. It not only reduced the chances of other wild animals finding a steal but also saved time going back and forth.

Because few fierce animals moved around on the outermost ridges of the mountain.

Since he planned to dismember the black bear, he would have to return home many times.

He picked a forest close to home to hide the bear carcass, then returned home with the bear’s head.

Having considered all aspects, such capability was truly frightening.

He brought the bear’s head home to fetch a knife and a basket, making his way under the starlit sky while the entire village was still silent.

The people were immersed in their dreams.

But Qin Niu was still extremely cautious, wrapping the bear’s head in his clothes. He knew that it was better to be safe than sorry.

If someone woke up for a midnight bathroom break or heard noises and glanced outside, his action of bringing the bear carcass home would be exposed at once.

…

Busy until dawn, he finally managed to dispose of all the bear carcass and carry it home in the basket.

The whole process went relatively smoothly.

However, his frequent trips into the mountains with the basket on his back in the middle of the night had surely caught people’s attention.

So he came up with a clever ploy to deceive them all.

He would first make detours into his own poor-quality field.

He brought the bear carcass home and hid it under the pile of firewood in the backyard. To cover up the smell of blood, he made some initial salt-curing treatments.

Luckily, drinking bear blood had given him tremendous strength, as if he had endless energy.

After hiding the bear carcass at home, he washed the blood off his body and cleaned up any traces.

By now, outside it was fully light.

Despite being very tired, he still went out with the basket on his back.

He checked the field and then went into the mountains again.

When he came out again, he was carrying a basket of humus.

“Ah Niu, I saw you busy all night yesterday, what were you doing in the mountains?”

A village woman peered into his basket.

Qin Niu said nothing, simply lowering his head and continuing into the cornfield with the basket on his back.

After three trips, many of the villagers had seen, whether intentionally or unintentionally, that he was carrying humus from the mountains.

Wang Furen came over, hands clasped behind his back.

“Ah Niu, how have you considered the matter I mentioned last time about buying the fertilizer recipe?”

He glanced at the humus piled up in the field like a small mound.

It was what Qin Niu had carried back basket by basket.

“Not selling!” Qin Niu replied tersely.

Wang Furen had ‘copied’ Qin Niu’s homemade fertilizer recipe last time, hiring people to carry humus from the mountain and then make his own fertilizer.