Chapter 034 – A Thorough Check
Three days later...
By dusk, a tall, lanky teenager pushed a cart to a stop in front of the Ginger Tavern in Silver Creek. On the cart rested a large wild boar. Wiping sweat from his brow, the youth glanced at Li Yuan and said reverently, “Li Yuan, we’re here.”
Li Yuan nodded, hoisted the wild boar onto his shoulder with impressive ease, and walked straight into the tavern through its back entrance. The day before, he had already arranged things with a contact there, a connection originally introduced by Uncle Wang.
Watching Li Yuan’s display of strength, Tian Bao was filled with awe. Over the past couple of days, he’d seen just how formidable Li Yuan really was. Li Yuan’s archery, in particular, seemed almost supernatural.
Before long, a middle-aged man with a slight paunch, clearly a manager, came to see Li Yuan out. In this chaotic time, a dependable stream of fresh meat was worth its weight in silver. This manager had learned Li Yuan was no pushover; the man brought in boar he’d hunted that very morning, not covered in too many wounds and perfect for the tavern’s needs.
“Bring your next catch here,” the manager said with a smile. “If it's fresh, you’ll get a fair price.”
Li Yuan returned the smile. “Of course. We’ve been doing business for a while now; I’ll always make sure it’s fresh.”
Then he beckoned Tian Bao over. “Kid, come say hello.”
Tian Bao hurried forward. “Hello, Uncle Wu.”
Manager Wu nodded. “Follow Li Yuan’s example. Before, he brought in deer, hares, pheasants. Today he’s already moved on to wild boar! Young hunters like him are impressive.”
Tian Bao beamed with admiration. “Yeah! My boss is the strongest man in the village!”
“Don’t listen to him exaggerate. I’m just a regular hunter." Li Yuan just laughed. "This kid is from my village. If I ever can’t make a delivery myself, I’ll have him handle things.”