In his yard, Xu Changlin announced a price for the three dogs at his feet.

The price he quoted stunned Zhao Jun, who almost grabbed Li Baoyu and walked away.

Three hundred!

’Has this old man gone crazy from poverty?’

It wasn’t just Zhao Jun; everyone else stared at each other, speechless for a long moment.

Zhang Yuanmin shot Zhao Jun a look, then said to Xu Changlin, "Master Xu, I just remembered I have some chores at home. I’ll be heading back now."

Xu Changlin froze, and his expression immediately soured.

But Xu Changlin knew this Zhang Yuanmin character was just there to gawk and watch the commotion.

But even just watching, the guy had to pull a stunt. The old man had just named his price, and he was already leaving. To any onlookers, it would look like the price was so outrageously high it was literally driving people away.

Just as Xu Changlin was feeling this was a bad start, Qin Qiang asked, "Master Xu, are you willing to split them up?"

Xu Changlin thought for a moment, looked at Qin Qiang, and said, "Sell them separately? Even if you take one, you’ll still have to get it to work with your own dogs, won’t you? It’d be much better to take the whole pack. Get them home, let them get acquainted with your dog, and you can head straight for the mountains."

"I can’t take that many," Qin Qiang said. "I just want the Qing Gou."

Without a second thought, Xu Changlin refused flatly. "Not happening."

A lead dog is hard to come by.

In the Forest Farm and the mountains, there’s never a shortage of support dogs. No matter how fierce, there are always support dogs to be found.

But a lead dog is truly a rare find.

Previously, Zhao Jun had told Li Baoyu that the dogs would be seventy or eighty yuan each, but that was an average price for buying them as a set.

If the three dogs totaled two hundred thirty or forty yuan, the Big-headed Dog alone would be worth one hundred twenty or thirty of that. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Zhao Jun knew this Cyan Wolf was no ordinary dog. It could track, corner, and fight.

With a dog like that, you could just grab a few other decent support dogs and have yourself a proper Dog Gang.

And Xu Changlin? He was using his Cyan Wolf as a package deal to offload the other two support dogs, and at a ridiculously inflated price.

If he sold the Cyan Wolf separately, who would buy the other two support dogs?

Hearing Xu Changlin refuse to sell them separately, Qin Qiang’s expression didn’t change. He just smiled and asked, "Well, Master Xu, if you’re not splitting them up, can you give a better price for the whole pack?"

In truth, Qin Qiang had come for the whole pack from the start. His family used to have four hunting dogs, but they failed to take down a Black Bear. The bear had killed three of them, leaving him with only a small dog named Xiaoqing.

So, he wanted to buy all three of Xu Changlin’s dogs and take them home.

But Xu Changlin’s price was too high. Qin Qiang felt it wouldn’t be right to start haggling immediately, so he first asked about buying the lead dog separately. Only after the old man refused to split them up did he begin to negotiate the price for the whole pack.

But what kind of man was Xu Changlin? He’d been a hunter for half his life; he knew all the tricks of the trade like the back of his hand.

Moreover, he had a rough idea of the dog situation for every young hunter in the surrounding villages.

He knew Qin Qiang was down to his last little mutt—a dog with a poor nose, born small and weak. Even if it went to great lengths to find a boar, the little thing couldn’t hold it.

So, he knew in his heart that Qin Qiang had to be here for the whole pack.

The New Year was approaching, and spring would come right after.

The Black Bears would be coming out of their dens soon.

Black Bears in early spring were the easiest to hunt.

They had been holed up in their dens all winter, and the layers of fat they’d built up the previous fall were long gone.

They were so skinny they hardly looked like bears at all.

The crucial thing was, their Bear’s Paws were also thin. When they walked through the mountain forests, the stones and gravel would prick their feet. On top of that, their stomachs were empty.

If you hunted them with dogs at this time, as long as the dogs knew their job, you could flush out a few dens, and the Black Bear was guaranteed to climb a tree.

Once a Black Bear was up a tree, it was just a target. The Cannon Shooter could come over, take a steady aim, and the Bear Gall would be theirs.

And how much was a single Bear Gall worth? Enough to buy two packs of dogs with plenty of change left over.

Therefore, Xu Changlin wasn’t worried that no one would want his Cyan Wolf. As long as someone wanted the lead dog, they would have to take the other two support dogs with it.

Even if the price was a little steep.

So, when Xu Changlin heard Qin Qiang try to bargain, he shot back without hesitation, "Friend, not a penny less. That’s the price."

Qin Qiang was left speechless. Xu Changlin’s three dogs were good, but he wasn’t a fool ready to be fleeced.

Qin Qiang gave Xu Changlin a look, shook his head, and said, "In that case, Master Xu, I’ll be on my way."

With that, Qin Qiang turned and walked away.

Just then, Xu Changlin sensed something was wrong. ’It seems I miscalculated,’ he thought, ’thinking I could treat these young men like fools.’

Zhang Yuanmin was gone, and now Qin Qiang was gone. All that remained in the yard were Zhao Jun, Li Baoyu, Wang Dalong, and the young man with the handlebar mustache.

Looking at the four of them, Xu Changlin felt an uncomfortable sense of being caught in a bind.

’If I stick to three hundred, I’ll probably drive them away too.’

’But if I lower the price now... I was so firm with Qin Qiang just moments ago. Dropping the price right after he leaves? That’s just asking to make an enemy.’

"Young man!" Xu Changlin’s gaze fell on Zhao Jun. Zhao Jun had been making a name for himself lately, having taken down several Black Bears this winter, and word was he’d even bagged a Lynx. With his earnings, buying these three dogs would be no problem at all.

So, Xu Changlin asked Zhao Jun, "What do you think of my dogs?"

"They’re really good!" Zhao Jun looked at the lead dog, the Cyan Wolf, and smiled. "Master Xu, your Dog Gang is famous throughout our Forest Farm. What more needs to be said?"

But right as the old man’s eyes filled with anticipation, Zhao Jun changed his tune. "But I already have four dogs at home. I can’t afford to feed three more."

Then, Zhao Jun pointed to the Cyan Wolf and asked Xu Changlin, "Master Xu, one hundred and fifty for the Cyan Wolf. Will you sell it to us?"

"I’m not splitting them up!" Xu Changlin refused again. He had already said he wouldn’t split them, so he couldn’t go back on his word.

’Besides,’ he thought, ’selling the Cyan Wolf for one-fifty is a good profit. But those other two dogs... it’d be a struggle to sell them together for even one hundred yuan.’

’If I did that, wouldn’t I be losing fifty yuan?’

After being rejected by Xu Changlin, Zhao Jun simply smiled, took two steps back to Li Baoyu’s side, and shook his head.

’The old man’s too greedy. We can’t buy his dogs.’

Li Baoyu instantly understood what Zhao Jun meant. He always followed Zhao Jun’s lead. If Zhao Jun had said three hundred yuan was acceptable, Baoyu would have settled it with Xu Changlin on the spot and then gone home to get the money from Jin Xiaomei.

But since Zhao Jun said not to buy, Li Baoyu wouldn’t buy.

"WOOF! WOOF..."

Suddenly, a couple of barks echoed from the backyard. At the sound, the three hunting dogs lying at Xu Changlin’s feet all rose.

"Down!" Xu Changlin barked, and the three hunting dogs lay back down.

"Master Xu, you have other dogs?" Zhao Jun asked, somewhat curious.

Xu Changlin seemed a bit impatient and just said, "They’re from the litter of that spotted bitch. Six-month-old pups, never been in the mountains."

With that said, Xu Changlin turned his attention to Wang Dalong.

Meanwhile, Zhao Jun casually ambled toward Xu Changlin’s backyard, with Li Baoyu right behind him.

A narrow dirt path ran alongside Xu Changlin’s house, leading to the yard out back.

Before Zhao Jun even reached the backyard, he heard the barking grow fiercer.

Zhao Jun didn’t step out from behind the house, but simply peeked around the corner. He saw a small, spotted dog, barking and snapping in his direction.

Zhao Jun told Li Baoyu to wait where he was, then entered the backyard himself and circled the little spotted dog.

The little spotted dog was on a chain. It lunged at Zhao Jun, straining against its leash, but was kept within a limited range.

After circling the dog halfway, Zhao Jun walked back and gave Li Baoyu a nod.

The two of them returned to the front yard, where they saw Xu Changlin discussing something with Wang Dalong.

Zhao Jun waited off to the side for a bit. When the two of them reached a stalemate and fell silent, he finally asked Xu Changlin, "Master Xu, is that dog out back for sale?"

Xu Changlin glanced at Zhao Jun, his eyes darting for a moment before he said, "Fifteen."

Zhao Jun reached out, patted Li Baoyu on the arm, and said, "Baoyu, pay the man."