When Zhang Laibao arrived at Zhang Yuanmin’s house, carrying what he considered a "huge sum of money," he found the family of three sitting on the kang, playing cat’s cradle.

Little Lingdang made a horse’s trough, and Yang Yufeng followed up by turning it into a pot of cooking noodles.

Seeing Zhang Laibao enter, Zhang Yuanmin, who was just about to take his turn, gave Yang Yufeng a look. Then he said to Zhang Laibao, "You’re here, Zhang Baozi."

"Hey, Brother Zhang, I’m here," Zhang Laibao replied with a smile.

Yang Yufeng glanced at Zhang Yuanmin in surprise. ’What did my husband say to Zhang Laibao,’ she wondered, ’to make him call him Brother Zhang?’

Zhang Yuanmin saw his wife’s look and gave a self-satisfied smile. He said to Zhang Laibao, "Come on, get up on the kang and warm yourself up."

"Brother Zhang, there’s no need," Zhang Laibao said. "I just left my house. I’m not cold yet."

"Ah." Zhang Yuanmin only grunted in acknowledgment and then watched Zhang Laibao without saying another word.

With a smile, Zhang Laibao said to Zhang Yuanmin, "Brother Zhang, could you put on your jacket and come outside for a minute? I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure," Zhang Yuanmin agreed. He put on his padded winter jacket and followed Zhang Laibao out of the house.

"Brother Zhang, I have to trouble you today." As soon as they were outside, Zhang Laibao spoke politely to Zhang Yuanmin. "Could you come with me to Zhao Jun’s house and help me ask him how much he’d sell those two Black Bear cubs for?"

"Alright, let’s go." Zhang Yuanmin smiled and gestured toward the courtyard gate, and the two of them started walking toward Zhao Jun’s house.

When they were about forty or fifty meters from Zhao Jun’s house, Zhang Yuanmin pulled Zhang Laibao to the base of a nearby wall. "You wait here," he said. "I’ll go in first and ask for you."

"Okay, Brother Zhang. You go on."

As Zhang Yuanmin entered the main gate of Zhao Jun’s house, he happened upon Wang Meilan, who was peeling cabbage leaves to feed her goat.

He watched as Wang Meilan chopped up the peeled cabbage leaves, mixed them with a handful of cornmeal and a handful of soybean cake, then put it all in a worn-out trough for the nanny goat.

While chopping the cabbage at the entrance to the storeroom, Wang Meilan muttered to herself, "They eat way too much, way too much."

’Time for me to make my move,’ the thought flashed through Zhang Yuanmin’s mind. He walked up to Wang Meilan and greeted her, "Auntie."

"Oh, Yuanmin, you’re here! Quick, come inside." Seeing it was Zhang Yuanmin, Wang Meilan quickly put down her work and ushered him into the house.

At that moment, Zhao Jun was dozing on the kang. He had been working nonstop in the mountains for nine days, and now that he finally had a day off, he felt completely lethargic and just wanted to lie down.

"Brother, brother." Zhang Yuanmin came into the room and called out softly as he approached Zhao Jun.

Zhao Jun was still groggy. As his senses cleared and he saw it was Zhang Yuanmin, he asked casually, "Brother, what brings you here?"

"Brother, I’ve got good news for you."

"What is it?"

Zhang Yuanmin sat down on the edge of the kang and said to Zhao Jun with a smile, "I sold those two Black Bear cubs of yours for you."

"What?"

"What?"

Two gasps of surprise. One came from Zhao Jun, the other from Wang Meilan, who had just walked in with a cup of water.

The mother and son stared at Zhang Yuanmin, stunned. Wang Meilan was holding a mug of tea but was too preoccupied to hand it to him. She just asked, "Yuanmin, who would you sell such tiny things to? Who would want them?"

"Haha..." Zhang Yuanmin laughed heartily. He unceremoniously reached out, took the mug from Wang Meilan’s hand, and said, "Auntie, you and my brother here should take a guess. If you can figure out who I found to take them, I’ll even give you a little something."

The mother and son looked at each other, truly unable to guess. Zhao Jun then asked him, "Brother, you’re not pulling my leg, are you?"

It was no wonder Zhao Jun and Wang Meilan were skeptical. The Little Black Bear cubs were too small to have their bile harvested, and they couldn’t be sent to a zoo. Who could they possibly be sold to? And what would anyone do with them after buying them?

Hearing Zhao Jun accuse him of joking, Zhang Yuanmin’s expression changed, and he put on a serious face. "Brother, I’m your elder! How could I joke with you about this? Besides, Auntie is right here. I wouldn’t tell a lie in front of her, would I?"

"Mm, mm." Zhao Jun nodded repeatedly at his words. "You’re right, Brother. I was half-asleep and didn’t think straight. Go on, tell me who you sold them to."

Seeing Zhao Jun’s response, Zhang Yuanmin continued, "You’re my brother. Anything you say, I take seriously. This morning, you mentioned those two Black Bear cubs eat a lot, so when I got back, I immediately found a buyer for them."

"Ahem." Zhao Jun cleared his throat and asked again, "Brother, just tell me, who did you sell them to?"

Zhang Yuanmin chuckled. "Zhang Laibao."

"What?"

"What?"

Another two gasps of disbelief. Zhao Jun and his mother were completely floored.

Seeing the mother and son’s astonishment, Zhang Yuanmin felt immensely proud of himself and proceeded to lay out his brilliant scheme from beginning to end.

As they listened to his explanation, Wang Meilan’s eyes grew wide with amazement.

Zhao Jun, listening beside her, first nodded, then gave Zhang Yuanmin a thumbs-up. "Brother, you’re a true genius."

"But of course." Zhang Yuanmin took off his hat with his right hand and ran his left hand from his forehead all the way to the back of his head.

Just then, Wang Meilan snapped out of her daze and asked Zhang Yuanmin, "Yuanmin, how much do you think we can get for those two little critters?"

To be honest, Wang Meilan was truly fed up with raising the two Black Bear cubs. They ate far too much! A single bear cub ate more than Cyan Dragon, Black Dragon, and the little lamb combined.

The pair of Black Bear cubs would cling to the nanny goat, suckling until she bleated nonstop every day.

But then Wang Meilan suddenly had another idea. Before Zhang Yuanmin could answer, she hurried over to Zhao Jun’s side and said, "Son, your Brother Zhang’s idea is actually pretty good. But what if we keep these two Black Bear cubs instead? For now, we can steam some potatoes, mash them into a paste, and feed them that. We’ll get them through to spring, and then we can build a pen for them up on the mountain and raise them there."