RMCF: Chapter 11

 

Chapter 11

That night, after Zhang Fangyuan finished his meal, though dinner was early, with deep winter approaching, the days grew short and the nights long, and it got dark increasingly early.

He had just stepped out of his uncle's house when he heard a rustling sound, like falling sleet. Small pellets of snow bounced off his shoulders onto the ground. He couldn't help but shrug his shoulders slightly. Glancing sideways, he caught a glimpse of a warm, yellow light emanating from the Xu family's window in the distance, and suddenly felt warmth in his heart.

Within a couple of days, the villagers noticed that Zhang Fangyuan had become elusive again. His courtyard gate was often tightly shut, and no one knew where he had gone off to.

The villagers said he was probably too ashamed to show his face in the village after the failed marriage proposal. Others said he had been stimulated and had gone back to fooling around in the city. In short, opinions varied, and no one knew what the butcher was actually up to.

Anyway, he wasn't that important. His main use was slaughtering livestock. But after the incident with the Guang family, who would want anything to do with him? People would rather hire a butcher from elsewhere than associate with him.

Little did they know, Zhang Fangyuan, shouldering his set of pig-butchering tools, had long since taken to the paths between the fields of neighbouring villages..

He used a meat-cleaving knife and a sharpening steel rod, striking them together. The iron blades produced a cold, sharp sound that carried far on the wind.

This was the unique signal of a butcher. Once village households heard it, they knew that the butcher has arrived to slaughter livestock.

He toiled without complaint, going village by village, following the direction of the main road.

When his own village declined his services, he sought work in other villages. It was already deep winter, and many families were slaughtering livestock to sell or for the New Year feast. Many butchers in the countryside were overwhelmed with work. Zhang Fangyuan went to fill the gaps, and indeed, some people, hearing the sound, called him over to slaughter their animals.

“I go village to village slaughtering livestock. Let's be clear upfront: I don't take meat as payment, only cash.”

“How much per animal?”

“Market price.”

Slaughtering a pig cost between twenty-five and forty wen, depending entirely on the household's generosity. Zhang Fangyuan offered discounts for multiple animals and would also slaughter livestock like sheep.

Zhang Fangyuan was straightforward. The villagers saw his tools were complete and he had a sturdy build, so they assumed he was skilled. Besides, paying cash wasn't a big deal; whether you gave meat or a set of internal organs, it all amounts to money anyway. There wasn't really a notion of loss. So, they called him back, quickly gathered brothers or neighbors, and prepared to slaughter the pig.

People from other villages didn't recognize Zhang Fangyuan, and few knew of his reputation in his own. But seeing him deftly slaughter the pig, scrape the hair, and divide the meat—the whole process smooth and efficient—and him not saying a word when the host paid the minimum market price of twenty-five wen, everyone found him very agreeable. He wasn't like some butchers who were fussy, wanting to eat a meal, take meat, and still get paid; or those who, even without taking payment, tried to demand more meat. There weren't many people in the butcher trade, and villagers sometimes had to rely on them, silently accepting the disadvantage.

Immediately after slaughtering the livestock for this household, he was invited to the next one. Zhang Fangyuan was both skilled and strong, and didn't mind slaughtering ten or more animals in a single day, ready to go wherever he was called.

The village households were delighted. Everyone arranged their slaughtering on one or two specific days with the same helpers, each household contributing a little something. This was much more economical than slaughtering on separate days for each family. It was lively for the host and also saved on meat consumption. Why wouldn't they be happy?

For a time, this actually made business quite slow for the local butchers in those villages, but they simply couldn't match Zhang Fangyuan's efficiency.

Zhang Fangyuan had been traveling outside for quite some time, doing his work in silence, carefully noting which village raised more livestock and which household had more.

Whenever he happened to be at a household around mealtime, he would eat the offered ‘pork feast soup’. Eating well and earning money, he found these days much happier than listening to idle gossip back in his own village.

Over half a month of travelling through many villages and slaughtering pigs made the money in his pocket grow steadily. After settling accounts, he found he had earned over a thousand wen. The copper coins were heavy, so he stopped working and went to a money shop in town to convert them into silver.

A large bundle of copper coins exchanged for a small piece of silver, much lighter to carry in his pocket. The feeling of earning money was so reassuring that he didn't even want to go home.

He had finally figured it out—his original reason for being reborn was to avoid repeating the outcome of dying alone and destitute, so he had rushed headlong into arranging a marriage. In his haste, he hadn't realized that without establishing a livelihood first, settling down could proved difficult. Getting hit hard by this had finally made him more clearer-headed.

Instead of enduring idle gossip in the village and failing to find a match, it was better to focus his energy on earning money.

Leaving the money exchange shop, he headed straight for the livestock market to pick out an animal for a cart.

“Choose whichever animal you want! Young and tender, strong and old, we have them all.”

The livestock market had several long rows of covered sheds, divided into individual stalls. Oxen and horses were kept separately, and the pens had gaps, making it easy for people to inspect them.

Entering the market, one was hit by the strong smell of animals mixed with dung and urine—a very unpleasant odor. But there were quite a few people inside still, many coming to look at the animals.

Oxen and horses were extremely important tools for farming and transportation. In a village, only upper-tier families could afford them, having the spare money to buy such animals. Of course, those who made a living specifically from driving carts to carry passengers were a different matter.

Zhang Fangyuan was also hesitant. Should he choose an ox or a horse? His plan was to harness a flatbed cart, not for transporting people, but specifically for hauling goods.

Unable to decide, he considered to call a livestock dealer over for advice. But these lazy fellows, lounging with their legs crossed under the warm sheds, showed no inclination to attend to customers.

Zhang Fangyuan raised his voice and called out twice.

“New face, seems like it's his first time here.”

“I hate this kind the most. You exhaust yourself explaining, and they still won't buy. Whoever's free can go keep him company and look.”

A few old hands shifted responsibility, unwilling to move. Selling oxen and horses wasn't like selling meat. A person could still scrounge up enough to buy a little pork; but animals costing several thousand wen? If everyone who came could afford them, then the carriage and horse business would be easy.

The vast majority of people who came here only looked and didn't buy. Being able to close a deal after several visits was a skill in itself. Just for rentals, many people had to come three or five times before putting down a deposit.

For first-timers, the old hands couldn't be bothered to waste their breath.

“Then I’ll go take a look and accompany him?”

The others looked at the volunteer and laughed. “Sure, Yuan Quan, you haven't been here long. Accompanying customers more will help you understand our carriage and horse business better.”

After a good while, Zhang Fangyuan finally saw a young-looking livestock dealer running over. He was a bit dissatisfied but didn't say much.

“What are the prices for oxen and horses here?”

“Brother, we have many grades here, so the price isn't fixed. For oxen, it's roughly between eight thousand to twenty thousand wen. For horses, the price is even higher, starting from ten thousand wen and going up without a set limit.”

Zhang Fangyuan knew that the value of prized horse breeds was staggering, but he wasn't some high official or noble; he had no need for that kind of horse.

The dealer asked politely, “May I ask what you need the animal for, brother? If it's mostly for farming, you might consider an ox. They can plow the fields, pull a cart to transport goods, and can be lent to neighbors, either for a fee or in exchange for fodder. If you travel a lot for business, a horse is better. Firstly, they're faster, unlike the oxen which plod along. Secondly, they're smaller. When you're out doing business, horses produce less waste than oxen, making them easier to manage.”

Zhang Fangyuan felt the dealer was being quite practical and started to form an idea. “What's the price for a strong horse?”

“For a sturdy horse, the lowest would be around twelve thousand wen. But the horses at our stable are of good quality; even the lowest grade is very durable.”

Zhang Fangyuan calculated. This animal actually cost several times more than a bride price! He really couldn't afford it.

He said bluntly, “Too expensive.”

This was the inner thought of many, though usually not spoken aloud. People typically beat around the bush to express this meaning. Yuan Quan felt this deal was hopeless, but then he heard the man say, “Is there anything I can get for around eight thousand wen?”

“At around eight thousand, they'd mostly be young horses. Their load-bearing capacity isn't strong yet; they need to be raised.”

Zhang Fangyuan couldn't help but sigh. If that was the case, he'd have to save up more money and come back another time.

The dealer suddenly remembered something and quickly said, “If you're sincerely interested in buying, brother, how about taking a look at this one? It's an adult, strong horse, but it had an injured leg when we acquired it. You can't use it right after buying; it needs to recuperate for a while. You can have it for eight thousand wen.”

Zhang Fangyuan followed the dealer to a stable in the corner. It was a black horse, and its appearance looked good—tall and robust, clearly capable of pulling loads. The only flaw was indeed its wounded left hind leg.

“If it were sound, it could sell for over ten thousand wen. It's only because of the injury that it's being sold cheap.”

“How’s the bone? Can it recover fully?”

The dealer replied, “With proper rest and care, naturally it can. If it doesn't get better, it's pretty much useless. Our stable wouldn't have taken it in otherwise.”

Zhang Fangyuan leaned closer to examine the horse's injured leg and  ran his hands over it.

“Big brother, rest assured. If there's really a problem with the bones or tendons, you can come back, and I'll refund your money.”

Zhang Fangyuan replied, “Seven thousand five hundred wen. If that works, I'll pay today and take it.”

“Aiya, this…” Yuan Quan hadn't sold any livestock since arriving here. He never expected that the hot potato the old hands kicked over could actually turn into a deal. But this haggled price… if he agreed, he wouldn't make any profit at all. “Big brother, at seven thousand five, this little one would actually be losing money.”

Zhang Fangyuan wasn't in a hurry. If it worked out, he'd take the horse back, let it recuperate, and use it after the New Year. If not, he'd go back and save up more money. Either way, it would be some time before he could start his small business.

Yuan Quan, noticing the customer had no urgency to commit, softened his tone, “I can see you're an honest man, big brother. Seven thousand eight, and you can take the horse. I'm not making any profit on this deal at all. It's just that I'm new to this livestock business. If I don't sell something, the owner won't keep me on.”

Zhang Fangyuan thought for a moment. “Deal.”

He couldn't help rubbing his hands together and patting the horse's back.

Frugal living starts with haggling.

After following the dealer to settle the payment and completing the handover, the horse was his.

The dealers at the livestock market watched the man and horse leave, then turned to Yuan Quan. “You've got some luck! Sold it just like that?”

Yuan Quan didn't say much. “Didn't make any money.”

“Tsk, even without profit, closing a deal looks good. If I'd known that guy was serious about buying, I would've taken it myself.”

With the New Year approaching, having been away for so long, Zhang Fangyuan had no intention of visiting more villages. Instead, he led the horse back to Jijiu Village. This time, not only had he spent all the money earned from slaughtering livestock, but had also dipped into his wife's dowry. The silver bracelet had also been pawned, though he knew the pawnshop owner. He had given the man some money to hold onto it for him, promising to redeem it as soon as he’s back on his feet.”

That silver bracelet wasn't some rare treasure. The pawnshop had plenty of silver ornaments and wasn't in a hurry to sell his item, so the owner agreed.

By the time he returned to the village, it was already quite late. Upon reaching the valley, he saw from afar there was someone still hoeing the ground—a very familiar figure.

Zhang Fangyuan's steps lightened. He was just about to lead the horse over to greet them when a young man beat him to it, calling out eagerly, “He Ger.”

***

Author's Note:

Zhang Fangyuan: Success for a man begins with owning a cart.

 

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