RMCF: Chapter 16

 

Chapter 16

After the New Year, Zhang Fangyuan hired a veterinarian and bought some herbal remedies. The black horse, eating well and sleeping well, recovered very quickly. In just over a month, it was swishing its tail full of spirit.

After confirming the horse's leg had no major issues to be found, Zhang Fangyuan harnessed it to the flatbed cart. While every household was still joyfully celebrating the New Year, wearing new clothes and visiting relatives and friends with gifts, he went to a neighboring village and bought a whole pig.

He was preparing to start his business earlier than anyone else!

Pork, as a commonly priced and fairly reasonable meat in today's market, had many considerations and rules in its buying and selling business.

Pig transactions were generally divided into three types: live pigs,  slaughtered pigs, and headless pigs. Live pigs meant the whole pig, still alive; slaughtered pigs meant a pig already butchered, including the internal organs,  and had been weighed; headless pigs meant pigs that had been simply processed, with internal organs and head removed, leaving only the bones and meat, ready for the market.

The prices for live pigs, slaughtered pigs, and headless pigs differed greatly, increasing in that order. Live pigs were the cheapest, while processed pigs the most expensive. Usually, village households and butchers tacitly chose to slaughtered pigs. Because live pigs were unruly and hard to weight, it was better to slaughter them first. Moreover, the butcher slaughtered the pig at the owner's house, and the owner could keep a large basin of pig's blood.

As for headless pigs, butchers wouldn't buy them. The purchase price was too high, leaving little profit for the butcher. Unless the village household wanted to sell the meat themselves, they would process it that way.

Zhang Fangyuan planned to focus on the butcher's business from now on, not just slaughtering pigs for others for a fee. That didn't earn much. He needed to buy and sell himself to make real money.

Currently, in the meat market, pork ranged from twelve to thirty wen per jin. The price for slaughtered pigs fell five to ten wen below this range. The specific price depended on the butcher's assessment of the pig's quality and size, and both parties haggling to settle on a price.

Zhang Fangyuan had already considered selling pork when he was travelling the villages. Going around was also to understand the market and scout locations. When he came to this household in the neighboring village to slaughter a pig, he had negotiated beforehand, so the price wasn't haggled over for long.

This family's pig weighed over two hundred jin, placing it in the plump and sturdy category favored by common people. Basically, the lowest price for a slaughtered pig started at ten wen. The final price depended on the battle of words between the two parties.

This household was quite honest and straightforward. The final settled price was twelve wen, already reaching the market price for pork. However, the pig was fat, so when Zhang Fangyuan went to the market, he could set the meat price much higher.

The slaughtered pig weighed two hundred and twenty jin. Zhang Fangyuan paid the owner two thousand six hundred and forty wen. He paid in full upfront, which pleased the owner, as some butchers would only pay half, with the other half paid after selling the pork.

Because of this, when Zhang Fangyuan proposed borrowing space to process the pig before transporting it away, the owner readily agreed and even boiled a pot of hot water for him.

Zhang Fangyuan processed the slaughtered pig into a headless pig very quickly. He loaded it onto the flatbed cart, covered it with a cloth, and pulled it back to the village. The next day, before dawn, he drove the horse-drawn cart into town. By the time he arrived, the sky had just brightened, still gray and hazy.

At this hour, the butchers in the meat market were still setting up their stalls. There wasn't much talking, mostly the sounds of strenuous lifting and moving.

Zhang Fangyuan tied the horse in the stable outside the meat market, tossed two wen to the old man watching the stables, went in to wipe down his stall, then came back and single-handedly carried half a pig onto the stall.

Most of the people manning the stalls in the meat market were butchers, whose physiques and strength surpassed ordinary folks. Yet seeing the tall, well-built Zhang Fangyuan, they couldn't help but glance his way. The aunties helping their husbands watch the stalls were even more captivated.

“New here?”

“Such an unfamiliar face, must be new. I heard he's related to Gou Qi, the one managing the meat market stalls. Yesterday, Gou Qi even specially cleaned that young man's stall.”

“Tsk, tsk.”

Two broad-shouldered, thick-waisted women sighed a few times, their eyes gaining a bit more sparkle as they looked at Zhang Fangyuan.

Zhang Fangyuan divided the half a pig on his stall. He took several thick, fatty pieces, poked a hole through them with one stab of his knife, twisted fresh palm leaves into a string to thread the meat, and hung them on the horizontal pole in front of the stall as eye-catching displays. The rest he simply laid out on the stall board.

He also took out pig offal like large intestines, small intestines, and heart-lung sets from a basket, hanging or displaying them accordingly. Once the stall looked somewhat presentable, he brought out a cutting board for conveniently dividing and cutting meat for customers.

By the time he finished setting up, it was only the beginning of the Chénshí (7-9 am). He bought four meat buns at the meat market entrance to eat. There weren't many people on the streets yet, but some women and gers with baskets were already out buying groceries.

Morning offered the freshest and most varied vegetables, so everyone liked shopping early, even for meat.

Seeing people gradually heading this way, the meat market instantly became lively. Stall vendors called out to people to come look at and buy meat from their stalls. With new customers, they were calling out  enthusiastically. But with regulars, even before they reached the stall, the butcher would already take out the knife, gesturing on the meat and asking how much to cut. Some even directly grabbed a piece and stuffed it into the customer's basket.

Zhang Fangyuan was somewhat shocked by this scene. He quickly stuffed the buns into his mouth and hurried back to his stall.

Remembering how Xu He had called out last time, he also tried hawking. “Freshly slaughtered live pig, thick, fatty meat! Don't miss out if you're passing by!”

Although it was a cliché hawking phrase, it was better than just standing dryly in front of the stall without soliciting customers. It worked. Young women and gers, finding him unfamiliar and burly, didn't dare approach to look at the meat, but older women were very happy to come over.

“Auntie, take a look at this meat. The live pig was over two hundred jin. This fatty part is two fingers thick. It'll satisfy any craving, however you cook it.”

The woman pinched the meat hanging on the horizontal pole with two fingers, but her eyes traced Zhang Fangyuan's high nose bridge and strong jawline. “How much?”

“Twenty wen.”

The woman jolted upon hearing this. “Why so much more expensive than the stall at the entrance?”

“Well, you need to look at the quality of this meat.”

Only then did the woman carefully examine the meat. The white, thick layer of fat was indeed appealing. Common folks loved buying pork with thick fat. Preferring lean meat was for wealthy families, and such families often didn't consume much pork, opting for mutton or venison instead.

“What about the pork ribs?”

“For the bones, you can have them for fifteen wen.”

The woman bent down, inspecting the ribs on the cutting board. “A woman has little strength. Can you chop them here?”

“Small matter. I'll make sure they're properly chopped.”

The woman added, “Could you throw in a large pork bone too? I can break it and take it back to make pork bone porridge for my little grandson. Children grow strong and tall eating that, just like you, young man~”

Zhang Fangyuan was helpless. “Alright, since you're my first customer, I'll give you one, Auntie.”

With that, not giving the woman time to change her mind, he deftly took the meat to weigh it, rolled up his sleeves, gave his large knife a quick sharpen, and with a few clangs a section of ribs turned into neat, small chunks easy to cook.

The woman stared intently at the well-proportioned, slender, yet solid forearm under the thick winter clothes, the prominent veins when he gripped the knife. “Young man, your... knife skills are truly excellent! Will you still be setting up stall here in the summer?”

Zhang Fangyuan didn't see the connection between knife skills and seasons. Although the woman seemed a bit off, he thought she had potential as a regular customer and said warmly, “Naturally.”

“That's excellent. When the weather's hot in summer, I'll definitely come…”

With a dull thud, Zhang Fangyuan raised the knife and smashed the thigh bone half to pieces. The woman shuddered, and her tone changed. “…to buy meat.”

“Deal!”

Zhang Fangyuan packed all the meat the woman wanted and handed it to her. Seeing him carry the large package of pork and ribs with one hand, the woman thought it was light. When she took it, it was so heavy it almost slammed onto the cutting board, but she managed to catch it quickly.

She chuckled, said goodbye to Zhang Fangyuan, and swayed her hips as she walked out gracefully.

“Oh, Widow Zeng bought so much meat today? Truly generous for the New Year.”

As soon as the woman left, someone teased from behind. Zhang Fangyuan ignored it, just tossing the several dozen wen he received into the money box.

During the period around the year's end and early beginning, common folks were willing to spend money. Zhang Fangyuan missed the year's end but caught the early New Year period. Around the end of the year, village households usually raised their own pigs and had meat to eat. But city households, due to location constraints, relied entirely on the market for meat. Moreover, during the New Year, visiting relatives and friends, buying a good piece of meat as a gift was very presentable.

Although it was a new stall, thanks to the large crowds, his business was quite good. In just a few days, the fat pig he had slaughtered was almost entirely sold out.

“Your stall doesn't have much meat left.”

“Almost time to pack up.” Zhang Fangyuan tossed out a trotter from the cutting board. “This is left. If you want it, Madam, you can have it at a good price.”

After setting up stall for a few days, Zhang Fangyuan had learned a bit about small business.

The woman saw the trotter included the hock too; there was meat on it. She was going to visit relatives in the countryside; originally, buying a thick, fatty piece of meat would be more appropriate. But since this trotter was being sold cheap, and her children loved gnawing on bones, after hesitating for a while, she still asked the butcher to wrap it up.

“Should I chop it up?”

The woman thought for a moment upon hearing this. Chopping it up might be better. Since she was going to have a meal in the countryside before returning, bringing it chopped would seem thoughtful, and her relatives could directly put it in the pot to cook for hospitality. It was killing two birds with one stone. “No extra charge, right?”

“Chopping is free.”

Satisfied with his answer, the woman nodded. While watching Zhang Fangyuan chop the bones, she found him strangely familiar. However, she didn't start making polite conversation. She just saw him deftly handle the trotter, wrap it in oiled paper—all in one smooth motion—clearly not his first day in this business.

She took the tightly wrapped trotter and weighted it in her hand. “Just right for visiting relatives in the village.”

While collecting the money, Zhang Fangyuan took a closer look at the woman. Her face was radiant, and she also seemed very familiar. “Aren't you Liu Xiangmei, Auntie Liu?”

The woman's brow moved. “You know me?”

Zhang Fangyuan usually didn't like recognizing distant relatives or acquaintances he hadn't seen in a long time. But this woman, who bore a sixty to seventy percent resemblance to Xu He's biased mother, was hard not to recognize. “I'm Zhang Fangyuan from the fifth branch of the Zhang family in Jijiu Village.”

The woman was straightforward. “You mean the one who died…”

Before she finished, Liu Xiangmei realized it was inappropriate and quickly smiled. “I remember, I remember! So it's Fangyuan! I thought you looked familiar but couldn't recall the name for a moment. Look at you, all grown up into such a strapping young man.”

They chatted for a bit. Liu Xiangmei was going to the village to visit her sister, Liu Xianglan. Zhang Fangyuan was also preparing to pack up his stall and return to the village. Since he had a horse and cart, he offered to give Liu Xiangmei a ride.

Liu Xiangmei naturally didn't refuse. Not only was a horse cart faster than an ox cart, but it was also free since it was with an acquaintance.

 

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