Wei Lanxiang had already brought out the scale from the house. After Lu Gu threaded a piece of meat with a long needle and hemp string, she hung it on the scale hook and measured it. “It’s two taels over. Look how high the scale arm is.”
“It’s fine if it’s a little over,” Shen Xuanqing said, then turned to the crowd at the kitchen door. Those at the front quickly stated how much they wanted.
He was quite accurate with his cuts, and being a little over by one or two taels didn’t matter. Wei Lanxiang had no choice but to follow his lead and didn’t charge extra for the slight overage.
The kitchen and yard were bustling with activity. Outside, Shen Yaoqing was chopping the boar’s head. The ears had already been cut off and set aside. He planned to clean and braise one himself, making a crispy ear dish that would go well with wine.
Selling meat at home was a new experience for Lu Gu. Usually, they bought meat from Meng Dayue’s house or the butcher shop in town. They had never done this kind of business themselves.
Qingxi Village wasn’t large, with about forty households. The wealthier families bought more, while others bought two or three catties. The poorest only watched from the door, unable to afford any. Naturally, nearly 200 catties of meat couldn’t be sold out in one day. However, the cheap price attracted people from neighboring villages, who came to buy despite their initial skepticism. The whole day was busy with people coming and going.
Since Shen Xuanqing had announced that they would sell even half a catty of meat, in the afternoon, while Lu Gu was chopping vegetables on a small cutting board, he saw Chen Dongdong enter.
“Dongdong,” he greeted with a smile.
“Gu Zi, I’m here to buy meat,” Chen Dongdong said, glancing at Guaizi, who had come over to sniff him. Knowing the dog wouldn’t bite, he walked further in, clutching five coins in his hand. He pursed his lips shyly and said, “Five copper coins’ worth.”
“Alright, I’ll call Er Qing to cut it for you,” Lu Gu said, putting down the knife and calling toward the back room. He went into the kitchen and lifted the clean hemp cloth covering the meat.
When Chen Dongdong asked for half a catty, Shen Xuanqing didn’t show any disdain. Since he was on good terms with He Zhi, he deliberately cut a little extra, about three taels more. He didn’t say anything, and neither did Lu Gu, who simply smiled and threaded the meat with hemp string so it could be carried home easily.
Chen Dongdong clearly saw the extra three taels on the scale but hesitated when taking the meat, his eyes anxious. He was worried that He Zhi would feel uncomfortable about taking advantage of others.
Seeing Chen Dongdong’s hesitation, Shen Xuanqing roughly understood He Zhi’s stubborn and prideful nature. He said, “When you go back, tell Zhi that we’ve been selling meat all day, and there’s too much left. If it doesn’t sell in a day or two, it’ll spoil and have to be thrown away. Besides, it’s not much extra. I’ll come over for a drink with him soon, and he can prepare some snacks for me.”
“Okay, I’ll tell him,” Chen Dongdong replied obediently. Being a shy and simple person, he didn’t dare say much more to Shen Xuanqing, a strong and imposing man. He nodded to show he understood, then said goodbye to Lu Gu and headed home with the meat.
Shen Xuanqing covered the meat with hemp cloth. This year, with the livestock moved to the new house, there were noticeably fewer flies around, making the place much cleaner than in previous years.
Flies could still smell the meat, but the cloth kept them from landing directly on it. No matter how much they tried to shoo them away, the flies were endless.
The wild boar’s head had been bought by Huang Zhenchuan and a few others. What remained were the ears and tusks. Later, they would braise the ears, heart, liver, stomach, lungs, and kidneys together. Sliced and served cold, it would be a refreshing dish for the summer.
Wei Lanxiang hadn’t thrown away the intestines either. After soaking them in water for an hour or two, she would scrub them clean and stir-fry them with chili peppers.
A few years ago, during a visit to her maternal family, she had gotten a recipe for braising spices from an elderly relative. However, the ingredients weren’t complete at home, so she would need to buy the rest from town. She had tried braising pork once before, and it had turned out quite tasty. But after the family’s troubles, she hadn’t made such rich dishes again. With fewer people buying meat in the afternoon, she had taken Shen Yan to town to buy the spices. They hadn’t returned yet.
Guaizi was in the yard gnawing on a bone. He had already been fed meat, but Shen Xuanqing had given him extra as a reward for his help in hunting the boar.
Lu Gu came out to chop vegetables again. Wei Lanxiang had cooked lunch, spicy stew of wild boar meat that was quite good. The strong seasonings had masked the gamey taste of the boar. For dinner, they would have something lighter, like two stir-fried vegetable dishes.
Shen Xuanqing came out of the kitchen and said, “Today went well. We sold the boar’s head for seventy-six copper coins, and the meat, ribs, and spine brought in eight hundred and sixty-three copper coins. I gave Mother the seventy-six copper coins to buy the braising spices, and kept the money from the meat.”
“Between giving some to relatives and selling the rest, we’ve gone through about a hundred catties. I estimate there’s still around a hundred catties left. Since the village is small, I’ll take the cart with Elder Brother and go sell in other villages. The meat won’t keep well in this heat, so we’ll sell as much as we can.”
Lu Gu nodded in agreement. “Okay. I’ll wait for Mother to come back before cooking dinner. You and Elder Brother remember to come back in time for the meal.”
Shen Xuanqing smiled. “I know.”
After saying this, he called out to Shen Yaoqing. The two brothers lifted the large wooden basin onto the cart, along with the chopping block, scales, and hemp string. They set off to sell the meat, calling out loudly as they went.
They were busy earning money, but they didn’t feel tired at all. As they collected copper coins, five or ten at a time, both of them wore smiles on their faces.
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