Chapter 134
Lu Gu followed outside and saw Guaizi wagging his tail wildly at the door. He instinctively glanced toward the back of the village, but Shen Xuanqing’s figure was nowhere to be seen, likely already entered the house.
Guaizi nuzzled against his leg, whimpering.
It had been five days since they last saw each other, and Lu Gu missed him too. He rubbed the dog’s head and pinched his ears, waiting until Guaizi calmed down before going inside to fetch the keys and lock. After securing the gate of the new house, he hurried home.
Before he even stepped through the door, Dahui and Dahei ran out to greet him. The mountain path was long, and even the dogs were panting from exhaustion. Once inside, they flopped on the ground, tongues lolling as they caught their breath. Shen Yan poured water for them.
“You’re back.” Lu Gu couldn’t help but smile faintly.
“Mhm.” Shen Xuanqing, who was washing his hands, grinned brightly. He glanced at Guaizi gulping down water and said helplessly, “As soon as he got back and didn’t see you, he ran out to look.”
“I was feeding Dabai over there.” Lu Gu replied, his gaze shifting to the black-hoofed sheep tied up in the yard. He thought Shen Xuanqing was truly skilled, this sheep had also been captured alive.
Dabai trotted over too, rubbing against Shen Xuanqing’s leg repeatedly.
“It’s a male.” Lu Gu remarked upon seeing the long horns on the sheep’s head.
“Right.” Shen Xuanqing wrung out a cloth and wiped his face before explaining, “It’s the height of summer now. People in town have taken to eating ‘summer mutton’ these past two years, it sells really well. I figured female sheep are smaller and lighter, but their meat isn’t as tender or less gamy as uncastrated males. Still, I happened to come across this one while tracking in the mountains. A male sheep is bigger with more meat, so I brought it back. Either way, it’ll sell.”
He tossed the cloth into the basin, scrubbed it a few times, then wrung it out and hung it on the wooden rack. With a smile, he added, “This time, we’ll take it to town for slaughter on the spot. The price will definitely be higher.”
The male sheep they had raised earlier was actually a bit bigger than this one, meaning more meat when butchered. But since that one was already tame, it was better to keep it as a breeding ram. Later, when Shen Xuanqing brought back female sheep, they could have lambs.
Lu Gu glanced at the black-hoofed sheep but didn’t forget the main task. Washing his hands by the basin, he asked, “What would you like to eat? I’ll make it for you.”
“Some rice wine, dried meat stir-fried with spring greens, and two or three steamed buns will do.” Shen Xuanqing replied.
“Alright, you rest and drink some water first.” Lu Gu dried his hands, rolled up his sleeves, and headed to the kitchen to get busy.
The black-hoofed sheep, freshly caught, hadn’t touched the grass thrown to it. Seeing this, Shen Yan brought an old basin and poured water for it but didn’t fuss further. They would take it to town at dawn the next day for slaughter, no need to bring it to the new house and risk scaring it further.
The afternoon brought slightly cooler weather. Ji Qiuyue sat fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan, exchanging a few lighthearted words with Shen Xuanqing.
Earlier, Dabai hadn’t eaten much. Since they weren’t going back to the new house now, Lu Gu fed the other three dogs and included Dabai to prevent fights with Dahei over food.
After resting overnight, the next morning, when the sky was just beginning to lighten and visibility was still poor, the gate of the Shen family’s second household swung open.
Apart from Ji Qiuyue, all five others went to town. For this, Wei Lanxiang had gone to see Zhou Xiangjun the night before, asking her to bring Chen Xinlian and Shen Yu over to keep Ji Qiuyue company and help prepare a meal at noon.
The grass for the cattle and sheep had been cut the previous afternoon, so Shen Yuping alone could handle feeding them. But fresh grass for the rabbits still needed to be gathered.
Since they were helping out, the family would naturally share some mutton with them upon returning from town.
They left early to catch the morning market, where crowds meant better sales. Shen Xuanqing led the sheep, while Shen Yaoqing pulled the cart loaded with butcher knives, cleavers, a chopping block, and wooden basins for blood and offal.
The road was dark, and they hadn’t brought the dogs, Guaizi and Dahui stayed behind to watch over Ji Qiuyue. But with two strong young men and knives on the cart, they had nothing to fear on the journey.
They paused briefly outside the third Shen family's gate. Wei Lanxiang knocked to wake Zhou Xiangjun, reminding her to come over once it was light.
The cart wheels creaked as they rolled all the way to Fenggu Town, where the sky had brightened by the time they arrived.
Their early arrival secured them a spacious spot after paying the market fee. Borrowing a basin of hot water from a breakfast vendor, they sharpened their knives and began slaughtering the sheep.
With Shen Yaoqing’s help, the work went faster.
Bleeding, skinning, and gutting, Shen Xuanqing was already familiar with the process, though the size of the prey varied.
Sheepskin was excellent for winter warmth, so he didn’t plan to sell it. The meat and bones had slightly different prices depending on the cut, but the lowest was still ninety copper coins per catty, with the highest not exceeding a hundred. Bones were cheaper, for example, sheep spine bones sold for just twenty-eight copper coins per pound.
Mutton had always been expensive. Even at its cheapest, it never went below eighty copper coins. Last year, when he sold a sheep to Butcher Zhao, keeping the hide and one leg, Zhao still paid him five taels of silver, it was a proof of mutton’s value.
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