Chapter Thirteen Selling Pigs

  Hearing the little girl coughing constantly, it's probably pneumonia. Oh no, without antibiotics, this illness can be fatal. I don't know how many days the child has been sick. Yun Zheng reached out to touch her forehead and found that she was burning with fever, and he too began to feel anxious.

  Didn't say any more nonsense to Lai Bado, drove the ox cart all the way down the mountain slope, and the old cow seemed to know that Yun Zheng was in a hurry today, its four legs were moving very quickly, and soon arrived at the market.

  Put the child in Huichuntang first, tell the doctor to see the child's illness first, and then sell the pig to pay for it. Dr. Wen Lao of Huichuntang waved his hand and let Yun Zheng go busy, leaving a message to leave the pig's ears for him to drink wine.

  The market was crowded with people coming and going, all carrying baskets to barter goods. With a pig's mouth wanting to buy quickly, it was completely impossible. Just as the market was about to disperse, Yun Zheng gritted his teeth and hurriedly drove the cow cart to the stall of Xi Lian Sheng's silk embroidery shop. This was the largest business in Dou Sha Guan, and on the first and fifteenth days of each month when they held a fair, they would bring their leftover silk embroidery scraps here to sell. Most people from the mountains bought them back to embroider into brocade scarves, which were then sold to Xi Lian Sheng. It was said that the shopkeeper was not bad, so Yun Zheng decided to try his luck.

  A huge wild boar suddenly attracted many onlookers, who clicked their tongues in amazement. Yun Zhen frequently appeared at the market during this time, and everyone here knew him. Yun Zhen also made an effort to greet each person, increasing his presence. People are like that; once they're familiar with you, they won't pay much attention to when you appear. Yun Zhen had made a lot of effort to erase the blankness of his past.

  "What a big cloud! What a huge pig! Where did you get it from? You little scamp, didn't you catch it?"

  "Mind your own business where I came from, I'll leave my intestines behind, come to my house tonight and we'll cook some water to eat. Don't forget to bring rice wine, grandma's brewed rice wine is what I've been craving for a long time."

  The butcher was never a good person, patting the wild boar on the cow cart and frowning: "800 Wen, leave the change for you, the pig head belongs to me, hurry up, otherwise I'll leave." This bastard saw Yun Zheng holding the child entering Hui Chun Tang, knowing he was in urgent need of money.

  "Your brother is ill, I'm only offering this price because I pity you two brothers. Are you waiting for the money? Eight hundred coins, it's all in my pouch. If you want to sell, hurry up, the market will disperse soon and you won't have time to haggle over small change."

  "Zhang Tu, if this pig is sold for less than 1.5 yuan at the Dou Sha Guan market tomorrow, I'll cut off my head and sell it as a pig's head. This is outrageous!" The crippled bamboo basket seller was indignant and helped to support Yun Zong.

  "Get out, you cripple! You're not crippled enough if you think you can swindle me. I'll give you 800 wen today, take it or leave it." Zhang Butcher's one sentence left the cripple speechless.

  "Uncle Hua, don't be angry. I won't sell it today. Let's give this pig to Old Man Wen to cover his medical expenses. Anyway, he won't recover from his illness in just one or two days. I'm not willing to trouble Old Man Wen all the time, as he always gives out medicine and also needs money for medicinal materials. That's why I was going to buy the pig." Yun Zheng helped the lame man gather up the scattered baskets and comforted him.

  "Alright, that's all the money I have today, but give me the whole pig." Zhang Tuo hastily intervened, seeing things were not going well.

  "Uncle Zhang, your skill in slaughtering pigs is renowned in our Dou Sha Town. I've heard it's a traditional craft passed down from your ancestors, and with just one glance, you can tell how much pork can be obtained from a pig. Give me a fair price for this pig, which isn't even mine to begin with. The pig's ears and trotters have already been promised to Mr. Wen and Shui Sheng, respectively. I'm a man who values his reputation, and I'd rather die than tell a lie. So, please raise the price a bit."

  Zhang Tu heard Yun Zheng's compliment and somewhat regained his composure, stroking his chin and nodding: "This pig is indeed not bad, at least five fingers thick, just a bit too fatty. You're bringing your brother along, it's not easy for you either. In a moment, I'll slaughter the pig, give you the ears and lower parts, and keep the rest for myself. I'll pay 1.2 yuan, this is what you urgently need, I'm not intentionally taking advantage of you."

  Yun Cong hastily made a fist and thanked him, saying: "Zhang Shu's kindness is in my heart, this pig belongs to you, even if it's only worth one or two hundred taels, I'll just take the ears and trotters, the rest are yours."

  Zhang Tu smiled and came to the meat-selling rack with Yun Zheng, driving a cow cart. Two partners came over to help hang the pig on the rack. Now it's time to get started. The wild boar skin is not going to come off easily, so they need to use a knife to peel it off. This saves them from having to scald the hair with boiling water. Later, after salting the pigskin, they can sell it to leather craftsmen to make leather armor.

  Just as I was about to slaughter the pig, a crisp voice came over and said, "We want this pig, two strings of cash." A little servant girl wearing a green jacket stood on the road with a handkerchief in her hand, stretching her neck to look over here.

  Zhang Tu's face suddenly turned black, this was clearly a case of poaching business, but seeing that the other family used a mule to pull a green oil cart, he knew it was a wealthy family and couldn't be poached.

  Yun Zhen didn't even glance at the little maid, and with great enthusiasm prepared to watch the butcher slaughter a pig. Seeing that the butcher hadn't made a move, he couldn't help but urge him on: "Uncle Zhang, you'd better get started! We're all waiting to see your ancestral skills."

  Zhang Tu was taken aback, pointing at the little maid, Yun Zheng said impatiently: "As the saying goes, don't watch if it's not proper. Our deal is already done, now I just want to see you slaughter the pig, nothing else interests me."

  "Others can afford two strings of cash, but you, Uncle Zhang, cannot even afford that." Zhang Tu continued to smile and chat with Yun Zheng.

  "It's too late even if you have 80,000 yuan. If I'm going to buy it, I'll buy it from you. You think you're so clever, but that's just nonsense. Slaughter the pig, I'm waiting for my share of the ears and trotters. Take those away and then sell the rest to her."

  When she heard Yun Zheng's coarse words, the little maid glared at him with hatred and shook her handkerchief back to the mule cart in shame. The carter shouted loudly, and the cart swayed and headed towards Dou Sha Guan.

  Zhang Tu smiled and gave a thumbs up to Yun Zheng, then turned around to deal with the pig. His skills were indeed good, in a short time, the whole pig was dismantled into several pieces. The partner washed the pig's intestines and belly clean, took fine rice flour to scrub them, and only then handed them over to Yun Zheng.

  Yun Cong carried a bundle of copper coins on his back, holding a pig's ear in his hand, and a large basin of water was placed on the cow cart. He bid farewell to Zhang Tu, and only then did he return to Hui Chun Tang.

  "No matter how well you take care of the child, it's already like this when you bring it over. I just gave an injection to relieve the fever, remember to keep the wet cloth on the head from now on, and drink this medicine, drink it for three days in a row, and it will be fine after these three days."

  Mr. Wen's words made Yun Zheng stare with wide eyes, is this for real? What do you mean by saying that it'll be fine after three days? In his day, if a doctor dared to say something like that, he'd definitely end up being doused in sulfuric acid.

  Yun Zheng looked at Mr. Wen's sincere face, and could only bow his head in gratitude, presenting a pair of pig ears, clearing the medical expenses, and also asking Mr. Wen's son to grab another dose of medicine to clear the heart and moisten the lungs. Only then did he carry the little girl who had already fallen asleep onto the ox cart, seeing that it was almost noon, they hastily drove the ox cart back and forth.