"Um, my wife asked me to bring this over!"
Brother Xu left those words and walked away.
Tang Youyou twitched the corner of her mouth; what an honest farmhand.
"Brother Xu, thank you both!"
Brother Xu stopped in his tracks. Good lord, had this Widow Tang really turned over a new leaf, actually speaking to him? Having lived right next door to him for three years, if not for that time she quarreled with his wife, he would have thought she was mute.
On this side, everyone was busy working up a sweat. On the other side, there was a mixture of surprise and joy.
"What? Dad, you're saying Eldest Brother isn't dead?" Second Elder Bai shrieked.
"Why are you shouting so loud?" Old Man Bai scolded.
"Where has he been all these years? Why hasn't he come home?"
Old Man Bai touched his red, swollen cheek and drew a sharp breath; those two stubborn old folks really didn't hold back.
He pulled a banknote from his sleeve and waved it around.
Second Elder Bai swallowed hard. When their grandfather was still alive back when they were children, he had taught all three grandsons how to read, so he clearly saw the denomination on the banknote. It was one hundred taels of silver.
"Dad, did Eldest Brother give this? Is he back?"
Old Man Bai nodded. "He had someone bring it back. He said in a few days he'll bring his new bride to visit, so we need to properly tidy up the house."
"A new bride? So that's why you were in such a rush to divorce that Tang woman today, Dad?"
Old Man Bai gave his second son an approving look. "Not bad. The letter also said we should keep his wife and children hidden away for now, so I suppose this new bride's status is out of the ordinary."
"But our house is in ruins now. What are we going to do?"
"We'll repair it, that's what. The most urgent matter is waiting for Third Son to get the letter of separation and the severance of family ties filed!"
Second Elder Bai rubbed his hands together, a greedy look in his eyes. "Dad, can you buy some meat? My chest hurts today, and you and Mom both got hurt too. We all need some good nourishment."
"What's the rush? I'm warning you, don't let anyone in the family know about this. Your mother has a big mouth, and your third brother is a gambler."
"Don't you worry, Dad. It's just such a waste of our ten mu of fertile land. Third Brother is really something else, gambling away the land and forcing us to pay compensation, leaving the house looking like this and getting us beaten into the bargain..."
A thought began to sprout in Old Man Bai's mind. With Eldest Son's current situation unknown, Third Son's family being a bunch of lazy bums, and Second Son's wife being quite diligent—though unfortunately with an injured right hand—this family was falling apart at the seams. It would be better to just split it up.
He fished a piece of broken silver worth one tael from his sleeve and handed it to him. "Go to Butcher Zhang's place in the village and buy two catties of meat!"
Second Elder Bai took it with both hands, looking quite pleased. "Thanks, Dad!"
"Bring the rest of the money back!"
He pursed his lips but didn't argue.
Just as he arrived, he ran into Bai Ruoer, who was also buying meat.
"Oh! If it isn't Bai Shi! Buying meat now, are we?"
Bai Ruoer didn't say a word, took the meat Butcher Zhang handed him, and turned to leave.
Second Elder Bai grabbed him by the arm. "I'm talking to you, you little punk, are you deaf?"
"Clang, clang, clang!" Butcher Zhang crossed his two cleavers together.
"I said, Bai Hanrong, are you trying to cause trouble at my stall?"
Hearing this, Second Elder Bai let go and glared at Bai Ruoer. "You little brat, you just wait! I'll show you!"
Bai Ruoer clenched his fists, enduring the anger without acting out, and hurried away.
Butcher Zhang looked at him with utter disgust. "Are you buying or not? If not, get out of the way!"
"Cut five catties of fat meat!"
"Out of stock!"
"You've still got some right there!"
"I'm saving that to eat myself. What's it to you?"
Second Elder Bai's eyes widened. "Your family can eat five catties of meat?"
Butcher Zhang rolled his eyes. "What business is it of yours? Can't I keep it to render lard?"
He went to the market in Guangming County every day to set up his stall, and whatever was left over he brought back. With the weather getting hotter and hotter, the leftover meat was piling up.
Besides, he simply didn't want to sell it to this fellow. What kind of people bullied a widow?
His own mother was a widow, and she had raised him and his brothers all by herself—it hadn't been easy at all. He had heard about yesterday's events; if murder weren't illegal, he would have hacked Old Man Bai's entire family to pieces without a second thought. They were utterly despicable.
Second Elder Bai had no choice but to buy some lean meat instead.
"Exactly five catties, ninety wen. Here is nine qian and ten wen of change."
Second Elder Bai stared in disbelief. "Did you calculate that wrong?"
Butcher Zhang glared at him. "I've been selling meat for over ten years. Would I get the math wrong?"
"Lean meat is sixteen wen a catty, and fat meat is eighteen wen. You charged me the price for fat meat!"
Butcher Zhang grinned broadly. "You must not have bought meat in a long time. Meat prices went up ages ago. Take it or leave it!"
With that, he made a motion to snatch the meat back, but Second Elder Bai grabbed it and bolted.
"Bah! I hope you and your family choke on your meat!"
Yao Cuihua came out and scolded him, "Why have you turned into such a profiteer?"
Butcher Zhang didn't care in the least. "Wife, from now on, whenever their family comes to buy meat, this is the price they get. I just can't stand them bullying orphans and widows."
Yao Cuihua frowned slightly. "Sigh! Those poor boys! You know what, add those two extra wen—make him mad!"
Meanwhile, Bai Ruoer returned home and handed the copper coins to Tang Youyou. "Mom, pork is eighteen wen a catty, and Butcher Zhang even gave me two pork marrow bones for free."
Tang Youyou nodded and pulled eight copper coins from her cloth pouch. "Go to Aunt Yu's place next door and buy some radishes and greens."
Bai Ruoer scampered off happily.
"Wow, it's meat! Mom, do we get to eat meat today?"
Bai Ruoer swallowed hard, wondering what meat actually tasted like.
Tang Youyou pulled him into the kitchen. When she saw the meat, her eyes widened. Where was the lean meat? This was all fat! Why hadn't this silly child bought some lean meat instead?
She had no idea that ancient farming families rarely got to eat meat even a few times a year, and since the original owner had never bought meat in her life, she had no clue that lean meat was cheaper than fat meat, that ribs somehow cost the same as fat meat, and that pork offal was something nobody bought at all.
She felt like crying without tears. She had wanted lean meat, but seeing the large bones next to it, she muttered to herself, "This Butcher Zhang is quite skilled. He picked those bones so clean!"
Bai Ruoer tugged at her hand. "Mom, Little Si will go make the fire!"
Tang Youyou pinched his little cheek. "Good, good, Little Si is wonderful!"
She needed to go find her daughter-in-law. She didn't know how to cook herself, but she could give directions; after all, she was a true foodie and in her past life loved watching videos of people cooking.
Yet because she was always too busy with work, she had never actually stepped into the kitchen herself.
"Ha... I really know how to rationalize things to myself!" she muttered as she walked back into the room.
A moment later, Lin Huahua was called over. When she looked at the huge slab of fat meat, she swallowed hard too. Had Mom lost her mind from anger? Weren't they going to live their lives anymore? This looked like three whole catties of meat, and she was going to cook it all in one go?
She probed tentatively, "Mom, we won't be able to finish all this at once, and with the weather so hot, it'll spoil!"
Tang Youyou looked at the meat and nodded. "You know, this fat meat really does look more abundant than the lean kind!"
That left Lin Huahua completely baffled. When had Mom ever eaten meat? Didn't dalang say they hadn't eaten meat in years?
"How about this? Render all of it into lard, but don't fry it until it's completely dry! Save it for stir-frying greens later."
She turned and walked out the door.
Taking advantage of everyone being busy, she carried the bamboo basket containing the rushes into the main room and placed her hand over them.
[Five catties of rushes, seventy-five wen. Put up for sale?]
[Yes!]
The basket was empty, and five copper coins appeared in her palm.
[Still owe the System Mall 9,682 wen!]
Tang Youyou counted out 682 wen from her purse, complaining inwardly: Round numbers are so much easier to keep track of.
[Still owe the System Mall 9,000 wen.]
She checked her purse and found she still had 263 wen and two pieces of broken silver worth one tael each.
She didn't dare spend recklessly, so she glanced at the Virtual Panel.
Staring at the pictures above, drool began to drip ungratefully from her mouth.
She slapped herself sharply. "Isn't it just meat? With all this strength of mine, I'll go try my luck in the mountains tomorrow. Look at this pathetic lack of self-control."