Li Menglan and her father Li Dazhu still had other items to buy. After a brief discussion, they asked the cloth shop attendant to help move the fabric, cotton, and other goods they had already paid for onto the carriage first; then they asked him to wait there while Li Menglan quickly pulled Li Dazhu toward the pharmacy and grocery store.
"Daughter, where should we go first?" After the candied chestnuts and Li Menglan's display at the cloth shop just now, Li Dazhu no longer treated her as a child; he was speaking to her in a completely adult tone, consulting with her.
"Father, our family hasn't bought meat to eat in ages. Can we buy some meat to take home today?" Although they had eaten wild pheasants and hares several times, that was an entirely different matter from pork and couldn't be mentioned in the same breath; Li Menglan turned her expectant gaze toward her father.
"Alright, I'll listen to my daughter. Let's go home and make braised pork today." Li Menglan looked at Li Menglan's smiling face with its thin, pointed chin, and his heart felt bitter and uncomfortable. He blamed himself entirely—he was useless as a father, which was why his children had to suffer and endure hardship alongside him.
When father and daughter Li Dazhu and Li Menglan arrived at the meat vendor's area, the brutish-faced butcher stood across from them behind a dense row of meat hooks, meeting their gazes. "Brother, you buying meat?" He smiled at the father and daughter, revealing a mouthful of large buck teeth as he tried to put on an amiable expression. Unfortunately, the effect was exactly the opposite, instead startling the unprepared Li Menglan.
On the chopping block were displayed some pork belly, as well as lean meat and fatty meat sold separately. In ancient times, people lacked fat and oil in their diets, so fatty meat sold for more than lean meat. Nothing like modern times... how many people still ate fatty meat?
Li Dazhu looked over and asked, "Boss, how much is your pork?" Seeing that the meat on the chopping block was quite fresh, Li Dazhu decided that if the price was reasonable, he would buy it here to avoid wasting more time.
Seeing business arriving, the brutish-faced butcher wiped his hands on the greasy leather apron at his chest and said, "Aiyo! Brother, you can see my pork is fresh. If you're serious about buying, fatty meat is twenty wen per catty, pork belly is eighteen wen per catty, and lean meat is cheaper at only fifteen wen per catty. Which kind do you want, Brother?"
"Daughter, what do you want to eat?" Li Dazhu smiled with honest simplicity and pushed the decision back to Li Menglan.
Only then did the brutish-faced butcher realize that the one calling the shots was actually this unremarkable little girl before him.
"Little miss, buy the fatty meat! Fatty meat is good; fatty meat tastes so fragrant." The brutish-faced butcher showed Li Menglan what he believed to be his most perfect smile.
This man would have been better off not smiling. His smile instead made Li Menglan's little heart pound wildly, thump-thump; at the same time, she silently complained in her heart. *Hmph... fatty meat? Who would eat that stuff? Do I look like someone who enjoys eating fatty meat?*
"Uncle, then how much for these?" Li Menglan saw several pig trotters, pig tails, and a pig head placed to the side. She pointed and asked.
Uh... The other party was somewhat dumbfounded. Li Menglan's question was truly difficult to answer. These items normally didn't fetch any decent price, and most of the time they were basically given away for free. But now this little girl was seriously asking, so it was really hard to name a price.
The brutish-faced butcher observed Li Menglan's expression and carefully said, "Little miss, how about this? For the pig head, I'll charge you ten wen. Four pig trotters for four wen, and the pig tails I'll give you for free."
His words truly surprised Li Menglan. Uh...要知道 pig trotters, pig tails, pig ears, and the like were all good things. In later generations they were much more expensive than pork. But now? This gap was somewhat hard for Li Menglan to accept, yet she was also secretly delighted.
"Uncle, if I buy more meat from you, can you give me a discount on these things?" Li Menglan's mental abacus clicked rapidly, and she gave him a sweet smile.
"Little miss, then how much meat are you going to buy?"
"Two catties of fatty meat, two catties of pork belly, three catties of lean meat." Li Menglan stuck out her little fingers and counted as she spoke. "Uncle, look, I'm buying so much meat. Can you give me a discount?"
Normally, ordinary people bought meat by the catty or half catty. Unless they were wealthy households, very few people bought so much meat at once. This little girl before him was truly a major customer.
The butcher thought for a moment and said, "Then make it six wen per pig head, four trotters for two wen. The pig tails are still free, and I'll give you two bones to take home for soup."
"Alright, thank you, Uncle. Next time Father and I will come buy meat from you again." Li Menglan spoke with a smile. "Uncle, please help me pack all the meat up."
"Alright, then little miss, you must remember—this uncle's surname is Zhou. People around here call me Butcher Zhou." Though the man looked brutish and fierce, after Li Menglan chatted with him for a while, she realized that one truly cannot judge a person by their appearance, and this Butcher Zhou before her was the best example of that.
"Uncle Zhou, how much is it altogether?" Li Menglan handed the purchased pork to Li Dazhu, who had remained silent at her side, then had Butcher Zhou calculate the total.
"Two catties of fatty meat at forty wen, two catties of pork belly at thirty-six wen, three catties of lean meat comes to forty-five wen, plus the pig head at six wen and trotters at two wen. Altogether, one hundred twenty-nine wen." Butcher Zhou seemed to be literate. In just a few moments, he had calculated all the accounts clearly and methodically.
"Oh... Father, give the money to Uncle Zhou." Li Menglan turned her head with a smile and said to Li Dazhu. "Right, Uncle Zhou, how much is that pile of pork offal on the ground?" Li Menglan said this seemingly casually while Butcher Zhou and her father were counting and receiving money. Hehe... that pile of pork offal on the ground was Li Menglan's true target.
Before, when Li Menglan had read transmigration novels, she had seen many stories mention that pork offal was something no one ate. She had thought they were joking, but when she saw this pork offal casually thrown on the ground, Li Menglan finally believed... these ancient people truly failed to recognize gold and jade when they saw it, mistaking pearls for clods of dirt.
"Pork offal?" Butcher Zhou was stunned. *Hoh...* He really hadn't expected this little girl to have such a preference. Butcher Zhou said with a serious expression, "Little miss, this uncle will be honest with you. That pork offal has a very heavy stench. No matter how you wash it, you can't get it clean—basically no one will eat it. Little miss, you'd best not ask anymore."
One had to admit: although Butcher Zhou was nothing much to look at, his character was truly good. "Uncle Zhou, it's fine. I just like that pork offal." Li Menglan rarely wrinkled her brow at Butcher Zhou and put on a cute act, speaking pitifully.
"Uh... alright then!" Butcher Zhou finally couldn't withstand Li Menglan's pitiful little appearance. He said somewhat helplessly, "Little miss, then just give this uncle one wen! Exactly rounding it off to a whole number."
"Thank you, Uncle Zhou." Li Menglan, in an especially joyful mood, loudly thanked Butcher Zhou.
*Score...* Li Menglan forcibly suppressed the cheering in her heart. One wen... she had spent only one wen. The slippery large intestines, thick pork stomach, chewy pig heart, soft pig lungs. Li Menglan thought of the Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers she had discovered; it was as if her nose could already smell the rich, spicy aroma.