Chapter 397: Chapter 397: Buying Pork Chapter 397: Chapter 397: Buying Pork Because she unexpectedly received a dowry of 10,000 taels and the new house was just ready for a celebration, Xuexue decided to throw a big party and invite everyone from the village.
So, she went to the market to find a familiar butcher and arranged for him to slaughter two pigs and deliver them to the Mo Family Village on the day of the feast. Now, as the weather was getting progressively hotter, if the pork was bought too early, it might spoil. Having the butcher deliver it on the same day would ensure everyone could enjoy fresh pork.
“Miss Mo, it’s been several days since I’ve seen you in town?”
Just as she entered the market, a man from a nearby meat stall came up to greet her warmly.
Normally, because he was friendly and kind to everyone and didn’t care if one was rich or poor, whether one bought much or little, he always greeted with a smile. Xuexue found this comforting, so she had gotten into the habit of buying most of her meat from him.
“Yes! There’s been a lot going on at home lately,” Xuexue casually replied.
“Today’s pork is very fresh. Miss Mo, how much would you like?” the man asked enthusiastically, pointing to the pork on the chopping board behind him.
“Weigh out five pounds of fatty meat and two pounds of lean meat,” Xuexue said, pointing to two particularly nice-looking pieces of pork on the cutting board.
The man agreed and turned to cut the meat.
Big Bull, noticing Xuexue buying so much fatty meat, was puzzled and asked, “Why do you need so much fatty meat at home?”
“For frying crispy pork buns.”
“Crispy pork buns?” Big Bull looked utterly confused.
“It’s where you wrap a small piece of fatty pork with flour dough and fry it in a pan until it’s golden brown–crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, very delicious. You’ll try some later.”
This dish was popular at feasts in the Nong family, as people usually economized and rarely served meat dishes. These crispy pork buns, crunchy and oozing with grease when bitten into, were greatly enjoyed by everyone.
Now Big Bull understood and nodded in response, “Oh.”
The man, with a cleaver in hand, first weighed out two pounds of lean meat, then quickly sliced a large chunk of fatty pork, weighed it on the scale, and exclaimed, “Five pounds and a little over, Miss Mo. We’re all familiar here; let’s call it five pounds.”
Xuexue handed over a string of Copper Coins that she had prepared earlier.
As usual, the man used a rough straw rope to tie up the pork and handed it to Big Bull standing behind her.
Xuexue also arranged for him to deliver two slaughtered pigs early in a few days to the Mo Family Village.
Upon hearing this, the man’s eyes lit up with joy; it was a big sale for him. In this small town where most were poor, he worked hard from dawn to dusk and barely sold a few pigs a month. Now, Xuexue wanted two pigs at once, which genuinely delighted him.
“Alright! Alright! Miss Mo, don’t worry, I’ll take care of this perfectly,” the man said, grinning from ear to ear.
Butcher Yu came out from a hidden spot. He had been watching for a long time, hesitant to show himself because of Big Bull.
His eyes, glinting craftily, were fixed on Xuexue’s retreating figure. He thought to himself how this young lady had grown even more charming since he last saw her. If it weren’t for Big Bull, the Plague God, he would have approached her to entangle and talk long ago.
Walking along, Xuexue suddenly felt a chill down her spine, turned around to look, and saw nothing unusual.
“What’s the matter, my lady?” Big Bull asked, puzzled.
Xuexue shook her head, thinking she might just be overly suspicious.