The supermarket used to have some pork in its supplies, but it couldn't compare to the taste of pork in this era. Besides, it was frozen. It couldn't compare to the aroma of meat raised for a year before being slaughtered!
After eating it once, Qin San Niang no longer wanted to eat the pork she had stored! From now on, she would raise her own pigs and slaughter one for the New Year, so she could eat her fill!
"Shopkeeper, how much is this meat?" Qin San Niang stepped forward to ask the price.
Seeing that the woman was a stranger, Wang Daniu said with a smile, "Sister, our pork is thirty coins a pound, guaranteed fresh! The lard is twenty coins a pound, it's incredibly fragrant when pressed! Prices have gone up now! I've been working on this street for over ten years, I have a good reputation!"
Now grain costs almost 20 coins per pound, so pork at 30 coins per pound isn't considered expensive!
However, the man's business isn't doing too well these days! The reason is simple: most people don't have much money, and unless it's for special occasions like weddings or funerals, they won't spend money on large pieces of meat! Most people who come to buy meat only buy a pound or two to add to their dishes and improve their lives—and that's only for those who are a little better off! And it only happens once or twice a month! Luckily, he has a good reputation, focusing on honesty and fair dealings; otherwise, he'd really be starving!
Wang Daniu was a large, fat man with many lines of fat on his face. Yet, his smiling face, resembling that of Maitreya Buddha, somehow created a strange harmony.
Wang Daniu thought to himself, "Business is tough these days. Unfamiliar faces?! That's good, maybe I'll get another customer! There have been quite a few migrants settling in Jiangzhou lately!"
Qin San Niang didn't want to compare prices anymore. Her aunt, who used to live next door, told her that as long as she followed the lead of middle-aged and elderly people at the market, she could usually find good quality products at low prices. Of course, this only applied to buying basic necessities like rice, oil, salt, vegetables, and fruits; health equipment and nutritional supplements didn't count! Those who know, know!
"Brother, this meat looks really good. Give me twenty catties, and some lard too. Twenty catties to start. And how much are your pork bones?" Thinking about how pork bones can be used to make soup, a nutritious and delicious hot pot broth, and how a bite in this cold weather would warm you up from the inside out!
Unexpectedly, this young woman immediately offered a big deal. Wang Daniu was overjoyed, his eyes practically popping out of his head, and his face trembled with delight. "My pork bones are usually three coins a pound, and these weigh eight pounds in total. How about I give you twenty coins?"
Pork bones are worthless! They're smooth bones with nothing on them, maybe a few bits of meat on them, which are only good for getting some meat when cooking vegetables!
Those who could afford meat disdained to buy it; only the poor would occasionally take out a few copper coins to buy one or two pieces, which they would then use to cook porridge or mix with wild vegetables, giving it a slight meaty flavor!
With so much meat bought by Qin San Niang, how could Wang Daniu possibly be stingy with a few bones? Besides, it was just a small discount to gain favor, making it a very worthwhile deal!
"What about offal?" Thinking of stir-fried pork intestines, Qin San Niang felt hungry again.
Hearing that she was going to go into the water, Wang Daniu was taken aback and said, "Girl, this offal smells really bad, it's not good for cooking! But if you want it, I can give it to you for free, you've already been very supportive of my business!"
"That's great! Let me take the wastewater with me! Brother, how much will it cost?" Qin San Niang was quite happy to get a free set of wastewater. In this era of scarcity, she had learned to be thrifty!
Wu Chunhua quickly grabbed her basket; the smell of wastewater was strong, but luckily she had placed a few leaves at the bottom of the basket beforehand. Jiangnan is wonderful; even at this time of year, you can still find such vibrant green leaves!
I bought a little over one tael of silver worth of miscellaneous items!
Wang Daniu happily cut off a piece of meat, "Girl, look, twenty pounds and one ounce, the scale is high!"
After saying that, he quickly found some thin hemp rope, tied the meat with it, and put it into the basket that Wu Chunhua handed him. The offal was placed at the bottom, lined with leaves. Knowing that they were clean, Wang Daniu thoughtfully added a layer of oil paper that he usually didn't use, separating the offal from the meat.
This subtle gesture caught Qin San Niang's eye, and her fondness for the man grew even stronger! She thought to herself that this man was a shrewd businessman, no wonder his business was the best on the whole street!
After warmly seeing off Qin Sanniang and her group, Wang Daniu was still hoping that such big customers would come more often! They must live in a nearby village to have bought so much meat!
Qin San Niang and her group continued shopping. Thinking of their children at home, they went to a pastry shop to buy some snacks.
However, upon entering, it was discovered that the variety of snacks was quite limited. There were only lard and white sugar rice cakes, radish cakes, rice cakes, poria cocos cakes, a pitifully small selection of candied fruits, maltose, small twisted dough sticks, and mung bean cakes, as well as some roasted melon seeds, roasted pumpkin seeds, and other roasted snacks.
The few customers in the shop made the already sluggish business seem even more desolate in this bleak winter!
The young shop assistant stood behind the counter, not very enthusiastic towards the customers who came in. He guessed that these people were just coming in to take a look, and most of them thought the prices were too high. After a few glances, they would leave. After a while, even his enthusiasm would be worn down!
Qin San Niang carefully walked around the shop, shaking her head at each item and frowning at the next. Her dissatisfied expression angered the shop assistant, who thought, "What's wrong with this person? Is she deliberately looking for trouble?"
However, due to his professional ethics and excellent patience, the guy managed to hold his breath and not let it out!
"Third Aunt, let's not buy it. Let's go home and make some pastries instead. Last time, I made mung bean cakes using the method you taught me, and they looked and tasted better than these!" Wu Chunhua whispered, trying to persuade her when she saw the prices.
The pastries in this shop are really not very appealing, both in color and shape. The mung bean cake, for example, is just a square shape without any decoration at all, which makes it unappetizing! Of course, poor people who can't afford to eat would be willing to eat them, but who wouldn't be hungry if they could afford pastries?!
Just as Qin San Niang was about to nod, a dark figure swiftly moved in front of them, glaring angrily at them. "Are you going to buy or not? If you're not going to buy, you can't deliberately slander us! You woman are obviously a peasant, what kind of mung bean cake could you possibly make?! How dare you speak so arrogantly! Be careful, or I'll tell the shopkeeper and have you both thrown out!"
The young man was only about seventeen or eighteen years old. In Qin San Niang's eyes, he was just a young boy dressed as an adult, trying to look mature!
Seeing his angry expression, Qin San Niang wasn't angry at all; instead, a smile appeared on her face.
"Young man, we peasants can make more than just mung bean cakes! We can make all kinds of pastries! Even those you've never seen or heard of before, I can make them too, and they'll taste much better!"
You're too young and inexperienced! You don't know the saying "there are mountains beyond mountains and people beyond people"! In the future, you must never be so loud and boisterous. You're lucky to have met me today. If you had encountered a bad person, your life would have been in danger! As she finished speaking, a look of solemnity seemed to appear in Qin San Niang's eyes!
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