14. He saw
In the next few days, Fan Changyu had enough energy to kill pigs, make salt, and sell meat.
The salted fish in her shop were delicious and were always given away as gifts. No other business on the whole street could compare with hers.
Some people who did not buy the meat in her shop that day would rather wait until the next day to buy it. For several days, Fan Changyu could sell two pigs slaughtered in her shop cleanly.
Such a prosperous business naturally made all the meat buyers on the whole street jealous. Butcher Guo became unhappy when he saw that all the customers had gone to Fan Changyu's shop. He shamelessly shouted that giving extra gifts would only add to the burden of the butcher shop, and asked everyone to stop giving extra gifts.
Although others looked down on Guo the Butcher's behavior, it was also a fact that Fan Changyu attracted most of the customers by offering extra charges. Although he did not express his opinion clearly, he almost tacitly agreed to Guo the Butcher's proposal.
Fan Changyu was good-tempered and agreed that everyone should stop giving extra gifts.
It's not that she is easy to control, but now that Fan's Salted Pork has already gained a good reputation, she doesn't need to use the method of giving out extra gifts to attract customers. The offal that she has worked so hard to wash is worth twenty cents a pound after being salted. Who would give it away as a gift?
It is better to do these people a favor. After all, they are all doing business on the same street. We will see each other every day.
All the butchers in the street were anxiously waiting for business to return to its former state, but after the exemption of gift vouchers, although the business in Fan Changyu's shop was not as hot as before, it was still the best in the whole street.
Because the reputation of the brine had spread, people in the town even stopped going to the street that sold cooked food to buy brine, and instead came specifically to Fan Changyu's shop to buy it.
There were too many people buying brine, and the brine in Fan Changyu's shop was often in short supply. She simply set up a large pot at the door of the shop, put the meat that had been brine last night on the chopping board, and brine it again in the large pot.
This unintentional act took the brine business in the shop to a new level.
The smell was really delicious. The brine was bubbling in the pot, and the cleaned pork head and offal were brine-cured to a beautiful brown color. The spices such as star anise, bay leaves, and fruit peels were also clearly visible.
Everyone passing by the market was attracted by the fragrance and came forward to ask the price.
The meat is freshly brined and sold now. When the buyers see that the pot is filled with real ingredients, they don’t even bother to bargain as much as they did when the cooked meat was sold directly before.
After all the pig heads he had slaughtered were sold out, Fan Changyu would often go to the butcher shop next door to buy a few pig heads and wash the brine on the spot in order not to waste the pot of brine.
When business was at its best, she could sell seven or eight halved pig heads a day.
In the market, fresh pig heads cost 20 wen per jin. After being brined, the pig heads and ears together cost about 50 wen per jin. A pig head weighs about 6 or 7 jin. She can make at least 180 wen from a brined pig head.
Selling seven or eight pieces would bring in about five hundred coins per guan, plus a net profit of one guan from fresh pork, so the daily income was almost always stable at around two guan.
His wallet was getting fatter day by day, and one day Fan Changyu was so generous that he decided to buy new clothes for everyone in his family.
She first went to the pawnshop to redeem the hairpin she had pawned. When the shopkeeper saw her, he smiled and said, "The hairpin has already been sold..."
Fan Changyu immediately became anxious: "Didn't I tell you to keep it for me first?"
The shopkeeper said helplessly: "This... whoever comes to my shop to pawn something doesn't say this? How can I keep all of it for these people? I have to support my family too!"
Fan Changyu pursed his lips and said sorry, then asked, "Do you remember who you sold the hairpin to?"
The shopkeeper thought for a moment and said, "On the day you pawned it, it was bought by a girl. She was dressed very well and looked like she was from the county town."
Fan Changyu's heart sank to the bottom.
The entire Qingping County is not big, but not small either. It is not easy to talk to a stranger. It is probably hopeless to redeem the hairpin.
The shopkeeper took a look at her expression and started selling other jewelry in his cabinet: "Why don't you take a look at this hairpin, which is also made of silver and is more beautiful than yours!"
Fan Changyu left the pawnshop without saying a word. It was snowing hard outside. She sat on the steps at the door for a while, but still couldn't suppress the discomfort in her heart.
Although she had expected that she would never get it back when she decided to pawn the silver hairpin, she still couldn't help feeling sad when it became a reality.
The hairpin that her parents bought for her coming-of-age ceremony is gone.
Fan Changyu wiped his eyes, lowered his head and walked home dejectedly.
-
The alleys in the west of the city are very busy right now, and it's not because of anything else: the Song family is moving.
Song Yan was the only one who passed the imperial examination in the entire Qingping County this year. The county magistrate personally invited him to his home for dinner, and the local gentry and wealthy businessmen all rushed to curry favor with him.
The county magistrate designated a house in the county town to Song Yan, saying that it was so that he could have better conditions for studying and pass the imperial examination to bring honor to the entire Qingping County.
The house was roughly ready, so Song Yan and his mother chose to move in today.
A leader appeared in this alley. No matter how hostile the Fan family and the Song family were, the others were still unwilling to break off relations with the Song family, so they all came out to see him off today.
When Fan Changyu reached the entrance of the alley, he saw two rather imposing green-covered horse-drawn carriages parked on the side of the street. Going further in, he saw the mother and son of the Song family standing at the door of their house and saying goodbye to a group of neighbors.
Song Yan was wearing an indigo robe, standing tall and graceful. As he bowed and said goodbye to his fellow villagers, his gentle eyes and brows were full of scholarly air.
Song's mother was also dressed very decently, with oiled hair and gold hairpins. She even managed to squeeze out a few tears while listening to the string of flattering words, and acted as if she was reluctant to leave this place.
Fan Changyu was in a bad mood today, so she pretended not to see the mother and son, and walked around the crowd towards her son's home. But a man's gentle voice came from behind her: "Miss Fan, please stay."
When everyone saw him calling out to Fan Changyu, they all had different looks on their faces.
After the Fan and Song families broke off the engagement, they almost never had any contact with each other again. Fan Changyu also found a husband, and Song Yan seemed to be about to become the county magistrate's son-in-law. What connection could he still have with Fan Changyu?
People have different thoughts. Some are curious, some want to watch the excitement, and some want to hear some gossip.
When Fan Changyu heard the voice, she turned around and saw Song Yan walking towards her from the other end of the crowd holding a brocade box and standing three steps away from her.
He had a very gentle appearance, and his every move exuded a scholarly air. "Song Yan and my mother have lived here for many years, and your father has taken great care of us. I have always remembered your kindness in providing the coffin. Today, we are moving here, and this is my token of appreciation."
The brocade box is square and exquisitely crafted. It looks quite large. I wonder what is inside it.
Fan Changyu was almost laughing out of anger. Ever since the Song family broke off the engagement, whatever happened to her Fan family, his Song family had been completely free of it. Today, when they moved, they took out such a golden box in front of the neighbors. Wasn't it just for everyone to see?
She looked mocking: "What is this?"
Song Yan replied: "It's a little gift from me and my mother."
Fan Changyu swung his hand back and the square brocade box fell to the ground. The gold ingots inside rolled out and the onlookers gasped.
People living in this alley are not wealthy. They may have never seen what gold ingots look like in their entire lives. Only now, seeing those white silver coins can their eyes be opened.
Song's mother immediately asked in a sharp voice: "What are you doing?"
She usually tried hard to maintain the appearance of a vice-official's wife and had received enough compliments during this period. Suddenly, she was humiliated by Fan Changyu in this way. The word "ugly" could not describe her expression.
Although his clothes were changed into brocade satin, he had been working hard for more than ten years and was short and thin, with not much flesh on his face. Not only could he not support the clothes, but his high cheekbones caused by his thinness only made him look more mean.
Fan Changyu mocked, "Mr. Song's gift is too expensive. I dare not accept it. You came to me with the fortune-telling document to cancel the engagement, but I did not take a single cent from your Song family. On the contrary, it was my father who bought Mr. Song's coffin, and it was also my father who paid for Mr. Song's dowry. Those who are gossiping and twisting right and wrong can even say that it was my father who showed me a small favor and forced Mr. Song to marry a butcher's daughter."
She sneered, "My parents are still alive, but they can't stand such slander."
Song's mother immediately said angrily, "What does it have to do with us?"
Fan Changyu lowered his eyes and looked at the silver ingot on the ground, with the corner of his mouth raised: "I didn't say that you ordered those people to say that, why are you so anxious?"
Song's mother couldn't stand Fan Changyu's provocation, and being watched by so many neighbors, her face turned blue and red, and she shouted, "What do you mean?"
Fan Changyu said, "To avoid being slandered by those black-hearted people, I ask all the neighbors to be witnesses today. I dare not accept these gold ingots from Mr. Song. But my parents have passed away, my sister is young and weak, and my husband is also injured. The family is indeed in urgent need of money. Today, I will settle accounts with Mr. Song. The money my father spent on buying a coffin for your family and the tuition he paid for you in those years, it will be difficult for me to return it to you without missing a cent, right?"
She smiled and said sarcastically, "It also prevents Song Juren and Old Madam Song from hearing rumors and thinking that our Fan family is looking for a favor. Like last time when Mr. Fan brought people from the casino to smash my house, the neighbor lady came to Song Ju's door crying for help, but the Song family's door couldn't be opened."
Others did not say these things, they were just giving the Song family a fig leaf, but now it was directly torn off by Fan Changyu. Song's mother's face could not be described as ugly. She looked around at the neighbors who secretly looked down on her, and she felt her face burning with irritation. Fan Changyu's words were just short of pointing at her nose and scolding the Song family for being ungrateful.
Yan'er is relying on the top scholar, if she is slandered by this vulgar pig-killing girl and her future is delayed, it will be the end of her life!
Mother Song was trembling and about to speak, but she heard her son, who had been silent all this time, say to the pig-killing woman: "If you come to find me, I will not remain indifferent."
"Yan'er!" Song's mother rolled her eyes and almost fainted.
Fan Changyu also frowned, wondering how crazy Song Yan was to say such things in public.
But before she could say anything, a soft voice came from outside the crowd: "Brother-in-law, there are so many people!"
The man's voice was very cold: "Don't run too far."
Fan Changyu turned around and saw his sister standing on tiptoe at the door of her house, looking over here. The man probably followed her out because he was afraid that she would get lost if she came out to see the excitement. His pretty eyebrows were wrinkled, as if he felt that the child was in trouble.
He was wearing the same ochre-red clothes he had worn on his wedding day. His long hair was simply tied up, and his wide sleeves hung down to cover most of his crutches. His eyebrows and eyes were cold and his face was as white as snow.
He was half leaning against the door, his posture casual. No one knew how long he had been out, nor how much of the conversation between her and the Song mother and son he had heard.
Fan Changyu met his eyes. There was no emotion on his face. Only the corners of his lips seemed to be raised, but it was not a smile.
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