Chapter 68 Chapter 68 Xia Yue Sells Meat
In June, the weather was hot, there was little rain, and the temperature rose suddenly.
Kang He was busy at the morning market. He cut meat for almost two hours and sweat was dripping from his forehead and nose.
Fan Jingde had some free time, so he went into the house to wash his hands, took out a nearly clean collar, and replaced the one hanging around Kang He's neck.
The sweat on his neck was mostly wet.
After the busy morning market, business slowed down.
Kang He washed his greasy hands with soap, drank some cold tea, and carefully wiped the sweat from his face and neck.
He said to Fan Jing, "Why does it seem like business today isn't as good as it was a few days ago?"
In the past, I would sell more than 50 kilograms of pork at the morning market, but looking at the stall today, I only sold about 30 kilograms.
And the amount of meat he was taught to cut was obviously much less.
Fan Jing peeled an orange, shared half with Kang He, and said, "General, I just saw someone walking ahead carrying some cut meat."
He went over to take a look when he had nothing to do, and saw that both Mei's Pork Shop and Hao's Pork Shop had started cutting meat for people.
"Hao family also started working?"
Kang He snorted and laughed when he heard this: "It's okay for the Mei family, but didn't Master Hao say before that he would rather close the shop than cut meat for others? Why is he willing to condescend to do this?"
"It's hot, and meat can't be kept for long. If we want to sell it, we have to use it anyway."
Kang He knew this principle. There was no secret to cutting meat for others. Anyone who wanted to do it could learn it if they had hands. When the stall owners saw that they could sell more meat this way, anyone who was not a fool would follow suit. It didn't matter who they could get along with, but who would get along with money?
Previously, the weather was mild and people were reluctant to do it because it was too troublesome. Now the temperature is high and the meat must be sold quickly. The trouble of cutting the meat with others is much easier than having the meat smell on your hands because it cannot be sold.
Kang He was also a little annoyed by the summer weather. If he couldn't sell all the pigs after slaughtering them in two days, he would not be able to sell them on the third day.
If there were an ice cellar to keep the meat cold, three days wouldn't be a big problem. However, the price of ice outside is no cheaper than pork, so there's no point in using ice to store the meat.
The well at home is cool, but it can't hold dozens or hundreds of kilograms of pork.
In this case, the best way is to put less meat on the stall at one time. If the two families can share one pig, that would be just right.
A fat pig weighs only about 200 kilograms. When divided between two butchers, each of them can get at most 100 kilograms. If it is a lean pig, it is even lighter. When divided between two butchers, it still weighs less than 100 kilograms, which makes it much lighter to sell in one or two days.
Kang He had come up with some ideas earlier, so he went to inquire carefully to see if there was anyone willing to partner with him.
He had a good idea, and those butchers who had been working for a long time had also thought of this a long time ago.
If a pig is slaughtered and sold to two butchers, the pork can be split in half and each person gets half, so no one gets any advantage. But how can the pig heart and lungs, which are the same, be divided? The prices are different.
He said that if you want this this time, you can ask for something else next time. The two pigs have different weights and their hearts and lungs are not the same size.
It's said to be a matter of three or five copper coins, but people's thoughts are always unpredictable, and the two of them will easily quarrel if things don't go their way.
Except for the master and disciple, or brothers, it is difficult for them to get along.
Hu Dasan had bought pigs from Renhe before. They were good friends, but before even a summer month had passed, they had a falling out and decided not to have any further contact.
Many butchers don't believe in evil and want to form partnerships with others to buy and sell pigs. They always think there is nothing to argue about and that everyone can just give in. But only when they really start doing it do they know what it's like.
It is rare for a business like buying a pig together to sell it to go smoothly. It is better for everyone to do their own thing in the end, so there are fewer troubles.
Kang He had no choice but to learn from the lessons of his predecessors and do it stubbornly.
Furthermore, he didn't have any good butcher friends, which made the matter even more difficult.
After much discussion, it wasn't done.
In the summer, there is no other choice but to buy lean pork as much as possible. If there is some leftover pork, we will take it home, salt it, and smoke it to make bacon.
Fortunately, they have a shop that sells dry goods and can also sell smoked bacon, which provides more opportunities than the pork stall in the butcher shop.
Butchers only want to pick out lean pigs to buy, but it is not economical for farmers to sell lean pigs, and lean pigs are hard to come by in summer.
Customers buying meat in the market are not as willing to buy as in other seasons. In winter, they can buy three or five kilograms of meat, but during this season, they buy only half a kilogram or eight ounces of meat. They cannot take the meat home to store it, and they buy it as soon as it is eaten.
Business is worse in the summer than in the off-season, but whether it's good or bad, you have to do it.
Kang He took the orange peeled by Fan Jing, threw the two halves into his mouth, and couldn't help but let out a cry.
His face wrinkled. "Why are oranges so sour?"
Fan Jing said, "Didn't it rain the day before yesterday? You bought five of them for three copper coins."
Kang He couldn't swallow the orange slices: "I thought I got a good deal, but in the end I just wasted a few copper coins."
"You don't have to eat it either."
Kang He was about to take the food from Fan Jing's hand, but he threw it into his mouth, not wanting to waste it even though he was sour.
"Not too sour."
Kang He said, "Just keep your mouth shut."
As he was speaking, He Xiaoqiu, dressed in a green dress, came over with a basket on her arm. She had replaced the headscarf on her head with a thin one.
Kang He and Fan Jing stopped fighting, called someone into the house, brought him a stool, and poured him some tea.
Kang He went into the inner room and brought out a bundle of prepared medicine. He handed it to He Xiaoqiu and said, "It's the same as before. Doctor Zhu said to follow the original prescription."
Every time Doctor Zhu prescribed medicine, Kang He would bring it to the city. He Xiaoqiu only had to go to the shop to take it home, so she didn't have to go to their village.
He Xiaoqiu thanked him and took the medicine, holding it in his arms. Kang He let them talk and said, "I'll go to the street corner and bring two bowls of taro paste, dumplings and bean soup."
"Unworthy trouble."
He Xiaoqiu said quickly.
Kang He said, "It's freshly made in the sweet shop. Jing also likes it. Let's try it together."
After saying this, he walked away quickly.
He Xiaoqiu stood up from the stool and wanted to call someone back, but was a little embarrassed to open his mouth.
Fan Jing was also sitting at one end, swatting flies with a bamboo swatter.
Looking at He Xiaoqiu like this, he said, "He just wants to eat."
He Xiaoqiu smiled and sat back on the stool after hearing this. He took out half a braised goose tightly wrapped in oil paper from the basket and gave it to Fan Jing.
He also put his father's medicine into the basket.
Fan Jing smelled some fragrance through the oil paper and knew what it was. It felt heavy in his hand, more than two kilograms.
Every time the He family got medicine, it went through their hands, and each time the medicine cost one or two hundred yuan. He and Kang He had previously calculated that He's father would spend five hundred yuan on medicine every month.
Doctor Zhu is not a profit-seeking doctor, and the prices of his medicines are not high, but there is nothing that can be done since Old Man He takes expensive medicines to maintain his health.
If it were treated by some doctors in the city, it would be even more amazing.
Fan Jing said, "Don't take it from now on."
He Xiaoqiu felt a little sad when she saw him say this with a stern face. She asked him, "Are you tired of eating this braised goose, or do you not want me to come?"
"I seldom go to the city, and I miss you so much even at home. It's so hard for me to come here once. If you want to send me away, I won't come again."
"no."
Fan Jing frowned and denied it, saying, "The goose caused the trouble."
"I don't find it troublesome at all. I'm used to doing this. It's not a big deal."
He Xiaoqiu asked Fan Jing: "Is the goose I made delicious?"
Fan Jing nodded and responded.
He Xiaoqiu became happy again.
Fan Jing stood up and picked up a piece of pork belly weighing almost three pounds from the stall, and also took out a piece of pig liver. He's father had liver problems, so he often ate pig liver to nourish his body.
He wrapped it in lotus leaves.
He Xiaoqiu saw this and quickly stopped him: "You are doing business, don't be so good to me!"
“It’s a waste if we can’t sell it all.”
He Xiaoqiu said, "We'll talk about it later when we can't sell all of it. This is fresh pork."
As he said this, he took out his wallet and said, "If you want to give it to me, I will pay you."
There was no way Fan Jing would take his money.
When Kang He came back with the sweet water, he saw the two men still arguing at the door about whether to pay or not.
"If you don't accept it, he won't want your things next time."
He Xiaoqiu said, "This is too much. It's not easy for you to run a business. You rent a shop, how can you afford such a gift?"
"Da Jing doesn't usually give people pork, so he's only giving it to you like this. If you refuse to accept it and instead give him silver, he'll definitely be angry."
Fan Jing walked over to Kang He, took two bowls of sweet water from the tray in his hand, went into the house, and called He Xiaoqiu: "Come and eat."
He Xiaoqiu held the purse, feeling warm but also embarrassed.
Kang He asked him to go inside to eat, as the ice would melt soon. Only then did He Xiaoqiu put the purse into his pocket.
Fan Jing and He Xiaoqiu sat side by side at the long table by the window, eating icy taro balls, while Kang He stood at the counter at one end.
The chilled taro balls are sweet, the mung beans inside are stewed until soft, and some crushed ice is placed in them. When you put them in your mouth, you will feel refreshed immediately.
The three of them took a few bites and found it delicious.
"Is Father He feeling better these days?"
He Xiaoqiu sat next to Fan Jing and replied to Kang He, "Dad took Doctor Zhu's prescription and his medicine. He was able to get out of bed and walk around on his own this month."
Hearing that He's father was feeling much better, Kang He was happy for them.
"Can you go out? Can you still go to the city to do business?"
At this point, He Xiaoqiu shook his head: "I can't work too hard for a long time. It's not easy to leave the village, let alone go to the streets to sell things like before."
Fan Jing spoke directly, "Do you have enough money at home?"
He Xiaoqiu didn't say anything, he just put a spoonful of crushed ice into his mouth.
The He family is not a wealthy family. In the past few years, Father Fan has been in good health, and the family has earned some money from the braised goose.
Just because of the affairs of He Xiaoqiu's husband's family, Father Fan was so angry that he fell ill and the family has not been doing business for a long time.
The daily medical expenses are also a problem. Even if you have a wealthy family, you can't afford to spend money if you only spend money and don't earn any.
He Xiaoqiu was also worried, but what could she do? When she tossed and turned in bed at night, she even thought about selling the recipe for braised goose.
But I can't bear to do it myself, and my family doesn't agree either. Now that I'm not at the end of my rope, I have to live a tight life.
Seeing He Xiaoqiu silent, Fan Jing's eyes moved: "I said the wrong thing."
Kang He laughed when he heard this.
He Xiaoqiu also laughed. He looked at Fan Jing and said, "Life is not like when we were doing business before. It's a bit tighter now."
Kang He asked, "Have you ever thought about restarting your business?"
He Xiaoqiu shook his head: "The current situation at home is not going to be easy for a while. There are no reliable relatives...
He trusted Fan Jing, so he said these things. If it were someone else, he would definitely not say anything unreliable about his family relatives, making people think that they were easy to bully.
Seeing this, Kang He was speechless.
Instead, Fan Jing said, "If someone wants to bully you, come find me."
He Xiaoqiu smiled and nodded.
Just as he was speaking, a man came in from outside with a swagger. Before he entered the shop, the man with a loud voice came over first.
"Brother Kang, Fan Jing, are you in the shop?"
As soon as he finished speaking, someone walked into the shop. It was Zhang Shili, who hadn't been there for some time.
It had been who knows how many days since this man had had a shave. His chin was covered with untidy beard, and he was wearing hunting clothes. His hair was unkempt, and he looked like a savage.
He Xiaoqiu glanced at the man and immediately shrank back. He put down the bowl and dish and said softly, "I, I'll go home first."
After saying that, he rushed out in a hurry, forgetting even to take the basket.
Fan Jing chased out of the shop with the basket. When he reached the street, the boy remembered that he had left the basket, but he didn't dare to go back. He could only stand under the eaves where no one was, anxiously waiting.
After a while, he saw Fan Jing bringing his basket and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Fan Jing didn't rush to give him the heavy basket, but carried it all the way to the main street.
"What's going on?"
Zhang Shili's eyes widened when he saw the young man running away like a mouse seeing a cat.
Kang He teased him, "What else could it be? You scared him away."
"Am I that scary?"
"Go look in a mirror."
Kang He said this while pulling a stool for someone to sit on and pouring some cold tea: "People who go to the city and walk on the streets don't even bother to wash their faces and dress themselves up like human beings."
"I'm just a rough old man, why would I bother with this?"
Zhang Shili sat down on the stool. He knew that Kang He and Fan Jing had opened a pork shop in the city, so he would come over here to hang out whenever he had time after coming down the mountain.
He gulped down a bowl of tea in two mouthfuls, then poured himself another bowl and continued eating.
Well, Tong Kanghe said, "I'll go to Tao's restaurant and order a pot of mutton, and the three of us will have a good meal."
Seeing that Zhang Shili was suffering from a severe fever, Kang He went to get some cold water and taught him to wash his face and hands. "It's tempting to listen to this. Mutton is expensive. A square at the butcher's shop costs forty or fifty coins. At a restaurant, a dish of less than half a pound of meat costs more than a square of fresh mutton."
"Brother, you should save your money carefully. It's okay to have some for a quick bite now and then, but you should save some money so that you won't be in trouble if you need it someday, right?"
Zhang Shili looked displeased with what he was saying and glared at Kang He: "You're the only one who's not happy when people tell you to eat and drink and you start scolding them."
After saying this, he laughed again: "If it were anyone else, who would be willing to talk to me about this? They would just empty my pockets to fill their mouths. I will listen to you and keep a few coins in my hand."
"If you can't control me anymore, next time I sell something alive, I'll just give you half and let me keep it."
Kang He said, "This isn't a bank, I don't let people look after money. If you want someone to look after your money, go find a housekeeper. I think that's more reliable."
"Where can I find someone like me? Who would be interested in me?"
"Even if you don't have that kind of mind, he's such a tall, handsome, and strong man. If you hire a matchmaker to keep an eye on him, I don't believe you'll find a good match."
Zhang Shili waved his hand, and seeing this, Kang He stopped talking.
He took out the oil-paper bag on the table and said to Zhang Shili, "You came at the right time today. You're in luck. This food tastes just as good as the stewed mutton at Tao's restaurant."
Hearing about the food, Zhang Shili became interested again: "What good things have you saved up to treat me today?"
Kang He said nothing, but just ordered a bowl of glutinous rice, two side dishes, and a glass of wine.
After waiting for Fan Jing to come back, he spread the tablecloth and then opened the oil paper package.
Zhang Shili had been waiting eagerly for a long time. When the oil paper was opened, he found half a fat braised goose lying inside.
In the summer months, the oil does not solidify, the goose meat is oily and moist, and the skin is braised to a sauce color that makes people drool.
There is no need to chop it with a knife, you can just tear the meat off with your hands and eat it. The juice will flow out of the meat, which is very tempting.
Kang He and Fan Jing have eaten it several times, but every time they eat it again, it tastes as good as the first time.
"You're right. It really tastes just as good as mutton. Where did you get this delicious food? Why don't you bring it to me sooner and let me enjoy it?"
Zhang Shili praised the meal highly: "I want to buy two whole ones to eat up the mountain."
"You want to buy it but you can't. No one in this city can make it this delicious. It's a private craft."
Zhang Shili was surprised and asked, "With such a good skill, why don't you sell it to others?"
Summer is the season when braised food is most delicious. Hot dishes and rice are hearty in winter, but scalding in summer. Braised meat and pickled vegetables are delicious cold."
Kang He agreed: "When the weather is hot, everyone likes to eat something cold. This is common sense."
Zhang Shili continued, "Haven't you seen how many braised food vendors there are on Xiaohuai Street? Their business is booming.
Normally, fresh pork heads, pig feet, and pig intestines are rarely bought, but once they're brine-cured, people are scrambling to get them in this hot weather."
Kanghe rarely bought other meat because he couldn't finish the pork at home.
Hearing Zhang Shili say this, he looked at him and his heart suddenly moved, and he came up with some new business ideas.
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