The shopkeeper said, "Two yuan and eighty cents a pound."
Fang Lin asked, "How much beef do you have?"
The owner said, "We didn't cook any meat right after the New Year; there are about 20 jin (10 kg) in total."
Fang Lin asked, "What price would you charge me for all of them?"
The owner asked, "I didn't mishear, did I? You want all this beef?"
In those days, beef was the most valuable meat, and not many people could afford to buy two pounds at a time. The shopkeeper didn't believe that a young woman like her could buy more than twenty pounds at once.
Fang Lin said, "You heard me right, I want them all."
The shopkeeper said, "You'll have to take them all for two yuan and fifty cents a pound."
Fang Lin said, "If you sell it like this, I'll give you 2.8 yuan per jin, and weigh out 2 jin for me, okay?"
Right after the New Year, nobody wanted meat. The owner stood there for half a day but didn't sell more than two pounds of meat.
He said, "Girl, how much per pound would you need to buy all of these?"
Fang Lin said, "Two yuan a pound, as long as you're willing to sell it to me by weight."
The boss was silent for a long time before saying, "Here you go."
The owner weighed the beef; it totaled 26.5 jin (approximately 18.75 kg). He said, "That'll be 53 yuan in total."
Fang Lin paid the shop owner fifty-five yuan, saying, "Keep the change, I have too much stuff. Could you please take the meat to the bus station for me?"
The shopkeeper said, "Of course," and pushed the cart with her towards the bus station.
The boss escorted Fang Lin to the bus station entrance, unloaded the beef from the truck, and helped her take it to the bus station.
Fang Lin bought a ticket back to her hometown. In those days, there were very few trains running between urban and rural areas, and she waited for more than an hour before finally boarding the bus back home.
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