Having made up her mind to buy a lot, she grabbed Gu Yan and headed straight for the stall selling pork.
Looking at the dazzling array of pork cuts displayed at the stall, Lu Zhaozhao felt as if she could already see the fragrant stir-fried pork belly waving at her.
She couldn’t help but swallow her saliva. Since arriving here, she hadn’t had a single full meal, let alone any meat!
Life had been far too hard.
Thinking about being able to eat meat once she got home, Lu Zhaozhao immediately perked up and asked,
“Boss, how much are these meats?”
“Fat pork thirty-five wen, lean pork twenty-five wen, pork belly thirty wen. Which kind would you like, young lady?”
The butcher spoke while gesturing with his cleaver, as if he could slice off a piece the moment she mentioned it.
“Is this pork back fat? How much? And this… this is pork liver, right? How much is it?”
Lu Zhaozhao ignored the butcher’s words and continued asking.
“Pork back fat ten wen per jin, pork liver fifteen wen. Young lady, are you buying or not? You’ve almost asked about everything on my stall.”
The butcher was a burly man with a bearded face. He didn’t seem very patient and appeared a little annoyed, but Lu Zhaozhao didn’t get upset. She smiled patiently and said,
“You only buy after asking, right? Boss, if I buy a lot, can I get something for free?”
“How much are you buying? If it’s really a lot, I’ll give you these two big bones for free. They still have a bit of meat left on them, not completely scraped off.”
The butcher pointed at the two large bones lying nearby.
Lu Zhaozhao glanced at them. The bones were cleanly scraped, with only tiny bits of leftover meat—the kind that barely counts.
But a freebie was better than nothing.
Big bones were good too; they could be used to make bone broth.
So she said boldly,
“I’ll take ten jin of pork back fat, two jin of pork liver, and one jin of pork belly. Remember to give me the big bones too.”
“Sure, no problem. Just wait a moment, young lady. It’ll be ready soon.”
Hearing that she was really buying a lot, a smile immediately appeared on the butcher’s face. With swift movements, he cut all the items Lu Zhaozhao wanted and, as promised, included the big bones.
Those big bones hadn’t been bought by anyone anyway. She spent 160 wen, and he gave a little extra—no loss to him. Perhaps next time, she might buy from him again.
Thus, Lu Zhaozhao spent over a hundred wen and got everything she wanted.
The pork back fat could be rendered into oil, the crispy bits could be mixed with wild vegetables to make buns, pork liver could be stir-fried, and the big bones could be used for soup, nourishing the whole family.
Ah, she couldn’t think about it too much—just thinking about it made her mouth water. Lu Zhaozhao felt increasingly impatient.
After leaving the pork stall, Gu Yan couldn’t help but say,
“You could buy some fatty meat; no need to scrimp. Buy whatever you want to eat.”
Although he didn’t know much about running a household, he understood that if villagers wanted to improve their meals, they would buy some fatty meat for the children to enjoy.
Biting into it, the oil would flow in the mouth—a favorite among impoverished farming families.
Although he didn’t personally like such fatty meat, he assumed Lu Zhaozhao would. That’s why he said it.
Lu Zhaozhao frowned slightly and said,
“I’m not trying to save money. This is exactly what I wanted to buy. Come on, let’s go further and buy some rice, flour, and seasonings.”
Since Lu Zhaozhao didn’t want to put the pork in Gu Yan’s basket that had previously held snakes, she placed all the pork in her own basket, happily slinging it onto her back and moving forward.
They then went to the grain shop and bought five jin of polished rice, ten jin of brown rice, ten jin of fine flour, along with common cooking seasonings like salt, vinegar, and soy sauce.
She packed all of it into Gu Yan’s basket and, to prevent the new purchases from getting dirty, she bought a few sheets of oiled paper to wrap everything tightly before putting them in.
Gu Yan never expected she would dislike snakes so much. But thinking about the value of snake bile, he still planned to hunt snakes in the mountains later. He also decided that next time he would buy another basket just for snakes, so she wouldn’t make such a grim face again.
After getting everything they wanted, they carried the heavy baskets back home.
Fortunately, Lu Zhaozhao had built up her strength at the hospital, and though she was young, she had worked continuously since childhood. Her strength and endurance were considerable.
So, although they were still tired, they managed to reach home.
Gu Yan’s home was located at the foot of the mountain, somewhat far from the village.
Along the way, they encountered few familiar faces; it was quiet and peaceful, which pleased Lu Zhaozhao.
She wasn’t one for crowds; she preferred keeping to herself and living her own quiet life.
The Original Owner’s stepmother, by contrast, loved company. She often dragged a group of older women to the house to gossip and put the Original Owner to work fetching water or moving chairs. The Original Owner didn’t like it but dared not resist, or she would be beaten.
Luckily, Lu Zhaozhao had already left the Lu family when she came over; otherwise, with her temper, she wouldn’t have tolerated such nonsense. She would have clashed with that stepmother immediately.
She was lucky to have found the Gu family, who were easy to get along with.
They had let her take charge as soon as she arrived, which made her very happy. She decided she would treat this family well in return.
Besides, Gu Yan was skilled at hunting, far more so than she was at earning money. If she wanted to live steadily in this feudal era, having a capable man by her side would make life much easier.
Moreover, Gu Yan’s eyes were clear; he didn’t seem like someone deceitful or cruel.
Although he had a scar across his face that marred his looks, he was still handsome. Lu Zhaozhao thought the scar wasn’t too serious. Later, when they had money, they could go to a medical clinic to see if it could be lessened, at least making it less noticeable.
From the very first meeting, they had made their arrangement clear—they would cooperate for mutual benefit.
Even though he was a little messy in daily life and often wore a cold expression, he was still considerate.
On the way back, it was obvious.
His own basket was already heavy, but he would occasionally carry hers too, so she didn’t have to struggle with two heavy baskets. That kind of physical strength made him extremely reliable as a partner.
Therefore, she resolved to treat him sincerely and follow him—after all, with him, she could finally have meat to eat!