Because he purchased a lot of weapons, Zhang Rui asked Li Laibao for a wheelbarrow that the blacksmith shop usually used to transport goods. After placing the order for twenty taels of silver, Li Laibao arranged for someone to load the car. Zhang Rui said hello to Li Laibao and took Li Niushi out of the blacksmith shop and walked down the street.
The sun was shining brightly, and the temperature was so high that it could almost fry eggs. Zhang Rui and the others walked along the shaded area.
There are two streets in the whole town, about two hundred meters long. One street is a commercial street, which is the storefront of the house, where people in the town usually buy and sell things. Next to the commercial street is another empty road, which can be used by vendors during market days to set up stalls and do business during the day.
After coming out of the blacksmith shop, I walked a short distance to the right and saw two tall longan trees. Under the longan tree is a shed made of wood. On the eaves of the shed is a piece of cloth with the word "肉" hanging on it.
When Zhang Rui and Li Niushi approached along the shadows, the butcher seller stood up from his stool, put down the fan in his hand and greeted them: "Brother, do you want to buy meat? The price is cheap."
Zhang Rui looked at the pork shed. There were actually two meat stalls above, but for some reason he only saw one selling meat. At this time, there are mostly meat and bones on the stall. The meat was a little dry and black, and there were many flies flying on it. If you put it in modern times, Zhang Rui wouldn't even read it, but this is the Qing Dynasty. It would be great if a place like this could still sell meat, and you couldn’t be more picky about it.
"Boss, how do you sell this meat?" Zhang Rui asked curiously.
The pork boss looked at Zhang Rui and Li Niushi, who were both thin and shabby, and didn't think much about it. I thought they were the ones who couldn’t buy meat many times throughout the year, so I talked to them.
"Lean meat costs 70 cents per catty, and fat meat costs 90 cents. If you want bones, they'll be cheaper. They only cost 40 cents per catty."
After listening to the pork boss's introduction, Li Niu Shi suddenly said from behind: "Why are the bones still selling for 40 cents? You are not lying to us! There is no meat to eat."
After hearing what Li Niu Shi said, the pork boss seemed to be more sure of his point of view. He grinned and said, "Isn't it that food prices have gone up recently? Of course my pork prices have also gone up a bit. If I want two kilograms, I'll give you 70 Wen."
Li Niushi looked at Zhang Rui, said nothing, and stayed behind him quietly.
"Boss, your pork doesn't seem to be easy to sell!" Zhang Rui said as if chatting. This pork shed is under the shade of a tree, there is no direct sunlight and it is not very hot.
"Who says it's not? Have you seen the stall next to me? Originally, we were able to sell out both of us when we sold together, but now I often can't sell out when I sell alone. I'm losing money. I don't even know if this continues. How long can it take?" The pork boss complained after Zhang Rui
"Are you a pig? Can't the whole town sell them all?" Zhang Rui asked in confusion.
"Who says it's not? It's not because of the recent drought and food shortage. In normal times, most people would cut some meat and take it home for a good meal so they can do farm work. Now there's so much drought that there's not much millet in the fields, and rice is expensive. , not many villagers are willing to buy it.”
"Why is the price of your fat meat so high?" Zhang Rui originally meant that it is higher than that of lean meat.
"If you want more of this fat meat, I can sell it to you cheaper. It's time now. If you want to finish here, I'll give you 80 mosquitoes per catty." The pork boss promoted: "This is the place. It only weighs five kilograms, if you don’t have enough money, I can give it to you on credit first.”
"Really, thank you boss first. Haha..." After hearing what the pork boss said, Zhang Rui smiled happily and said, "But, why is your fat meat more expensive than lean meat?"
As soon as he said this, Boss Pork and Li Niushi looked at Zhang Rui as if they were idiots.
"Brother, are you kidding? Fat meat has oil and water!" The pork boss felt that Zhang Rui had not lived a good life.
"Oh? But fat meat is nothing to eat! Isn't it, Brother Niu Shi?" Zhang Rui said to Li Niu Shi next to him
"Brother Liu, after frying the fat meat, the fried meat can be used for stir-frying. It tastes very delicious. My family only eats it during major festivals. The fat fried meat stir-fried with garlic sprouts is very delicious. It takes a long time for my family to eat it. One meal." Li Niushi said to Zhang Rui very excitedly
"Yes, yes. This little brother is right. You seem to be just like a young man living a good life." The pork boss agreed with Li Niushi's words.
"Uh... like this? Shouldn't we normally eat lean meat? Fatty meat is actually more popular." Zhang Rui muttered, still looking incomprehensible.
"Brother, what do you want to buy?" the pork boss asked again
"Your meat is no longer fresh, it would be cheaper." Zhang Rui said naturally
"Hey, it's true. It looks like it's your first time to buy it. Remember to come and buy with me next time. It's cheaper for you this time. Lean meat will cost you 65 cents, fat meat will cost you 80 cents, and bones will cost you 30 cents. . Take a look at what you want to buy." The pork boss looked at Zhang Rui and had no choice. He didn't expect to make much money from him. It would be nice if he could get some money back.
It's almost afternoon now. If we don't sell the meat, it will become smelly. It's better to sell a little.
"I want it all for this price."
"Oh, all?"
"You want them all?" The pork boss didn't believe it and asked again.
"yes!"
"Brother, you are definitely not joking. If you want them all, I won't give them to you on credit." The pork boss said to Zhang Rui with great distrust.
"No kidding, if I want them all, can you help me deliver the goods?" Zhang Rui said with a smile.
After listening to Zhang Rui's words, the pork boss said angrily: "As long as you can pay for it, I will give it to you no matter how far away you are."
"It's easy to say, I still need money from your boss." Zhang Rui took out the copper coin bag as he said that. He took out a large bunch of copper coins and waved them in front of the pork boss.
When the pork boss saw it, he immediately became happy. It turned out to be a big customer! I used to hear that people should not be judged by their appearance and I didn’t believe it. It seems to be true. Fortunately, I didn’t chase him away without disgust.
The pork boss counted the meat on the table and found that there were still eighteen kilograms of lean meat, five kilograms of fat meat, and about thirty-one kilograms of various types of bones. It was calculated that it was probably more than 2,500 Wen. The pork boss was very happy to see such a big customer like Zhang Rui, so he accepted 2,500 Wen.
Zhang Rui gave the pork boss Li Rong two taels of silver in exchange for one tael of silver for nine hundred and fifty cash, and then paid him another six hundred cash, which made Li Rong smile from ear to ear.
"Boss Li, just take the meat to Datong Village and give it to a family called Li Si in the village. If you say that I, Zhang Liu, bought it, he will understand." Zhang Rui said to Li Rong who was about to pick the meat.
"It turns out that this little brother is the sixth brother of Datong Village." Li Rong looked a little relieved.
"Do you know Boss Li?" Zhang Rui asked curiously.
"We already know each other, right? At noon today, people from Datong Village came to buy meat. They said it was Sixth Brother from Datong Village who invited the villagers to dinner. I thought it was who it was, but it turned out to be you, Sixth Brother."
"It's easy. If you have enough supply, you can send me a piece of pig to my Datong Village every morning these days. Is there any problem?" Zhang Rui said to Li Rong with a smile.
"No problem, there is definitely no problem. I will help you prepare even if you run through the surrounding villages." Li Rong promised, patting his chest.
