Butcher Fulang’s Noodle Shop - Chapter 23
The mule cart sped away, leaving the town behind in the blink of an eye. Under the bright morning sun, all that remained was the flying dust raised by its strong four hooves.
Song Shijin turned his head and stared in shock for a long time. Until the shadow of the mule cart disappeared, he was still breathing slightly.
“Bao Qin, did you see that?”
The little book boy held the reins and tugged on them, his teeth chattering.
“Yes, I saw it, but… Song Shi’an seems to have a shadow. Young Master, let’s go home first and talk about it!”
In fact, the Song family was a small wealthy family, with two generations of poor individuals digging in the soil, a family with no foundation.
Where did these young master title come from?
It was Wang Jiaojiao, who knew how to build publicity for her son from a young age. When she was pregnant, she grabbed an inkstone coated with honey and claimed to have given birth to a literary star in the Song family.
When Song Shijin started studying and wrote his first crooked poem. Wang Jiaojiao gave his teacher money, asked him to run to Song Yuchun and praise Song Shijin for his talent and intelligence.
Wang Jiaojiao noticed that children in the academy, if they came from scholarly or wealthy families, would always bring a book boy with them to help with errands. So, she quickly bought a book boy, brought him home, and asked Song Shijin to name him.
When Song Yuchun heard that the little book boy was called Bao Qin, he frowned and asked, “Why isn’t it called Bao Shu? Or San Yuan?”
Wang Jiaojiao lowered her eyebrows when she saw her son being scolded and said hurriedly: “Those names of yours are so vulgar, where can I find them? Piano is sweet and elegant word!”
When Song Shijin passed the exam to become a scholar, Wang Jiaojiao was as happy as if her son had won three yuan (first place thrice) in a row. She was obviously a stingy woman, but she forced Song Yuchun to have the Song family restaurant open a banquet to welcome guests.
There was no need to pay for eating, as long as you were happy for Song Shijin and said something festive and auspicious.
That time, the Song family restaurant was suddenly filled with guests, and the dishes were piled up several people high. Song Shi’an squatted in the kitchen, unable to stand up and move his waist. He washed until late at night and then got a white-faced steamed bun, which made him happy.
Now, with the Imperial Exam still a month away, Wang Jiaojiao’s boastful predictions have already begun.
“It’s inevitable for him to pass the examination, but I don’t know whether our golden boy will pass as the first place, second or third place.”
The diners, who knew more or less about passing the examination, also knew that once the restaurant proprietress’s good son passed the exam, they could eat and drink for free. So, they naturally knew how to join the fun and praised Song Shijin to the sky.
In the early morning, before the restaurant opened, the delivery person who had been cooperating with the Song family restaurant all year round carried fresh fish, fresh meat, and large bundles of various vegetables from the mule cart.
Song Yuchun counted the dishes and wrote items on the list while watching a young man riding a donkey approaching from a distance.
He frowned and asked, “Why is he back at this time?”
When the deliveryman saw that he had finished checking, he said with a smile, “Boss Song, it’s been a month since I delivered these goods. Isn’t it time to put the food money into meat? Let’s settle the money.”
Hearing this, Song Yuchun’s brows furrowed even deeper, but he said, “I haven’t exchanged the broken silver in the past few days, and I will pay you when I exchange it. We’ve always cooperated well. When have I ever failed to pay for your family? Couldn’t you wait a moment before starting an argument early in the morning? Do you not want to do business with our Song family restaurant?”
The deliveryman choked away.
Song Yuchun wanted to interrogate Song Shijin, but Wang Jiaojiao pulled her son behind her.
“Are you full of evil fire that you wanted to scold your precious eldest son? Did Shijin provoke you?”
Song Shijin pursed his lips, realizing he wouldn’t get through this matter unless he made it clear. “Father, mother, I am in the provincial capital. After moving in, the neighbors around us were all engaged in small businesses, making noise every day, disrupting my studies. The house was shady, filled with mosquitoes, rats, and ants. I felt uncomfortable, so I decided to come back and stay for a few days. It’s quieter here.”
Wang Jiaojiao hurriedly examined her son’s head, face, and neck. Sure enough, she saw two mosquito bites, and tears welled up in her eyes.
“It’s all because of your useless parents that made you suffer!”
Seeing his father’s pale face, Song Shijin hurriedly said, “Dad, I just want to come home to study and save some money for the family. The provincial capital is much expensive than our Qingjiang. It’s more cost-effective to be here.”
Song Yuchun sighed and walked away with his hands behind his back.
Once her father left, Wang Jiaojiao pulled Song Shijin into the kitchen, sat down at a small table, and ordered a large bowl of beef noodles and two poached eggs, afraid her good son might be hungry.
While eating noodles, Song Shijin asked, and Wang Jiaojiao couldn’t stop talking.
She recounted the whole story of Song Shi’an, ending with a frustrated slam on the table: “Just because he’s not dead yet, Master Jiang took the one hundred taels of funeral money again. They wanted to get it back! It’s a hundred taels of silver. Your father searched the house and forced me to reclaim the rent money I paid in advance so I could make up for it!”
No wonder, there was no money being send to him in the capital.
Song Shijin nodded and informed his mother about meeting Song Shi’an and Butcher Xu on the road.
Wang Jiaojiao, upon hearing that Song Shi’an could now ride in a mule cart after marrying a butcher and hearing that his complexion was fair and energetic, no longer as submissive as before, became even angrier.
“Why should a little bitch like him live such a wonderful life?”
Song Shijin frowned slightly at his mother’s choice of words.
“Mom, you can say this in front of me. Don’t scold like this in front of outsiders.”
His relationship with Song Shi’an was never good. Wang Jiaojiao had ingrained in him since childhood that there was no room for two tigers on one mountain, and Song Shi’an was born from the dead ghost. If the Song family’s property were given to Song Shi’an, he wouldn’t have a share.
Ever since he could remember, Song Shi’an had worked like a third-class slave, even talking to him evasively, looking submissive.
He was used to taking off his clothes and socks and throwing them for his elder brother to wash. Afraid of being scolded by his parents, he would pass the blame to Song Shi’an. His elder brother didn’t dare to tell the difference anyway.
“Mom, Teacher told me that if one day someone can take the imperial examination and become the top scholar, the emperor will send someone to the place where he was born to inquire about the family tradition and reputation of the top scholar. I heard that more than ten years ago, there was a feud between the brothers in the family of the No. 1 Scholar that became so serious they had a family separation lawsuit. After he won the No. 1 Scholar, he was implicated and finally dismissed from his official position. Because in the emperor’s wise judgment, the family was not at peace. How could he govern the world?”
Wang Jiaojiao was still resentful.
Song Shijin added, “The poor families in the town naturally want to marry a butcher, but our family does not. Mother, why do you have to worry about eldest brother marrying a butcher? Do you want your younger sister to marry a butcher?”
Wang Jiaojiao spat said, “Oh, my family Shiqing could like him? He’s just daydreaming!”
Song Shiqing was beautiful and lovely, and Wang Jiaojiao always controlled her very strictly, pampering her like the apple of her eye. To Wang Jiaojiao, this was a rare commodity, so how could she sell it to Butcher Xu at such a low price?
.
Song Shi’an didn’t know that the sudden meeting would stir up waves in the Song family, causing Wang Jiaojiao and his younger brother Song Shijin to talk for a whole morning.
Along the way, he and Xu Zhongyue ate, drank, talked, and laughed.
The mule cart passed through a large paddy field. The rice was green, and the canals were crisscrossed. Farmers led the buffaloes to work in the fields. It was a pastoral scene.
The cart stopped on the side of the road. A farmer had been waiting under the shade of a tree for a long time and hurriedly knocked on his tobacco bag to greet him.
Xu Zhongyue came here to help farmers remove cow carcasses.
The world was re-established. In order to recuperate and rejuvenate, the imperial court naturally needed to accumulate enough food, so it greatly reduced the taxes on farmers. At the same time, it issued cattle ban and prohibited the slaughter of farm cattle.
Regardless of cattle or buffalo, they could farm and work, and farmers would not easily kill cattle. Even if the cattle were old and weak and could no longer plow the land, they often hesitated to kill them because they had raised them and formed a bond.
But after the cow died of old age and illness, they were reluctant to throw away the several hundred kilograms of beef.
The process of dismantling the whole body of a cow was more complicated than that of a pig, as the bones of the cow were stronger, and the meat was much coarser than that of pork.
If ordinary farmers tried to do it themselves, they would likely only end up tearing the cow into pieces.
Xu Zhongyue was obviously proficient in this method. He opened the tool bag made of leather tanning, took out long and short knives, cut along the texture of the cattle’s muscles and bones, and quickly cut the cattle into pieces.
The farmer’s house was already surrounded by the meats and bones.
Pork costs thirty or forty cents per catty, and beef, coming from buffaloes that had died of old age, was rough and cannot be sold at a high price—only costing more than ten or twenty cents per catty. It was suitable for cooking with some water, making it more cost-effective, especially for farmers who couldn’t afford white rice and white noodles year-round.
The farmer who sought Xu Zhongyue’s help was familiar with him, and this time Xu Zhongyue helped only half-heartedly, receiving a little hard-earned money. The farmer left a large piece of belly meat, ensuring Xu Zhongyue took it back to eat.
However, the hot weather posed a risk of the cow belly smelling bad if it was taken home. Song Shi’an, with his wit, pulled out a pack of marinade and asked the farmers for some dried hawthorn. He braised the whole piece of cow belly, turning it into dry food suitable for hunting in the mountains.
Xu Zhongyue informed him of a hunter’s house in the mountains where he usually stayed for ten days to half a month, and only went down after hunting enough prey.
Busy in the kitchen, Song Shi’an offered to marinate the beef without charging the farmers, ensuring it would be stewed to perfection.
Xu Zhongyue wanted to help but was invited to drink and talk about the mountains by the farmer’s family, bringing two more bottles of good rice wine.
Song Shi’an looked at his husband, “Go away. I’m busy here!” Then, continued his kitchen work.
After cooking the beef and tripe, Song Shi’an sat down outside the threshold. The farmer had a granddaughter, a cute eight or nine-year-old with big, black grape-like eyes. Song Shi’an gave her a handful of preserved peaches when she entered.
As he was about to take a nap, Song Shi’an saw the little girl running to the kitchen crying and shivering, while shouting, “Snake, snake!”