Chapter 25: Buying a Pig’s Head
The market wasn’t far, and they arrived in no time.
It was winter, and there weren’t many vegetables to begin with. Now, the vegetable vendors were even fewer. Wen Yao circled the market but didn’t see anything worth buying, so she pulled Wen Jun straight to the meat stalls.
With her sharp eyes, Wen Yao could tell at a glance which stalls had fresh meat and which didn’t.
In weather like this, meat could be hung outside or lowered into a well and still keep for a few days without issue. To the untrained eye, it was hard to tell the difference.
After walking around, Wen Yao picked a stall with noticeably fewer people. More accurately, this vendor currently had no customers at all.
The vendor was a man in his thirties. Maybe it was a trait of butchers, but he was tall and broad-shouldered—even more so than Li San. With his square face, he exuded an air of honesty and righteousness.
Wen Yao and Wen Jun walked over. She was short, so she leaned close and sniffed the meat on the chopping board.
Sure enough, her eye was as sharp as ever—this was the freshest meat here.
The man wasn’t annoyed by her actions. Unlike the other stalls where vendors had shooed her away before she even got close, this man’s attitude was much better.
“Don’t worry, little girl. All my meat is from today, absolutely fresh,” the man said, his slightly hoarse voice still sounding friendly.
Wen Yao straightened up and asked with a smile, “Uncle, how much is your meat per jin?”
“Twelve wen per jin. Pick whichever piece you like—they’re all fresh.” As he spoke, the butcher, Zheng, flipped the meat over for her to inspect.
Wen Yao scanned the cuts. They were good, but not suitable for braising. In the bucket beside the stall, she noticed a pile of pig offal, but no pig’s head.
“Uncle, do you have a pig’s head?” she asked.
Zheng was momentarily stunned. Other than large restaurants, very few people ever asked for a pig’s head.
“I do, but I left it at home. Little girl, you want a pig’s head? That thing’s not as tasty as pork belly, you know.”
Wen Yao was afraid the head had already been sold and asked quickly, “Uncle, is it fresh?”
Zheng chuckled. “Of course. I slaughter pigs daily—half go to the big restaurants, the other half I bring here to sell. Whatever I can’t sell, I take home and sell cheap to the neighbors. My family’s been selling pork on this street for decades. We don’t cheat customers.”
Wen Yao was delighted. “Uncle, then I’ll take the pig’s head. Also, are you selling that pig offal?” She pointed to the bucket beside the stall.
Zheng had to admit, he’d seen it all today. Usually, customers came looking for the good cuts. This girl was doing the opposite—buying the stuff no one wanted.
He didn’t try to hide anything and said frankly, “Little girl, most folks don’t buy pig offal. It doesn’t taste good.”
He wasn’t lying—pig offal had a strong smell that was hard to wash out, so unless a household was truly struggling, no one would consider buying it. Most days, he practically gave it away, and even then, few took it.
“That’s because they don’t know how to cook it. Uncle, I’ll take those two pieces—cut me a deal, will you?” Wen Yao started haggling.
Zheng looked at Wen Jun. To him, Wen Yao was just a little girl, so he figured he should confirm with the adult.
Wen Jun simply smiled. “Uncle, just sell it to us like she says.”
Zheng chuckled. Fair enough—if the adult agreed, it wouldn’t be right not to make the sale.
“Alright then. I’ll sell you the pig’s head for ten wen per jin. As for the bucket of offal, give me fifteen wen and it’s yours. Want it now?”
Wen Yao’s eyes lit up. That whole bucket must weigh at least ten jin, and it was only fifteen wen? That was a steal!
“Uncle, really? Only fifteen for this?” she asked, pointing at the bucket.
Zheng laughed heartily. “If I said fifteen, I meant fifteen. Don’t worry, I’m not cheating you.”
“Uncle, then I’ll take all your offal from now on,” Wen Yao said happily. Deals this good were too good to pass up.
Zheng was surprised. “Girl, what are you going to do with so much pig offal?”
Make braised intestines, of course! Just the thought of it made Wen Yao’s mouth water. “Make something delicious, of course!”
Zheng saw how excited she looked and couldn’t help but smile and shake his head. It wasn’t that people hadn’t tried cooking offal before—no matter what they did, the smell lingered. Over time, unless someone was dirt poor, they avoided it altogether.
He didn’t agree or refuse her, just said, “How about this: take it today, and if your elders don’t scold you and you still want more tomorrow, I’ll give it to you at the same price. Sound good?”
Wen Yao could feel his good intentions and didn’t insist. If worst came to worst, she’d cook up the braised intestines and bring some to this honest butcher to try.
“Alright then, let’s weigh today’s first,” she said.
Zheng called over a nearby vendor to run to his house and fetch the pig’s head.
While they waited, Wen Yao and Wen Jun circled the market again, buying two chickens and spotting some dried tofu, picked up a few jin of that too.
When they returned, Zheng’s family had delivered the pig’s head, tied up with thick straw rope and hanging on the stall. It looked huge and kind of scary.
Wen Yao was very satisfied and asked Zheng to weigh and tally everything up.
When the vendors from the stalls Wen Yao had visited earlier saw she really bought the pig’s head and even took Zheng’s offal, they were full of regret. Who would’ve thought that plain-looking little girl was actually serious about buying?
As they left, Wen Yao said to Zheng, “Uncle Zheng, remember to save it for me tomorrow, okay? My dad and brother sell fried rice at the docks. After you’re done selling, just send it over. It’s easy to find—just ask anyone about the Wen family’s fried rice, and they’ll point the way.”
Zheng finally understood—so her family ran a food stall. No wonder she bought so much.
Still, seeing how serious she looked, Zheng didn’t argue. Whether she really used up all that offal or not, if they didn’t want it tomorrow, he’d just take it back himself.
“Alright, I got it. How are you getting back? Can you carry all that?”
Wen Yao transferred what was in Wen Jun’s basket to hers, placed the pig offal at the bottom, the pig’s head on top, and filled the basket to the brim.
Seeing that the siblings could manage, Zheng didn’t say anything more and waved them off. Wen Yao and Wen Jun, each carrying a fully loaded basket, made their way back to the docks.
