Chapter 33: Carrying a Whole Pig’s Head Home
The moment they heard that, the two brothers panicked a little and rushed to explain, “We believe you, Big Brother, of course we believe you! We’re the dumb ones, not good with words—not like you, you’ve always been the smart one.”
Wen Xiuyi thought back to the memories of the original host. If that guy hadn’t already been off to reincarnate somewhere, he’d really want to spit in his face. What kind of garbage was this? He’d been smart since childhood, and he used that as an excuse to cheat and bully his two younger brothers. After being sent to study, he’d doubled down—everything at home was dumped on them, and he acted like being a scholar meant he was superior.
Those two had been brainwashed since they were kids, thinking of themselves as mere bumpkins compared to him, not worthy, not equal.
Wasn’t that just textbook emotional manipulation?
Manipulating his own blood brothers—truly impressive.
“What are you two planning to do this afternoon?” Wen Xiuyi tactfully changed the subject. Otherwise, the two would stay nervous forever.
Originally, the brothers had planned to return home after this. Old Madam Luo had sent them just to check if Wen Xiuyi was really working hard at his stall. Now that they had seen it for themselves, naturally it was time to head back.
But after witnessing how busy the lunch rush had been, the two figured they might as well stay and help Big Brother out. Once they wrapped up the day, they could go back together. After all, there wasn’t much work to do in the fields right now anyway.
After hearing this, Wen Xiuyi waved his hand. “It’s only busy around lunchtime. The afternoon isn’t that hectic. If you need to go, go. I’ve got Xiao Jun here—it’s enough.”
“Big Brother, you really don’t need our help?” they asked again, trying to be of use.
“Nope. I’m good. Really. Oh right, hang on.” He called Wen Jun over and instructed, “In a bit, take the braised intestines over to Boss Zheng. Then take some money and buy two jin of meat from him. Let your second and third uncle bring it home for Grandpa and Grandma.”
“Got it.” Wen Jun nodded and went off to count the money.
Hearing this, Wen Xiuzhu and Wen Xiuqing panicked. “Big Brother, you don’t need to buy meat. Dad and Mom said it’s not easy for you to earn money. You don’t need to buy them anything.”
Wen Xiuyi couldn’t be bothered to argue. He just waved them off. “It’s settled. Take the stuff and go with Xiao Jun. I need to catch a nap before the next wave hits. Off you go, hurry.”
Wen Jun had already gathered the money and thoughtfully brought over their baskets. “Second Uncle, Third Uncle, let’s go. If you stay, my dad’s gonna keep worrying about you two. He was up early—if he doesn’t get a nap, he’ll be wrecked this afternoon.”
With Wen Jun saying that, the brothers had no choice but to hoist their baskets and leave quickly, afraid of delaying Wen Xiuyi’s rest.
Wen Xiuyi collapsed into a recliner under a tree and, watching the three figures walk away, slowly exhaled.
Ah, family. No matter what you’ve done, as long as you truly repent, they’ll always stand by your side.
The old man and old lady were like that. So were his two younger brothers.
Wen Jun brought Wen Xiuzhu and Wen Xiuqing to the market. Boss Zheng recognized him right away.
“I was just about to head over to the docks after I packed up. What’s up? What did your dad say—do you still need the usual today?” Boss Zheng asked.
Wen Jun handed over the braised intestines they’d brought. “Uncle Zheng, my dad asked me to bring this for you to try.”
“What is it?” Boss Zheng curiously opened the bundle, revealing a cooked portion of pig intestines. He blinked. “This is the stuff you and your sister bought yesterday?”
“Mm.” Wen Jun nodded with a smile. “Have a taste.”
Wen Jun had full confidence in Wen Yao’s cooking. At the stall that day, no one dared try the braised intestines at first. But once one person gave it a shot, the rest couldn’t help themselves.
After all, it was cheap—only ten wen a jin. A few people could split a plate, and each would get a decent amount.
Except for the portion left for Boss Zheng, the rest had already sold out.
Suspicious, Boss Zheng popped a piece into his mouth. He’d already braced himself to swallow something awful, even if he had to force it down for the sake of politeness. But the moment it hit his tongue, he was stunned—surprisingly tasty.
He raised an eyebrow. “Not bad! How did you guys make it? Seriously, there’s not even a trace of that usual stink.”
Wen Jun just smiled. “No idea how it’s made. It’s my sister’s recipe. I’m not at liberty to say.”
Boss Zheng caught on and laughed awkwardly. “Fair enough. Wasn’t prying. Just got curious. So, do you still need intestines today? And the pig’s head—still want it?”
Wen Jun nodded. “Yes. Uncle Zheng, you still have the pig’s head saved for us, right?”
“Sure do. You want me to send it over later, or are you taking it now?”
Wen Jun glanced at his two uncles. “We’ll take it now. Sorry for the trouble, Uncle Zheng.”
“No trouble at all.” Boss Zheng cheerfully weighed out the pig head—this seemed like the beginning of a long-term business relationship, and he was quite pleased. Usually, even restaurants didn’t always want pig heads. As for pig intestines? If he couldn’t sell them, he tossed them—his own family wouldn’t eat them.
“Big pig head today—twenty-two jin. All the intestines are here. Still fifteen wen.” Boss Zheng said.
Wen Jun was a bit surprised. Boss Zheng clearly knew they’d made the intestines taste good and that they were now selling, yet he kept the price the same. That kind of honesty was hard to come by.
Maybe one day Boss Zheng would raise the price once he realized what they were charging at the stall. But that would be understandable. For now, at least, he honored the original deal.
After weighing everything, Wen Jun pointed to two strips of pork belly on the counter. “Uncle Zheng, weigh those two for me as well.”
“Sure. Eleven wen per jin for you.” Boss Zheng wasn’t the type to haggle. The meat came out to three and a half jin, and Wen Jun paid up without delay.
Wen Xiuzhu and Wen Xiuqing were absolutely dumbfounded, watching Wen Jun buy so much meat and hand over all that money. Then they looked at how confident and composed he was, chatting so easily with Boss Zheng, and couldn’t help but sigh—truly the son of their big brother and late sister-in-law. Impressive.
“Second Uncle, Third Uncle, I’ll trouble you to take this pork and intestines back to Yao Yao. These two pieces of meat are for you to bring home too—paid in full, so don’t even try to refuse.” Wen Jun said as he tucked the pork belly into Wen Xiuzhu’s basket.
Boss Zheng added, “Hold steady now,” and placed the pig head in too, even covering it thoughtfully with some large leaves.
As for Wen Xiuqing’s basket, that got the big bucket of intestines. Boss Zheng lent them the bucket for transport and said he’d pick it up the next day when he came to deliver meat.
Wen Jun escorted the two out of the city before returning to the docks.
It was the first time Wen Xiuzhu and Wen Xiuqing had ever carried this much meat in their lives. Every time someone glanced at their baskets along the way, they got nervous. Practically sprinting, they made it back to the village.
Once there, they didn’t go home right away—they stopped by Wen Yao’s place first, dropped off the pig’s head and intestines, and only then did they finally feel safe enough to go home.
