Chapter 16: Buying Meat at Qinghe Market

What left the village chief and the others even more astonished came next.

In front of everyone, Mrs. Wang reluctantly pulled out a pouch of silver coins from her bosom.

He Mingjie accepted it with a righteous air and announced, “I feel deeply guilty that my sister-in-law has worked hard for my education and future. Today, as I let my sister-in-law return home, I will return her dowry in full. This is fifteen taels of cash; please accept it, sister-in-law.”

Wen Yunhe accepted the pouch without hesitation; after all, this belonged to her in the first place.

It was infuriating, though, that she had to help He Mingjie save face at the last moment.

Hmph! There will be plenty of time in the future.

“I, Wen Yunhe, thank the elders for their kindness and will always remember your grace in the future,” she said, even though she was reluctant. Still, she recognized the importance of saving face.

The village chief offered a few more words of advice.

With that, the divorce was finally cemented, and Wen Yunhe considered the negotiation a resounding success.

Although, in a way, she had helped He Mingjie regain some dignity, the more important thing was that she was now free.

As for the He family, without Wen Yunhe as their hardworking ox, they might not even endure the hardships of fleeing ahead, and she thought to herself, “Let’s just wait and see!”

Heaven surely had eyes; otherwise, why would they send her to this situation?

Wen Yunhe still needed to pack her belongings at the He house, but it was just clothes and everyday items, so she could take what she needed and leave.

Mrs. Wang had been watching the brother and sister duo closely the entire time, fearful they would take even one extra item.

After the village chief and others left, she couldn’t stop cursing.

“You black-hearted wench, Wen Yunhe! I curse you to be a widow all your life, never to find peace.

Don’t think I’m unaware—you stole our grain! Just wait, one day, I’ll make you pay!”

Wen Yunque was about to argue with her when Wen Yunhe pulled him back.

“Who do you think you are? Does God listen to you? Using chicken feathers as a talisman to impose threats—let’s go!”

As they stepped out of the He family’s gate, it felt as if they had pushed aside clouds to see the sun again. In that moment, they caught each other’s gaze, both seeing the joy reflected in their eyes, and smiled at one another.

“Come on, let’s head to Qinghe Market to buy some meat today; we’ll cook a nice dinner to celebrate! Now I’m rich!” Wen Yunque said, patting the silver coins in his pocket.

“Today, we’ll do whatever you say, big brother,” Wen Yunhe replied, her spirits lifting upon seeing his excitement.

The siblings returned home, dropped off their belongings, reported their victory, and then set off for Qinghe Market with Wen Yunwei, all three of them happily making their way to the local market.

Qinghe Market was a small place where the neighboring villages exchanged daily necessities and goods.

Going all the way to the county would take too long—over three hours. Although there were ox carts available in the village, they cost two copper coins for a round trip, which was more than they wanted to spend.

On the other hand, Qinghe Market was just under half an hour away, making it much more convenient.

Today was a market day, but by the afternoon, the stalls were nearly closing up, and there weren’t many people around, only a few stall owners calling out in a halfhearted manner.

Wen Yunhe led her siblings straight to the meat stall.

There wasn’t much meat left; only a piece of tenderloin, some spareribs, a pork knuckle, a pig’s trotters, and a chunk of pig liver.

Tenderloin was considered premium pork in modern times but wasn’t regarded as such now—it was pure lean meat with little to no fat, which explained why it was still there.

“How much for these?” Wen Yunhe asked.

The stall owner, sitting in the shade, wasn’t sure if they intended to buy, so he replied casually, “Tenderloin is twenty-five wen per jin, spareribs and pig’s trotters are fifteen wen per jin, soup bones are ten wen per jin, and pig liver is eight wen per jin. Young lady, take a look while I weigh.”

Wen Yunhe had initially thought that with her newfound wealth—fifteen taels of silver—she would have considerable purchasing power.

To her surprise, that amount was only enough to buy five hundred jin of pork.

“Boss, can you give us a better price? It would be good to sell these quickly so you can pack up,” she said, determined to bargain.

“If you really want them, I can do twenty-three wens for the tenderloin, thirteen wen for the spare ribs and pig’s trotters, eight wen for the soup bones, and six wen for the pig liver,” the owner conceded, seeing they were serious buyers.

Wen Yunhe thought that these prices were reasonable since they had already dropped a couple of wens.

Just as Wen Yunhe prepared to agree, Wen Yunwei stepped forward, pointing at the meat. “Boss, this meat has no fat at all; how can you charge twenty-three wen for it?

And these soup bones and spareribs? The meat is mostly stripped off, leaving just bones. How can you shamelessly ask for this price?

This piece of pig liver has already ruptured its bile; cooking it would be bitter. Just take a whiff—it’s spoiled!”

In reality, Wen Yunwei’s comments weren’t completely unfounded. The remaining items had noticeable flaws.

“Are you here to haggle or buy? Make up your minds!” the boss said, his face turning sour.

Wen Yunwei then put on a charming smile, “We want to buy, don’t be angry! What I said is the truth; the meat is dried out, and you haven’t sold anything all afternoon. It’s not just us who think it’s too expensive.

How about lowering the price a little more for us?”

It’s often said that a smile can disarm even the toughest negotiators. Though the young girl was picky, she was also right in her observations.

Having sat there all afternoon with hardly any sales, the boss was somewhat irritated.

“You’ve got a sharp tongue, young lady. I’ll lower the price a bit—three wen off, but you have to take all of this!” the boss countered, presenting a small challenge.

Wen Yunhe was impressed; her little sister was quite the negotiator, and she managed to talk the boss down another three wen.

Now, the prices were: twenty wen for the tenderloin, ten wen for the pig’s trotters and spare ribs, five wen for the soup bones, and three wen for the pig liver.

This was a good deal, and it wasn’t too much meat to handle.

For someone from a modern background, buying this much meat at once seemed quite normal, but Wen Yunwei, being frugal, didn’t consider purchasing this much.

Just as she was about to continue haggling with the boss, Wen Yunhe waved her hand decisively, “Let’s go with the price you just mentioned. We’ll take it all.”

“Big sister, we can’t eat this much meat!” Wen Yunwei exclaimed, wide-eyed as she tugged at Wen Yunhe’s sleeve.

In the past, they would buy at most half a jin during festivals, and now they were buying so much all at once for the first time.

“We can eat it! Today is a special day for big sister. Whatever she says goes!” Wen Yunhe reassured her, patting her hand.

Reluctantly, Wen Yunwei nodded, biting her lip.

Wen Yunhe had finally escaped her troubles; it wasn’t an everyday occurrence for her to indulge like this.

Wen Yunque remained by with the basket, ready to carry their haul.

The boss didn’t expect the girls to really take all the meat, and he quickly started weighing it for them with a grin.

“Here’s what you have: one jin two liang of tenderloin, two jins one liang of pig’s trotters, two jins three liang of spare ribs, three jins three liang of soup bones, and two jins eight liang of pig liver.

In total, that’s ninety-three wen. Here you go.”

Wen Yunhe happily brought out the silver coins to pay.

After buying the meat, the three of them wandered around the market a bit more. Since it was already afternoon, the stalls were mostly empty, and not much good was left.

They had most of the vegetables they needed at home, so Wen Yunhe only bought a few seasonings. Then, the three of them headed back home.

Wen Yunque carried the meat while the two sisters strolled leisurely behind him, chatting along the way. The journey didn’t seem long at all.

“Young sister, you’re really good at haggling! Without you today, we wouldn’t have saved this much silver,” Wen Yunhe remarked. This younger sister of hers had the potential to be a savvy businesswoman; she could definitely be nurtured in this area.

“When you were home before, I always left the household matters up to you, so I didn’t bother learning,” Wen Yunwei admitted shyly, scratching her head.

“Now that I’m in charge of the household, I realize how much money is involved in everything. It’s much easier to spend than to earn, so I’ve become better at it little by little. Please don’t laugh at me, big sister.”

“Why would I laugh at you? You’re absolutely right; spending money is easy, but earning it is hard. We should be careful about how we live our lives, make it last,” Wen Yunhe agreed wholeheartedly.

Isn’t that how ordinary people live? There’s always a need to count every copper, and she herself had endured hardships, so she understood these lessons well.

However, since she came from a modern perspective, she felt that a reasonable allowance for food and daily expenses was necessary, whereas Wen Yunwei’s view was more frugal. She thought it unimportant to correct her sister’s mindset, knowing it would evolve over time.

As long as they had some money in their pockets, their spending habits would surely change gradually.