Chapter 13.1

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Early the next morning, Fan Changyu loaded up with fresh pork and braised meat and headed to her family’s butcher shop.

The morning market was already bustling with vendors and peddlers calling out their wares. Wrapped in thick coats and carrying baskets, older women and grandmothers were browsing the various stalls, examining vegetables and haggling over prices.

After setting her goods on the counter, Fan Changyu greeted a few fellow butchers who had been friends of her father’s. Oddly, they responded with a touch of reluctance.

Puzzled, she noticed an older woman eyeing the still-steaming braised pig’s head displayed on her stand, drawn in by the enticing aroma. The woman asked, “Is this braised pig head one of the extras you’re throwing in?”

Fan Changyu assumed the woman had heard about her previous offer of free braised offal, hence the question, and she awkwardly explained, “Auntie, this braised pig head isn’t cheap. The spices are costly too, so I can’t just give it away.”

The woman pursed her lips and shifted her gaze to the braised offal beside it. “So, the offal is free then, right?”

She replied, “When I first reopened the shop, I gave some out for good luck for a day, but I’m not giving it away anymore. If you want to buy some, it’s two wen for one liang.”

The woman’s expression instantly changed. “Other butcher shops are giving it away, and you’re actually charging for it?”

Fan Changyu grew even more puzzled. “Are you saying all the butcher shops on this street are giving out free braised offal with their meat?”

The woman huffed, “Do you think I’m lying? Go take a look yourself if you don’t believe me!”

“Here you go; take care!”

Just then, across the street, Butcher Guo finished a sale, his loud calls drawing Fan Changyu’s attention. She noticed that the woman buying meat from him was not only holding fresh pork but also a package of braised offal wrapped in oil paper.

Butcher Guo caught her looking his way and promptly turned his face, busying himself with the pork on his counter. In the corner of his stand sat a large basin—too far to see what was inside, but now it was clear it held the braised offal.

Fan Changyu’s eyes widened in disbelief. That shameless old man! When she’d first offered free extras with her meat, he’d nearly stormed over to overturn her stand and had loudly warned her not to give out free items again. Yet here he was, using the same tactic to attract customers.

She glanced at the nearby butcher stalls and noticed each had a similar basin of braised meat on their counters. No wonder her greetings had been met with odd looks earlier.

The woman pressed, “So, are you giving it or not? If not, I’ll just buy from another stall!”

Fan Changyu replied without hesitation, “I’m giving it!”

Since pork offal didn’t cost much, and she was already using the braising spices for both the offal and the pig head meat, Fan Changyu figured she’d just keep offering the offal as a free extra to promote her braised meats. After all, when everyone was simply selling fresh pork, it was hard for customers to tell the difference in quality. But with braised offal as an add-on, the rich color and enticing aroma would speak for themselves—something that would only help her business.

The older woman had already been eyeing Fan Changyu’s braised meat. Unlike the dull, grayish braised meat from other stalls, hers had a vibrant, red shine and a mouthwatering scent, clearly top-quality.

Hearing that Fan Changyu was also offering a free side, the woman’s face lit up with delight. “Give me five jin of pork haunch!”

With quick and skillful hands, Fan Changyu chopped five jin of pork haunch, weighed it, and handed it to the woman, then added a half-jin of braised offal as a bonus.

The woman took the offal, sniffed it, and exclaimed about how delicious it smelled. Before leaving, she turned back to say, “You’ve got the best extras! I’ll be sure to tell the neighbors to come buy their meat from you!”

Fan Changyu cheerfully agreed, promising to give the woman extra next time. The older lady, delighted, walked off with her bundle of meat.

Seeing her walk away with both fresh pork and a neatly wrapped package of braised offal, others were drawn to Fan Changyu’s stall. The enticing color of her braised offal stood out, and several onlookers couldn’t help but step up to ask about the price. Without exception, each of them ended up buying meat from her stall.

As more people noticed the crowd around Fan Changyu’s stall, they instinctively assumed her products were better and squeezed forward to have a look.

Before the morning market was even halfway over, Fan Changyu’s stall had been cleaned out of fresh pork and braised offal, leaving only half of a braised pig head unsold. Meanwhile, at the other butcher stalls, the few sales they managed were only from customers who had missed out on the last of her stock and settled for whatever was left.

Butcher Guo, seeing a rare customer approach his stall, tried hard to promote his products. “Look here! Top-quality pork belly, and I’ll throw in some braised offal as well!”

A customer peered into Butcher Guo’s basin, seeing the dull, grayish braised offal, and immediately wrinkled her nose in disappointment. “The extra portions from Fan’s Meat Shop are rich and glossy, a vibrant red. Yours looks like it’s just been boiled in water with a pinch of salt.”

“I’ll come earlier tomorrow and buy from Fan’s instead!” She put down the piece of pork she’d been examining and walked off.

Butcher Guo’s face darkened as he looked back and forth between his meat and his lackluster offal. In frustration, he kicked over a stool, muttering curses under his breath.

The commotion didn’t go unnoticed by nearby vendors, who exchanged knowing glances.

Across the street, Fan Changyu witnessed the scene as well. One of the butcher’s wives, who was on friendly terms with her family, whispered, “Honestly, none of us really want to keep giving away extras like this. It’s more trouble than it’s worth.”

After all, when it was just Fan Changyu giving extras, her business was booming. But once every butcher on the street started offering free offal and the flavors were nothing special, business went back to how it was before—only now they had to give away braised offal for free, eating into their own profits.

The butcher’s wife continued, “But that Guo character is as scheming as a honeycomb is full of holes. A few days ago, he insisted over and over that you stop giving out extras, then the very next day he started doing it himself. Shameless, isn’t he? When a few of us tried to confront him about his behavior, he just threw himself on the ground and made a scene, accusing us of attacking him. He’s got an uncle working as an aide for the county magistrate, so there’s nothing we can do about him. We couldn’t just stand by and let him steal all the business with his freebies, so we had to start giving out braised offal too.”

Fan Changyu knew this auntie was explaining so she wouldn’t misunderstand their actions. She replied, “I get it, Auntie.”

Seeing Guo’s failed attempt at luring in customers today, the butcher’s wife couldn’t help but feel secretly pleased. She cast a glance his way, chuckling with schadenfreude, “Good thing you’re back, Changyu. Let’s see how long he can keep serving up that salty boiled offal.”

Guo often acted high and mighty, counting on his family connection at the county office. The vendors on this street had long been fed up with his arrogant attitude.