Chapter 14.1

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Over the next few days, Fan Changyu threw herself wholeheartedly into her routine of butchering, braising, and selling meat.

The braised offal from her shop was unmatched in color, aroma, and flavor, making it the most popular free add-on in the market. No other shop on the street could rival her business. Some customers who missed out on her meat would rather return the next day than buy elsewhere. For several days in a row, Fan Changyu was able to sell out two whole pigs’ worth of fresh and braised meat.

Her booming business naturally sparked envy among the other butchers on the street. Butcher Guo, seeing all the customers flock to her shop, became disgruntled once again. Shamelessly, he started complaining that giving out free extras was an unnecessary burden for the butcher shops, urging everyone to stop doing it.

Though the others disapproved of Guo’s attitude, they couldn’t deny that Fan Changyu’s freebies had indeed drawn a large portion of their customers to her shop. While no one voiced support outright, most implicitly agreed with Guo’s suggestion.

With her usual good nature, Fan Changyu agreed to stop giving out extras.

It wasn’t that she was easy to sway, but by now, Fan’s Braised Meat had already built a solid reputation. She no longer needed to give out free extras to attract customers. Besides, the offal she painstakingly cleaned and braised now fetched twenty wen per jin—why give it away when she could sell it?

Instead, she decided to do everyone a favor. After all, they all worked on the same street and would cross paths daily.

The other butchers on the street eagerly awaited a return to their usual business flow. But to their surprise, even after stopping the freebies, Fan Changyu’s shop still saw the best business on the street, though perhaps not as bustling as before. Her braised meats had become so popular that townsfolk even stopped going to the usual cooked-food vendors, preferring to visit her shop instead.

With the demand for her braised meats outpacing her supply, Fan Changyu took things up a notch. She set up a large pot at the front of her stall, selling the braised meats she had prepared the previous night from her counter while cooking a fresh batch in the pot right in front of customers.

This unintentional setup took her braised meat business to the next level. The aroma was simply irresistible—her broth bubbled away, filling the air with the rich scent of braised pork heads and offal that had taken on a gorgeous, glossy brown hue. The spices—star anise, bay leaves, and dried citrus peel—were clearly visible in the pot, adding to the appeal.

Anyone passing by the market couldn’t help but be drawn in by the enticing smell, coming closer to ask about prices. Seeing the fresh ingredients simmering in front of them, customers became less insistent on bargaining compared to when the meats were pre-cooked and sold directly.

When her own stock of pork heads sold out, Fan Changyu would even buy a few from the neighboring butcher, clean them thoroughly, and braise them on the spot to avoid wasting her rich broth.

At peak times, her stall could sell seven or eight braised pork heads in a single day. Fresh pork heads went for twenty wen per jin, but once transformed into braised delicacies, pork heads and ears could sell for around fifty wen per jin. With each pork head weighing about six to seven jin, she could net at least 180 wen in profit per head.

Selling seven or eight pork heads brought in around one and a half strings of cash, and with the fresh pork sales, she could net another string in profit. Her daily earnings were now holding steady at around two strings of cash.

With her money pouch growing heavier by the day, Fan Changyu decided it was time to splurge a little and planned to buy new clothes for everyone at home. Her first stop was the pawnshop, intending to redeem the hairpin she had pawned.

However, the shopkeeper gave her an awkward smile upon seeing her and said, “That hairpin has already been sold…”

Fan Changyu’s face immediately filled with urgency. “Didn’t I ask you to hold it for me?”

The shopkeeper shook his head helplessly. “Everyone who pawns something here says that. How could I possibly hold on to each one of their items? I have my own family to feed!”

Fan Changyu pressed her lips together, murmuring an apology, then asked, “Do you remember who bought it?”

The shopkeeper thought for a moment before replying, “It was bought by a young woman on the very day you pawned it. She was dressed quite elegantly, looked like she was from the county town.”

Fan Changyu felt her heart sink to the bottom.

In a town like Qingping County—neither big nor small—finding a stranger would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. It seemed there was little hope of retrieving her hairpin.

The shopkeeper, noticing her expression, began to push other items from his display. “Why don’t you take a look at this hairpin? It’s also made of silver, and the design is even nicer than the one you had!”

Without saying a word, Fan Changyu turned and left the pawnshop. Outside, the wind and snow were fierce. She sat on the steps for a moment, struggling to shake the heavy feeling weighing on her chest.

Although she had braced herself for the possibility that she might never see that hairpin again, now that it was truly gone, she couldn’t help feeling a pang of sadness. It had been her coming-of-age gift from her parents, and now it was lost.

Roughly wiping her eyes, Fan Changyu made her way home, feeling utterly dejected.

The West Alley of the town was bustling with activity—not for any ordinary reason, but because the Song family was moving out.

This year, Song Yan was the only one in Qingping County to pass the provincial exams. Even the county magistrate personally invited him over for a meal, and the local gentry and wealthy merchants scrambled to curry favor with him. The magistrate had arranged for a house in the county town for Song Yan, officially stating that it would provide him a better environment to study and, hopefully, bring honor to Qingping County by passing the imperial exams.

It seemed the house was ready, and today, Song Yan and his mother had chosen to move there.

Despite the ongoing feud between the Fan and Song families, the neighbors were still eager to maintain good relations with the newly honored scholar. Everyone came out to see them off.

As Fan Changyu approached the alley, she noticed two impressive, green-covered carriages parked along the street. Walking a bit further, she saw the Song mother and son standing at their doorway, bidding farewell to the neighbors.

Song Yan wore a deep blue robe, tall and graceful, bowing with a scholarly charm as he said his goodbyes with a gentle expression.

Song’s mother, dressed elegantly, had her hair slicked back with oil and adorned with a gold hairpin. Amidst the stream of compliments, she even managed to squeeze out a few tears, putting on a show of reluctance to leave the neighborhood.

Fan Changyu, in a sour mood, pretended not to see the mother and son and tried to slip past the crowd toward her own home. But behind her, she heard a gentle, cultured voice call out, “Miss Fan, please wait.”