Chapter 5: Selling Pork

 

At thirty-five wen per jin of wild boar meat, this half a boar weighed close to a hundred jin. The butcher asked if Shan San wanted copper coins or silver shards. Shan San exchanged the larger portion for broken silver and still had a few hundred copper coins left over.

“Damn! Brother Shan, you’re rich now!” Xu Dehai was practically drooling with envy as they walked out of the butcher shop.

Shan San glanced at the two siblings, especially Xu Guoguo, hesitated, and then held out a portion of the money toward them. “Here. For you.”

Xu Guoguo blinked. “For me?”

He nodded. “Mm.”

She laughed. “You’re really something. That was your meat. Thirty-five wen was already too low; why would you give me any of it?”

Shan San wasn’t eloquent, but he was firm. He pushed the money forward again. “You helped me get a better price. So teamwork.”

That actually made her laugh. She hadn’t expected him to be so earnest about it. But she didn’t plan on taking the money. Before she could speak, Xu Dehai, seeing her pause, reached out and grabbed it.

“Alright! I’ll accept it on behalf of my little sister!”

“Second Brother, you!”

Before she could finish, Shan San was already turning to leave, but Xu Guoguo quickly reached out and tugged his sleeve.

“Brother Shan, you haven’t eaten yet, have you? Since my second brother’s rich now, join us for lunch! I wanted to ask you more about wild boar meat anyway!”

Xu Dehai’s eyes bulged in disbelief, but Xu Guoguo ignored him and pulled the frowning Shan San into the restaurant. They found a table and sat down.

“I’m not hungry,” Shan San said, about to leave.

“Sit!” Xu Guoguo ordered. “If you don’t eat, I won’t help you next time.”

Shan San gave her a strange look. Xu Dehai, across the table, was furiously trying to signal to her with his eyes, but she pretended not to see. She simply called out to the waiter.

“Three bowls of plain noodles and one plate of stir-fried pork with chili!”

“Okay, got it!”

“Stir-fried pork?!” Xu Dehai nearly choked. “Sister, are you out of your mind?!”

He realized now she was upset that he’d taken the money. Gritting his teeth, he quickly stopped the waiter.

“Just the noodles! No stir-fry!” Then he shoved the money back toward Shan San. “Here, take it. We helped you out, but we don’t want your money.”

Only then did Xu Guoguo glance at him. Shan San also understood what she meant. He hesitated, then dumped a few things from his basket into her wooden one: “Some wild mushrooms and a rabbit. You take it.”

Xu Guoguo realized then this man was as stubborn as a mule! But goods were better than cash, so she gladly accepted.

“Alright, we’ll take these then.”

Shan San nodded. “Then I won’t stay for noodles.”

“Hey, come on. I already ordered them! And you just gave me so much stuff. A bowl of noodles is no big deal. You’re not going to skip lunch, are you?”

Shan San hesitated. Xu Guoguo smiled. “C’mon, it’s only five wen a bowl. You made money today!”

Finally, he sat down. He still had to go back into the mountains later, and skipping lunch would only drain him.

Three steaming bowls of noodles arrived. Plain spring noodles are essentially just noodles in clear broth. A dish that tested the skill of the soup maker. In a small town like this, Xu Guoguo didn’t expect much, and just after one sip of the bland broth, she almost lost her appetite. But her stomach was empty, so she slowly began eating.

The two men, by contrast, were ravenous. They dove into their noodles like starving wolves. Shan San still managed to maintain decent table manners, but Xu Dehai was practically face-deep in his bowl. Xu Guoguo couldn’t even look.

The men finished quickly, while she ate slowly. The noodles themselves were quite good—firm and chewy. The chef clearly had skill, even if the broth was underwhelming. In this early winter weather, a hot bowl of noodles still felt comforting in the belly.

After finishing his noodles, Shan San took out two steamed cornbread buns from his basket, tore them apart, and soaked them in the broth. Xu Dehai was about to do the same, but his buns were yellow, at least made from cornmeal, while Shan San’s were black, made from the cheapest wild greens and sorghum. Xu Guoguo noticed immediately.

After a pause, she split her bun in half and gave one piece to each of them. “I’m full from the noodles. You two split this.”

Xu Dehai grinned. “Then I won’t be polite. You’ve got a small appetite anyway.”
He knew that if she had offered it only to Shan San, he would have refused. Splitting it made it acceptable.

Shan San hesitated, then finally accepted. “Thanks.”

He was used to going hungry while working in the mountains or running errands in town. A couple of coarse buns for lunch was normal. But today, he’d had hot noodles and even half a decent bun. His long-empty stomach felt unexpectedly warm and content. He glanced at the siblings with a much softer expression than before.

“You said earlier you wanted to ask me something?” he asked.

Xu Guoguo was still slurping her last bite and nearly choked when he spoke. Oh right, she’d said that just to get him to come eat.

“Oh… yeah. I just wanted to ask, is wild boar meat hard to find? Is it tasty?”

Across the table, Xu Dehai suddenly started coughing uncontrollably. Xu Guoguo shot him a glare.

Shan San, however, answered seriously. “It’s hard to find. But tasty.”

“How does it compare to domestic pork?”

He thought for a moment. “Depends on the animal. Good wild boar meat is firm and better than farm-raised. But if it’s old and tough, it’s worse. Also depends on how it’s cooked; if done wrong, it can be really chewy and smelly.”

Xu Guoguo nodded. That was about what she’d expected. After all, domestic pigs had been selectively bred for generations; they were more consistent and manageable.

“So… Brother Shan, if I wanted to start a food stall and couldn’t get domestic pork at first, could I buy wild boar meat from you?”

“Cough, cough, cough!” Xu Dehai practically choked on air.

“You want to open a food stall?!” Both men blurted it out, clearly stunned.

“Yeah. What’s so weird about that? Second Brother, did you find work today? If we don’t figure something out, we’ll be starving soon.”

She didn’t hold back her words and made Xu Dehai visibly embarrassed. He didn’t respond, but Shan San asked, “Where would you set up? What would you sell?”

“I’ll sell them at the dock. I checked it out earlier. It has lots of traffic there, especially from workers hauling goods from nearby villages. They need lunch, right? If I set up a small stall there, what do you think?”

Shan San thought about it, then shook his head. “Those workers get lunch provided.”

Xu Dehai quickly chimed in, “Exactly! I told you they’re eating government food! Why would they buy from you?”

Xu Guoguo was quiet for a moment. “That’s why I’m planning to go see what their meals actually look like. Government-provided meals usually skimp on quality. Maybe it’s worse than these noodles?”

Xu Dehai opened his mouth to argue, but Shan San nodded. “She’s right. I’ve done that job. The food isn’t this good.”

Her eyes lit up. “See?! I knew it! If I cook, I can definitely do better!”

As soon as she said it, the waiter wiping the nearby tables shot her a nasty look. Clearly he didn’t appreciate that remark.

He walked over and snapped, “Alright, you’ve eaten. Time to move; other customers are waiting.”

The three exchanged looks and got up to leave. Once outside, Xu Guoguo pointed toward the dock excitedly.

“Let’s go take a look together?”

Shan San hesitated, then declined.

“You can try selling there, but it won’t be easy. If those workers already get food from the bosses, cutting in on that will definitely cause trouble. Also, as for wild boar meat, you won’t be able to get it consistently. It’s already winter. Getting boar is just luck now, not something you can count on. If you’re serious, you’ll need a reliable source of domestic pork.”

His words were like a bucket of cold water. Xu Guoguo’s enthusiasm waned. She had no rebuttal; he was absolutely right.

Without another word, Shan San said goodbye and left.

After he was gone, Xu Dehai turned to Xu Guoguo. “Little sister, I have to say, after that fall of yours, you really came back with ambition!”

She ignored him and headed toward the dock on her own.

Xu Dehai followed. “Hey, you’re a girl. Shouldn’t you just stay home like a proper lady? You think Grandmother and Mother would let you work outside?”

“They’ll let me,” she said without hesitation.

He looked stunned. “Why are you so sure?”

She stopped walking and looked him straight in the eye. “Because our family is poor and the only man in the house is useless. If you could bring back two or three taels of silver a day like Brother Shan, I wouldn’t need to lift a finger.”

Xu Dehai’s face turned red. “W-who said Shan San makes that much every day?! He was just lucky today! Even he said you can’t find wild boar every time!”

She huffed. “But there are rabbits, pheasants! And did you see that basket of mushrooms? There were bamboo fungus and chicken mushrooms in there; those can fetch money! The mountains are full of treasures. And there’s ginseng, too. You just don’t want to work. You’d rather wander around town flirting with the snack shop lady than do real labor!”

Xu Dehai’s eyes widened in shock. He stood frozen for a while.

By the time he recovered, she was already far ahead. He stomped after her, flustered.

“Xu Guoguo! What nonsense are you spewing?! You must’ve hit your head harder than we thought! That’s your own sister-in-law, for heaven’s sake!”

Xu Guoguo stopped. She looked back at him with a strange expression and then turned sheepish.

 

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Author’s Note:
Second Brother: Flirting?! Who?! I’m innocent! She actually hits me!

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Translator’s Notes:

Plain Spring Noodles: A humble, classic Chinese noodle dish typically with clear broth with just scallions. Its appeal lies in the quality of the noodles and broth.