Chapter 17 Buying Meat

The mirror is round in shape, simple and simple, without any complicated decorations. It has a thick patina on it, and it seems to be old. The back is a layer of turquoise patina, covering up the patterns on it.

It is given by the elders and cannot be turned away.

Caiwei thanked her and took it. Without having time to take a closer look, she stuffed the mirror into her arms and said eagerly to Shopkeeper Li, "It's going to snow soon. It's important that we quickly find a way to move the old man indoors."

Shopkeeper Li rubbed his nose, straightened up, stretched his neck and shouted: "Monkey boy, monkey boy, where are you?"

"Hey, here..."

After a loud voice of agreement, the boy in the cloth shop pushed through the crowd and squeezed in. Caiwei was slightly startled. The boy was the boy from the cloth shop where Caiwei and Du Shi bought cloth. The boy also recognized Caiwei and suddenly After a moment, he didn't pay much attention, then turned his head and said to shopkeeper Li: "Old shopkeeper, the car is ready, let's carry the person back..."

…

With the help of Caiwei, the old beggar was carried back to the cloth shop. After settling down, Caiwei was thinking about her mother in the small restaurant, said something to shopkeeper Li, and left.

At this time, it was past midnight, and the sky was already overcast as if it was night. Large swaths of snowflakes were flying in the air like goose feathers. The market had ended early, and the farmers who went to the market were all rushing to their homes...

In the small restaurant, Mrs. Du was like an ant on a hot pot, walking back and forth anxiously, looking out the door from time to time. Her daughter had been gone for two or three hours and still hadn't come back yet. Could it be that I met someone taking pictures of flowers? Or, met a kidnapper?

The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. Du was so anxious that she couldn't stand still and almost went out to look for her. At this time, a familiar figure rushed back across the street in the snow and wind.

As if she had picked up a gold ingot, Mrs. Du happily greeted her and said angrily: "Girl Wei, where have you been? Why have you been there for so long? I'm so worried..."

Caiwei's heart felt hot. She remembered that a book she had read said that the happiest thing in the world is no matter where you are? what are you doing? There will always be someone who is always caring about you silently...

At that time, she thought this sentence was very hypocritical. How about someone caring about her? So what if no one cares? She is who she is, and it won't change just because someone cares about her.

However, when she saw her mother's anxious face and her relieved smile when she came back, she truly understood this sentence. It was indeed a kind of happiness to have someone caring about her.

Holding her mother's hand, Caiwei comforted her a few words and changed the subject.

She didn't want her mother to know those bad things. Her mother was kind-hearted. If she found out that Caiwei accidentally killed a life due to Caiwei's fault, I'm afraid she would be shadowed for the rest of her life. Therefore, she would never care about this matter. I won't let my mother know.

Du's daughter was back, and she felt relieved. He took Caiwei to another street.

Because the uncle's horse was frightened, they could not be contacted for a while. It snowed again and the road was slippery, so the mother and daughter had to hire a carriage to return to the village. Mujia Village is not far from the town, only more than 20 miles away. On weekdays, you can hire a covered carriage for only 30 cents, but today because it is snowing, you have to pay an additional 10 cents. Just hired a car.

Mrs. Du felt that it was not cost-effective. The carriage was charged per person. Even if the mother and daughter were empty-handed, they still charged 40 cents. With an unbalanced mentality, Mrs. Du planned to pick up the things she needed at home and buy a large cart to go back. 40 cents is not wasted.

Most of the shops on this street sell food. There are shops selling grain, shops selling meat, shops selling fish, and shops selling vegetables and fruits.

Outside the shop, some small businessmen set up many stalls, selling pancakes, noodles, steamed buns, wontons, etc. Pancakes cost two cents a piece, plain noodles three cents a bowl, shredded pork noodles eight cents, wontons five cents a bowl, vegetarian filling, if it is meat filling, five cents extra. Vegetarian buns cost one penny each, meat stuffed buns cost two cents each, and steamed buns cost two cents each, but they were just the kind of rough-flour steamed buns mixed with cornmeal.

Du bought ten meat buns and ten cooking cakes, and she was so happy that she was ready to go back and improve the lives of her children.

Caiwei didn't think so. She pointed to a butcher shop and said, "Mom, I don't like buns, so why don't we buy some meat."

Mrs. Du couldn't bear to reject her daughter, so she nodded helplessly.

In the butcher's shop, the shiny butcher saw the customer coming and immediately came over with a smile on his face: "Sister-in-law, do you want to buy some meat? This is a big fat pig that was killed this morning. It's fresh! Look, this fat pig" How thick it is..." As he said this, he flipped the fat meat on the chopping board to attract the attention of the two women.

On weekdays, pork costs 20 cents per catty, but as the New Year is approaching, prices have risen, and now pork has been sold for 30 cents per catty.

Du Shi was picking at the meat table, planning to buy a piece of fat meat to take home. It can be boiled in oil, and the meat residue that has been cooked through the oil can also be used to make dumplings. It is very fragrant!

"Boss, how much does pork cost per pound?"

"Thirty cents per pound, the price is the same in the whole town, the shop is absolutely honest." The boss patted his chest and tried his best to make this business.

"Okay, thirty cents is your thirty cents. If I buy ten pounds of meat, can you give it to me as an extra?" Caiwei asked, but her eyes were fixed on the dumplings in the corner of the shop. Some shredded pork skin and some clean large stick bones.

The boss was stunned. Those things were what he was going to take home to feed his dogs. They were worthless. If these things could be sold for 300 Wen, he would naturally be happy to give them away.

"Okay, okay!" The boss agreed immediately, as if he was afraid that Caiwei would regret it. He quickly took out a straw basket and put the pig skins and bones on the ground into it. Then he ducked into the case neatly, holding a shiny boning knife, ready to cut the meat.

Du Shi hesitated for a moment and said, "Weier, we can't eat that much meat. I think it's best to cut off two pounds first."

"Mom, it's freezing now. If you can't eat, you can freeze it. You can eat it at any time. Besides, Aunt Zhou has helped us a lot over the years. This time, Uncle Zhou and Jiu Jin helped carry the wild boar back. What should I say? , we should also thank them, right?"

Mrs. Du was very pleased when she heard her daughter's words. My daughter has grown up and has learned about the ways of the world. As a mother, I naturally cannot hold my daughter back, so I immediately took out my wallet and paid the bill.

Ten kilograms of meat is not light, and with the two large bags of cotton cloth and other items originally bought, it is no longer possible to carry it shopping. Du Shi and Caiwei discussed it, and finally Du Shi got into the car and looked at the things, while Caiwei was responsible for buying supplies for the house.

After getting her mother's purse, Caiwei breathed a sigh of relief. She could finally buy it happily without looking at her mother's expression of pain!