Chapter 68: Selling one’s body to bury one’s father
The next morning, Chai Yan felt extremely sore in his left and right shoulders and arms as soon as he opened his eyes. He knew that this was the discomfort he felt after suddenly starting to exercise.
But there is no other way, I have to continue to exercise. Who said my body is so weak?
I remember someone said that as long as you do something consistently for more than twenty-one days, it will naturally become your habit!
Adhering to the spirit of these words, Chai Yan climbed out of bed with difficulty and started the next day's exercise.
Chai Yan first ran a dozen laps in the yard to stretch his body, and then he gritted his teeth and practiced the stone lock.
After practicing for a while, Butcher Zhao came to call the door.
"Good morning, Mr. Chai..."
After Chai Yan opened the door, Butcher Zhao entered the yard carrying the pig blood with a smile on his face.
Chai Yan gave him the money in full, but Butcher Zhao did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he whispered to Chai Yan that he could send him fresh cow blood tomorrow, but the price would be more expensive than pig blood.
Before Chai Yan could speak, Shangguan Peining became excited: "Quick, promise him, Chai Yan!"
"Why are you so anxious?" Chai Yan twitched the corner of his mouth.
Shangguan Peining said: "Are you not in a hurry? There is only pig blood every day these days. Do you know how slow the growth of my precious tree is?"
"Okay, I got it!" Chai Yan has always benefited from the beans produced by the precious tree, so naturally he will not refuse.
Chai Yan asked about the price of cow blood and heard that it was only several times more expensive, so he readily ordered several buckets of cow blood from Butcher Zhao.
When Butcher Zhao turned around to leave, Chai Yan suddenly stopped him again and asked softly: "Uncle Zhao, since there is cow blood, can we also get some beef?"
"Master Chai, you want to buy beef... Yes, yes, but you have to be mentally prepared for the price..." Butcher Zhao grinned after saying this.
Chai Yan asked: "What's the price?"
Butcher Zhao turned his head and saw that there was no one at the entrance of the courtyard, then whispered the price in Chai Yan's ear.
"So expensive?" Chai Yan was shocked after hearing this. This fresh beef is more than ten times more expensive than cow blood.
In the Sheng Dynasty, cattle were used for farming, and the government did not allow them to be killed for meat. Therefore, beef was not a currency, and there was no price standard for reference. The selling price was completely determined by the supply and demand relationship on the black market.
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"Mr. Chai, it's a bit expensive, but this stuff is usually expensive but not marketable. If it happens to be in stock, you can't miss it," said Butcher Zhao.
Chai Yan thought for a moment and replied: "Okay, I want five pounds!"
"Young Mr. Chai, you are so cool!" Butcher Zhao immediately gave a thumbs up, then winced and smiled: "Hey, I'm sorry, Mr. Chai, the beef is not as good as others, you have to pay some deposit first... Hehe...
....Forgive me..."
Chai Yan didn't hesitate and readily paid some deposit.
Next, Butcher Zhao took the money and left happily. Chai Yan looked at the money bag and thought it was time to sell some medicinal materials.
"Chai Yan, why are you buying beef?" Shangguan Peining suddenly asked curiously.
"What for? Of course it's to eat!" Chai Yan thought it was strange that Shangguan Peining asked this question.
"Who eats it?"
"Nonsense, of course I will eat it myself!"
Shangguan Peining didn't believe it and asked: "You know how to cook? Then you usually eat three meals a day outside?"
Chai Yan smiled and said, "I'm not very good at anything else, but I'm pretty good at braised beef!"
Chai Yan started fasting when he traveled to Anping Temple, and he ate for a month. Although he also ate meat during the time he went down the mountain, there was no beef in it. Chai Yan really missed the delicious taste of beef, so he gave up and bought it from the butcher Zhao.
"Who can't tell lies!" Shangguan Peining never believed that Chai Yan could cook.
"Hey, I don't believe it, okay, just wait and see tomorrow!" Chai Yan said unconvinced.
After breakfast, Chai Yan went to the street. At this time, he was holding some valuable medicinal materials and was planning to find a drug store to sell them, otherwise he would lose the money to buy beef.
Chai Yan deliberately avoided the big pharmacy he went to last time and found a small and medium-sized pharmacy far away with a shopkeeper who was easy to talk to.
After some haggling with the drugstore shopkeeper, Chai Yan got a nationwide banknote with a denomination of fifty taels.
With these fifty taels of silver notes in his arms, Chai Yan went to the market.
The next task is to find a shop that sells groceries and buy spices for braised beef, such as cinnamon, cloves, star anise, etc., which are all necessary...
An hour later, Chai Yan finally bought all the ingredients needed for braised beef and was ready to go home.
On the way home, Chai Yan felt a little thirsty, so he found a tea stall at the intersection and sat down, ready to drink a bowl of herbal tea and rest before walking.
After paying the stall owner two cents, the herbal tea was quickly served on the table.
Chai Yan was drinking and looking aimlessly at the street. Suddenly he noticed a little girl kneeling not far ahead. The girl was about fifteen or sixteen years old. Her face was relatively clean, but her clothes were very shabby.
, there was an irregular small wooden board hanging on his chest, with four words written crookedly on it, "Sell yourself to bury your father"!
Selling yourself to bury your father?
Chai Yanton felt new and curious. He had always thought that he could only see such a scene in movies and TV series, but he never expected that he could actually see it in reality.
"Old man, do you know what's going on with that little girl over there?" Chai Yan asked the old man at the tea stall casually.
The old man at the tea stall glanced at the girl and sighed softly: "Hey, that girl is so pitiful..."
The old man at the tea stall told Chai Yan that the little girl's family was originally poor, and her only relative was her father, but God was unfair. Her father was a very good gambler. Later, after his father lost all his family property, he died of illness not long after!
From then on, the girl was helpless and couldn't even raise the money to pay for her father's funeral, so she had no choice but to sell her body to bury her father.
Just when Chai Yan was hesitating whether to rescue the little girl, Shangguan Peining suddenly appeared: "Yes, yes, yes, Chai Yan, buy that little girl back quickly..."
Chai Yan was surprised and said: "Huh? Can't you tell, Shangguan Peining, you still have some compassion!"
"Haha, compassion? What's the use of that thing?" Shangguan Peining sneered, quite disdainfully.
"Then what do you mean?" Chai Yan suddenly warned: "Shangguan Peining, we have an agreement. Don't touch those crooked thoughts!"
Chai Yan mistakenly thought that Shangguan Peining wanted him to buy the little girl back so that he could find an opportunity to use her blood to water the Tongtian Treasure Tree!
Shangguan Peining was a little unhappy after hearing this, but she continued: "Chai Yan, look at how beautiful this girl is. Wouldn't it be nice if you bought her back to serve you?"
"No need, I have my own hands and feet, I don't need anyone else to serve me!" Chai Yan still remained vigilant.
Shangguan Peining said solemnly: "Chai Yan, you are a young and vigorous man, don't you want to have a pretty girl to serve you personally? This will save you from being unbearably lonely in the dead of night...