The Lady Butcher and the Delicate Bride - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

As soon as Gui Niang heard this, she brought out another two sets of clothes and urged Mu Dingxiang to go inside and change. Once the changing started, it didn’t stop; Chu Yu personally rolled up her sleeves and piled everything she found attractive in front of the curtain.

Seeing this, Gui Niang naturally smiled so wide her mouth wouldn’t close. It was only a pity that the shop primarily sold fabric, so there weren’t many ready-made garments.

After Mu Dingxiang had changed through three sets, she didn’t want to change anymore. Chu Yu felt helpless and said to Gui Niang, “Anyway, she looks good in everything. Just look at her measurements and pack about six or seven sets. When she wears them out, we’ll come back to buy new ones.”

Buying seven sets of clothes at once was definitely the shop’s biggest order of the year. Gui Niang was beaming with joy; she stopped trying to upsell anything else and quickly and nimbly picked out several sets she considered the most beautiful, folding them and putting them into bags.

“That’s nine hundred wen in total,” Gui Niang said to Chu Yu with a grin. “Every day it’s you earning my meat money; today I finally get to earn a bit from you.”

“What do you mean ‘finally’? Which piece of clothing on my body wasn’t bought from you?” Chu Yu said irritably.

“Yes, yes, yes, great patron. My sister-in-law here is easy to talk to—I’ll throw in a set of undergarments for the little girl for free.”

Only then did Chu Yu remember that the girl’s inner layers also needed to be bought. She had Gui Niang pick out three or four more sets of undergarments to put in; the total came to exactly one tael of silver.

When Mu Dingxiang heard the total sum Gui Niang announced, her small face instantly turned pale.

These clothes were beautiful, and she liked them very much, but why were they so expensive? She had saved for several years just to get one tael of silver, and buying these few sets of clothes cost a whole tael. This made her heart ache with the expense.

Gui Niang, however, winked at her and said, “What are you afraid of? She slaughters pigs every day and has no place to spend the money she earns. If you don’t spend it, maybe she’ll spend it on some other little girl.”

Mu Dingxiang didn’t know how much money Chu Yu had, but thinking that she was currently sleeping in a cave, hadn’t built a house yet, and had been scammed out of twenty taels by her parents this morning, she feared there wasn’t much left. Although she was very loath to part with these clothes, she still placed them back into Gui Niang’s arms.

Chu Yu hadn’t been paying attention to what they were saying, but seeing the girl put the clothes back, even though her eyes were practically glued to them she hurried over to ask what was going on.

Before Gui Niang could speak, Mu Dingxiang pulled on Chu Yu’s sleeve and said, “Maybe we shouldn’t buy them for now.”

Looking at the girl’s pained expression, Chu Yu understood in an instant what was happening. She smiled and said, “There’s still money for clothes. Gui Niang, wrap them up.”

After speaking, she pulled a tael of silver from her robe and handed it to her.

Gui Niang hadn’t made a sale yet today, so she cherished this tael of silver immensely. Her mouth was like it was smeared with honey as she praised Mu Dingxiang again, finally watching as the girl, with a flushed face, was pulled out the door by Chu Yu.

“Why didn’t you just wear them out?” Chu Yu asked, seeing that she had changed back into her old, tattered clothes.

Mu Dingxiang’s lips moved a few times, but she still couldn’t find the words to explain. She hadn’t worn new clothes in so many years; she was a bit reluctant to wear them out, and also a bit embarrassed—she felt as though if she wore new clothes, everyone around would be looking at her.

Chu Yu tilted her head and thought for a moment, roughly understanding what the girl was thinking. She didn’t pursue the topic further and went to the butcher shop to find Shi Man, took some meat, and headed back.

Shi Man was the partner who slaughtered pigs with Chu Yu. He was twenty-one years old this year and an orphan. He had a small, dilapidated house in the county where he could live. When he was younger and had no food, he couldn’t bear to sell the old house, so he could only go around doing odd jobs and begging. Later, he was picked up by Chu Yu, who took him along to slaughter pigs. Over the years, the two of them working together had developed a great rapport.

Today Chu Yu had business and didn’t go to slaughter, so Shi Man found two people to help temporarily. After the pigs were slaughtered and the wages paid, the men went back, leaving Shi Man alone at the meat stall to sell.

When they arrived, he was in the middle of cutting meat. Seeing Chu Yu, he said without looking up, “Finished your business?”

Chu Yu gave an “un,” then greeted a regular customer who had come to buy meat. After the person left, she said to Shi Man, “This is my wife; you should call her Sister-in-law from now on.”

Shi Man gave her a glare. “Being talked about so much, you really started taking yourself for a man, even learning how to take a wife.”

Chu Yu finally burst out laughing. “I gave her parents twenty taels; from now on, she’s my person. It won’t be long before the news spreads through the village. The two of us are tied together now—it’s better to get used to it early.”

Mu Dingxiang listened to their conversation with some confusion, not knowing what riddles they were speaking in. But when Chu Yu introduced her to Shi Man, she called her “his wife.” Hearing those words, Mu Dingxiang felt an inexplicable sense of shyness, and her small face couldn’t help but turn red. Standing beside Chu Yu, she truly looked like a little wife.

Seeing someone else coming to buy meat, Shi Man stopped joking with her and asked, “What do you want to take back? This is all that’s left.”

Chu Yu pointed casually at a piece of pork belly and said, “That piece, then.”

Shi Man nimbly used a bamboo strip to hang it up. Chu Yu took it and placed it into a small basket on the back of the horse, then said to Mu Dingxiang, “We’ll buy some greens and then go back.”

“Don’t we grow greens at home?” Mu Dingxiang, seeing that even greens cost money to buy, couldn’t help but feel pained about the money again.

“None planted. I’ve lived in the county all these years and only moved back to the village two months ago. There’s nothing at home.”

“Then after buying the greens, let’s buy a few packets of seeds and find a piece of land to plant them. Otherwise, we’ll have to buy vegetables outside every time; it’s not economical.”

Chu Yu turned to look at her and smiled. “Alright.”

By the time they returned home, it was already afternoon. Chu Yu finally remembered that the girl hadn’t eaten all day. She herself usually left early and would prepare some dry rations to eat before heading out, so she didn’t feel hungry. The Mu family definitely hadn’t eaten breakfast so early in the morning either, and this round trip had taken most of the day.

“Next time you haven’t eaten, remember to tell me, you hear? Now that you’ve come to my Chu family, there’s no need to endure cold and hunger anymore,” Chu Yu said to Mu Dingxiang.

It was common for Mu Dingxiang to skip breakfast and lunch. Hearing her say this, she said weakly, “I don’t really feel that hungry.”

“That won’t do. A person needs to eat three meals a day. Look at how thin you are, like a monkey, it’s from being starved. Go rest for a bit; I’ll do the cooking.”

Mu Dingxiang had already spent quite a bit of money on clothes today; she was too embarrassed to just let Chu Yu do all the work alone. She jumped in and said, “I’ll help you with the meal. I’ll start the fire.”

Chu Yu saw the full expectation in her eyes and nodded, handing her the firestone.

The girl accepted the task and finally found a small bit of use in this home. Her originally anxious heart steadied slightly.

During the transition between spring and summer, it was neither cold nor hot. The sun was still out. Mu Dingxiang sat by the stove, her small face reflecting a bright red glow, looking quite beautiful.

Since retiring from the army, Chu Yu had always been a loner, with only one or two friends whom she mostly saw briefly and rarely.

Having experienced too many partings and sorrows, and having seen too much injury and death, she wasn’t able to open her heart to a complete stranger in a short time.

Now, with a young girl suddenly barging into her life, even if only as a temporary measure the sudden companionship of one person lighting the fire while the other stir-fried the dishes gave her a long-lost feeling of warmth.

Furthermore, she found that facing this girl, she couldn’t help but feel a desire to tease her, watching her small face turn red with shyness.

Watching this, her whole mood became much lighter, like raising a small kitten teasing it wantonly and watching its pitiful or teary-eyed look to satisfy the “wicked” amusement in her heart.

The pork belly went into the pot. After stir-frying for a while, it emitted the unique delicious aroma of meat, making Mu Dingxiang unable to stop her mouth from watering.

But fearing that Chu Yu would dislike her greedy appearance, she was forced to look elsewhere.

Unfortunately, besides her eyes, her ears could hear the delicious meat sizzling on the hot iron pot, and the aroma at the tip of her nose was irresistible. Mu Dingxiang wanted to stand up and walk away, but felt it would be too obvious, so she could only keep her small red ears and stiff body sitting where she was.

Chu Yu seemed like a rough person, but in reality, she was meticulous within that roughness. Naturally, she saw the girl’s predicament. The girl’s flushed small face and the movement of her throat made even Chu Yu’s iron heart soften. She took a small bowl from the side, put two or three pieces of meat in it, and handed it to her.

“It’s almost cooked. Help me test if there’s enough salt.”

Mu Dingxiang shook her head shyly and said, “Test it yourself.”

Chu Yu didn’t speak; she just held the bowl in front of her.

Mu Dingxiang had spent less than a day with her, but she already knew how stubborn this person’s character was. She could only take it and bite a small piece.

The delicious meat entered her mouth, perfectly seasoned. The tender, fatty meat exploded between her teeth, making Mu Dingxiang’s heart bubble with joy.

“The salt is enough.” Mu Dingxiang wanted to push the bowl away.

Chu Yu, however, added another half-bowl of meat to it and said, “Eat this much first to line your stomach. I’ll add some garlic sprouts and it can come out of the pot. Then I’ll stir-fry a dish of greens and we’re done.”

Mu Dingxiang looked at this half-bowl of meat, and for a moment, her heart was filled with mixed emotions. Having grown up this way, when had she ever eaten so much meat? Yesterday’s pig’s trotter was already a flavor she felt she would never forget in this lifetime. Now it seemed every meal hereafter would be like this. How fortunate she was.

Chu Yu moved quickly and soon had the two dishes on the table. The rice on the side was also cooked. It was a bit hot in the afternoon, so they didn’t eat by the stove. The two sat at the stone table outside the cave, face to face, enjoying today’s delicious food.

Of course, for Chu Yu, it was just an ordinary meal, but for Mu Dingxiang, it was still a heavenly delicacy.

After Mu Dingxiang finished eating, she set down her bowl and chopsticks and said softly to Chu Yu, “Thank you.”

Chu Yu looked up. “Thanking me for what?”

“Thanking you for taking me away from the Mu family, for giving me food and clothes, and… for treating me very well.” Mu Dingxiang bit her lower lip, timidly meeting Chu Yu’s bright black eyes.

The girl was thin, but her eyes were very bright. Being looked at by such a pair of watery eyes, Chu Yu suddenly felt a sensation as if her heart had been scorched.

Support