Chapter 15: A Sigh of Relief

Zhang, the butcher, was momentarily confused and didn't quite understand what White Ye meant.

White Ye quickly corrected himself, afraid the system might consider it a violation, "We're here to buy pork!"

"Buying pork, good! I'm about to slaughter a pig," Zhang said, immediately calling over his workers to tie up the pig he was going to butcher.

White Ye wasn't interested in watching this, so he turned to one side, while his father stayed nearby, wanting to check the quality of the pig.

After a long while, White Ye's father came over and knocked on the car window, signaling White Ye to come down and have a look.

"How's the meat?"

"It's even better than yesterday's; the meat is quite fatty."

Father and son walked over. Because of what had happened earlier, the others were very polite and let them go first.

White Ye directly said he wanted the whole pig, which made everyone pause for a moment.

"You want the whole pig? How are you going to eat all that?" Zhang, who knew the family, was surprised. He had seen them before, but they usually bought only small amounts, just a few cuts around the holidays.

Yesterday, when they bought a side of pork, Zhang was surprised, but today they were asking for an entire pig.

"My son, he's learning a trade. During the New Year, he's going to sell some marinated meat at the market," White Ye's father said proudly, unable to hide his pride.

He wasn't usually this boastful, but when it came to his son, he couldn't help himself.

Hearing that they had sold all the marinated meat from the previous day at Liu Family Market, people were quite surprised.

They all knew that the market at Liu Family was small, and selling half a side of marinated pork there was no small feat.

Some of them immediately asked if there was any more marinated meat available.

White Ye's eyes widened, almost in excitement, "Yes, we still have some fatty pork and a pig's hock!"

After saying this, White Ye rushed to his car, and everyone followed him.

The large pot wasn't taken down, so White Ye just dragged it from the back of the truck, opened it, and picked up a piece of meat.

"We don't have much left, just some small pieces," White Ye said.

Since they had just packed up, the stew still had some warmth to it. As White Ye lifted the lid, the rich, savory aroma of the marinated meat wafted out.

"What's that smell?"

"Is that the smell of marinated meat?"

"It smells so good!"

"Looks like they've got some skills!"

The people around couldn't help but comment.

When White Ye took the meat out, they were even more intrigued.

The pieces were cut from larger sections, not the small, messy cuts. Some people preferred to get a fresh piece, and so what remained were several half-pieces.

These half-cut marinated meats showed distinct marbling—fatty white streaks, lean dark red meat—tightly packed with a firm, elastic texture. It was clear that it was made from good-quality meat.

"This is from the pig I bought from Uncle Zhang yesterday. I marinated it last night. Let me give a few of you a taste," White Ye said.

He scooped the meat out of the pot, but since there weren't any more whole pieces, he grabbed a cutting board nearby, quickly sliced a piece, and cut it into smaller chunks.

Knowing that some people's hands weren't clean, he took out a few disposable gloves and handed them out. "Try this!"

The offering was so enticing that everyone accepted the gloves and eagerly grabbed a piece to taste.

The moment the meat touched their mouths, they were all instantly hooked.

Although the meat looked firm, it was so tender and perfectly stewed that the fat melted smoothly in their mouths, leaving behind no greasy feeling. Instead, it was the pure, fragrant flavor of the marinade. After chewing a few times, it practically dissolved in their mouths.

As for the lean meat, it was just as tender and flavorful, not a hint of toughness.

Without realizing it, everyone had eaten the entire piece of meat. When they reached for more, they suddenly remembered that this was a free tasting.

"Give me a piece, how much is it?"

"Our price is twenty-eight per pound, but we have only a few pieces left. How about twenty-five per pound?"

"Deal!" These people knew their stuff and understood the current price of pork.

The remaining half a pig, after removing the hocks and pig's feet, as well as the back and ribs, only had a few dozen pounds of meat left.

Calculating the cost, the price for the meat itself would be around twenty yuan per pound. Considering how well the marinating was done, twenty-five per pound wasn't a bad price at all.

White Ye knew that the price wasn't very profitable, but he didn't care too much. The main thing was to complete the task, so he didn't mind losing a bit of money.

Besides, there were only a few pounds left in the pot, so it wouldn't be a big loss.

The four people who had followed him bought the remaining marinated meat, but no one wanted the pig's hock in the end.

White Ye wasn't bothered, thinking that they could just take it home for their family to eat. Last night, An'an had been drooling over the hock.

After quickly selling four portions, White Ye heard the system's notification sound.

[Ding. Congratulations, host. Task (4) completed! Reward 1: 15 experience points. Reward 2: 666 yuan. Please check.]

White Ye let out a sigh of relief.

Although 666 yuan wasn't much, it was certainly better than nothing. The last time he did a two-star task, he had to finish it an hour ahead of time to get a double reward.

This time, not only had he completed the task, but he was also lucky enough to avoid any penalties.

He wasn't hoping for a double reward this time, just that the task would be completed without failure. At least he didn't have to worry about the system deducting money.

In total, he had made more than he spent.

In the past few hours, he had sold about thirty pounds of marinated meat, mostly fatty pork, which brought in over 800 yuan. Adding the pig's feet and hocks made over 100 yuan, and he had recouped all the money spent on meat and seasoning. At the same time, there was still some pork left—front and rear hams, about ten pounds of ribs, and a piece of pork loin.

While he was deep in thought, White Ye's father called out to him, so White Ye hurried over.

This pig, which had just been slaughtered, was bigger and fatter than the one from yesterday. Zhang, remembering White Ye's kindness, decided to sell it to them at cost price.

He didn't even take any money for his slaughtering fee.

White Ye and his father exchanged a look and shook their heads in unison.

"Uncle Zhang, this was just a small favor. You can't be too kind to us. We come here often, and who knows, we might need more pigs in the future. Will you keep giving us such a discount?"

Zhang, a man with pride, waved his hand, "Don't say that. You did me a favor today. If I try to charge you extra, what kind of person would I be?"

After some back-and-forth, White Ye's father and Zhang finally settled the matter.

The pig, from head to tail, was now theirs, for only 10 yuan.

The price left White Ye in shock.

He knew this was a grain-fed pig, and it wasn't cheap. With the price at the end of the year usually rising to around twelve yuan, this was a huge discount.

But it made sense when he thought about it. Zhang bought the pig for more than two hundred yuan and could make about two or three hundred yuan from selling it. The cost of slaughtering a pig wasn't cheap either.

After thanking Zhang, White Ye transferred the money. The pig, which weighed over 240 pounds, cost 2,500 yuan. He also left the pig's head, tail, and offal for Zhang.