It needs to be streaked with both fat and lean meat. Tonight, I’ll make some small braised dishes, so we can sell them for money tomorrow. Oh, and remember to go to Yinan Bridge to find James Foster, ask him to deliver two more live pigs tomorrow; then go to Baifan Tower and ask around to see how much diced meat and prime cuts they need. Now that spring has begun, maybe we can sell a bit more.”

　　Nancy spoke in an organized manner. Edward Brooks stood up, agreed, and walked toward the door.

　　“Brother Xiao Yi!”

　　“Is there something else?”

　　“When you pass by Zhongwazi, see if there are any bricklayers. The wall has collapsed, so we need to find someone to fix it.”

　　That courtyard wall was the result of Edward Brooks throwing the loafer just now.

　　Hearing Nancy's reminder, Edward Brooks felt a bit embarrassed. “Got it!”

　　Wazi, also called goulan or washe, rose to prominence in the Northern Song Dynasty, marking the completion of urban life and cityscape transformation. Before the Song, shops were not allowed to open on city streets, and curfews were enforced at night. But by the Northern Song, as material wealth increased, people’s lifestyles changed as well. Shops lined the main streets, bustling with crowds.

　　In big cities like Kaifeng and Luoyang, there were fixed places for gatherings and entertainment, which later came to be called wazi.

　　Edward Brooks left home and headed toward Zhongwazi.

　　At the alley entrance, he found a bricklayer, agreed on a price, and let the bricklayer go over to do the work.

　　After that, he went straight to the meat stall on Maxing Street.

　　The Yu family’s shop was only a few dozen steps from Baifan Tower, and a bit further ahead was Maxing Street.

　　It was a beautiful, sunny time of day, and Maxing Street was bustling with people.

　　The Yu family’s shop, to put it plainly, was just a shed. A few meat counters were set up, and three butchers were chatting idly behind them. It was still early, so business was slow. Baifan Tower in the distance hadn’t opened yet, so there weren’t many passersby in front of the shop. Occasionally, a few old women would pass by and buy some fresh meat to take home—sometimes a pound or two, sometimes just a few ounces. In Kaifeng Prefecture, refusing to sell was not allowed. No matter how much the customer wanted, you had to serve them… Otherwise, the customer could go to the military patrol office to file a complaint. If the patrol office didn’t handle it, they could go to Kaifeng Prefecture for justice.

　　If this were the era where Edward Brooks had lived in later times, buying just a few ounces of meat might have made the shopkeeper scowl.

　　But in the Northern Song, that didn’t happen.

　　Even now, with Emperor Huizong on the throne and discipline in chaos, those were matters for the bigwigs; they had little to do with the common folk. With the laws of Great Song as the foundation, everyone lived as they always had. As for the weakening Liao and the rising Jin, it seemed to have little to do with them.

　　“Huh?”

　　Edward Brooks had been reborn for ten days, but this wasn’t his first time at the shop.

　　In fact, he’d come almost every day lately, even if there was nothing to do, just to hang around for a while.

　　There were clearly two people missing from the stall; by rights, they should have been here by now.

　　“Why aren’t Samuel Ross and Chef Martin here?”

　　Samuel Ross was a butcher at the Yu family shop, nicknamed “One-Cut Clear.” He was also the shop’s star; many customers insisted on having Samuel Ross serve them. With one cut, not a bit more or less. Say a pound, and it was a pound; say two, and it was two—he was famous on Maxing Street.

　　As for Chef Martin, he was in charge of making cooked food at the Yu family shop.

　　His family had been making braised meat for three generations, and his skills were superb. These two were the mainstays of the Yu family shop, but now they were nowhere to be seen.

　　Edward Brooks couldn’t help but ask in confusion.

　　One of the butchers stood up. “Jack Ross sent someone this morning to resign to Brother Xiao Yi, saying he won’t be working here anymore; Chef Martin said he’s sick and wants to take two months off. Brother Xiao Yi, you didn’t come at noon, so we couldn’t stop them—we had to let them go… And one more thing, my mother sent a letter asking me to go home and get married. I was going to leave early this morning, but I thought I should tell you in person.”

　　Edward Brooks fell silent!

Volume One, Sixth Year of Xuanhe, Chapter 006: The Rascal’s Tactics (Part 2)

　　This sudden wave of resignations was just too strange.

　　He quietly looked at the butcher in front of him, then suddenly turned his gaze to the other two…

　　“Are you two quitting as well?”

　　The two looked a bit guilty, stammering without answering.

　　But their expressions said it all.

　　Edward Brooks immediately understood, but couldn’t help a bitter smile.

　　Just as George Harris had brought people to cause trouble, the Yu family shop’s butchers were now resigning. The timing was just too coincidental; there was no way Edward Brooks would believe the two things weren’t connected. But if all these people left, what would become of the Yu family shop?

　　Sammy Harris, what a move you’ve pulled!

　　“Brother Xiao Yi, please… don’t blame me.

　　To be honest, it was Scott Harris who forced us to quit. At first, Jack Ross didn’t want to agree, but Scott Harris was too much of a thug, threatening Jack Ross’s family several times. Jack Ross had no choice but to agree.

　　As for Chef Martin, Scott Harris said that if he quit, he’d let him rent this shop in the future.”

　　Edward Brooks’s face twitched. “And what about you?”

　　The butcher hesitated, then said softly, “Brother Xiao Yi, can you really pay back those three hundred strings of cash?”

　　Sure enough, the problem was with those three hundred strings.