Seeing that Jack Ross had spoken so frankly, Edward Brooks felt much more at ease. So, he explained in detail the current situation of the The Brooks Family shop to Jack Ross, and finally said, “Uncle Six-Four, I know this matter puts you in a difficult position. But after thinking for a long time, I couldn’t come up with anyone else who could help me, so I shamelessly came to your door, hoping you could point me in the right direction. My wife and I would be endlessly grateful.”

Jack Ross laughed!

“I wondered what the matter was—so that’s all it is.

Brother Xiao Yi, you’re being a bit naive. Do you really think all the shops in Kaifeng Prefecture are running legitimate businesses?

Although tens of thousands of pigs are slaughtered every day, with so many shops in Kaifeng Prefecture, how could they possibly be supplied? Secretly slaughtering and selling pigs is quite common. Many people have been doing this from the start; it’s just that everyone tacitly understands and no one says it out loud. However, this must be done in secret and can’t be discovered. If word gets out, none of us could bear the consequences… Brother Xiao Yi, think carefully.”

From Jack Ross’s words, Edward Brooks picked up on the hint.

“Uncle Six-Four, do you mean we can’t slaughter pigs inside the city?”

“That’s right.”

“Then…”

Jack Ross stood up, walked to the courtyard gate, and glanced outside. Seeing no one around, he closed the gate and returned to his seat.

He lowered his voice and said, “To be honest, Brother Xiao Yi, I used to specialize in slaughtering pigs for others, so I know the ins and outs. Slaughtering pigs is fine, but you absolutely can’t bring live pigs through the Nanxun Gate, or you’ll be breaking the rules. I used to have a place at Wulidian outside the city where pigs could be slaughtered without anyone knowing. But I’ve stopped for years and haven’t been back since.”

“Wulidian?”

Jack Ross nodded and said, “If you trust me, Brother Xiao Yi, I’ll go to the street market this evening and help you buy two or three pigs, then deliver them to Wulidian. But I’m getting old and probably can’t help you with the slaughtering—you’ll have to do it yourself. The question is, Brother Xiao Yi, can you handle this kind of work?”

Edward Brooks gave a wry smile. “At this point, what can’t I handle?”

“Good, then. Just wait for me at Wulidian before the hour of Xu, and I’ll come find you.”

“I’ll leave it to you, Uncle Six-Four.”

Edward Brooks didn’t say more. He stood up, thanked Jack Ross, and took his leave.

Watching Edward Brooks’s departing figure, Jack Ross suddenly let out a long sigh, gently shook his head, and seemed to mutter to himself, “If only Brother Xiao Yi had wised up sooner, would he be in such dire straits now? But it’s not too late—there’s still time! No matter what, Brother Xiao Yi now seems much steadier than before.”

Volume One, Sixth Year of Xuanhe, Chapter 008: Pig Slaughter (Part 2)

Edward Brooks naturally knew nothing of Jack Ross’s feelings.

Back at the The Brooks Family shop, he sat on the long bench inside, watching the busy Xiao Qi and the others, and couldn’t help but smile bitterly to himself.

In his previous life, he had been a renowned guqin master.

His ten fingers never touched even spring water, and now he was among the butchers… It was, in a way, a great irony.

He had thought about picking up his craft again.

But upon inquiring, he found that guqins in Kaifeng Prefecture were shockingly expensive.

Not to mention the famous ones—even an ordinary Linglong qin cost over a thousand strings of cash. If the maker was even a little famous, the price would be ten thousand, even a hundred thousand, or close to a million. That was hardly playing the qin—it was just burning money. Edward Brooks wouldn’t do such a thing, nor did he have the means.

For now, he could only rely on the The Brooks Family shop and try to get through the current crisis.

As for the impending disaster, Edward Brooks had considered it. But as a commoner in the city, with no money and no power, what could he possibly do? Now, with the ‘Six Thieves’ dominating the court, how could a mere butcher have any say?

If it really came to it, he’d find a way to leave Kaifeng next year.

Save up some silver, go to Qiantang—what would later become Lin’an, the capital of the Southern Song—and at least escape the coming disaster.

He’d heard that Qiantang was in ruins now.

The Fang La rebellion had ended only three years ago, and everything was in need of rebuilding.

First, he’d establish himself there, and in the future, he’d have some capital, wouldn’t he? As for getting involved in politics? For Edward Brooks, that was far too remote. He knew himself well—he wasn’t cut out to be an official. Besides, he had no scholarly title, nor was he a graduate of the Imperial Academy, so how could he become an official?

Just thinking about all this gave Edward Brooks a headache.

Edward Brooks was the seal-bearer of Chu during the Warring States period. According to the Shuowen Jiezi, the character ‘尹’ also means to govern the world. The reason for this name was to reflect Edward Brooks’s father Frank Brooks’s hopes for him. But now Frank Brooks was dead, and Edward Brooks was no longer the same person, so those hopes were gone.

For now, he just had to find a way to solve the immediate problem!

Edward Brooks sat in the shop all afternoon, truly experiencing the warmth and coldness of human relationships and the fickleness of the world.

By rights, Edward Brooks was something of a boss on Ma Xing Street.