Yu Li didn’t say much and drank two more bowls of tea.
Tu Laoda poured her another bowl but then realized she might have drunk too much tea and worried she might get bloated, so he stopped pouring.
He didn’t ask further about the grain and instead changed the subject. “Miss Li, what kind of work are you looking for?”
He didn’t find it strange that Yu Li wanted to find work in the county town. He simply assumed she wanted to save up some money.
Yu Li noticed he wasn’t pouring her more tea and was contemplating whether to help herself to two more bowls when she heard his question. She replied, “I want to find physical labor. I’m pretty strong, so I think I can manage that kind of work.”
As long as it wasn’t something like embroidery, she could definitely handle it.
Tu Laoda seemed momentarily choked, then recalled the day she rescued Xuan Huaiqing. She had directly carried the man on her back.
Xuan Huaiqing was tall and sturdy—a weight most ordinary girls couldn’t manage. Yet she had carried him the entire way. Her strength was indeed impressive, completely incongruous with her thin and frail appearance.
Yu Li held her bowl and observed that Tu Laoda seemed very at home in this butcher shop, as if it were his own territory. The shop likely had some connection to him, or at least he had a close relationship with the people there. She thought she might as well ask him about work opportunities in the county town and see if he could help her find something.
There was nothing shameful about asking someone to help find a job. It was a normal step to take.
Yu Li asked, “Uncle Tu, do you know of any jobs you could recommend for me? Any kind of physical labor will do, but the pay can’t be too low.”
If the daily earnings weren’t even enough to cover her meals, then there was no point in working.
She was still looking for something that paid a bit better.
Tu Laoda was momentarily dumbfounded by her question, finding it rather peculiar.
What kind of young lady would approach someone for job recommendations with a request like that? Only looking for physical labor—and emphasizing that the pay couldn’t be too low…
Such jobs didn’t sound like something a girl should be doing. But then again, her strength was extraordinary, not at all like the strength a girl should have.
At that moment, Old Zhang, who was sharpening a pig-slaughtering knife nearby, let out a snort of laughter.
Noticing Yu Li looking over, Old Zhang grinned and said, “Hey there, little sister. If you’re looking for a well-paying physical job, there’s always pig slaughtering! You can earn fifty wen per pig, and during the New Year or festivals, the pay is even better—sometimes seventy or eighty wen per pig.”
Yu Li’s eyes lit up. “Where can I slaughter pigs?”
“Right here,” Old Zhang replied with a cheerful grin, holding a gleaming pig-slaughtering knife. His face, full of thick muscles and a menacing expression, made him look like a villain. He often scared timid people, and many young women avoided looking directly at him or quickly stepped away when they encountered him.
Old Zhang was used to it by now. His appearance was what it was—something he was born with, thanks to his parents. Since young women were afraid of him, he kept his distance. As a result, despite his age, no one had ever taken a fancy to him.
But now, seeing Yu Li staring directly at him without flinching, Old Zhang thought to himself that this young lady had quite the nerve.
Yu Li, on the other hand, was already planning things in her mind. She put down the bowl in her hand, walked over, and asked, “What’s the work schedule like? How many pigs need to be slaughtered in a day? Is the pay given daily? Are there any benefits?”
Old Zhang was taken aback. “Are you seriously thinking about slaughtering pigs?”
“Yes, of course,” Yu Li replied earnestly. To her, there was nothing unusual about slaughtering pigs. After all, she was strong and capable.
Confirming that she was genuinely interested in the job, Old Zhang was dumbfounded for a moment before asking, “Do you know how to slaughter pigs?”
“I think I do.”
“What do you mean by ‘think’ you do?”
Yu Li explained, “During the New Year, I watched people in the village slaughter their pigs. It looked pretty simple.”
Old Zhang nearly burst out laughing. She watched others do it and thought it looked simple, so now she assumed she could do it?
Teasing her, he said, “Little sister, just watching doesn’t mean you can do it. You should know, slaughtering pigs involves blood…”
The process of slaughtering a pig meant ending a life with your own hands. Not everyone could handle that. Some people couldn’t even watch it without having nightmares afterward.
Yu Li didn’t argue with him. Instead, she simply asked, “Can I give it a try?”
Slaughtering one pig earned fifty wen—this was a job that mattered to her. If she could slaughter several pigs in a day, how much money could she make?
“Well…” Old Zhang hesitated, then added, “Slaughtering pigs requires a lot of strength. It usually takes several men to hold down a pig…”
Yu Li raised an eyebrow, sensing that he was doubting her strength.
She glanced around and spotted a half-human-high stone block in the courtyard. Walking over, she grabbed it with one hand, lifted it, and even tested its weight by tossing it up and catching it effortlessly.
This left Old Zhang utterly speechless, his jaw practically hitting the ground.
Even Tu Laoda widened his eyes. Although he already knew Yu Li might be strong, seeing this display firsthand made him realize he had underestimated her strength.
Her strength surpassed that of a robust man. None of those men could lift a stone block like that, let alone toss it into the air and catch it with ease.
After confidently demonstrating her strength, Yu Li put the stone block back in place and looked at them again.
Old Zhang cleared his throat and turned to Tu Laoda. “Brother Tu, what do you think…?”
Yu Li also turned to Tu Laoda. Was her ability to slaughter pigs here dependent on him? It seemed this place really was under Tu Laoda’s control.
Seeing Yu Li looking at him so eagerly, clearly serious about wanting to slaughter pigs, Tu Laoda coughed lightly and asked, “Miss Li, are you really set on slaughtering pigs?”
“Yes!” Yu Li nodded firmly. This was the most suitable job she had found in the county town today.
It just so happened that Yu Li had strength, and slaughtering a pig earned more than fifty wen. She wouldn’t be exploited, and the money would be hers to keep.
Tu Laoda hesitated, then said, “How about you look into other jobs first…”
No matter what, slaughtering pigs was still a bloody and harsh job, and he felt reluctant to let a young girl do such work.
“No need to look further,” Yu Li said firmly, having made up her mind. “I think slaughtering pigs is pretty good. It’s better than carrying goods at the docks. Working at the docks, you get exploited badly…”
Hearing this, Old Zhang and Tu Laoda both frowned.
Both of them had spent enough time in the marketplace to understand the situation at the docks. The overseers there had powerful backers and connections with the county yamen’s officers. It was said that even one of the county magistrate’s concubine’s brothers had been given a overseer position there. They often exploited the common people.
Tu Laoda opened his mouth, then said, “If that’s the case, then you can come work here.”
She was Xuan Huaiqing’s lifesaver, and no amount of gratitude would be excessive. Giving her a pig-slaughtering job was the least he could do…
Right now, Xuan Huaiqing was recovering from his injuries in the prefecture capital while keeping an eye on the Nanzhao spies. He was extremely busy. If he found out that his lifesaver had been forced to carry goods at the docks and endure exploitation, he would surely be furious.
Xuan Huaiqing was someone who distinguished clearly between gratitude and resentment and deeply valued lifesaving kindness. He would definitely not let it slide.
Yu Li finally broke into a smile.
Unfortunately, she was still so skinny that her smile didn’t make her look much better. Only her beautifully curved eyes stood out, making her somewhat pleasant to look at.
Seeing her smile, Tu Laoda sighed inwardly.
Forget it, he thought. Let her try it first. If she couldn’t handle it, he would arrange another job for her.
Yu Li was happy and asked, “When should I start working?”
“When do you want to start?”
“Can I start tomorrow?” Yu Li asked tentatively. She had been idle for nearly a month and was eager to do something, especially since she would earn money. With money, she could buy food.
Old Zhang nodded and explained the daily schedule for slaughtering pigs, the hours she needed to be there, and what preparations were required.
While talking, he suddenly thought of something and asked, “Little sister, where do you live? Are you from the county town?”
“My surname is Yu, Yu Li,” she introduced herself. Then she added, “I don’t live in the county town. I live near Qingshi Village.”
Old Zhang introduced himself as well, saying his surname was Zhang and his given name was Fu, though everyone just called him Old Zhang.
Although people called him Old Zhang, he wasn’t actually old—he wasn’t even thirty yet. He was just tall and burly, with a physique that was rare even in the north, let alone the south.
He was truly made for the job of a butcher.
Zhang Fu said, “Qingshi Village is quite far from the county town. Even by boat, it takes half an hour. And if the hours are too early, there wouldn’t even be boats available, right?” Since Tu Laoda was from Qingshi Village, Zhang Fu was aware of such details.
He glanced at Yu Li. Slaughtering pigs required an early start. The pigs had to be killed and processed before being sent out, so it couldn’t be done too late.