Yi Qing felt a throbbing pain in her head. Xue Miao'er wasn't acting out of loyalty to her master. She simply couldn't go a day without beating someone. Yi Qing missed Zi Su terribly. Just a glare from her could strike fear into people's hearts.
Gan Ermei wasn't scared at all when she saw Xue Miao'er about to hit someone. Instead, she even looked a bit smug. These people were used to bullying her on a daily basis. They really thought they could push around anyone they met.
"If you can meet my requirements for butchering, I'll buy all this meat," Yi Qing said, looking at Gan Ermei.
"What are your requirements, Madam?" Gan Ermei's eyes lit up. If she couldn't sell all this meat, she wouldn't have money to buy vegetables. Even in a butcher's family, they couldn't live on meat alone.
"Separate the meat from the bones, the fat from the lean, the tendons from the muscles, and the fascia from the meat," Yi Qing said directly. "Don't damage the bones at all. Keep their original shape, and be able to put all the remaining meat back together."
The shout from the neighboring stall just now had attracted quite a few people. When they heard Yi Qing's conditions, they all gasped. This was too difficult.
"Madam, you're just buying some meat. Do you really need to be so demanding?"
"Yeah, you're just making things difficult for her."
"Gan Ermei, I think she's just joking with you. She doesn't really intend to buy. Don't be fooled by her."
...
Yi Qing directly placed a five - tael silver ingot on the table. "If you can do it, this is all yours."
Everyone immediately shut up. The rich really knew how to have fun.
Gan Ermei glanced at the silver. Whether her family's life could improve a bit depended on this. She took out a set of sharp knives and wiped each one carefully. "Madam, please don't go back on your word."
"Of course not," Yi Qing said, smiling as she watched Gan Ermei's focused expression.
Gan Ermei placed the sharp knives properly, put all the remaining meat on the chopping board, and felt the texture with her hands before she started to cut.
If the customers didn't ask her to chop the bones, she generally wouldn't damage them at all. As a female butcher, if she didn't have some skills, she wouldn't be able to survive in this vegetable market.
Yi Qing nodded as she watched Gan Ermei's butchering skills. This wasn't just a matter of practice making perfect. She had a natural talent for it. Not everyone could have such a thorough understanding of something just by getting familiar with it.
Everyone was stunned. They usually just bought a piece of meat and left. They never knew that Gan Ermei had such amazing skills.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Gan Ermei had separated everything clearly. After showing it, she put it back together as if it had never been cut.
"Are you satisfied, Madam?" Gan Ermei showed it off like a treasure.
She always thought that she was no worse than any male butcher. But just because she was a woman, she was looked down upon.
"Very satisfied. This silver is yours. There's quite a lot of meat. Could you please deliver it for me?" Yi Qing said, looking at the half - pig.
"Okay." Gan Ermei took the silver and put it away. She took a basket from behind, loaded the pork into it, and carried it on her back deftly.
Xue Miao'er was shocked. She was good at martial arts and used dexterous strength, but she didn't have such great strength.
When they left, the crowd dispersed, with everyone marveling.
When they got out of the vegetable market, the Xiao family's carriage was waiting outside.
"Put it on the carriage. I have something to discuss with you," Yi Qing said to Gan Ermei.
Gan Ermei looked at the luxurious carriage. "I'll just walk. This meat will dirty the carriage." Just the curtains on the carriage were worth more than a whole pig.
"It's okay. Get in," Yi Qing said. She liked Gan Ermei even more seeing that she didn't like to cause trouble for others.
Gan Ermei thought that since it was a wealthy family, they wouldn't scheme against her. So she wiped her hands and scraped the mud off her feet before getting into the carriage.
"I see that you're very skilled with a knife. Are you brave enough to kill a pig?" Yi Qing asked directly.
"The pigs my family sells are all killed by me. I also sometimes help others kill pigs. Cows and sheep are no problem either," she said, thinking that this madam wanted her to kill something.
"What about using a knife on a person?"
Gan Ermei was stunned. Her face turned pale.
"I'm not talking about killing someone," Yi Qing said, seeing how scared Gan Ermei was. "To be exact, I want you to watch from the side and be my assistant."
Gan Ermei still couldn't quite react. "Madam, our Gan family has been honest citizens for generations. We can't do anything illegal."
"I'm treating and saving people. I just need to use a knife on a person. I need someone who isn't afraid of blood."
Gan Ermei shook her head. How could one use a knife on a person to treat and save them?
"One hundred taels of silver," Yi Qing said, looking at Gan Ermei.
"This isn't about the money," Gan Ermei said firmly.
Yi Qing could tell that Gan Ermei really wasn't after the money. "I'm really saving someone. The patient's family has also agreed. You just watch from the side. You'll understand in the end, and the one - hundred - tael silver will still be yours."
Gan Ermei thought for a while. Maybe it was okay if that was the case. "I don't know how to treat and save people."
"So go home first, put the silver away, and then come to the residence of the first - rank general. I'll teach you what to do."
When Gan Ermei heard "the residence of the first - rank general", she was stunned. "The... the residence of the God of War?"
It was the first time Yi Qing had heard someone call it that. "Yes."
"Then you are..."
"I'm the general's wife."
Gan Ermei immediately slid off the seat and knelt down. She even forgot what to say.
"Get up and sit properly," Yi Qing said, seeing how timid Gan Ermei was.
"No, no, no," Gan Ermei said excitedly. "I'm so lucky to meet the wife of the God of War and be able to go to the God of War's residence. Madam, just tell me what you need me to do. I don't need the silver."
It was the first time Yi Qing had met someone who respected Xiao Jinghan so much. In the past, people in the capital used to say that Xiao Jinghan was a cold - blooded killer and kept their distance from him.
"Take the silver. Don't let anyone know about this," Yi Qing instructed.
"Yes, yes, yes," Gan Ermei said. She had no more doubts now.
Gan Ermei went home, and Yi Qing returned to the general's residence. It wasn't long before Gan Ermei came over. She had changed into a set of clothes. Although it was faded from washing, it was clean.
Yi Qing spent the whole night teaching Gan Ermei how to use surgical tools and showing her anatomical diagrams of the human body.
All medical students started by dissecting mice and rabbits. The internal organs of mammals were similar. Gan Ermei had a high starting point. She was used to killing pigs, and she really had a talent for it. She could understand these things just by looking at them.
Yi Qing had stayed up late teaching Gan Ermei. She hadn't even gotten up in the morning when she heard a commotion outside. "What's going on?"
"The Grand Princess is here," Jushuang said nervously.
Yi Qing casually put on a coat and went out. She saw the Grand Princess leading a group of people. They were already in the main hall in a menacing manner.
"Kneel down when you see this princess!" the princess said sharply.
The princess's face was disfigured. Now she looked like a fierce demon. She probably could scare children into being obedient at night.
"Are you the princess? I didn't recognize you. These days, anyone dares to pretend to be a princess," Yi Qing said mockingly.
"How dare you!" the princess said, seeing Yi Qing's arrogant attitude. "You'd better hand over the antidote immediately. Otherwise, once Xiao Jinghan is dead, I'll raze your general's residence to the ground."