Wan Zheng's words shocked the young butcher behind the wooden stall, and his eyes subtly darted to the side in surprise.
It was as if he wanted to ask the next stall owner whether he had heard it correctly.
Only to find the next stall owner was actually ignoring him, not looking in their direction.
Seeing that the young butcher wasn't looking, perhaps not hearing him, Wan Zheng repeated himself.
"I want to buy five catties of pork, the belly part. Do you have chicken? The breast part."
Momentarily lost in thought, Da You, the young butcher, shot Wan Zheng a look as if he owed him billions.
Gritting his teeth, he forced out his reply, every word sharp with restrained anger.
"Fifteen copper coins per catty for pork belly, ten per catty for chicken meat."
Unpleasant, blunt, and unmistakable, Wan Zheng immediately sensed the young butcher's dislike.
At first, he felt no offense, standing still and unflinching.
Wan Zheng believed it was probably the bad reputation of the original body's owner circulating around the town that made this person act this way.
That's what he should have been believing at the moment.
Then a memory of the other's familiar face resurfaced.
"Young Master… young master! Please forgive my father! Please, don't beat him anymore——!"
Ah, what a real bastard.
The original Wan Zheng deserved a good beating, and the current Wan Zheng felt an itch to give it himself.
Just now, the unwanted memory of this body mercilessly beating an old farmer to death in this town had been replayed.
And then the young butcher behind the stall was actually the son of that old farmer.
What a bloody coincidence.
Now, Wan Zheng did understand the reason for that dislike and the hateful gaze.
Why did he have to choose this meat stall when there were others he could have gone to?
Now, thinking back, there's a reason for it.
The next few meat stalls don't have live chickens or little chicks, and their chopped red meat, left out in the open, is swarming with flies.
Very unhygienic, disgusting at least if you ask Wan Zheng.
Only this young man's stall made an effort to shoo away those annoying flies.
It was just terrible timing that this person had a bloody past with the original body owner.
Even though the other's father didn't die from the Original Wan Zheng's violence, the cost in money and trauma was enough to make them hate this body.
The bloody sins of the original owner are finally catching up to Wan Zheng.
Pretty much expected, but he hadn't anticipated it happening this fast.
Remarkably admirable, really, for heaven seems to have chosen the perfect timing.
However.
Wan Zheng is not the Original, he's the Wan Zheng, and this Wan Zheng is not a fretful soul.
He blinked, cold and unreadable, remaining perfectly calm in front of someone this body had sinned against.
Why should he care or chicken out?
He's not the original body owner.
"I will buy as I said."
Wan Zheng disliked repeating himself, and the young butcher had clearly heard him the first time around.
If the other refuses to let him buy, Wan Zheng will walk away calmly.
But if the other allows it, well, that works in his favor.
Da You probably didn't expect this hateful young master Zheng to be so serious about buying his meat.
He wasn't sure if the other had simply forgotten who he was, or if this young master Zheng was always shameless.
The audacity after beating his father!
Even though he didn't want to serve this hateful young master, the family at home needed more copper coins this month because of the upcoming harvest.
They might not make ends meet.
Da You needed more copper coins.
Reluctantly, he moved his hands to chop the pork.
His stern gaze followed every slice of the knife on the cutting board.
The sounds were sharp and deliberate, as if Da You wanted to cut the hateful young master himself.
Wan Zheng merely glanced at the meat.
Seeing that it wasn't being tampered with or made worse on purpose, he remained completely unconcerned.
"How much for the chicks?"
Wan Zheng asked loudly enough to be heard over the sounds of chopping.
He bent down and lowered his head to examine the tiny chicks in the basket and the hen pecking at the coarse grains on the ground.
They looked healthy, full of energy, neither frail nor sick, and well-suited for breeding to provide future supplies.
If he remembered correctly, the ancient people in the village liked to keep small livestock at home.
Owning them was thought of as a sign of being a little well-off.
As for his new home and big family, don't even ask.
The original Wan Zheng wouldn't be bothered.
"Twenty-five copper coins for one chick."
Da You responded coolly.
He sliced another piece of meat on the wooden board and placed it into a small bamboo basket.
Wan Zheng stared at the small chick, wondering if twenty-five copper coins was a fair price.
The original Wan Zheng had never bought one in his life.
So, Wan Zheng had no memories to rely on either and couldn't tell if the butcher was being honest or taking advantage of him.
"Is it expensive?"
Wan Zheng asked, glancing back at the young butcher who had stopped chopping meat.
Da You finally finished preparing the order of five catties of pork belly and two catties of chicken meat.
Hearing such a question, anger flared in his chest toward the hateful Young Master Zheng.
He laid the big knife on the wooden board, lips drawn tight, and folded his arms.
"Young Master Zheng, it's not so expensive for someone like you. That's the fair price for a small chick today. The town just went through a plague among the livestock, and no one else has chicks as healthy as mine."
Standing with a straight back, Wan Zheng plastered a light smile and believed the young butcher a little.
After all, there was indeed a memory of a livestock plague in this Weiwei town.
Not that he remembered much about it, since the Original Wan Zheng spent most of his days in brothels drinking.
Judging by the other stalls, with so little livestock on display.
He could tell the butcher wouldn't dare lie.
It was the common villagers lifeblood, and no one would dare sell it carelessly.
Twenty-five copper coins a chick?
It wasn't that he was stingy or that it was too expensive for him.
Wan Zheng was simply a person who didn't like being taken advantage of.
"I'll take five of the small chicks and two of the healthy hens as well."
Wan Zheng said casually.
He wasn't afraid to spend his money, and he thought of his two youngest twin sons, whom he had never seen since waking up.
They would probably enjoy having these little chicks around.