"Mom, we spent exactly two taels of silver," Jingzhe said.
"Did you really spend two taels?"
Tong Huaqiong expressed doubt while feeling the pinch.
Two taels of silver, she had to sell a lot of pastries to earn that.
"Mom, why would my brother and I lie to you? The castrator has a black heart. At first, he refused to castrate our pig, later agreed only after our third brother pleaded with him. He opened his mouth and asked for five taels of silver. Our pig only has a couple of eggs, and he wants five taels—why not just rob us." Dashi couldn't bear Tong Huaqiong's skeptical look and hurriedly explained, cursing the castrator heavily along the way.
That castrator's heart was indeed made of coal, blacker than how mom used to treat big brother.
Not only did he charge two taels of silver for one cut, he even suggested keeping the removed parts to roast and eat.
