The narrative is a little oblique at times so it may not be immediately apparent precisely what is going on (hopefully this is part of the enjoyment...the reader actively filling in little pits of ambiguity, the imagination filling in some of the details). The butcher, lonely and perhaps overly fascinated by people, does enter the macabre. He invites proselytizers into his home to attempt their religious conversions. Concluding his conversations, he kills them, packages them and sells them. Why does he do this? How does he avoid being caught? Why do his customers buy and enjoy eating the human meat? Why does he refuse Xian the dog meat? Hopefully what is unanswered is as important (or thought-provoking) as what is not. Thanks for your comment @take5!