The 20th day of the twelfth lunar month...

The day that the children in the village look forward to the most!

It is also the day for slaughtering pigs in the village.

Today, after breakfast, the children gathered in the pigpen early...

After the team leader goes to the commune to hand over the boar and gets back the "pig retention certificate", the village can start slaughtering the New Year pig.

As soon as the sky was getting light, the pigpen of the production team began to become lively.

They say it's hard to control a pig during the Lunar New Year...a fish that's landed...an angry wife...a frightened donkey...

But... even the most stubborn pig can't stop the knife of fate...

After getting back the 'Pig Keeping Permit'...

The strong young men in the village were all eager to get started and had prepared the tools needed to slaughter pigs early, ready to help the butcher.

The sharp butcher knife flashed a chilling light in the morning light...

The pigpen was crowded with men, women, young and old, and the children were excitedly running around in the crowd...

Some of the adults were cracking pine nuts...some were chatting about family matters...all were waiting to watch the annual pig-killing "drama".

With a shout, several young men skillfully drove a pig out of the pigpen.

The pig seemed to sense the danger and began to struggle desperately, making a piercing scream of "Ah Ah Ah"...

But with the combined efforts of several strong young men, the pig was firmly pinned down on the long bench...

The butcher stepped forward with steady steps, his expression focused. The butcher knife in his hand flashed in the morning light and stabbed the pig's throat with precision...

The pig's squealing stopped abruptly...warm blood gushed out instantly and flowed into the wooden basin that had been prepared long ago.

Seeing this, the aunt nearby hurried forward, stirred the pig's blood evenly, and after it solidified, made blood tofu, which is also a rare delicacy on the table.

After slaughtering two pigs in succession, the next step was to scald the pig hair.

The water in the large pot was boiling hot. Several young men lifted two pigs into the hot water, poured hot water over the pigs, and then carefully scraped the hair with a scraper...

After a while...the black pig's body became clean and shiny.

After shaving the hair, the butcher held a sharp knife and skillfully cut the pork.

With a flick of the hand and a stroke of the knife... pieces of pork were neatly cut off!

The crowd of onlookers exclaimed in admiration from time to time, staring intently at the fat and leanness of the pig, trying to guess how much meat they would get...

At the same time, I was secretly praying in my heart, hoping that I would be lucky enough to draw the lot and get the fattest piece of meat...

When the meat was distributed...the scene was even more lively, with members lining up with joyful smiles on their faces.

Everyone was holding a basin or basket filled with meat, and their eyes were scanning the rows of meat on the chopping board, as if they were all guessing... which piece of meat would belong to them.

The children were also laughing and discussing. After they got some meat, they would ask their families to prepare something delicious for them.

A chubby boy smiled and said in a loud voice, "I'm going to ask my grandma to make me some braised pork for lunch. I think braised pork is the best, so sizzling and fragrant! I can eat two more bowls of rice."

A tall, skinny little boy also said, "I want my grandma to make me pork and radish couscous. Her couscous are so delicious. Dip them in chili powder and they're so satisfying!"

A clean, white dough ball also smiled and touched the corner of his mouth: "I want my mother to make me pork and cabbage dumplings. My mother's dumplings are the best. I can eat a big bowl!"

......

A group of children were chattering happily, and the way they wiped their mouths and swallowed their saliva from time to time made the adults watching beside them laugh.

The pork was taken away from each family...

At lunch time, the aroma of meat wafts through Yanshan Village.

The whole village was immersed in a joyful and peaceful atmosphere.

It seems that slaughtering the New Year pig is not just a material feast, but also a summary of everyone's hard work in the past year and an expectation for a better life in the new year.