Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Slaughtering Pigs
The Fan family prepared a banquet on the 19th day of the first lunar month, and around the 15th they began to collect the chickens and ducks that had been ordered in advance, as well as the tables, chairs, benches, pots, pans, and bowls borrowed from various families.
A few simple mud stoves were built in the yard.
On the 17th, the family prepared to slaughter the pig first. If they waited until the day before the banquet to slaughter it, they would probably be too busy.
Early in the morning, before daybreak, Kang He had just lit the fire and was about to boil a pot of water when the closed stove door suddenly creaked.
A cold figure walked in.
Fan Jing came back from outside with a box of pig-slaughtering tools.
Kang He quickly moved the stool inside and made room for the warmest seat.
"Borrowed it?"
Fan Jing responded, put down his things and sat over.
The fire in the stove licked the boiler, and the firelight reflected on his body, making his cold body feel a little warm.
He borrowed the tools for slaughtering pigs from the village butcher. Fei, the butcher, went out for a drink during the first month of the lunar year and broke his arm on the way back when he was drunk. Now he has been raising pigs at home and can't even slaughter them.
It was not possible to ask a butcher from another village in a short time, so Fan Jing had to do it.
To slaughter a pig today, Father Fan only invited the eldest wife's family to come. He originally wanted to call a family of fellow villagers he often visited.
Mr. Fan thought it would be fun to slaughter a pig for the feast at home, so he wanted to help to slaughter the pig. He said proudly that even if no outsiders were invited, all the men in the Fan family could slaughter the pig.
Father Fan followed his wishes and didn't call anyone else.
If the family had slaughtered a pig as usual, Chen would definitely have called her second brother and his family over. Whether they would help or not is another matter, but she was afraid that the family would not be able to come and eat the meat.
But they had just had a fight a few days ago, and her mood was different from before.
When Mrs. Hu came earlier, she had told her that they were going to slaughter a pig today. If she and her second brother had taken the matter to heart, they would have come without her urging them.
After an hour or so, Uncle Fan Shoushan and Grandpa Fan arrived.
Behind the two men followed a pale-faced young man, who was the only son of the Dafang family, Fan Xin.
This was not the first time Kang He had met this cousin. He had seen him once at the table when the two families had dinner together during the Chinese New Year.
Mr. and Mrs. Fan loved their grandson so much that they kept putting vegetables and meat into his bowl with their chopsticks. They were almost offering this only child to their god.
Fan Xin was not short, had a fair complexion, and a slightly hunched back. He was not talkative, but his silence was different from that of Fan Jing.
Fan Jing was cold and indifferent, while Fan Xin was a little shy and spoke little.
His temperament is not as bright and manly as his uncle's, but sometimes he is more like Fan Shoulin, the father of Fan.
When Fan Xin entered the yard, he called out to people, including his uncle Fan, his second aunt Chen, and Zhen'er and Qiao'er.
Also called Kanghe.
"Cousin."
Kang He responded with a smile.
At this moment, Fan Jing came out of the kitchen with a butcher knife in his hand. When Fan Xin saw him, he subconsciously covered his crotch and timidly called out, "Brother Jing."
Fan Jing glanced at the man and ignored him.
Fan Xin seemed happy that he ignored her, so she tucked her legs together and slipped away.
Chen, who was tying her apron, saw that everyone was working hard and the water in the pot had boiled a few times, and said, "Dad, big brother, we can start now."
Fan Ye put down the hot soup bowl and said with great energy, "Okay, let's get started!"
Several men went to the pigpen together to pull the pig out.
Kang He rolled up his sleeves and followed a few aggressive men, ready to go into the pigpen to lend a hand.
Just as he reached the door, Fan Jing stopped him: "Be careful."
Kang He rolled up his sleeves a little higher: "I have plenty of strength!"
Fan Jing's eyes moved slightly. Killing a pig was not a difficult task. However, when he saw that the old Fan Ye and the useless Fan Xin were both going to kill the pig, he felt it was a bit unreliable.
But everyone was happy because he didn't say anything unpleasant after all, and he didn't make everyone in the room embarrassed.
"Brother, be careful of the pig kicking you. Our pig is very fierce. Dad was almost knocked over by it before."
Zhen'er was lying at the door watching the fun, and when she saw Kanghe was about to go in, she said something.
Kang He smiled and hummed, then patted Fan Jing's hand and went into the pigpen.
There was a loud clanging sound in the pig shed, followed by a sharp squeal. A pig weighing nearly 200 pounds was dragged out by its ears and tail, and by its back and legs.
The people standing at the door immediately moved away.
The pig was really strong. Fan Xin, who was following behind and didn't know how to start, was kicked several times in a panic, and there was a lot of pig shit on his pants.
As we walked out of the pig shed, the pigs opened their mouths, screamed, and drooled. They used their front and hind legs to move at the same time, making everyone's foreheads sweat.
Seeing that no one was holding the pig's tail, Fan Xin grabbed it with all his strength.
The pig felt the pain and became even more frightened. It immediately moved its hind legs and kicked Fan Ye off the eaves.
"Ouch!"
Fan Ye fell to the ground and screamed, unable to get up.
Chen screamed and hurried over with the two maids to grab the person.
When Fan Shoushan and Fan Shoulin saw that Fan's father was kicked, they panicked and the pig broke free from them.
Kang He, who was still holding the pig down, suddenly pulled the mad pig several meters away.
There was a mess of porridge in the yard, and there were sounds of pigs squealing and people shouting.
At this moment, there was a rustling sound, and the crazy pig fell to the ground with its fat body trembling.
Kang He was still in shock when he saw an arrow suddenly stuck in the fat pig's body. He turned around and saw Fan Jing running towards him with a frown on his face.
"Are you okay?"
"fine."
Kang He shook his head, held the pig down with his backhand, and stopped it from running away.
Fan Jing turned to the people and said, "Bring the blood basin over here, and kill it here."
Upon hearing this, Father Fan came to his senses and quickly brought the basin over, while Fan Shoushan held two benches.
The men here struggled to lift the pig onto the bench. Fan Jing quickly pulled out his cold knife. Seeing such a large animal being held down, ordinary people would be a little scared.
Several men avoided looking at him tacitly. The two maids and Chen also turned their heads away. Fan Jing raised his knife and slashed it down. His eyes were so cold that it seemed as if frost had formed in an instant.
It was not until a bright red hot liquid flowed into the wooden basin and the pig flapped its wings a few times and then softened, and everyone was sure that the pig would not run away again, that they slowly let go.
"I can't move!"
Fan Bingbing held her waist and limped over to check. She didn't hurt any bones and looked cheerful.
"It's done."
"This pig is good. Last year, the one that peed everywhere made me stink."
The two brothers of the Fan family also let out a sigh of relief and talked about the scene of slaughtering pigs last year with a smile.
The tense and angry atmosphere in the yard dissipated and it suddenly became lively again.
Kang He watched the pig, which was so strong just now, suddenly lose its breath.
Turning his head, he saw Fan Jing silently wiping the bloody knife and returning to his normal expression.
He raised his eyebrows: "You are still the best."
Fan Jing glanced at him and thought that if he continued to act like the people in the house, he would just let the pigs tear the yard apart.
But he said nothing, only lowered his eyes and continued to polish the knife: "Now my skills are better. Sometimes I can rush out of the yard after stabbing someone."
The pig ran like crazy, and it took a lot of effort to catch it. It even stepped on half of the neighbor's vegetables.
If it weren't for this incident, he could have taken on some pig slaughtering work during the winter months instead of going up the mountain.
Everyone in the village and outside knew about this joke, and no one dared to ask him to help slaughter pigs. Only when his family saved the dozen or so dollars to hire the butcher would they let him do it.
Kang He chuckled.
Chen Sanfang took the salt shaker and sprinkled some salt into the foaming pig's blood to disperse it. Fan Jing brought a large pot of boiling water to scald the pig's hair, and scraped off the hair with a knife. The dirty pig suddenly revealed its white meat.
The men were busy with the pigs and then went to wash their hands. They didn't stay to watch Fan Jing clean the pigs and deconstruct the pork. Not to mention that it was a common sight in the villagers' homes during the winter months, they had been watching it for half their lives and were already tired of it.
There was a feast and wine to be prepared at home, but the men were all focused on the "horse urine" that Chen Sanfang had cursed in anger.
It was rare for several brothers and nephews to get together like this. Without waiting for his brothers to ask, Father Fan invited them to the main hall for a drink.
Fan Xin felt a strong smell of pig on his body, so he stopped drinking and went back to change his clothes.
Knowing that scholars like to be clean, he didn't care about him. Father Fan happily took out two jars of wine from the house and saw Kang He standing in the yard watching Fan Jing shaving pig hair with great interest.
He thought that his nephew-in-law should accompany his uncles to drink and listen to their instructions.
Father Fan yelled with a thick tongue: "Kang He!"
However, before he could even say anything about going into the house to pour wine for his grandfather and uncle, he was glared at by Fan Jing, who was holding a knife.
Father Fan swallowed his saliva and said, "You, just help Dajing here."
Kang He nodded: "Okay, Dad."
Seeing his father go into the house dejectedly, Fan Jing continued to shave the pig's hair.
Not long after, Grandma Fan and my aunt Zhang Guilan also came and went up to the kitchen.
Fan Jing cut the pork into strips and pieces and asked Kang He and Chen to take the pieces one by one and put them in a large colander in the house.
"How do you raise your pigs? They are so strong!"
As soon as Chen Sanfang put down the meat, he saw his younger brother and sister-in-law coming with their two children.
At this hour, she thought no one was coming. If it were any later, lunch would have been on the table.
It would have been fine if it was Mrs. Hu, as a woman couldn't muster the strength to handle a pig. Her brother was a strong man, and he only thought of coming after the pig had been dissected.
Chen Sanfang said indifferently, "Come on, sit inside."
Although they still maintained the politeness of relatives, they were no longer as intimate as before.
The two ignorant kids shouted when they saw Chen Sanfang: "Auntie, I want to eat roasted pork!"
"Call your father and mother to do it, I don't have any place for you."
After saying that, Chen Sanfang took the meat and went into the house.
Chen Laoer and Hu also noticed Chen Sanfang's coldness, and they looked at each other.
Kang He pretended not to notice and said, "Uncle and aunt, please sit by yourselves."
But he seemed very busy and didn't get a stool for them.
At noon, Kanghe went to the kitchen and stir-fried fresh pork liver with red cabbage, twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts, and made pig blood and sauerkraut soup.
I made a few dishes, not too much of each, so that there wouldn’t be any leftovers for tomorrow’s banquet.
Except for the four members of Chen Laoer's family, it was not the first time for everyone in the room to eat Kang He's dishes. They knew his skills and thought the food was delicious, so they ate quietly.
Only the two boys from Chen Laoer's family, who were already over ten years old, acted as if they had never seen meat before. They kept putting vegetables and meat into their bowls, their mouths covered with grease and rice grains, and the earthenware bowls were piled high with food.
He kneels down on the stool to eat and doesn't even know how to sit properly.
Even Mr. and Mrs. Fan, who like boys, didn't like these two children when they saw it.
In the past, Chen wouldn't have thought much of it and would just eat meat with the two boys.
Nowadays, I feel a little embarrassed and inappropriate.
After dinner, Chen Laoer and his family sat in the yard and played. Not only did his brother-in-law not come to talk to them today, but even his sister didn't talk to them much.
Instead, he felt left out when he saw how affectionate the whole family was.
Seeing this, Chen Laoer complained to his wife, "I think my sister is still angry, and she treated us coldly today. She was never like this before. The unfilial child said so, so I took the children to roast meat and eat. There must be cakes and fruits for them to eat, and they can eat their fill without having to sit at the table."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Hu said, "It's been so long, I didn't know she was so petty and still angry. I don't know how a sister like her could be so angry."
Chen Laoer said, "I'll go and try to please you later. Look at how capable my sister's son-in-law is. He not only knows how to cook radish roots, but he's also good at cooking. He's only been here a few days, and my sister's family is already buying livestock."
"She even thought of lending us money to buy it. What's so great about her ability?"
Chen Lao Er said, "Even if it's a loan, you have to have some on hand."
After saying that, Chen Laoer went to look for Chen.
"Sister, Mei Niang was wrong that day. I've already told her off at home. I came here today specifically to apologize to you."
Chen looked at her brother, who looked remorseful and aggrieved, and suddenly felt upset.
If she hadn't said that he was here to apologize, she would have felt better. But now he's saying these hypocritical words, which is really annoying!
If they really came to apologize, why did they come so late when they knew it was the day of pig slaughtering and men were required to do the hard work, and why did they come with their whole family empty-handed?
They said frankly that they were here to eat the pig-killing meal, and it seemed so open and honest when they said thank you. However, when they said they were taking advantage of others, they said it reluctantly, as if they would not come to eat the meat if they were not here to apologize.
It's not that she wanted anything from her brother, but she had never seen anyone apologize to someone like this. Just because he was younger than her and was her brother, how could he apologize to someone like this?
Chen felt that Kanghe was right. It was useless to just talk without doing anything. He was even worse than Dajing. He might not necessarily not do anything even if he didn't say it, but he would definitely do it if he said it.
She didn't want to talk much with her second brother's family, but after hearing what her brother said, she felt a little uncomfortable.
Chen Sanfang was not a weak woman to begin with, and she was often aggressive. She had wanted to rely on her brother's family at first, and had been blindly indulging them. But now that she had seen through the situation, she could no longer tolerate it.
She immediately said, "Come to apologize to my sister? How can we apologize? The whole family just came at noon, sat down at the table and ate a big meal, and now we have to apologize like this? What a happy thing! Tomorrow I will go and offend someone too. It will be so comfortable to apologize to them anyway!"
Hearing Chen's strange words, Chen Lao Er was stunned and embarrassed: "Sister, we are a close family, why are you saying such strange things!"
Chen snorted coldly: "You are not so polite. I will go over and give me some boiled vegetables."
Chen Lao Er was choked, but he had no way to refute it, so he said: "We came here to apologize to Sister, but we made her dislike us, so we won't come anymore!"
After saying that, Chen Laoer shouted angrily that Hu was leaving. When the two children heard that they were leaving and had no cakes or fruits to eat and no money today, they shouted and refused to leave. One of them was slapped in the face by Chen Laoer before being dragged out.
A family of four walked slowly out of the yard, keeping an eye on the movements in the house. Seeing that no one came to stay, they felt very disappointed.
On the way back, Chen Lao Er and Mrs. Hu cursed loudly: "They say a daughter who is married off is like spilled water. It's really true!"
"We won't be coming to support her at the banquet at her house tomorrow. If she treats us like this, and gets bullied or beaten at Fan's house in the future, and comes crying to beg me to support her, I'll treat us the same way she treated us today!"
Having said that, on the day of the banquet, Chen Laoer and Hu were sitting at home, and he pointed at Chen and called someone to invite them over.
She was still feeling proud, and when someone came to invite her, she would definitely say something strange to her to make herself feel better. However, she sat there all day, and until it was completely dark in the evening, no one came to invite her.
But that’s all in the past.
On the 19th, it was still dark.
The Fan family became bustling with people coming and going.
The first to arrive were people from various households in the village who came to help. Each of these people would receive a new apron from the host family.
On this day, the host is only responsible for receiving guests and does not do these miscellaneous chores. The people who come to help have to take on the tasks of lighting the fire, washing vegetables, setting the tables and serving meals.
One apron is certainly not enough for a person to do so much work, but the most important thing is the word "humanity".
Even if something happens at home today, I will come to help you like this. If I hold a banquet tomorrow, you can also come to help me like this.
Liao Zao Ren, who had been invited earlier, came early with his two apprentices and divided the people who came to help into several teams.
There was a group that washed and cut vegetables, a group that lit the fire and cooked, another group that set the table and washed the dishes, and a group that made pots and did odd jobs. After several groups of people divided the work and did it, Fan's courtyard was soon filled with steam.
Kang He and Fan Jing got up early and changed into their new clothes, with a red base and soft and warm plain blue cotton coats on the outside.
Liang Hui worked very carefully, embroidering wild goose patterns on the sleeves and corners of the two sets of clothes. The clothes were made in a hurry, but she had good skills, and with the help of Wild Goose, she was able to embroider them vividly in just a few days.
The two of them were already tall and straight, and after putting on the new well-fitting clothes and tidying up a little, they looked even more outstanding.
Qiao'er came over to call the two of them. When she saw them in the house, she couldn't help but say, "Big brother and brother-in-law are so handsome, they are really a perfect match!"
After hearing what the little girl said, Fan Jing glanced at Kang He, who had a straight face and a straight face. He was wearing a two-finger-wide belt around his waist, which made his shoulders and waist look particularly broad and narrow.
You are really handsome today.
Just like that day when he came down the mountain in the fog and rain and met him on the village road.
But the young man at that time looked at a loss. When he saw him, his eyes lit up, as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw. He didn't mind that he smelled like a wild beast, and just hid behind him and stayed close to him.
There was no bronze mirror in the room. Fan Jing didn't know how honored he was today, and whether he could really live up to Qiao'er's description of them as a perfect match.
Fan Jing was not a person who cared about his appearance. He felt that for a guy who lived in the mountains all day long, no matter how good-looking he was, he would not be able to attract more living creatures; no matter how ugly he was, he would not be able to scare away the ferocious beasts when fighting with them.
For this reason, he always felt that facial features and appearance were not important.
But today, he suddenly felt a little concerned.
Kang He saw Fan Jing in a trance. He walked over, gently straightened Fan Jing's collar, and asked him quietly, "What's wrong?"
Fan Jing asked inexplicably, "How am I today?"
Kang He paused slightly after hearing this, then immediately reacted.
He whispered in Fan Jing's ear, "I don't know what happened, but luckily he's my husband. If he was from someone else's family, I would be jealous."
Seeing how good the two were, Qiao'er quietly closed the door, covered her mouth with her hands and slipped out sensibly, her mouth almost bursting with anger.
Kang He took the opportunity to hold Fan Jing's somewhat cold hand. He lowered his head slightly and kissed Fan Jing on the forehead very cherishingly.
"I used to lament my fate's twists and turns, and wondered if God was deliberately teasing me. But it wasn't until I met you, Fan Jing, that I finally understood."
"If you have to give up something to gain something, then I think it's worth it to have you in exchange for everything I've lost."
Fan Jing didn't quite understand what Kang He said, but seeing the sincerity in his eyes that he had never seen in any other man, he also felt his sincerity.
He asked Kang He: "If the person you met at the beginning was not me..."
"Then there would be no today."
Kang He gave him the answer before he finished speaking.
If the person he met when he first came here was not Fan Jing, he would not have walked with that person to the point of being surrounded by friends and willingly getting married.
He had lived for so many years and met so many different kinds of people. None of them had shown him kindness and helped him with all their heart, but none of them had ever made him feel the same way as he did for Fan Jing.
Fan Jing looked into Kang He's eyes and reached out to touch his lips.
The two stayed in the house for quite a while before leaving. Outside, things were already busy in an orderly manner.
"Look at you two, you really love beauty. You've been cleaning up the house for such a long time before you came out."
"Hey, Dajing, you wiped your mouth today?!"
Chen also changed into a set of the best clothes she had kept in her closet today, and put a very exquisite peach blossom hairpin in her hair. She also combed the hair of her two maids into buns that were only done by maids in the city.
The whole family looked very energetic.
When she saw Kang He and Fan Jing coming out, her eyes lit up.
When the person came closer, he was surprised to find that Fan Jing's lips were even redder, as if he had pursed his lips with red paper.
Upon hearing this, Fan Jing looked at Kang He, frowned, and then wiped his lip.
"Don't wipe it, it looks good!"
Kang He wanted to laugh, but he didn't dare to laugh: "Mom said it looks good."
Fan Jing said nothing, his ears turned red, and he turned around and went to the yard.
Chen was still behind and said with a smile: "Getting married is good, even our eldest brother knows how to dress up!"
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