Chapter 53 Chapter 53 Strong Wind and Heavy Rain
After Fan Jing became a disciple, Kang He originally planned to customize a set of butcher tools for him. However, these tools were very expensive. After asking around at the blacksmith shops in the city, he was told that they would easily cost several strings of cash.
The family had previously given Hu Dasan a red envelope of two strings of eight hundred coins, so they were indeed not well off.
However, Hu the butcher found some old butcher tools in his house and gave them to Fan Jing, teaching him how to pick them up and use them.
Since I haven't started working on my own yet, I'm not in a rush to get a new and complete set of tools.
So he picked up Hu the butcher's old butcher tools, took them to the ironworks to have them sharpened, paid him some money, and started using them for the time being.
That day, Hu Dasan came to Fan Jing a day in advance and told him that he would go to Tangjia Village to slaughter pigs the next day and asked him to follow him.
Fan Jing agreed.
When Hu Tuzi was young, he set up a stall in a butcher's shop in the city. He would go out to slaughter pigs and sheep and sell them at the stall, earning some money.
The family lived a comfortable life. The boy and girl both married well and received generous dowries.
However, two years ago, Hu Dasan suffered from back pain and his health was not as good as before. He could not stand for a long time, so he stopped selling meat and set up a stall. Now he just does some light work.
Whenever someone wanted to slaughter a pig, they would call him and he would go and slaughter the animal and charge a small fee.
Since they didn't charge for the meat from slaughtering animals, naturally fewer people asked him to go as he did before, and Fan Jing didn't have many opportunities to actually learn the skills.
When someone calls, you should follow them as much as possible.
It was still dawn when Fan Jing got up and had a quick breakfast.
Kang He put the knives into a cloth bag and rolled it up. He received a letter from Hu Dasan yesterday. At night, he gave Fan Jing some instructions, telling him to be polite to others when he went out.
In fact, Fan Jing is a man of his age, and he has learned the skills of archery and hunting before. Even without Kang He, he has learned them well.
He is not a bad-tempered or incapable person, and is not that worrying.
But since it was his first time to learn a craft under Kang He's supervision, he was somewhat worried. Fan Jing was good-natured and did not feel annoyed. He just listened to him patiently.
Fan Jing finished a bowl of soup and porridge, took the cloth bag and hung it diagonally on his body: "Let's go."
Kang He nodded and sent the man out of the yard. He watched the man go all the way towards the Hu family. He didn't go back to the house until the man disappeared.
The wind is unusually strong today, and it made the two broken baskets in the yard roll several times. I wonder if it is going to rain.
After the family had breakfast, Kang He followed Father Fan to work in the fields for half a day. When they came back for lunch at noon, they saw that the weather had changed.
Several large black clouds floated over and blocked the sunlight, and the sky suddenly became dark.
In just a quarter of an hour, a strong wind blew, blowing the long beans and cabbage leaves drying on the firewood in the yard all over the place.
Chen Sanfang came out and cursed, then quickly called Zhen'er and Qiao'er to bring the beans and cabbage back into the house.
The wind blew for a while and did not stop. Instead, it became stronger, pulling the lush green tree left and right, as if trying to pull it out of the ground.
Every household was busy bringing in clothes, vegetables and fruits that were drying in the sun. I don’t know if there were any houses left empty, so their drying sheets were blown into the fields outside.
Looking at the weather, Kang He was a little worried that Fan Jing would have a hard time getting back, and he felt a little restless the whole afternoon.
In the afternoon, after a few muffled thunders, raindrops as big as beans fell hurriedly, like hail, and it was very painful when they hit people's bodies.
Standing under the eaves, dense raindrops hit the thatched roof, making a muffled sound.
Kang He had no choice but to worry. After a few hours, Chen Sanfang started shouting that the rain was leaking.
Kang He quickly found something to collect the rain water.
What thatched houses fear most is the windy and rainy weather in summer. If it rains heavily for a long time, the rainwater will seep in. If there is a strong wind, the grass will be blown away, and the rain will fall into the house more easily.
The two girls ran from one room to another to collect rainwater. In less than a stick of incense, all the pots and buckets in the house were used up.
But the heavy rain showed no sign of stopping. The basin was full very quickly and we had to pour out the water frequently.
The floor of the house was mud, and after water leaked in, it turned into mud after a few steps. Who would have thought that a pair of shoes could make mud in the house?
Seeing that this was not working, Kang He set up a ladder and used the thick straw mat he had at home to repair the leaking area.
On Fan Jing's side, after meeting Hu Dasan at Hu's house, he drove to Tangjia Village. The village was far from Hepingzi and it would take an hour or so to drive there.
The Fan family didn't have a car, so Fan Jing didn't know how to drive. He sat in Hu Dasan's donkey cart, watching him drive for two quarters of an hour in silence, then said, "Let me do it."
Upon hearing this, Hu Dasan glanced at Fan Jing and asked doubtfully, "You can do this?"
Fan Jing didn't say anything, but just took the reins from Hu Dasan's hand.
Seeing that his face was calm and determined, Hu Dasan let go of him.
Fan Jing pulled the rope, and the donkey felt the pain and walked faster, and the cart rolled faster.
He tried tightening the reins again, and the donkey slowed down its pace and the cart rolled slower.
"Even if you learned to drive, you wouldn't need a car in the mountains."
"General."
Hu Dasan's eyes went dark and he quickly grabbed the car.
"You are such a fierce guy!"
The two men arrived at Tangjia Village and went straight to the house where the pig was going to be slaughtered.
I heard that they were going to slaughter a pig and have a banquet because an elder in the family was celebrating his birthday.
The owner of this house was an old customer of Hu Dasan who used to sell meat at a stall in the city, so he was specially called to slaughter the pig.
"The water in the pot is boiling, it must be coming!"
"Even if you're a moment late, the pig won't be able to escape. Look how anxious you are."
After a few words, the host looked at Fan Jing, who looked unfamiliar, and asked who Hu Dasan was.
"This is my apprentice, Fan Jing."
After that, Hu Dasan introduced the owner of this place to Fan Jing, saying that his surname was Zhao.
Fan Jing greeted someone and his eyes fell on a longbow hanging on the wall.
The owner surnamed Zhao looked at Fan Jing in surprise and said politely to Hu Dasan that he was very lucky to have an apprentice and that there would be more people to show respect to him in the future.
Then he invited the two of them into the house to have some tea and rest for a while, while he prepared to slaughter the pig outside.
As they watched the man enter the house, the men who had come to herd the pigs in the yard whispered, "How come Hu the butcher took a boy as his apprentice? The Liu family in our village wanted to give him a boy as an apprentice, but he refused."
"Who knows what people are thinking? Few men dare to be butchers. Few dare to stab a hundred-pound animal with a knife. Does this guy dare to use a knife?"
"Maybe it's because I'm looking at you."
"His son is already married, and his grandson is already grown up. He runs a small shop in the city. Don't you know?"
"I haven't heard of it."
Several people in the yard muttered to each other for a while, but when they saw someone come out after drinking tea, they stopped talking.
"Let's get started. Finishing it sooner won't delay everyone else's work."
Hu Dasan said something, and the people who came to control the pigs went to the pigpen.
"I've taken care of this pig for over a year. I didn't even want to slaughter it during the New Year, and now it's growing strong."
The owner was very proud of his fat pig, which he had raised specifically for his mother's birthday celebration.
Hu Dasan followed and took a look from a distance. He saw that the pig's ears were as big as palm-leaf fans and its belly was round and bulging. It was really a big fat pig.
After a while, several men entered the pig shed, and with a series of bangs and clangs, the pigs were pulled out of the door.
"Zhao Qi, are you feeding your pigs glutinous rice? Why are they so strong? They're as powerful as a bull. They must weigh nearly 300 kilograms!"
"That's hard to say!"
Fan Jing watched from outside from a distance as the pig was dragged out, out of the way. He had rarely seen such a big pig.
Hu Dasan said to him, "Lay down on the bench and watch me work with the knife."
Fan Jing responded, and just as he finished speaking, several people were dragging the pig down the hill when someone screamed, "Ouch! Damn it! They stepped on my foot!"
The two men fell off the embankment, and there were two less people holding the pig. The strong pig was very strong to begin with, and now it was free, it let out a roar and jumped out, and could no longer be restrained.
"God damn it, why didn't you close the gate?"
The pig stumbled out of Zhao's house and jumped into the fields like a horse that had broken free from its reins.
Facing the strong wind, he ran happily, making a lot of noises.
Everyone in the room slapped their thighs and quickly ran after him.
The pig had escaped from the pen and was frightened, so it was impossible to restrain it easily.
A man with quick legs jumped into the field and grabbed the pig's ears, but he couldn't handle the pig's strength and was thrown to the ground, where he fell heavily.
"I have a vegetable garden!"
Mr. Zhao was both angry and frightened. It would have been one thing for them to trample on their own crops, but what if they damaged someone else's?
Seeing this, Fan Jing frowned and said, "Kill him outside."
Lord Zhao said worriedly, "I can't even catch up with him, how can I kill him?"
Fan Jing's words were meant for Hu Dasan to hear. If he had followed his own will, he would have taken a bow and shot the pig to death when it ran out.
However, before leaving, Kang He told him not to be too impulsive when doing things outside, and to follow the wishes of the host's family in everything. He should not do good things with bad intentions and cause trouble for others.
Hu Dasan has been slaughtering pigs for many years and has encountered such situations more than once. He subconsciously chased after it for a few steps, wondering how he could get it back.
If he were still young and didn't have back pain, he could have jumped out and killed the pig in the field. It was just that the leader's family lost some pig blood.
Things are different now, how can we still have that kind of ability?
After hearing what Fan Jing said, he just remembered that there was a martial artist following him today.
He kept saying, "Killing him outside will teach the crops a lesson! The autumn harvest is almost here, Zhao Qi, kill him outside!"
The Zhao family agreed repeatedly: "Okay, okay! If you can beat him to death, then do it outside!"
"Hurry up, Dajing, go!"
After hearing what was said, Fan Jing pulled the bow hanging on the wall and took a few steps forward.
"Get out of the way!"
Hearing the shout, several men chasing pigs in the field outside were stunned for a moment, thinking that this was quite a big deal, and they actually shouted at people.
Before he could concentrate on his thoughts, he heard a rustling sound. The wild boar, which could not be restrained, was hit by an arrow on its hind leg and immediately fell into the vegetable field.
Everyone was a little slow to react.
Fan Jingren was standing on the edge of a field far away. He shot an arrow a few feet away, but he actually hit the running pig so accurately.
The farmers in the village rarely saw the hunters' skills, so they were all impressed for a moment.
It was Hu Dasan who came to his senses first: "Hurry up and get that pig back, or it'll ruin the crops again."
After a busy period, the fat pig was brought back into the yard.
Hu Dasan took out his knife and killed the troublesome pig with quick, accurate and ruthless moves.
A large basin of pig blood was collected, and Mr. Zhao was extremely grateful.
Those who come to slaughter pigs have to eat at the host's house. If the pig is slaughtered outside, the pig's blood will inevitably be lost, and the pig's blood dish for lunch will be gone.
Fortunately, Fan Jing not only subdued the pig, but also had good archery skills and did not hit the pig's neck.
For a moment, everyone in the yard praised Fan Jing for his ability, completely forgetting their previous contempt for others.
Fan Jing remained indifferent whether he was praised or scolded. He pulled out the arrow, wiped the blood off it, and hung it back together with the bow.
The Zhao family members were not actually very good at archery, but bows and arrows and knives were both tools for self-defense. Farmers would sometimes hang one at home to scare off petty thieves.
Today it actually came in handy for one more purpose.
Hu Dasan is still feeling proud today.
The master and the disciple cut the pork and ate lunch together. It was windy outside and the sound of muffled thunder could be heard.
It looked like it was going to rain heavily, and Hu Dasan hadn't even had two glasses of wine yet. He had to go home early that day.
Seeing this, the Zhao family did not want to keep much, and gave Hu Dasan some money and also gave him some meat.
Moreover, he was very grateful to Fan Jing for helping him to slaughter the pig today. Otherwise, the pig would have destroyed the crops of the villagers and offended them instead of slaughtering the pig to celebrate the birthday.
Since a master like this brought his apprentice to learn the craft, it was very generous of the host to treat him to a meal. It was normal not to give the apprentice money or things, but he still prepared a piece of good meat for Fan Jing.
On the way back, Hu Dasan drank two bowls of wine. He couldn't drive the car as steadily as Fan Jing, so he just let him drive.
Before the two men's car left the official road, a strong wind and heavy rain came. When they arrived at the village, they were completely soaked by the rain.
Fan Jing drove to Hu's house first. Seeing that it was raining heavily, Hu Dasan and Qiao Fulang told Fan Jing to wait here until the rain stopped before going back.
He knew what the house would look like when it rained, and wanted to rush back to help, so he turned down the two men and hurried back without even asking for an umbrella or a straw hat.
The rain curtain is like thick fog in the mountains, making it difficult to tell the direction.
Fan Jing looked from afar and saw a figure coming towards him. He felt that the figure looked familiar. When he got closer and saw the person clearly, it could not be anyone else but Kang He.
He also subconsciously quickened his pace to meet him.
Kang He came out to meet people wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat. He originally wanted to go to Hu Dasan's side to take a look, and he expected that if Fan Jing came back, he would go there first.
Not wanting to come out, he looked at Fan Jing, who was soaked to the point of water dripping down, and said, "Why don't you stay at Uncle Hu's house and come back when the rain stops?"
As he spoke, he took off his straw raincoat and put it on him. But Fan Jing stopped him and said, "It's already wet."
Kang He didn't agree with him and put the raincoat on him tightly. He took his cold hand and walked quickly towards home, saying:
"Did you get wet on the way back?"
Fan Jing hummed. He didn't know what Kang He had done, but his hands were hot.
"It's bad luck. I encountered such weather on my first trip out. In the morning, I saw that there wasn't much sunshine and there was a bit of wind, and they said it was cool."
Fan Jing asked him, "Is the house leaking?"
"It's leaking badly. I've been cleaning it up all afternoon. I've patched up the worst leaks, and it's getting better. There are still some leaks, but they're not too severe, so I use a bucket to catch them."
Fan Jing knew this would happen. In the past, when it rained heavily in the summer, he would worry in the mountains that the thatched roof of his house would not be able to withstand the wind and rain.
Fortunately, Kanghe is at home.
When they got home, they were both soaked.
Chen even asked someone to get some hot water so that she could take a bath, so that she wouldn't catch a cold. Although it wasn't cold in the summer, it was very easy to catch a cold if she got caught in the rain.
Fan Jing gave the piece of meat sent by his master's family to Chen. His family was very happy to see that he got such a large piece of meat on his first trip to learn how to butcher a pig.
The rush and unhappiness of the day's heavy rain were now dispelled.
Kang He and Fan Jing carried water to the bathroom, washed their hair and took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and relaxed their whole bodies.
Kang He thought that the boy had been caught in the rain since he went outside, and considering that he had a cold body, he poured him a bucket of hot water for him to soak his feet.
He wiped Fan Jing's hair, looked at the water on the eaves outside, and heard the sound of the bucket in the house, saying:
"In the summer months, we should be looking forward to the coolness of rain, but the house is like a waterfall cave, and even if it is cool, it won't be pleasant."
"We have to save some money. If not buy a new house, we have to repair this old hut."
There wasn't much rain this year, and since the two of them went up the mountain every few days, there weren't many chances of it raining at home.
It had rained a few times before, but it came and went quickly, and the house didn't leak much, so Kang He didn't notice anything. But this time, when the rain was heavy and the wind was strong, and it lasted for a long time, he realized how annoying it was.
Fan Jing was already used to it, but that didn't mean he thought it was nothing. Who wouldn't want to have a comfortable house on rainy and snowy days?
People live in houses to have a place to shelter from the wind and rain. But if it can’t shelter the rain from your head, it’s not really a house.
Every time the house leaked, the whole family would curse and say they would repair it even if they had to borrow money, but after the rain, they would still pay the bill.
Renovating the house is not a small amount of money, and it is not easy to come up with that kind of money.
After hearing what Kang He said, Fan Jing said, "After the autumn harvest, if we have some money, we can discuss with Dad about repairing it."
Kang He knew that even with the harvest from those few acres of land, he wouldn't be able to spare much money. He said, "But I've made up my mind to do this. There's no rush. It would be great if we can repair it before next summer."
"Then we can replace the thatched roof with a tiled roof in one go."
Fan Jing said okay.
Kang He rubbed Fan Jing's head and asked him how about going out to learn how to butcher pigs today.
Fan Jingtong said to him, "I can kill. There's nothing much to learn. I'll just follow along and go through the motions."
He told Kang He about the incident of the Zhao family's pig escaping today.
Kang He couldn't help laughing: "How can these people be so unreliable? I thought they were just like Brother Daxin.
If you hadn't tamed that pig, the Zhao family's pigs would have eaten up all the crops in Tangjia Village early, and the other villagers would have come to thank you with sticks. No wonder the master gave you such a large piece of meat. If you had bought it in the city, it would have cost dozens of dollars.
Fan Jing also chuckled. He didn't want to talk about these trivial matters with others, but he was willing to talk about them with Kang He.
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