Killing Pigs
On the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, Lin Yue got up early to light a fire and boil water.
Zhou Qianling was awakened by the noise outside the house. Remembering that today was the day to slaughter pigs, he became interested and got up and went out.
It was still dark, and the air was filled with smoke and the smell of firewood.
There was a long and wide bench in the middle of the dam, surrounded by people helping to slaughter pigs and watching the fun, gathered in groups of three or four to chat. I don't know when my third aunt came and was giving cigarettes to the butchers.
Zhou Qianling looked around again and found that Zhou Fang was not there.
"Sister Qianling, we are slaughtering a pig today. I want to eat pig intestines later. What do you want to eat?" Five-year-old Zhou Chengcao jumped happily in the dam, venting his excess excitement.
Zhou Qianling found it funny, waved his hand and gave her fifty yuan, asking her to buy some snacks for the siblings to share.
"Hey, don't give them any more money. You've already spent a lot on this trip. Keep it for yourself to buy new clothes." Lin Yue came out of the alley with a kettle and fetched water from the dam.
The alley is also part of the tiled house, but it is separated from the living area and connected to the living room by a door. In addition, there is also a single door facing outside.
The alley of Lin Yue's house is divided into four parts from front to back, namely the stove area where pig food is usually cooked, the chicken coop, the pigpen and the toilet.
"I give it to them because I like them. If they are happy, I am happy too."
Zhou Qianling went into the house and took a basin to collect water from her and poured it into the big pot on the stove.
The big pot was a pig feed pot, which had been scrubbed clean at this time, and the pig was in the pen, nodding at the door and crying for food.
"Is the water ready? Let's start killing the pig." The butcher took his last puff of cigarette and blew on the iron hook and said.
Everyone was very excited. The experienced children had already hidden in the house with laughter. Zhou Chenghua pulled Zhou Qianling, and Zhou Qianling bent down when he saw that she wanted to whisper to him again.
"Sister Qianling, let me tell you, killing a pig is so pitiful. I cried last year."
Zhou Qianling didn't care and patted her head, "It's okay, don't look at it for a while."
As the two were talking in whispers, they heard a child hurried over to report: "Brother xx said he has a cold and can't come."
Zhou Qianling was stunned.
"This bastard didn't tell me earlier. The owner was ready, but suddenly he said he couldn't come." The butcher had a bad temper. "Now where can we find someone if we need someone?"
Lin Yue went out after hearing this. "What should we do?" She looked at the butcher. "I heard from Grandpa Wang yesterday that her grandson had returned home. Should we go look for him?"
"That tortoise is very pedantic."
The atmosphere fell into silence.
Zhou Qianling looked at Lin Yue with a hint of guilt.
When she returned that night, she heard her aunt's son was having a great time, saying that when he made enough money, he would buy her lipsticks from various brands, guaranteeing she would like them. Then Zhou Chenghua suddenly said loudly, "Sister Qianling said she doesn't like dark skin. Your skin is so dark."
Zhou Chengcao laughed and shouted, "Sister Qianling doesn't like you."
The youngest one also joined in the fun, and for a moment the room was filled with a few children laughing loudly.
After a few seconds, everyone except my aunt and her two companions burst into laughter.
"It's not a big deal, don't worry. It's none of your business. It's just the sisters' big mouths." Lin Yue thought back to that day and couldn't help laughing. The children must have heard them complain about their aunt and son so often that they were so outspoken.
"Your family hasn't started slaughtering pigs yet?"
On the dirt road, Wu Mei came and looked at Lin Yue and asked.
"Big Boss wants to buy pork?" the butcher replied jokingly, "I'm afraid we can't buy any today. We need someone to hold the pig."
Anyone who does business will always be teased as a "big boss," so Wu Meilai didn't take it seriously. She took a few steps forward, glanced at Zhou Qianling, and replied to the butcher: "My brother is in trouble and needs to eat pig liver. I came to take a look."
She pondered for a moment and said, "My family slaughtered pigs before, and I helped to press the button."
The butcher looked at her body and was a little skeptical, but he couldn't find anyone else to help, so he reluctantly agreed, "Then be careful not to get kicked by the pig."
With everyone gathered, the atmosphere began to liven up again. Lin Yue couldn't spare any time, so he said to Zhou Qianling, "Xiaoling, could you please help the boss find an apron to wear? It's in the box next to my bed."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Qianling immediately went in. When he came out of the bedroom, he found that Wu Meilai had also followed him into the room.
She was wearing a white down jacket today, which made her skin look even whiter. Her hair was loose, with two strands hanging softly on her chest, making her look more gentle than before.
"You look really good in this outfit." Zhou Qianling said whatever came to his mind.
Wu Meilai reached out to take the apron, feeling guilty and awkward, but the other party didn't give it to her.
Zhou Qianling smiled and said, "I'll help you take it."
Seeing that she did not refuse, Zhou Qianling spread out the apron and held the hem of the apron with both hands.
Wu Meilai lowered her head in cooperation.
The familiar fragrance grew stronger, and her movements were gentle, occasionally touching a few strands of hair, causing her scalp to tingle slightly.
Maybe it was because she was too nervous or what, but Wu Meilai felt that her fingers were moving particularly slowly when they brushed against her earlobe.
My heart started beating nervously again.
Wu Mei came and grabbed the laces and said, "I'll do it myself."
Just then, someone outside shouted, "It's time to drive the pigs away!" Wu Meilai hurried out. Turning to the entrance of the alley, she looked back and saw Zhou Qianling staring at her through the window. When their eyes met, he was visibly stunned for a moment, then smiled at her.
Wu Meilai turned around and walked into the alley.
It felt strange, and she didn't understand why she felt vaguely shy.
I don’t understand why he went to wash his hair and change his clothes before going out.
Without thinking any more, Wu Meilai followed the butchers into the pen to catch the pigs.
On the other side of the wall, the sound of pigs squealing was heard, and the butcher was directing who should grab the tail and who should grab the ears... After a while, a man came out from behind the alley door, holding an iron hook in his hand, hooked the New Year pig's mouth and pulled it out. Then, a group of people pushed and pulled it to the dam.
Lin Yue said that this pig had been fed for more than nine months and weighed about 200 kilograms. It took seven or eight people to hold it down.
Wu Mei came and pushed its butt at the end.
Zhou Qianling was originally watching Wu Meilai's every move with a smile, but the corners of his mouth relaxed unconsciously.
The New Year pig kicked around with all four legs and was pulled sideways onto the bench by everyone's efforts. Its front legs were tied to the corner of the bench with a rope, and it struggled and screamed.
The butcher called out "basin," and Lin Yue quickly found a large basin and handed it over. The butcher placed the basin under the stool, took another slightly larger iron hook, and neatly inserted it into the pig's neck.
The pigs' squeals suddenly became louder, and the mournful roars echoed in this small mountain village.
Zhou Qianling felt upset after hearing this and went out. He happened to see the butcher stabbing the iron hook with a knife.
Blood flowed into the basin like a column of water, with foam floating in the air.
The screams became even more shrill, the high decibel volume was heart-shaking and made people feel extremely sad.
So pitiful.
Zhou Qianling didn't dare to look anymore and left in a random direction.
Wu Mei glanced at her back and continued to hold her tail tightly.
The New Year Pig struggled for about ten minutes, and gradually lost its strength, leaving only groans with more outgoing air than incoming air.
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