Along the way, villagers kept greeting him, and he responded to each one, stopping every now and then to exchange a few pleasantries.
The old house remains the same, with three tiled rooms and a small courtyard. Although simple, it is kept clean.
Su Jianguo's second younger brother, Su Jianjun, and his wife, Wang Guixiang, had already heard the news and were looking around at the gate of the courtyard.
"elder brother!"
Su Jianjun rushed over and took the luggage from him.
Why didn't you send a message beforehand? I could have picked you up at the village entrance!
Wang Guixiang deftly took the bundle from Wang Xiulan's hands.
"Oh, sister-in-law, you must be tired from the journey. There's hot water inside, go wash your face."
The whole family entered the courtyard in a lively and cheerful atmosphere.
Su Jianguo looked around and found that the old house was much tidier than he remembered. A new chicken coop had been built in the corner, and the pear tree in the yard had been pruned.
"Jianjun, your home is nicely tidy."
Su Jianguo patted his younger brother on the shoulder.
Su Jianjun smiled憨厚ly.
"Brothers, you rarely come back, you can't be too shabby."
Su Jianguo smiled and immediately shared his thoughts.
"Jianjun, I'm planning to treat the whole village to a meal this time I'm back. Dad's already gone to arrange the pig slaughtering, and I happen to have something to discuss with the villagers."
"Slaughtering a pig?"
Su Jianjun's eyes widened.
"Brother, you've struck it rich?"
"What kind of fortune are you talking about?"
Su Jianguo took out the remaining Hongtashan cigarettes from his pocket and gave them to his younger brother.
"I just wanted to thank the villagers. If it weren't for them that day..."
He didn't finish speaking, but Su Jianjun already understood and nodded emphatically.
"I really should thank everyone properly. I'll go borrow some tables and chairs right now!"
Wang Guixiang brought over a basin of hot water.
"Brother, go wash up first. I'll boil some water to make tea; Dad will definitely be thirsty when he gets back."
As Su Jianguo washed his face, listening to the children playing in the yard and Wang Xiulan and her sister-in-law chatting, he felt a sense of unreality.
What was he doing at this time in his past life?
It seems that because he sold his job and has no income, he's doing odd jobs everywhere to earn money.
The old man returned quickly, with a smile on his face.
"It's settled! Old Zhao's black pig, 230 jin, will be sold at market price. His son has already gone to hire a butcher."
"How much?"
Su Jianguo asked.
Old Zhao absolutely refused to take any more.
The old man shook his head.
"We finally settled on a hundred dollars, and we'd keep even the pig offal."
"Isn't that too cheap?"
Su Jianguo frowned.
"Pork in the city is now over one yuan per jin (500g)."
The old man stroked his beard with a smug look on his face.
"That's all the face your father has to give! Old Zhao said the rest is a gift to me."
Just then, a commotion arose outside the courtyard.
When Su Jianguo went outside, he saw several young men pushing a cart with the big black pig tied to it, which was grunting and struggling.
"Uncle Jianguo!"
"The young man in the lead shouted."
"Grandpa Zhao told us to send the pig over directly! The butcher will be here soon!"
Soon, half the village had gathered at the threshing ground in front of the Su family's old house.
The women spontaneously brought their own tables, chairs, and benches, while the men helped build the stove and chop firewood.
Children frolic and play among the crowd, making the whole village as lively as if it were Chinese New Year.
Su Jianguo stood in the center of the courtyard and cleared his throat.
"Fellow villagers! I've invited you all here today for two reasons: first, to thank the men, young and old, who went to the city to help me the other day; and second, because I, Su Jianguo, have been away from home for many years and rarely return, it's only right that I show my appreciation!"
"Jianguo, stop with the empty talk!"
Zhang the blacksmith shouted into the crowd.
"We need to hurry up and slaughter the pig; everyone's craving meat!"
Everyone burst into laughter. Su Jianguo laughed too.
"Alright! Then let's get to work, butcher! Tonight, we'll drink until we drop!"
Old Liu, the pig butcher, wielded a knife that gleamed coldly in the sunlight. His rough, large hands pressed down on the pig's neck, and with a gentle flick of the knife, bright red pig blood gushed out like a spring.
The women, who were prepared, immediately surrounded her. Wang Guixiang, carrying a large enamel basin, steadily caught the first surge of blood.
"Stir it quickly! Don't let the blood clot!"
Wang Guixiang called out to the young woman next to her, and she had already quickly sprinkled a handful of salt into the basin.
The pig's blood swirled in the basin, steaming and emitting a strong, sweet, and pungent aroma.
Su Jianguo also rolled up his sleeves, intending to cook himself this time.
In his previous life, he did almost everything to make money, from being a kitchen helper to cooking, and he was proficient in everything.
Once, when I went to work in Northeast China, I specifically learned how to make authentic Northeastern pork stew. This time, I'll show off my skills.
They drew two buckets of ice-cold well water from the well platform and poured them over the pig that had just been bled.
Hot water was poured on the pig, and the pig hair immediately became soft. Several strong young men took scrapers and quickly shaved the pig clean.
"Uncle Jianguo, this pork belly is really thick!"
Dog Egg used a knife to cut open the pig's belly, and the bright orange fat was immediately revealed, glistening temptingly in the sunlight.
In one corner of the threshing ground, a makeshift earthen stove was already glowing red.
A large iron pot, one meter in diameter, was placed on top, filled with boiling water.
Su Jianguo personally chopped off the pig's head, trotters, and tail, and threw them into the pot.
"Gui Xiang, is the pickled cabbage ready?"
Su Jianguo wiped his sweat and called out to his sister-in-law, who was processing pig's blood.
"It's all ready!"
Wang Guixiang didn't even raise her head, her hands quickly stirring the blood in the basin.
"Old Sun's jar of pickled cabbage is a real treasure. I took it out and washed it three times; it's just waiting to be cooked!"
Over there, the butcher, Old Liu, had already split the whole pig in half and hung it on a wooden frame.
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