Old Chen was a bit troubled. It was only 150 jin. He would divide some among his two wives' families, some among his two daughters' families, and keep some for himself. He would let Xiaolong sell the rest in town, where it would be much more expensive than in the village.
The village chief knew, of course, that his demands were excessive. The Chen family had already given away their internal organs and other food to the villagers, but if the Chen family didn't bleed a little more, their future in the village wouldn't be easy either.
I know this village well. Unlike other villages, this is Chenjia Village, where everyone is a member of the Chen family. Even a fart has to be acknowledged by everyone. How could I let you have it all to yourself?
Old Man Chen knew, of course, that the village chief meant well, so he could only nod with a wry smile. The village chief went outside and shouted at the noisy villagers:
"The wild boar was hunted by Chen's son-in-law, so he got half of it. The remaining half, fifty catties, was given to the village. Those with money could buy it with money, those without money could exchange it for grain, and those without grain could exchange it for work points."
Upon hearing this, the villagers beamed with joy. The village chief was right; those who hunted wild boar should naturally take half. No problem. The Chen family could contribute fifty catties, which was quite a lot.
Yan Xiaonan didn't know her maternal grandparents had this custom, and she regretted it. If she had known, she would have stopped halfway, and her grandparents would have had a wild boar.
The eldest sister and brother-in-law were overjoyed. They had given fifty jin of half a wild boar to the village, and they still had over a hundred jin left, so they could take more home for themselves.
The two older brothers and sisters-in-law were overjoyed. Cuihua was so lucky; not only did she bring back so many good things, but she also hunted a wild boar!
Just now, Cuihua's husband and son, along with her uncle and their wolfhound, fought the wild boar with such ferocity that it was truly terrifying. No wonder they're so well-off; they're all formidable people.
The butcher was very efficient; he cleaned the wild boar thoroughly and neatly in just over an hour. He took the pork and left happily. The Chen family was generous and gave him five catties of pork.
The village chief had the brigade accountant take fifty catties of wild boar meat and all the offal to the village committee, preparing to cook a stew of slaughtered pig and sell the wild boar meat.
Upon seeing this, the villagers scattered in all directions, some going back to get wild vegetables, others to get potatoes, and then left with the brigade accountant.
Old Man Chen then casually took out five catties of wild boar meat and handed it to the village chief. The village chief feigned politeness, took the meat, and left happily. The Chen family was generous and sensible.
Seeing that the village chief and the villagers had all left, Old Man Chen quickly closed the gate. Today had been quite an eventful day. Seeing that it was getting late, he hurriedly asked Xiao Long to cut two pieces of meat.
He gave ten catties of cornmeal and ten eggs and ten catties of cornmeal to his eldest daughter as a return gift. The eldest sister and her husband were all smiles and thanked Old Man Chen repeatedly.
The eldest brother-in-law cleverly chatted with Yan Daqiang and Yan Xiaoqiang, having clearly witnessed the entire wild boar hunt. They were both ruthless, and he needed to cultivate a good relationship with them.
Watching the couple happily leave, Old Man Chen tossed the remaining five catties of pork aside and told Xiao Long to deliver it to Chen Xiaomei in a few days, otherwise his daughter would definitely have a hard time in her husband's family.
After removing the pig's internal organs and blood, and cutting off its head, it still weighed over 260 jin (approximately 130 kg). Half of that was 130 jin (approximately 65 kg), of which 55 jin (approximately 22.5 kg) were given to the village chief, leaving 75 jin (approximately 37.5 kg) remaining.
The eldest brother and sister-in-law, and the second brother and sister-in-law, have decided to go back to their parents' home tomorrow. They can't keep the fact that they have wild boar meat a secret; it's from the neighboring village. It's understandable that they wouldn't go back if they didn't have anything, but now that they have half a wild boar, if they don't take some back to their parents' home, they won't need to go back at all.
Old Man Chen understood the reasoning behind it. He had just given his eldest daughter ten jin and his youngest daughter five jin, so there were only sixty jin left. Tomorrow, both daughters-in-law were going back to their parents' homes, so he might as well divide it equally, Old Man Chen thought to himself.
So he sent each of his two sons 20 jin of pork and 10 jin of cornmeal, plus 10 eggs. His two wives were overjoyed; this was a very generous gift.
Old Chen was very pleased. His two sons and daughters-in-law were quite sensible. Giving face to the daughters-in-law was giving face to their own families. Look at Cuihua, how much face her in-laws gave her.
Apart from the pig's head, the rest of the pork was buried in the snow. Today is only the second day of the Lunar New Year, and the long winter has just begun. This meat is essential for getting through the winter.
The dinner menu also included rice and meat. Although I was reluctant to spend the money, these were all brought by my in-laws, so of course I wanted them to eat their fill and have a good meal. Fortunately, they don't have big appetites, so their usual meals probably already contain oil.
Nothing happened that night. The next morning, the eldest brother and sister-in-law, along with the second brother and sister-in-law, went back to their parents' home with large bags and small packages, without even having breakfast. Among the packages were clothes that their sons and daughters could no longer wear.
Yesterday, Cuihua brought clothes for Southwest and North. These clothes are still practically new; the two boys are growing so fast. The cotton-padded clothes they made last year are already too small this year.
It was a perfect deal for the eldest son of the eldest brother and the eldest son of the second brother. After wearing it, they felt warm all over, which made the two sisters-in-law even more satisfied with Cuihua, their sister-in-law.
After saying goodbye to her parents and Grandma Yan, she hurriedly left. Her anxious appearance was understandable, since her family probably didn't have much food left either.
Seeing that there were no outsiders in the house, Yan Xiaoqiang said to Old Man Chen, "Dad, we're going back today too. Let Xiaolong sell that half pig in town and save some money for Xiaolong to get married."
Old Chen hadn't expected Yan Xiaoqiang to say that, and quickly looked at Grandma Yan. Grandma Yan smiled and said, "Father-in-law, mother-in-law, there were too many people yesterday, so I had Qiangzi say that. Actually, we don't lack meat; this is all for you."
Chen's mother's eyes suddenly reddened, and she wiped them with her sleeve. Yan Xiaonan felt a pain in her own eyes when she saw her wiping her eyes with such a dirty sleeve, so she quickly took out her handkerchief and ran over.
"Grandma, Grandma, your clothes are dirty, use this to wipe your eyes." Yan Xiaonan stood on tiptoe, holding a handkerchief in her hand, but unfortunately she was too small and couldn't reach her grandmother's waist even so.
The somber atmosphere was instantly dispelled by the little girl. Chen's mother picked up Yan Xiaonan and kissed her little face: "My Nannan is so good, such a good girl. Grandma knows, from now on Grandma will wipe her eyes with a handkerchief."
Old Master Chen wanted to find something to give in return, but unfortunately, his family was destitute, and all the things they had were brought by the Yan family, so they couldn't possibly bring anything back as a return gift.
Grandma Yan waved her hand: "Father-in-law, we're going back now. You don't need to prepare anything. Daqiang and I came here on our own initiative, which has caused you trouble."
Chen's mother gently slapped Grandma Yan and said, "Are you saying these things to make me feel bad? I'm really looking forward to your visit. You don't have to come on the second day of the lunar new year; you can come whenever you want."
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