Chapter 232
As soon as Su Miao and his father returned to the village entrance, they heard the "cry" of pigs being slaughtered. There are many steps in slaughtering pigs, and the meat needs to be divided and processed in various ways.
It usually takes place in the morning, but today it happened to coincide with Su Xiang's proposal, so the family had to wait for the second uncle to come back before taking action, so it was a little late.
But it doesn’t matter. When celebrating the New Year in the village, the thing that is most abundant is manpower. Everyone is a good worker, and we will definitely be able to eat the New Year’s Eve dinner before dark.
Su Miao ran excitedly to her second uncle's house to watch the pig being slaughtered, but because she was secretly watching Brother Xiang's love affair, she was delayed for a long time and did not see the scene of the butchering. When she arrived, the big pig had just died.
Xiaoxi ran over and said, "Auntie! The second master's pig weighs 300 kilograms! It's so big!"
Su Miao asked with some regret: "Did you see the pig being slaughtered just now? Was it killed quickly?"
Xiaoxi shook her head and said, "I didn't see it. My mother covered my eyes and didn't let me see it. She called out to me several times. He should be dead now. Aunt, let's go closer and take a look."
When Hu Zi saw Su Miao coming, he jumped up and down excitedly like a little monkey and reported: "Aunt! I was so brave just now that I watched the whole thing without blinking."
"Did you see it? Didn't your mother cover your eyes?" Xiaoxi asked in disbelief.
Hu Zi said proudly, "No! Because I pretended to cover my head with a basin, and she thought I didn't see it! Now I'm going to shave! Let's go and see!"
The big fat pig was tied tightly on the long table. Second aunt took some salt and added it into the pig's blood, stirring it as she went along.
This can speed up the coagulation of the pig blood, making it less likely to spoil, easier to cook, and more delicious to eat.
Erbo brought a large wooden tub, which was usually used for bathing in winter, and today he wanted to let the big fat pig take a bath in it.
Several of my uncles have been partners for decades. They don’t need to talk at all during the whole process. They know what to do with just a glance.
He brought hot water and poured it into a large wooden basin, untied the rope on the pig, and turned over to lie in the water.
I don't know what the uncles were holding in their hands, but they started to dig at the fat pig. In just two minutes, the fat pig was lying white on the long table again.
The subsequent gutting and meat separation were done in one go, which made Su Miao watch with great interest.
Second Uncle took out all the offal and put it in a large wooden barrel. Turning to see Su Miao, he asked with a smile, "Miao Miao, where's your dad? He said he wants to make his famous stir-fried pork offal! All the offal is in his hands. I'll send your brother Yu to help him. He doesn't have to do anything else today. Just make the stir-fried pork offal and satisfy everyone's cravings!"
After receiving the order, Su Miao ran to find his father and saw him taking sour bamboo shoots out of the sour bamboo shoot jar at his second uncle's house.
"Dad! Uncle and the others have taken out all the sewage! They said they'll send Brother Yu to help you today."
"Okay! Call your brother Yu and go with me to the river to wash the pig offal. There's running water there, and it doesn't take up the tap."
So Su Miao, Su Yuanzheng, Su Yu and Su Hui took on the job of washing the offal, but the stream water was too cold in winter and they were reluctant to let Su Miao do it.
When we returned to my second uncle's house, several large pots had already been set up in the backyard. My second uncle kept half of the pig for his family to eat during the New Year, and sold the other half to relatives.
The price is much cheaper than buying in the market, and they are freshly slaughtered farm pigs, which are everyone's favorite. Relatives take this piece and I take that piece, and they divide it up completely, so no one else gets a turn to buy.
Second Aunt took out the cooked chicken and prepared to go to the ancestral hall to burn incense. When she saw them coming back, she said to Miaomiao, "Miaomiao, do you like steamed pork with rice flour? Can Second Aunt make it for you later?"
Su Miao nodded: "I like it, I like it. The steamed pork with rice flour is delicious. Second aunt, do you want to stew the pig's trotters? I like to eat pig's trotters too."
Second Auntie immediately yelled at Second Uncle, "Old Man An, my Miaomiao wants to eat pig's trotters. Please clean them out quickly. There can't be even a single pig hair!"
Erbo's face lit up as he replied, "Yes, sir! Miaomiao, how about stewing pig's trotters with soybeans? Erbo dried the soybeans himself, and if you stew them together you can have both meat and soup."
"Okay, okay! I like it!"
Second uncle has two younger brothers, fourth uncle and seventh uncle. This year, they agreed to have New Year's Eve dinner at second uncle's house. As the family is large, three large round tables were set up in the backyard, and there were also low tables for the children.
With plenty of manpower, work was done quickly and we finally managed to have dinner before six o'clock. Brother Yu dragged two light bulbs to the backyard and turned them on when it got dark. It didn't affect us at all.
Each table is filled with dishes in generous portions. Boiled chicken is a must-have during the New Year. The free-range chickens that roam around the village every day have plump muscles, tender and delicious meat, thin skin and little fat.
Boiled in half-boiling water, the chicken skin is crispy and refreshing, and there is still a hint of blood between the bones when it is chopped, but the meat is already cooked, and the quality is just right.
If friends from other places see it for the first time, they might think it is not cooked enough.
In addition to boiled chicken, there are also steamed and fried fish, steamed pork with rice flour, stewed pig's trotters with soybeans, stir-fried pork and beans, pan-fried tofu, stir-fried vermicelli with mixed vegetables, and winter melon and pork rib soup...
Because the pig was slaughtered on the spot, there was no time to make the braised pork belly that is a must for the New Year. My second uncle had already fried a pot of it, and we can eat it in the next few days.
Although we didn’t make braised pork, there was a new dish this year, which was Su Yuanzheng’s stir-fried pork offal. The offal was fresh and cleaned, and it was made with homemade sour bamboo shoots and fermented black beans. Each table had a large plate of it, and its popularity even surpassed that of boiled chicken.
After a while, the sky gradually darkened. Su Yu turned on the two light bulbs. The yellow light illuminated every corner of the yard, and the warm atmosphere became even more intense.
The New Year’s Eve dinner usually lasts for a long time. People chat while eating, and the stove is always kept on fire. If the food gets cold, they can heat it up in the pot and continue eating.
The men all gathered around a table and drank some homemade "Briefcase" sweet water, which tasted sweet when they drank it but made them feel crazy after drinking it.
However, we have the important task of staying up all night tonight, so everyone should have a certain limit on how much alcohol they drink. Just drink moderately. After tonight, there will be plenty of opportunities to drink as much as you want.
Su Miao was almost full at his second aunt's table, so the children pulled him to the small table for another round of food.
"Auntie, after we finish eating, can we go out and play? It's boring to listen to the adults talking."
"Great! Where shall we go?"
"There's a performance tonight in the threshing ground! It's organized by the village committee. Many aunts and uncles are going to perform, so let's go and watch the fun."
Su Miao was curious and asked, "Anyone can sign up for the performance organized by the village committee? Any performance is fine."
"Yes, if you want to go, just sign up and you can go!"
Now no one in the village has bought a TV, and there are relatively few entertainment options. Organizing a performance is one of the few ways for everyone to have fun together, and it is also a rare event in the village.
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