295 Killing Pigs
The tragic squeals of pigs pierced the sky, ushering in a lively day for Shanghe Village.
Gao Qinghe was awakened from his sleep by the shouting. He opened his eyes and saw that the sky outside the window was still black, and the deep blue mountains were rolling. Everything seemed like a dream.
Another round of continuous screams was heard, gradually weakening, and in the end only the cheers of relief from the people remained.
Today is the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, the day when the family slaughters pigs. Gao Qinghe finally remembered.
I have been living in the village for two days, but when I woke up and saw the unfamiliar ceiling, I still felt a little dazed.
Jiang Qiyue groaned and groaned beside him, and then a small bulge appeared in the quilt. The little guy sat up by himself, rubbed his eyes, yawned, and turned his head to look for his mother.
Seeing his beautiful mother still lying in the quilt, the little guy was in a good mood and smiled "hehe". He stretched out his hand and patted his mother's chest with a "paji".
The little mouth made an urgent "hmm" sound, and Gao Qinghe couldn't help but want to tease her.
I deliberately closed my eyes and continued to pretend to be asleep.
The little cub crawled on his hands and feet like a fat lizard, climbed onto his mother's belly, and arched his head, but he couldn't pry open the pajamas that were in the way.
Seeing that she was about to open her mouth and howl in anxiety, Gao Qinghe yawned slowly, took the heavy little cub off her body, lifted up her clothes and let her eat breakfast.
In an instant, it was like little piglets crawling into the trough, eating happily.
Because he was so happy, his raised left hand opened its five claws in the air and blossomed.
After a while, the sound of footsteps running up the stairs came from outside the door.
Gao Qinghe knew it was his younger sister as soon as he heard it.
Sure enough, there was a gentle knock on the door.
Gao Qingya excitedly whispered, "Sister, are you awake? Is Qiyue awake? Can I take Qiyue to watch the pig slaughter?"
The little guy in my arms had just eaten his fill, and when he heard his aunt's voice, he shouted "Woo woo!" excitedly twice.
Gao Qinghe got out of bed and opened the door, and Gao Qingya rushed in with a gust of cold air.
"Sister, I'll take Qiyue down first!"
If you go too late, all the pigs will be slaughtered!
Before Gao Qinghe could nod, the two, one big and one small, had already flown downstairs like the wind.
Gao Qinghe twitched his lips speechlessly. There was no need to rush since someone was taking care of the baby. He slowly changed his clothes and stood in front of the window to take a look downstairs.
A square threshing bucket was upside down in the middle of the yard, with a 300-pound fat pig lying on it. All the villagers gathered around the bucket, excitedly watching the butcher drain the pig's blood.
The pig's blood gushed out, filling two large basins.
When Gao Qinghe finished washing up and went downstairs, the protective barrel had already been erected by the men in the village. The pig was placed on it, and his second uncle Zheng Bei took the knife and gutted the pig.
A hot, bloody smell emanated from the broken pig's chest and spread throughout the yard.
The timid child covered his eyes and hid behind the adults, feeling scared but also wanting to see.
Gao Qinghe frowned and said "tsk tsk". She had seen this kind of scene since she was a child, but she still couldn't bear to look at it.
I looked up to find my little sister. Wow, she was standing in the front with the child in her arms, excitedly explaining to Jiang Qiyue that that was pig liver, that was pig heart, that was pig intestine, etc.
The child had no idea what fear was and watched with great interest.
Gao Qinghe held his forehead, called his younger sister out, put his daughter's rabbit-ear hat on her, gave her a few instructions, and walked towards the kitchen yawning.
In order to slaughter the pig, Old Mrs. Tian called Huang Ying and Gao Chongyi before dawn to boil a large pot of water.
The two aunts were directing the helping ladies to clean up the freshly cut pork.
According to the village custom, the family that slaughters the pig must invite the whole village to eat pig soup.
There are seven or eight pig-raising households in the village this year. They take turns slaughtering pigs, and the hot springs can be enjoyed from the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month until the New Year.
Some people also came to buy pork, and Old Mrs. Tian was weighing and settling the bill for them with a scale.
The perfect accompaniment to pig soup is chili paste dipping sauce. My second aunt was roasting chili peppers in front of the charcoal basin. A pungent smell filled the kitchen. As soon as Gao Qinghe came in, he choked twice.
My aunt smiled and said, "We won't have breakfast this morning. Let's have some pig soup together later. Go outside and wait!"
Gao Qinghe covered his nose and fled out of the kitchen.
When I bumped into someone, I looked up quickly. The other person also looked up and was stunned when they saw each other.
Ouyang Yan was stunned by Gao Qinghe's delicate face, which was as beautiful as a lotus flower emerging from clear water.
Because she had just woken up, she looked a little sleepy. There was a layer of mist in her eyes. Her straight nose and plump apple cheeks were red from the cold, and her shiny black hair was tied in a ponytail on the side.
Such a face suddenly came into view, just like a moose suddenly rushing out of the forest mist, causing Ouyang Yan to unconsciously take a step back, fearing that she would disturb the elf.
Gao Qinghe's eyes were filled with shock.
After a pause, he realized that the woman in front of him, who was carrying a child, had an average but slightly bloated figure, a face covered with rough red scabs, and short hair covering her ears, was Ouyang Yan.
In her mind, she still remembered the image of the beautiful and fashionable girl when she first met her in front of the county hospital after her rebirth.
When he suddenly saw Ouyang Yan, who had such a simple image, he was shocked as if he saw an atomic bomb exploding in front of him.
Ouyang Yan was the first to react and asked awkwardly, "You're back."
"Yes, I came back two days ago." Gao Qinghe made way for Ouyang Yan and found that behind her was the green double-tub washing machine that his family had bought this year.
I looked at Ouyang Yan again and found that she was holding a bucket of wet, freshly washed clothes in her hand.
"Do you want to use the washing machine?" Gao Qinghe asked politely.
Ouyang Yan smiled, even her smile revealed a hint of bitterness, and nodded.
"Clothes are hard to dry in the winter, and my kids change clothes so often. I'd like to borrow your washing machine to help them dry faster."
"Oh, I've just told my aunt and grandma," she added hurriedly.
It would have been better if he hadn't said this. Once he said it, Gao Qinghe felt the atmosphere became even more awkward.
She raised her hand and made a gesture to you to go ahead, then quickly left.
After entering the main room on the first floor, Gao Qinghe stood in front of the window and secretly looked towards the kitchen door.
Ouyang Yan skillfully opened the lid of the washing machine, poured a large bucket of heavy wet clothes into it, operated the button, lowered the lid, and stood by waiting.
She has been in the city almost all year and is not familiar with the people in the village, so naturally no one has taken the initiative to say hello to her.
The child on his back was covered in a quilt, and only a few crying sounds like a kitten could be heard.
Ouyang Yan sighed and patted the child on her back to comfort him.
Maybe it was because the yard was too noisy that the child was frightened. Ouyang Yan tried to comfort him for a long time but to no avail.
She wanted to go back, but her clothes were not dry yet, and she had to worry about the concerned looks from the villagers. She stood alone next to the washing machine, her whole body full of embarrassment.
Until Mrs. Zhong came to buy meat, Ouyang Yan quickly put the child down and let her mother-in-law take the child home first.
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