The two kids didn't care about anything else; when they caught something delicious, they ate it to their hearts' content.
Fortunately, there wasn't much food, and Sheng Xitai and the others ate some more, managing to keep the two little ones from getting too full.
When a pig is slaughtered at home, the whole yard reeks of blood. If it were someone else's dog, it would probably be howling and begging for food.
None of the Sheng family's dogs barked; they all squatted in front of their kennels, tilting their heads to observe the busy people in the yard.
Seeing how well-behaved the dogs were, Sheng Liancheng felt a little sorry for them and specially saved some bones to throw to them.
The dogs, having received their bones, wagged their tails happily and each took one to their den to gnaw on.
"These dogs of ours are becoming quite intelligent," Sheng Liancheng couldn't help but praise, seeing how well-behaved they were.
The family started slaughtering the pig around 8 or 9 a.m. and didn't finish until 3 p.m.
Zhang Shuzhen looked at the big bones stewing with sauerkraut in the pot; the bones were so soft they were almost falling off the bone.
So he called Sheng Liancheng and his son to wash their hands and prepare for dinner.
Zhang Shuzhen scooped the blood sausage out of the basin of cold water, cut off a piece with a knife, and placed it on the chopping block.
Then, holding the casing with his left hand and a knife in his right, he carefully cut the blood sausage off.
Place the sliced blood sausage in a bowl, bring it to the side of the pot, and use a spoon to scoop hot sauerkraut soup from the pot and pour it over the blood sausage.
In the local dialect, this is called "mao".
Blood sausage is all about being fresh and tender. If you stew it in a pot, it will quickly become tough, brittle, and fall apart, resulting in a pot of sauerkraut filled with dark blood that looks unappetizing and doesn't taste good.
When eating pickled cabbage and blood sausage, you usually just blanch it in hot broth, just enough to heat the blood sausage.
Then we saw Zhang Shuzhen pour the cooled-down sauerkraut soup from the basin back into the pot, and then ladle the soup back into the basin.
After repeating this process two or three times, the blood sausage is cooked through. This time, simply add the pickled cabbage and pork belly, and gently flip it over with a spoon to bring the blood sausage to the top.
Then take a basin and pick the big bones out of the pot.
A bowl of pickled cabbage, pork belly, and blood sausage; a bowl of large bones; a plate piled high with sliced pork liver and pork head meat; some garlic sauce; and a serving of snow-white steamed buns—that's all you need for a meal.
"Quickly, come up on the kang and eat. Oh my, it's been years since I've had such authentic pork stew."
Sheng Liancheng looked at the dishes on the table and exclaimed with delight.
Sheng Liancheng's words were true. Although Sheng Xiping was good at hunting and his family never lacked meat, they could never get pork dishes, especially blood sausage, unless they slaughtered a pig.
Even when Sheng Xiping got married, this wasn't available, let alone at other times.
Zhang Shuzhen and the others also got onto the kang (a heated brick bed). The family sat around the table, with steaming hot food in front of them. Although they were all tired after a busy day, they were all very happy.
"Come on, everyone, start eating! Eat whatever you want! We're slaughtering a pig today, so eat as much as you like!"
As Zhang Shuzhen spoke, she used her chopsticks to pick up some blood sausage and put it into a small bowl for Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu to eat.
It was a rare occasion for the family to slaughter a pig, and Sheng Liancheng was overjoyed. He insisted on having a couple of drinks, so Sheng Xiping found a bottle of wine, and the three brothers drank a little with their father.
"Our family did well this year. We planted some land and harvested quite a lot of various crops. We also raised pigs and chickens."
I heard from your mother that she killed all the roosters a while ago, and the hens should be able to lay eggs around the New Year.
"Life is finally getting better and better these days!"
Sheng Liancheng picked up a slice of pig's head meat, dipped it in garlic sauce, put it in his mouth, chewed the meat, and took a sip of wine. This was the best life ever.
"Your mother and I have already discussed it. Next year, we'll clear some more wasteland and plant more miscellaneous grains and beans, so we can have a little more variety in what we eat."
Your mom has saved up some eggs and is pickling them, waiting for you to take some with you when you return to school after the New Year.
As long as you are all doing well, your mother and I are happy even if we're a little tired.
Perhaps it was because of slaughtering pigs for the Lunar New Year, but Sheng Liancheng was particularly sentimental today.
"Dad, you and Mom don't really need to work so hard. Our family is doing just fine now."
Upon hearing this, Sheng Xiping couldn't help but offer a few words of advice.
In his opinion, there was no need to exert so much effort; the Sheng family was already living a much better life than most families.
Sheng Liancheng and his wife worked hard all their lives to raise their six children, and that was enough.
Sheng Xiping now has a job and can earn money on his own, so his family doesn't have to worry about him at all, and he can even help out his family.
Sheng Xi'an and Sheng Xikang will graduate from university in two years, and they will definitely not have to worry about finding jobs. By then, they can save up some money in a year or two, and with some help from their families, they will be able to get married and settle down.
As for the three younger ones, Sheng Yunfang and Sheng Yunfei are girls, and they can go to any school they want after graduating from high school.
If you really can't pass the exam, the Forestry Bureau still has technical schools you can attend, and they can arrange a job after graduation.
There's only the youngest son left, with five older brothers and sisters. How can we not make arrangements for him?
Sheng Liancheng will retire in a few years and enjoy his old age. Wouldn't that be great? Why bother farming and raising pigs and suffering all that trouble?
"What's so hard about that? The work at the small repair shop isn't tiring. You just need to tidy up the place in the morning and evening." Sheng Liancheng had already made up his mind, so why would he listen to his son?
Sheng Xiping knew how stubborn his father was, and he didn't want to upset him during the New Year, so he didn't try to persuade him anymore.
At worst, I'll just help out when I have time. When older people get stubborn, you really can't handle them.
So Sheng Xiping urged his parents to eat more vegetables, especially the pickled cabbage and blood sausage, because it didn't taste as good after being reheated twice.
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