The Chinese New Year is coming soon, and I’m afraid Qiuhua’s pigs won’t survive this New Year.
Killing pigs is a must-do event in every village, and this year Qiuhua’s family’s pigs are also among them.
With the Lunar New Year approaching, the family didn't have to go to the production team to work. The money from Qiuhua's embroidery and Erhua's donations paid off their previous work points, and the family was looking forward to a good New Year. When the family slaughtered the pig, they would not only have pig's head cakes, but also shepherd's purse and pork wontons. The shepherd's purse was already prepared, and the only thing missing was the pork.
We still had porridge for breakfast, but the difference from usual was that rice cake slices were added to the porridge. These were the rice cakes used in the New Year's wine for ancestors. My mother cut them into thin slices and put them in the porridge when it was almost done. When the fire was turned off, the originally hard rice cakes became soft and sticky.
Qiuhua ate the piece with candied dates in the middle, which tasted very sweet.
"Dahua, when we kill the pig later, you collect the blood and we'll keep some for ourselves."
Mom asked Dahua to slaughter the pigs. This was a big deal. You could earn more than 100 yuan by selling the pigs in a year, which was a large sum of money. However, the pigs were raised by everyone in the production team, and the money had to be calculated according to the work points. Originally, the work points had to be paid back to the team. This year, Qiuhua and Erhua did well, and the family did not lose any work points, which made them feel much more comfortable.
Thinking of this, Qiu Zhen felt more and more at ease. She didn't feel tired even when she was working with Chunhua. Fortunately, Chunhua was rescued by the old man. If something had happened to her at that time, she would really regret it now.
"Well, Mom, I'll take over in a moment."
"I'm going to watch a pig being slaughtered later." Qiuhua was eating the rice cake in her mouth. She was excited at the thought of watching a pig being slaughtered.
"Go ahead. There's nothing much to do at home. I'll clean up the house. You guys go kill the pig in the morning, and we'll sweep the house in the afternoon."
Not long after breakfast, the tranquility of the entire village was broken by a shrill pig cry, and Qiuhua's pig was the first to be dragged out.
Liang Genfa, Dahua and three other strong men dragged the pig to the door of Xu Guoqing's house with great effort. Along the way, the pig struggled frantically and twisted its round body. At this time, a big pot had been set up in front of Xu Guoqing's house, and the hot water in the pot was boiling.
Five men held the pig down tightly while the butcher took a sharp, shiny knife and stabbed it into the pig's neck quickly before pulling it out. Blood gushed out. Dahua had already prepared a basin to catch the blood.
After a while, the pig stopped moving. After the blood was drained, five people carried the pig into the pot. The butcher gave it a hot bath and then carefully shaved off the pig's hair with a razor.
Qiuhua’s favorite thing to watch is the butcher cleaning the pig’s large and small intestines. It has to be said that Xiao Niangyu also has some bad tastes.
The butcher took out the large and small intestines and threw them into the water, cut the two ends with scissors, and pulled them to one side with his hands. All the black and green things came out all at once, and finally rinsed them in water. The whole process made people feel inexplicably refreshing. Qiuhua had to watch it even if she had to hold her nose.
After the pig was slaughtered, the team members came with their meat coupons to buy it. Because it was a pig raised by Qiuhua, they gave them some fat and lean pork belly, a pig head, a set of pig lungs, and a little pig blood. The rest was sold for money. The pig weighed a total of 180 kilograms, and the pork was 76 cents per kilogram. After deducting the amount given to the butcher and the amount kept for themselves, the total profit was 120 yuan.
That's a lot of money! Qiuhua was looking forward to this huge figure, thinking that one day he would be able to make that much money.
Qiuhua was very happy because she could have a good meal tonight!
Before the New Year, every corner of the house had to be swept of dust. Liang Genfa wrapped a bundle of straw on a long bamboo pole, and used the other end of the bamboo pole to sweep every corner of the house, and the dust and cobwebs were swept away.
Tonight's dinner will be a feast. After dinner, Qiuhua and her mother began preparing it. Washing pig lungs is a tedious and complex process. First, soak them to remove the blood, then fill them with water and squeeze out the impurities, repeating this process several times. Finally, scald them in a pot for a while to remove the impurities. Once everything is done, add water to the pot and bring it to a boil. Add rice wine and aniseed, and soon the pot is filled with fragrance.
In the other pot was cooking pig's head, which had been simmered over low heat for almost an entire afternoon. The meat and broth were mixed together, and all the bones were taken out. Then they were all poured into a basin and left to dry on the side. After one night, the whole basin would freeze into a solid mass, and finally they were cut into pieces with a knife.
Xiaohua was very excited the whole afternoon. He would go into the house to see Chunhua, run out to help sweep the dust, and then ask for a piece of meat bone to chew on.
The dinner was very sumptuous. Although the pig head cake had not yet frozen into shape, my mother scooped a large spoonful into the bowl, then poured a large bowl of pig lung and blood soup, and also fried a large plate of radish slices.
Qiuhua ate two big bowls of rice today. Having rice at home makes him feel at ease and gives him confidence when eating.
"Erhua should be back in the next couple of days." Dad ate with a relaxed and happy expression on his face.
"Don't eat all the pig head cakes. Leave some for your brother."
Qiuhua is really a little adult. Although she is a younger sister, she is always worried about her two brothers.
"We can't finish it. How can we finish it so quickly? This can last until the New Year. Erhua will definitely have something to eat." Mom said with a smile. She held Chunhua in one hand and shoveled rice into her mouth with the other.
Qiuhua finished her meal after a while and took Chunhua over to let her mother eat well. Chunhua had just eaten milk cake and her body was full of the fragrance of milk. Qiuhua moved closer to her smiling face and took a deep sip. She opened her mouth wide and laughed out loud. Qiuhua was even happier and moved closer to her face again.
Dahua ate the fragrant rice and drank a big mouthful of pig lung soup. Finally, he mustered up the courage to speak: "Mom and Dad, after the New Year, I want to... I want to ask a matchmaker to invite Zhao Xiaojuan..."
He felt a little embarrassed. When he looked up, he saw his father and mother looking at him with bright eyes. They had even forgotten to eat.
"Dad, Mom..."
"Okay, please, please, please after the New Year!"
Qiu Zhen was so happy that she didn't know what to say. She had tried to matchmake with Dahua many times, but Xiao Niangyu always despised their poor family. This was the first time that Dahua made the decision on his own. She believed it was a good omen. The family situation was getting better and better. She believed that this time it would be right, and fate had come!
The Chinese New Year in the countryside is the most important event of the year. The whole family is preparing for this festival. The Liang family's life is moving in a good direction. Dahua's marriage and Erhua's job are settled, and Qiuhua also has a skill she wants to learn. After the Chinese New Year, Xiaohua is one year older, Chunhua is also one year older, and the whole family is complete.
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