Early in the morning, Chen Qiangwei and Wang Xiaomai were dragged by Gu Linger to the threshing ground to watch the famous pig-slaughtering scene.
The weather in January was very cold, and the ventilation on all sides of the threshing ground made it even colder. However, the severe cold weather did not dampen everyone's enthusiasm at all.
A door panel was placed on a few large, smooth stones. A big, fat, white pig was lying on the door panel, tied up and waiting to be slaughtered. Five young and strong men in thin clothes were using all their strength to hold down the fat pig.
This pig is the fattest and largest one in the team's pig farm, weighing 180 kilograms. When you pat its belly, it makes a very elastic sound, and you can tell at a glance that it has a lot of fat.
There were also several wooden basins placed under the door panel, some for pig blood, some for pig offal, some for pig heads, etc., clearly divided into different categories.
On the other side of the threshing ground, a pot of water is boiling, and once the pig is slaughtered, it will be cooked and you can enjoy the delicious pig-killing meal.
The one who butchered the pig was Goudan's father. Goudan's ancestors were all butchers, and this unique skill of butchering pigs was passed down from their ancestors.
I saw Goudan's father holding a pig-killing knife, the white knife went in and the red knife came out, and the pig's blood flowed into the wooden basin.
Feeling that its life was coming to an end, the pig let out a shrill scream and struggled even harder. Five strong men held the pig down tightly, with half of their bodies lying on it. Beads of sweat flowed from their foreheads to their chins and then dripped onto the ground and the pig.
As the blood was lost, the pig's struggle gradually weakened. Gu Aiguo's mother and Liu Jinhua cleaned the impurities in the pig's blood, then sprinkled an appropriate amount of salt into it, stirred it a few times, and then put it aside to let the pig's blood slowly coagulate.
Everyone in the team, from the elderly in their seventies to the children who could just walk, gathered in a circle to watch the pig being slaughtered. The miserable cries of the pigs did not scare them. Instead, the louder the pigs screamed, the happier they were.
After processing the pig's blood, they started to open the pig's stomach. Goudan's father took out the pig's internal organs one by one. Goudan and the other two little kids came closer and closer to watch. When the pig's bladder was taken out, Goudan and the other little kids were very excited.
Goudan quickly ran over and stretched out his hands, "Dad, Dad, give me the pig bladder."
Goudan's father smiled and handed the pig bladder to his son, "Go play with everyone."
After getting the pig bladder, Goudan started calling his friends to rush out of the crowd. He first poured out the urine in the pig bladder, then turned it over inside, scraped off the green layer of stuff stuck on it with a stone, and then rinsed it with water.
Although they are so small, they are very skilled in this business and have obviously practiced it countless times in their minds.
Then, regardless of the smell of urine, they put the pig bladder into their mouths and blew it. Blowing a pig bladder is a strenuous job. It takes several people to blow a pig bladder to the size of a football.
After blowing the pig bladder to the size of a football, they tied it tightly with rags, and then the children began to play with it to their heart's content. One pig bladder could keep the children of the Huaihua Brigade entertained for a whole day.
Everyone had to pay attention to the strength when kicking. If the force was too strong and the pig's bladder was broken, then the child would become the public enemy of all the children in the group.
Of course, he had also tied up Goudan's dog, Dahuang, in advance, otherwise there would have been a drama of a man and a dog fighting over the pig's bladder.
As the pig's internal organs were taken out, the women in the team became busy, some washing the pig's large and small intestines, cleaning the pig's tongue, liver and lungs, washing vegetables, cutting ginger and chili peppers, washing rice and cooking, etc. They were very busy and happy.
Pig large intestine and small intestine are particularly troublesome to clean, but they are so delicious when eaten that you can swallow your tongue.
In order to ensure that everyone can enjoy today's pig-killing meal, Gu Aiguo asked Goudan's father to get some pork fat and let the women make oil. All the pig-killing dishes today are made with lard so that everyone can enjoy it.
Pig heads and pork shanks with the meat removed are also used to make soup. The pork shanks are smashed with the back of a knife so that the bone marrow can be more easily released when making the soup.
No one has eaten since morning, just for today's pig-killing dinner. Some of the more calculating ones have been hungry since last night.
Pork bones and white radish are the eternal standard. The delicious taste of the pounded pork bones and white radish stew can make people savor it for a whole year.
The main dish of the Southern pig-killing dish is the hodgepodge. The pig's blood, lungs, heart, kidneys, and tongue are all shredded, mountain mushrooms are torn in half, and sweet potato vermicelli is cut into sections. First, the pig's offal is sautéed in oil, and then water is added before the vermicelli and Chinese cabbage are added. The sheer volume of this hodgepodge is enough to make your mouth water.
There's also stir-fried pork liver and spicy stir-fried pork intestines. The lard, made from pork fat, is incredibly fragrant, and celery and chili peppers are poured into it like they're free, stir-fried with onions, ginger, garlic, and chilies—a dish that's sure to make a child's jaw drop.
The entire team has been waiting for this bite all year round. If everyone wants to enjoy it, they have to have more side dishes, not less, otherwise there will not be enough for everyone.
There were people cooking, making soup, frying, and slaughtering pigs and distributing pork. It was very lively. The rich aroma of pig-killing dishes lingered in the air above Huaihua Brigade for a long time.
At around noon, the pig-killing dish was finally ready.
As Liu Jinhua said, "Let's eat the pig-killing dish," the voice rang out, and adults and children all took their own bowls and began to line up consciously.
The pig-killing dishes are distributed according to the number of people, with adults getting more and children getting less. It is a rare happy occasion. There is plenty of rice and a large bowl of pork bone soup for each family.
Liu Jinhua and several other women were in charge of the hodgepodge, fried pig intestines and other pig-killing dishes, Sun Lanhua was in charge of the pork bone soup, and Accountant Liu's wife was in charge of the white rice.
Everyone lined up next to Liu Jinhua with a clear goal. A few people, like Chen Qiangwei and the other two, had a clear division of labor: one person held a large bowl to serve soup, one held a large bowl to serve rice, and another held three large bowls to serve dishes.
In order to ensure that everyone can eat the pig-killing meal, the meal is not only distributed according to people, but also required to be eaten in the threshing ground before returning.
This can avoid some families that favor boys over girls, where food is only given to boys, leaving girls to drool; or some sarcastic mothers-in-law who put all the food into the bowls of their spouses, sons, grandsons, and themselves, leaving their daughters-in-law and granddaughters to watch.
Of course, Gu Aiguo did not require everyone to finish the food before going back, but he must see that every child eats the pig-killing dish.
Many budget-conscious people will choose to eat some and leave some at home to eat the next day.
People don't care much about it. They sit or squat on the ground as a family and start eating. There are delicious bone soup, mouth-watering pig-killing dishes, and white rice with distinct grains. Even a god wouldn't trade it for such a day.
From time to time, exclamations were heard from the threshing ground.
"Oh my! I actually got two pieces of pig liver. They're so delicious."
"Wow, I got two pieces of pig intestines, they smell so good!"
"Aunt Jinhua's cooking skills are really good. She will be the one to cook the pig-killing dishes next year."
After eating a pig-killing meal, all the hard work and fatigue of daily work disappear, leaving only the delicious taste in the mouth. Adults and children are looking forward to the arrival of next year's pig-killing meal.
After eating the pig-killing dish, it is time to divide the meat.
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