Chapter 221: Fisherman is trained from childhood
On the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, Lin's father killed the pig he had raised for a year, and a group of people came to help early in the morning.
There were still many people in the countryside during that era, and the New Year celebrations were extremely lively.
Lin Heng was naturally among the group of people slaughtering pigs. He was a man of few words, but the villagers were very friendly and they talked and laughed with him.
Lin Heng's eldest uncle and third uncle also came, but his uncle-in-law was also slaughtering pigs today, so he didn't come.
Because slaughtering pigs in the countryside requires choosing a good day, and there were many people slaughtering pigs today, so the three or four butchers in the village had no time to rest.
"This heats up quickly, but why is it still useful? How much did you buy it for?"
Lu Honghai, Lin Heng's uncle, saw that Lin Heng was so hot that he was about to burn and boiled water in a large wooden barrel, and asked curiously.
"It's not expensive, just two dollars." Lin Heng said with a smile.
"This isn't expensive, it's quite expensive, but it's very useful, I will buy one later."
Lu Honghai said with a smile.
"I'll bring you one later."
Lin Heng said with a smile.
On the other side, the butcher saw that the water had boiled, so he asked someone to go to the back mountain to catch the pig.
Accompanied by heart-wrenching screams, the family's New Year pig was lifted directly onto the chopping board, and the butcher stabbed the aorta with his skilled technique.
The pig blood was collected in a basin, and Lin Heng and others held it down tightly. The children were covered with their eyes by the adults to prevent them from watching. Only some half-grown children stood at the gate of the yard and watched curiously.
After bleeding, the pig was directly put into a large wooden barrel and boiled in boiling water. A volcanic stone hammer was used to gently hit the pig hair.
In less than half an hour, a big, white and tender fat pig appeared on the wooden barrel, lying there with its four legs facing the ground.
The pig's back is cut open, a wine cup is put in, rice, pig money and burned paper are placed in it, and a string of firecrackers is set off. This is not only to worship gods and ancestors, but also to celebrate the harvest. It is hoped that the pigs will still be willing to eat and grow in the coming year and will not get sick.
Then it was weighed. The pig that Lin's mother had been feeding for a year was not small, weighing more than 230 kilograms.
After the weighing, it was time for the dissection process that everyone liked to see. With the butcher's technique similar to that of a chef cutting up a cow, the big fat pig was quickly cut into small pieces.
People of all ages gathered in a circle in the yard, all watching the division, and occasionally saying some flattering words.
In these days, slaughtering the New Year pig is a big expectation for the villagers, young and old, men, women, and children, because this day is one of the few days when they can eat meat to their heart's content.
When seeing the pig being slaughtered, everyone was filled with joy and was very enthusiastic to help.
After the pig is slaughtered, except for some kept fresh for the New Year, the rest are all rubbed with salt, marinated overnight and then smoked on the stove to make bacon. Generally speaking, this is the meat for the whole family for the next year.
In those days, a rural family had at least five people, and there was only one head of pork a year. A large portion of it would be eaten when entertaining guests during the New Year. The remaining bacon might be only about 160 to 170 kilograms.
Five or six people can only eat this much meat for the next year, which is really not much.
This is still considered a wealthy family. Some families do not have enough food to feed pigs. A pig needs to be fed for two years, and the meat is even more precious.
Many families feed a pig like this for two years. After all, people eat cornmeal, and what pigs eat is even less nutritious.
“It’s time to eat!!”
Following a call, everyone went into the house, waiting to eat meat.
The Lin family invited quite a few people today, and with their own family members included, the total number reached twenty-three.
So two tables were set up, one for the men who liked to drink, and one for the women and children. In the middle of the two tables, a large pot of fried lean meat with spicy and sour sauce was served.
Lin Heng naturally sat at the adults' table. After drinking two sips of wine, he set his sights on the meat, and the same went for the others.
This fresh pork tastes much better than bacon, it is fragrant and chewy. This is the day he looked forward to the most.
This year I’m not that excited, I just think it tastes good.
After drinking two glasses of wine, Lin Heng stopped serving. The butcher next to him smiled and said, "Boss Lin, please have two more glasses. This is only a small amount. Don't spoil everyone's fun."
"I've drunk enough. My dad is here to accompany you." Lin Heng waved his hand and said.
"That's ridiculous. Your dad is drinking, why don't you drink?"
This man likes to persuade people to drink, and he held the wine jug to get Lin Heng to drink more.
"I've eaten."
Lin Heng smiled slightly, then got up to eat.
He drinks casually, and even if you are a great immortal coming to persuade him not to drink, he will not drink.
The butcher felt a little embarrassed and could only shake his head: "Young people can't talk to us."
Then he poured wine for others, and Lin's father explained to him that Lin Heng couldn't drink it.
Everyone was drinking happily, and no one seemed to care.
When Lin Heng was holding his bowl to eat, his mother brought him some steamed meat. It was a unique-tasting steamed meat made of cornmeal and fatty slices, and was loved by the older generation in rural areas. But it was too greasy for Lin Heng, and he had no appetite at all.
After breakfast, everyone rested for a while and went to Lin Yue's house to kill pigs. Many people took the opportunity to go to Lin Heng's house to see the three-wheeled motorcycle he bought, and they talked about it while watching, and they were envious.
Lin Heng was not in the house. He was taking Xiaoxia for a walk on the street. Xiulan took the opportunity to lock the door while everyone else was watching.
After slaughtering the pig of his eldest brother Lin Yue's family, it was already past two o'clock in the afternoon. The butcher left in a hurry because he still had another pig to slaughter today.
"Which couplet do you think is better?"
In the study, Lin Heng looked at Xiulan and asked.
After killing the pig, there was nothing to do, so the two of them cut the red paper and started writing couplets.
I'm sure you bought brushes, inkstones, ink blocks and other things the last time you went into town.
Xiulan was wearing a red cotton jacket with plum blossoms printed on it. Her hair was tied into a ponytail and hung down from her left shoulder. She was sitting on the newly made official hat chair next to her and grinding ink for Lin Heng.
Hearing Lin Heng's question, she looked up at the collection of Spring Festival couplets that Lin Heng had opened, which contained various kinds of Spring Festival couplets.
Lin Heng doesn't care about this, it all depends on her choice.
His house has four doors, which require four couplets. The words on the couplets are not unfamiliar, and Xiulan recognizes them all.
"Let's choose these four." Xiulan chose four couplets with seven characters each, which all sounded simple.
Lin Heng folded the red paper for the couplet into seven grids, thought for a while and started writing. The first one was to be used on the front gate.
The first line says that the house is filled with blessings and the spring air is warm, the second line says that the clear stream flows far away and the years are new, and the horizontal banner says that the New Year is welcomed with joy.
When Lin Heng was writing, Xiaoxia also came over to watch, very curious. Lin Heng's hands were shaking a little when his wife and daughter watched him, but he had practiced regular script for a long time after all, so he wrote it down very smoothly.
"It looks good and very neat."
When Xiulan saw Lin Heng finished writing, she immediately praised him.
She was not lying with her eyes open, but Lin Heng's handwriting was no worse than that of the village party secretary and several other people who often wrote couplets in the village. It was neat and beautiful.
Xiaoxia didn't quite understand, but she also praised the team members: "It looks good, really good."
Lin Heng laughed, his confidence soared, and he finished writing the remaining three couplets in one breath. He put the couplets on the ground to dry, and when he was about to write some blessing characters, he heard his father and eldest brother shouting outside.
"I'll open the door."
Xiulan stopped grinding the ink, turned around and went out to open the door.
After a while, Lin Heng saw his father and elder brother coming in carrying meat.
Xiulan said on the side: "I said we have meat at home, and Dad and Big Brother insisted on bringing some over."
"Your meat has all been made into bacon. This is fresh. Besides, if you don't eat it, your mother Caiyun and I won't be able to finish it." Father Lin said with a smile.
"You said it, so there's no need for us to be polite to each other." Lin Yue also said with a smile.
Each of them took two pork slices, one weighing more than ten pounds, and two weighing almost thirty pounds.
"Don't worry, I won't be polite." Lin Heng said with a smile. There was no need to be polite with his family, so he took the meat directly.
His elder brother and father were extremely happy with Lin Heng's attitude.
Lin Yue saw Lin Heng's couplet and asked in surprise: "Brother, did you write this?"
Lin Heng was a little happy: "Of course, the ink hasn't even dried yet, if you guys want, I'll write a few for you too."
"Of course I need it. My dear brother, you wrote this couplet very well. The handwriting is very beautiful."
"The handwriting is almost the same as that of the village party secretary." Lin's father also gave his affirmation.
Lin Heng asked them to pick a few couplets from the Spring Festival couplet collection, and then he and Xiulan cut the couplet paper. Xiulan ground the ink and Lin Heng started writing, while Lin's father and eldest brother watched from a distance, and soon a pair of couplets was finished.
“Not bad, not bad.”
“It’s so beautiful!”
Lin Yue and his father praised the paintings while helping to take the Spring Festival couplets away to dry.
After a while, Lin Heng finished writing the couplet and also wrote some "Fu" characters.
While sitting around the brazier and warming themselves by the fire, Lin's father suggested that everyone have the reunion dinner in the old house, to which Lin Heng and his eldest brother agreed without much hesitation.
Lin Heng said directly: "How about this, Dad? You can just move in with us during the New Year, eat here every day, and sleep in the old house."
"Yes, this way it will be easier to arrange for guests." Xiulan also said with a smile.
Lin Yue shook his head and said, "That won't work. Let's have a meal together, both families."
Father Lin was indescribably happy to see his two sons competing to let him go to his house, but he shook his head seriously and said, "Why don't you all come over to eat?"
After a pause, he smiled and said, "We'll talk about it when the time comes. It doesn't matter whose house it is, but you still have to go over to eat tonight. Your mother has already prepared the meal."
"Okay then." Lin Heng agreed immediately without any hesitation.
After putting away the dried couplets and feeding the livestock and pets at home, Lin Heng took Xiaoxia and Xiulan to eat.
The next day, the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, Lin Heng drove a sidecar motorcycle and took Xiulan and Xiaoxia to the town.
The second-to-last market day at the end of the year is extremely lively. It is packed with people and every glance is filled with dense crowds of heads.
Lin Heng parked the car in front of the store. Xiaoxia asked Wang Zhou to watch over it, and then went shopping with Xiulan.
Today, they went to the street and bought mainly pig heads, large intestines, small intestines, and pig stomachs. There were also mutton and beef sellers on the street, so they bought some of that, and finally bought some fruits and candies. They had everything else, and had already bought most of it.
Fireworks and other things are available in your own store, so you don’t have to buy them.
After buying things, it was only ten o'clock. Lin Heng knew this would happen, so he took a fishing rod.
I took Xiulan and Xiaoxia to the river to go fishing. It was a rare sunny day today, and the riverside was quite warm. The green grass on the riverbed had turned yellow in winter.
“Can you really catch this?”
Xiulan touched the water, feeling confused.
Lin Heng nodded confidently: "Of course you can, I'll fix it for you, you just need to cast the rod and lift it."
He first took out his homemade rice wine and made a small nest. The rice wine was very expensive, and it used honey, white wine, sugar and many other things. Xiulan said that it was better for fish than for people.
It’s a good thing it was Xiulan, because if his mother saw him destroying things like this, she would have beaten him.
Xiulan nodded. If Lin Heng wanted to fish, she would go fishing with him. However, she was not ready to start fishing. She pointed at Xiaoxia and said, "Then you go fishing. I'll watch Xiaoxia. The water is deep here."
Lin Heng did not force it. He prepared some rice and wine, hung earthworms on two purple bamboo fishing rods, threw them into the water and waited.
While waiting for the fish to break out for half an hour, the three of them sat on the big black rocks by the river to bask in the sun. When it was almost time, Lin Heng went to start fishing, and Xiulan pulled Xiaoxia to sit beside them and watch.
It’s a pity that there are few fishermen on the riverside, otherwise they would be extremely envious of this scene. It is simply impossible for my wife to accompany me fishing.
However, the fish today was not giving him face. Lin Heng fished for half an hour but there was no movement at all.
"I'll try somewhere else."
Lin Heng had guessed that this situation might occur and dug three nests.
After playing with the second nest for a while, he saw something to eat and a small crucian carp flew up directly.
"I thought we could catch it, right?" Lin Heng turned around and said with a smile.
"Not bad, but not as big as the one you caught last time." Xiulan took the bucket containing the fish, put the fish in it and put it aside for Xiaoxia to see.
"Little fish!"
Xiaoxia was holding a reed and teasing the little fish in the water.
"There will be a big one soon."
Lin Heng is full of confidence. In this day and age, all you need to fish is hands, right?
However, in the next half hour, he only caught six small crucian carps weighing two taels each, which made him doubt his life.
But he didn't care. Seeing Xiulan was bored, he smiled and said, "Wife, come and play."
"You just play, I'm picking up stones." Xiulan shook a small round stone in her hand.
Lin Heng pulled her over and said with a smile: "Come on, you play, I'm tired."
Being held by Lin Heng, Xiulan had no choice but to take the fishing rod and experience this game that she had never played before.
"Dad, I want to fish, too."
When Xiaoxia saw her mother going out to play, she also clamored to play and stuck close to Lin Heng and acted coquettishly.
"Okay, okay, you can come and play too, but you can't go to the river."
Lin Heng handed her another purple bamboo fishing rod.
"good."
Xiaoxia nodded cherishingly and looked at the water.
Lin Heng replaced the fish hooks of Xiulan and Xiaoxia with new earthworms, then watched from the side and taught them how to fish.
After about three minutes, there was still no movement from Xiulan's side, but a lot of Xiaoxia's fishing line had been pulled into the water.
"We caught a fish, Xiaoxia!"
Lin Heng said something, holding Xiaoxia's hand and completing the action of stabbing the fish.
"Fish, big fish fish!!"
Xiaoxia ran back excitedly while lifting the fishing rod. After a while, a small crucian carp was pulled out of the water and rolled on the water surface.
Lin Heng pulled the fishing line to get the crucian carp. Xiaoxia looked at it for several times, then urged Lin Heng, "Dad, we need to fish more!"
The young fisherman, who has fallen in love with the sport of fishing, was astounded by the tiny fish.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
