Chapter 425: Final Episode
"Ouch!!"
Accompanied by a series of tragic pig squeals, a big white pig was pulled out.
Several grown men pulled the pig's tail and ears, and soon the pig was pressed on the chopping board.
Xiulan and others brought all the children into the house. Children are not allowed to watch the pig-killing process, as it is a very cruel thing.
“Kill the pig!”
At this time, Lin's father set off a bunch of firecrackers, and along with the sound of the firecrackers, the pig's screams also rang out.
After a while, the sound weakened, and the New Year pig fell down. The children also ran out of the house, looking at their motionless New Year pig curiously.
The butcher and others had already lifted the pig into the wooden barrel and were scalding the pig's hair with boiling water at over 80 degrees.
The process of slaughtering pigs has hardly changed. A group of people work together to quickly clean the pigs.
After washing, the pigs were placed on wooden barrels for back opening. This year the pigs were not particularly fat, with a fat layer only three fingers thick.
Of course, I put a bowl of grains in it, burned some yellow paper and incense as a sacrifice, and then carried it to the scale to weigh it.
"Two hundred and thirty kilograms, not bad." Lin Heng said with a smile.
"It's fat enough, a big fat pig."
"At two years old, he's still a little thin." Father Lin said.
"It's okay. It won't taste good if it's too fatty." Lu Honghai shook his head.
"Yes, last year we slaughtered a 280-pound pig in Shanghe. The meat was too fatty and greasy. It was not tasty at all." Lin Xutao commented with a smile.
"I heard that you collected acorns and crushed them to feed the pigs. The pork must be special." Lin Hai said with a smile. Naturally, he came back as the Chinese New Year was approaching.
He had a good year. He made a lot of money and his relationship with Tian Yan deepened. They have recently started talking about marriage.
All this is inseparable from Lin Heng's advice. He now trusts Lin Heng 100%.
"Yes, we all want to taste what the pork fed with acorns tastes like." Li Baiquan grinned.
"If it tastes good, I will pick some next year to feed the pigs." Lin Heng's aunt Lu Hongyun said with a smile.
Lin Heng has been harvesting acorns for two consecutive years in the village, and it can be said that everyone in the village knows about it.
"I want to try it, too. Auntie, if you want to try it, you have to dry and roast the acorns first, then grind them into powder and mix them into the grain. Feeding it directly is poisonous."
Lin Heng gave an explanation.
While they were talking, the butcher had already hung the pig upside down on the rack and taken out its heart, liver and lungs.
The entire procedure was the same as usual, and there was no difference from usual. The acorn-fed pigs looked no different from other pigs on the surface.
After the pork was divided, half was used to make smoked bacon, and the other half was cut into small pieces that could be eaten in one meal and stored in the freezer.
In rural areas, even if there is a freezer, bacon is a must-make item.
The flavor of bacon is very unique and cannot be replaced by fresh meat. Many people even don’t like eating fresh meat at all and only like bacon.
I won’t make ham this year, but I have two big hams at home, both of which are two years old, and I haven’t opened them yet.
They quickly cleaned up the pork, and the kitchen also got fresh pork and started making breakfast.
"It's time to eat, it's time to eat!"
After a while, shouts were heard and two tables full of dishes were served.
The men sat at one table, and the women and children sat at another.
After picking up the wine glass and taking a sip, Lin Heng couldn't wait to taste the pork.
When he put the meat in his mouth, he had two feelings. One was that the meat was very delicate. Both the fat and the lean meat were more delicate than normal pork.
Moreover, the meat does not have the slightest fishy smell. It tastes rich and meaty, and becomes more delicious the more you chew it.
Of course, there is only the pure meaty aroma, without the fresh fragrance of acorns.
"This pork is delicious. It's fragrant and tender when chewed." Soon, someone expressed their praise.
The butcher also nodded: "Yes, it is really better than ordinary pork. I have killed dozens of pigs this year, and this meat tastes the best."
"I'll try getting some acorns to feed the pigs later," said Lin Xutao.
Everyone who was helping out had this idea. There were many oak trees in the mountains, and every autumn a layer of acorns would fall on the forest floor, but few people would pick them up.
Now, after tasting the pork from Lin Heng's family, everyone had the same idea.
"Lin Heng, can you tell us what is the best way to do this?" Third mother Li Xue asked.
"There's no special method required. Just pick up the acorns, soak them in water, dry them in the sun, and fry them. Once cooked, they're basically non-toxic." Lin Heng replied with a smile.
After listening to this, everyone nodded silently, wrote down these key points, and prepared to go back and try them themselves.
After the meal, which was only around eleven o'clock in the morning, the butcher, Lin Heng and others went directly to the home of their third father, Lin Xutao.
His third uncle's family also slaughtered a pig today. When they were eating after slaughtering the pig, the difference in the quality of the pork was revealed.
The pigs from his third uncle's house were also very good, but the taste was still inferior. Even if they were handled well, they still had a bit of a fishy smell.
Lin Heng's pigs basically do not have this problem.
When he returned home in the afternoon, Lin Heng took home the fresh pork that needed to be frozen.
"Wife, let's make some boiled pork tonight to try." Lin Heng said as he froze the meat.
"It's the same method as boiled chicken, right?" Xiulan looked up and asked.
"Yes, the same." Lin Heng nodded.
"Okay, I'll do it in the evening." Xiulan nodded in agreement.
After putting the meat away, Lin Heng pulled Xiulan to sit down and drank a few cups of tea happily.
It has been a busy day today, and now I can finally take a break when I get back home.
After a good rest, it was dark. For dinner, Xiulan simply cooked some fish balls, heated up a few buns, and then cooked a piece of pork.
I just put a few slices of green onion and ginger and added a little cooking wine. After cooking, I cut it into slices and served it on the table. This piece of meat is 70% fat and 30% lean.
Lin Hengxian ate a piece directly. He was very satisfied that there was no fishy smell at all. He thought that the acorns were not fed in vain.
I took another piece and dipped it in the sauce. It tasted even better and I wanted to eat more.
"This meat is delicious." Xiaoxia tasted a piece and nodded repeatedly.
"Don't give this meat away. We'll eat it ourselves. If you want to give it away, give wild boar meat."
After she finished eating, Xiulan said that these domestic pigs fed with acorns were simply incomparable to wild boars.
"Of course, this is a good thing." Lin Heng nodded.
The three of them finished their meal, digested the food a bit, and then went to bed to rest.
The next morning, after breakfast, Lin Heng took out the tip of the brush that he had previously degreased in lime.
These days, he also prepared the brush holders. He made five of them himself using purple bamboo cut down from the back mountain.
There are also five pen holders that I bought, made of wood.
He used a small ceramic stove to boil some fish bladder glue, then cleaned the brushes one by one, combed and sorted them, and finally put them together to make a beautiful brush head.
Tie the base of the pen with thread, trim the tip to make it in the best writing condition, dip it in some fish bladder glue and hang it up. The preliminary production is complete.
After the nib was dry, he dipped it in some other glue and attached it to the pen barrel.
At this point, a brand new brush has been made.
Lin Heng used boiling water to soften his pen, ground a little ink and wrote an article "Han Yao Fu".
After writing down 600 words, he nodded with satisfaction: "As expected, all the hair is selected from the best weasel tails. It is very useful."
"Wife, do you want to try it?" Lin Heng said to Xiulan.
"I can't write calligraphy, but the brushes you make are very beautiful. I think it should be easy to write with." Xiulan blinked, picked up the pen and wrote lightly, but she couldn't tell whether it was good or not.
"I'll teach you."
Lin Heng smiled and held Xiulan's hand and taught her how to write calligraphy.
"Okay, the water in my pot has boiled." After writing for a while, Xiulan spoke out.
"good."
Lin Heng let go of the pen, and then he couldn't put it down and started writing again. After he finished, he hung up the pen, looked at the ink block next to it and said to himself: "I have a good pen, but I still need good ink."
He decided that when he had time, he would make the Tongyan Hui ink that had been passed down from ancient times. He had tinkered with it himself in his previous life.
Now that I have time I'll do a little bit, it may not be meaningful, it's just to please myself.
After carefully putting away the finished brush, he walked out of the study.
Xiaoxia was playing with her toys in the main room, while Xiulan was dealing with his wax chickens and sausages.
She is preparing the dishes to be braised today. After cleaning and preparing them, she will braise them all at once in two days.
"Do you want to write couplets? I'll help you cut the paper." Xiulan looked up at him and said.
"Let's wait two days." Lin Heng said with a smile. He had been busy for a long time today and was not in the mood to write.
"Okay." Xiulan agreed.
The sun is shining brightly today. It is quite warm outside at around two o'clock. Lin Heng takes the tea set to the stone table in the front yard to drink tea, and calls Xiulan to bask in the sun together.
Time passed slowly, and soon it was the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month. At noon that day, Lin Heng began to write couplets.
After writing for his own family, he wrote some for his relatives and friends. As for those in the village who wanted him to help write their letters, he would write them for free as long as they brought red paper.
Xiulan was grinding ink and pressing paper for him. Although they didn't talk much, they could understand each other with just a glance.
Many women of the same age as Lin Heng, married or not, couldn't help but feel envious when they saw this scene.
I envy their good relationship and love, and I also envy Xiulan for finding a potential stock like Lin Heng.
Lin Heng is now very famous in the whole Huangtan Town. He is low-key, humble, handsome and rich. Most importantly, he is so rich and only treats Chen Xiulan well, without any other rumors.
"What are we having for dinner?" After finishing writing the couplet, Xiulan asked Lin Heng while drinking water.
"Can you eat oil-splashed noodles?" Lin Heng said to his wife.
He is a noodle lover and has to eat at least one meal of noodles every day, otherwise he will feel uncomfortable all over.
"If you want to eat it, I'll make it for you." Xiulan said with a smile.
After drinking the tea, Lin Heng went to soak the soybeans. Today he was making some tofu to eat during the New Year.
Xiulan went to knead the dough. She was going to make some pulled noodles to rise. Her husband liked to eat pulled noodles with oil sprinkled on them.
In the evening, Lin Heng ate a big bowl of oil-splashed noodles. He simply added some chili and garlic, splashed it with hot oil, and added some salt and MSG. The taste was so fragrant that people would miss it if they didn't eat it for two days.
The next day was the 26th, which was the second to last market before the Chinese New Year. Lin Heng took Xiulan to stroll around the street and bought some sundries.
Then calculate the accounts of the purchasing station and the convenience store in advance, and on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, you only need to calculate the income of that day.
After returning home, Xiulan fried the sugar color and started to braise the dishes. She filled two large pots and it took her most of the day to braise and then soak them overnight.
The house was still filled with the rich aroma of stew until the next day.
"Try it."
The next morning, Xiulan cut some braised vegetables for Lin Heng.
"Delicious, each one is very fragrant." Lin Heng took several bites in a row before taking the hot rice wine and pouring a glass for Xiulan.
The two clinked their glasses and took a sip of wine, and a wonderful feeling spread throughout their body and mind.
"Leave the rest for Xiaoxia." When they had almost finished eating, they got up and woke up the children.
Xiulan made breakfast for the children and Lin Heng woke them up.
"Brother, open the door. I'm here to help take care of the child."
While they were having breakfast, Caiyun was knocking on the door outside.
"It's Auntie, I'll go open the door for you." Xiaoxia heard the voice and trotted out.
Lin Heng followed behind and opened the door.
"Aunt, come and have dinner. Mom has cooked something delicious." As soon as the door opened, Xiaoxia pulled Caiyun and said.
"Thank you, Xiaoxia." Caiyun happily picked her up and walked out.
"Come and eat."
In the room, Xiulan cut some more braised chicken for Caiyun. "Wow, the braised golden chicken meat is so delicious." Caiyun exclaimed after taking a bite.
"Then eat more, there's still a lot." Xiulan said with a smile.
"These are enough. I've already eaten at my parents' place." Caiyun waved her hand and said.
With Caiyun here, Lin Heng and Xiulan took the soaked soybeans to the old house to grind tofu.
They are not in a hurry and will consider it a success if they can finish making the tofu today.
In the evening, the tofu was just ready, so Lin Heng mashed the tofu pudding with garlic and chili.
They ate it today and didn’t give any to anyone else. I’ve made tofu several times recently and everyone has eaten it many times.
"Okay, with this tofu, there's really no need to prepare anything else for the New Year."
After pressing the tofu, Xiulan took a deep breath and said.
"Let's go eat an orange. We're hungry." Lin Heng nodded and said.
Going out of the main room, he took out a few tangerines and a big orange from the cupboard. These were from the fruit trees at home, and there were still quite a few left.
The tangerines and oranges that have been stored for a long time are already very sweet, and it is a real treat to put them in the hawthorn.
The two of them ate a little and shared some with Xiaoxia, then sat on the sofa to rest. Caiyun and Lin Heng had already sent them back.
After eating the fruit, they took their children to rest and did not eat anything else at night.
On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, it started snowing again. It wasn't heavy, but it kept falling. People who went to the street to attend the last market before the New Year all had white hair.
Lin Heng brought his father to this market. He bought some good things for Grandpa Gao and Wang Zhou, and then waited for the market to end.
The market began to draw to an end at three o'clock in the afternoon. Lin Heng chose to close the shop early and pack up and put away all the things. When he finally calculated the profits of the convenience store and the purchasing station this year, he found it a little unbelievable.
"Dad, guess how much money the store made this year?" Lin Heng said with a smile.
"How much?" Father Lin was very curious.
"Four thousand three hundred yuan." Lin Heng grinned and whispered the number.
“Oh my god!”
Hearing this, Father Lin exclaimed.
* * * I wish you all a happy National Day in advance, and hope that our motherland will prosper and dominate the world as soon as possible.
(End of this chapter)
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