Chapter 93 Holding a child, killing the New Year pig

The stage was set up on the first night the group arrived. The village chief said that they could perform the opera after killing a pig the next day.

"Killing a pig?" Liu Mingan was surprised. Shouldn't the New Year pig be killed on the 24th day of the lunar month? Killing it now?

Cui Shan explained, "It's different in Zhuangzhu Village. First, he is the village chief. He kills the pig first to get the New Year started and make the village lively. Second, it can be regarded as a full-month wine party for his grandson, for good luck. People in this village hope that their children can eat and sleep like piglets and grow up quickly."

Liu Mingan felt that he had learned something new.

At night, the village chief arranged for the troupe to rest in other villagers' homes, and repeatedly told them not to neglect them. Then he warmly invited Liu Ming'an and Jiang Ning to his home, saying that he had prepared a room for them to stay.

"Go ahead! The village chief's house is big!" Cui Shan said to Liu Ming'an with a smile.

Liu Ming'an and Jiang Ning followed the happy village chief to his home, thinking that they would just stay overnight. It was not until the village chief stuffed a baby wrapped in a small flower quilt into their hands that Liu Ming'an realized that he had thought too simply.

The child, who was just a few dozen days old, was held in the stiff arms of Liu Ming'an, with bright black eyes, curiously looking at the stranger holding him, waving his little fists, and making "babbling" sounds from his mouth.

Liu Ming'an held the tiny baby in his arms, looking as if he was facing a powerful enemy. He didn't even dare to move. He quickly looked at the village chief for help: "Village chief, please take

my grandson back quickly. I'm afraid he might fall..." "Hey! Liu Juren, don't worry about holding him. My wife and I are watching him, and so are his parents. You hold him, and let my little grandson get a little bit of your scholarly air!" The village chief waved his hand and said nonchalantly, smiling

so much that his whole face wrinkled. Liu Ming'an turned his head to look at Jiang Ning again, but saw that she took two steps back, as if she didn't want to get involved.

Helplessly, Liu Ming'an had to continue holding the baby and negotiate with the village chief. After much persuasion, he finally handed the child over a quarter of an hour later.

"Huh~" Liu Mingan let out a long sigh of relief. The child was so light, but he felt like he was holding a big stone.

When they went to bed, Liu Mingan complained to Jiang Ning: "This village chief is really scary..."

Jiang Ning chuckled and echoed: "Some people are like this. They think their children are good in every way, so they always think that others will like them too."

Liu Mingan heard some clues from this, and then thought of Jiang Ning's avoidance just now, so he asked hesitantly: "A Ning, do you... dislike children?"

Jiang Ning wanted to say yes, she didn't like children. In her usual impression, children are creatures that cry loudly and can't be communicated with. But when she thought of the well-behaved and quiet baby just now, Jiang Ning knew that her idea was a stereotype.

"It's okay if it doesn't cry." Jiang Ning said hesitantly after a moment.

Liu Ming'an said "hmm" and said nothing more. He just told himself silently in his heart that if he and An Ning had a child in the future, he must remember to hold it farther away when it cries, and never let the little thing disturb An Ning.

The next morning, Liu Ming'an and Jiang Ning had just finished breakfast when they saw several men coming to the village chief's house with ropes and wooden sticks.

"Uncle, we're here!" One of the burly men shouted.

The village chief's family came out to greet them, with smiles on their faces, and led them to the pigpen next to them. Not long after, Liu Ming'an heard a burst of pig cries and the voices of those men.

"Hey, hey, hey! Hold on, hold on! Hold on the front legs and don't pull the tail!"

"Bring the rope! Quick, tie up these hooves...and the stick, put it on..." "

Get ready, come on, one, two, three!"

When several people came out carrying a big fat pig with tied up parts, it was the turn of Jiang Ning, a modern man who had never seen the world. He looked very interested and followed Liu Mingan.

The pig looked like it might weigh 300 pounds, with its four hooves tied up and strung on a wooden stick. It screamed all the way, and the four men carrying it were happy to hear it. They shouted as they walked: "Kill the pig! Kill the big fat pig!"

All the children in the village came out and followed them, clapping their hands and jumping and shouting: "Kill the pig! Kill the big fat pig!"

When Jiang Ning and the others reached the entrance of the village, they found that a big battle had already been set up.

A big pot was set up in the middle of the field, and a pot full of water was boiling inside. Next to the pot was a simple table with a door-sized wooden board on it, and a wooden basin was placed under the table.

Under the tree on the other side, a shirtless man was sharpening a knife with a stone block. The blade was as long as his forearm, with a narrow tip and a sharp blade, and it looked very heavy.

"It's a good knife for stabbing people!" Jiang Ning commented in her heart.

The men lifted the pig onto the wooden board, untied the ropes on the pig's hooves, and each of them held the pig firmly with one leg. The man who was sharpening the knife stood up, walked to the side of the pig with the knife in hand, gestured, and seemed to be thinking about how to cut.

Jiang Ning was looking at Jin'er, when suddenly everything in front of her eyes went dark, and a warm hand covered her eyes, followed by Liu Ming'an's clear voice in her ears: "A Ning, it's a bit bloody, don't look at it."

Jiang Ning: "..."

Jiang Ning pulled Liu Ming'an's hand down without saying anything, and when she turned around, she found that his eyes were wandering and his expression was not very comfortable.

"Are you scared?" Jiang Ning realized belatedly. Scholars emphasize "a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen", which means they cannot bear to see killing.

Liu Ming'an did not say anything, so Jiang Ning arranged it considerately: "It's okay, go find Cui Banzhu, I'll come to you later."

Jiang Ning was really curious about what it was like to kill the New Year pig. After sending Liu Ming'an away, she simply found an empty space to sit and stared at the butcher's movements intently.

The butcher kicked the wooden basin with his foot, making it fall right under the pig's head. He shouted "Hold down the guys" and stabbed the pig's neck with the sharp knife in his hand.

Instantly, blood gushed out. The butcher slowly withdrew his knife and put his hand on the wound to prevent the blood from splashing. The pig's blood was caught in the wooden basin. The pig twitched a few times and died.

After the blood was drained, the village chief's wife came over happily and took away the wooden basin. Then several people surrounded the pig, each holding a piece of black iron in their hands.

"What is that?" Jiang Ning propped up her chin and thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out.

But she saw someone scoop a ladle of boiling hot water from the pot with a ladle and poured it on the dead pig. Then another person used the iron sheet to scrape the place where the hot water was poured, and the pig's hair immediately fell off cleanly.

It turned out to be an ancient "hair removal artifact"!

After several people worked on it for about half an hour, the pot of hot water was used up and the pig hair was also removed.

Jiang Ning thought that the matter was over, but then he saw the butcher cut off the pig's head with a knife and cut open the pig's belly. Then he remembered that there were still some internal organs to deal with.

But when he thought about the smell of dealing with the internal organs, Jiang Ning lost interest and got up to find Liu Mingan.