Chapter 27 Chapter 27 Killing Pigs
The shop assistant who was guarding the butcher's shop originally saw Yu Li standing in front of the shop staring at the bones with a dejected look on her face, and he lazily ignored her. But he didn't know that Boss Tu actually knew her.
He immediately sat up straight and asked enthusiastically, "Boss Tu, do you know this girl?"
Boss Tu hummed, smiled at Yu Li and asked, "Are you here to buy meat, Li Niang?"
He had a big beard and looked very fierce, a bit like a mountain bandit. If the villagers didn't know what kind of person he was, they would probably be scared to death if they met him on the road.
Yu Li was still thinking about buying bones to make soup. Hearing this, he nodded casually.
She finally made up her mind and was about to buy the bones when she heard Boss Tu say enthusiastically, "That's great. There's still meat inside. Come with me."
Yu Li's eyes lit up and he followed Boss Tu into the butcher shop without hesitation.
In front of the butcher's shop is a shop facing the street, and inside is a spacious courtyard.
There were a lot of things piled up in the yard. There was a thatched shed on the north side. There were two stoves in the shed with large iron pots on them. Next to them were chopping boards, pig-killing stools, several wooden barrels, basins, ropes and other things. There were also several large banana leaves on the ground, and several black pig-killing knives were placed casually next to them. The air was filled with a faint fishy smell and a hint of blood that had not yet completely dissipated.
When Yu Li saw the things in the yard, he knew that this should be the place where pigs were slaughtered.
It is not surprising that this butcher's shop sells meat in the front shop and slaughters pigs in the back yard.
There was only one man in the yard, who was cleaning utensils. He was tall and strong, with bronze skin and a lot of flesh. At first glance, he was a butcher who was very suitable for the job of slaughtering pigs.
There was a well in the yard. He drew water from the well and poured it into several basins, making a loud sound.
Seeing Boss Tu coming in with a skinny girl, he was stunned and looked at them suspiciously.
The butcher called out to him, "Old Zhang, give me the piece of meat in the room today."
"What are you doing?" asked Lao Zhang.
"Give it to my sister." Boss Tu said, asking Yu Li to wait here. He walked across the yard and went to the house inside to bring out a large piece of meat.
The meat looked to be about ten pounds, with alternating fat and lean parts, and the meat was scarlet, looking very fresh.
This is something they specially kept for themselves to eat. As the weather is hot, they can keep it in a cool place in the house for a while.
People like them who slaughter pigs and sell meat have no shortage of meat to eat, and sometimes they even keep some for themselves.
Lao Zhang planned to take the meat back home to eat in the evening. He cut it into large pieces, stewed it in a large pot with soybean paste and spices, and called some brothers over to drink and eat meat.
But since Boss Tu said he wanted it, he nodded and let him take it. However, he couldn't help looking at Yu Li with some curiosity. This was the first time that Boss Tu gave people meat after returning to his hometown. It was quite strange.
When Yu Li saw the piece of meat, his eyes were glued to it and he could already think of various ways to eat it.
But thinking that he was unemployed now, he could only look away with pain and asked, "How much is this meat per pound? I want one pound."
Just cut a pound of meat. It shouldn’t cost much.
Boss Tu burst out laughing, pulled out a few wilted banana leaves from the side, wrapped the piece of meat, and put it in her backpack.
He said, "No need to pay, this is a gift for you."
Yu Li was a little confused, "Send it to me?"
"Yes." Boss Tu explained, "Xuan... I haven't thanked you for the incident with Huai'er. You saved Huai'er, so you are my savior."
He has been very busy these days. He just came back from the provincial capital the day before yesterday and has not yet returned to the village to find Yu Li and give her some thank-you gift.
Although Xuan Huaiqing said that he would go to thank him in person, Boss Tu couldn't just do nothing, otherwise what kind of person would he be?
I just didn't expect to meet her in the city today buying meat. It's fate.
Yu Li suddenly realized, "Is this a thank you gift?"
Saving Xuan Huaiqing was just a piece of cake. After handing him over to Boss Tu, she forgot about him and never thought about whether the other party would be grateful to her.
As genetic warriors who make a living by killing alien species and pollutants, they will save anyone as long as they are not man-eating monsters. They will save a dog in distress on the roadside, let alone a human.
Saving lives is a very common thing.
For people living in the post-apocalyptic world, the natural enemies of mankind are pollutants and alien species with great destructive power. They threaten the survival of all living things, wantonly destroy the world and pollute the environment. Humans who once dominated the planet were almost wiped out by the threat of monsters until humans established a safe base and cultivated genetic warriors who could fight against the alien monsters, and then reversed the situation.
After experiencing such an apocalypse, human life becomes extremely precious, and only someone can continue the flame of civilization.
Therefore, as long as the person is not guilty of heinous crimes, Yu Li will save him.
Boss Tu said hurriedly: "This is not a thank you gift. Huai'er's leg is broken and he can't move well. When his leg is healed, he will come to thank you in person."
The life of the general's only son cannot be bought with a piece of pork, otherwise it would be too cheap, right?
It's too insincere.
Yu Li said, "Then I'll give you the meat back."
Since it is not a thank you gift, I cannot accept it.
No merit, no reward. How could she have the nerve to ask for so much meat from someone who was not her relative? Although Yu Li was greedy for meat, she was a principled person and would never take ill-gotten gains.
Seeing her put down the backpack and take out the meat, Boss Butcher felt helpless.
He really didn't expect this girl to be so principled.
"Li Niang, just accept it." Boss Tu explained, "You saved Huai Ge'er, I can't thank you enough." Seeing her looking at him puzzled, he chose to reveal a little, "Huai Ge'er is my... friend, you saved my friend, I should thank you."
Yu Li paused.
She has never had any friends and doesn't know what friends are like, but she knows that people need friends, and good friendships can even mean going through fire and water for friends.
For new humans like them, after entering the training camp, the camp not only has training classes, but also cultural classes.
We can't really teach these genetic warriors to become emotionless killing machines. We also have to make them sensible. Although the cultural courses only instill some theories, they are enough for them to understand many things.
Just because Yu Li is not worldly-wise doesn't mean she knows nothing.
She did not refuse again and said, "Then I will accept it."
She saved Boss Tu's friend, and Boss Tu was grateful to her and wanted to give her a thank-you gift. It was only natural and reasonable for her to accept it.
Boss Tu smiled, and seeing that she was sweating profusely, he said, "Sit down for a while, I'll get you a bowl of water."
It's a rare opportunity to meet someone, and you can't just let her go without even offering her a cup of tea. That's not the way to treat guests.
Boss Tu may look rough, but he is actually very careful.
Yu Li did not refuse and sat down on the stool brought by Boss Tu.
It was a hot day and I had been running outside for most of the day. Although I had two bowls of noodles, there wasn't much soup in them and I was very thirsty.
Boss Tu brought a bowl of tea.
The bowl is a coarse pottery bowl. Most ordinary people drink tea or water directly from the bowl without any particular attention to detail.
Yu Li didn't care and just picked it up and drank.
When Tu Lao Da saw that she had finished one bowl, he poured her another bowl and chatted with her: "Li Niang, why did you come to the county town today? What do you want to buy?"
"Buy food." Yu Li said truthfully, "And see if there are any profitable jobs in the city. I want to find a job."
Boss Tu was stunned for a moment, and asked first: "Buy food? Does the Yu family have no food?"
He remembered that the Yu family had a lot of land, and the eldest son Yu worked as an accountant in the county town. He received a lot of monthly salary, so it shouldn't be that they had no food left at home, right?
That's not right. How can a little girl be asked to go out and buy food? If there is food to be bought, it should be Yu Lao Er and Yu Lao San.
Boss Tu usually doesn't spend much time in the village. Even when he returns to the village, he lives in the mountains and doesn't have much contact with the people in the village. Therefore, he didn't know that Yu Li was married to the Fu family last month to bring good luck.
He still thought Yu Li was not married.
When I returned to the village last year, I heard the village chief mention that the dowry asked for by the Yu family was too high, which made people afraid to come and propose marriage.
Yu Li didn't say much and drank two more bowls of tea.
Boss Tu tried to pour her another cup, but then realized that she might have drunk too much. Worried that she would feel bloated from drinking too much tea, he stopped pouring her another cup.
He did not ask about food anymore, but asked, "Li Niang, what kind of work do you want to do?"
He didn't think there was anything wrong with Yu Li saying that she wanted to come to the county town to find a job, and he asked naturally, thinking that maybe she wanted to save some money.
Seeing that he didn't pour her tea, Yu Li was thinking about whether to pour two more bowls. When she heard him ask, she said, "I want to find a job that requires strength. I'm quite strong, so I should be able to do this."
As long as she is not asked to do embroidery or something, it will definitely work.
Boss Tu seemed to be choked, and then she remembered that on the day she rescued Xuan Huaiqing, she carried him out on her back.
Xuan Huaiqing was tall and strong, and it was not something that an ordinary girl could carry. However, she carried it all the way. Her strength seemed really great, which was totally inconsistent with her skinny appearance.
Yu Li held the bowl and thought that Boss Tu was so comfortable in the butcher shop as if it was his own territory. This butcher shop must be related to him, or he has a close relationship with the people in the butcher shop. Why not ask him about the job situation in the county and see if he can help introduce one.
There is nothing shameful about asking someone to introduce you to a job; it is a normal step.
Yu Li asked, "Uncle Tu, do you have any job you can recommend to me? Any kind of hard labor is fine, but the pay can't be too low."
If the money she earns from a day's work is not enough for her to eat, then there is no point in working.
She still wants to find a job that pays more.
Boss Tu was confused by her question and thought her words sounded strange.
Which girl would ask this when looking for someone to introduce her to a job? I just want to do manual labor, and the money must not be too low...
It sounds like a job that a girl can't do. Of course, that's not right. She's quite strong, but not like a girl should have...
At this moment, Old Zhang, who was sharpening a butcher knife, burst out laughing.
Seeing Yu Li looking at him, Lao Zhang grinned and said, "Sister, if you want to do hard work that can earn you a lot of money, there are some, such as killing pigs! Killing a pig earns you fifty coins. If you kill pigs during festivals, you can earn even more, up to seventy or eighty coins..."
Yu Li's eyes lit up and he asked, "Where can I kill a pig?"
"I'll do it here." Old Zhang said with a smile, holding a butcher knife with a cold glow in his hand. His face was full of flesh, and he didn't look like a good guy. He could easily scare timid people. Many young ladies didn't dare to look him in the eye and would quickly avoid him when they saw him.
Lao Zhang has gotten used to it. He looks like this naturally, given by his parents. Girls are scared when they see him, so he can only hide himself. Even though he is old, no girl has ever been interested in him.
At this moment, seeing that she actually looked at me without dodging, I felt that this girl was quite brave.
Yu Li's mind became active. He put down the bowl in his hand, walked over and asked, "How is the work schedule arranged? How many pigs do you have to kill in a day? Is the money paid in cash? What benefits are there?"
Lao Zhang was stunned for a moment, "Do you really want to kill the pig?"
"Yes." Yu Li said seriously. She didn't think there was anything wrong with killing pigs. She was strong and capable anyway.
After confirming that she really wanted to kill a pig, Lao Zhang was dumbfounded and asked, "Can you kill a pig?"
"I think so."
"What do you mean by should?"
Yu Li said: "During the Chinese New Year, I saw the villagers slaughtering the New Year pig. It was quite simple."
Lao Zhang almost burst out laughing. He had seen it before and thought it was simple, so he thought he could do it?
He joked: "Sister, you may not understand even if you have seen it. You have to know that when you kill a pig, blood will be seen..."
The process of slaughtering a pig means a life ends in one's own hands, which is not acceptable to everyone. Some people even have nightmares after just seeing it.
Yu Li didn't argue with him, but just asked: "Can I come?"
It costs fifty cents to kill a pig. She cares about this a lot. If she kills a few more pigs a day, how much will it cost?
"This..." Lao Zhang was in a dilemma. He thought of something and said, "Killing a pig is a strenuous job. It requires a lot of strength. It takes several men to hold down a pig..."
Yu Li raised his eyebrows, thinking that he might be questioning his strength.
She looked around and saw a stone pillar half a person's height in the yard, so she walked over, picked it up, weighed it in her hand, threw it up, and then caught it easily.
This time, Lao Zhang was really stunned.
Even Boss Tu's eyes widened. Although he knew that she might be very strong, after seeing it with his own eyes, he realized that he still underestimated her strength.
This strength is greater than that of a strong man. At least those strong men cannot throw the stone pillar up and catch it easily.
After Yu Li carefully demonstrated his strength to them, he put the stone pillar back and looked at them again.
Lao Zhang coughed lightly and turned to look at Boss Tu: "Brother Tu, look..."
Yu Li also turned to look at Boss Tu. Did it mean that whether he could kill the pig here depended on Boss Tu?
It seems that this is indeed Boss Tu’s territory.
Seeing her looking at him eagerly, Tu Lao Da seemed to really want to kill the pig. He couldn't help but cough and asked, "Li Niang, do you really want to kill the pig?"
"Yes!" Yu Li nodded. This was the most suitable job for her that she had found in the county today.
It just so happened that she had strength, and she could get more than 50 cents for killing a pig. She wouldn't be exploited, and the money would be hers.
Boss Tu hesitated and said, "How about you try some other jobs..."
No matter what, killing a pig is still too bloody, and some people can't bear to let a little girl do this job.
"No need to look." Yu Li had made up his mind and said truthfully, "I think slaughtering pigs is good. It's better than carrying goods at the dock. Carrying goods at the dock will be exploited severely..."
Hearing this, Lao Zhang and Lao Tu both frowned.
Both of them were in the market, so they knew the situation at the dock. Those managers all had backers and had close ties with the bailiffs at the county government. It was said that the brother of a concubine of the county magistrate was also arranged to be a manager at the dock, and he often exploited the people.
Boss Tu opened his mouth and said, "If that's the case, then come on."
She was Xuan Huaiqing's lifesaver, so it was not excessive to thank her. It was just a job of butchering pigs for her...
Now Xuan Huaiqing is recuperating in the provincial capital, and is also responsible for keeping an eye on the spies from Nanzhao. He is very busy. If he knew that his savior has fallen to the point of carrying goods at the dock and being exploited, he would probably be angry.
Xuan Huaiqing was a man who clearly distinguished between gratitude and resentment. He attached great importance to the life-saving grace and would definitely not ignore it.
A smile finally appeared on Yu Li's face.
It's a pity that she is still very skinny and doesn't look very pretty even when she smiles. Only her curved eyes are beautiful and still nice to look at.
When Boss Tu saw her smile, he sighed inwardly.
Forget it, let her do it first. If she can't do it, assign her other work.
Yu Li was delighted and asked, "When can I come to work?"
"When do you want to come?"
"Is tomorrow okay?" Yu Li asked tentatively. She had been idle for nearly a month and she actually wanted to do some work. The most important thing was to get paid, so she could buy food with money.
Lao Zhang nodded and told her the time to slaughter the pig every day, what time to arrive there, and what to prepare.
As he was talking, he suddenly thought of something and asked, "Amei, where do you live? Are you from the county town?"
"My last name is Yu, Yu Li." Yu Li introduced himself, and then said, "I don't live in the county town, I live in Qingshi Village."
Lao Zhang also introduced himself, saying that his surname was Zhang and his given name was a double character, so everyone called him Lao Zhang.
Although he is called Old Zhang, he is actually not old, he is not even 30 years old. He is just tall and strong. Such a physique is rare not only in the south, but also in the north.
He is indeed cut out to be a butcher.
Zhang Fu said, "Qingshi Village is a bit far from the county town. It takes half an hour to get there by boat. And if it's too early, there won't be any boats, right?" Because Boss Tu was from Qingshi Village, he knew all this.
He glanced at Yu Li and said that the pig should be slaughtered early and sent out only after it was killed and processed properly. It definitely could not be done too late.
Boss Tu turned around and asked Yu Li: "Mother Li, do you want to move to the county town?"
It is indeed more convenient to live in the county town. Boss Tu knows that she has no money, otherwise she would not come here to look for work.
He became interested. He had a house in the county town. Although it was not big, it was a shelter from the wind and rain. He could lend it to her and he could just live in Lao Zhang's house. Anyway, both he and Lao Zhang were single, so it would be fine for them to get along.
Yu Li shook his head, "No, I live in the village."
She thinks it's nice to live in the village, the expenses in the county town are too high and she can't afford it for the time being.
Probably because there are troops stationed near Shanping County, this area has always been peaceful. Shanping County rarely has a curfew, and the city gates are not closed at night. You can enter the city at any time without having to wait.
Seeing them struggling, Yu Li thought they were worried that he would not be able to make it in time, so he assured them, "Don't worry, I will be here on time."
Hearing this, Zhang Fu and Boss Tu didn't know what to say.
The girl seemed to care about the job of slaughtering pigs and was willing to come here in the middle of the night to kill pigs, so they should stop trying to persuade her. What if she thought they didn't want her to do it and she had to go to the dock to carry goods again? How uncomfortable would that be?
Yu Li drank two more bowls of herbal tea and finally got up and left.
Boss Tu saw her out.
When they reached the door, Yu Li said to him, "Uncle Tu, I will be there on time tomorrow."
Boss Tu responded, then said with some hesitation: "Can you please stop calling me Uncle Tu? Just call me Brother Tu." He was not even thirty yet, but he felt like he was old just because she called him that.
Yu Li looked at him in confusion, "Isn't that what Xuan Huaiqing called you?"
Boss Tu suddenly had the urge to find Xuan Huaiqing and ask him to change his words.
Actually, there was a reason why Xuan Huaiqing called him "Uncle Tu". He used to be a personal guard of General Xuan. Xuan Huaiqing respected the old general and called all the personal guards around him "Uncle". In addition, Old Tu was unkempt at the time, had a big beard, and looked old, so he deserved to be called uncle.
Boss Tu thought that Yu Li was just a teenage girl and he was almost thirty years old, so it seemed okay to call her uncle.
"Okay, okay, just call me that." He waved his hand and didn't care.
After watching Yu Li leave, Boss Tu returned to the yard.
Zhang Fu came over and asked, "Brother Tu, the Huai brother you mentioned just now, could it be the young general?"
Boss Tu nodded, and then said, "Don't call me Little General. It's not good if others hear it."
Zhang Fu couldn't help but sigh. After confirming that "Huai Ge'er" was indeed Xuan Huaiqing, he was a little surprised.
"She saved Master Xuan?"
Boss Tu then told the story of Xuan Huaiqing's death in the mountains.
Zhang Fu sighed, "If I had known that she saved Young Master Xuan, I should have introduced her to a good job..."
He sighed again, somewhat regretting that he had been too casual just now.
Like Boss Tu, he used to be close to General Xuan and had received a lot of care from General Xuan. He thought highly of Xuan Huaiqing, the only son of the Xuan family, and respected him like a young master.
He was a grateful man. Knowing that Yu Li saved Xuan Huaiqing, he really wanted to thank her from the bottom of his heart.
**
After Yu Li said goodbye to Tu Laodao, he went to a nearby rice shop to buy rice.
There were many rice shops in the county town, and she didn't pick any particular one. She just went into any rice shop she saw.
Because she finally had a job, she was happy and did not care too much when buying rice. She bought ten kilograms of coarse grains, ten kilograms of fine grains, and ten kilograms of beans and other miscellaneous grains.
The backpack could hold 50 kilograms of food, but she was afraid that the 10 kilograms of meat that Butcher gave her, plus some cloth, needles and thread and other sundries might not be able to fit them all, so she didn't buy too much food this time and would buy more after she finished eating.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Yu Li went to the pharmacy to buy medicine for Fu Wenxiao.
Huichuntang is easy to find. It is the most famous pharmacy in the county, and many people come here every day to buy medicine or see a doctor.
When Yu Li entered the pharmacy, she saw Doctor Xu. Doctor Xu knew why she was there without her saying anything.
Since Yu Li married into the Fu family, Doctor Xu went to the Fu family twice. One time was when Fu Wenxiao woke up from a coma, and the other time was when Fu Wenxiao had a high fever a few days ago. Both times he saw Yu Li at the Fu family and knew that she was the new bride of the Fu family.
I heard that she was married in for the purpose of bringing good luck.
He couldn't help but shake his head, thinking that this wedding for good fortune was not reliable.
Birth, aging, illness and death are normal. If you can cure it, then cure it. If you can’t cure it, then there is nothing you can do. You can’t get rid of it by marrying a wife. What’s more, Mr. Fu’s illness is not a simple illness. It’s nonsense to marry a wife to get rid of it.
Doctor Xu handed her three packets of medicine.
One packet of medicine costs 300 wen, three packets of medicine costs 900 wen, and 1,000 wen equals one liang...
Yu Li was very surprised. He didn't expect that medicine in this world was so expensive. No wonder if anyone in the Yu family fell ill, the old lady would be reluctant to hire a doctor to treat them. Instead, they would use folk remedies at home, unless the sick person was a scholar from the eldest house.
Technology in the last days is developing rapidly, and medical technology has reached a peak. Many human diseases have been conquered. Gene warriors like Yu Li have never even experienced being sick. Not only is their body strong enough to be immune to all diseases, but it is also because the effects of various quick-acting drugs are so good.
In ancient times, medical skills were not well developed and technology was backward. Even the medicinal materials were grown in the mountains. People had to go into the mountains to pick them and prepare them...
The efficiency is too low, no wonder a dose of medicine is so expensive.
Yu Li touched his wallet, and the excitement of having just found a job instantly disappeared.
Fifty cents for killing a pig, she originally thought it was a lot - it was indeed a lot compared to washing clothes and carrying goods at the dock, but if it was used to buy medicine, it was nothing.
Or, kill a few more pigs every day?
Yu Li thought seriously and realized that he had forgotten to ask, how many pigs does Zhang Fu kill every day?
At that time, she could earn fifty cents for killing a pig. If she only killed one or two pigs every day...how much could she earn?
Yu Li thought as he walked towards the city gate.
It was getting late, so she decided to go back first. She had already found a job in the county town, so she would come here every day and would have plenty of opportunities to go shopping.
When almost reaching the city gate, Yu Li saw a shop selling buns on the side of the road. After thinking about it, he bought a few vegetarian buns and a dozen large steamed buns.
The buns are not made of fine white flour, they are yellow in color, and they contain vegetarian stuffings such as mushrooms, black fungus and bamboo shoots, and they are not expensive. Multi-grain steamed buns are even cheaper, and they are large and filling.
I had two bowls of vegetarian noodles at noon just to fill my stomach, and now I'm already hungry.
Yu Li first ate two buns and then five steamed buns.
Although the buns were not made of refined grain, they were very soft and the vegetarian filling inside was very delicious. It was the first time Yu Li had ever tasted such delicious food, and his eyes narrowed in delight.
The multi-grain steamed buns are similar to the ones I had this morning, nothing special about them, but the good thing is that they are large in quantity.
Her throat was dry after eating only buns and steamed buns, so she bought a penny worth of soy milk to drink with them.
The store sells soy milk, a big bowl for one cent. There is nothing added to it, just the strong flavor of soy milk. It tastes quite good.
The lady working at the bun shop stared at her blankly, then looked at her skinny appearance with sympathy in her eyes.
This girl must be very hungry, that's why she eats so much in one go. I hope she doesn't get too full.
Yu Li asked the aunt to wrap the remaining buns in oil paper and prepare to eat them on the way.
This time, she didn't plan to take a boat, but chose to walk back and get familiar with the road.
If you leave home too early in the morning and there is no boat, you will have to walk to the county town by yourself. It's a good opportunity to learn the way on the way back so that you can come to the county town by yourself tomorrow.
Yu Li picked up the backpack again and finally left the city.
After leaving the city, she looked at the roads around her, afraid that she had taken the wrong road. She was about to find someone to ask for directions when she suddenly heard the voice of Boss Tu behind her.
"Li Niang, are you going back?"
Yu Li turned around following the sound and saw Boss Tu driving a few pigs over.
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