Chapter 94 Chapter 94 Helping the villagers kill pigs
The sky was gloomy, snowflakes flew straight into people's faces, and the north wind blew painfully on their cheeks.
It was freezing cold, but people's enthusiasm did not diminish because of the cold. Instead, they all ran to my uncle and aunt's house.
Because Yu Li is going to his uncle and aunt's house to slaughter a pig today.
Although everyone in the village knew that Yu Li had found a job as a pig slaughterer in the county town, no one had ever seen her slaughtering a pig.
Anyone who saw Yu Li would have some doubts. Could she really kill a pig when she looked so thin and weak? Even if she had some strength, killing a pig required not only strength but also skills. It was hard to imagine how she could kill a pig.
Most people were skeptical about the fact that Yu Li could kill pigs.
Before Yu Li arrived at his uncle's and aunt's house, a neighbor asked, "Aunt, do you really want Li Niang to kill the pig? Aren't you afraid that she won't be able to do it and will ruin your pig?"
Uncle San and Auntie were unhappy when they heard this. "What is there to be afraid of? If she dares to agree, I will let her kill me!"
"But, killing a pig requires not only strength but also skills. After all, she is a woman..."
"What do you mean?" Uncle San's aunt was very angry, and she put her hands on her hips and cursed, "What? Do you look down on us women? If I had learned how to kill pigs, I would dare to do it too!"
The neighbor was frightened by her fierce appearance, and with a somewhat embarrassed look on his face, he muttered: "I am worried about your pig. What if the pig is not killed properly, blood is splattered all over the ground, and the pig can still run around, it will make people laugh..."
This remark caused laughter from the people around.
Because this kind of thing really happened, someone in the next village wanted to save the money of hiring a butcher, so he plucked up the courage to kill the pig himself.
But the man didn't know that he had poor skills and stabbed the pig's neck in the wrong place, so the pig didn't die instantly. Not only did the blood from the pig's neck spurt everywhere, but the pig also broke free and ran away while screaming miserably. The pig's blood was all over the ground, and the people behind him chased after him in a panic...
That scene really makes people laugh every time they watch it.
Uncle and Aunt San really didn't want to bother with him, thinking that he was worrying about nothing.
While washing the basin and bucket, she said to her daughter-in-law who was working beside her: "What are you afraid of? Even if Li Niang's skills are not good, with her strength alone, the pig can't break free even if it's not dead. How could something like that happen?"
Her daughter-in-law smiled and said, "Mother is right. I believe in you too."
Nowadays, Yu Li has a good reputation in Qingshi Village, and most villagers are friendly to her.
Especially those aunts, wives and young girls, they thought it was really amazing that she could find a job in the county town and make money for herself. They were all eager to follow her to the county town to find a job and earn some money to supplement their family income.
Only some men with bad intentions who can't stand women doing well think that Yu Li is restless and is corrupting the women in the family, making them want to run to the county town to find work and not even do housework. Moreover, they have a bad temper and will talk back if you say anything to them.
If you dare to fight? Yeah, they will roll up their sleeves and fight you.
The aunties and wives in the countryside are all of a rather aggressive nature, the kind that can fight and scold men. On the contrary, it is quite rare to find people like Liu and Aunt Yu who are submissive.
Although Zhou has a soft personality, she is sensible. If her bottom line is touched, she will resist and will not just endure it.
Those men who couldn't stand seeing women doing well all had a lot of opinions about Yu Li, but unfortunately Yu Li was so strong that she could even kill a wild boar with one stick, so they didn't dare to say anything indecent in front of her.
In the end, I can only mutter a few words behind her back like I am doing now.
As he was speaking, he saw Yu Li coming towards him in the snowy wind.
The neighbor who had spoken immediately shrank his head and hid behind others. People around him laughed at him and said he was timid. Why didn’t he say anything now when he dared to speak just now?
The person being mocked becomes a coward and refuses to stick his head out no matter how others laugh at him.
When the third uncle and aunt saw Yu Li coming, they came over happily and said, "Mother Li is here. The pig is in the pigpen in the backyard. We washed it this morning and it is very clean now. When are you going to start slaughtering it?"
"Anytime." Yu Li said.
"Okay then, the water is boiling now, let's go get the pigs out..."
Yu Li walked to the backyard with his uncle and aunt and said, "No need, I'll bring it up."
Third uncle and aunt: “…” What to mention?
People around who heard this were also confused. What does "bring it out" mean? Does it mean to bring the pig out? Doesn't it mean to drive it out?
Seeing them walking towards the pigpen in the backyard, the others followed curiously to take a look.
Some people couldn't help but look at Yu Li. Seeing that she was calm and composed, people unconsciously believed in her and thought she could do it.
Some young girls and boys couldn't help but blush, thinking that Li Niang was so beautiful now that even girls liked to look at her, not to mention those young boys who admired her.
Unfortunately, she was already married, and her husband was a sickly man.
What was even more difficult for them to accept was that the sickly boy was also an ugly man...
Whenever this happened, some people would become dissatisfied with Mr. Yu and his wife, thinking that they were so cruel that they actually married their granddaughter to a sickly man for the sake of good fortune, thus ruining her life.
As a result, they also felt that the people in the first branch of the Yu family were good-for-nothings.
Yu Lao Da and his son have been studying for so many years and have been relying on their family for support, but it is not known whether they can achieve anything from their studies.
Many villagers came to Uncle San's and Aunt San's house today. Everyone was very enthusiastic and looking forward to Yu Li slaughtering the pig.
Not everyone is like the neighbor just now, who doubts that Yu Li can't do it. More people hope that she can do it, so that they can directly ask her for help in slaughtering pigs in the future.
The group came to the pigsty in the backyard.
There are two pigs in the pigsty. They have been raised for almost a year and look to be over 100 pounds, which is considered fat.
There is not much pig feed these days, and the way we raise pigs is to feed them pig grass mixed with some leftovers. Most of the time, there are not even leftovers, and at most we mix in some bran. As a result, most pigs cannot grow big. After a year, they sometimes weigh less than 100 kilograms.
These two pigs are so fat because they were raised carefully by my uncle and aunt.
Yu Li and his uncle and aunt came to the pigpen.
Seeing the two pigs lying on the ground without making a sound, Uncle San and Auntie didn't think much about it. After all, pigs eat and sleep, and they like to lie lazily on the ground, so it's okay for them not to make any sound.
She opened the pigsty and prepared to drive out the pig to be slaughtered.
Yu Li followed him in and asked, "Uncle San, which pig do you want to kill?"
The uncle and aunt pointed at one of the pigs and said, "This is the one. We'll kill it today and sell the other one in a few days. We'll bring two piglets back next spring to raise... Hey, they were pretty well behaved today. They didn't move around when we came in."
The domestic pigs are accustomed to their owners, and sometimes when their owners go in to clean the pigsty, they move slowly.
But it is rare to see someone lying there motionless like this.
Before the uncle and aunt could think about it, they saw Yu Li bending down, grabbing the four hooves of the pig to be slaughtered, and lifted it up so easily.
Third uncle and aunt: “…”
The people who followed: "..."
Everyone stared in amazement as Yu Li walked out easily carrying the pig. Those who didn't know thought the pig was very light.
That was a big fat pig weighing more than 100 pounds.
Seeing her carrying the pig out easily, it was really like carrying...
Yu Li carried the pig all the way to the yard. This scene also stunned the neighbors of his uncle and aunt who had not left yet.
"This, this, this...she actually brought it up?"
The people present had also seen pig slaughtering. Generally, the pigs were driven out of the pigsty first, and then everyone came together to hold the pigs down before slaughtering them.
During this period, the pigs will scream miserably. As long as you hear that cry, you will know which family is slaughtering pigs.
But this time, not only did she carry the pig out, but the pig didn't make a sound or resist the whole time, making it look like it wasn't strenuous at all.
"Why isn't it barking?" someone asked curiously, "Are all pigs so quiet after their four legs are grabbed?"
Everyone didn't know, and guessed, "Maybe it's very comfortable to be carried like this, so he stopped screaming."
After all, the pig was caught and lifted up by its four hooves, so there was no need to drive it around, so the pig must be happy and relaxed.
Yu Li put the pig on two long benches that were used as slaughtering benches. She held the pig down with one hand and took the slaughtering knife with the other.
Then he raised his knife and the pig's blood spurted out from the pig's neck and fell accurately into the bucket below.
The pig didn't make a sound during the whole process and died soon after.
The people watching around didn't say a word the whole time, and even seemed to hold their breath.
When Yu Li put down the killed pig, everyone was still unable to react and looked confused.
"Is this the end of the killing?"
Yu Li said to the man from his uncle's and aunt's family who was standing there in a daze, "You can perm your hair now."
Uncle San and his son came to their senses and quickly fetched the boiled water. Then they watched Yu Li take it and start scalding the pig hair.
After perming the pig hair, she shaved it skillfully with a knife.
There were a lot of people around, all craning their necks to watch her shaving the pigs. Obviously there was nothing interesting to see, but for some reason no one walked away and they all watched with great interest.
"Oh, this pig is shaved really clean."
"Why does she shave so fast?"
"Who said Li Niang couldn't do it? She is quite good at it! I think the butcher in the next village can't shave as fast as she can."
"Hey, I still want to know, why don't pigs make a sound when they die?"
It had kept silent when it was pointed out before, but even after being stabbed in the neck, it still didn't say a word.
It's so weird.
"What's the big deal? Li Niang must have given it a quick death, so it died without even feeling the pain. Naturally, it won't cry out. Li Niang is really amazing. She is better at slaughtering pigs than the butcher next door. Look, she can finish the job of slaughtering pigs by herself, while the butcher next door has to ask his apprentice to help."
"Indeed, Li Niang is very capable. If my family needs to slaughter a pig in the future, I will definitely look for her."
“…”
The villagers were talking to each other, and the people in my third uncle's and aunt's family were very happy.
Except for the third uncle and aunt, the others were somewhat hesitant about asking Yu Li to slaughter the pig. However, they didn't expect that she worked so efficiently and killed the pig well without their help.
After scraping off the pig's hair, Yu Li cut open the pig's belly and processed it.
She handled it very well and cut the pig into different parts according to the requirements of her third uncle and aunt.
As for the internal organs, the people from my uncle's and aunt's family quickly took them away to process them. They would start preparing the pig-killing dinner later and invite relatives and friends to eat together.
Because Yu Li was so fast, it didn't take him much time to finish processing a pig.
After she finished killing, the villagers were still reluctant to leave.
Someone asked, "Li Niang, do you also kill pigs this way in the county town?"
Yu Li hummed.
The other party immediately praised: "No wonder the butcher shop in the county wants you to kill pigs, Li Niang is really capable. If I were you, I would also ask you."
"Look how little time it takes to kill this pig. It's much faster than a butcher."
“…”
The group of people talked non-stop and were reluctant to leave.
In the past, they felt that the process of slaughtering pigs was a bit scary, and the timid ones didn’t dare to watch it at all. However, this time, not only did everyone not blink during the whole process, even the timid ones didn’t think there was anything to be afraid of. They didn’t cover their eyes during the process, and they were even afraid that they would miss something if they covered their eyes.
"It turns out that you can kill pigs like this. It's not scary at all."
"That's right, the pigs didn't even make a sound, unlike before. I felt terrified just by hearing that sound, and couldn't sleep well at night."
"That's because Li Niang is so powerful. She gave the pig a quick death. It's not scary to watch her kill the pig. If someone else kills a pig, do you dare to watch?"
"That's true."
…………
-
After having the pig-slaughtering dinner at his uncle's and aunt's house, receiving the money for the pig-slaughtering, and buying ten kilograms of meat, Yu Li carried the large piece of meat home in the wind and snow.
When she got home, there was a lot of snow on her hair and clothes.
Zhou hurriedly brushed off the snowflakes and scolded her, "Didn't I prepare an umbrella for you? Why don't you hold it?"
Yu Li didn't care, "It's okay, it's just a short distance, no need to hold an umbrella."
The main reason is that in their previous lives, they had to go through wind and rain, no matter it was raining heavily or snowing heavily, and these genetic warriors had no habit of holding umbrellas because it was really inconvenient.
This habit also brought some over.
It’s okay if it rains, as it will wet your clothes, so she still holds an umbrella. However, if it snows, the snow isn’t heavy, so she feels it’s unnecessary.
Zhou was helpless. She kept nagging her not to take care of her body just because she was young. She handed her the ginger soup she had just cooked and asked her to drink a bowl to get rid of the cold.
Yu Li looked at Jiang Tang and didn't move.
Zhou was a little amused, "Drink it, it has brown sugar in it, so it won't taste that spicy."
The last time Yu Li came back in the rain, Zhou made ginger soup for her to drink. Looking at her expression at that time, she knew that she didn't like it.
Of course, few people like to drink ginger soup.
So this time she added brown sugar to it for some sweetness.
The ginger soup with brown sugar really tasted much better. Yu Li's brows were lifted and he finished it in one gulp.
After drinking the ginger soup, she felt warm all over, so Zhou urged her to go back to her room to change her clothes that were soaked with snow.
The weather was cold, the doors and windows of the house were closed, and the light inside was dim, so Fu Wenxiao lit a lamp.
Although Yu Li's night blindness has now been cured, he still has the habit of turning on a lamp.
Fu Wenxiao asked, "Li Niang, is everything going well?"
"Well, no difficulty." Yu Li replied, not taking the matter of killing a pig seriously at all.
After she changed her clothes, Fu Wenxiao took a towel and wiped her hair.
There was snow in her hair, some of which she hadn't shaken off. Now the snow began to melt, making her hair a little wet. He used a towel to wipe off the snow.
"Li Niang, please hold an umbrella next time." Fu Wenxiao said softly.
Yu Li looked up at him and said, "I know."
The mother-in-law said so, and he also said so, so she should just hold an umbrella in the future.
Seeing her agree, Fu Wenxiao raised the corners of his lips in joy.
He found that although she acted with principles, she would be very accommodating to those who were recognized by her and even classified as her own, and rarely cared about anything. This made her look very obedient and gave people the illusion that she was easy to talk to, making people want to be nice to her, and even push her a little further...
After wiping his hair, Yu Li went to the kitchen to find Zhou.
Zhou was pickling meat. Her method of pickling meat was different from that of the villagers. She was willing to use spices, so the bacon she made was particularly fragrant.
Yu Li watched it very seriously and prepared to learn from her.
Seeing this, Zhou smiled and told her what to do, then said: "If Li Niang wants to eat it, just tell me, and I will make it for you."
Yu Li nodded and said, "Mom, I also want to eat cured pork ribs and cured pig's feet..."
"Okay, next time you bring it back, I'll cook it for you."
Yu Li raised the corners of his mouth happily and began to look forward to it.
**
In the following days, whenever anyone in the village wanted to slaughter a pig, they would call Yu Li over.
She slaughtered the pigs quickly and well, without any bloodiness. Every pig was killed with one blow, which made people feel comfortable just watching.
Anyone who has seen Yu Li slaughtering a pig cannot bear to see others slaughtering pigs.
Some wives who married to Qingshi Village would talk to their parents' home when they returned, and said that if they wanted to slaughter a pig, they didn't have to hire those butchers, but could come to Yu Li. Since they had to pay the same amount anyway, it would be better to find someone with better skills.
This led to people from nearby villages wanting to ask Yu Li to slaughter pigs.
Time flies, and it is already the twelfth lunar month.
That day, Yu Li went to Jucai Lane to see Yu Jin, who said to her, "Big sister, the New Year is coming soon, and our family is going to kill a pig. When you are free, help us kill it, and we can eat meat together."
When the Yu family divided up, because the two pigs were still young, they decided to raise them until the end of the year and then kill them and share the meat among everyone.
Now that the New Year is approaching, Yu Jin is thinking about the two pigs.
The last time she went back to the village, she went to the pigpen in the backyard and found that although the two pigs did not weigh 100 kilograms, they were almost there.
It's time to kill and eat meat.
The most important thing is that she wants her sister to eat meat.
Yu Li also remembered this and said, "Then go back and discuss it with them. Tell me and I'll go over and kill them."
Yu Jin smiled and nodded.
When Yu Jin returned to the village to buy grains again, he went to discuss this matter with Yu Lao San.
Yu Laosan and his wife had no objection and felt that the pig should be slaughtered. As for asking Yu Li to slaughter the pig, that was a foregone conclusion. Everyone in the village knew that she was fast and good at slaughtering pigs, and it seemed that even the pork tasted much better.
If we don't ask her to slaughter the pig, do we have to go all the way to the next village to hire a butcher?
After the discussion, Yu Lao San went to talk about the matter with Mr. Yu and his wife.
As for the people from the eldest wife's house, they haven't come back once in the past few months. There's no need to look for them about this matter. They look down on this country area anyway, and they probably won't come back just to eat some meat.
When Old Lady Yu heard that Yu Li was going to be asked to slaughter the pig, she was unhappy and it showed on her face to some extent.
"Can't you ask someone else?"
She really didn't want that evil star Yu Li to come to her house.
Yu Lao San asked: "Who are you going to ask? Do you want to ask the butcher from the next village? That will cost an extra twenty coins. Are you going to pay for it yourself?"
Sure enough, when it comes to money, Mrs. Yu becomes silent.
As for Old Man Yu, he sat there silently smoking his pipe and didn't say anything.
Since the family split up, he has become much quieter, especially since everyone in the first wife's house ran away and no one is home, which made him feel very upset.
I don't know if it's because they feel sad, or because the land of the main house was left to the old couple to take care of, but they have aged a lot in the past few months. They don't have the prestige and pride they had when they were the patriarch of the Yu family before the family split up.
Seeing that they had no objection, Yu Lao San asked the Yu Jin sisters to tell Yu Li to come and help slaughter the pig.
Killing a pig is a big event in the countryside. No matter how uncomfortable Mrs. Yu felt, she still had to help boil water and wash buckets in preparation for slaughtering the pig when the day came.
When she saw Yu Li coming over with a saddle bag on his back, she felt even more uncomfortable.
Yu Li ignored her, went to the pigpen, picked up a pig and killed it very cleanly and neatly.
This scene made the Yu family's scalps tingle. They always felt that if they didn't obey, the knife that was stabbed into the pig's neck would stab into their own necks at any time. They were like pigs pressed there, stabbed all over, unable to struggle at all.
Yu Laosan's family huddled aside and dared not say a word.
Mr. Yu and his wife also didn't dare to say a word.
This strange atmosphere puzzled the neighbors who came to watch the pig slaughtering. It was obviously not scary when Li Niang slaughtered the pig, so why did they look so scared?
After slaughtering the pig, Yu Li received the money and a large piece of pork.
Yu Jin stuffed the pork into her mouth. She said, "Big sister, you are also a daughter of our Yu family, so you should have a share of this meat, Grandpa, Grandma, Third Uncle, Third Aunt, don't you agree?"
Everyone: “…Yes, yes, yes!”
No one had any objections. Even though they felt heartbroken when they saw Yu Jin giving the best piece of meat to Yu Li, they had to hold it in.
This piece of meat looks like it weighs twenty kilograms.
A pig weighs less than 100 kilograms, and after being processed, it only weighs about 60 to 70 kilograms. If you remove 20 kilograms, there is really not much left.
Yu Li took a look at the distressed expressions of Mr. Yu and his wife, and accepted it with peace of mind.
She took the meat back to Fu's house and asked Zhou to cook it.
"Let's have a pot dinner tonight." Zhou said with a smile, "It's cold, so fry the meat until it's fragrant, add more water, put it in the pot, and eat while it's cooking. Then add some vegetables and the like, and cook as much as you want..."
Yu Li was a little greedy because of what she said, and quickly said: "Okay, let's do it."
**
After entering the twelfth lunar month, the Chinese New Year is getting closer and closer.
Yu Li could clearly feel the bustling atmosphere on the street, which was different from usual. Although the weather was cold, no one seemed to notice it. Every day, many villagers from nearby came to the county town to buy things. The streets were bustling with people, and everyone had a happy smile on their face.
On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Yu Li drank Laba porridge in the butcher shop.
This Laba porridge is cooked with a lot of beans, and it becomes soft and sticky. With sugar, it becomes soft, sweet and especially delicious.
This was her first time to drink Laba porridge, and she fell in love with it at once.
After returning home, Zhou also made Laba porridge.
Compared with the Laba porridge in the butcher shop, Zhou's is more exquisite.
They all waited for Yu Li to come back before eating together.
The two children scooped up the Laba porridge from the bowl with spoons and ate it. Yu Li added another spoonful of sugar to the porridge. She thought it tasted better if it was sweeter. However, Fu Wenxiao, who couldn't stand sour fruits, didn't like to eat such sweet food and was particularly particular about it.
While eating the hot Laba porridge, Zhou said, "After eating Laba porridge, it will be the New Year. This year has passed so quickly."
As she said this, a comfortable smile appeared on her face.
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