Chapter 435: Whole Pig Banquet
"Sister, sister! Are you ready?" Xiaotao and Atang were so greedy outside.
"Okay, come and try it!" Su Ying replied, filling a small bowl with water. "Little greedy cat, take it and eat it!"
The two girls ran away with the rice and sat on the steps, eating them one by one.
Oh my god, it’s so fragrant and crispy.
"This pork doesn't have any smell?" Song Xuanyu ate several crispy pork slices in a row, and realized it later.
"The pigs raised in Wuzhou are all castrated, so naturally they don't have any smell!" Su Ying replied.
Song Xuanyu and Master Liu paused, and silently glanced at Fuwang and Fuxi. The two seemed not to hear anything and just kept eating.
"Are all the pigs in Wuzhou castrated? Is this a unique pig-raising tradition here?" Song Xuanyu didn't expect that there were so many mysteries in pig-raising.
"It became popular two years ago, but the pigs grow too slowly and are not ready for slaughter until a year and a half. However, the meat of the castrated pigs is delicious and tastes better than mutton," Su Ying introduced.
"Did Lord Su come up with this idea?" Song Xuanyu asked.
Su Ying smiled and asked, "How does it taste?"
"How many live pigs are there in Wu County now?" Song Xuanyu asked Fuxi.
"This has not been counted. It was promoted two years ago, and it has only been a year and a half since then. It shouldn't be much." Fu Xi replied.
"This Hu..." Song Xuanyu paused, feeling uncomfortable commenting on his predecessor, who is now his immediate superior, in public.
"Go back and ask each village to report the number, and then gradually expand the scale." Song Xuanyu said to Master Liu.
"I'll write to my hometown in Xingtai and ask them to raise pigs in the same way."
Su Ying looked up in surprise. This was the first official who attached so much importance to pig farming.
Earlier, Lu Zhaoshi provided piglets for promotion throughout the prefecture, but there was no follow-up or even statistics.
Not to mention County Magistrate Hu. He did not oppose it, but he did not include it in the work priorities. The same was true for County Magistrate Lin and other counties.
The technology has been promoted, but it has not elevated pig farming to a higher level and is therefore dispensable.
On the contrary, it was County Magistrate Song who attracted attention after taking a few bites of the crispy whistle.
"Many people in the prefecture know how to castrate pigs. Each county has received special training, and the veterinarians in the garrison all know this skill.
"Master Song, what are your plans for counting pigs?" Su Ying wanted to hear what Su Xuanyu thought about pig farming.
"Pigs are different from sheep. Sheep must be raised in the open air and must be driven outside to graze every day. This requires large tracts of grassland and occupies a large amount of arable land, so large-scale pig farming is not possible in the south.
Pigs are different. They can be kept in pens and are omnivorous. Although they are slow to be slaughtered, they can be fed with many foods.
"Slaughtering a pig removes the mutton smell, leaving the meat delicious and tender, and truly more practical than sheep," Song Xuanyu said.
"Hey, Lord Song is so pertinent. I guess he has done a lot of research on cattle, sheep and pigs." Su Ying admired Lord Song for his wide knowledge.
"Look at the nomads in the north. What is nomadism? It's all about cattle and sheep grazing on the grass.
We Han people are primarily farmers, and farmland is the foundation of our survival. How can we waste so much of it on cattle and sheep? Pigs, minus the mutton smell, are the best substitute."
Song Xuanyu really didn't expect there to be such a surprise here.
During his term of office, he vigorously promoted the pig farming industry, making it another Lingnan specialty after honey, tea oil, brown sugar, soy products, and colored silk products.
Once it develops and various ways of eating pork are discovered, it won’t take long for it to become popular across the country.
Song Xuanyu said, chopsticks in his hand did not stop, "If there is good wine, it will be even better!"
The cooked cabbage and fried egg noodles have a crispy and crunchy top.
Each person had a big bowl and was full.
"There is great potential in pig farming!" Song Xuanyu sighed, stroking his round belly.
Several people were eating and chatting at the table, discussing the pig farming industry chain.
Pork, lard, and even pig manure are excellent farm fertilizers. Every part of a pig is a treasure.
Su Ying also mentioned that pig bristles can be made into brushes for washing clothes, painting, etc.
Pig skin can be eaten and made into leather shoes, leather clothes and leather boots, which is another industry waiting to be developed.
Song Xuanyu was even more confident and was glad that County Magistrate Hu had left this treasure for him.
"I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave!" After dinner, Fuwang hurried back to the county town, "Master Xiao Su, give me another small jar!"
Su Ying was puzzled and handed Fuwang a white porcelain jar.
Fuwang poured all the remaining crispy whistles and crispy skins into a jar and packed them up. "There's nothing good out there. Master Xiao Su, just give me these crispy whistles!"
"Oh!" Song Xuanyu was full of heartache and regret. He should have taken the initiative earlier!
I didn’t feel comfortable asking for it, so I just packed it up for free!
He is really shameless and makes a lot of money!
"Hehe, Lord Xiao Su, thank you very much!" Fuwang walked away proudly with the white porcelain jar in his pocket.
"Sister!" Xiaotao and Atang's eyes were red. They were thinking of trying to steal food at night, but they were robbed. They were so angry!
"It's okay, it's okay, we'll buy pork belly next time!" Su Ying hurriedly comforted her two sisters!
"Aren't there still pigs in the village? I will buy one tomorrow. Lord Su, please prepare a whole pig banquet and make a few more pork dishes so that we can taste the charm of pork!" Song Xuanyu said.
So he asked Afa to go to the village and ask who had a pig for sale and Mr. Song wanted to buy it.
A year and a half is the time for the pigs to be slaughtered. Several families wanted to sell them, but Ah Fa chose the fattest pigs from Zheng Silang's family.
In the morning, the whole village heard the big fat pig's shrill cries, from the village entrance all the way to Su's house. The villagers finished their work and all ran to help.
The Su family doesn't have many male laborers, so it takes several men to kill the pig together.
Huang Cui'er and Ahua boiled water, while Afa, Huang Cui'er's husband, and several men in the village slaughtered the pig.
The children stopped attending classes and came to watch the fun.
The women who knew how to cook came to help with the cooking, and at noon Song Xuanyu invited the whole village to eat pig soup.
After that, I spent the whole afternoon cooking fried crispy pork, braised pork with preserved vegetables, braised pork with sand sauce, crystal pork elbow, braised pig's trotter, crispy pork belly, shredded pork with fish flavor, garlic pork, and boiled pork slices...
Su Ying and the women prepared a whole pig banquet, filling the entire table.
"Come, everyone, please come in!" Song Xuanyu said, picking up his chopsticks.
Old Man Yang and a group of village elders and men accompanied him. They had never thought that pork could be cooked in so many ways. They held up their chopsticks, not knowing how to start.
Song Xuanyu went towards the crispy pork belly. He was still not satisfied with yesterday's crispy whistle, so he decided to start with the crispy pork belly.
The children from the village school enjoyed the feast and ate until their mouths were drooling.
Each dish has its own characteristics, and I don’t know which one is the most delicious.
"Well, there are so many ways to cook pork. It's a pity that the restaurants and food stalls in the city have not developed it vigorously!" Song Xuanyu put down his chopsticks with regret.
Paired with fine wine, this whole pig feast is truly a delicacy!
"Master Su, how about we hold a whole pig banquet competition in the county government someday to encourage restaurants and food stalls to develop pork recipes?" Song Xuanyu asked.
"Very good!" Su Ying said with a smile, "Wu County raised a lot of pigs two years ago. If this is done, I'm afraid the price of pork will rise sharply!"
"Isn't this perfect? People are willing to support us only if there is profit to be made! Otherwise, what's the point of working hard for a whole year?" Song Xuanyu said.
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