In the countryside, there are two major events that people look forward to most in the twelfth lunar month, one is marrying a girl and a wife, and the other is killing the New Year pig.

You cannot marry a girl and have a wife every year, but you can kill the New Year pig every year.

"Nagging, nagging, nagging, nagging..."

After dinner in the morning, Chen Ling called the two little wild boars out of the pen, then took a whip, called the dogs, and drove the two little wild boars to the old stage in the east of the village.

Although it is said to be a small wild boar, it is actually quite small, weighing almost fifty kilograms.

At this time, their meat quality is at its best. Later, the stripes on their bodies disappear completely, and the meat quality becomes worse. Moreover, as the estrus period comes, their temperament will also change drastically. They will jump around day and night, as long as one meter.

The walls of many pig pens can be cleared in one leap, and the pig manure produced is even more smelly than when the piglets were young.

There is no way to raise it at home.

"Uncle Fugui."

"Uncle Fugui."

Early in the morning, the little kids in the village ran over from their homes to watch the pig being slaughtered. When they saw Chen Ling, they all gathered around to say hello.

Chen Ling also smiled and nodded to them, then took out a few pieces of candy from his pocket and gave them to them.

"Uncle Fugui can raise wild boar cubs to such a big size, but Liu Nier can't. His wild boar cubs can't eat enough to grow any meat."

"Uncle, how much does your little wild boar weigh?"

"It weighs more than fifty pounds."

"Wow, it weighs more than fifty pounds. Whose family will I divide it with if I kill it..."

"It doesn't matter, we eat it at home."

"Ah, why do you go to the stage to kill pigs when you kill them at home? Why don't you kill them at home? You can just cook the meat and eat it. How convenient."

"Haha, your kid still knows how convenient it is." Chen Ling smiled and flicked the little kid's head, "Uncle Lixian is busy, other families are waiting for him and your old uncle to kill pigs, so you can't scream.

Go home."

When pigs are killed in rural areas, the entire pig cannot be eaten by the whole family, and the economic conditions are not there.

Often three, four or even five families agree to work together to kill a pig, and then divide the meat. After dividing the meat, they can give money or food to the people who raise the pigs.

However, in the past, the meat was unevenly distributed. You got fatter and mine lost weight. Killing the New Year pig was originally a happy thing, but in the end it turned out to be unpleasant.

Even the pig butcher has to be criticized.

Later, we simply stopped killing pigs in our own homes. Anyone who wanted to kill a pig would go to the stage in the east of the village to have it killed. The place was large and spacious, and every time a pig was killed, half the village could gather around to watch. With so many people watching,

There will be no fuss about dividing the meat.

"La La La La, don't run around."

Chen Ling cracked his whip twice and drove the pig towards the stage. The little kids around him were like a group of little ducks, chattering away.

When we arrived at the old stage in the east of the village, we saw that pigs were being slaughtered under the stage. Then they dispersed with a roar and hurried over to take a look.

This old stage is very large, as wide as seven or eight rooms. Below the stage is a small square. On one side of the small square is a large blackboard, and above it is the bulletin board of the former brigade.

From the 1960s to the early 1980s, model worker meetings and criticism meetings were often held here, and the blackboard was used for this purpose.

During the Chinese New Year, great operas begin here, and people from a whole village can gather together, making it very lively.

However, after the brigade was gone, the convention could not be held, and the opera singers did not come. Instead, it became the place where the village pigs were killed every year.

Now there are pots and boiling water under the stage. The men have just pressed down a fat pig. Wang Lixian is standing nearby wearing an apron and carrying a butcher knife, preparing to kill. Although there are not many people around, it is still bustling.

There were about ten people there, and some were holding their rice bowls and eating and watching.

"Here comes the rich? Tie up your pig and stay away from here. Otherwise, if you hear the pigs braying here, it will cause trouble..."

Lao Niwai, who was next to him, smiled at him and said, "Did you bring the rope? If you don't bring it, there are those on the cart behind you. Tie them down first. After killing this one, I will kill you."

In the past, the three people who killed pigs in the village every year were Lao Niwai, Chen Guoxing, and Chen Guowang.

This year, the Chen Guoxing brothers' mother fell asleep and needed to be taken care of, so they brought Wang Lixian over to kill them for them.

"Okay, I understand, Uncle Niwai."

Chen Ling nodded, then tied his two pigs to a tree and asked the dogs to guard them. He also moved forward to watch the pigs being slaughtered.

I saw a fat pig being pushed down and then being carried to the door panel by the men.

The old black pig seemed to realize what was about to greet him next. He opened his mouth wide and roared at the top of his lungs. The sound could be heard throughout most of the village.

But listening to the harsh pig noise, people did not find it unpleasant. Instead, their smiles became brighter and brighter. Some even discussed with the people next to them: they should line up the number as soon as possible. It would be best if we could start the killing tomorrow. They were all greedy.

It's been a whole year.

The little kids also stared at the old black pig on the door and kept swallowing their saliva, as if the pig was delicious even before it was slaughtered.

But soon, everyone's ears suddenly became clear and they could no longer hear the old black pig's screams. Wang Lixian flashed the butcher knife in his hand and stabbed the old black pig's neck, and the howling stopped abruptly.

At this time, it is the best time to show whether a pig butcher's skills are good or bad.

If the butcher is too cruel and kills the pig with one knife, the pig's blood will not flow out and will be trapped inside. The pork will turn red, making it unsightly and unpalatable.

The other is that the butcher is too weak to stab the pig, or even stabs him four or five times but fails to kill him. The pig breaks free and injures the pig. Even if the pig is beaten to death with a stick, the scene would be too bloody.

Wang Lixian is obviously neither of these two types of people.

After he stabbed the knife in, he didn't pull it out immediately, but pressed it gently with his thumb.

If the knife is not pulled out, the pig's last breath will not be cut off, and the blood will flow out smoothly.

The old man next to him quickly took over the big wooden basin he had prepared, and the pig's blood dripped into most of the basin.

When the pig's blood changes from gurgling to dripping...

Wang Lixian turned the blade slightly and exerted force, and the old black pig finally died.

"Okay, it's Li Xian after all. Look at this move, it's so solid."

"Let me see, Lixian will come and kill next year. With Brother Guoxing and Brother Guowang, there will be four people next year. How fast will they kill?"

"..."

Immediately there was a chorus of admiration from all around. Wang Lixian's killing of pigs was just like skinning wolves before, smooth and smooth, and it seemed like a pleasure.

Lao Niwai also grinned with a big mouth: "Haha, we have good vision and have found a successor."

Then it started to shed its hair, and there was no need to cheer it up. Just pour the boiling water in the pot on the pig. While pouring the boiling water, scrape it with a scraper specially designed to shave pig hair. After a lot of work, the old black pig

It turns into a big fat white pig.

At this time, the butcher's knife in Wang Lixian's hand flipped over again, and the head, hoof, and tail were all cut off, and then a cut was made from the neck down to the belly, and all the internal organs inside the pig were exposed.

In front of you.

"Yonggang's family, Erju's family, you three come up and share the meat."

"Come on."

The three members of the family happily walked forward. First, they gathered around the fat pig, flipping it over and looking back and forth. Finally, they measured the fat with their fingers. Their faces suddenly beamed with joy: "This pig has been raised well this year. It's almost four fingers fat."

.”

"Yes, yes, this pork looks very fragrant."

"..."

The meat sharing was exciting again, and the surrounding villagers and children were very greedy. This guy can eat meat when he goes back. The pork is so fragrant, when can we eat it?

But he didn't want to wait any longer.

However, after the three families happily divided the meat, Chen Ling still had two little wild boars to kill, and there were also a bunch of people behind Chen Ling.

When the New Year comes, who doesn’t want to eat meat as soon as possible?

The reservations for the first two days are already full.

…

After killing the New Year pig, the feeling is different. The smell of stewed pork wafts around the village every day.

The little kids also played with the rubber ball made of pig urine all day long.

The flavor of the new year is getting stronger and stronger.

On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, every family grinds tofu.

Chen Ling's family didn't need to grind this year. When he came back from the wedding banquet at Han Chuang's house on the 23rd, he went to the tofu shop in the county town and bought tofu.

However, he was not idle that day. Before he had eaten in the morning, Chen Guoping came to his home and asked him to come. He said that the tractor on the brigade could not be moved and asked him to help him take a look.

Chen Ling drives the brigade's tractor all day long, and walking on the mountain road is like having fun. If there is a problem with the tractor and he can't do anything about it, others will not be able to figure it out.

"Ah? Tractor, why are you driving a tractor at this time?"

Chen Ling was quite confused.

After asking, I found out that a young man working in the village had returned and was driving a tractor to the county town to pick him up.

It turns out that’s the case, so you have to go.
To be continued...