xymnovel Chapter 78 Pig Slaughter Feast
Chapter 78 Pig Slaughter Feast
On the twelfth day of the sixth month of the ninth year of Zhenguan, before dawn, the farm was already bustling with activity.
The farm will be very lively today because we're slaughtering a pig and preparing a pig-slaughtering feast.
There was a black boar in the backyard, inside a rough wooden fence. It was fat and strong, weighing at least 170 or 180 pounds.
This is a piglet that Wang Zhihuan bought from a neighboring village when he first transmigrated. He and Old Zhang fed it with earthworms mixed with fermented rice porridge for seven or eight months, and they managed to raise it from a tiny pig to this round and plump shape.
At this moment, it was pacing around in the enclosure, its muffled and urgent whimpers sounding as if it knew it was in for a bad time.
Old Zhang arrived before dawn and squatted outside the fence sharpening his knife. The knife was an heirloom from the village butcher, twelve inches long, with a blade gleaming.
His son, Zhang Dazhu, stood to the side, holding a hemp rope and waiting to tie up the pig.
Wang Zhi was washing his face by the well when the icy well water invigorated him.
He glanced back at the black-haired pig, mentally planning today's menu: braised pork belly, braised pork hock, pig's blood tofu, stir-fried pork intestines, charcoal-grilled pork neck, sauerkraut stewed pork bones, and cooked Champa rice as the staple food.
I once ate a pork stew at my maternal grandfather's house in my past life. The lively atmosphere of the preparations starting at dawn and the neighbors coming to lend a hand is etched deep in my memory.
There's an old saying that goes, "Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen a pig run." But these nobles of the Tang Dynasty, few eat pork, and even fewer have seen a pig run.
He raises these pigs to show everyone that pork, when cooked properly, is just as good as mutton.
As a person from later generations, one can choose not to eat mutton or beef, but one cannot live without pork.
Moreover, if this matter is accomplished successfully, it will bring substantial financial rewards to both myself and all the farmers in the village.
Quite a few people made appointments today.
A few days ago, the Cheng brothers asked someone to pass on a message, saying that they wanted to bring the Yuchi brothers along to meet them.
The Yuchi brothers wanted to broaden their horizons and see what new and interesting things this farm had to offer.
The Li family's children also insisted on coming, so the date was set for today.
"Master, it's about time to make a move!" Old Zhang sharpened his knife and tested the blade with his thumb.
On the other side of the fence, Zhang Dazhu had already looped a rope around one of the black-haired pig's hind legs and pulled hard.
The pig lost its balance and fell to the ground with a thud, kicking wildly and squealing so loudly that it could shake all the sparrows off the jujube tree.
Li Laosan immediately pounced on the pig and held it down by the neck, while Zhang Dazhu quickly tied its four hooves tightly.
Just as things were in chaos, the sound of horses' hooves came from the official road.
Six fine horses galloped from the direction of Chang'an through the morning mist, led by Cheng Chumo's chestnut horse and followed closely by Cheng Chuliang's black horse.
Following behind were the Yuchi brothers riding iron-gray horses, chestnut horses, and a white horse bringing up the rear.
The six men dismounted at the courtyard gate. Cheng Chumo, carrying two bulging oil paper packages, announced loudly before even entering, "Brother Wang, we brothers arrived early, hoping to make it in time for the pig slaughter—"
Before he finished speaking, Yuchi Baohuan had already peeked out from behind Cheng Chuliang, his eyes looking around before landing on the gleaming pig-slaughtering knife in Old Zhang's hand, his face full of curiosity.
Wang Zhihuan went to greet them, his gaze sweeping over the Cheng brothers before turning to the three Yuchi brothers.
He had read history books in his previous life and knew that Yuchi Gong had three sons—the eldest son Baolin, the second son Baoqi, and the youngest son Baohuan. Baolin later inherited the title of Duke of E.
The eldest of the three brothers before them was burly and had a booming voice: "Master Wang, we apologize for disturbing you and causing you trouble."
The second child, Baoqi, was a little shorter, with broad shoulders and a thick back. He silently clasped his hands in a fist salute.
The youngest, Bao Huan, still had a touch of childishness in her eyes and brows. As soon as she entered the courtyard, her eyes started darting around.
"No trouble at all. I'm not that particular here. Just make yourself at home."
Wang Zhi nodded to them, "We're slaughtering a pig today. Since you're here, you're both guests and helpers. I won't stand on ceremony with you."
"Chu Mo, you and the three Yuchi brothers put the stone table together. There are many people today, so we need to set up a long table. Chu Liang, you go to the well and help Uncle Zhang wash the vegetables."
Wang Zhihuan acted immediately without any formalities.
Cheng Chumo responded, placed the oil paper package on the stone table, turned to Yuchi Baolin and smiled, "Brother Baolin, this stone table is quite heavy, so the three of us can each have one end."
Yu Chi Baolin grinned and went to lift it without saying a word.
Yu Chi Baoqi followed silently. The two brothers carried one side, while Cheng Chumo carried the middle. The three bluestone slabs were steadily and jingling together to form a long table.
Cheng Chuliang rolled up his sleeves and went to the well. He squatted down next to Old Zhang and grabbed a few cabbages, but Old Zhang slapped his hand away in disgust: "Cheng Erlangjun, you've crushed all the cabbage leaves. Let me do it."
Yuchi Baohuan was exceptionally diligent, following behind his second brother and eagerly lending a hand. He also kept talking, whispering to Cheng Chumo, "Brother Cheng, are those pigs in the pen raised by the manor owner himself?"
"Hmm, I heard it's been raised for more than half a year." Cheng Chumo said, turning to look at Wang Zhihuan.
"The piglets I bought when I first arrived, and the pigsty I built with Old Zhang."
Wang Zhihuan was squatting at the kitchen door inspecting the firewood without looking up. "Earthworms, distiller's grains, and leftover rice porridge—we've been feeding them for over half a year."
Yu Chi Bao Huan stared wide-eyed, muttering, "Grown this much in just over half a year?"
Yu Chi Baolin nodded slightly – his family's servants had also raised pigs, and he had seen them before, knowing that ordinary pigs would only grow a hundred or so pounds in half a year at most.
That means it was raised by someone who is very skilled and experienced.
For an ordinary family, raising a hundred or so catties of livestock from the beginning to the end of the year is already considered very good.
This animal weighs at least 170 or 180 pounds, and the breeding methods alone are beyond what ordinary farmers can achieve.
The squeals of the pigs gradually subsided.
Old Zhang walked over with his knife, muttered a few auspicious words, and slashed down—the howling stopped abruptly.
Hot pig's blood sprayed into a rough porcelain basin. Li Laosan hurriedly stirred it with bamboo chopsticks to prevent it from coagulating, then added some salt, and it slowly solidified into a lump.
Old Zhang swiftly cut the hemp rope with his knife, then directed Zhang Dazhu and Li Laosan to carry the pig to the well platform to scald its hair and scrape off its skin.
Looking at the steaming pot of pig's blood, Yu Chi Bao Huan swallowed hard, tugged at Cheng Chu Liang's sleeve, and whispered, "Brother Chu Liang, can this pig's blood be eaten?"
"Of course you can eat that!" Cheng Chuliang perked up and began to talk at length in a low voice: blood sausage, blood tofu, stir-fried blood with chives, leaving Yuchi Baohuan stunned.
Cheng Chumo slapped him on the back of the head: "Don't talk nonsense. Have you ever seen how blood tofu is made with your own eyes?"
Cheng Chuliang rubbed the back of his head and muttered, "Weren't you there when Brother Wang was talking about it in the kitchen last time...?"
Seeing the two bickering, Yu Chi Bao Huan couldn't help but grin.
Just then, the familiar sound of donkey hooves came from the official road, accompanied by a clear child's voice: "Big sister, look, the chimney of the pretty boy's house is smoking again! There's something to eat!"