Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 35 Butcher Ding Carves a Pig
With the hot water ready, a young man quickly ran to a corner and said to a middle-aged man who was smoking, "Master, it's ready."

Chen Fan stood aside, looking curiously at the burly man who was about the same height as him but twice and a half the size, and asked in a low voice, "Is this the pig butcher?"

These days, only a butcher who eats meat every day could probably grow to that size.

Jiang Lili stood next to him and nodded gently. "He is Master Zhu from the commune's food station. He has two apprentices and is in charge of slaughtering pigs."

Chen Fan looked at her curiously, "The food station manages the slaughtering of pigs?"

Isn't a food station supposed to be a place that sells food? How did it become a slaughterhouse?
Jiang Lili gave him a strange look. How come this person doesn't even know this?

She paused for a moment, glanced around, and noticed everyone was watching Master Zhu go to the pigpen to catch a pig, before speaking softly.

"The food station only managed one thing: pigs. It handled the collection, slaughtering, and sale of pigs; all the pigs in the commune came and went through the food station."

Nanhu Commune originally had seven pig slaughterers. After the cooperative was established, all seven pig slaughterers were transferred to work at the food station, where they were responsible for all pig slaughtering, including the slaughtering of private pigs owned by villagers.

Master Zhu was originally the pig butcher in Lujiawan Village, so Lujiawan always invited him over. However, he usually didn't do the butchering himself; he would have his two apprentices do it. He came personally today most likely because Captain Yang had invited him.

Captain Yang's pigsty was right next to the kitchen. Like the pigsties in the educated youth settlement, it had only a one-meter-high earthen wall in front, so the scene inside was clearly visible.

After Chen Fan saw Master Zhu go inside, he grabbed the big spotted pig by the ear. The pig immediately let out a shrill scream and even tried to bite people.

In the blink of an eye, Master Zhu held the pig's head by its left ear, while his right hand reached into the pig's open mouth and hooked the pig's upper jaw. Only then did he release his left hand and use the hook to pull the pig away.

Ouch...

Chen Fan couldn't help but grimace, his eyebrows and eyes scrunched up. How much pain must his second senior brother be in? He was even yelling "Help!"

But he can't go and save them, what will he eat later if he does?
As soon as the big spotted pig was dragged out, four people pounced on it, threw it over, and quickly tied it with rope, binding its four hooves.

Only then did Master Zhu stretch out and pull with his right hand, taking out the iron hook and handing it to his apprentice who was standing by.

Then he waved to the side, "Weigh me."

Whether you're eating it yourself or selling it, you have to weigh it first.

Captain Yang immediately brought over a large scale bar that was more than a meter long. He threaded a wooden stick through the handle rope, then hooked the scale hook onto the rope tied to the pig's trotters. Another person came over, and the wooden stick was placed on the shoulders of the two of them. They worked hard to lift the pig up.

Master Zhu adjusted the weight on the scale, "156 jin."

Someone nearby immediately shouted, "You big fat pig!"

The villagers who were watching were also talking about it, all saying that Aunt Yang knew how to raise pigs. The food station's purchase standard was only 120 jin (60 catties), but they managed to raise a pig that weighed 156 jin (78 catties). No wonder she could be the team leader.

Only Chen Fan grinned. He remembered that when he was a child, his maternal grandfather slaughtered a pig. That big, fat pig weighed more than 400 jin (200 kg). No wonder this pig looked so small just now. Compared with pigs in later generations, it was several times smaller.

However, since they are different varieties, there is not much comparability between them.

After being weighed, the next step is slaughtering.

The four men then lifted the large spotted pig onto a wide bench, tied it tightly with rope, and pinned it down so it couldn't move.

Perhaps knowing its days were numbered, the big spotted pig struggled even more fiercely, "Oink oink oink..."

To Chen Fan, it sounded like, "No! Help! Let me go!"

Unfortunately, it was pinned down by four strong men and secured with ropes, so it couldn't break free no matter what it did.

At this moment, Master Zhu took the gleaming, foot-long pig-slaughtering knife handed to him by his apprentice. He first scraped the area below the pig's neck twice, flinging out a clump of pig hair. After his apprentice placed a large wooden basin under the pig's head, he pressed down on the pig's head and stabbed it in the heart.

The poor second brother's screams stopped abruptly, his head drooped, and he remained motionless.

Master Zhu moved swiftly, pulling out the knife, and the blood gushed out, all of it falling into the large wooden basin.

Chen Fan watched from the side and figured that the next step would probably be shaving.

But after the bleeding stopped, Master Zhu made another incision in the pig's hind leg and blew air into it.

He took a deep breath, then blew into the wound, and soon the big spotted pig visibly swelled up.

Chen Fan's eyes widened. What was going on? Standing next to him was a "know-it-all," so Chen Fan humbly asked for his advice.

Jiang Lili looked at him and said, "We'll scald the pig with hot water later. After it's inflated, we can pour water all over it. Otherwise, the pig will be limp and its hooves will be curled up, making it difficult to handle."

So that's how it is!

Chen Fan felt that he had broadened his horizons today.

Once the pigs were fully inflated, they were lifted into the large bathtub. Villagers who were helping had already brought over two buckets of hot water, and the large pot was started boiling water again.

This task of bathing pigs didn't require Master Zhu to do it himself. His two apprentices each held an iron hook, and with the help of two others, they poured hot water onto the pigs, ladle by ladle.

The scalding steam quickly spread, filling the entire rice paddy with mist, along with an unpleasant odor that was truly indescribable.

But Chen Fan noticed that the villagers around him were all swallowing hard. Could it be?!
Then I heard my stomach rumble twice.

It's so embarrassing.

Jiang Lili was closest to him, and upon hearing the noise, she couldn't help but lower her head and purse her lips in a smile.

After repeatedly pouring boiling water over the pig, one of the apprentices tried plucking a handful of pig hair and nodded, "It's ready."

Then they started shaving. Although there were two apprentices, only one person was shaving, because if the two of them worked together, they might hurt each other if they didn't coordinate well.

However, the other one wasn't idle either, constantly spraying water on the pig to wash away the shaved pig hair.

Gradually, the big spotted pig became clean and tidy.

After the hair was shaved off, several people immediately got up and came over. With iron hooks, chains, and wooden sticks, they quickly hoisted the big spotted pig up and hung it on a pre-prepared wooden frame, with a large wooden basin placed underneath.

This is when Master Zhu takes the lead again.

He threw away the cigarette butt in his mouth, picked up the knife, walked over, and slashed at the front, causing all the wastewater to fall into the wooden basin.

Aunt Yang immediately led people over and carried the wooden basin away.

Upon seeing that scene, Jiang Lili quickly said, "I'm going over to help."

Before Chen Fan could react, she hurriedly ran over there.

Master Zhu waited for them to carry the wooden basin away, then went to the back, changed to a thick-backed knife, cut off the pig's rump, and split the pig in half along the spine.

That's basically the end of it.

First, take half a pig and lay it on the large door panel. Then, cut the pork into pieces, the movements of which were like those of a skilled butcher dissecting a pig, a sight to behold.

Seeing the neatly arranged strips of pork, Chen Fan finally understood why Captain Yang insisted on asking Master Zhu to cook; his skill level was truly exceptional.

However, by this time it had nothing to do with the villagers anymore.

Those who had been watching the commotion until this point left without offering to help; none of them stayed for a meal.

Captain Yang and Aunt Yang politely invited them to stay, saying, "Please eat here."

The commune members all moved in unison, walking forward while turning their heads back to wave, saying, "Eat, eat, the food is ready inside."

That was considered going through the formalities; not a single person dared to stay and freeload.

Those who had done the work split into two groups. One group consisted of the ones who had built the stove and carried the pig, who, accompanied by Captain Yang, smoked and drank tea, resting to the side. The women, on the other hand, were busy cleaning the pig's offal and preparing the side dishes.

The simple earthen stove on the other side was also not idle; it was taken over by Liu Jujiang to prepare pork stew.

As for Chen Fan, he was staring blankly at his attribute panel.

"After watching the pig slaughter, I have gained 5 pig slaughtering experience. My current slaughtering skill level is LV2 (5/50)."

But that's not the key point. The key point is, when did my strength reach 6?
(End of this chapter)