Chapter 34: Slaughtering the Pig
The next morning, Chen Fan got up very early, put on his clothes, and went out. He happened to see Jiang Lili hanging clothes out to dry, and he couldn't help but widen his eyes. "You've already finished washing your clothes?"
Jiang Lili pursed her lips and smiled. "Captain Yang's family is slaughtering a pig today, so I got up a little earlier."
Chen Fan carried a washbasin to get water, saying as he walked, "I'm a little curious. How do you manage to keep track of time?"
People said you could tell the time by looking at the sun, but what about on cloudy days?
Jiang Lili called out, "There's hot water in the urn (瓮坛, earthenware jar). I boiled it this morning. It should still be hot."
Chen Fan raised his hand. "Okay, I won't be polite then."
Jiang Lili looked at Chen Fan's back, grinning happily, and then said, "It's nothing. I just estimate it. It's not very accurate, actually."
Chen Fan walked into the kitchen, drawing water while saying loudly, "Then why don't you buy an alarm clock?"
He knew that watches were a luxury item in this era, costing more than a hundred yuan, but alarm clocks and wall clocks shouldn't be that expensive, right?
Jiang Lili watched him squatting under the eaves of the kitchen wall, rinsing his mouth, and said softly, "The cheapest alarm clock costs 14.5 yuan. I can't afford it."
Chen Fan looked up at her, took a mouthful of water to rinse his mouth, and spat it out. He smiled nonchalantly. "It's okay. Sooner or later, you'll be able to afford it."
Jiang Lili watched Chen Fan washing his face with his head down, and couldn't help but smile.
Thinking about it, Chen Fan was rescued by Captain Yang and the others the day before yesterday. He forgot where his home was, who his parents were, and even wore other people's clothes. But he didn't seem to have any worries. He ate when he was hungry, slept when he was sleepy, and even had the mind to wander around the village and catch soft-shelled turtles to eat.
Looking at him, and then thinking about herself, it didn't seem so hard after all.
Chen Fan quickly finished washing up and carried the washbasin back to his room. He strode out and said, "Alright, let's go."
Jiang Lili followed behind him, and the two walked quickly towards Captain Yang's house.
They met many villagers on the road, all of whom greeted them.
"Little Chen, going to watch the pig slaughter?"
Chen Fan didn't recognize anyone, but it was always right to be friendly. "Yes, watching the pig slaughter. Are you going too?"
This response was important. Several aunties immediately started chatting with him.
"That's right. But we're not just watching. We're also helping. Let me tell you, there's a lot to do when slaughtering a pig."
"Is that so? Then tell me about it."
"Oh, I won't tell you if you ask me to tell you. Anyway, you'll know when you get there. You can tell if there's work or not with just a glance."
"Oh, so you're an expert. In the eyes of working people, there's always endless work."
"That's right. Diligent people see everything that needs to be tidied up, while lazy people think nothing needs to be done. I think you're good. You must be good at working."
"You flatter me too much. I can't carry anything on my shoulders or lift anything with my hands. I have to catch my breath after walking a few steps. I still need more exercise."
"That's different. You know how to cook soft-shelled turtle. In the captain's words, you're a skilled worker. I'm just a manual laborer."
"How could that be? Mr. Li said that being able to take care of crops is an amazing skill. I think you're also a skilled worker."
"Hahahaha, Little Chen really knows how to talk. Oh, did Mr. Li really say that?"
"Could it be fake? Who doesn't know that Mr. Li cares most about the working people? He even taught farmers how to grow rice in Xipo back in the day."
"Oh my god, really? Mr. Li can also grow rice?"
...
Chen Fan chatted wildly with seven or eight women. Before long, they arrived at Captain Yang's house.
When they arrived, they greeted the host first. "Captain, we're here."
Captain Yang was very busy and waved his hand at them. "Sit yourselves. There's tea in the house."
Chen Fan looked at Captain Yang, who had already turned around to get busy, and said softly, "Weren't we called here to help?"
Jiang Lili pursed her lips, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly. "It's not time yet. Later, after the pig is slaughtered, there will be a lot to do: cleaning the site, washing the pig offal, and chopping firewood, cooking, then we'll need to help. Now, it's mainly the pig slaughterers who are busy."
Chen Fan nodded in realization. He understood.
Since there was nothing to do, he would take a look around. He had seen pig slaughtering in the village when he was a child, but it was too long ago. He only remembered the wails of the big white pig and nothing else.
At this time, the empty rice threshing ground was cluttered with various things.
There were large iron pots, a meter-wide door panel, iron chains, iron hooks, and a large bathtub that an adult could lie in.
But the most eye-catching thing was a few shiny pig-slaughtering knives on a chopping board: a palm-wide and foot-long pig-slaughtering knife, a half-foot square large cleaver, a slender bleeding knife, a shaving knife like a scraper, a small horn knife, and a curved meat-cutting knife.
A young man was sitting on the ground, diligently sharpening the knives, with another person guarding him, preventing mischievous children from approaching. "Liu Laosan, Yang Laoqi, Huang Laojiu, take your sons away! You can't get close to the knives!"
Originally, Chen Fan wanted to go over and observe carefully, but he was too embarrassed to do so after hearing the shout.
He turned his head and looked. On the far side, near the woods in front, several people were building an earthen stove.
He could visit this, right?
Chen Fan walked over and squatted down. This wasn't the kind of fixed earthen stove in the kitchen. It was a simple stove made of earth bricks, with a pot placed on top.
The people building the stove laughed when they saw him.
One of them said, "Master Chen, haven't you seen this before?"
Chen Fan raised his head and smiled. "Just call me Little Chen. There's no need to call me Master."
Commune members in the production team usually called each other by name, or Old Yang, Little Liu, and so on. But for people with a skill, they would respectfully call them Master.
Shifu (师傅, master) wasn't shīfù (师父, mentor). Shīfù referred to a person who apprenticed to learn a skill. Shifu referred to an outsider with whom they had no stake. Like Liu Ju Jiang, who traveled all over the villages, even in front of the brigade leader, they would respectfully call him Master Liu. This was the respect that ordinary people in this era had for capable people.
Chen Fan felt that he was too young in the eyes of outsiders and couldn't bear this title.
The man didn't say much, chuckled twice, and said, "Want to try your hand at it?"
Chen Fan's eyes lit up. "Can I?"
Another person laughed. "It's just building a stove. What's impossible about that?"
He placed an earth brick on top and said, "Look, it's like this. Surround the bricks in a circle, leaving a gap here. Leave a two-finger-wide gap between each brick."
Chen Fan nodded. "I know. This is to facilitate ventilation so that the fire burns more vigorously. If the gap is too small, less air will enter. If the gap is too large, the heat will easily dissipate. A two-finger-wide gap is just right."
When the two men heard this, their faces were filled with surprise.
"Oh? There's this reason?"
"People who have read books are different!"
Chen Fan grinned and helped them quickly build the earthen stove. Then, someone immediately came with a load of water, pouring two buckets of water into the pot and putting the lid on. They put a lit bundle of straw into the fire pit, then added firewood. Before long, a raging fire was burning, and the area around the lid of the large pot had already started to emit steam.
At this time, it was time to invite the pig to the stage.
(End of Chapter)
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