Chapter 8: The Pig Killing Feast

After a lively pig slaughter feast, Li Xiu then helped distribute the pork among the crowd. Being a single man, he only took two jin of pork, along with a pig's head and four pig's feet, while the remaining large pieces of meat were all given to Liu Laoda and the others

The intestines were cleaned thoroughly. Li Xiu took out a section and made blood sausage using the prepared pig's blood. The other part was stir-fried, of course, under his direction as Liu's wife cooked. As a result, once it was finished, it immediately received praise from everyone and was snatched away in the blink of an eye

Pig slaughtering is regarded as a lowly profession that is looked down upon by others, yet every time a pig is slaughtered, a large crowd gathers around. At this moment, it is entirely the pig butcher's time to perform, and everyone is captivated by his every move. One can imagine that Liu Dayan's current mood is quite similar to that of the stars who hold concerts in later generations; here, they are the center of attention

Li Xiu's favorite dish is dumplings filled with pork and cabbage. He has the pork, but he does not have the cabbage yet. He remembers that cabbage seems to be a hybrid of two types of vegetables, and he might try to cultivate it in the future. Li Xiu plans to make dumplings filled with pork and radish, as radish is the only vegetable available in winter. As for using bean sprouts as a filling, he has never actually eaten it, and besides, bean sprouts are too expensive. The situation in the village has just started to improve, so it is better to keep the bean sprouts for selling.

In the afternoon, Li Xiu was at home alone, chopping meat into minced meat. The dough had already risen, ready to be made into dumplings. In his previous life, his hometown was an ordinary small village in the Central Plains. He had a difficult childhood, and dumplings were a rare delicacy for his family. Later, as the standard of living improved, it became customary to make dumplings for every festival, regardless of the occasion. It goes without saying that dumplings were made during the Winter Solstice and the New Year, and even during the Dragon Boat Festival and National Day, dumplings were prepared.

Li Xiu even witnessed Liu Dayan simply rinsing a pot of intestines twice before attempting to pour them into the pot, which frightened him into quickly stopping him. If he washed them that way, the broth would likely carry a strong odor of pig manure. Others might not care, but he certainly could not afford to be indifferent. Therefore, he decided to personally handle these intestines, along with the pig's head and pig's feet, all of which he had Liu Dayan set aside for him. If everything were thrown into the pot to boil together, it would be a terrible waste.

Liu Dayan swiftly struck with his knife, plunging it into the carotid artery of the black pig. As the knife was withdrawn, a stream of dark red blood gushed forth, and the pig's piercing cries gradually weakened, its struggles becoming feeble. Ultimately, it departed from this world, filled with rage and unwillingness.

The black pig, after losing its hair, immediately turned white and tender. The subsequent scene was somewhat inappropriate for children, as the entire pig was hung up and eviscerated. If placed in later times, it would certainly be deemed unsuitable for children. However, at that moment, there were not so many concerns. The happiest ones around were the children from the village, who even gulped as they watched. Seeing these children with their greedy expressions, Li Xiu could not help but admire their strong tastes. After all, it is not something just anyone can do to salivate over a pile of colorful intestines. Yet, at that moment, there were not so many concerns. The happiest ones around were the children from the village, who even gulped as they watched. Seeing these children with their greedy expressions, Li Xiu could not help but admire their strong tastes. After all, it is not something just anyone can do to salivate over a pile of colorful intestines.

"Uncle Big Eye, you are being too wasteful; pig's blood is also edible. Make sure to drain all the blood into this basin!" Li Xiu said as he took out a large basin from behind and placed it under the pig's neck. Just now, he had seen Liu Dayan about to strike, but there was no basin to catch the blood underneath. It seems that the people of the Tang Dynasty do not have the habit of eating blood tofu, which is why he intervened.

Prepare the filling, roll out the dough, and wrap the dumplings. Once the water is boiling, add the dumplings; after a few boils, the dumplings will be cooked. Li Xiu's hometown enjoys dumplings served in soup, and at this time, salt, vinegar, and chopped green onions are added to the soup. If there is cilantro, that would be even better. Once the soup is seasoned, serve yourself a full bowl. Enjoy the dumplings with a sip of the sour soup; the original soup complements the original food, making it so that no matter how much you eat, it never feels greasy.

It had been more than half a month since he last tasted meat, and Li Xiu was quite craving it, though not to the extent of treating fatty meat as a meal. Just then, Su Niang came over with a small basin filled with a good amount of meat bones, which Li Xiu loved to gnaw on. He snatched the small basin from Su Niang and then stuffed his fatty meat into her hands. At first, Su Niang was reluctant, worried about being scolded by her parents, but Li Xiu insisted it was a token of gratitude for her help in cleaning his intestines, so she had to accept it. Eventually, the little girl reluctantly nodded and ran off with a large bowl to devour the food with her two younger brothers.

Thinking of this, Li Xiu originally intended to inquire at Liu Laodajia's place. However, it was currently dinner time, and if he went now, he would likely be compelled to sit down and have a meal together. Therefore, he ultimately decided to wait until tomorrow to ask.

A fire has already been lit in the threshing yard, and a large iron pot is set over the flames. The water in the pot has come to a boil, and after being cleaned, the internal organs such as the heart, liver, and kidneys are directly thrown into the pot to cook. Additionally, some less desirable parts of the pig, as well as large bones, are all gradually tossed in to be boiled together.

Upon encountering this middle-aged man with the surname Ma, Li Xiu suddenly remembered that he had been busy with the bean sprout matter for the past half month and had actually forgotten to inquire about the other party's background from Liu Laoda and the others. From the information previously revealed by the other party, he should be a military general of the Tang Dynasty, and since he could dine with Li Jing, his rank should not be low. However, he simply could not recall which great general of the early Tang Dynasty had the surname Ma.

Unknowingly arriving at the banks of the Huangqu River, a tall and imposing middle-aged man approached from the riverbank, carrying fishing gear. This middle-aged man was the same Ma surname individual who had once prepared roast chicken for Li Xiu. However, it seemed that he held no fondness for Li Xiu, as he let out a cold snort upon seeing him and walked away. This left Li Xiu with a wry smile, realizing that he had indeed offended the other party last time.

Although intestines are delicious, they are quite troublesome to clean. First, flour must be sprinkled on them to remove the mucous membrane from the surface, and then they must be kneaded with salt. These actions were observed by Liu Laoda and others nearby, who felt a pang of sympathy, wincing at the sight. Even though the village has become prosperous, they remain very frugal, unwilling to waste even a bit of grain. Fortunately, it is Li Xiu who is doing this; otherwise, if it were their own children, they would likely have been beaten half to death with sticks by now.

After consuming two large bowls of dumplings, Li Xiu also felt somewhat full. By this time, it was already dusk, so he went out for a walk along the small river. Across the river, the Li family village was also filled with curling smoke, as every household was preparing dinner. The air carried a faint aroma of meat, and if one listened closely, they could even hear the laughter and chatter of children, which made Li Xiu feel a subtle sense of happiness in his heart

After placing the basin properly, Li Xiu signaled Liu Dayan that he could begin. It is said that slaughtering pigs is a skilled task, requiring precision to ensure a swift and humane death. Liu Dayan's father-in-law is a butcher, and he sometimes assists him, thus he is also capable of slaughtering pigs. Otherwise, one would have to hire a professional butcher. Although no payment is made, the butcher's compensation comes from the offal and other parts. Now that Liu Dayan is taking action, these costs are naturally saved.

Some people like pig intestines, while others find them disgusting. Li Xiu belongs to the former group. He took the pig intestines to the well, preparing to clean them himself. However, at that moment, Liu Laoda's daughter, Su Niang, rushed over and adamantly refused to let Li Xiu take action. This is because the people in the village believe that Li Xiu is a scholar, and such dirty and laborious tasks are simply not meant for him. In the end, Li Xiu could not persuade Su Niang and had to stand by and instruct her on how to clean the intestines.

This made Li Xiu somewhat proud, thinking that his culinary skills had conquered everyone. However, he later realized that as long as there was meat, any dish would be snatched away by people. For instance, the entrails and bones in that large iron pot were completely taken as soon as they were cooked, leaving not even a drop of soup behind.

At that moment, the black pig on the stone slab suddenly let out a heart-wrenching roar, causing Li Xiu to instinctively dig at his ears. He couldn't tell if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the pig's cry sounded particularly mournful, even carrying a hint of desperation. This made Li Xiu shake his head; it seemed that the impact of his crossing over had not yet faded, leading to such a bizarre illusion.

As the host, Li Xiu was personally served a bowl of boiled pork by Liu Laoda. However, upon receiving it, Li Xiu immediately lost his appetite, for the bowl was filled entirely with fatty meat, with not a trace of lean meat in sight. This was not due to Liu Laoda trying to deceive him; rather, in this era, pigs were raised freely, much like sheep, roaming the fields and feeding on grass. Consequently, pigs had more lean meat and less fat. Moreover, in the eyes of ancient people, fatty meat was considered extremely delicious, reserved only for the elderly or those of high status.

Today marks the beginning of winter. If he were still in his previous life, his family would probably be making dumplings at home. Unfortunately, he has now arrived in the Tang Dynasty over a thousand years ago, a time when dumplings had not yet become popular. However, it does not matter, as he does not have any family now anyway. Making dumplings for himself can be seen as a form of nostalgia for his past life

A fat, robust black pig was tied to a stone slab, perhaps sensing its fate, it began to scream desperately, lamenting the injustice of heaven. In its despair, it hoped that a great hero would arrive on a rainbow cloud to save it, but at that moment, the hero was nowhere to be seen, while the butcher had already raised his knife to strike.

What Li Xiu never expected was that the next morning, before he had even gotten out of bed, he was suddenly awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door. By the time he had thrown on his clothes and stepped out of his room, he heard Su Niang's piercing cries from outside the main door: "Master, please open the door! Something has happened to my father and the others!"

Slow down! At that moment, a voice filled with righteousness suddenly shouted. The butcher, who was already prepared to strike, finally halted his actions. This caused the black pig, which had been in despair, to suddenly burst forth with a glimmer of hope for life. It widened its eyes to look at the young human who interrupted the butcher's actions. In its dark little eyes, this young human seemed to radiate a pure white light, and beneath his feet, there was a swirl of colorful auspicious clouds. This was its legendary hero!

Watching a three-year-old child gnawing on a pig's trotter thicker than his own thigh, Li Xiu suddenly recalled his childhood. Back then, the conditions were not good, and every time he had meat, it felt like a festival. The emotions he experienced then were likely similar to those of the farmers before him; as long as there was meat to eat, the taste no longer mattered.

After the pig was slaughtered, Liu Dayan immediately made a small incision on the pig's trotters and poked it several times with a long iron rod. Only then did he begin to blow air into it, causing the entire pig's body to swell up. Subsequently, he placed it into a pot of boiling water to scald the pig's hair, and then used a specially designed scraper to remove the hair. Because the pig's body was inflated with air, it became round and plump, making it very convenient to scrape off the hair. In areas where it was difficult to scrape, melted rosin was poured on to adhere the hair. Then, using the specially designed scraper, he removed the pig's hair. Due to the air inside the pig's body, it was round and plump, making it very convenient to scrape off the hair. In areas where it was difficult to scrape, melted rosin was also poured on to adhere the hair.