60s: I have a store

Chapter 200 Killing Pigs

Director Ding’s father-in-law just came back from fishing.

As a retired cadre, fishing and playing chess are the few hobbies he has.

He often goes fishing, but rarely does he bring home fish, usually empty-handed.

"Father-in-law, going fishing again?"

"Shengtai! Are you off work so early today?"

The old man refused to talk about his fishing and changed the subject.

There was nothing he could do! He hadn't caught a single fish today. If he had caught a fish, he would have talked about it until the next day without being asked, and he might even have passed by his house without even going in.

"Today, the factory...

Father-in-law, look at this big lobster, it's still alive." Ding Shengtai first told his father-in-law about the factory, and finally opened the foam box to reveal the big lobster and abalone inside.

His father-in-law nodded frequently at first, showing his admiration for his son-in-law's subordinate. Finally, when he saw the big lobster, his eyes widened.

Even for him, it was quite difficult to get a live lobster!

He really wanted to ask his son-in-law, who is your subordinate?
Such a capable and well-connected subordinate is simply the subordinate of my dreams! My son-in-law is really lucky to meet such a person.

"Comrade Zhou Yimin, right? I've heard you say it several times. When you have time, please invite him to your home for dinner." The old man said.

Ding Shengtai breathed a sigh of relief. His father-in-law's words showed that he was very optimistic about Zhou Yimin and wanted to win him over.

As expected, the two big lobsters were given as gifts by his father-in-law.

……

In order to eat pork earlier, the villagers of Zhoujiazhuang worked very hard in harvesting wheat and the progress was ideal. With the help of the thresher invented by Zhou Yimin, the speed was much faster than in previous years.

The next day, the old branch secretary had arranged for people to drag out a fatter pig from the village pig farm. If it weren't for the high-intensity labor of harvesting wheat and the fact that people from the commune were coming, they would have been reluctant to kill the pig.

You know, there are only ten pigs in the village, eight of which are required to be handed in for tasks, and only two can be used at will. If there are any problems with the pigs during the breeding period and they cannot complete the tasks, it will be troublesome.

Killing pigs is also a skill.

However, in this era, people can’t even get enough to eat, and it’s uncertain whether they can eat meat once a year, so there are not many people who know this skill.

In ancient times, pigs were not only raised as food, but also as supplies for sacrifices. Due to the large-scale slaughter, butchers specialized in slaughtering pigs gradually emerged, and "pig slaughtering" was passed down as a skill.

In the past, there were not many cattle and sheep slaughtering workshops in non-Hui Muslim settlements in eastern Hebei, but pig slaughtering workshops were more common because pigs themselves are "vegetables".

After a while, Zhou Xuqiang and others transported the pig to the prepared place, where they saw some tools specifically used for slaughtering pigs placed on the ground.

The tools for slaughtering pigs originally included a wooden rack for gutting the pig, a table for slaughtering, a stove for removing the hair, a lasso similar to a horse lasso, but the pole was shorter and thicker, and could be used to lasso the pig and also to beat it when blowing it, there were also a string for straightening the pig, a scraper for scraping the hair, and a sharp knife for slaughtering pigs, commonly known as a "锓条子" or a 键刀子.

If you are selling pork, you will need a large machete to remove the pig's head, shanks and hooves, and to chop the pig.

The big machete has a thick body and back, is heavy, and has even ends. There is also a small machete, also called a carving knife, which is light and sharp, and can be used to cut meat and remove bones. It is commonly known as "Erluzi". In the past, meat was sold without distinguishing between bones and meat.

The best knives used for slaughtering are those forged in Ciyutuo and Ganyuzhuang. Ganzheng Knife is the most famous, and nearby craftsmen all like to use Ganzheng Knife.

Zhou Xuqiang and his men tied the pig to a table. With its four legs tied, the pig could only make mournful sounds, but it did not change the outcome. One of them jumped onto the table, skillfully pressed the pig with one leg, held the pig's chin with one hand, and moved it backwards, revealing the throat. He then stabbed the pig with a sharp knife with his other hand, then turned the knife over and pulled it out.

The first stab didn't seem to go well, so he stabbed again.

The pig's blood immediately spurted out with the knife and flowed into the blood basin that had been connected below. Then he put down the knife in his hand, held the pig's chin with one hand, shook the pig's head, and pressed the abdomen to drain all the blood in the chest.

You know, pig blood is also a delicacy and of course it cannot be wasted.

Zhou Xu emphasized, "Uncle Cheng, it seems that you killed too few pigs and your skills have declined. You didn't even kill the pig with one strike."

"There's nothing I can do. It may be that my skills are not so good, and also, the food I eat now doesn't have much oil, so I feel like I can't use my strength." Zhou Cheng shook his head.

When slaughtering a pig, it is taboo to kill it a second time. Although pigs are "vegetables" and deserve the pain of one cut, but the butcher must kill them with one cut. If the butcher kills them with one more cut, the pig will suffer more and the butcher will be considered "committing a sin."

The pig-butchering industry, like other industries, also has its own ancestor that they worship. Most people in this industry revere Zhang Fei, a great general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period.

Many people may find it incredible.

What does this have to do with Zhang Fei?
In fact, Zhang Fei originally lived in Zhuo County, selling wine and slaughtering pigs, making friends with heroes all over the world. He was skilled in selling meat, and each time he cut the meat, the portion was just right, so people nicknamed him "Zhang Yidaoer".

Legend has it that one day, someone came to buy two hundred taels of meat, but Zhang Fei mistakenly gave him one hundred taels of meat.

When the butcher came to weigh the meat, Zhang Fei said, "I am the famous Zhang Yidaoer. That's right, I won't cut it a second time."

The butcher did not dare to offend him and walked back aggrieved. He met Guan Yu, a tofu seller, who came to defend the butcher. Guan Yu bought the meat for two hundred coins and threw one hundred coins on the butcher's counter. Zhang Fei said that the money was not enough.

Guan Gong said: "I am the famous Guan Yitaoer, that's right, I won't do it again."

The two quarreled and fought.

At this time, Liu Bei, who had just finished selling straw sandals, passed by with a carrying pole on his shoulder. Seeing the two men fighting, he stepped forward to stop the fight and used the carrying pole to separate the two men, saying, "Don't talk about Zhang Yidao, and don't talk about Guan Yitao. Both of you should look at me, Liu Yitiao."

After saying this, the three of them laughed. They became brothers for life and achieved great success through fighting.

Liu Bei became emperor and overlord, and Guan and Zhang became his generals.

Because Zhang Fei was born into a family of butchers, butchers worshipped him as their ancestor. Some worshipped Liu, Guan, and Zhang at the same time, honoring them as the "Three Saints" and the "Three Saints God of Wealth".

The place where the pig was slaughtered was soon surrounded by a group of children, who stared at the pig intently, as if they couldn't wait to eat the pork.

Zhou Cheng was not affected. He skillfully untied the ropes, cut an inch-long incision on the upper side of the pig's hind leg, and then poked the rod into the incision.

First, straighten it to the base of the ears, then pull it back, and then use the push bar to push the back and abdomen. After pushing the upper part, pull the push bar back and push it under the skin of the back crotch to the lower leg.

Turn the pig over and raise the other half of its body, pierce the pig's subcutaneous tissue and pull out the strips.

Then, blow air into the pig's body through the opening of the pig's neck, and hit the pig with a wooden stick while blowing. The pig will become fat and round like a balloon, making it easier to scrape the hair.

Zhou Cheng tied the blowhole tightly with a hemp rope, and everyone worked hard to lift the pig onto the stove. The pot for slaughtering the pig was filled with hot water, and the pig was put into the hot water pot and quickly turned over to scald its entire body.

Zhou Xuqiang shaved all the pig's hair while it was still hot, and then everyone hung the pig on a wooden rack.

(End of this chapter)