1979: Reopening Wenhao Road from the Village

The annual market, also known as the market fair, is a traditional gathering in rural northern China that has continued into the post-millennium era.

Even thirty or forty years later, some remote areas still retain the same customs.

Nowadays, people go to the market more to buy and sell things and prepare for the New Year. Later, when people's lives become more prosperous, various entertainment programs will be available.

There were circuses with monkey and lion dances; there were opera performances; and there were dancers...

Needless to say, Chen Weidong participated in plenty of food and drinks in his previous life.

Therefore, when the brigade announced that there would be an annual market this year, the entire Yangjiatun village, and even several nearby villages, immediately sprang into action, taking stock of their unused goods in preparation for exchanging them for daily necessities at the market.

However, before the market day, Yangjiatun will hold its annual pig slaughter, and because this year's harvest is good, two sheep will also be slaughtered.

This is a rare opportunity to eat meat once a year, and at that time, every household will share some meat, oil, and offal according to the number of people.

A few days ago, Wang Jianshui went to the county town to buy Sichuan peppercorns and star anise, all for today.

Early in the morning, the village came alive with activity: some people were boiling water, some were washing vegetables, and some were setting up tables and serving dishes.

Chen Weidong followed He Yan, carrying benches from house to house to the brigade headquarters.

When the sun came out, the pig butcher Niu Lao Er arrived, accompanied by his two sons, who were essentially his apprentices.

These days, being a pig butcher is a skilled trade. Although it doesn't make much money, when someone slaughters a pig or sheep, they at least have to give you some meat or offal as payment for your work.

With this skill, Niu Lao Er was the best in the surrounding area, and people lined up to ask him to cook for them every year-end.

Besides the butcher, Yang Shuiwang, the cook, was also indispensable on such days, as he held a higher status than Niu Lao Er.

When the brigade slaughtered pigs, Yang Shuiwang, as a member of Yangjiatun, wouldn't ask for money, but he would still receive work points. However, if someone had a wedding or funeral, inviting them would cost money.

It was precisely because of this skill that Yang Shuiwang was definitely considered a wealthy family in Yangjiatun. While other families might not eat steamed buns more than twice a year, his family could eat them every few days.

After Chen Weidong and He Yan moved the stools, they went into the yard. The pig was already tied to a large table and was squealing incessantly. Three or four young men were holding the pig down to prevent it from moving.

Niu Lao Er sharpened the knife with a stone mill, came to the pig's head, and without hesitation stabbed it in. Then he pulled the knife out, and Niu Lao Er's son deftly placed a large white iron bucket on the wound, where pig blood gushed out continuously.

Pig's blood is a great ingredient; whether used to make blood clots or sausages, it's quite delicious.

The pig stopped moving after a short while.

Before the pig's body temperature dropped, Niu Lao Er first made a three-centimeter incision at the heel of one of its hind hooves. He then used a "stud stick" (an iron bar more than a meter long) to poke an airway under the skin in the limbs and abdomen. He then held a tube to the incision and began blowing air into it.

Meanwhile, Niu Lao Er took a wooden stick and pounded on the pig's body, "driving" the air out until the whole body swelled up. Finally, he tied the incision on the hoof with hemp rope, and the whole pig looked like a big, round, inflated balloon.

This is called "blowing the pig". This method can tighten the pig skin, flatten the wrinkles, and open the pores. When the pig is put into hot water to scald the hair, the water can seep into every corner, and the pig bristles can be easily removed with a scraper. It is a quick and effortless process.

Nowadays, there are no air pumps, so it all depends on the pig butcher's lung capacity. That's why people often joke, "Whoever has the biggest lung capacity can blow up the pig."

Once the pig was heated and the water inside the house was boiling, Chen Weidong and the others carried the pig into the pot together, and Niu Lao Er began to shave the pig hair with a knife.

It has to be said that Niu Lao Er truly deserves his reputation as a pig butcher in the surrounding area. In Chen Weidong's eyes, his movements of shaving pig hair were simply fluid and graceful, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them an art.

After shaving the pig's hair and washing it clean, Niu Lao Er switched to a cleaver with a thick back and heavy blade, about 30cm long. He kept slashing at the pig, occasionally chopping it with force.

Chop the pig's head, split the spine, and cut it in half. The back of the knife can be used as a hammer, making it easier to smash large bones. The pig was ready in no time.

Next, it was Yang Shuiwang's turn to take action. Holding a heavy cleaver, he cut a piece of pork belly below the pig's neck and then cut a piece from the bottom of the pig's belly.

"Why not cut some bone?"

A young educated youth named Liang Xiao, standing behind Chen Weidong, said in bewilderment.

Wang Jianshui happened to be nearby. He tapped the pipe in his hand on the sole of his shoe and said with a smile, "The key to pork stew is that it should be fatty, fragrant, and able to withstand stewing. The pork belly should be mostly fatty with little lean meat and loose tendons, so that it melts in your mouth after stewing."

The bottom layer of pork belly, with its thick layer of fat, is cooked in the pot with pickled cabbage. The oil is absorbed by the pickled cabbage, making the meat chunks tremble gently without being greasy at all.

As for tenderloin and hind leg meat, they are too dry and tough. They are okay for stir-frying or making small sausages, but not suitable for making pork stew.

A true "pig-killing feast" must include the head of the pig and the lower belly, so fatty and oily that it's impressive. That's why Chef Yang chooses that cut.

When Liang Xiao saw that it was Wang Jianshui, his face turned red, and he whispered "Captain Wang" before daring not to say anything more.

"There's so much to learn."

Chen Weidong sighed, saying that this was the first time he had ever heard of such a thing. Although he had eaten a lot of pork stew in his previous life, he really didn't know anything about the selection of ingredients.

Upon hearing Chen Weidong's words, Wang Jianshui couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, feeling even more strongly that Chen Weidong had truly changed.

Is there some kind of benefit to being kicked by a horse? Maybe I should let my brat try it sometime.

Wang Jianshui thought of his own son when he thought of Chen Weidong. After all, as parents, they all hope to give their children the best.

……

If Chen Weidong knew what Wang Jianshui was thinking, he would definitely give him a thumbs up.

Soon the whole village was filled with a wonderful aroma, and several children were already lying at the entrance, all craning their necks to look inside, their mouths watering. If their parents hadn't been watching them, they probably would have already run inside.

Yang Shuiwang added frozen tofu, homemade vermicelli from the village, some potatoes, and Chinese cabbage, and stewed it for another ten minutes or so until it was finally ready.

As soon as Yang Shulin shouted "Let's begin!", the children rushed in and immediately started chattering away.

"Third Grandpa, give me more meat."

"Second Uncle."

"Grandpa Yang."

……

Yang Shuiwang is also a member of the Yang family, but he is five degrees of kinship with Yang Shulin and Yang Shuzhi. However, they are all in the same village, so they are also ranked according to the same generation.

After the children had all scooped their food, Chen Weidong and the others went inside. They scooped a large bowl for themselves first, then took three steamed buns and headed home for Su Man and the others.

"The food is here, hurry up and eat, the mutton won't be ready for a while."

This year, the brigade was quite generous, slaughtering two pigs and two sheep, and even steaming white flour buns. Although they contained some sweet potato flour and dark flour, they were still quite good, much better than in previous years.

"Why don't you eat something with us?"

Su Man scooped a small bowl for Chen Xiaosui while speaking to Chen Weidong.

"I won't eat. They're busy over there. I'll go lend a hand."

Chen Weidong poured all the food out of his bowl, then took the bowl back to the brigade. There were several other families like his, all with sick people, pregnant women, or people with mobility issues who were afraid of catching a cold and couldn't go out, so they needed to bring some food back.