Hunting 81: Gathering Goods in the Mountains, I Spoil My Ex-Wife to the Extreme

Of course, the reason why Uncle Zhou was willing to bring out all the pigs he raised to slaughter was because he was now the head hunter in the village.

As the leader of the hunters in the village, and because he was going into the mountains to hunt in a couple of days.

It's customary to have a good meal before heading into the mountains to hunt.

During those special ten years, it was even harder to make money than it is now, and you couldn't cross the red line. So, before going into the mountains to hunt in winter, everyone would simply gather together for a meal.

Now, the special decade has passed, policies have been relaxed, and more people are becoming bolder. For example, there are several more pig farmers in the village than in previous years.

Although it's still a small-scale operation, with each household raising one or two pigs, it's still better than a few years ago.

Nowadays, with relaxed policies and fewer restrictions, the usual procedures for going into the mountains to hunt have become more rigorous.

"Hehe, this pig is really fat. I reckon it's about 300 pounds, just like the pig Lao Jiu raises."

Upon entering the pigsty and seeing the fat pig huddled in the corner, Li Baotian couldn't help but chuckle.

"I reckon it's about right, haha. Back when the policies were strict, nobody dared to raise pigs. Raising more than three chickens, ducks, or geese was illegal. I went to the market in Xiangyang Commune at the beginning of the year and saw someone selling piglets. I suddenly had the idea to buy them and raise them. When I first brought them home, my husband didn't give me a good look and asked me why I had a capitalist tail."

As Uncle Zhou spoke, his face broke into a wide smile.

He never imagined that he could raise such a big, fat pig.

This pig is so big, we definitely can't finish it today, but it's winter now, so even if we kill it, we don't have to worry about not being able to finish it all in a short time.

If you can't finish it, just leave it outside to freeze overnight. The next day it will be frozen solid. Put it in an earthenware jar and you can keep it to eat slowly, even until next spring.

Thinking of this, Uncle Zhou looked lovingly at his two children who were peering into the pigsty from outside.

He was eight or nine years old, but his body was very thin and small.

Slaughtering this big, fat pig at home will allow the children to eat meat for a while, and they shouldn't become so thin after some time.

"Let's get started, take the pig out and slaughter it as soon as possible."

Uncle Zhou said.

"Okay."

Then, Uncle Zhou, Li Baotian, and Peng Youlian started catching the pigs, while Brother Zhang San used a stick to drive them away.

However, this big fat pig was very strong. Even when Uncle Zhou, Li Baotian, and Peng Youlian tried to catch it, they couldn't.

If you try to pull its ear, it will shake its head and you'll miss.

If you try to pull its tail, it will press its rear end tightly against the wall of the pigpen, making it impossible to grab.

After Li Baotian and Peng Youlian finally managed to grab its two big ears, it sat down on the ground with its buttocks. Even if Peng Youlian and Li Baotian pulled it by its two pig ears, this big fat pig, relying on its weight of over 300 pounds, could not budge no matter how hard they pulled.

"Why is this beast so hard to catch?"

Peng Youlian couldn't help but scratch the back of his head and complain.

"Why don't we take a hunting rifle and shoot it dead?" Zhang Sange suddenly suggested.

"Let me do it."

Li Yunshan smiled and said.

"Yunshan, this big fat pig is not easy to catch!"

Li Baotian glanced at Li Yunshan. He didn't believe that Li Yunshan could catch this fat pig, which even the four of them couldn't catch together.

"Hehe, Uncle Yasuda, just you wait and see."

Li Yunshan smiled and went to Uncle Zhou's house to find a piece of rag.

"You think you can catch a pig just by finding a rag?"

Everyone was stunned when they saw the tattered cloth in Li Yunshan's hand.

"Watch closely."

As Li Yunshan spoke, he pulled open the tattered cloth with both hands, and then walked steadily towards the large, fat pig that was backed up in the corner of the pigpen.

"Huff... huff..."

Seeing someone else bring over a rag, the fat pig shrank back into the corner as much as possible, staring warily at Li Yunshan.

Just then, Li Yunshan reacted quickly, slapping the rag over the head of the fat pig.

After the rag was put over the big fat pig's eyes, the pig, which had been somewhat agitated, immediately quieted down.

Upon seeing this, Uncle Zhou, Li Baotian, and the others quickly used ropes to tie up all four hooves of the large, fat pig, one in front and one behind.

Only then did Li Yunshan lift the tattered cloth covering the big fat pig's head.

"Hey, that's really amazing."

"What exactly is going on?"

Uncle Zhou, Li Baotian, and the others found it unbelievable. They had struggled with this big fat pig for quite a while, and even with several strong men working together, they still couldn't catch it. Unexpectedly, when Li Yunshan covered the pig's head with a rag, the big fat pig became docile. When the rope was lowered, it barely struggled and didn't even make a sound.

"Cover the pig's eyes with a rag, and it will become docile when it loses its sense of direction, making it much easier to catch," Li Yunshan explained.

"Yunshan, you're really something! You even came up with this idea. How did you know?"

"Back when I was messing around outside, I saw that's how they did it when they caught a pig butcher," Li Yunshan casually explained.

Uncle Zhou and the others didn't press the matter further. Zhang Sange went to get a thick wooden stick, and through the two pig hooves that were tied up, Peng Youlian and Zhang Sange lifted the pig out of the pigpen.

The fat pig, perhaps knowing its death was imminent, let out a series of heart-wrenching screams.

"Oh, oh, oh, slaughtering the big fat pig, slaughtering the big fat pig."

In Uncle Zhou's yard, there were more than a dozen children from the village hunters' families. When they saw the big fat pig being carried out and heard its heart-wrenching screams, they were not afraid at all. Instead, they jumped and danced with joy.

Normally, the children rarely get to eat meat, but now that they see a big fat pig being slaughtered, they know they'll have meat to eat today. They're no longer afraid of the pig's screams; they just want the pig to be slaughtered and cooked so they can enjoy some delicious pork.

Lin Xiulan, Cai Er's wife, Peng Youlian's wife, and other wives of the hunters in the village also looked over curiously.

Many of Uncle Zhou's neighbors crowded into the yard or leaned over the yard wall to watch the commotion.

Cai Er and Wang Lao Jiu had already set up a butchering table in the yard using several long benches and two door panels. Peng Youlian and Zhang Sange carried the big fat pig out of the pigpen and into the yard, then placed it directly on the butchering table.

Li Yunshan and Uncle Zhou tied the fat pig to the chopping board with ropes. After securing it, Li Baotian fetched a bucket of hot water, wiped the fat pig's neck clean with a rag, and then pulled out a gleaming sharp knife and stabbed it into the fat pig's neck.

The fat pig suddenly let out a sharp, heart-wrenching scream. Although it kicked its two hooves with all its might, it was tied up with rope and fixed to the chopping board, so it couldn't break free.

As Li Baotian pulled out the dagger, a jet of blood gushed from the neck of the fat pig, landing precisely in the large basin used to collect the blood.

Li Yunshan and Zhang Sange held the pig's head down firmly to prevent it from moving.

The pig's blood flowed for about two or three minutes before it started to drip down in small drops.

At this moment, the big fat pig had already breathed its last.

At this point, Zhang Sange and Li Yunshan moved the full basin of pig's blood to the side, poured it into another large basin containing salt water, and then stirred it in one direction for about three minutes before stopping.

"Father, what are you and Uncle Zhang doing?"

DouDou ran over and squatted down next to Li Yunshan, looking very curious.

"Dad and Uncle Zhang are making blood curd. In a little while, this pot of pig's blood will solidify into tender and smooth blood curd. Then we can cook it directly or use it to make pig's blood sausage."

Li Yunshan answered with a smile.

"Brother Zhang, Yunshan, let's carry this basin of pig's blood into the house. Aunt Zhou said she wants to make some pig's blood sausage later."

Cai Er's wife and Wu Shenghong's wife came over at this moment, greeted Li Yunshan with smiles, and then carried the basin of pig's blood into the house.

On the other side, Uncle Zhou, Li Baotian, Peng Youlian, Cai Er, and others also began to give the big fat pig on the chopping board a hot water bath.

Boiling water was poured spoonful by spoonful onto the large, fat pig, steaming hot water rising from it. After the pig hair and the dirt on the surface of the skin were softened by the heat, Peng Youlian, Cai Er, and others took knives and scraped off the pig hair and dirt piece by piece.

After scraping half of the pig clean, everyone worked together to turn the big fat pig over and continue to scald and scrape the pig hair with boiling water.

Once the big fat pig has been completely cleaned, it's time to gut it.

Cai Er used a sharp knife to slowly slice open the belly of the fat pig, revealing the pig's large intestine, small intestine, liver, stomach, and other parts one by one.

Immediately afterwards, Peng Youlian, Li Baotian, Uncle Zhou, and others also began to work, slowly and meticulously removing all the pig offal.

Next comes cleaning the pig offal.

The pig intestines, pig stomach, and pig intestines were all thoroughly cleaned, and the pig liver and pig heart were also cut up by Li Yunshan.

The large, fat pig on the chopping board was first chopped in half, then the two pieces of pork fat inside were peeled off before the pork was divided into pieces and neatly arranged in a wicker basket.

"This pig is really fat."

Looking at the two pieces of pork fat that weighed a total of twenty or thirty pounds, as well as the cut pork, Uncle Zhou couldn't help but laugh.

Those two pieces of pork fat alone can yield about ten pounds of lard, which is a rare and sought-after commodity these days.

Moreover, those pieces of pork were quite fatty, with the fat as thick as four fingers.

"I'm going to eat a lot of fatty pork later, haha. My stomach is so empty, even if I eat two big bowls of rice, I won't feel full."

Li Baotian also said with a smile.

In this day and age, nobody cares about lean pork; everyone prefers fatty pork.

The fattier the pork, the better.