After lunch, I went back to the house to read. When Yaya woke up from her nap, I prepared complementary food for her and took her to play on the kang in the house.
The next day, she heard noises and pigs squealing in the cowshed. She did not go out to look, and the sounds disappeared soon after.
She took Yaya to read books at home, holding a small story book and reading the stories to Yaya.
After another day at home, I went to bed early that night.
On the morning of the third day, she heard pigs braying again very early. She guessed that pigs were being caught and killed, so she got up from the kang, got dressed, poured water and washed herself in the house, and then went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. .
After breakfast, she went back to the house and put Yaya on her back, then took a basket with a large bowl in it, picked up a few large pieces of wood, tied them up and carried them before going out.
Bringing a basket is for meat, and bringing a big bowl and firewood is what Aunt Dahua said. Every year on the pig killing day, the village will use the big bones and offal picked from the pigs to stew a pot of big bone pickled cabbage soup, which will be given to Every household in the village gets some.
The reason is that no one is willing to take those big bones if they hear that they have to pay for work points. The team leader and other village cadres discussed this approach.
When big bones and pigs are produced in the village, the villagers can just bring some sauerkraut or firewood from home.
When she carried her things to the village committee, there were already many people there. The men were handling the slaughtered pigs, while the women were chatting around a pile of firewood.
After Fang Nuo walked over, he greeted several aunts he knew.
He went to put the firewood he had brought next to the stove where he would be making bone soup later, and then looked for Aunt Dahua in the crowd.
When he found her, he walked over and saw their aunts cutting pickled vegetables. Fang Nuo asked, "Aunts, is there anything I can do?"
"Hey, it's Xiao Nuo here. You have a child with you, so don't do anything. Go over there and warm yourself by the fire." Aunt Dahua heard the voice and turned around to see her.
"Auntie, you'd better find something for me to do. You know, I can't be idle," Fang Nuo said with a smile.
"Then you come over here and cut the sauerkraut with us. Big girl, didn't you just say that you still have something to do at home? Let Xiao Nuo cut it while you go and take care of things first." Aunt Dahua said to the aunt next to her.
"Okay, Sister Dahua, I'll go back first and come back later to share the meat. You have to hold a seat for me," said the big girl aunt
"Okay, you can go ahead with peace of mind. We are going to kill two pigs today, and your family's share will be indispensable," Aunt Dahua said.
After the others left, Fang Nuo successfully squeezed into the pickle-cutting team.
The sauerkraut used in this soup is cut into thin strips, which makes it easier to cook and absorb the flavor.
First, they sliced the cabbage stems into thin slices, and then cut them into thin strips. It didn’t take long for several people to cut a lot of them.
The chopped cabbage should be rinsed in water several times, then squeezed out of the water, put into the soup and stewed with the almost stewed bone broth.
The bones and sauerkraut are continuing to cook here, the pork has been processed over there, and the meat is being divided here.
At this time, the women who were still chatting no longer gathered around the fire, but went to the meat-sharing area and lined up to share the meat. Only a few people were left to watch the stove.
Aunt Dahua also pulled Fang Nuo over to queue up. At this time, Yaya woke up and snorted a few times on her back. Fang Nuo handed her the bottle in her arms to drink.
Fortunately, when I wrapped it today, I didn't wrap it in her hand, so she could still drink it with her own hands.
Their positions in the queue were neither forward nor backward, and it didn't take long for them to be assigned.
Aunt Dahua was ahead of her, and first asked for five pounds of fat meat, because most of the family's meat and fat for the year was obtained by killing pigs in the village during the New Year.
Meat in their village is distributed based on eleven work points per catty. One person in a household can share up to eight catties. If you want more, you have to wait until everyone has finished sharing and then spend money to buy more.
Aunt Dahua first chose five pounds of fat meat, and then asked for three pounds of lean meat. She also picked the fatter part.
When she arrived at Fang Nuo, she first picked out a piece of pork belly that weighed more than three kilograms, and then followed the trend and picked a piece of fat that weighed more than seven kilograms.
Just like that, after she divided the meat and took it to one side, Aunt Dahua said: "Xiao Nuo, why do you want these pork belly? This meat doesn't produce much oil."
"Auntie, I just want to take it back. I make braised pork during the Chinese New Year. I still have a pound of oil to boil it. It won't be enough to buy some in town early next year. I can't eat much by myself," Fang Nuo said with a smile.
"Hey, you girl, come on, since you are successful, just count it," Aunt Dahua said
"Auntie, do you think there will be any meat left in a while?" Fang Nuo asked.
"There must be more. Every year there is some meat left in the village, but the meat is all lean meat, or pig heads and trotters. They are not fat and don't have much meat. No one buys them but you. Uncle Captain and several other village cadres paid for it," said Aunt Dahua.
While talking, I remembered that during the years when my husband was a cadre, he spent a lot of money just to buy everything in the village that others didn't want.
The main thing is that after bringing these things home, she didn't know how to make them delicious. Things like pig heads and pig trotters, if not handled properly, smelled like pig. She almost vomited after eating them for several years. .
She didn't dare to say this out loud, otherwise others would laugh at her and make her vomit after eating pork.
After hearing this, Fang Nuo really wanted these things. His mind was full of braised pork head meat, stewed pig trotters with kidney beans, and all the ways to eat them.
"Auntie, do these things have the same price as pork?" Fang Nuo asked.
"No, these things are not valuable. Like the pig's trotters, you can get them for two yuan, and you can get a big pig's head for three yuan. But why are you asking this? You don't want to buy it, right? Xiao Nuo, I'll give it to you You tell me, these two things are not easy to handle. They smell like pig when cooked, which is not delicious." Aunt Dahua advised.
"Auntie, I know how to handle it. I'll stew it and give you a bowl to eat." Fang Nuo said with a smile.
"Hey, you girl, why are you so disobedient?" Aunt Dahua sighed and said
Fang Nuo smiled and did not continue to explain, because she didn't know how to explain this thing. She could only stew it when the time came and give her a bowl to taste and she would know.
Aunt Dahua didn't know at this time that in a few days, she would be conquered by the pig's trotters stewed with kidney beans sent by Fang Nuo, and she would also come to her door with two pig's trotters to teach her how to make it.
The price she just told Fang Nuo was for the villagers. If the village cadre finally bought these things, each pig's trotter would only cost two cents.
After a while, the whole village had finished dividing the pork, and as Aunt Dahua said, there were only some lean meat, pig heads, pig feet, and a pair of pig offal left on the chopping board over there.
There was only one pair of pigs boiling in the pot, and no one wanted to buy the rest.
Fang Nuo said to Aunt Dahua: "Auntie, let me go over and have a look. Do you want to come with me?"
"Let's go, I'll go take a look with you." Aunt Dahua was afraid that she would go and wrap up all the remaining things on the chopping board on impulse, so she thought that following along would be more persuasive.
