Rebirth of Bayi Fishing and Hunting in the Northwest

Li Long didn't drink much, and those few glasses were no big deal for him at his age and in his physical condition.

At around 4pm, he brought Gu Xiaoxia out. Gu Boyuan also finished his meal early and went home, and he didn't drink. Li Long filled two pots of sauerkraut stewed with meat, one for Gu Boyuan and one for Gu Xiaoxia to take away.

This yellow enamel basin with a lid is really practical. Although not very fashionable, it has been used for thirty or forty years and is still the standard for many rural families to hold vegetables and lard.

When they arrived at Gu's house, Gu Boyuan was leaning against the firewall in the room listening to the radio with a book next to him. Li Long glanced at it and it seemed to be "Chronology of Important Events in Chinese History", but he couldn't see the name clearly.

"Xiaolong is here." Gu Boyuan stood up. "I just ate it, why is it brought again?"

"Just leave it there and eat it." Li Long said with a smile, "Uncle Gu, this is clean, reserved in the pot, not the leftovers mixed in."

"Haha, I know, I'm not that particular." Gu Boyuan was quite satisfied with Li Long's explanation, "Your brother drank too much again today, right?"

"Not yet. I guess he will go to sleep after everyone leaves." Li Long said.

The eldest brother Li Jianguo could drink a lot, and basically he would never lose control when he drank. After drinking outside, he would go home, drink a glass of water, and then lie down on the bed to sleep. When he woke up, he would be fine.

I rarely saw him doing anything excessive after drinking too much.

"Your eldest brother is quite capable. This is all due to his experience working at the winery." Gu Boyuan sighed, "But drinking too much is not good for the body. You have to persuade him."

"Okay." Li Long didn't know that Li Jianguo had worked in a winery before. This was probably another piece of legendary history.

"Dad, I'm going to pack up and leave now." Gu Xiaoxia packed some things in the inner room and came out and said, "I may not be back next week."

"We'll see how it goes next week. Daqiang is getting married, so you won't come back?" Gu Boyuan thought for a moment and said, "We've invited them to our house. You can see how it goes. If it's nothing serious and the weather is good, you can come back."

"Okay." Gu Xiaoxia said.

The basin that Li Long brought was tied with a cage cloth like a package, so he only needed to hang it on the handlebars of the bicycle. Gu Boyuan found a basin and poured the vegetables that Li Long brought into it, rinsed the basin with hot water and handed it back to Li Long.

Li Long said hello to Gu Boyuan and sent Gu Xiaoxia out. Gu Xiaoxia pushed the cart and Li Long walked side by side with her. After sending them to the Lao Mahao, Li Long also pushed his own cart and the two went west together.

After the heavy snow, the road was paved because students went to school, but it was not wide. The snow on the ground was pressed into ice and was very slippery. The two of us rode side by side, relatively close to each other, and rode very slowly. We parted reluctantly only when we reached the commune.

The road from the commune to the county was much wider, but also more slippery. Li Long told Gu Xiaoxia to ride slower, and then watched her ride away before arriving at the blacksmith shop.

"Buy a butcher knife? And a shaving knife?" The blacksmith laughed after hearing Li Long's idea.

"Do you want some?" He took out a bag from the corner and placed it in front of Li Long. "Take a look."

The hook for catching pigs, the knife for killing pigs, the knife for cutting meat, the pole for sharpening the knives, and the curved blade for scraping pig hair were all newly made.

"You have a pretty complete set. How much is it? I'll take it." Li Long thought to himself that only a fool would not want it, so he naturally took it directly since it was ready-made.

"Fifteen for the whole set." The blacksmith did not ask for a high price. "This is for a butcher in the village. He returned to his hometown not long after placing the order more than two months ago. Later, his wife and children also went back home. I guess they will not come again. Not many people want this thing..."

"Okay." Li Long held the butcher knife and gestured on his fingers. He felt that the knife was really good and the materials used were very conscientious, so he paid for it directly.

I rolled up the things and clamped them on the back seat of the bicycle, then rode back humming a song.

He returned to the Lao Ma Hao. At this time, his second brother Li Anguo and his friends had not returned yet, but Uncle Luo had returned and was preparing pig food.

"Uncle Luo, we can't keep these wild boars for many more days. We'll slaughter them in the next few days."

"Then I will just feed this deer and roe deer from now on? I won't kill these two, right?"

"No, no, if we can get some young ones in the mountains, we'll get some to keep."

Last time, two fawns were sold for six hundred yuan, and Li Long was very happy because it was extra income.

It would be even better if we could get some more this winter and next spring.

It seems that wild deer and other animals are not that difficult to raise.

It was around six o'clock in the afternoon when Li Anguo and his friends came back chatting and laughing. Li Junshan was holding a pot of food in his hand.

Mixed dishes.

Seeing Li Long, Li Anguo gave a thumbs up:
"Xiaolong, the pig-killing dishes here are so delicious! We are all so full today, they are so delicious!"

"That's right, Uncle Xiaolong, it's really delicious! I used to eat it in my hometown, but it wasn't as delicious as this..."

Li Long smiled:

"If it smells good, eat more. We'll kill it again in a few days. Brother-in-law, didn't you say you could kill it? I got a set of knives here. Take a look tomorrow..." "What for tomorrow? Look now!" Chen Xingbang was obviously a little drunk and his words were slurred. Li Long waved his hand hurriedly: "Not today, you should rest first. The knife is sharp, don't prick your hand."

After much persuasion, they helped him in. Uncle Luo looked at the dish and said with a smile, "Hey, heat this dish up and dip it in steamed buns. It's really delicious."

Li Long didn't know whether it was left in the pot or on the table. After hesitating for a moment, Li Junshan said:
"Uncle Xiaolong, this dish was specially served by my aunt from the pot. My aunt said that you don't like the mixed dishes on the table, so those dishes were shared by others... Those people are very happy."

"Okay, let's heat up the food tonight."

When slaughtering pigs, women are the main cooks. They will take some dishes back home. As for whether to eat the leftover dishes on the table, it is not a big deal. Being able to eat meat is already a very good thing.

In later generations, in addition to sharing the dishes, people would also take back some pig blood buns.

I guess the women are still helping in the kitchen now, because they are still responsible for cleaning up after the meal, and they also have to help steam the buns after the meal.

Although they are tired, they are all happy to come. First, coming here means that they have a good relationship with the host family. If they don't have a good relationship, they won't be called; second, they can also take some meat, vegetables and rapeseed back home, which is definitely a good meal in those days.

Even though the living standards of each family in the team have definitely improved this year compared to last year, no one will miss such a good opportunity to improve their lives after being used to living a frugal life.

Li Long returned to his room and lay on the bed, feeling really comfortable.

Then he heard a loud shout from next door. He listened carefully and it seemed that his brother-in-law Chen Xingbang had vomited. It was normal to think about it. He must have drunk a lot of wine today. He came from there and was outside for a while. He was also exposed to the wind. Once the wine went up, he went back to the house and lay down. Wouldn't he vomit?

Li Long did not go over there. He lay on the bed and did not want to move. He had drunk a few glasses of wine at noon, although not much, but then he was busy for a while, running back and forth in the wind. Now he felt lazy lying on the bed and did not want to move.

About ten minutes later, the noise died down. Chen Xingbang must have finished vomiting, and then Li Junshan and the others cleaned up and went back to sleep.

It is rare to have a lively event in the countryside in winter. It is estimated that the Li family's pig slaughtering this time will make many people in the village talk about it for several days.

But the Li family did not stop there. From the next day, they started slaughtering pigs one after another.

Because they had already slaughtered the New Year pig, the Li family did not call for help next time they slaughtered the pig, but instead started cleaning up after themselves.

Chen Xingbang was in charge of slaughtering the pig, and Li Long assisted him.

No one had any objection to Li Long's assistance. Li Junshan even said:

"Uncle Xiaolong, you've hunted a lot of wild animals in the mountains, so why don't you and your uncle each kill some? We can finish killing all the pigs at Uncle Jianguo's house in two or three days."

Previously, Li Anguo and the other three people had earned a lot of money from collecting reeds and fish, and this was in less than a month.

Therefore, they are sincerely grateful to the Li family and Li Long, and their enthusiasm for work is beyond words.

Although Chen Xingbang was drunk the day before and vomited and made a fool of himself, he drank two large bowls of cornmeal porridge the next morning and regained his spirits. He was gesturing with a knife, and after hearing what Li Junshan said, he smiled and said:
"Junshan, killing pigs is different from hunting." He said with a bit of pride. After all, everyone has their own expertise. Li Long didn't say anything, but smiled and said, "I'll just watch and learn."

Chen Xingbang raised his knife and said, "This knife is good. Let's kill one first?"

The plan today is to kill at least two. If we can clear them all, we can kill one or two more.

It was already winter, and Li Jianguo's idea was to keep all the pigs except two sows, including the wild boars that Li Long had brought back. The domestic pigs could be slaughtered and taken to the commune to be sold to the purchasing station.

However, the price offered by the purchasing station was not very good, so Li Jianguo was also hesitant.

Li Long meant to sell it in the village first. Tao Daqiang's family wanted pork anyway, and each family wanted half a pig. Then he would shout on the loudspeaker and ask anyone who wanted meat to come and weigh it. It was not expensive. Pork that cost one dollar and eighty cents per kilogram on the street would only cost one dollar and sixty cents at home.

I think a lot of people will come to buy it.

Li Anguo, Li Junfeng, Li Junshan and Li Jianguo used a hook to hook out a pig. Then they pressed the pig down and lifted it onto the table.

The blood from slaughtering the pig the day before mixed with the water used to scald the pig hair had frozen into blood ice. It was a bit slippery at first, but Liang Yuemei shoveled some ash on the surface in the morning to make it even. Now it was just right to step on.

The two stoves were set up again to boil water. The yard was much quieter today than yesterday. The neighbors knew that the Li family could handle the problem themselves, so they didn't come to help. That would be considered freeloading.

"Come, let's tie up the hooves with a rope." Chen Xingbang stuck the knife in the snow and walked forward with the rope. He ignored the pig's shrill cries and tied the rope quite skillfully.

Li Long watched carefully from the side.

His current attitude is that he can do without it, but he cannot learn it. Killing a domestic pig is easier than killing a wild boar. Just aim for the right position with the knife, and it is best to stab the heart directly with one knife. If you can't stab it, just stir it a little more.

In Li Long's opinion, this thing is just like the way nurses in later generations give patients intravenous injections. A skilled one will get the needle right, but an unskilled one will not see any blood in the plastic tube, so they will use the needle to look in the flesh to see if they can find the blood.

After all, practice makes perfect.

He had originally wanted to take advantage of this break to go up the mountain, but it seems like he will have to postpone it. (End of this chapter)