The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 286 Are there still old items in the brigade?
Blood foam gushed from the wild boar's mouth and nose, and its body began to convulse. Its strong and terrifying tusks made one last futile attempt to push against the hard frozen ground.

Then, it fell into complete silence.

Such a big wild boar, there must be a lot of pig's blood.

The crimson blood seeped into and melted across a large patch of snow, even spreading into an irregular, large pool of blood where it lay, steaming continuously until its death.

The pungent, nauseating smell of blood permeated the air, thick and lingering.

Time was frozen for a few seconds.

Everyone was staring blankly at the wild boar's carcass.

Only the hunting dogs, Black Tiger and Hollow Ear, pressed their front paws against the pig's head and belly respectively, tilting their heads back and barking wildly.

Two young men helped Biaozi up.

Biaozi fell hard on the rock this time, but luckily he was wearing a lot of winter clothes. Although he was grimacing, apart from walking with a limp, he didn't seem to have any other problems.

An old man went up to check on him, and after finding nothing serious, kicked him in the stomach on the spot.
"Are you fucking stupid? Do you want to die? You're not allowed to get involved in anything like this again. Damn it, your mother and I almost had to bury our son!"

Qian Jin understood.

This is Biaozi's father.

Biaozi grinned and said, "It's okay, I know what I'm doing..."

"You have no sense of propriety. You don't need to come and cut down trees anymore. Go home and rest." Biaozi's father was still roaring.

Biaozi objected: "Dad, what are you saying? We still have important things to do. I still need to operate the chainsaw."

"Go back!" Biaozi's father slapped him on the head.

Zhou Tiezhen went up and dragged Biaozi's father back, then turned to Biaozi and said, "Take the wild boar back first, then you help deal with it. Kill the wild boar, and we'll eat it for lunch!"

Qian Jin was in high spirits and full of expectations.

He had eaten plenty of pork stew, but this was the first time he had ever eaten wild boar stew.

Seeing his expectant look, Chen Shoujiang wanted to say something, but in the end he shook his head and chuckled awkwardly: "Fourth brother, let me make this clear first, wild boar meat isn't very tasty."

Qian Jin retorted, "No matter how bad it tastes, it's still better than pickled vegetables, right?"

Chen Shoujiang hugged his rifle and kept laughing.

This time he didn't say anything.

Zhou Tiezhen then said to him, "Director Qian, you must have been frightened by following us today."

Others said, "You city folks will never encounter something like this in your entire lives, will you?"

Qian Jin laughed and said, "Yes, it's rare to run into someone like that, so now that I've finally met one, I definitely have to experience it all."

"As for whether I was startled or not, I'm fine. I actually feel quite excited."

Zhu Zi came up and patted him on the shoulder with a smile: "That's right, a man should enjoy this. For us men, is there anything more fun in this world than hunting?"

A burly man gave a knowing smile: "You're not married yet, kid. You're all talk and no action. Hehe, for us men, the thrill of hunting is only second."

There was a roar of laughter.

In the heat of the moment, raunchy jokes started being thrown around like they were free.

Qian Jin looked at the beast's corpse, which lay in a pool of blood like a small mountain, and then at the disheveled but happy and excited mountain men beside him, and slowly shook his head.

He couldn't live the life of a mountain dweller.

An old man misunderstood him and asked with a smile, "What's wrong, sir? Are you scared now?"

Qian Jin shook his head again, only to sincerely exclaim, "These wild boars are truly damn ferocious!"

"Fierce? No matter how fierce, they're still our prize!" Zhou Tiezhen laughed heartily.

He turned around, waved his hand at the crowd, and roared in a loud voice:
"Don't just stand there, Erniu, Zhuzi, grab the rope and pole. Perfect timing, let's not carry the logs yet, let's carry this wild boar back first."

"Haha, this stuff is really heavy. Get a couple more guys and hurry up and carry it back!"

"Yes, let's go back to the village and get started!" the other men shouted in agreement.

"Let's give Director Qian some comfort!"

"Today, let the whole brigade smell this wild boar meat and see what its pungent, gamey odor is like!"

Four thick, hardwood poles were threaded through the wild boar's limbs and then tightly bound together with sturdy hemp rope.

This enormous creature, weighing several hundred kilograms, required twelve strong young men, working in two shifts, to barely carry it back to the brigade.

Zhou Tiezhen didn't go back; he had to continue leading his men to work in the forest.

Qian Jin liked watching pig slaughter, so he followed the procession back.

On the snow-covered mountain forest, a winding, yellowish-brown footprint was left behind. Along the footprint, there were drops of crimson blood, which stretched all the way out of the valley and to the brigade headquarters.

When this unusually burdened team returned under the bright sunshine, the entire silent brigade erupted like ice water poured into a pot of boiling oil.

The weather was nice today, and many elderly people were basking in the sun and chatting in sheltered spots, while also looking after their children.

Then the wild boar was brought back, the children stopped playing, and the old people stopped chatting.

They gathered around in astonishment and anticipation, pointing at the wild boar and starting to discuss it amongst themselves.

Later, some young women and girls who came to Shuangdai store to buy oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar were also attracted and stopped in their tracks.

They stared in astonishment at the enormous, ferocious boar's head and long tusks:

"My God, what a huge animal!"

"Look at those teeth, they look like two sickles! How did Captain Zhou and the others get them back?"

"Tsk tsk, are we getting some meat today?"

A huge, dark cast iron pot was set up in the empty kitchen of the brigade headquarters.

The pot, which is usually large enough to cook pig feed, seemed inadequate for dealing with this wild boar.

The pot was stuffed with chopped firewood, and the raging flames licked the cold bottom of the pot, making a crackling sound.

Skinning and gutting are tasks that require strength and skill, and these are naturally handled by the most experienced old hands in the village.

The enormous pig's head, along with its spine, was cleanly chopped off, and its chilling tusks were carefully sawed off.

Biaozi, who was limping, took sandpaper and polished the roots and surface dirt off the fangs.

The sunlight shone on the fangs, making them gleam.

He handed it all to Qian Jin in one go: "This is what Captain Zhou wanted to get for you as a souvenir."

Qian Jin really liked the wild boar tusk, but he felt it was wrong to take such a good thing for himself, so he said, "I'll take one, and you can leave the other three at your brigade headquarters as souvenirs. One tusk is enough."

"Besides, I'm going to eat wild boar meat anyway, so I'll have a souvenir in my stomach after I eat it."

Zhou Gu came up, took the wild boar tusks, and stuffed them into his hands: "Take them all back, there's still driver Chen here."

"As for wild boar meat? Don't get your hopes up too high."

Chen Shoujiang waved his hand: "I can't accept something for nothing. I didn't do anything today, so this good stuff isn't for me."

“I heard from the people who came back that you were the one who was holding the gun and providing cover the battle. That’s a contribution too,” Zhou Gu said jokingly. “Besides, even if you didn’t make any great contributions, you still put in a lot of effort.”

Chen Shoujiang had a forthright and generous temperament.

He stuffed the fangs into Qian Jin's hands: "Fourth brother, you can take them back. They'll be a nice decoration in your study."

Qian Jin stopped being polite, otherwise it would be pretentious.

He happily placed the large fangs into the truck cab, planning to give the Xiping Brigade some more gifts later.

While they were being polite, the wild boar had already been skinned.

The butcher beckoned to Qian Jin, "Director Qian, would you like to take this wild boar hide back and make a pigskin cloak?"

Qian Jin laughed and said, "Forget it, I can't handle this."

After peeling, it is cut into pieces.

The four thick legs were chopped into large pieces.

But wild boars are different from domesticated fat pigs; their flesh is as firm as refined iron that has been forged through countless hammerings.

Especially in areas like the waist, back, hips, and legs, the muscle fibers are densely intertwined, firm, and lacking in fat.

Therefore, it is very difficult to deal with.

The sun is gradually rising, and it's quite warm today, but the mountain wind is very strong.

The flames roared in the stove, and as noon approached, the fire in the pot finally reached its peak.

The thick, fatty front rump of the wild boar and several large pieces of tenderloin were chopped into fist-sized cubes with the meat still attached to the bone and then put into the pot.

Soon, a layer of congealed purplish-red blood foam first floated on the murky water, and then scattered fragments of internal organs also floated up.

The strong, wild, earthy smells mingled together, creating an indescribable odor that exploded under the steam of the scalding hot water, causing the women in the kitchen who were helping to stoke the fire to frown.

They held their breath, holding large copper ladles, and repeatedly skimmed away the thick, grayish-brown blood foam, bone fragments, and unidentified fascia that kept rising from the pot.

Each time you skim the water, the fishy smell in the pot seems to lessen slightly, but if you smell it carefully, the original fishy smell seems to have been cooked into the depths of the soup, and it always manages to stubbornly emerge.

Qian Jin also sensed that something was off about the smell, and he tentatively asked, "How about we add more white wine to remove the fishy smell?"

The women waved their hands, saying, "How can we waste it like that?"

"I've already added ginger and star anise. Use these to remove the fishy smell. If they don't work, then even using white wine won't help."

As the bubbles bubbled and churned at the bottom of the pot, the meat chunks rolled in the boiling broth, their color gradually changing from the dark red of raw meat to grayish-white.

Qian Jin leaned closer to take a look.

This is quite different from the pork stew we had at the Liu Family Production Team in Hongxing last time. The amount of oil floating on the surface of this water is pitifully small, scattered like a few yellow flowers floating on a murky soup.

The big, fat pig that the Liu family slaughtered was very fatty. When it was boiled with sauerkraut to make sour soup, a layer of oil even floated on the surface of the soup!

More than an hour passed by constantly adding firewood, tending the fire, and skimming off the foam.

Zhou Tiezhen, Gousheng, Zhuzi, Erniu, and the other main members who participated in the logging finally returned and sat around the kang (heated brick bed) in the room next to the kitchen.

A small pot of thoroughly cooked wild boar offal—heart, liver, and kidneys—was already placed on the kang table. This was the first batch of edible parts that the women had carefully prepared.

Two large bowls of minced garlic were placed on the table. "Try it, come and try it!" Zhou Tiezhen pointed with his chopsticks at the steaming bowl of offal on the table and urged Qian Jin.

"This stuff cooks quickly, and at least it has some oil in it."

Qian Jin hesitated, then picked up a thick, dark purple piece of pork liver and put it in his mouth. A strong, pungent smell instantly assaulted his nasal cavity and mouth...

Good heavens, wild game doesn't taste good!
He chewed hard, looking at Chen Shoujiang with a helpless expression.

Chen Shoujiang revealed a malicious smile, pushed the minced garlic towards Qian Jin, and said:

"What did I tell you? Haha, you think wild boar meat tastes better than fat pigs from farms? You've been to the countryside, how can you think like that?"

Qian Jin smiled wryly: "I just thought that wild boars roam the mountains every day, and their meat is fresh and flavorful, right?"

“Look, this is the flavor.” Zhou Tiezhen picked up a piece of pork heart and handed it to Qian Jin, while he grabbed the warm sweet potato wine next to him and took a big gulp.

"Wild boar meat can't compare to fatty pork. Its aroma depends entirely on the fat. Where can you find fat in wild boar meat? Especially at this time of year. If it were autumn, a wild boar that has eaten pigweed and berries all summer and autumn would be alright."

"It's freezing cold now, the wild boars have burned off their fat, so the pork is just so-so!"

He chuckled dryly, then picked up a large piece of fascia from the edge of what he thought was either the trachea or esophagus and stuffed it into his mouth. He then shoved a mouthful of minced garlic into his mouth and chewed it vigorously with a frown.

From the kitchen outside came a woman's urgent call: "Husband, come quickly and lend a hand, see how the stew is going!"

Biaozi was the first to jump off the kang (a heated brick bed) and run out.

Then he came back smiling and said, "Okay, the pork stew is almost done, shall we have a big feast?"

Zhou Tiezhen nodded: "The feast has already started, right? Let them serve pork, and also stir-fry some chili with cured pork from Lao Huai's house."

"Although it's also wild boar meat, it's autumn meat at least, and it's been made into cured meat, so it's sure to be delicious."

"The main course is served!" The women's director personally brought up a red double happiness enamel basin.

Inside was a dark purple wild boar meat.

The way pigs are slaughtered and eaten in Xiping Production Brigade is a little different from that in Hongxing Liujia Production Brigade; the locals like to cook them with soy sauce.

Meat cooked this way tastes saltier and is perfect for pairing with drinks or rice.

Zhou Gu immediately picked out a few pieces of pork belly with some fat and gave them to Qian Jin: "The pork belly of this wild boar is different from that of our farmed pigs. You see, it's mostly lean meat, with very little fat."

Qian Jin, however, was quite looking forward to it: "I like to eat lean meat."

He took a bite.

The sauce was overflowing.

The aroma is quite nice.

However, the texture is not very good; even the pork belly is quite dry.

He chewed hard, and soon his teeth were stuck.

Gou Sheng ate a piece of pig's trotter and chuckled, "This is alright, quite tender."

Zhou Tiezhen glared at him: "Pig trotters are all glue, they must taste good. You eat less and give Director Qian a taste."

Qian Jin waved his hand and laughed: "No need, no need, let's all eat together, eat whatever we want."

He picked up a piece of lean meat.

Then I tore at it in my mouth for a minute or two, but I still couldn't chew it properly.

This stuff is incredibly tough. When you chew it, it feels like chewing tasteless coarse hemp thread. It's neither oily nor fragrant, and it's dry and tough, with bits of meat stuck between your teeth.

The men of Xiping don't usually eat much meat, so even though wild boar meat is hard to chew and not as flavorful as fatty meat, they still enjoy it.

Qian Jin then ate other dishes.

Stir-fried dishes and a plate of stir-fried pickled vegetables were put on the table.

I must say, pickled vegetables are even tastier than wild boar meat...

Zhou Gu noticed that Qian Jin was only eating vegetables and not meat, so he chuckled and said, "Alas, no matter how brightly the firewood in the stove burns, it can't do anything to the wild animals in these deep mountains."

Hearing this, the auntie in charge of cooking sighed and said, "Director Qian, please be understanding. The livestock on this mountain have incredibly thick meat. If you cook it too slowly, it won't be cooked through; if you cook it too hot, it will be burnt on the outside and raw on the inside."

"We haven't even brought out the pig's trotters or anything yet. That stuff has been cooking for ages and it's still like car tire husks..."

The women around who were helping nodded repeatedly, their faces clearly showing disappointment and embarrassment.

Biaozi rubbed his aching cheek and muttered in frustration, "All this effort to get it back, and in the end I can't even chew it. What a waste..."

Zhou Tiezhen didn't speak, but poked at the pieces of meat still floating in the pot with his chopsticks, his brows furrowed.

Qian Jin said, "To be honest, the meat of this wild animal is really tough. If we cook it in a big pot over a slow fire like this, it will probably take until dark before it's tender enough to eat."

“You can’t stew this kind of meat with this,” he said, pointing to the heavy cast-iron pot outside. “Have you ever used a pressure cooker?”

The men were all completely bewildered: "Pressure cooker? What's that?"

What kind of pot?

Zhou Gu asked, "Are you talking about a pressure cooker? The kind where the lid and the pot fit together tightly, with a pressure valve on top..."

“This is it,” Qian Jin said with a smile. “You call it a pressure cooker here? Actually, it should be called a pressure vessel.”

Zhou Gu shook his head and said, "Our brigade doesn't have this kind of good stuff. The food station in our commune got a batch last year. Sometimes when the leaders come to inspect, we serve them a pot of pork ribs, which is pressed until the bones are soft."

Qian Jin said, "Yes, you can use a pressure cooker to cook pork ribs until they are tender."

"I'll go back and submit a report, and try to get a few pressure cookers for our brigade!"

Zhou Tiezhen asked curiously, "There are pots like this? How can they have such magical abilities?"

Qian Jin explained, "That's right. This kind of pot is made of special materials that are resistant to high pressure and high temperature. There is an iron lump on the lid called a pressure relief valve. If you tighten it, it won't let in any air."

"When the fire is lit in the pot and stove, the steam inside can't escape. The more it's trapped, the more intense the heat becomes. The heat inside the pot becomes incredibly oppressive. No matter how old or tough the meat is, it won't be long before it's been pressed into a mushy, tender consistency!"

"Just like Uncle Gu said, a pressure cooker can extract the marrow from bones, so if you use it to stew wild boar meat..."

He paused, then a confident smile appeared on his face: "At most one hour, and it'll be so soft it'll fall apart with a chopstick!"

Qian Jin's words were like pouring a spoonful of boiling oil into a stove full of dry firewood.

The group immediately became interested.

"Wow! There's such a precious pot?" Biaozi's eyes widened, and he even forgot the pain in his leg.

"You can't even pick up a piece of meat with chopsticks that'll fall apart after an hour?" Gou Sheng looked on incredulously, then subconsciously glanced at the piece of leg meat that he couldn't gnaw on.

The women immediately erupted into excited discussion:
"The supply and marketing cooperative has such a good thing? Our Shuangdai store doesn't have it."

"My goodness, wouldn't it be so quick to make a chicken and duck soup from now on?"

"Exactly! How much firewood do we save? How much time do we save?"

Zhou Tiezhen was very interested in such novel and interesting things.

He chewed a piece of hind leg meat with difficulty and laughed, "Okay, you mean the pressure cooker, right? Director Qian, I'm taking you seriously. Our Xiping Brigade has really been waiting for your precious pot!"

This was a piece of cake for Qian Jin.

The mall has pressure cookers.

These pressure cookers that use fire instead of electricity are the cheapest; he can easily buy hundreds of them.

The problem now isn't money, it's that the gold chests are too small, and it's difficult to buy them one or two at a time.

Therefore, upgrading the gold chest is the key!

He now has over 24 million yuan in savings, but building a golden house would be a difficult task for him.

The deposit of over 20 million yuan was mainly contributed by the Xiping Production Brigade.

Now, if he wants to make another huge sum of money, he still has to rely on the Xiping Production Brigade!
Therefore, Qian Jin solemnly promised:
"Don't worry, Captain Zhou. All the comrades can rest assured."

"I'll go back and find a way to get this done right away. I'll definitely deliver the pressure cooker to you within a week at the latest!"

The news of the "pressure cooker" rekindled everyone's enthusiasm. Although the wild boar meat was destined to be an exceptionally difficult meal, they already had something to look forward to.

The kitchen bustled with activity again as large chunks of wild boar leg meat were retrieved and painstakingly sliced ​​into thin slices with a cleaver—though still tough and chewy, at least it was cooked.

The women quickly stuck a ring of golden-yellow cornbreads onto another pot, and the aroma of the coarse grains finally added a touch of warmth and human warmth to the kitchen, which was filled with the smell of wildness.

An auntie brought in a huge, rough earthenware bowl filled with steaming chicken soup:
"Try this big rooster we raise at home. It's quite plump and has a lot of meat."

Zhou Tiezhen immediately called out to Qian Jin, "Quickly, Director Qian, start eating while it's hot. This is a rooster, it's very nourishing, eating this in winter will help you stay warm and protected from the cold!"

Qian Jin then called to the group of strong men around the table: "Come on, comrades, you've done your part today, so you can start eating first."

"Comrade Erniu, come on, stop focusing on the tough stuff and try some of the big roosters from Xiping."

Erniu smiled憨厚ly, picked up the bowl, scooped out two spoonfuls of chicken soup, and that was it: "I love eating chicken soup with flatbread the most, this is enough."

Without saying a word, Qian Jin picked up two pieces of meat and stuffed them into his bowl: "You guys did the hard work today, and I'm just here to reap the benefits, so you have to eat first. If you're not full, I can't even start eating."

"Furthermore, my brother-in-law can testify that my third brother is now working at a chicken farm in the city. Just wait, when this batch of chickens is ready for market, I'll ask my third brother to help me get some quota so I can treat the members of our Xiping production brigade to chicken!"

"Brother-in-law, remember this for me, you have to get at least a hundred big fat chickens for the brigade!"

Chen Shoujiang put down his chopsticks and formally took out his small notebook: "Okay, I've written it down for you."

Zhou Gu hurriedly waved his hand: "Hey Director Qian, let's eat, let's eat. What are you doing? You've already given us enough..."

“You’ve given me more support,” Qian Jin said, then winked at Zhou Tiezhen, “Right, Captain Zhou?”

Zhou Tiezhen was stunned: "Just those pieces of wood? No problem, that's all we should get."

Qian Jin said in a low voice, "What about the old items? How are they? Have you accumulated another batch in the last two years?"

Zhou Tiezhen realized what was happening and grinned, "Of course it is! I remembered it a long time ago, but I was so busy cutting down trees and catching wild boars today that I completely forgot!"

He also winked at Qian Jin: "After we've had a drink, I'll hand over the old things to you first. Whether many families in the team can have a prosperous New Year depends on you, Director Qian."

Qian Jin is buying these things with real money.

He would go back and put the items in the mall for pricing, and then they would send money and tickets according to the agreed ratio. The old items he had taken away the year before last were returned with more than 20,000 RMB and thousands of various tickets and certificates.

Many families in Xiping Production Brigade are now living well, thanks to that one harvest.

This Lunar New Year, many families are likely to make a fortune again!

(End of this chapter)