Chapter Thirty: Slaughtering Pigs and Dividing Meat

  Liu Jian led Liu Erbie out of his house and walked along the small path in the village.

  People on the road saw this and knew they were going to kill a pig, so they couldn't help but gather around and ask a few questions. It turned out that Liu Jian had caught a large wild boar in the mountains, and when he heard that it was Lan Niang and her three children who had caught it, he couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

  "Liu Jian, big brother, this time your family has made a fortune!" A man who had seen Liu Jian carrying Liu Erbiao's getup earlier came over from the opposite side. Seeing people gathering around to ask questions, he also went over and listened to what had happened. His words were full of emotion and thick with envy.

  Scolding Liu Jian, but Liu Jian was like a wooden stake, completely ignoring him, not paying attention to him, and laughing to himself non-stop.

  Some people implied that they wanted to take advantage of the situation, thinking about whether they could get a better deal. They suggested going to buy a few pounds of pork, and he readily agreed, but told them to go up the mountain themselves to make the purchase.

  Some timid ones are a bit afraid, but the bold ones think they can buy wild boar meat at a low price. At this time, they don't mind knowing about the rumors of being a disaster star. They encourage themselves, what can a child do? That old scholar clearly died of illness, and his wife is still shouting loudly for everyone in the village to know. Let her judge it fairly, if it's really that powerful, many people in the village have seen and known about it, why did only that old scholar die? The more I think about it, the more I feel that what I said is right.

  A few bolder ones successively ran back home to fetch money, asking whose family could often buy cheaper pork, or mountain pork, which was exceptionally fragrant. The timid ones were still hesitating, not daring to go up the mountain, and still hoping that Liu Jian would do a good deed from start to finish, sending some down the mountain for them to pick and choose, buying the good ones. After all, they were all fellow villagers, and it was better than selling cheaply to outsiders.

  Liu Jian led Liu Er Zhu, followed by three villagers who bought pork, Liu Han, Liu Quan, and Liu Wu. Several people ran happily to the mountain, where two little men were covered in blood squatting next to a large wild boar, studying how to eat it deliciously. Except for Liu Jian, everyone else's heart was racing.

  "Get up, Zhi Xiao, hurry! Let Liu Ershu come and slaughter the pig, make room for him." She turned around and went back into the house to fetch a scale used for selling vegetables every day. She took over a large kitchen knife from Zhi Xiao's hand and began to sharpen it on a flat stone with some water, asking: "Your mother is not at home, where did she go?"

  "I'm going to the river with my sister to wash clothes." Mu Tian replied, busy but stealing a glance back, looking at Liu Er's preparations, a long killing knife, about two feet long, not like an ordinary kitchen knife, the blade was sharp and shiny, only to hear Liu Er lightly tapping on it with his finger, making a crisp sound that was pleasant to the ear.

  Mù Tiān couldn't help but stretch out his small hand, wanting to make a few strokes. As soon as he stretched it out, Liù èr's knife was already withdrawn.

  Liu Erbie and several men standing on one side estimated: "At least there are over 300 catties."

  "Can't it be? This time Liu Jian's family has really made a fortune, why don't I have such good luck?" someone sighed.

  "Yes, one day I'll run into him too. With my skills in killing enemies on the battlefield, it's definitely not a problem." Liu Er replied.

  Look at these two half-grown kids again, they're covered in blood, must have taken a lot of effort.

  "More than 300 catties, at 50 cents a catty, that's exactly 15 taels. Father, my contribution is not small this time." Zhi Xiao listened to their discussion and felt quite proud of himself.

  "It's not just 15 taels, this wild boar meat is better than the domesticated one, it can be sold for almost a hundred coins per catty in the city. Your mother had already asked your father to inquire about it after he finished digging the trap." Liu Jian whispered to her, his eyes narrowed into a slit as he spoke. Since they moved to the mountain, their family's income has been quite different, first selling wild vegetables, then sweet potatoes, and now this wild boar, their earnings are comparable to those of city dwellers.

  "Ah, is that so? Then there are three little pigs in the backyard, let's raise them. Whenever we want to eat one, we'll ask Uncle Liu to come and slaughter one. How about it, Uncle Liu?"

  "Alright, alright." Liu Erkuai naturally agreed readily, he wasn't doing it for nothing.

  The three people next to him were a little envious at this time, and after waiting for the small mountain pig to grow up, it was worth a lot of money, which was their hard-earned income from working in the fields for several years. They started to feel uneasy in their hearts.

  Liu Er Cuo thrust the long, sharp knife he had brought into the wild boar's neck, and although it had fallen into a trap and was bleeding profusely, this single stroke still released more than half a bucket of blood.

  The originally enthusiastic Zhi Xiao and Mu Tian are now a bit overwhelmed.

  After a while, Liu Erkuai said, "It's almost done, there won't be much blood left if we let it go on." Liu Erkuai took out another knife and had the people surrounding the pork vendor hold the pig's body tightly, starting to cut open its neck from earlier.

  Liu Jian moved a large basin out of the house and brought it to Liu Er's feet. Liu Er had already removed all the internal organs, and one pot was placed in the basin. Three people were holding up the pig, completely dividing it into two halves. At this time, he raised his head and asked:

  "What's wrong with you guys?"

  Zhixiao knew he wanted the pig's head, but what had just happened made her a bit unbearable. If she saw him slowly taking off the pig's ears, nose, tongue and brain, Zhixiao really couldn't take it anymore. She shook her head directly, "No, no, take it back, don't ask for more."

  Liu Er's eyes lit up as soon as he heard it, and he burst out laughing: "Alright, give me this pig head, I'll help kill a pig, that's enough to earn back the energy I spent."

  With that, the pig was basically killed off. In fact, it had been a dead pig for some time now. Liu Er first removed his own pig head and placed it in a wooden bucket. He then scraped all the hair off the pig's body and began to ask the three people who came to buy pork: "Which part do you want? I'll help you cut it down?"

  "The three of them looked at each other hesitantly, their eyes darting back and forth between the pork and Liu Jian."

  You know, it's clear that they just want to take advantage of the situation. This group of people, when I was forced to leave before, no one came out to say a word, but now they want to gain some small benefits and don't care about anything else, not even their own reputation as a disaster star, all for the sake of gaining some small advantages. These village people are really...

  Cast a white eye and turn a blind eye.

  Liu Jian understood their little calculation, "We're all from the same village, I've said it before, I won't overcharge you. How about this, half price and half gift, 50 cents for two catties? If others come later, it won't be this price, what do you think?"

  The three of them huddled together in secret, and the one who knew better couldn't help but roll her eyes, but unfortunately, the other party didn't care about her at all now. No one paid attention to her, which made her angry - where else could you go to someone's home and be ignored like this? If they wanted something, they should just say so; if not, then forget it. Why were they being so petty and calculating? Were the people in this village a bit too stingy?

  After a while, she realized that they were all in cahoots with each other. She wondered what these people would say next.