Chapter 537 - 535: Killing the Pig
Therefore, to make it simple, two days before warming the house, they invited someone over to slaughter the two pigs.
In peasant households, slaughtering a pig is a major event of the year, usually involving inviting friends and relatives over, with the women cooking dishes from the pig and the men assisting in the slaughter.
Afterwards, everyone would cheerfully enjoy a meal made from the pig.
The guests to invite had already been decided beforehand, and included the entire Wang Family Patriarch’s family, the Lizheng’s family, and several others from the village with whom they had a good relationship. Upon hearing about the pig slaughter, all had agreed to come.
Early in the morning, the men arrived at the Wang Family’s place along with the professional butcher. Several strong men jumped into the pigpen, captured the pigs, then tied up their legs with rope and carried them out.
First, they had to weigh them to see the gross weight.
Old Granny Zhang had stopped feeding them the night before, so early in the morning, tied up and placed on the scale, the pigs let out piercing screams.
A large pot had already been set up in the courtyard, filled with boiling water.
Once the water boiled, it was to be ladled out into the butcher’s own oversized wooden basin until it was half full.
The pig seemed to sense its impending death and cried out even more miserably.
But soon enough, they were subdued by the butcher and other men, laid out on the workbench with their heads dangling over the edge to expose the throat. Underneath the bench, a large wooden basin was placed with a little bit of water mixed with a pinch of salt in it, specially prepared for collecting the pig blood.