"That's right. We couldn't finish eating the fish we caught and couldn't sell it, so my mother gave it away everywhere. There is still half a jar left." Lin Xiuqing took his hand and wanted to go back.
But Ye Yaodong stopped as soon as he turned around.
"That's not right. Aren't we going to open our store after the Chinese New Year? Then we can sell the fish sauce in the store. People from other places don't eat fish sauce, but people in our city do eat fish sauce, right?"
"When the time comes, we can collect any unwanted or uneaten items and sell them in stores. We don't think they are rare here and no one wants them, but who knows if someone will like them in the city. Country products are local products that are not produced in the city and the transportation is not well developed, so they are not easily circulated."
Lin Xiuqing thought about it and felt that there was some truth to it. Dried fish was not rare in their countryside, but it was quite popular in the city.
They all eat fish sauce locally to add flavor and flavor. I should be able to sell some in the city. It's better than piling up a jar of it at home. I've already given it to all the relatives and friends who need it.
"So let's just wait here and catch some fish? You're not going to the old house?"
Ye Yaodong took out the flashlight and shone it on the water. "How can we just wait here? We'll be freezing in the cold wind. Let's take a look. These fish are attracted to light. If the flashlight is shone on the water, if there are any small fish below, they will jump up and down on the surface of the sea."
"I caught it this way last year. If it hadn't jumped, it might have been some other fish. The tide is high and it's hard to go into the water to catch it in such a cold weather."
Lin Xiuqing pushed him and said, "Then I'll take a look here. You can go back to your hometown first, okay?"
Ye Yaodong looked at her as she shrank her neck, the cold wind blowing into her neck, but she still tilted her head to look at him. He smiled, stroked the back of her head and kissed her, then hooked his arms around her neck and walked back.
"Forget it, you should go back to the house. It's so cold outside, and you haven't put on your clothes properly or tied your scarf. You're curled up like a quail. What are you doing outside? It's none of your business. Go back to bed and wrap yourself up. I'll come back from my hometown and take a look. Anyway, the tide is still rising and won't fall that quickly."
Lin Xiuqing was held in his arms, smiling sweetly, "It's okay, I'm not cold. If there are fish jumping on the sea, I can catch some and make some fish sauce. I can also sell it for some money. But just now, it seems that there is no movement?"
It cost 13,000 yuan to order a big boat. Although she only paid a deposit of 5,000 yuan, the balance would still be several thousand yuan. Even if she took out all the money in the family, it would not be enough to pay the balance. She felt a sense of urgency just thinking about it, and she wanted to make money urgently.
Although she knew that she had no ability and could not make a lot of money, a mosquito leg, no matter how small, is still meat.
"Well, it could be some other fish, so it didn't show up. It's just under the water. It doesn't matter if it doesn't show up. Don't catch a cold. Go back to the house. I'll go to the old house to check."
Lin Xiuqing smiled, and nodded meekly in his embrace, "Okay, come back early, and you can take a nap."
"Um."
The two of them walked towards their own nest, with their backs to the sea, and did not notice the rippling waves on the sea not far away, spreading out in circles.
After Ye Yaodong sent Lin Xiuqing home, he walked towards the old house only after hearing the sound of her locking the courtyard gate.
Lin Xiuqing stood in the yard, tiptoed and looked outside the wall. She saw the faint light of the flashlight flickering and getting farther and farther away. She took a look before looking away, reached out to tighten her collar before walking into the house, lying down again and taking a nap.
It was just past two in the morning, and the village was quiet and silent. A cold wind was blowing, especially at the intersections or in the open spaces without houses.
Ye Yaodong put the hand holding the flashlight into his sleeve. He had a hat on his head and a scarf around his neck, so only his hands were exposed. He felt a little cold.
As soon as he reached the door of the old house, he heard noisy voices and pigs squealing at the back door. As he got closer, he could hear the sound of a knife scratching on a whetstone.
When he walked to the back door, he saw a pig-slaughtering scene.
A big fat pig had its limbs tied to a wooden stick. It couldn't struggle or move at all. It was placed on a wide wooden frame, making a shrill howl. Several men in black cotton coats and rain boots stood next to the wooden frame. They were his father, his eldest brother, and his second brother.
His mother and second sister-in-law were boiling water nearby, and a large iron pot was placed on the open space.
The butcher held a long knife and kept cutting it back and forth on the whetstone beside him. He would pick it up from time to time to look at it. The sharp knife flashed in the dim light.
"You came so late? Fortunately, I didn't expect your help." After Ye's mother underestimated, she withdrew her gaze from him.
"Something delayed us. It's not too late to watch. Anyway, the killing hasn't started yet. There are so many of you. It's easy to catch a pig and tie it up, isn't it?"
Mother Ye pursed her lips, glanced at him, and said nothing.
Brother Ye laughed and said, "It's okay. We have enough manpower and we don't need to do anything else. Why don't you go back and take a nap?"
"Since I'm here, I'll take a look. I haven't seen how a pig is slaughtered yet. When they're done, I'll buy some fresh meat and pig offal."
Ye Yaodong walked back and forth along the wooden rack while talking, watching the big fat pig struggling non-stop, howling with satisfaction, "By the way, have you weighed the pig? How much does it weigh?"
"I weighed it. I just lifted it and weighed it before putting it up. It weighs 208 kilograms."
"They are doing well. We can catch a few more piglets in the spring and raise a few more. My second sister-in-law has nothing to do anyway. She can feed the pigs some grass every day and earn more every year."
People don’t eat well these days, let alone pigs. A pig weighing 200 kilograms is already considered a fat pig.
Mrs. Ye also smiled and said, "That's what I think. I'll catch a few more piglets in the spring. I heard that pig farmers have made a fortune in the past two years."
While they were talking, the butcher stopped sharpening the knife. He wiped the blade with a rag and scraped it with his thumb. It felt sharp enough.
"I'm starting."
"Okay, let's start, let's start killing the pigs."
Mother Ye kicked the large flowery basin on the ground, pointed it in the direction of the pig's head, and waited to collect the pig's blood.
Pig blood is also a delicious dish when cooked.
The butcher stabbed the sharp knife into the pig's neck. The big fat pig let out a heart-wrenching scream and struggled in fear and shock, but the ropes were tied too tightly and it was obviously unable to escape.
Blood gushed out instantly, flowing along the pig's neck, dyeing the entire pig's head red, and at the same time, the bright red blood also flowed into the basin on the ground.
In an instant, the air was filled with the smell of blood. A big hole appeared on the pig's neck, and blood was still flowing down. The bound limbs were still twitching there.
After waiting for a while, they lifted the pig onto the iron pot, turned it over and over, scalded it with boiling water, and removed the hair.
After finishing, the butcher cut open the pig's belly. The sharp knife cut the belly open just like cutting a sack.
The internal organs, which were crowded together, were still warm when they were taken out.
"Second brother and second sister-in-law, do you want some pig offal?"
"Do you want it? If you want it, I'll give it to you."
Mrs. Ye patted Ye Yaohua and glared at him, saying, "Pork belly and pork kidney are not good enough. We need to keep the pork belly for stewing chicken, and the pork kidney is for your second brother to nourish him. The rest can be given to you."
"Sell me the pig's heart and liver later. I'll ask other people to buy the pig's stomach and kidneys when it's daybreak."
Brother Ye smiled and said, "Sell the pig lungs and large intestines to me."
"Just wait until Butcher Zhang finishes killing the chicken and tell him to buy it."
Mother Ye pointed at the basin of pig blood that was still dripping and said, "Do you want to keep the pig blood? It will fill up a basin if you boil it. If you divide it up and use it to stir-fry cabbage, it will last for two days."
Ye Yaodong shrugged, "I can."
He didn't think it was too much. It would be hard to eat the pigs raised at home in the future. Besides, it was cold now, so he could store the leftovers.
"Then stay here. I'll take it back to the house and boil it in a pot. I'll share it with you when it solidifies..."
Ye Ersao was the happiest. After raising pigs for half a year, she could eat meat and make money. She was even more determined to catch two more pigs after the spring.
The family was chatting animatedly there, and the butcher quickly emptied the pig's stomach of all its internal organs and threw them into a large wooden basin nearby. He also chopped off the pig's head and put a piece of it aside.
"Then you can divide the internal organs among yourselves. I won't take any away. Do you want to keep any piece of meat?"
"want."
Ye Yaodong quickly told him the different parts of meat and their weights that he wanted.
The butcher cut the pig skillfully, removing the parts he wanted.
Ye Yaohua also immediately stated the parts and quantities he wanted.
Each family member kept a little, and divided the pig into 1/4.
Ye Yaodong bought the most and spent all the twenty yuan he brought with him, and then walked back carrying a bucket full of pork.
The butcher carried the remaining pork onto his cart, ready to rush to the next house to slaughter pigs. As the year was drawing to a close, there were an unusually large number of people slaughtering pigs these days, so he had to finish slaughtering the pigs before daybreak.
At this time, the sky was still pitch black. From the time he came to watch the pig being slaughtered to the time it was cut, it only took two hours in total. In the middle of winter, it would not be dawn until six o'clock.
The three brothers talked and laughed as they walked.
Ye Yaopeng said that he would catch two or three piglets and raise them after spring. He was a little stimulated by the fact that Ye Yaohua sold a live pig for 180 yuan just now.
If I raise three of them, I can earn an extra five or six hundred yuan a year.
No wonder last year many pig farmers were able to become millionaires. It's a pity that they don't have the conditions or the time, otherwise they would raise a few more pigs.
"Dongzi, do you want to raise it?"
"No! It's too dirty and smelly. Ah Qing has to take care of the children and doesn't have time. The eldest and second sisters-in-law are more free, so you can just raise them."
He is not really interested in earning 180 yuan from a pig. Raising pigs is not an easy job and there is no need to make his wife so tired. Anyway, he can make money.
She raised him in the previous life, and now it is his turn to raise her.