Chapter 45
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Yuan Li’s decision to slaughter pigs spread like wildfire throughout the army.
Upon hearing the news, the generals shamelessly wanted to get involved. Led by Yang Zhongfa, they found Yuan Li and eagerly approached him, rubbing their hands together, discussing whether the soldiers in the army could help Yuan Li.
Of course, the soldiers didn’t expect any rewards. But if they could receive some pork as a token of appreciation after helping, that would be even better.
Yuan Li could immediately see through the intentions of these cunning foxes. He found it amusing and nodded generously, agreeing, “Two thousand pigs are no small number. I couldn’t ask for anything better than having the soldiers in the army willing to help me slaughter the pigs. Rest assured, the soldiers won’t go without pork.”
The generals were overjoyed and nodded repeatedly. “Young Master Yuan, you can rest assured. We don’t need much. Whatever you give is enough. Just the smell of meat would make the common soldiers happy. Of course, even if you don’t provide anything, we would still be willing to work for you.”
Yuan Li couldn’t help but laugh. “There’s no need for all of you to be so polite. After all, slaughtering two thousand pigs is not an easy task. But I have to ask first, out of the twenty thousand soldiers stationed in Jixian, how many of them know how to slaughter pigs?”
Yang Zhongfa and the others exchanged glances. They bid farewell to Yuan Li for the moment and hurriedly went to the army to find people who knew how to slaughter pigs. After searching, they managed to find around seventy to eighty individuals out of the twenty thousand soldiers who knew how to do it.
Among these seventy to eighty people, there were a dozen or so who had only witnessed others slaughter pigs and had a rough idea of where to make the cuts but hadn’t done it themselves.
They felt embarrassed and awkwardly said, “Apologies, Young Master Yuan. After searching through our soldiers, these are the only people we could find who can help you slaughter pigs.”
If they could only help with such a small task, even if Yuan Li was willing to give them meat, they wouldn’t have the face to accept it.
“It’s fine,” Yuan Li could already anticipate this outcome.
The soldiers came from poor backgrounds and had low status. They might not even have the opportunity to eat meat in their entire lives, let alone slaughter pigs.
After some thought, Yuan Li smiled and said, “While they may not be able to slaughter pigs, there are many other tasks they can do. Slaughtering pigs involves scalding off the hair, washing the pigs, bleeding them, and cutting the hooves. A struggling pig requires considerable strength, at least two or three people to hold it down. Let our soldiers handle the task of scalding the pigs with hot water. It’s a laborious job that requires many people.”
The generals’ eyes lit up, and they nodded repeatedly. “That’s a great idea!”
Even if it was tiring, as long as the soldiers knew they would be able to eat pork after slaughtering the pigs, they would be ecstatic and wholeheartedly engage in the task.
In ancient times, pig slaughtering had to be done on an auspicious day. Yuan Li checked the almanac and scheduled the pig slaughter for five days later.
After discussing with Chu Hechao and getting their advice, the generals led the soldiers up the mountain to chop firewood in preparation for scalding the pigs on the day of the slaughter.
Just as the generals had speculated, when the soldiers learned that they would be assisting in pig slaughtering and receive pork as compensation, they became excited and couldn’t sleep. They eagerly awaited the day of the slaughter and showed great enthusiasm when accompanying the generals to chop firewood.
With such enthusiasm, cart after cart of firewood was transported to the vicinity of the pig farm. Yuan Li was not idle either. He sent people to search for skilled pig slaughterers in the local area of Jixian, knocking on the doors of every household.
If someone was willing to come and help slaughter the pigs, they would receive wages and a share of the pork after the job was done.
When the soldiers knocked on doors to inquire, the common people were frightened and didn’t dare to think much. Trembling, they pointed out the person who could slaughter pigs.
There was a man named Hu Lao in their vicinity. He used to be a butcher when he was young, but now he had fallen on hard times and lived in the last dilapidated thatched house.
The common people watched from inside their houses as the soldiers walked to that rundown thatched house. After a while, they saw Hu Lao gratefully escort the soldiers out.
After the soldiers left the alley, the common people were curious and asked, “Hu Lao, why are you so happy? What did the soldiers come to find you for?”
Hu Lao, still excited, cheerfully replied, “The soldiers asked me to slaughter pigs. They said for every pig I slaughter, they will give me one hundred wen of money and one catty of pork.”
“What?” The other common people were astonished and quickly asked, “Do they give that much money for every pig slaughtered?”
Hu Lao couldn’t explain clearly, “Well, I’m just an old man who’s used to being poor. I’m not afraid of being deceived. If they want me to slaughter pigs, I’ll go slaughter pigs. If I can get wages and pork, that’s even better. If I get deceived, it’s no big deal, I’ll just do some hard labor.”
Others heard this and thought the same. They hurriedly went home to see if there were any skilled pig slaughterers nearby and informed them of the news.
Finally, the five days flew by.
Yuan Li was also looking forward to this day. Early in the morning, he got up, dressed in old clothes, meticulously tied up his hair, and energetically put on his boots. He led people to the pig farm.
Many people had already gathered near the pig farm. Besides the soldiers who came to help and the locals who would slaughter the pigs, there were also some bold onlookers among the common people.
Yuan Li didn’t drive them away. He directly ordered the fence to be opened and had a hundred boars brought out to test their skills.
A hundred boars may not sound like a lot, but when they gathered together, it was densely packed, one pig after another. The onlookers gasped and their eyes were dazzled by these pigs.
So many pigs!
They had never seen so many pigs in their lives!
Soldiers restrained one or two pigs each, the pig slaughterers sharpened their stone knives, and nearby soldiers started fires, boiled water, and prepared for scalding and washing the pigs. Sparks flew, hot steam billowed, and everything was filled with a fiery atmosphere.
The entire pig was valuable, and pig’s blood was rich in nutrients. It couldn’t be wasted. When slaughtering the pigs, the blood needed to be collected and set aside promptly. Even when the pigs were immersed in water, they could still be used. The leftover scraps such as pork belly and fat could be saved for the soap factory. Yuan Li specifically instructed someone to separate the pig pancreas and the white fat, preparing them for oil extraction.
The well-treated red meat was placed on a cloth-covered surface. The front hooves were piled together, as were the hind hooves. On the side, there were bones scattered on the ground and piles of washed pig hair.
As the pile of meat grew higher, the pig slaughterers started sweating, but they also became more and more excited.
One pig after another, it was tiring but extremely satisfying.
Quite a few soldiers, who were agile, after observing the butchers slaughter the pigs, also took up stone knives and tried their hand at it.
The soldiers were busy back and forth, and the whole scene was filled with the lively atmosphere of a “big harvest.”
More and more onlookers gathered around, occasionally letting out bursts of astonishment and admiration. Although they were just watching, as they kept looking, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction. Every now and then, they would cast a glance at the piles of meat, as if they had already eaten it themselves, and genuinely felt delighted.
The pigs brought by the Zhang, Liu, and Yu families were different from the pigs raised by Yuan Li.
These pigs had not been castrated, and they were not as fat and tender as the pigs from Yuan Li’s farm. They emitted a strong odor of blood and a pungent smell that filled the air.
This was also the reason why Yuan Li was determined to slaughter the boars.
With so many uncastrated boars gathered together, they would often attack each other, causing unrest.
Yuan Li had been in the slaughterhouse for a long time and his nose was losing its sense of smell due to the fumes. After surveying the area, watching the process of several pigs being slaughtered, he became interested and took a stone knife to prepare to slaughter a pig himself.
Before he could even start, Yuan Li heard a soldier shout behind him, “General!”
Yuan Li turned his head and saw Yang Zhongfa and He Lang following Chu Hechao, walking towards him, one on each side.
Yuan Li raised his hand and waved at them.
When Yang Zhongfa saw Yuan Li, his eyes lit up, and he took the lead, walking over. “General, hurry up! Young Master Yuan asked us to come quickly.”
Chu Hechao paused for a moment and followed silently.
As they approached, they saw Yuan Li holding a stone knife and sharpening it vigorously towards the pigs and sheep.
He Lang exclaimed in surprise, “Oh, you’re planning to slaughter the animals yourself, Young Master Yuan?”
“Yes,” Yuan Li found a perfect excuse for his actions and confidently said, “There aren’t enough people to slaughter the animals, so I want to give it a try too.”
Yang Zhongfa wanted to protect and cherish Yuan Li like a treasure, so he quickly said, “How can we let Young Master Yuan do such rough work? Come on, He Lang, let’s be the butchers and slaughter the animals.”
“No need,” Yuan Li politely refused, “I’ve watched and understood how to slaughter the animals. You two gentlemen can just watch.”
After saying that, Yuan Li bent down, holding the knife carefully, approached the pig’s neck.
But as the knife approached the boar, it seemed as though the boar knew what he was about to do and started struggling violently.
Yuan Li swiftly brought down the knife, and a soldier quickly placed a wooden bucket to catch the blood. It didn’t take long for the boar to breathe its last breath.
After scalding the pig’s hair with boiling water, Yuan Li began to cut the pork. By the time he finished one pig, he was already drenched in sweat. The soldiers carried away the meat and brought another pig. Yuan Li was about to continue when his knife was snatched away by a tall figure.
Yuan Li looked up and saw Chu Hechao standing in front of the pig, assuming a stance to slaughter it.
Yuan Li was puzzled. “General?”
“Go and wait at the back,” Chu Hechao didn’t look at him, gripping the stone knife firmly. He seemed slightly impatient. “Hurry up, we’re short of one person to slaughter the animals here, right?”
Yuan Li wiped the sweat off his face, his slightly reddened face glistening with sweat. He looked at Chu Hechao with suspicion. “General, do you know how to slaughter animals?”
Chu Hechao didn’t say a word. He simply bent down, grabbed the rope tied around the pig’s mouth, and with a swift motion of the stone knife, pressed his palm against the pig’s head. The pig whimpered a few times, struggling to free itself but unable to lift its head from the ground. Chu Hechao’s muscular arm tensed and flexed, and before long, the pig’s convulsions gradually ceased.
After scalding the hair, Chu Hechao, just like Yuan Li, skillfully dissected the pig’s internal organs. His knife tip landed precisely in each spot where Yuan Li had slaughtered the pig. However, he performed with such ease and expertise that he appeared to be a seasoned butcher, executing a seamless series of actions.
Yang Zhongfa and He Lang exclaimed, “When did the General become so skilled at slaughtering pigs?”
Yuan Li’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.
He understood that Chu Hechao wasn’t actually skilled at slaughtering pigs; he was simply imitating the set of actions Yuan Li had just performed. After only one observation, Chu Hechao remembered it perfectly. His memory was remarkable.
After the pig was taken away, another one was brought in. Yuan Li stared straight at Chu Hechao, wanting to confirm his speculation. But under his gaze, Chu Hechao couldn’t bear it any longer. He stood up, with specks of blood on him, and furrowed his thick eyebrows as he glanced at Yuan Li.
“Go and wait at the back,” he repeated with emphasis.
Yuan Li resolutely refused, “I’ll stay here and watch you.”
“Get lost!” This statement ignited a fire in his heart.
Chu Hechao’s brow furrowed even deeper, feeling uncomfortable with the anger burning inside him. “You’re standing here blocking the wind. Go back, drink some water, and wash your face.”
His tone was somewhat harsh.
Yuan Li: …
He turned around and walked away.
Chu Hechao breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to continue slaughtering the pigs, muttering to himself, “He’s getting on my nerves watching me.”
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ohooo general, self conscious already?
An entire chapter dedicated to killing pigs, lmao where’s the decorum?? Not to be hypocrite(after all i still eat meat) but d*mn, this is really unnecessary and just downright disappointing
Thousands of pigs witnessing the others getting slaughtered? Maybe the author haven’t personally witnessed it? It’s traumatic af bec they’ll all be crying loud af and you’ll pity the pigs esp when they’re not being killed swiftly.