Chapter 17: I

The year before last, Jia Zhangshi borrowed 10 yuan from the Li family and now stubbornly refused to pay it back. Whenever Liu Yin caught her, she would give her a piece of her mind, so the Jia family members didn't even dare to look toward the Li house when walking through the front courtyard. Only Qin Huairu thought about easing the relationship.

Li Xuewu led Seeing Sha Zhu into the house. By now, the pickled cabbage had already been sliced, and the water in the large pot was boiling; they were just waiting to gut and clean the pig.

As soon as Seeing Sha Zhu entered, he greeted Old Lady Li, the grandmother, and Li Shun, then used both hands to accept the cigarette Li Shun handed him.

This Seeing Sha Zhu was a man who cared about his reputation. Ordinary people couldn't get into the Li house, and the Li family didn't visit other houses either. People only came in to stay for a while when neighbors had headaches or fevers and needed medical attention. Thus, all the neighbors said the Li family had strict family discipline, were a family of physicians, and were a scholarly household.

Accepting the cigarette from Li Shun made him feel incredibly respected. This Li Shun was a physician at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital; usually, others had to beg him, and he rarely acted so courteous to others.

Seeing Sha Zhu cupped his hands to let Li Xuecai light his cigarette, then squatted on the ground to examine the male pig.

He looked at the neck first because, to slaughter a pig, one must drain the blood, and the place to drain blood is the carotid artery in the neck. However, the pig's head and body on the ground were intact, so he shifted his feet to look at the rear. Suddenly, his rear tightened, and he stood up, clenching his buttocks.

"Brother, you're quite ruthless."

"Hahaha, this wild boar's hide is too thick and still covered in pine resin and hard mud; even a homemade gun might not penetrate it. I only had a spear, so I had to aim for the soft spots."

Hearing this, Li Xuecai couldn't help but chuckle.

Li Xue, blushing slightly, hid on the kang in the north room and peeked through the glass window.

Seeing Sha Zhu finished his cigarette, stubbed it out on the sole of his shoe, and threw it into the stove door.

"It really has to be a big pot like yours; a small pot wouldn't be able to scald the pig hair off."

Liu Yin prepared the kitchen knife and axe, while Seeing Sha Zhu had brought the hair-scraping knife.

"Zhuzi, your grandmother is from the Northeast and is used to the life of big pots and heated brick beds, so our family's habits are all Northeastern."

At this moment, Old Lady Li said from the kang inside the room: "I am a native Beijinger."

Hahahaha!

Seeing Sha Zhu, Li Xuewu, Li Xuewen, and Li Xuecai worked together to lift the large pig onto the wooden board on the stove platform, and with one step, they were up on the platform. =====