Chapter 18: Chapter Eighteen: Fatty Zhu Butchers the Pig

Although the task seemed simple—just pouring hot water and scraping off the fur—it was exhausting; squatting on the edge of the pot, steamed by the heat, his clothes were soaked through, whether with sweat or steam, he couldn’t tell.

Li Xuewu returned and helped his brothers flip the pig over again, belly-up, to continue scraping the underside.

It was nearly seven o’clock now, and Li Xuewu had only grabbed a quick lunch; he was already hungry, so he took the iron box of biscuits Yu Lifen handed him and began eating.

These biscuits must have been bought during the wedding, when the couple couldn't bring themselves to eat them and saved them; today, Big Sister no longer minded and willingly gave them to her younger brother.

After eating two pieces to stave off hunger, he drank a cup of hot water, replaced the lid, and returned the box to the south room.

These were Big Sister’s snacks, kept for late-night reading when hunger struck; he couldn’t just eat them all without shame.

Yu Lifen saw Li Xuewu returning the biscuits and hurriedly said, “Xuewu, if you’re hungry, just eat them—the meal won’t be ready for a while yet.”

Li Xuewu smiled at Yu Lifen and said, “I’m not hungry anymore. The biscuits are too sweet—they fill you up.”

Liu Yin watched her daughter-in-law without speaking, kneading dough to steam buns; today they were keeping Fatty Zhu for dinner.

By now, every household in the courtyard had finished dinner, and many young people had gathered in the front yard, pressing against the window beside Li’s central room’s stove.

Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu, the two brothers; Yan Jie, Yan Jiefang, and Yan Kuang, the three cousins; and several older boys bigger than Banggeng crowded into the front yard.

As they spoke, Li Xuewu and Li Xuecai moved the eight-legged dining table toward the north room, clearing space to bring out the long table beneath the beam and join it to the dining table, forming one extended surface.

The Li brothers then went with Big Mother to the horse stable, fetched several wooden planks, brought them inside, laid them on the table, and nailed two crossbars side by side to make a wooden platform.

This was because they’d be using knives and axes to carve the meat, and the blades might scratch the table surface.

By the time Big Mother and the boys finished their work, Fatty Zhu had already scraped off all the wild boar’s hair.

The Li men together lifted the cleaned pig onto the prepared long table.

Now the “pig brother” stood fully stripped of its outer layer, clean and bare before everyone’s eyes.

By now, Liu Yin had hauled out several buckets of muddy water; she’d scooped out half a pot of mud and pig hair and scrubbed it clean after several thorough washes.

The pig hair was stuffed into a burlap sack and dumped in the corner, to be washed later and sold.

Fatty Zhu was drenched in sweat; now he needed a rest. Under Big Mother’s direction, Li Xue lit a cigarette for him and offered him a flame.

Fatty Zhu took a drag and smiled at Li Xue: “Thanks, little sister. You’re in second year of high school, right?”

Li Xue usually chatted happily with classmates at school, but at home she spoke little; because of Liu Yin’s strictness, she had little contact with people in the courtyard. When Fatty Zhu asked, she merely nodded and said, “Mm,” then walked back to sit beside her grandmother.

Fatty Zhu didn’t mind—he knew the Li family had strict upbringing; their daughters were raised like old-era young ladies, their sons either scholars or physicians. Even Li Er, the local bully, had graduated high school before being drafted into the army—he’d have been a college student otherwise.

Li Xuewu: “Zhu-ge, don’t mind it—my sister’s shy.”

Li Xuewu explained to Fatty Zhu with a smile, then turned to his younger sister: “Li Xue, next time you see Zhu-ge, say hello properly—don’t be rude.”

Li Xuewu couldn’t stand it if outsiders criticized his sister for lacking manners, nor could he let Fatty Zhu, who’d come to help, feel slighted; even if Li Xue wasn’t close to him, he still had to protect his own sister.

Fatty Zhu: “Heh, it’s normal. Girls are noisy and wild as kids, but grow up and learn to be proper. My sister Yu Shui was the same.”

At that moment, Liu Yin picked up the thread: “Has Yu Shui’s marriage been arranged yet? Last time I heard Big Aunt muttering she’d found a cop as a match?”

156n.

Fatty Zhu finished his cigarette, picked up the cleaver, and answered as he walked: “No news yet—he’s busy with work. My sister’s got her own mind; I don’t need to meddle.”

Everyone in the courtyard knew Fatty Zhu’s situation—he was careless and careless, having raised his sister since he himself was still a child; he hardly looked like someone who could properly care for her.

Yu Shui was self-reliant—she went to school on her own, found work on her own, chose her own partner; somehow, heaven didn’t let blind sparrows starve—she’d found a decent match, at least with a respectable job.

Yu Shui was quite good-looking—tall and well-built. Though now she seemed thin and lacking in fortune, in later years she’d be a social media star. Big Aunt once wanted to set her up with Li Xuewen.

Li Xuewu knew about it—because Liu Yin had rejected it, thinking Yu Shui’s family background was poor, fearing she’d become stubborn after marriage.

But no one had told anyone else; neither Fatty Zhu nor Yu Shui knew, not even Li Xuewen. Li Xuewu had overheard it when he returned from outside.

Li Xuewu watched Liu Yin chatting with Fatty Zhu and stole a glance at Big Sister; compared to the TV drama’s Yu Shui, Big Sister’s looks were a bit less, but her bearing surpassed hers.

Maybe it was what the books called: “Inner knowledge gives one natural grace.”

But as the saying goes: “Only time reveals a horse’s strength, only long association reveals a person’s heart.” The days are long—let’s wait and see.

If Yu Shui married in, Fatty Zhu would probably agree, and Yu Shui might agree too.

The Li family wasn’t wealthy, but that was because of their large household and the need to support students’ education; everyone knew education still mattered in this era—Yu Shui had been assigned her job after graduating high school.

Just as Fatty Zhu was about to cut, outside the window Yan Jiefang shouted: “Fatty Zhu, watch out! Don’t cut your fingers!”

Fatty Zhu looked up and cursed: “Get lost! Keep yelling and I’ll castrate you!”

Liu Guangtian leaned against the window: “Fatty Zhu, how much does this pig weigh?”

Yan Jiefang also asked: “Fatty Zhu, is wild boar meat tasty?”

Liu Guangfu glared at Yan Jiefang: “Of course it’s tasty—what kind of stupid question is that?”

Yan Jiefang: “Hey! You little brat—who’re you calling stupid?”

Outside the window, the noise grew louder as everyone argued about the pig. Fatty Zhu was furious—inside the Li home, they called him Zhu-ge or Zhu-ge, but outside, those brats turned him into “Fatty Zhu.”

“All of you get the hell out! Stop yelling—go somewhere cool and sit down!”

Yan Jiefang glared at Fatty Zhu: “This isn’t your house, the pig isn’t yours—why are you acting like such a big shot?”

Liu Guangtian: “Exactly.”

Fuming, Fatty Zhu grabbed his cleaver, flung open the door, and stormed out—the boys scattered in panic, but didn’t run far; they laughed and mocked him from a distance. When he returned inside, they gathered again, watching from afar.

Fatty Zhu chased off the noisy onlookers, then cut off the four hooves and the tail.

Fatty Zhu held up the tail and said to Li Xuewu: “Xuewu, give me the tail later—I’ll take it home for drinking.”