Chapter 19: Chapter Nineteen: Self-Deception

Li Xuewu wasn’t stingy at all and replied casually, “Take it. You’re making a fuss over a pig’s tail? I’ll stew more meat later—you drink here, my old man’s got good liquor.”

He Yuzhu grinned, showing his big front teeth: “Hey! That’s great! I knew Uncle Li had good liquor!”

Li Shun chuckled in agreement. Today was joyful, so he didn’t mind the younger boy taking charge for him.

When the crowd outside heard Li’s family was keeping He Yuzhu for wine and meat, their murmurs rose in volume.

The Li family really is generous!

None of these people understood why the Li family was keeping He Yuzhu for wine and meat.

Just look at how no one lifted a finger to help when the Li family gathered firewood—yet they still expect to eat meat?

He Yuzhu ran his knife around the pig’s neck, then had the Li family hold the carcass while he gripped the head and pulled down, severing it cleanly.

This really requires finesse.

He Yuzhu pointed to the coagulated blood vessels and said, “Xuewu, your method of hunting pigs is too unusual—I can’t bleed it out properly, it’s all congealed. I’ll have to slowly drain the blood and carve the meat.”

Beneath the pig’s head sat a large basin, catching the blood—but there wasn’t much.

Li Xuewu smiled and replied, “No choice. If I weren’t ruthless, I couldn’t handle him. A wild boar over a hundred jin is like a small car.”

He Yuzhu nodded. “True. Most people couldn’t hunt a wild boar with just a spear.”

As He Yuzhu opened the belly, and Li Xuewu and the others strained to pull the two halves apart, they saw the spearhead had jammed deep into the front abdominal cavity.

The onlookers outside watched He Yuzhu steadily pull out a pile of organs from the cavity, each one swallowing hard.

Because they saw meat.

When He Yuzhu slowly extracted the spearhead from the cavity, everyone sucked in a sharp breath.

Old Second Li is truly incredible—daring to take on a wild boar with just that spear.

Now the red-tasseled spear really was a red-tasseled spear—not just the tassel red, but the spear itself was red.

He Yuzhu pulled the spear out from the belly because he feared yanking it from the rear would rupture the intestines—that would be disastrous; cleaning out their contents would be impossible.

Fortunately, when he thrust it in, he’d only pierced the rear wall; the intestines were slippery and slid away from the spearhead.

He Yuzhu carefully removed each organ, and when he finally pulled out the intestines, he tossed them straight into a large washbasin.

Da Lao carried it out the door and set it beside the firewood shed. Li Xuewu fetched a bucket of hot water and placed it beside Da Lao, telling Li Xuecai to wash the intestines—the smell was too much for him.

As soon as he entered the house, he heard Li Xuecai gagging. Li Xuewu chuckled unkindly.

He Yuzhu looked up, saw the scene, and chuckled too.

He Yuzhu called out to the crowd: “Xuecai, wash them well with Da Lao! Those things taste delicious when stir-fried clean!”

Hearing He Yuzhu say they tasted good, Li Xuecai gagged even harder.

Grandma laughed and lightly tapped Li Xuewu twice with the chicken-feather duster.

Liu Yin laughed too but didn’t scold him—she was now helping Zhao Yafang remove the pig’s heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, separating them for cleaning. Organs spoil if frozen; they must be braised quickly. Luckily, they had plenty of Chinese herbs at home—braising spices weren’t lacking.

Li Xuewu kept learning from He Yuzhu how to slaughter pigs because there was another one in his space—he’d have to process that one too after finishing this, and he’d have to do it quietly, or he’d earn too much hatred.

When He Yuzhu had cut the pork into chunks, Liu Yin and her daughter had finished removing the organs, Da Lao had washed and salted the intestines, Grandma and Li Wen and Li Shu had stripped all the hair from the pig’s head, and only Li Shun was helping out—moving between tasks, no one gave Li Xuewu orders.

Li Xuewu flipped over the two large jars under the window, scrubbed both sides, and prepared them to store the meat.

Seeing He Yuzhu call for help carrying the meat, he hurried inside.

Li Xuewu and He Yuzhu carried the long plank outside, preparing to freeze the meat in the minus twenty-five-degree air.

As soon as Li Xuewu and He Yuzhu stepped out, the crowd erupted again—they were finally seeing real meat, and people shoved and pushed to crowd around.

He Yuzhu shouted: “What are you all staring at? Saliva’s dripping on it! It’s freezing outside—aren’t you cold? Don’t crowd! If even one piece goes missing, I’ll blame you!”

He Yuzhu’s words carried no hidden meaning, but everyone heard them differently.

Third Uncle stood under the eaves, face cold: “Jiecheng, Jiefang, Jiekuang—come back to bed! Don’t you have work or school tomorrow?”

Second Uncle had been thinking: now that the pig’s dead, it’s time to sneak in for a bite. Hearing He Yuzhu’s shout, he sensed something was off.

Second Uncle stood by the moon gate and shouted: “Liu Guangtian, Liu Guangfu—where are you two brats? Looking for a beating? Get back here now!”

Third Uncle stood at the door, watching his three sons line up to enter, and slapped each one on the back.

“Have you never seen pork before? Did anyone invite you? Are you standing guard for them now?”

Second Uncle kicked each of his sons in turn: “You’re embarrassing me! Useless brats—do you enjoy being scolded? Get back inside!”

Yan Jiekuang muttered as he walked back: “I’ve seen pork, but never eaten it.”

Third Uncle, furious, slapped him again.

Third Uncle stood for a while, watching Li Xuewu and He Yuzhu enter the house without inviting him. He snorted, lifted the curtain, and walked in.

Third Aunt, seeing Third Uncle return, asked: “Didn’t you go eat meat? You dressed up—why come back?”

Seeing Third Uncle sullen and silent, she shrugged off her coat and sat at the table.

“Warm up last night’s leftovers and steamed buns.”

So Third Uncle hadn’t eaten dinner at all—he’d been crouching by the living room window, watching the Li household, waiting for them to finish slaughtering so he could sneak over for the spectacle.

Third Uncle and Second Uncle thought the same: showing up during the slaughter would be undignified; waiting until after to stroll by was just a casual stroll, a way to watch the show.

There were only three uncles in this courtyard. If they wandered to your gate, the Li family couldn’t possibly let them stand outside watching—they’d surely invite them in.

Once inside, they’d smoke, drink water, and when the pork was finally stewing and the table set, they’d never let them leave.

Hey! They’d get a free pork meal—and owe no one a thing.

These two uncles were cleverly calculating.

Who knew He Yuzhu would bellow out, “Aonao!”—and shut both uncles right down.

Third Uncle waited under the eaves for a long time.

Second Uncle waited by the moon gate for a long time.

No one from the Li household came out to invite them.

Turns out—they’d been deluding themselves. He Yuzhu had already made the call.

Second Uncle went home, threw his coat on the chair, grabbed a fire poker, and started beating Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu.

As he beat them, he cursed: “You two beasts! You’ve shamed me today! Who told you to go watch? Did anyone invite you? If you lost any meat, could you pay for it?”