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Yesterday's Hawthorn Yam Cake received unanimous praise from everyone. With just a bit of sunshine, the leaves shone brightly. As I was contemplating building an oven in the kitchen, Er Zhu ran over and said, "Sister Ye, we are slaughtering a pig at our house today. My dad invites your whole family to eat pork." Yezhi couldn't help but swallow hard, nodding vigorously. Such a big event could not be missed; the Northeast's most famous pig slaughter dishes were something she had seen in countless novels and TV shows but had never tasted. Today, she finally had the chance to try it—how wonderful!
Yezhi arrived early at Village Uncle's house with her family, claiming she was there to help, but in reality, she wanted to see the excitement. At Village Uncle's yard, Pig No. Three was brandishing a slaughtering knife, demonstrating his skills with a few swift motions on the belt. The atmosphere was intense. Big Wolf's half-closed eyes suddenly turned a dangerous shade of green.
"Big Wolf, you must not rush forward!" Big Wolf perked up his ears and closed his green eyes. To ensure that Wolf Child would settle down in her home from now on, Yezhi tirelessly provided various retirement plans for Big Wolf, who was genuinely scared of this noisy human.
"Catch the pig," Pig No. Three commanded. Village Uncle, Er Zhu, Da Zhu, and Xiao Cheng rushed towards the pigpen. The four of them threw the struggling fat pig onto the chopping board. The pig's plump white body rippled with flesh as it opened its mouth and let out a loud wail that pierced through the air. Many households began to wonder if they should also invite Pig No. Three for a slaughter tomorrow.
After washing his hands, Pig No. Three held the knife in his mouth and patted and felt around the pig's neck. Suddenly, he grabbed the knife and thrust it down forcefully at a specific spot. Blood sprayed out with a loud "bang," and as he pulled out the knife, deep red blood gushed forth.
Big Wolf caught the scent of blood and became excited. Along with Black Treasure, Niu Niu, and Xiao Fan—who was wrestling with Er Zhu—Wolf Child also started to get restless. Aunt Li handed over a basin to catch the pig's blood as Wolf Child rushed forward and began to suck at the flowing wound on the fat pig. Everyone was momentarily stunned.
Wolf Child drank until satisfied, blood smeared all over his mouth as he revealed his pearly white teeth and laughed loudly. Xiao Fan was so frightened that he started crying, "Wolf Sister, you're bleeding!" Mei Zi, who loved children, quickly picked up Xiao Fan and comforted him: "Xiao Fan, be good; don't cry!"
Receiving feedback from the Pet Communicator made Yezhi both amused and exasperated. "What do you mean Sister Ye? It's delicious! I want to drink it every day!" Girl, didn't you see how you startled everyone?
"Yezhi, since Wolf Child likes it so much, bring a basin back home later!" Drinking pig blood is no big deal.
Yezhi looked at Village Uncle who said this; well... as usual. She glanced around and found everything quite normal again before turning back to Xiao Cheng who had a pale face. "Teacher Xiao, are you okay?" Xiao Cheng knew about Wolf Child's uniqueness, but for such a child to blend into society would take time...
Yezhi hugged Xiao Fan who was still shedding tears. "Why are you crying? Your Wolf Sister is thirsty; drink some red water! Look how scared you are! If Zhou Xiaomu finds out, he'll definitely laugh at you." Xiao Fan reached out his little hand tightly around Yezhi's neck and said with a sobbing tone: "Wolf Sister has lips as red as Dad's; so many red ones..." Yezhi felt a pang in her heart and hugged Xiao Fan tightly! After Aunt Zhou cleaned Wolf Child's face and washed his hands, Wolf Child bounced around pulling along Xiao Fan, Black Treasure, Niu Niu, Big Wolf, Er Zhu, Doggie, and One Egg to have a snowball fight.
Big Zhu stirred the pig blood in a basin with a willow stick; soon they would be making blood sausage from it. Yezhi had long been looking forward to one of the main dishes of the pig slaughter feast—blood sausage. She watched Aunt Li skillfully mix some water into the pig blood along with scallions, ginger, salt, and diced hot pork fat until it was even before stuffing it into large and small intestines to create delicious blood sausages.
The fat pig from Village Uncle's house had been caught last winter; it was considered aged meat for two years. Pig No. Three nodded approvingly: "Not bad; it's got four fingers of fat!" Yezhi listened in confusion; it turned out that in rural areas when slaughtering pigs they measured fatness by "finger width." This meant measuring the thickness of fat after fingers were brought together; Village Uncle's fat pig had four fingers' worth of thickness. Yezhi thought it was too fatty but back then people believed that whether in cities or villages, having enough oil was what mattered.
Pig No. Three skillfully wielded his knife up and down; soon enough all the pork was cut up. They boiled some ribs while Mei Zi and Aunt Zhou chopped pickled vegetables beside the stove with loud chopping sounds filling several basins. The large iron pot bubbling with fatty meat, liver, and bones emitted an enticing aroma.
When the meat was about 80% cooked, they began adding pickled vegetables which simmered for two hours before slowly placing in the prepared blood sausage to cook on low heat. Aunt Li used a needle to poke small holes in the blood sausage to release air inside and prevent bursting of the casing.
Two tables were set up in the house, and a "side table" was placed on the floor. The Village Uncle was counting the number of guests on his fingers, especially the esteemed elders from the village.
The aroma of meat filled the small courtyard as guests arrived one after another, each commenting on how delicious it smelled. The Village Uncle and Big Zhu welcomed the guests into the house, where everyone sat on the heated bed, smoking pipes and chatting.
Aunt Li called out, "Dinner is ready!" Everyone took their seats. Yezhi held Little Fan and Wolf Child, while Aunt Zhou, One Egg, Dogzi, and Red Sister sat at the side table. A large bowl of stewed sauerkraut was served first, followed by a plate of blood sausage, a plate of white meat, a plate of liver and heart, and a big bowl of garlic sauce.
"Yezhi, Teacher Xiao, dip the white meat in garlic sauce; sauerkraut with blood sausage is our local specialty. Don't be polite—eat your fill!"
Yezhi wasn't shy at all; she picked up a slice of blood sausage and put it in her mouth. It had no fishy smell and was both fragrant and tender. She had eaten a type of blood sausage with glutinous rice in Guizhou before, which was also very tasty!
"Eat meat! Eat meat!" The Village Uncle urged continuously. It was rare to have such a feast throughout the year; when they finally had pork, they couldn't help but dig in.
A large piece of fatty meat was stuffed into Little Fan's mouth, making him chew noisily with grease all over his face. Wolf Child gnawed on a big bone until all the meat was gone, even crunching down on the bones. One Egg tried to imitate Wolf Child by swallowing bones. The Village Uncle called out to their table, "Eat meat! Why are you chewing on bones?"
"Village Uncle, it's good for little Kid to eat bones; it helps with calcium and growing tall!" Yezhi placed the last slice of white meat into Aunt Zhou's bowl. The Village Uncle took an empty plate and filled it up again. Yezhi was sweating from eating so much; Little Fan's cheeks were flushed as if they might catch fire. Yezhi blew on some sour vegetable soup and shared it with Little Fan to ease the greasiness.
After everyone was full and satisfied, Yezhi held a small piece of pork fat that the Village Uncle had given her while Black Treasure carried a leg of pork that Yezhi had bought. Wolf Child held a basin of solidified pig's blood as they strolled home together.
From afar, they saw a familiar slender figure squatting at her doorstep. Little Fan ran over excitedly, calling out, "Mommy! Mommy!" Aunt Zhou warmly welcomed Xiaofan's Mother into the house.
Niu Niu blinked her watery big eyes with a look of grievance. Yezhi grabbed a handful of dog food and put it into a white porcelain bowl. "It's not that I'm not giving you any; it's just that you can't eat it. Have you forgotten about your stomach ache?" Black Treasure had eaten five Asian pears and one radish at Village Uncle's house, plus a basin of sour vegetable soup with meat and bones. After finishing, he patted his round belly loudly as if to announce to everyone that he was a foodie. Big Wolf also received special treatment; although he looked disdainful, he still took the time to gnaw on bloody bones. Niu Niu watched longingly but felt left out.
Xiaofan's Mother's eyes kept darting between Black Treasure and Big Wolf as if assessing whether they were as harmless as Yezhi claimed. Black Treasure opened his arms and gave Xiaofan's Mother a gentle hug.
"Mommy, Black Treasure is like a little bear; hugging him to sleep is so warm!"
Wolf Child finished changing Big Wolf's bandages and sat on the heated bed playfully punching Black Treasure back and forth. Little Fan chattered away with his mother about what they had played and eaten these past few days when suddenly he stopped talking and started scratching an itch.
Yezhi brought tea into the room just as Xiaofan's Mother lifted Little Fan's shirt. "Xiaofan's Mother, I'm sorry; Little Fan has been complaining about itching since he came back two days ago. I didn't notice at first but later realized he got bitten by fleas." Yezhi felt embarrassed saying this herself; under her influence, Zhoujiatun had begun to pay attention to cleanliness and hygiene, but everyone was still too poor to have spare clothes in winter; their hygiene could only be described as mediocre at best.
Xiaofan's Mother smiled and said it was nothing. Yezhi apologized, "I'm still too careless, I'm really sorry!"
"Yezi, Xiaofan just told me that he fell down with Little Bear, had a snowball fight with Wolf Sister and Big Brother, and rode a Dog Sled with Zhou Xiaomu... He had a great time, an unprecedented happiness. Yezi, I don't know how to thank you!" Xiaofan's Mother held Yezhi's hand with gratitude.
"Xiaofan's Mother, don't mention thanks anymore. We are fated to meet; we are kindred spirits!"
"My name is Luo Fengjuan. Yezi, if you don't mind, just call me Sister Luo!"
"Sister Luo!"
"Come on, Xiaofan's Mother, quickly eat the eggs!" Aunt Zhou brought in a bowl of Fried Eggs. Xiaofan hugged Niu Niu and leaned close to his mother, "Zhou Mama's Fried Eggs are sweet and delicious, Mom, you should eat!"
Luo Fengjuan felt her eyes warm up and buried her face deep into the bowl, taking big bites of the Fried Eggs. Xiaofan happily said beside her, "Mom, Zhou Mama's cooking is delicious, right?"
"Yes, it's delicious!" Luo Fengjuan replied with a choked voice.
In the evening, to celebrate Xiaofan's Mother's arrival, Aunt Zhou specially borrowed two pounds of flour from Barefoot Aunt, and the whole family got together to make dumplings.
Wolf Child curiously kneaded the soft and sticky dough, finding it very fun. Four-year-old Xiaofan was quite skilled at wrapping dumplings. Black Treasure wanted to join in but was scolded by Yezhi as he peeked his round head around the kitchen door. Niu Niu and Big Wolf exchanged glances that showed they didn't like each other, while Big Yellow kept his distance from the two rivals.
Aunt Zhou brought the cooked plump dumplings to the table. Wolf Child tasted them for the first time and found them both novel and delicious. Together with Black Treasure's big belly, they managed to wrap all 150 dumplings perfectly.
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