Back to 1984: Hunting in the Mountains

The next day was the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month.

On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, wash inside and out.

On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, clean the livestock house.

According to local customs, cleaning is required on the 24th and 25th.

Because the loess here is very large, and unlike in the city, we can't clean the place carefully every day. It usually takes a year to clean all the sanitation.

When cleaning, you need to move all the things inside to the yard, then use a long wooden stick to tie a broom to sweep the ceiling and walls of the room clean.

The inside was cleaned thoroughly and the things were moved back.

In this process, it is inevitable that some pots and pans will be broken, but people will not get angry. Let them be broken, as long as there is peace every year.

Fortunately, Yu Qiutang had just moved into this house, and the things inside were not yet fully arranged, so it would only take a symbolic cleaning.

There is a market today, and Yu Qiutang asked Yu Qiujiang to take everyone to the market. There is meat, but other items needed for the New Year need to be purchased, for example, buying vegetables is a big task.

There will be no street markets before the seventh day of the first lunar month. If you don’t prepare enough dishes and daily necessities, you may have nothing to eat by then.

There are nine of us now, big and small.

Last night Yu Qiutang discussed with everyone what they wanted to purchase and wrote it down on a piece of paper. Today we just have to buy what is written on the note.

His mission today is certainly important.

In the morning, I first delivered the meat to my mother-in-law and father-in-law's house, which naturally caused a wave of admiration.

It just so happened that my father-in-law and mother-in-law were chatting with a few people at the door. They saw him delivering meat, dozens of kilograms of meat, and it was large fans of meat, not leftover meat. Everyone calculated the price and was immediately envious.

He kept praising Yu Qiutang, saying that it was no wonder that Mi Yali was so old, and Mi Youtang and his wife were not in a hurry, it turned out that they were waiting here.

With such a good son-in-law, who would be willing to marry off their daughter in a hurry?

Mi Youtang and his wife had lived for most of their lives, but they had never enjoyed such good treatment, nor had they been praised like this.

After everyone left, I naturally liked Yu Qiutang more and more.

Stayed here specifically to have lunch.

Yu Qiutang wanted to refuse and go back to visit other families, but Mi Yali insisted on staying, so he softened his heart.

So I had lunch at my mother-in-law's house again.

But during the meal, his father-in-law poured him wine and his mother-in-law picked up food for him, which made him feel a little embarrassed.

If he didn't know that the old couple were such kind-hearted people, he would have thought that they had some ulterior motives.

After dinner, I rested in the room for a while.

Seeing that Miali hadn't had time to pack up many of her Girlhood belongings, she felt that it wasn't a waste of time.

Before leaving, he looked at Miali's red face and wanted to hug her and kiss her, but he finally held back.

Miali is a traditional girl after all, and she definitely wants to save all the best things for the wedding ceremony.

Since he wanted to give her an unforgettable wedding scene after his rebirth, he couldn't advance happiness.

When they came out, they saw Miaqin standing outside the window. When she saw them come out, she immediately turned her back and pretended to pick up the dried chilies on the windowsill.

It seemed as if everyone knew that she was eavesdropping.

After leaving his mother-in-law's house and riding the motorcycle for a long distance, he turned back and found that the family had not yet entered. He thought to himself: If a son-in-law wants to get along well with his mother-in-law, affection is naturally one aspect, but strength is also indispensable.

Without the ability, you will definitely not receive such treatment.

After returning home, I found that the shadow of the house to the west had become very long and it was already past two o'clock in the afternoon.

According to the original plan, he was going to visit his uncle in the afternoon.

Now it's too late.

My uncle's house is in the next town, but it's very far away. That village is the farthest away from Wangjia Village, about thirty kilometers away.

The road is not easy to walk on either.

The back and forth delay was too long.

And generally speaking, it is not convenient to go to your uncle's house in the afternoon, and it is not polite.

In his heart, he didn't like his uncle's side very much, but due to courtesy, he had to go.

According to the customs here, many things are related to uncles.

For example, getting married.

When my nephew gets married, his uncle must be present to hang red ribbons. If there is no uncle, that's fine. But if there are three uncles but none of them come and no one hangs red ribbons, then this wedding will become a joke.

The living pattern of this group in the rural area is completely different from that in the city.

In the city, everyone is relatively independent, and no one cares what kind of life you live.

But in the countryside, especially in this era, you can't help but consider the influence of the people around you.

This is not a simple idea, as if your own life is none of other people's business.

If you insist on being different, not only you will be affected, but also other people in your family.

People would think that since none of the three uncles came, then it must be the nephew's problem. Otherwise, if one uncle might have a problem, how could all three have problems?

Therefore, in many weddings and funerals, uncles are the "guests" and belong to the highest status among the guests. When crossing the bridge to eat buffets, they must sit in the main seat in the center and be the first to eat.

If the people in my uncle's family don't start eating, no one else will either.

Otherwise, it will be regarded as impolite and despised.

Because of some complicated relationships in his previous life, Yu Qiutang had not visited his uncle's house once in the half year since he came back.

This is not a problem in the eyes of other people.

Many of my uncles’ homes are too far away, and if there is really nothing important to do, there is no need to go there all the time.

But Yu Qiutang himself sometimes felt that this was not a good thing.

After all, he has a grandmother who loves him there.

Grandma was a very kind old lady and was very nice to everyone, but she had a very hard life. Compared to grandma, grandma actually had a much higher status in his heart and was closer to him.

However, I have been through a lot with my grandma, but I have never been to my grandma’s place. This...

I can only say that life is not simply black and white.

Sometimes when I think about it, it’s quite complicated.

Seeing that it was too late today, Yu Qiutang planned to go there early tomorrow morning and just send everyone here today.

When he returned home, Wang Haofeng happened to be at home. He immediately cut ten pounds of meat for him and gave him a pig's head, asking him to take it home and eat it slowly.

Wang Haofeng was not polite either.

Their relationship does not need too much nagging. They had a pig-killing dinner in the afternoon.

There are different kinds of pig-killing meals all over the country, but the one in Rongcheng is relatively less complicated.

In fact, it is just to boil the bones, take them out, roughly remove the meat on them, and then eat them with pancakes.

As for the internal organs, they will all be cooked, "killed" with salt, and eaten slowly during the New Year.

There is no custom of smoking bacon here.

If you buy a lot of meat, you will cut it into cubes of about ten centimeters, put it in a pot, add various seasoning packets and cook it, then sprinkle a lot of salt on it and seal the meat in a jar.

Even after the New Year, if you are cooking or making臊子面, you can take out some cuts of the meat. If you eat frugally, you can eat it for half a year.

It's probably a bit like twice-cooked pork.

In addition, if there is enough pork, some saozi will be added, that is, the meat will be cut into small cubes, added with chili powder, salt, pepper powder, ginger powder and other seasonings, boiled and sealed in a jar.

Every time you eat noodles, you can scoop them out and put them into the soup, which is called sauerkraut noodles.

It can also be used to eat steamed buns.

Put the臊子 in a bowl, steam it in a pot, and then put it in hot steamed buns. The taste is so delicious.

When Yu Qiutang was in school, children from wealthy families would bring臊子 with them. Every noon in the dormitory, they would soak steamed buns in boiling water and put some臊子 in them. The aroma of the臊子 and meat dispersed by the hot water would immediately fill the entire dormitory, making him drool all the time.

Unfortunately, he couldn't afford it at that time.

Everyone enjoyed their meal very much in the afternoon, and even the four dogs’ lives improved.

Yu Qiutang didn't dare feed the dogs too much, fearing that the dogs would get used to eating cooked meat and bones and wouldn't like to eat raw food, and they would become useless dogs in the future.

Yu Qiutang and Yu Qiujiang also drank some wine.

Not a lot, just two taels per person.

After the show, Yu Qiujiang continued to clean up the hatchery, while Yu Qiutang put a piece of meat weighing about 30 kilograms in two cowhide bags, tied them to the back of the motorcycle and left.

He first went to his uncle's house, but when he didn't smell any meat, he knew that his uncle didn't buy any meat today.

The day before yesterday, when Yu Qiujiang bought a pig, he mentioned that the price of pork this year was a little higher than last year. When slaughtering the pig, he heard Yu Tianshun say that pork would be 50 or 60 cents more expensive.

Today is the 24th, and there is only one more day left until Chinese New Year, the 27th. Uncle San still hasn't come back with the meat. I guess he wants to wait until the 27th.

But at that time, even though pork was cheaper, it was too late to perform some of the New Year rituals.

When I entered the door, I saw Yu Qiyuan coming out of the door. Seeing it was him, I asked with a smile: "Why are you here, cousin?"

Yu Qiutang untied a bag from the back and shook it, "We killed a pig and sent you some meat."

Yu Qiyuan glanced at the bag in Yu Qiutang's hand and estimated that there were at least 20 to 30 kilograms of meat. He was a little surprised and said quickly: "How much meat can you get from slaughtering pigs? You sent us so much. Don't you want to eat it yourself?"

"Yes."

Yu Qiutang came in carrying some meat, "Where are Third Uncle and Third Aunt?"

"Inside," Yu Qiyuan called inside, "Dad, Mom, my cousin is here to bring the meat."

"Oh, Tangtang is here and you didn't even say hello," Gao Meilan lifted the door curtain and invited Yu Qiutang in.

His eyes instantly fell on the bag. He was surprised at first, but then he frowned and stopped Yu Qiutang who was about to enter at the door.

"Third aunt?"

"Your bag is full of meat?"

"Well, didn't I kill a pig the day before yesterday? I thought I'd send you some."

"You kid, who else would give away meat like you do? You must have dozens of kilograms of meat, but you're giving it away and not eating it yourself?"

At this time, Yu Deshui also came out dragging his shoes. When he heard his wife's question, he naturally looked directly at the meat, was also stunned, and said hurriedly:
"You definitely don't know the rules. You killed the pig and thought of your uncle and aunt. That means you are filial and think of us..."

"What nonsense are you talking to the kid? Have you never eaten meat?!"

Gao Meilan interrupted her husband.

Yu Deshui said hurriedly: "I haven't finished what I'm saying yet. My meaning is the same as yours. Giving meat is just a gesture. Qiutang, you are too honest. If you give meat to every family like this, then you killed the pig for nothing, right?"

Gao Meilan nodded and said, "Ah, your father must have not told you about these things. Chun Xing is not at home, so why didn't he remind you?

Listen to what your aunt is telling you. There are rules for sending meat.

First of all, you killed a pig and then divided the family property. So your father's side would definitely get the biggest share, at least ten kilograms. Then it would be your uncle's side. Each uncle would have to send three kilograms and six ounces. I remember you have three uncles, right?

Oh, by the way, it depends on which uncle your grandmother lives with to give her an extra portion. If your grandmother lives alone, then you will be given an extra 5.4 jin (1.8 kg) portion.

Then your mother-in-law’s house…”

Yu Qiutang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He had never expected that he would be scolded for sending a piece of meat. However, he knew that Third Aunt was obviously doing this for his own good, so he had no choice but to listen.

I had no choice but to listen to her chattering about all the rules.

Anyway, they are just different relatives. According to common sense, you just need to send a certain amount of meat at most. In short, you can't break the rules based on the closeness of the relationship.

Yu Qiutang was stunned when he heard this.

In his previous life, he never gave anything as a gift to anyone else; it was always others who gave things to him.

Because his family had never killed a pig.

"... Do you understand? You gave us too much. We don't need so much. Even if you include your grandmother, this is still too much."

Gao Meilan spoke for several minutes before making her final closing statement.

But such a long time also gave Yu Qiutang more time to think. He smiled and said, "Third Aunt, you are right, but I have my reasons. Look, you took me to a blind date last month, and we got together. So, do you think I should show some respect to you?"

"This is what you should do, your mother..."

"Atom has helped me with so many things this year, including building the hatchery recently. It's not wrong for me to kill the pig and give one to my brother, right?"

"That's nothing. You are brothers. Isn't it natural for him to help you? If he has something to do and knocks on your door, will you still close the door and do nothing?"

Yu Qiutang nodded, "Let's talk about the future later. If I help you, you can give me the pigs if you kill them. Isn't that right?"

"This……"

"Calculate it. My grandma's, my third uncle's, yours, the blind date you helped me with, and Atom's. How many kilograms does each person weigh? Add them up, isn't that about the same?"

Gao Meilan was stunned by what was said and couldn't refute for a moment.

Yu Qiyuan at the side said with a smile: "Mom, just take it. It's so cold, and my cousin has been standing at the door for a long time. He is being filial to you, but it seems like he owes you something."

"What nonsense are you talking about, you little brat!"

Gao Meilan laughed and scolded, then looked at the bag, smiled and sighed, "You are such a sensible child. Well, since that doesn't work, then Third Aunt and Third Uncle will take it. Come in and sit on the kang for a while. It's cold outside."

Yu Qiutang handed the things in his hand to his uncle and said with a smile: "I won't go in. I'm going to go see my grandma. I have something else to do later."

Gao Meilan and Yu Deshui did not stop him. They watched Yu Qiutang go to the side room and looked at each other. After a while, Gao Meilan sighed, "Qiutang has really grown up." (End of this chapter)