When I was a child, I spent the New Year in my hometown. The most unforgettable thing is this year's pig-killing feast.
At that time, life in my hometown was very hard, and it was rare to eat meat several times a year. Hard-working mothers usually feed pigs to save manure. By the end of the year, pigs are fattened and crops are harvested. In addition, during the Chinese New Year, she happily discussed with her father and killed the pig that she had worked hard for a year. On the one hand, she rewarded the hard work of the whole family in the first year, on the other hand, killing pigs can also repay the help of neighbors and relatives in the past year.
The night before Nian Pig was killed, my father went to Zhu Butcher in Qiancun and brought home the guy who killed Nian Pig: a huge wooden barrel, a raven knife and axe, and a poking stick on his head. When the pig to be killed saw these guys who were dealing with it, it seemed that he had an ominous premonition, circled around his mother sadly, and made a "whoop" pleading sound in his mouth. The kind mother was a little sad after seeing it. She always cooks a pot of pig food carefully, mixed with rice porridge and sauerkraut soup, to make it eat a round belly. The pig was full of food and drink, and looked lazy and fell asleep. Mother was relieved to see this.
Before dawn, mother cooked several cauldrons of hot water for use. Breakfast can't be cooked, because even if it's cooked, we children won't eat it-we can pack more pork rice on an empty stomach!
Butcher Zhu also belongs to our family, which may be related to killing pigs and cutting meat all the year round. One hand is always oily, which should also be a folk proverb: kill a pig with a little bittern, and you will be a good player. In the past, hometown people ranked the status of folk craftsmen as follows: first, strike while the iron is hot; second, bloodletting ... The second bloodletting refers to the butcher who killed pigs.
Butcher Zhu should be regarded as an excellent butcher. You not only have skilled craftsmanship, but also have the power of a bully. Those big hands are like iron harrows. As long as you hold Nianzhu's ears, Nianzhu can't escape if he is killed.
Because it is a piglet, my mother wants to save pig blood to kill pig rice, which is called "catching pig shake" in her hometown. There is also a certain emphasis on catching pig shakes: first put a little cold water and salt in the basin, and let the blood flow for a while after the butcher knife is pulled out. In this way, the pig was shaken clean and soon solidified. After boiling water, it is honeycomb-shaped. Take a bite and it tastes delicious.
In a happy atmosphere, everyone watched with interest as Butcher Zhu blew his beard and stared at him. Butcher Zhu is also a little "crazy" to show off his spirit, joking with everyone and showing off his skills. Although pigs are eaten by themselves every year, most people only keep half a fan of pork, and the other half is distributed or sold to relatives and neighbors who can't afford to kill pigs every year at a slightly lower market price. Cut the fan you saved for the New Year in half, and salt the rest for daily consumption.
In the end, the butcher Zhu cut off the meat from the pig's tail and neck, and asked his mother to cook a decent pig-killing meal. The waiter had informed his neighbors and relatives.
In the past, it was not a round table in a hotel. A table could seat a dozen or even dozens of people, but a very strong and ancient square table with four legs and eight braces. The side of the square table was only three feet long. Some exquisite families will also have a carved tooth under each support to make the table look exquisite and solemn. This kind of square table is polished with tung oil, and the oil soup left after killing pigs is easy to clean and durable.
These square tables have no hierarchical concept, but when they are placed in a room, they are divided into three sides according to the position of God in the room, namely, top, bottom and left, and each side respects the left. In this way, when relatives and neighbors sit at this table, there will be differences between the noble and the poor. When others see it, the identity of the guests at the table will be clear at a glance. Relatives regard uncles as the most important, followed by uncles, and uncles are the worst. Neighborhood respects the elderly. But before eating, everyone always gives in to each other.
My hometown is known as the custom of "no wine, no table". Although it is a "vanity job", there is usually a person who pours wine at the dinner table. Although he stood in the lower right corner of the table and put himself in the least important position, the rules and responsibilities of pouring wine are great. People who pour wine, regardless of whether the people at the table drink or not, should pour wine into the guests' cups, and those who can drink will fill them up again. Drop two drops into the cup if you can't drink it, and don't empty it. The pourer should also pour the wine at the speed of the dishes on the table. Often when the food on the table is finished, all the wine should be poured. In the past, killing pig rice in my hometown was generally "eight bowls" of dishes, including pork, pig liver, pig heart and lung, pig tail, pig blood shake and so on. When a bowl of food is served, the person who pours wine must pour at least one round of wine. It is necessary to finish the wine on the dish.
However, there are exceptions. When a heavy drinker is embarrassed to drink, he must find an excuse to gamble with others. The so-called gambling on wine is "guessing boxing".
The rule of guessing boxing is: one round is three glasses of wine, and one glass of wine in three punches is the best. Whoever drinks first loses.
The password of guessing boxing is divided into: one is promoted, two are happy, three stars take care of you, four seasons draw, five-star champion, six-six Dashun, seven clever and exquisite, eight horses and two cups, nine old people live long and ten beautiful. Every password has a history, it is a story.
During the dinner, some people drank too much, their brains began to get out of control, and their mouths didn't close. At this time, the mother, who had already finished work, encouraged the drunken man to sing opera in order to enliven the atmosphere before the festival. Opera is the "seven plays" sung by rural grassroots teams in the first month of each year, such as Little Dictionary and Hugh Lilac. Although the tone is not perfect, there are a lot of fools, but the people on the wine table have laughed upside down. ......
Distant things will never be forgotten. Miss the country killing pig rice that has gone away from me!