The village gathering

 

Butcher Chen, truly lived up to his reputation as the best pig slaughterer for miles around. The pigs didn’t suffer much, and both of them were slaughtered smoothly. Jing Yi paid him extra silver and didn’t let the butcher take the pigs remains when they were ready for the pot. This was too good to be wasted, and Jing Yi was reluctant to part with them.

 

After the lively pig slaughtering show was over, the villagers who had gathered to watch prepared to leave, happily anticipating going to the market to buy meat for their stews.

 

Jing Yi quickly stopped them and said, “Wait a moment, everyone. We slaughtered a pig today to celebrate together as a village. We’re going to stew the meat in the front yard soon. If you uncles and aunts from the village don’t mind, bring your bowls, and take a portion for your family to add to your New Year’s feasts. Taste the cooking of our house. Please don’t be shy!”

 

“Xiao Tao, you don’t need to be shy. What Jing Yi said is sincere. Make sure you come over later, and be sure to get some for Xiao He and Ah Zhi.” Xiao He and Ah Zhi were boys from Xiao Tao’s family.

 

“Other fellow villagers should come as well. Thanks for your care for our Jing family last year,” Father Jing also added. He encouraged everyone to come with their bowls.

 

“Hey! You’re putting us in a difficult spot by being so generous. But I’ll make sure to thank Brother Rong in advance when I come.”

 

“Mothe, I want meat! I want meat!”

 

“Father, you two shouldn’t feel embarrassed to go, I’ll bring my younger brother and sister and get some for ourselves.”

 

Everyone left in high spirits, although they said they felt embarrassed. They all planned on coming to get their share and didn’t want anyone else to snatch it away. The villagers were well aware of Jing’s family’s reputation for generosity and knew that their invitation was genuine. All they had to do was bring their bowls later.

 

This tradition had truly helped many struggling families in the village. For people who struggled to make ends meet throughout the year, the opportunity to have some meat for the New Year was something to look forward to.

 

Two pigs were slaughtered, and the back legs were divided: one went to Jing’s mother’s family, and one to the Lin family. This didn’t cause any issues. Jing Yi immediately arranged for Jing Renyi to drive a donkey cart to Xishan Village and Wangjia Village to deliver the meat.

 

Over the past two years, Jing’s family had provided goods to their mother’s family, Uncle Liu and Second Uncle Liu, so now they were all leading better lives.

 

Around 10:30 in the morning, both the front and main yards of Jing’s family were bustling with activity. In the front yard, they were preparing the meat stew for the villagers. It was similar to a rural version of red-cooked pork, as eating pork on the New Year’s symbolized wealth and prosperity for the coming year.

 

However, the authentic red-cooked pork dish was quite luxurious, involving a lot of oil and sugar, which most poor farm families wouldn’t make, even if they could afford it. Cooking at home required a large quantity of valuable oil and sugar, so most rural families prepared a simpler stew, which was still satisfying.

 

What Jing’s family prepared wasn’t the traditional red-cooked pork nor the simpler stew, but rather something in between. Because it was cooked in a large pot and served to the entire village, Jing Yi had enlisted the help of steward Tong, and two young and strong men to cut the pork into finger-sized rectangular pieces. They had cut a whole pig, and Jing Yi calculated it would be enough for everyone in the village to have a bowl. Cutting extra wouldn’t be a problem as the weather in December acted as a natural refrigerator, keeping the meat fresh.

 

With so much meat, the pots at home weren’t enough. Jing Yi borrowed the village’s large iron pot, which was used for big occasions in the village, and it was said that it was commissioned with money by a high-ranking official who had fallen from grace.

 

Jing Yi estimated that even with this pot, they’d need to use two to accommodate everything. After cleaning the pot, he filled it with cold water and the freshly cut pork, which he then removed after a joss stick’s worth of time, setting it aside.

 

Then, in the large pot, he added the pure pig fat and started rendering some oil first, handing it to steward Tong, who added chopped green onions and ginger, along with Sichuan peppercorns. He sautéed these ingredients until fragrant before adding the pork, stirring it. Then, he added some liquor to remove the gamey smell, followed by soy sauce and continued to stir-fry.

 

After a while, the delicious aroma started wafting out, and it drew Xiao An and Xiao Shu from the main hall, making them salivate.

 

Even if their bellies were not lacking in oil, the smell of this soy sauce-cooked pork was enough to make anyone hungry.

 

But they couldn’t let these two little gluttons eat it yet; it wasn’t cooked through.

 

Jing Yi mercilessly began to add hot water and sugar, brought it to a boil on high heat, and then simmered it on low heat.

 

After fifteen minutes, he cranked up the heat to reduce the sauce, added salt for seasoning, and the red-cooked pork was essentially done.

 

Jing Yi looked up, and there were so many people in front of him, many of them holding bowls. Some had already brought their family members over, while others had come just to watch the excitement.

 

Now they were all staring at the pot of red-cooked pork, and it smelled so good! Jing Yi didn’t waste any time; he just started serving it up.

 

Steward Tong was assigned the task of serving the meat. Mainly, he was tall and sturdy, with a somewhat fierce look on his face. Although he had only been at Jing’s house for a little over ten days, he had already recovered about sixty to seventy percent of his former physical fitness, so his condition was quite good.

 

Typically, rural folk felt uneasy about approaching unfamiliar, robust men. Most of the beggars dared not haggle with him.

 

Each household got a big spoonful. And don’t underestimate this spoonful; it was about a pound.

 

Faced with the villagers, Tong Mujie was decisive, and he knew how to act like he didn’t understand. He served one spoonful per household. If someone with thick skin wanted to dawdle and ask for more, he’d pretend not to hear, serving one spoonful unless the homeowner specifically asked for more. When someone came with a small bowl, he’d say it couldn’t hold enough and ask them to go home and fetch a bigger one.

 

The people in Jing’s family were secretly pleased with how steward Tong handled things. He was making things comfortable for them.

 

Father Jing sat in the front yard drinking tea with the village chief. While it appeared that they were just chatting with everyone, their presence had a certain intimidating effect. People who were looking to take advantage didn’t dare ask for more after leaving the house; they knew that steward Tong didn’t know the village well.

 

Even though they weren’t lacking this one bowl of pork, Father Jing didn’t like the idea of letting people take advantage of it. He thought that those trying to take advantage of the situation might be back later, with a different attitude, asking for more.

 

Around noon, after the work in the front yard was done, the New Year’s pig meal in the main yard was almost ready.

 

For the meal with guests, Aunt Cui acted as the head chef, with Aunt Dan helping and Tong’s wife assisting. Jing’s mother occasionally went over to sneakily observe and learn a few tricks.

 

In Jing’s house, five big tables were set up. Friends who were close to the family from the village, including the village chief’s family, Third Uncle’s family, the two esteemed old families in the village, Meng Hong’s family, the carpenter Zhang’s family, Luo Wei’s family, and three or four households who interacted frequently with them all attended.

 

Fortunately, Jing Yi borrowed large tables, or they wouldn’t have been able to accommodate everyone. Each table was crowded with about thirteen to fourteen people, but in the cold winter, being packed together made it warmer and the food tasted even better.

 

The men sat at two large tables, while the gers, women, and children sat at three tables. Even before the dishes were served, they began chatting with the melons and tea already on the tables. It was lively, and some of the rambunctious kids were already running around the place.

 

When Jing Yi, Chuixi, and others brought all the dishes to the tables, the New Year’s pig feast officially began. As the current head of the Jing family, Father Jing stood up and said a few words to the crowd.

 

Father Jing, with a red face, said, “I hope for favorable winds and abundant rain next year, may the heavens bless us with food. I also hope that next year, we’ll all be happy without any worries!”

 

After he couldn’t come up with more words, he noticed Jing Cheng, the son of the village chief, sitting at the neighboring table. He had an idea and said, “Let’s not talk too much; let’s eat quickly. You can see that even Xiao Cheng is hungry. We don’t want the children to go hungry.”

 

But this time, Father Jing had made the wrong excuse. He heard Xiao Cheng, who was sitting upright at the next table, say solemnly, “I’m not hungry, Big Brother Rong. Please continue.”

 

“Ha ha ha ha ha!”

 

This witty remark brought down the house, and even Father Jing had to sit down awkwardly. The lunch started on a somewhat awkward note, but it soon turned into a joyous and lively atmosphere. Everyone raised their glasses, and it was a happy time.

 

Jing’s family didn’t bother with the traditional service, as they served the food and then let Chuixi and the others join the festivities in the front yard. They also set up a large table there for everyone to enjoy together.

 

Today’s menu was quite rich, and Chuixa pulled out all the stops.

 

The main course was a pork bone stew, featuring large ribs, spare ribs, pork cartilage, and even pig’s blood, all cooked with Chinese cabbage. Each table had a large pot, with a small charcoal burner below to keep it simmering gently, producing an enticing aroma. It was a delight to gnaw on the bones.

 

Other dishes were also centered around pork: red-cooked pork, braised pork belly, lion’s head meatballs, fried pork slices, stir-fried fatty intestines, and minced meat stewed with eggs. Even the vegetarian dishes included pork: green beans cooked with pork and potato slices stir-fried with pork. They even served a soup with radish and meatballs.

 

It was indeed a feast centered around the Year of the Pig, with plenty of food in large bowls and pots, without skimping on anything.

 

During the meal, the Meng family, the Zhang family, and the Luo Wei family all expressed their gratitude with a toast to Jing Yi. With so many people at the table, it wasn’t convenient to say much. They all raised their glasses and drank, and it was an atmosphere of joy.

 

Jing Yi and his family had helped these families to earn quite a bit in the last two years. The Zhang family, in particular, had been benefiting from the business; Jing’s family purchased most of carpenter Zhang’s goods in the town and occasionally referred business to him.

 

The Meng family made the most, with both goat milk and dairy products. They were doing well, planning to build a new house in the spring, as their children were coming one after another, and their current residence would be too small.

 

Talking about this, Uncle Meng’s face had more creases, and he was smiling even more broadly.

 

Now let’s talk about the Luo Wei family. Don’t underestimate their small pickle business; they were making money too. Later on, they expanded the variety of pickled vegetables, and they were quite popular in the small restaurants and hot pot shops. Now, the monthly net profit was at least seven to eight taels of silver.

 

This was something they wouldn’t even dare to imagine before. They remembered that two years ago, they were worrying about where the next meal would come from every day. They used to be at the bottom of the village’s social hierarchy, but now, as they got closer to the Jing family, they earned money and gained more confidence. They had even said that once they got rich, they wouldn’t care about the lives of the villagers anymore.

 

After Jing Yi learned about this, he confronted those people and rebuked them with both threats and intimidation. He warned them to come directly to him if they had any issues. If he found out that someone was preventing his parents from enjoying their hard-earned prosperity, it wouldn’t be the end of it.