CH 2.1

"Why hasn't the kid from the Zhang family come here?" 

"Didn't the fourth child of the Chen family went to call him? I guess he overslept." 

"Okay, don't fall into the river. I heard that a drunkard in a neighboring village fell into the river when he came back from the city after drinking too much. Fortunately, he was picked up by a passer-by, otherwise he would have died. It's freezing cold, and the drunkard was still lying at home." 

"The Zhang family boy was also a prodigal. I think his father was also capable back then. He must have left a lot of money for him to pay for his future. He eat, drink, and have fun in the city every day." 

Two tables were set up in the courtyard of Xu's family, surrounded by a few women and ge'ers who were cutting vegetables and peeling garlic, and men were sitting or standing beside them, eating dried Pumpkin Seeds, everyone was waiting for the butcher to come, so they talked about the famous people in the village. 

" Drinking was nothing, he still goes to the flower house, and goes to the casino with the young master in the city. He has mixed up what should be done and what shouldn't be done." 

"Do evil, but let the girl and He ge'er far away from him, this person was not a decent person, if one day he drinks too much and commits a crime." 

As soon as the words fell, Xu Changren, the host, shouted loudly: "Zhang Tuzi (butcher), you can count on it. It’s over, the water for blanching the pig’s hair in this pot has been boiled several times!” 

The fiery villagers in the yard were silent when they saw the burly and fierce young man striding in. 

Zhang Fangyuan went into the courtyard and saw that the people in the courtyard were all looking at him. Just now he heard that this side was bustling outside, but when he came in, there was no sound. It was unclear who everyone was talking about. 

People in the village loved to gossip, and it was not just a matter of a day or two. They thought he couldn't hear these people always talking about his parents behind his back. So, he ran to the city to drink because he was depressed, and he didn't go back to the village every three days. After that, everyone didn't talk much about his parents, but started talking about his idleness, anyway, it didn't stop. 

After a lifetime of watching flowers, he turned around and faced them again. He suddenly felt that it was funny, and it was really not worth it for gossip. 

"I'm sorry Uncle Xu, I was delayed on the road for a while, and the fat pig just dragged it out." 

Xu Changren, a man from the Xu family, didn't see much guilt when he heard the words, and quickly called the man who came to press the pig to drag the animal out. The pig was so strong that the four men managed to control it. 

Zhang Fangyuan took out the sharp knife with a silver and cold light, his eyes sharpened, and he lifted the knife with his hand. Even though he hadn't done this business for many years, his movements were still very skillful. 

After the pig was bled, the skin was scalded to remove the hair. The man carried the pig onto two long benches, and the shaved fat pig was cut into small pieces. The villagers who wanted to buy meat immediately surrounded them. 

What kind of meat do you want, and how many catties do you want? Even if you didn’t have a scales, Zhang Fangyuan could cut it to a similar weight. 

Even if the villagers looked down on him, some people couldn't help saying: "Zhang Tuzi's hands and feet are really nimble!" 

Zhang Fangyuan wiped the blade and said, "It's all done through practice." 

This was his skill. skill for work, otherwise, with his temper, no one would ask him to butch pigs again.      

Although Zhang Fangyuan could estimate the weight, Liu Xianglan, the plump lady of the Xu family,was still worried. After all, she had worked so hard to raise the pig for more than half a year. Came out with the scale: "Everyone who wants meat, come to the scale!" 

"Miss Xu, it's really good for you to raise this animal, and the meat was too fat." 

Liu Xianglan felt proud when she heard this: "That's not true. Our livestock used a lot of pig food to feed them fat and strong twice a day."    

After working for more than half an hour, most of the owner's pigs were sold. Pork was fat, everyone was greedy for the oily taste, and the pork was sold very well in the village. 

Liu Xianglan was satisfied with the amount of money in her pocket. After the meat was sold, the women and ge'ers were busy with the work in the kitchen, and the men who came to help had nothing to do, so they gathered around and played dice with small bets. It was almost the Chinese New Year in winter, and there was another meal of meat to eat, everyone liked to go and play for a while.    

"Fang Yuan, do you want play?"    

Zhang Fangyuan waved his hand: "I'll go to the latrine, you play first "

He got into the house. Xu's family was considered a high-ranking family in the village. They didn't have many rooms, but the house passed down from their ancestors was larger and different in  structure from Zhang's. 

" He ge'er, cook the meat quickly, and put away the ingredients for the vegetables. When it's ready, go to the stove to light the fire and rest for a while. You've been busy for a long time, let the second sister come." 

Zhang Fangyuan heard the soft and tender voice. He laughed, it was all done, what else did you need to do? Hearing the sound, he couldn't help but tilted his head to see which girl could talk like this, but when he looked up, he saw two young people in the room, a girl and a ge'er. 

Without stepping forward to ask, he immediately knew who the two were. 

It was said that the Xu family had no sons, the oldest died when he was young, and now there was only one girl and ge'er .The second girl, Xu Shaochun,was fair and juicy, and she was a well-known village flower, but the youngest, Xu He,was slow, thin, and poorly made. 

People in the village always talked too much after dinner. How could the same parents gave birth to two very different children? Compared with his sister, He ge'er was even more inconspicuous.