Playing the Pig to Eat Pig Feed

Su Jin got up, washed, and quickly tidied himself up. Taking an extra change of clothes, he rushed out toward the slaughterhouse.

He had asked the meat vendors at the market about local slaughterhouses.

There was one on the outskirts. From their descriptions, it was loosely managed and mostly handled "pigs."

Although this world's main meat-producing animals were also pig-shaped, their breeds seemed very different from those on Earth.

They looked a little like wild boars, with small ears and pointed heads, and seemed fairly aggressive.

They would make excellent practice targets.

As for whether the slaughterhouse would allow it... he figured that would not be much of a problem. Worst case, he could grease a few palms.

He took a taxi to the slaughterhouse on the outskirts.

Before he even got close, the wind carried the smell of blood straight to his nose.

Su Jin closed his eyes and kept psyching himself up.

It's fine, it's fine... I've been in plenty of fights growing up, big and small. I've even run into people wielding knives twice.

This is just a simple exercise in getting used to blood... as easy as taking a shower.

After a long stretch of mental preparation, he took a deep breath and resolutely stepped forward.

Less than a hundred meters later, Su Jin stood at the entrance to an enormous sheet-metal building.

The building had no doors. A heavy animal stench mingled with the smell of blood in the air.

Bloody water ran across the concrete floor, and flies swarmed everywhere.

Dozens of workers in rubber shoes bustled about, pushing carts laden with blood-drenched plastic buckets full of organs.

The management apparently was not around. Seeing Su Jin's clean clothes, the workers merely gave him a few curious glances. Nobody questioned him.

This was where the animal carcasses were processed. Judging by the layout, the actual slaughtering area was probably behind the building.

Su Jin thought for a moment, then took a detour around to the back.

Sure enough!

The animals were slaughtered right here... under an open-sided sheet-metal shelter.

Several workers were present, some holding electric stunners and others long-handled tools. They divided up the work of slaughtering livestock ready for market, with bloody mud covering the ground.

After observing from out of sight for a while, Su Jin fixed his gaze on one man.

He was a burly fellow of about fifty, with tattoos on his arms.

The others all called him Brother Liu, and his actions suggested he was in charge of this group.

It looked like buying this man off would pretty much seal the deal.

After thinking it over, Su Jin approached the burly man.

Brother Liu was directing the others when a figure appeared beside him. He immediately stopped talking and turned to look.

One glance at Su Jin was enough to make him tense up.

"You... what are you here for?" Brother Liu asked in a gravelly voice.

"Easy, big brother. I'm not here for an inspection." Su Jin worked out his story as he spoke. "My name's Lin Shirong... this is a little embarrassing, but you look like a straight-talking guy, so I'll just say it. I'm here to learn how to slaughter animals."

"I haven't been able to find work, and a friend of my dad's offered me a job slaughtering pigs. He's an old friend of Dad's, and I don't want to embarrass my father, so I wanted to find somewhere to practice first..."

"Oh... here to learn slaughtering." Brother Liu relaxed, the corners of his mouth lifting. "Does this look like a training school to you? Got nothing better to do than come here and mess with me? Get lost!"

Su Jin glanced around and took out a hundred-yuan bill.

Leaning toward Brother Liu, he lowered his voice. "I'm not asking to learn for free. Just find me a pig to practice on. I don't want anything else."

"You..." Brother Liu's gaze settled on the money, and his tone softened slightly. "That still won't do! You're a complete novice. If something happens to you, who's paying your medical bills... fine, just be careful. I'll keep an eye on you."

Pocketing two hundred yuan, Brother Liu led Su Jin toward the center of the yard.

Three hours later.

The two stood facing each other in the shade beside the building.

Su Jin panted heavily. His face was covered in pale red smears, as though he had just wiped tomato sauce all over it, though he had already changed into a fresh set of clothes.

Opposite him stood Brother Liu, his face deathly pale.

Eyeing Su Jin's expression, Brother Liu stammered, "Kid... had your fill?"

Su Jin pressed his lips together and nodded, fighting down the urge to vomit.

"I'll come back tomorrow..."

"You're coming back?!" Brother Liu's voice shot up two pitches, and he began swearing inwardly.

He had originally thought making an extra two hundred yuan today was a pretty sweet deal.

But this kid, who looked so mild and well-mannered, was actually a complete lunatic!

He did not look like he had come to practice slaughtering pigs at all...

He had told them to go easy with the stunner, then chased the pigs all over the yard, hacking away at them.

Random hacking was bad enough, but he acted like he had a personal grudge against the pigs... he had fucking scored fancy patterns into their asses. Give him a little longer and he could have made dumpling filling.

He had even made himself puke and still refused to stop.

This was no ordinary case of being sick in the head!

If they let this kid keep coming back, something was bound to go wrong!

"Don't come tomorrow, all right? Our boss will be here, and he won't allow it." Then another thought struck Brother Liu, and he added in a trembling voice, "Kid... tell me honestly. Did something happen, and you came here to practice? Take my advice. Whatever you do, don't turn to crime!"

At those words, Su Jin's heart lurched!

Shit!

He had gone too far with his practice earlier, suppressing his nausea and forcing himself to get used to the blood.

If the man called the police, he would be in serious trouble.

At that thought, Su Jin scrunched up his features into an expression of utter anguish.

He already felt intensely uncomfortable and nauseated, with the urge to vomit surging up again and again.

He lowered his head, and what little remained in his stomach rose toward his throat. He swallowed the foul slurry down hard!

"Brother..." Su Jin wailed mournfully, tears and snot streaming down his face. "Since you brought it up, I won't hide it anymore! I really didn't come here to practice slaughtering pigs!"

"Take your time, kid. Tell me!"

I knew it! This kid wants to kill someone and came here to work up his nerve!

Brother Liu's face went another shade paler.

"My woman ran off with another man! I don't want to let those two bastards get away with it!" Su Jin sobbed and cursed.

"Don't! Don't do that! You're so young. You can find any woman you want!"

I absolutely can't let this kid do something stupid. Wouldn't that make me partly responsible?

Brother Liu comforted him gently. "Listen to me. This is nothing. What man hasn't been cheated on a little? Honestly, I've been a cuckold myself..."

After ten or so minutes of reassurance, Su Jin's sobs gradually subsided, and he wiped away his tears.

His voice was hoarse. "Brother, after slaughtering those pigs and listening to you, I actually feel a lot better. It's not worth throwing my life away over those two scumbags."

"That's right! Exactly right!" Brother Liu felt immensely relieved, so moved that he almost wanted to treat the kid to a couple of pork knuckles.

Judging by his tone, he had vented quite a bit of his anger. There should not be much of a problem now.

He had saved two lives and kept himself out of trouble. What a good deed!

Just then, Su Jin looked up and suddenly said:

"Um... could you give me back that two hundred yuan?"

"..."

Brother Liu's expression instantly petrified, as though the pig stunner had zapped him numb.

After a long moment, he fought down the urge to slap him, pulled two crumpled hundred-yuan bills from his pocket, and smacked them into Su Jin's hand.

"Take it, kid! Go home and live a good life... just don't come back here. You've seriously scared the hell out of me."

"Brother, thank you so much. Your kindness means..." As Su Jin spoke, he caught sight of a pile of feed bags nearby.

When he made out the writing on them, surprise flashed in his eyes!

He immediately changed tack and pointed at the pig feed.

"Could I take two bags of pig feed too? Those two bastards took all my money. Today, I just want to eat pig feed! I need to keep reminding myself that someday, when I've made money, I'll take back the dignity I lost!"

This little bastard! He actually wants even more!

Brother Liu sucked in a sharp breath, clutching his chest with an expression of unbearable pain.

He waved his hand weakly.

"Take it... take it if you want..."