Early that morning, Li Long, Li Anguo, and the other two ate breakfast at Old Ma's Place, then led the wild boar to the Li family's home.
To make the slaughter easier, the wild boar had been driven into a separate pen the day before and had not been fed that morning, so leading it away on a rope was relatively easy.
Uncle Lao Luo would go to the Li family's home after he finished feeding all the animals he kept.
The two stoves in the Li family's yard were already burning. The pots on them were full of water, which was steaming. It had not boiled yet, but it probably would not take much longer.
Lu Yingming from across the way was already in the yard, chatting with Li Jianguo.
When they saw Li Long and the others arrive, everyone exchanged greetings.
Liang Yuemei came out of the house and greeted them with a smile. Li Juan was washing pickled cabbage indoors, while Li Qiang happily tugged at Li Long's coat, asking him all sorts of questions.
Before long, Wang the Miser, the pig butcher, arrived carrying his set of knives. Seeing so many people in the yard, he immediately grinned.
"We're all set this time. Brother Li, when I saw that pig of yours earlier, I thought it'd take at least three to five people to hold it down, and you're slaughtering two at once. With this many people, all strong workers too, we'll hold them down for sure."
Li Jianguo said with a smile:
"Whatever else we might lack this year, we certainly don't lack people!"
That was the truth.
Beside the pigpen, a door plank had already been propped up on adobe bricks and timber. The pigs would be slaughtered on this makeshift table. Beside it