Rongcheng is not as modern and prosperous as Sudong City, but it is much better than Zhangjiazhuang.
This is a city built of bluestone mixed with giant wood. Even most of the houses adopt this structure, which makes it appear extremely solid.
The Rong family's house is not luxurious, but compared to a family of butchers, this is what the Rong family can do.
There are regulations for construction, but if the construction exceeds the specifications, it will inevitably cause a steady stream of troubles.
In other words, no matter how long the Rong family's pork business lasts or how deep the accumulation is, the Rong family's status is only so high, and they can only live in this kind of house. Once the Rong family starts to engage in arrogance or other things, it will inevitably attract the attention of interested people, and thus creating risks that are difficult to withstand.
This is the experience and lesson passed down from generation to generation by the deceased old butcher Rong of the Rong family.
Rong Li abides by these rules, but the constraints of these rules make Rong Tianding unwilling to live in Chengdu like his predecessors.
To get rid of the shackles, Rong Tianding needs to find another way to make a living so that he can get rid of all this and move forward.
But Rong Tianding's painting skills were indeed not very good. After being enthusiastically led by Rong Tianding to taste a picture of a group of pigs eating, Zhang Xuezhou felt that Rong Tianding might as well kill pigs.
There is no connotation, no artistic conception of sketching, and even the pigs painted by Rong Tianding are extremely rough and wild, looking a bit ferocious and ugly, and it is difficult to describe the honest and honest nature of domestic pigs.
"Cousin, let me tell you, I took this beautiful picture to a competition in Chengdu last time. Guess where I got?" Rong Tianding said proudly.
"First?" Zhang Xuezhou asked doubtfully.
"That's not true." Rong Tianding said with a slight embarrassment on his proud face: "My cousin has only been studying painting for eight years, and he has not yet reached the point of being the leader."
"That is?"
"Third, my picture of a group of pigs eating is second only to Rong Decai's picture of an eagle spreading its wings and Guo Kunpeng's picture of a group of fish playing in the water."
"My cousin is so strong!"
Zhang Xuezhou gave a thumbs up.
Zhang Xuezhou's painting skills are not good either, but he has seen many famous paintings on the Internet.
In comparison, Rong Tianding's paintings are completely at the level of a primary school monk's art class.
But he suddenly remembered that most aspects of this dreamland were lagging behind, and he understood in his heart.
This is not because Rong Tianding is incompetent, but because of the limitations of the times and the slow circulation of knowledge. Even many schools of painting have not yet been formed and circulated everywhere.
Perhaps in this three-acre area of Rongcheng, Rong Tianding's paintings are indeed excellent.
But whether other people buy into it is another matter.
At least Rong Tianding's painting talent has not generated any profit yet, so he had to follow them to the West Market to kill pigs the next day.
The pig-killing stall sells ten pigs a day, involving Li Erlang and Wang Jiadi, the pig officials who go from door to door to collect pigs, Mao Renfeng, who transports finished pork to regular customers, and Rong Li, who is in charge of killing pigs and cutting them. , and there is the long-term worker Zhu Dan.
Zhang Xuezhou didn't know what Zhang Zhong and the Yourong family had secretly discussed last night. In short, he was let out the next day and started to work with the others butchering pigs and began to integrate into the group.
The pig, which weighed more than 300 kilograms, was pinned down by Rong Li. After the knife fell, blood spurted out, and she died quickly.
Then blowing, shaving, removing the internal organs, and cutting the pork are all done in one go.
If Rong Tianding's painting skills are difficult to appreciate, Rong Li's pig-killing skills are pleasing to the eye, and her craftsmanship even far exceeds that of many hunters in Zhangjiazhuang.
Zhang Xuezhou couldn't see any fatigue on Rong Li.
This was related to Rong Li's physical strength, but more to the fact that her opponent's superb skills saved her physical energy.
If he had to use a word of praise, Zhang Xuezhou felt that it must be Pao Ding Jie Niu.
"I've demonstrated it to you in slow motion. Now it's your turn. Who comes first, Ding'er or Zhou'er?"
After a pig was slaughtered and cut, Rong Li handed over the butcher knife in her hand.
This made Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding look at each other with big eyes and small eyes.
"Cousin, any older brother must be humble to his younger brother, you first!" Rong Tianding invited.
"Cousin, I have a good skill in weighing. Wouldn't it be great if you kill pigs and I sell the meat?" Zhang Xuezhou replied with a smile.
"I don't want to kill the pig!"
Rong Tianding replied with a frown, waited until Rong Li cursed, then trotted over and took the knife.
"Not at all cute like the pig I drew..."
Rong Tianding muttered, but his movements were not slow.
As a painter of pigs, although Rong Tianding's paintings are not very good, Rong Tianding does understand pigs very well.
The butcher's knife seemed clumsy in Rong Tianding's hands, but Rong Tianding was not slow at killing pigs.
"Cousin, it's your turn!"
"become!"
Zhang Xuezhou responded.
He talks a lot about theories, but Zhang Xuezhou has never slaughtered any kind of prey in the past.
In the past, he was too weak and many things were done by others.
Until now, this was the first time Zhang Xuezhou had slaughtered.
"The knife must be stable, fast, accurate, and ruthless, leaving no room for one stroke, so that it dies more quickly, and the pork we get will not be fishy. Those rich families don't like to eat pork. If it makes the smell of pork If it’s bigger, they won’t want it!”
Seeing that Zhang Xuezhou was not very nimble with his hands and feet, Rong Li couldn't help but give him some advice, and even taught him how to hold the knife and exert force.
With one stab of the knife, Zhang Xuezhou felt a spurt of warm pig blood spurting out and staining his sleeve.
The stench of blood assaulted his nostrils, and Zhang Xuezhou's hands couldn't help but tremble a little.
Zhang Xuezhou eats meat, but this is his first real killing.
Zhang Xuezhou felt a little red in front of his eyes, and there was a hint of dizziness in his head.
But at the same time, an inexplicable sense of excitement also emerged in his body.
"It won't hurt to see some blood. We'll kill too many pigs, and even the monsters won't dare to approach us!"
Seeing the red color in Zhang Xuezhou's eyes, Rong Li, who had been there, immediately understood Zhang Xuezhou's physical condition.
There is no fainting of blood, no nausea, no resistance, and the ability to calmly look at the death of living beings. Zhang Xuezhou has good potential to become a butcher.
Compared with Rong Tianding's first time killing pigs, Zhang Xuezhou's performance was much better.
"You are good at killing pigs. You will definitely be a top pig butcher in the future," Rong Li praised.
"My cousin can kill pigs, can I go back and paint?" Rong Tianding asked in a low voice.
"Whenever you can make a living by selling paintings, you won't have to kill pigs," Rong Li said sternly.
"I even won an award in a painting competition. I am good at painting. I will definitely be a top painter who can visit the palace in the future!"
"That group of sour scholars just wanted to come to us to buy some cheap meat, so they deliberately complimented you and made you take third place." Rong Li said impatiently: "Besides, there were only four paintings in the competition. It's very hard for you to take third place." Is it glorious?"
"..."
Zhang Xuezhou, who was killing pigs and bleeding them, heard Rong Li reveal the bottom and felt that it would be very difficult for his cousin to continue painting.
Not to mention becoming a top painter, Rong Tianding must at least be able to support his family, lest he lose his pig-killing stall business and be unable to make a living.
As for the uncle who likes reading and doing needlework, it's okay not to mention it.
But Zhang Xuezhou found it difficult to let this uncle teach him and avoid the work of killing pigs.
When he was thinking about some little ideas, he only heard Li Erlang, the pig official, asking for pig blood.
"It's been uneasy outside recently. There are rumors about hundreds of ghosts walking at night in Shilipo. I have to apply pig blood to smear it to drive away the evil spirits, so as not to die when I go out to collect pigs!"
After hearing Rong Li's inquiry, Li Erlang honestly explained the reason.
"Wherever the ghosts passed by, the livestock disappeared silently. When I went out to collect pigs yesterday, I walked more than ten miles." Li Erlang said: "Now the villages in Shilipo have hired people to perform exorcisms. I don’t know if I can control it!”
"Bringing a butcher's knife is easier than anything else. All ghosts and spirits will be dispersed," Rong Li said.
"It only works if you use the knife, not on us!"
When Rong Li held the butcher knife and glared angrily, a grown man would tremble.
Li Erlang felt that only a shrewd woman like Rong Li was not afraid of ghosts, but pig officials like them who traveled from house to house couldn't do it without some pig blood to protect them.
"Can pig blood really drive away evil spirits?"
Zhang Xuezhou listened curiously for a while before asking.
"Pig blood, chicken blood, and dog blood can all drive away evil spirits," Li Erlang said, "This kind of stuff is so filthy that even ghosts don't want to get involved in it!"
"Can dirty things drive away evil spirits?" Zhang Xuezhou wondered.
"Yes." Li Erlang nodded repeatedly: "That's what everyone said."
"Then you might as well scoop up a ladle of pig manure and pour it on your head." Rong Tianding interrupted: "That one is more filthy and effective. You will be afraid of ghosts when you see it!"
"Young master, how can I collect the pigs if I pour a ladle of pig manure on them? People will run away when they see me!"
Li Erlang and Rong Tianding chatted for a while, which made Zhang Xuezhou think of some small plans.
If there was a serious haunting outside, Rong Tianding could really sell some paintings.
As long as some people believe in ghosts and gods, Rong Tianding's paintings will have no market.
If things go well, not only can he get rid of the pig killing thing, but he can also exchange it for the culture of the cheap uncle's free teaching in the city.
