The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 239

 

| TBBOTOF | 239

The house was bustling, so Tang Xu thought he should slaughter the New Year pig early, especially since the weather had been good lately. He wanted to take advantage of the sunny days because if it turned cloudy or started snowing, doing it in the courtyard would be troublesome.

Coincidentally, there were just five days left until the New Year, so Tang Xu went ahead with the pig slaughter without needing to find an outside butcher.

On the morning of the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, before dawn, Wei Dong got up quietly. 

Unexpectedly, Tang Xu woke up on his own.

Rubbing his eyes, Tang Xu yawned.

Squinting at the figure in front of him, Tang Xu yawned again and again, rubbing his face vigorously to wake himself up.

Standing by the kang, Wei Dong had a gentle smile in his eyes. Seeing Tang Xu rubbing his face to wake up, Wei Dong reached out to gently pinch Tang Xu's cheek and even leaned over to give him a light kiss.

Tang Xu gave him a helpless look and asked in a hoarse voice, "What time is it?"

"Just after the Mao hour (5:00 AM). Go back to sleep for a bit," Wei Dong replied, turning to pour him a cup of cool boiled water. Tang Xu took a sip, shivering at the coldness that jolted him awake.

Now he was fully awake.

Lifting the covers, Tang Xu got dressed and fastened the frog buttons on his clothes. "No more sleeping, let's get ready to slaughter the pig."

"Alright," Wei Dong responded, thinking he would let Tang Xu take a nap once they were done with the work.

He went outside and scooped two ladles of hot water from the large stove connected to the kang, pouring them into a basin. After mixing in some cold water and checking the temperature, he carried the basin back inside.

"You wash up first," he said.

Since they were an old married couple, there was no need to be overly polite. After putting on his shoes, Tang Xu got out of bed, brushed his teeth, and washed his face. 

While wiping his face, he noticed that his man was directly using the water he had just washed his face with. He laughed, "Can't you fetch a fresh basin of water?"

"It's not dirty," Wei Dong replied, washing his face with broad, casual movements, roughly rubbing it with a cloth towel, not even wiping the water off his forehead.

Tang Xu took his own towel and wiped his man’s forehead, asking, "What do you want for breakfast? Did you tell your aunt to come over for the pig slaughter feast at noon?"

"I did. Auntie said she’d come early to help with the cooking," Wei Dong paused for a moment and then added, "And she’s bringing those two troublemakers with her."

As Tang Xu carried the basin and turned around, it took him a moment to realize who Wei Dong meant by "those two troublemakers"—he was referring to the two unfilial sons from the Wu family.

"If they come, they better help with the work," Tang Xu chuckled.

It turned out that when Wei Zhonghong brought those two brothers over, both sporting bruised faces, they didn't even dare approach Wei Dong. Fortunately, there were enough people helping out, so they avoided Wei Dong and went straight to fetching water and chopping wood.

With more people around to help, Tang Xu called Liu Yao to drive the mule cart and bring over his grandparents.

Three large fat pigs were slaughtered one by one. Wei Dong was sweating all over from the hard work, and despite the winter cold, he was wearing just a vest, showing off his muscular arms as he chopped the bones.

“Ah Dong, leave some meat on the ribs. We’ll roast them!” Tang Xu leaned in and gestured at the meat, “Chop this side in half.”

With a swift motion and two loud thuds, Wei Dong split the long ribs cleanly in half.

“Set aside two hocks, we’ll boil them whole,” Tang Xu said, rubbing his hands together. The meat on the ground was still steaming, fresh as could be.

“We collected almost half a basin of blood,” Wei Zhonghong said with a broad smile, sleeves rolled up as she sliced through thick slabs of lard. “You raised these pigs really well; they’ve got such thick fat.”

“Auntie, you should raise one next year too. Our old sow now has at least ten piglets in each litter,” Tang Xu said, picking up a knife and cutting off a large slab of beautifully layered pork belly to make braised pork later.

“Brother, I cut up a big basin of pickled cabbage. Is that enough?” Tang Li asked, shaking out her sore arms. She glanced around and couldn’t spot her brother, momentarily confused. “Where did my brother go?”

“He went to the back to get some more meat,” Wang Cuicui said, holding Xiao Bao in her arms. 

She shook her hand to relax it and continued, “Take a break and come play with Xiao Bao. I’ll finish the rest of the chopping.”

“We’re out of sauerkraut. I’ve already chopped up everything my brother brought out,” Tang Li replied as she bent down to get closer to Xiao Bao. 

Xiao Bao looked up at her with wide eyes and long eyelashes, staring intently. Tang Li couldn’t help but laugh, leaning in to nuzzle Xiao Bao’s cheek. “Our Xiao Bao is such a sweetheart.”

“He’s looking more and more like your brother. In the future, we’ll probably have so many people coming to propose marriage that they’ll wear down our doorstep,” Wang Cuicui said, rocking Xiao Bao in her arms with a look of pure adoration.

Tang Li shook her head, then looked over at Er Bao, who was swinging a wooden knife, and at the chubby one engrossed in his book. She chuckled, “With two big brothers like these, and a brother-in-law with his temperament, anyone who wants to marry our Xiao Bao will really have to think twice.”

Wang Cuicui nodded in agreement, “Exactly! Our Xiao Bao can’t just marry anyone.”

Xiao Bao didn’t quite understand what they were talking about, but he listened attentively. When the two stopped talking, he nodded seriously and, in his soft, childlike voice, chimed in, “Not getting married!”

Both women were taken aback for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter.

Hearing the laughter, Er Bao stopped waving his wooden knife and ran over to grab Xiao Bao’s hand. “Come on, play with big brother.”

Xiao Bao was pulled forward by Er Bao’s tug, so Wang Cuicui quickly set him down on the ground.

The two little ones held hands and ran off together.

The chubby boy glanced at his younger brothers running away, then looked at the book in his hand. Turning to Old Sun, he asked, “Master, can I go play?”

Old Sun nodded, “Have you finished studying?”

The chubby boy shook his head, then nodded, “I didn’t understand everything, so I’m done, but there are still some words I don’t recognize.”

“Don't you want to learn?” Old Sun asked with a gentle smile.

The chubby boy scratched his head, glancing once more at his brothers, who had already run off into the distance, clearly eager to join in. 

But he still shook his head, “Dad said there’s no rush to learn to read. I can just pick it up when Uncle teaches it later.”

Old Sun’s face twitched, and he ground his teeth in frustration.

The chubby boy slid off the chair, placed the book on the table beside him, and respectfully bowed to Old Sun in a formal manner before turning around and running off at full speed.

Watching the boy dash away, Old Wen chuckled softly. He picked up the cup on the table belonging to his sighing old friend and said, “I’ve already told you not to be so strict with him. This boy is quick-witted and doesn’t need to be force-fed knowledge like that. You’ve taught so many students; surely you know better. What’s the rush?”

Old Sun stayed silent for quite a while.

At that moment, Old Fu brought over a plate of jujube cakes and happened to overhear the comment. He responded, “The master is afraid of wasting a promising student.”

“Rushing things is never good. We all know what ‘pulling up the shoots to help them grow’ means, don’t we? If you keep pushing, you might really end up hindering him,” Old Wen said, standing up and gently patting his old friend on the shoulder. 

He then grabbed a piece of jujube cake, munching on it as he headed to the back courtyard, where the noise indicated a lively pig slaughtering scene.

Old Fu looked at his master with some concern. Having served him for so many years, he understood the old man’s thoughts quite well.

After a moment’s reflection, Old Fu broke the silence and asked, “Master, are you happy living here?”

Old Sun was taken aback, but then nodded. “This place is good.”

Old Fu sat on a nearby stone bench, poured a cup of steaming chrysanthemum tea for Old Sun, and pushed the plate of jujube cakes towards him. 

He spoke gently, “Master, don’t treat Da Bao like your final disciple. Treat him like your grandson—a mischievous yet clever grandson. Would you be so strict with your own grandson?”

Old Sun was startled at first, but then he shook his head. A smile slowly spread across his face, raised his hand and nodded at Old Fu twice.

“Yes, I understand, you truly know me well,” Old Sun said with a resigned smile.

Old Fu chuckled, straightening his back slightly as he looked towards the busy people in the courtyard. “Back in the old manor, we had far more servants, but it was never as lively as this.”

Old Sun turned around and saw the three little ones already running towards the corner of the covered corridor, headed for the back courtyard. But they were stopped by Tang Yang.

Tang Yang spread his arms to block their way, making funny faces and laughing as he playfully chased the three kids back. Their joyful laughter echoed throughout the courtyard.

“Come on, let’s go sneak into the back courtyard,” one of the children said, excitement in his voice. He had never seen a pig slaughter before!

In the back courtyard, all three pigs had already been slaughtered. Wei Dong wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned to Tang Erhu, “Dad, go take a rest. We’ll handle the rest.”

“Rest? I’m not even tired,” Tang Erhu said enthusiastically, waving the axe in his hand. “This axe of yours is really handy—sharp and easy to wield.”

“If you like it, just take it with you. I’ll have the blacksmith make another one,” Wei Dong said, putting down the large butcher’s knife and switching to a smaller boning knife.

Old Wen leisurely strolled over, hands clasped behind his back. There were still some crumbs of jujube cake at the corners of his mouth. Tang Xu was busy burning the pig’s hair with fire and, when he looked up and saw Old Wen, he quickly called out, “Old Wen, wipe your mouth!”

Old Wen halted in his steps and raised his hand to wipe his mouth.

Tang Xu couldn’t help but be amused. “Old Wen, you’re paying less and less attention to your image these days.” 

When he first came to stay with them, Old Wen wouldn’t wear clothes unless they were freshly ironed. Now, he was wandering around with crumbs of jujube cake at the corners of his mouth.

Old Wen shot him a look, then eyed the large chunk of meat in Tang Xu’s hand. He rubbed his hands together and asked eagerly, “Are you making braised pork later?” 

He loved braised pork—cooked until tender, flavorful, and sticky. He could eat two large steamed buns with it!

“Yes, I’ll stew it with taro since I remember you like taro.” Tang Xu’s family had planted quite a bit of taro, and Old Wen used to enjoy watering them.

Old Wen nodded but then added, “Old Sun is allergic to taro. He didn’t touch that taro pastry you made last time, and when I asked, I found out he can’t eat taro.”

“It’s fine. I’ll cook two pots—one with taro and one with potatoes,” Tang Xu replied. They had big enough pots to manage it.

Old Wen nodded with a satisfied grin, then asked, “Besides your grandpa and grandma, who else is coming later?”

“Just the family relatives. You’ve met them all,” Tang Xu replied, puzzled. “Why do you ask?”

"Is your third aunt coming?" Old Master Wen asked. He still remembered the last time when Tang Sanhu’s family came over and the chaos they caused.

Tang Xu paused for a moment before shaking his head. "She probably won’t come; Tang Qi isn’t home."

"Good, better that way—spares everyone the trouble of being in a bad mood," Old Master Wen grunted. Then he added, "Be careful not to don't burn your hands."

Tang Xu nodded. "Old Wen, don’t stand here in the wind. Go rest in the house over there."

"Rest? I just took a couple of steps. Dongzi really kills pigs fast. I wanted to come over and see the action," Old Wen muttered. 

The last time they slaughtered pigs, he had missed it, and today he was interested in watching, but it was already over.

"Ah Dong is efficient. He got it with one clean stab, minimizing the suffering," Tang Xu said as he set aside the scalded pork and started to scorch the hair off a pig leg.

The smell of singed hair wafted through the air, causing Old Wen to wrinkle his nose. "I better head back inside."

"If you’re bored, Old Wen, you could help keep an eye on those three little rascals. Don’t let them run into the back," Tang Xu remarked, not even lifting his head.

Old Wen responded with an "alright" and leisurely strolled back inside, hands clasped behind his back.

At the corner, Old Wen bumped into Old Sun, who was also coming over to join in on the lively atmosphere.

“Why are you here? Go keep an eye on the kids, and don’t cause more trouble for them,” Old Wen said, waving his hand dismissively.

Old Sun stood there speechless, “...”

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