The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 338

 

| TBBOTOF | 338

Early the next morning, before the sky had even brightened, Tang Xu got up. With just a couple of days left until the New Year, today's plan was to slaughter the New Year's pig and visit relatives to deliver New Year's gifts.

In the past few years, thanks to Tang Xu leading the family in business, the other two branches of the Tang family had also managed to save up quite a bit of silver. 

The eldest branch was planning to start construction after the New Year to expand their courtyard, while the third branch had reportedly arranged a marriage for their eldest daughter. 

However, since she was still young, they would only formalize the engagement now and wait a couple of years before the actual wedding.

When Tang Xu first heard the news, he was a little stunned. Wasn't Tang Xiaohua from the third branch only eleven or twelve years old? 

Wasn't this a bit too early to be engaged?

His eldest aunt, Luo Pingping, was scrubbing cured meat when she saw his conflicted expression and said, “The third branch has also gained status thanks to Tang Qi, so naturally, their daughter has attracted quite a bit of attention. I heard they’ve found her a scholar from the town. His family conditions are decent.”

Tang Xu blinked. “A scholar from town is willing to marry a country girl? Could there be something wrong with him physically?”

He wasn’t trying to be mean, but scholars in town usually had high standards and rarely considered rural girls as suitable matches.

Then he thought about it again and realized it wasn't impossible. The other side had probably heard from the matchmaker that the girl’s brother was making good money, meaning her dowry wouldn’t be small, and she could even support the scholar.

The more he thought about it, the more unreliable it seemed. It wasn’t that he was looking down on his own cousin, but Tang Xu understood what it meant to be "well-matched in social status" and what it meant to be an abandoned wife.

Luo Pingping could see his concern and reassured him, “Although that family is scholarly, the man has an honest nature. Tang Qi is also capable now, and his sister’s marriage is an important matter. They’ve already asked around to make sure.”

Tang Xu nodded. This wasn’t something he could interfere with, so he didn’t press further.

In the backyard, preparations were underway for slaughtering the New Year’s pig. His eldest uncle, Tang Dahu, and his father were both present, while Wei Dong was sharpening the knife.

Last night, Tang Erhu had been lectured by his own son and hadn't slept well. Now, his face was clouded with a deep frown, which made his older brother glance at him repeatedly.

Tang Dahu looked at his younger brother, then at the pig that had just been stabbed and was now bleeding out. Finally, he couldn’t hold back and asked, “Erhu, were you particularly close to this pig?”

Tang Erhu was dumbfounded. “What?”

“I mean, if you’re not close to it, why do you look so heartbroken? It’s just a pig, but you look like you can’t bear to part with it.”

Tang Erhu: “……”

He sighed and started complaining to his brother about how his daughter and son-in-law were planning to leave home to earn money.

The more Tang Dahu listened, the more confused he became. When his brother finally finished, he asked, “Er, are you just thinking too much now because you have silver in hand? A few years ago, if you heard about a chance to make money, wouldn’t you have rushed out the door to grab it?”

Tang Erhu was stunned for a moment. “But they’re going too far away.”

“Far? Didn’t you hear Dongzi’s aunt just now? Her third son went off to join the army to fight, that’s way farther than where Ah Li and her husband are going.” 

Tang Dahu patted his brother on the shoulder and said earnestly, “You’ve been spoiled by Xu Ge’er. Life’s been too comfortable for you, so now you’re getting soft. The kids want to go out and make a life for themselves, so let them. It’s not like they’re never coming back.”

Tang Erhu voiced his concerns again. “But what if they get bullied?”

“So what? When they were living at home, were you sitting by the window every day keeping an eye on them? If you’re so worried about your daughter being mistreated, then why did you let her marry in the first place? I’m telling you, you’re just stressing over nothing. Aren’t you tired of it?”

With that, Tang Dahu waved his hand, unwilling to keep nagging with his brother any longer. It was much more satisfying to focus on dividing up the pork.

Wei Dong’s knife was sharp, and his hands were quick. In their family, slaughtering the pig and distributing the meat was always his job.

Liu Yao stood nearby, collecting the pig’s blood to make blood sausages later.

The backyard was bustling with activity, and many neighbors, drawn by the commotion, came over. Seeing how plump and well-fed the pigs were, some of them started thinking about buying fresh pork for themselves.

“Xu Ge’er! Xu Ge’er, come here!”

Hearing someone call him, Tang Xu turned his head and saw a few neighboring women crowding outside the back gate. He smiled and walked over, politely asking, “Aunties, what’s the matter?”

“Yes, yes,” one of them beckoned him over enthusiastically, grinning as she asked, “How many pigs is your family slaughtering this year?”

“Three, same as every year. Why do you ask, Auntie?” Tang Xu asked, a bit puzzled.

“Your pigs look really good. Are you selling any of the meat?”

Tang Xu shook his head and replied with a smile, “No, we’re not selling. After dividing it among the family and making sausages, I’m curing the rest into preserved meat, there won’t be much left.”

“What about the offal then? Are you selling that?”

Tang Xu shook his head again. “We keep the offal to braise for ourselves. There are only three sets, so there’s not much to go around. Anyway, I’m busy now, Auntie—let’s talk later.”

With a cheerful smile, Tang Xu politely sent them off and promptly closed the back gate.

“They’re all just looking to take advantage,” Wei Zhonghong scoffed, rolling his eyes dramatically. “Who doesn’t know that the pigs you raise are the best? If you agreed to sell, they would have bargain too. Did you see their eyes practically popping out?”

Tang Xu chuckled as he walked back. “It’s no big deal. Let them talk if they want to. I just won’t sell to them.”

Wei Zhonghong shot him a glare. “Next time we slaughter pigs, just shut the door from the start. It’s not like we have to invite people over for a feast.”

In the village, whenever someone butchered a pig for the New Year, it was customary to invite relatives and friends over for a big meal, drinking and celebrating together.

But with their own family already being large enough, there was no need to invite extra people—otherwise, even one whole pig wouldn’t be enough to go around.

“Brother! The water’s boiling—let’s start cooking the meat!”

“Stew it—throw the big bones in,” Tang Xu shouted back. “Auntie, let’s hurry and start cooking.”

Outside the kitchen, several large stoves were burning with roaring flames. The water in the iron pots had already reached a rolling boil. A few large wooden basins were placed nearby, filled with chopped bones split open with an axe, rows of pork ribs, and large chunks of meat.

“Brother, have you chopped the sauerkraut?” Tang Li held a knife in her hand, pointing at a big basin filled with whole heads of pickled cabbage. “Are we using it?”

“No need. The family are here today,” Tang Xu rolled up his sleeves, revealing his fair forearms. “Skim off the blood foam—we’ll stew it in the original broth.”

“Got it.” Tang Li nodded and began slicing the sauerkraut into thin shreds.

Meanwhile, Wei Zhonghong and Luo Pingping were busy making blood sausages, chatting as they worked.

When Luo Pingping heard that her third son had gone off to war, her eyes widened in shock. “How did he end up in the army? That’s dangerous—people die in wars!”

Wei Zhonghong let out a deep sigh. She knew that well enough. But that was what her third son wrote in his letter—she was too far away to do anything about it.

“I heard that in the north, they recruit soldiers every three years. We’re far away, so we haven’t been affected, and his side probably couldn’t do much either.” 

She loved her son, of course, but Wu Weiming had been gone for years. Other than sending two letters home in the last couple of years, he had been completely silent before that. 

After so much time, even her deepest worries and concerns had been worn down.

Having been disappointed so many times by this son, Wei Zhonghong had long since given up. 

Hearing Luo Pingping’s comment, she simply said, “Every child has their own fate. He can do whatever he wants.”

Luo Pingping, hearing that, didn’t press further and instead changed the subject. “Did Xu Ge’er mention to you that after spring starts, he plans to hire some people to raise chickens and ducks? He also wants to start selling his braised spice mix.”

Wei Zhonghong shook her head. “Why sell that?”

“He said it’s for expanding the business. What we make ourselves isn’t enough. I bet he’ll bring it up after we eat. By the way, should we add garlic flavor to the sausages?” Luo Pingping asked.

Wei Zhonghong nodded. “Sure.”

She was already thinking that maybe she could get her maternal family involved in this business too. However, since Tang Xu hadn’t brought it up, she didn’t feel it was her place to say anything. 

But now that the opportunity was here, she wanted to bring her own family along.

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