That morning, Kang He and Fan Jing were squatting under the eaves rinsing their mouths when Hu Dasan arrived at their home.
He said that several households had asked him to slaughter pigs. Two of them wanted it done on the same day: one in the morning, one in the afternoon, but the households were in different Villages, and the Villages were far apart. He was worried he wouldn’t make it in time.
Winter, especially the twelfth lunar month, was when butchers were in high demand. Farming families would slaughter pigs and sheep during this season to prepare for the New Year.
But there weren’t many butchers; in two or three Villages, there might only be one or two.
People said this was a profession of killing and bloodshed, an inauspicious trade. Ordinary families were unwilling to do it. In reality, not everyone had the talent for it—most were too timid to try.
With so few butchers, the money in this trade was easier to earn. At the end of the year, every family wanted to hire someone; no wonder butchers became so popular.
“I wanted to tell the second household that their date was already taken, but they begged and pleaded—they’re old customers. It’s hard to turn them down just because business is good this month,” Hu Dasan said. “So I told them, if the dates overlapped, I’d have my apprentice go to one, and I’d go to the other. They agreed.”
“Da Jing can slaughter pigs just fine. Let him give it a try.”
Kang He and Fan Jing naturally agreed.
Fan Jing got a job slaughtering a pig and told Kang He to go with him on the appointed day.
Even if he hadn’t said anything, Kang He would have gone along anyway. Though they were still fixing the road at home, they could afford to take a day off. Besides, lately, Chen Shi’s brothers from her family had been coming over frequently, bringing their wives to help with the work.
On the day itself, Kang He and Fan Jing got up before dawn and tidied themselves up.
Fan Jing put on his clothes, then took out the knives from the Box. This knife set had only been used at home for slaughtering chickens; he hadn’t wanted to take it out for other uses yet.
Now that he was going out alone to slaughter a pig, of course he wanted to use new knives.
Fan Jing closed the lid, then looked at Kang He, who was wearing the same clothes he’d worn for working on the road yesterday.
They weren’t especially dirty, but they were old and coarse—work clothes, not presentable at all.
He remembered how he’d previously teased Kang He about attracting too much attention with his looks, and Kang He had just grinned. He wondered if Kang He had taken it to heart.
He said, “Didn’t you say yesterday you’d wear the clothes you made last year? Why are you wearing these again today?”
“I thought about it. I’m not the one slaughtering the pig, but I can’t just freeload off the host’s meal—I should at least help hold the pig down. If I wear clean clothes, they’ll just get dirty, and then I’ll have to change when I get home. With this weather, it’s hard to get clothes dry after washing.”
Kang He said, “It’s not like we’re going to a banquet. No need to dress up.”
Fan Jing hadn’t thought of that. After hearing him out, he didn’t say anything more.
They ate a quick bite, then carried the Cart Wang Carpenter had sent over a few days ago out to the main road and harnessed up the Donkey.
The two of them had originally planned to walk, since even though they now had a Cart, the road at home wasn’t compacted enough for heavy loads.
Fan Father said the equipment was all ready, so they should at least test it out, and also help train the Donkey.
The strong Donkey had been at their house for over half a year, and though it had carried loads, it had never pulled a Cart before.
Kang He and Fan Jing followed Fan Father’s advice, even though it was a bit more trouble, and first brought the Cart to the main road.
Fan Father came out to watch, wanting to see the novelty of using the Cart for the first time.
With his hands behind his back, he looked at the Donkey harnessed to the Cart, at his own vehicle and livestock, feeling quite proud.
But since he’d never used this kind of thing before, and had heard stories of Donkeys pulling Carts into ditches and breaking people’s bones, he was still a bit worried. He asked, “Is it fastened securely?”
Fan Jing tightened the reins and made sure there were no problems, then nodded. “It’s fine. It’ll work.”
He tossed the Knife Box to Kang He and climbed onto the Cart.
Kang He hugged the Knife Box to his chest, watching as Fan Jing sat down in the driver’s seat. “You’re driving?”
Fan Jing picked up the whip. “If I don’t drive, who will?”
Kang He hesitated, then climbed up with the Knife Box and sat beside Fan Jing.
He looked at him. “Are you sure you can do it?”
Fan Jing didn’t answer, just flicked the whip. The Donkey lifted its hooves and started forward at a trot.
Kang He lurched from the sudden start and quickly grabbed onto Fan Jing.
Fan Father had also wanted to try sitting in the Cart—not necessarily to go slaughter pigs, but even just to go to the Village entrance and pick some scallions would have been fun.
He wanted to try the novelty and have something to brag about.
Seeing how Fan Jing drove, though, he kept his words to himself and just called out for them to go slower.
Once they were on the main road, Fan Jing found Kang He was holding him so tightly he could barely move. He finally said, “What are you afraid of? Every time I go out with Hu Dasan, I’m the one driving.”
“You drive?” Kang He looked at his calm face, his eyes shining with a smile. He suddenly let go. “You know how to drive! You scared me on purpose.”
Fan Jing said, “Who’s afraid of this kind of thing?”
Kang He replied, “The way you drove just now, who else but me would dare get on?”
He turned his head away. “Next time I’m not coming.”
Fan Jing saw he was a bit angry, fell silent for a moment, and said, “Next time, I’ll go slower.”
Kang He snorted and ignored him.
“I’ll teach you to drive.”
When Kang He heard this, he turned back. “You’d better not trick me again.”
Fan Jing didn’t say anything, just took Kang He’s hand and had him hold the reins.
“It’s easy—pull the reins to slow down, use the whip to speed up.”
Kang He said, “How is that easy? This Donkey doesn’t listen.”
Fan Jing replied, “If you whip it on purpose like that, of course it’s not easy.”
Kang He laughed and settled down.
“When did you learn to drive? I never heard you mention it before.”
“I learned from Hu Dasan.”
Kang He said, “You didn’t learn much pig slaughtering skill, but you sure learned to drive. I guess that three strings of Apprenticeship Fee weren’t wasted.”
Fan Jing grunted in agreement.
The winter mornings were freezing; there was already frost in the mountain hollows.
Sitting on the Cart, the wind stung their faces.
Kang He rubbed his hands, then covered Fan Jing’s red ears.
“There’s still some rabbit fur at home. I’ll get Juner to make you some earmuffs, so you won’t freeze like this next time.”
Fan Jing said, “Why don’t you make them?”
Kang He laughed. “If you don’t mind them looking ugly, I can make them for you too.”
Fan Jing didn’t say anything. The two of them chatted, and before long, they arrived at the Village.
Inside, the Bai Family—who were having the pig slaughtered—lived not far from the main road, visible from the street.
A lot of people had already arrived to help with the pig and eat Pig-Killing Dish. It was lively. Hearing the Cart wheels, people came out to look and quickly greeted them.
“Here come the two—look like a couple.”
“First time I’ve seen butchers this young. That little fellow doesn’t look twenty yet. Can he manage? Hope he doesn’t botch it.”
“Why not get Butcher Hu?”
“Butchers are in short supply this month. Couldn’t get him. They said this is his apprentice.”
People whispered in the courtyard.
The Bai Family was polite, inviting Kang He and Fan Jing in for hot tea before getting started.
The Bai Family hadn’t met Hu Dasan’s apprentice before. They trusted Hu Dasan, though—they’d known him for years. If he said he was too busy and sent his apprentice, and they couldn’t find another butcher, they had no choice.
They were a little anxious at first, but when they saw Kang He was tall and sturdy, even if he was young, they felt reassured.
Kang He and Fan Jing drank some hot soup. After riding in the Cart, their bodies were stiff with cold, so they warmed up before handling knives.
When they were ready, Kang He told the host they could start.
The host called for the pig handlers. Kang He handed the Knife Box to Fan Jing and rolled up his sleeves to go to the pigsty.
“Kang little brother, you shouldn’t have to work. In a bit, you’ll have to slaughter the pig—save your strength.”
The Bai Family saw Kang He heading to the pigsty and thought new butchers were more willing to work—old hands never bothered with this.
Kang He paused, realizing the host had mistaken him for the butcher. No wonder no one had paid him any special attention.
He smiled and said, “I’m not the one slaughtering the pig. My fulang will do it.”
“Huh?”
Not just the host, but the pig handlers and women outside all cried out in surprise.
“This… will that work?”
Kang He saw this and figured Hu Dasan hadn’t told them. He said, “Don’t worry, my fulang’s skill is good. If he doesn’t do a good job today, you don’t have to pay the Pig-Killing Money.”
The host was skeptical, but since everyone was here, it was hard to say no now.
He looked a little displeased but raised his hand, signaling them to go ahead and see.
Kang He glanced at Fan Jing. He trusted Fan Jing’s skill, but worried that being doubted would upset him.
Fan Jing said nothing, just nodded slightly at him. Kang He felt reassured and followed the men into the pigsty.
Soon, the pig was dragged out, squealing. The women who came to help with the cooking gathered around to watch a young man slaughter a pig.
Fan Jing calmly opened the Knife Box and took out the Pig Slaughtering Knife.
The pig was pressed onto a long bench. The men quickly pulled out hemp rope to tie it, worried that if the knife missed, someone might get hurt and the pig would escape.
Fan Jing just said, “No need to tie it.”
He had them hold the pig tight. The fat pig struggled harder than when it was first dragged out, its mouth wide, squealing like it wanted to bite someone. The timid didn’t dare get close.
But Fan Jing’s face didn’t change. With a swift motion, the cold white blade turned warm red in an instant.
In just a few moves, the pig stopped moving.
Fan Jing nonchalantly wiped the blood off the knife and put it back in the Box.
Compared to slaughtering a chicken, he felt there wasn’t much difference in handling a domestic pig restrained like this.
People were surprised at how steady and precise he was.
“Fan Fulang has real skill!”
Kang He clapped his hands. “It’s all thanks to Master Hu’s teaching. He learned half his skill from him. If you’re satisfied, call Master Hu next time you need an animal slaughtered.”
Everyone in the courtyard laughed and agreed.
Kang He poured boiling water over the pig, and Fan Jing used his knife to scrape off the bristles.
Working together, they quickly cleaned the pig.
Once the bristles were gone, it was time to open up the belly and remove the organs, then divide the meat.
Fan Jing used the new knife, which felt especially sharp—he barely needed any force to slice cleanly through the meat.
While he worked, Kang He took out the Pig Intestine and drained the waste. He asked the host if they wanted any bones chopped, since they had the tools handy and could do it right away.
The host asked for two jin of ribs to be chopped small, to eat in a couple of days.
People commented that this couple was thorough—they didn’t rest or slack off, just did all the work.
To hire people like this—who wouldn’t be happy?
After eating Pig-Killing Dish, the host paid Fan Jing a string of Money at the going rate, plus a piece of pig liver and a piece of pig lung.
On the way back, Fan Jing said to Kang He, “I only want you to come with me today and help call out to people. Next time, just let me go slaughter pigs.”
Kang He replied, “If you say that, aren’t you trying to steal Uncle Hu’s customers? If we go independent, we’re borrowing his reputation, and if we take his customers, it’ll make the master suspicious. They say ‘teach the apprentice, starve the master’—if we’re not careful, we’ll end up as enemies. We’re from the same Village and in the same trade; if we offend our elders, people will say we’re ungrateful and unkind.”
Fan Jing nodded. He really wasn’t good at dealing with these social intricacies. If not for Kang He, he’d have a hard time managing relationships.
If he had to run the pig slaughtering business alone, he’d rather risk it in the mountains.
On the way back, Kang He and Fan Jing first went to Hu Dasan’s place and gave the pig liver and lung to Qiao Fulang, saying they were from the Bai Family for Hu Dasan.
They also took out half the Pig-Killing Money as a sign of respect.
Qiao Fulang refused, saying, “You two worked hard for that.”
“If Master hadn’t given us the job, we wouldn’t have had any work at all. It’s all thanks to him—we can’t just take it all for ourselves.”
Qiao Fulang said, “You two helped him split the work. If not for you, he would have had to turn down old customers, and that would hurt relationships. I should be thanking you two instead.”
After some back-and-forth, Qiao Fulang wouldn’t accept it, so Kang He and Fan Jing had to take it back.
When Hu Dasan came home, Qiao Fulang told him what happened. Hu Dasan was touched by their thoughtfulness.
A couple days later, Hu Dasan went to the city to visit his grandson and happened to meet the Bai Family. The two had tea together.
Hu Dasan asked the Bai Family if his apprentice had done a good job slaughtering the pig.
The Bai Family praised him, saying Fan Jing was skilled, quick, and both he and his partner were hard-working.
They also said he was reliable, skilled, and didn’t try to steal customers. Everyone praised him for looking after his master’s business.
Hu Dasan felt very pleased.
Fan Jing slaughtered pigs well and didn’t embarrass him, and his character was good—not the type to betray someone for personal gain.
He’d worried that someone who was so diligent and helpful in front of him might go out and do ungrateful things behind his back, but now he was reassured.
As the twelfth lunar month deepened, even more families needed pigs slaughtered. With the cold, Hu Dasan’s back pain got worse, and he had to visit Zhu Doctor every few days for plasters.
Zhu Doctor told him to avoid heavy labor, and although Hu Dasan was stubborn, he had to admit he was getting old. When his bones ached, it was unbearable.
He had no choice but to have Fan Jing take over the work.
Whenever Fan Jing and Kang He went out, they always did a thorough job. Every household praised them.
Kang He never boasted about Fan Jing’s skill—he always gave credit to the master.
People outside said Butcher Hu was a good master who taught his apprentice real skills.
With such a good reputation, Butcher Hu didn’t feel overshadowed by his apprentice’s praise. Instead, he became even more satisfied with Kang He and Fan Jing.
After the fifteenth, on the sixteenth day of the twelfth month, Kang He and Fan Jing went to three households in a row, slaughtered two pigs and a sheep.
After running all over the place for a whole day, they didn’t get home until it was completely dark.
Fan Jing hurried the Donkey along as the wind picked up outside, making it especially cold. Kang He wiped his face, brushing off the snowflakes that had settled on his clothes.
Luckily, both of them were wearing hats made by Juner, which kept out some of the wind—otherwise, it would have been unbearably cold.
When they got home, the family had already eaten dinner and left hot water for them.
The two quickly washed with hot water, soaked their feet, and finally warmed up.
Good thing they hurried home—the snow outside was already falling like willow fluff.
Kang He counted the copper coins they’d earned that day. “Today wasn’t a wasted effort—we made three hundred and sixty copper coins in one day.”
Fan Jing said, “When you sold candles and made over ten strings of Money in a day, you didn’t look this happy.”
“That’s different. Candles might have sold in a day, but it took ages to make them. Pig slaughtering—just two months in the winter, and we’ve already made over two strings of copper coins.”
Fan Jing also felt that they’d earned well these days. Every time they went out, they made at least a hundred and twenty copper coins, and if they were lucky, they could do two or three households in a day.
Earning steady money like this was much better than risking it in the mountains.
But he also knew that only in the winter and at the end of the year did pig slaughtering bring in so much business. At other times, there was no such good fortune.
Kang He put the coins in the Money Box and encouraged Fan Jing: “Once we set up a pork stall, we won’t have to rely just on Pig-Killing Money.”
“You don’t know how good you are. The other day, two households in Tang Family Village didn’t go to Uncle Hu—they specifically asked for you. They weren’t Uncle Hu’s old customers—they came for your skill.”
“Today, two more urgent jobs were because others recommended you. When they left, they said they’d only call for you from now on. Counting it up, we already have five households who are our own customers.”
Fan Jing, hearing Kang He’s praise, lowered his eyes, hiding a small smile.
To have his own customers so soon, he felt it was all thanks to Kang He’s way with people—he always handled every household so well.
Even if he were the one needing a pig slaughtered, he’d pick Kang He over Hu Dasan, who just barked orders at the host family and boasted.
Fan Jing lifted his red feet out of the tub and wiped them on Kang He’s pant leg. “So when are we going independent?”
Kang He said, “We’re not going out to slaughter pigs tomorrow. I’ll go to Uncle Hu’s house.”
The next day, a thick layer of snow covered the ground in the Village.
The new road in front of the Fan house was buried in snow, but since the top layer had been baked dry, it wasn’t muddy even after the snow fell.
When Kang He brought some things to the Hu house, Qiao Fulang was boiling pig feed in the kitchen.
He and Fan Jing went inside to see Hu Dasan. He was dressed warmly, sitting on the heated kang, with a brazier nearby—it was cozy.
“Is your back any better, Uncle?”
“Not moving much, and with Zhu Doctor’s treatments, it’s a lot better. But with the snow, it’s not comfortable.”
Kang He took out a new hot water bottle, filled it with hot water from the stove, and handed it to Hu Dasan.
“In this cold, back and leg pain is the worst. Uncle, try not to work too hard. If you need anything, just call me and Da Jing.”
“I know you two are filial, always coming to check on me every few days.”
Hu Dasan said, “Your father too—he comes over to drink with me when he has time, afraid I’ll get bored at home. With my back pain, I haven’t even seen your new road yet.”
“You can’t walk far in this weather. When spring comes, you’ll have plenty of time to see it.”
Hu Dasan nodded, then asked Fan Jing if pig slaughtering was going smoothly lately.
Fan Jing said it was.
The master and apprentice didn’t talk much. Hu Dasan knew Fan Jing’s personality and didn’t chat with him, preferring to talk to Kang He.
“Speaking of pig slaughtering, there’s something I’ve been thinking about. I’d like your advice, Uncle.”
“Just say it. If your family’s in trouble, I’ll help you find a way.”
Kang He said, “Recently, we spent a lot of Money fixing the road and buying land from the Cheng Family. We ended up using up all our savings.”
“Father and Mother are worried. Even though Da Jing and I are married, Juner and Qiaor are growing up. When it’s time for them to marry, we’ll need a good dowry…”
Qiao Fulang came in with a plate of snacks and, hearing it was about the sisters’ marriages, said, “Juner’s over sixteen now. If you’ve found a match and need a dowry, take some silver from us first.”
Kang He thanked Qiao Fulang and said, “We haven’t found anyone yet, but the New Year is coming, so we have to be prepared. You never know when a good match will come along, and it would be a shame to miss it for lack of Money.”
“Seeing the family worry, Da Jing and I aren’t comfortable either. We talked it over and want to start a small business after the New Year, to save up some dowry for the girls.”
Hu Dasan understood their meaning. “You’re thinking of setting up a stall to sell meat?”
Kang He nodded. “Now that we’ve learned your skill, Uncle, it would be a shame not to use it. We can’t just go back to the mountains to earn Money.”
Hu Dasan instinctively thought it was a bit fast, but then realized that once you learned a skill, you should use it. Besides, he wasn’t selling pork anymore, so their stall wouldn’t compete with his business.
He’d seen over these days that Kang He and Fan Jing were good people. He had no reason to hold them back.
Young people willing to support their family and take on responsibility—what could be better?
He’d originally accepted Fan Jing as an apprentice because he admired Kang He’s abilities. Now that they wanted to start a business, he had no reason not to support them.
“You two are rare in thinking this way. Selling pork is a good path. Maybe you won’t get rich, but if you run it well, it’ll feed your family.”
Hu Dasan said, “Now that you’ve made up your minds, just do it properly. If you run into any trouble, tell me—what kind of master wouldn’t help his apprentices?”
“If you really start your own business, I’ll introduce you to my old customers.”
Kang He and Fan Jing saw that Hu Dasan wasn’t upset and exchanged a look, feeling relieved and happy.
They’d been worried he’d think they were being disloyal by going independent.
Kang He expressed his gratitude and promised to work hard before leaving with Fan Jing.
With Hu Dasan’s support settled, the two felt restless with excitement. Fan Jing drove the Cart to take Chen Sanfan to the County to sell tofu, and together with Kang He, they checked out the market for renting a stall.