Chapter Eighty-One: Distorted Trends (Three Updates Today, Please Keep Reading)

Han Li said, “You all came running over in the middle of the night out of concern for me—how could I not treat you to a good meal? Besides, aren’t all those stir-fried sausages, liver dishes, and stewed offal delicious? If they are, you can’t complain about how they taste right now.”

“It’s fine to cook them, but who’s going to do the cleaning? None of us have ever cleaned things like this before.”

At this moment, Qi Zhaodi spoke up from the back, “I can do it. I used to clean pig intestines.”

When she lived with her grandmother, Qi Zhaodi often had this chore. Her uncle, when craving something or before the New Year, would trade for some pig intestines that others didn’t want. She was always the one to clean them. If she didn’t do it well, she’d get scolded or even beaten. Even if she cleaned them meticulously, when mealtime came she’d only get a tiny slice.

By now, the villagers had almost finished dividing up the meat. Team Leader Liang stepped forward and announced loudly, “The Autumn Guard team gets tomorrow off, and your work points will be counted as usual. Everyone else works as normal. If you got some meat, you can go home and rest.”

A cheer went up, and the crowd dispersed. Those among the educated youth who hadn’t participated looked on with envy and resentment. The weather was still hot, so everyone needed to hurry home and process their share. Han Li was no exception—his pig intestines needed to be cleaned quickly.

Qi Zhaodi volunteered to wash them before going home to rest. Han Li checked his watch—it was only a little after ten—so he agreed. Hao Hongmin and the others also stayed to help, since the rest of the offal needed soaking and washing as well. Even if they couldn’t do the first wash of the intestines, surely they could help with the second.

That night by the river was lively—torches, kerosene lamps, and flashlights cast flickering light everywhere. Everyone had come to clean their offal; it was far too filthy and smelly to wash at home. But Han Li didn’t let his group go to the river. He intended to wash the intestines thoroughly with salt, cornmeal, and liquor. It wasn’t suitable to do this in front of the whole village—it just meant a few extra trips for water, a few more buckets poured out.

He brought out a large jar of salt, some cornmeal, and a bottle of liquor, and handed it all to Qi Zhaodi. She protested, “Isn’t this too much? I used to use wood ash, soaking and scrubbing a lot, and only a bit of salt at the end.”

Han Li replied, “That’s too much trouble and too tiring. Let’s just get them clean quickly—then we’ll have delicious stewed offal to eat tomorrow morning.”

Despite his words, the girls wouldn’t let Han Li do the hands-on work, assigning him to fetch and carry water instead. While he was busy with that, he salted down his share of the meat and hung it high up to air-dry.

He soaked the big bones in cold water to keep them from spoiling, since they wouldn’t be eaten until at least the next day. The other offal, once cooked and salted, could be kept for a few days, but pig intestines spoiled quickly. So tomorrow, the intestines had to be finished off, or else these delicacies would go to waste.

That night, most households in the village were bustling, except the dormitory of the educated youth, where the mood was a little grim. Those who hadn’t dared to sign up for the Autumn Guard were now feeling resentful. Why did everyone else get meat while they didn’t even get a scrap of pigskin? Their dissatisfaction was still just brewing, so for now it only came out as sour remarks.

But their comments quickly angered the educated youth who had joined the Autumn Guard. Originally, they had planned to cure the meat and save it for after the harvest, and to share the offal and bones with everyone. But before they could even offer it, they were met with these attitudes. Share? Better to feed it to the dogs than share with people like that.

A quarrel broke out, and in the end, the educated youth from the Autumn Guard withdrew. So now, instead of two groups in the dormitory, there were four, each eating separately.

Once everything was cleaned, Han Li saw it was already one in the morning. He brewed some fried flour porridge for everyone as a late-night snack and reminded them to come early tomorrow for the stewed offal.

After leaving Han Li’s house, Yun Yingying sniffed her hands with distaste and shook them. “Sis, I’ve washed my hands so many times and they’re still smelly.”

Yun Jingjing replied, “Weren’t you the one who wanted to help?”

“When did I say that? I just didn’t want Qi Zhaodi to be stuck cleaning all those intestines alone. She helped us before, and even He Mi treated her to a meal. Shouldn’t we show some gratitude? But in our current situation…”

Yun Jingjing’s mood dimmed as she said, “Let’s wait until we move in a few days. It’s too inconvenient now.”

Early the next morning, the aroma of meat wafted through Shanghe Village. While pork could be salted and preserved, bones and offal couldn’t be kept for long—if you didn’t eat them, they’d soon spoil. Driven by the smell, even families who hadn’t joined the Autumn Guard took out some of their own meat to satisfy their cravings. Otherwise, their sons and grandsons would protest. So the entire village was filled with the fragrance of cooking meat.

Han Li rose early. When Hao Hongmin and the others arrived, he was exercising, so he sent them to the kitchen to get started. The stewed offal in the pot was soft and tender—they fished out the pig’s heart, liver, lungs, stomach, and some intestines, leaving just enough for their own breakfast. Then they stuck flatbreads around the edge of the iron pot to cook.

Now that there was time, everyone was curious about what had happened the previous night. Han Li credited the success to the traps and firearms. It was the intelligence of humankind and the use of tools that made humans the kings of beasts. If they had tried to fight those wild boars with spears and machetes, there was no telling how it would have ended.

Qi Zhaodi then mentioned what she’d found upon returning to the dormitory, and everyone advised her to steer clear of any disputes.

After they finished eating and went off to work, Han Li changed clothes, gathered his gear, and headed up the mountain. He had the day off and plenty of time; today he was determined to venture deeper into the mountains.

Six sparrows flitted ahead as Han Li made his way on foot. His luck was good that day—he found all kinds of wild fruits and herbs along the way, and even managed to shoot two wild chickens.

By noon, he reached the edge of a cliff, where clouds drifted and green mountains layered in the distance. Below, stretches of verdant trees, lush grass, and scattered wildflowers painted a refreshing scene. Han Li decided to rest here and eat something to restore his strength.

What he didn’t know was that, back in Shanghe Village, a troubling new trend was brewing.

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