Transmigrated as the Husband of a Vicious Villainess - Chapter 21

As she spoke, she stepped forward first to open the gate where the pig was kept. Ji Baiqing held the binding ropes, and the two worked together to drive the pig into a corner. Then, with quick eyes and steady hands, they each took a rope and tied its front and hind legs together.

Wang Baozhu hoisted the front legs. Seeing that Ji Baiqing didn’t seem to struggle at all while lifting the pig with her, she nodded in satisfaction.

With a heavy thud, the pig was hoisted onto the long bench.

Zhou Gang handed a sharp knife to Ji Baiqing and placed an iron basin under the pig’s head to catch the blood.

Ji Baiqing straddled the struggling pig with her long legs, pressing one hand firmly against its neck. The tip of the blade gleamed with a cold light as she plunged it into the throat. The pig let out a piercing squeal, and a thick stream of blood sprayed downward.

A pig’s struggle is strongest in its final moments. Ji Baiqing was nearly bucked off, but she steadied herself immediately and cut downward. After slicing open the chest, the several-hundred-catty pig finally let out its last breath.

It was a job that took about ten minutes, but it left her forehead drenched in sweat.

Stepping down from the pig, Ji Baiqing looked at Director Xia. She still had that harmless, innocent appearance, except for the stray droplets of crimson blood splashed across her face.

She asked, “Director Xia, how is my slaughtering skill?”

Director Xia was speechless and silently gave her a thumbs up.

Even Wang Baozhu chimed in, “Director, I think this comrade is excellent. This way, you can finally let me go home to nurse my pregnancy in peace, right?”

Director Xia shot her an annoyed look. “All you think about is going home. I’ll see what you do if you lose your job after giving birth.”

Wang Baozhu’s expression flickered slightly at that. Seeing this, Director Xia’s mood softened, and she comforted her:

“Don’t worry. The plan from above was always to assign another person to work with you. Once you’ve given birth and rested well, you’d better hurry back.”

Just like that, it was confirmed that Ji Baiqing would be the one taking over from Wang Baozhu.

Ji Baiqing had originally thought she would just be a temporary substitute for a few months, but she had actually landed herself a permanent “iron rice bowl” job.

Once the iron basin was full of blood, Zhou Gang brought over a basin of boiling water to prepare for scraping the hair.

Wang Baozhu coached her from the side: “We only handle the killing. Scraping the hair is Zhou Gang’s job. In the future, just have him help you. He’s not strong enough to do the slaughtering, so he just handles the odd jobs. Don’t be shy about it.”

After the hair was scraped off, Wang Baozhu brought out a wooden rack and hooked the pig’s hind legs with iron hooks, hanging it up for Ji Baiqing to eviscerate and butcher.

Ji Baiqing was clever. Last year, when she slaughtered a pig in the village, she had nearly punctured the large intestine. This time, she was extra cautious and managed to divide the pork perfectly into standard cuts.

Zhou Gang pushed over a cart. Ji Baiqing arranged the slabs of meat according to the different cuts. After half an hour, the butchering was finally complete.

Wang Baozhu inspected the portions. “Not bad.”

Ji Baiqing wasn’t technically on duty today, but she stayed to help Wang Baozhu sell the pork, silently memorizing the prices for the various cuts as she watched. Today’s meat sold faster than yesterday’s, and they were sold out before ten o’clock.

Wang Baozhu wiped her hands and asked Ji Baiqing, “Well? Tired?”

Ji Baiqing shook her head. “I’m alright. I think I can handle it.”

“Follow me.”

She followed Wang Baozhu back into the warehouse, where a slab of fat and several pieces of blood tofu remained. Wang Baozhu cut the fat in half and told Ji Baiqing to take the rest home.

“Being a butcher isn’t easy. Those above allow us to take a little ‘oil and water’ for ourselves, but we can’t be loud about it.”

Seeing the sharp wit in Ji Baiqing’s face, Wang Baozhu grew fond of her and flicked her forehead. “Alright, go ask Director Xia which days you need to come to town to sell meat.”

Ji Baiqing nodded and said sincerely, “Sister Baozhu, thank you. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have gotten this job.”

Wang Baozhu laughed heartily. “No thanks needed, kiddo.”

She tucked her portion of fat into a jar. Holding the jar, she waved. “See you next time.”

After parting ways with her, Ji Baiqing went to ask Director Xia about the next slaughtering date. Director Xia rubbed her chin.

“How about this? Leave a phone number for your village. We usually slaughter on Wednesdays and Sundays. If there are any changes, I’ll call you.”

Ji Baiqing readily wrote down the number but lingered by the desk.

Xia Hanmei looked up, a bit puzzled. “Comrade Ji, is there something else?”

Ji Baiqing’s eyes were bright as she asked, “Director Xia, I’d like to know how much I’ll be making a month.”

Director Xia laughed. “No wonder you stayed so long and didn’t want to leave.”

She flipped through a notebook. “Right now, you’re filling in for Baozhu. You’ll be a formal worker after she returns. Your Sister Baozhu makes thirty-five yuan a month. You’ll get twenty-five, plus thirty catties of grain coupons and two catties of meat coupons.”

She stood up and pulled two bars of soap from a shelf behind her. “You’ll get a set of work clothes and rubber boots every year, and one bar of soap every month.”

After asking for her sizes, Xia Hanmei handed her the soap. “Come back next Wednesday. I’ll give you the clothes and boots then.”

Beaming with joy, Ji Baiqing took the items and went to the gate to get her bicycle back from the old man. She thought to herself that now that she was a slaughterer, she might not eat meat every day, but she could definitely satisfy her cravings once or twice a week.

Looking at her worn-out watch, it was nearly eleven. She thought of the exquisite wristwatch lying in her wardrobe, and then of a certain someone at home who was still having a tiff with her.

She couldn’t help but grit her teeth. The direction she was pedaling shifted away from Yunshui Village and toward the supply and marketing cooperative.

Carrying wrapped sponge cakes and sesame candy, Ji Baiqing hummed a tune on her way home. Both He Xiangyue and Wen Miao had a sweet tooth. She wondered if the great beauty would stop being angry after eating the treats.

At the very least, she had to find out why she was angry so she could fix it!

Thinking of the angry beauty at home, her pedaling speed increased unconsciously.

Once she got home, her first instinct was to go straight to the room to find Wen Miao. However, catching the heavy scent of blood on her person, she stopped herself.

The water in the stove’s heater was hot. Assuming He Xiangyue had boiled it for her, Ji Baiqing carried it to the washroom and scrubbed herself vigorously with soap pods. She then went to the river to wash her clothes. Detecting a faint lingering scent of blood on the fabric, she hung them out to dry and decided to make these her official “work clothes.”

From now on, she’d wear this set whenever she went to slaughter pigs.

After tidying up, she realized He Xiangyue was nowhere to be seen. Ji Baiqing got busy starting the fire to cook. When she finally had a moment of peace, a strange feeling washed over her.

She felt like she had forgotten something.

Her eyes swept over the snacks on the table, and she jumped up.

Crap. I forgot to go coax the great beauty.

Had that girl stayed inside all morning? She hoped she hadn’t made herself sick cooped up in there.

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