Meng Yan's Transformation

The twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month is the Cleansing Festival. Yunqing and Ziqiang cleaned the pigpen, the chicken coop, and the doghouse.

Yunqing washed the bedding at home, and hung the clothes of adults and children on the clothesline outside after washing. They instantly froze into hard "iron sheets". Yunqing boiled a lot of water and heated the fire wall. The adults and children took baths one by one. Mengyan had itchy spots on her body, and Yunqing rubbed her body, and she giggled non-stop...

In folk customs, there is a saying that "on the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, wash inside and outside". "On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, clean the poultry and livestock house". The first two days are spent sweeping the dust, sending off the gods, and welcoming the gods. On these two days, people should take a bath and wash clothes to get rid of the bad luck of the year and prepare to welcome the New Year. There is a proverb in the ancient capital that "on the 27th day, wash away the illness, and on the 28th day, wash away the dirt". Bathing on the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month is "washing away the fortune and luck". It means that people take a bath on the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, so that there will be more "fortune and luck" in the coming year. Generally speaking, bathing on these two days is to wash away the old air, usher in new joy, wash away bad luck, meet good luck every day, wash away sorrow and troubles, and be happy in the coming year. Wash clean to welcome fortune and luck, and fortune and luck will last longer.

The 26th day of the twelfth lunar month is the New Year Meat Festival. The leader of the Aobao Fourth Team invited a butcher to kill three pigs raised by the production team and distribute three pounds of pork to each member.

Hearing that the production team leader was going to kill the pigs raised by the production team, Zhan Ziqiang ran to the pigpen of the production team, crying loudly. Zhan Ziqiang jumped into the pigpen of the production team and stroked each pig. He was reluctant to kill this one or that one. The pigs came over to rub Zhan Ziqiang's clothes with their noses, and the pigs came over to nudge Zhan Ziqiang's hands with their mouths. Zhan Ziqiang quickly squatted down, hugged the pig head of "Marshal Black Peng" tightly, and gently put his face on the top of "Marshal Black Peng"'s head... There were tears in the eyes of the pigs, and they looked at Zhan Ziqiang with expectant eyes: how much they didn't want to be killed! How much they wanted to be with Zhan Ziqiang every day: in spring, walk on the meadow together and smell the fragrance of the grass; in summer, go to the river to play in the water and catch fish together; in autumn, watch the mountains turn red and the forests are dyed red, and eat old corn together; in winter, run in the snow together...

Mengyan's favorite "Black Marshal" was also killed. In the summer, every time Ziqiang took Mengyan to herd pigs, he would let Mengyan ride "Black Marshal" in the morning and ride "Black Marshal" back home in the evening. Mengyan also rode "Black Marshal" when crossing the river. It could swim and catch fish with its mouth. The swimming skills of "Black Marshal" were better than those of the pigs. Every time crossing the river, "Black Marshal" led the pigs to swim in front. If there were pigs that fell behind, "Black Marshal" would put Mengyan on the shore and then turn around to pick up the pigs that had strayed from the group. "Black Marshal" was particularly good at creating illusions when catching fish. The fish thought it would come this way, not that way. "Black Marshal" stared at the school of fish in front, but suddenly turned around and quickly pounced to the side to catch fish. "Black Marshal"'s way of catching fish was indeed different from the way people usually catch fish in the water from the front. With such a sudden action by "Marshal Black Peng", it would take some time for the fish to swim away. Finally, "Marshal Black Peng" caught the fish as he wished. With the fish in his mouth, he went to ask Zhan Ziqiang for credit and reward with full of victory and pride. Zhan Ziqiang would then take the fish from "Marshal Black Peng"'s mouth and throw it into the bucket: "Marshal Black Peng, you are really great! I will find some corn to reward you later!" Zhan Ziqiang said lovingly while touching "Marshal Black Peng"'s head.

After the production team leader tried hard to persuade Zhan Ziqiang to agree to slaughter the pig but failed, in order to prevent Zhan Ziqiang from obstructing the production team from slaughtering the New Year pig, Zhan Ziqiang was forcibly taken home by the production team leader and several members.

There was a huge pot in the production team headquarters. In the stove under the pot, the flames licked the bottom of the pot. The water in the pot rolled, boiled, and sizzled. Next to it was a very high hanging rack... all in preparation for slaughtering pigs. The team leader found a few young members and drove three pigs out of the pigsty. The pigs were led, chased, and shouted at, and pushed into a huge iron rack. The three pigs had their eyes wide open, their mouths opened very wide, and their eyes were full of anxiety and fear. One by one, the pigs were tied to the rack by the members. The pigs struggled violently to escape, and there were some stains on their twisting bodies. The pigs made sharp cries and desperate calls for help. The thunderous pig cries echoed over the production team headquarters, which was unbearable to listen to and quite oppressive. People were bathed in an atmosphere of cruelty and despair, which made people feel heartbroken and uneasy. The butcher placed the knife in his hand on the pig's throat. When the sharp long knife pierced the pig's body, the pig let out a final wailing scream. Red blood spurted out with the movement of the knife, dyeing everything around it blood red. The blood flashed with strange colors under the light...

As the thick smell of blood drifted away, blood and feces were left on the empty ground. The pig head of "Marshal Black Sky Canopy" placed on the table suddenly opened its mouth...

The butcher chopped the pork into pieces, and the members of the production team happily took their share of the pork home one after another.

Because the "Black Marshal" was killed by the butcher ordered by the production team leader, Ziqiang refused to go to the production team to get the pork. Zi'an went to the production team to get the pork back. Yunqing stewed a pot of vegetables with potatoes and pork, and everyone enjoyed it. Ziqiang and Mengyan didn't eat a single bite...

Ziqiang and Mengyan sat side by side in the corner, their faces filled with grief and indignation, and they remained silent. Yunqing called them to eat several times, but they refused to eat, and ignored anyone, sitting there blankly until late at night...

Ziqiang was afraid that his sister would be hungry, so he roasted six potatoes and gave them to Mengyan. Mengyan begged and reluctantly ate one of the roasted potatoes.