Chapter 41: 040 A neat row of geese
"Grandma, I want to watch the goose being slaughtered!"
Xia Nuo tugged at her grandmother's arm excitedly, her eyes filled with curiosity, "Can I watch, Grandma?"
The old father, on the other hand, was somewhat worried about his daughter, "Nuo Nuo, why do you want to watch this?"
It was still too early to show his daughter such a cruel scene, and it was unbearable for him as a father.
This could affect the mood for eating the goose.
But for his daughter, it was more about curiosity + the temptation of her taste buds at work; she had no idea what slaughtering a goose actually meant…
Xia Anyang tried to dissuade Xia Nuo, "Better not watch it, I'm afraid you won't be able to sleep at night if you do."
"No, I won't, I'll sleep hugging You You at night, and he will protect me."
"Ah? You can't sleep with You You at night!"
I never agreed to this!
Xia Nuo didn't take her dad's words to heart and continued to pester her grandmother to watch the goose being slaughtered.
When entertaining important guests, one must slaughter and prepare chickens and geese on the spot for them to taste delicious.
Since her granddaughter wanted to eat stewed goose, the grandmother naturally took action right away, calling over relatives to start preparing the pot and tools for scalding feathers.
The process of slaughtering a goose is a bit different from other poultry; before handling the goose, one needs to feed it some baijiu or sorghum wine first to help expand the pores, making the subsequent scalding of feathers easier.
Besides, a drunk goose won't struggle much, making it easier for everyone to tie its wings and claws.
However, with the ultimate goose terminator standing here, Brother Dong seemed to have lost even the will to live, completely devoid of any will to resist.
It was now a poultry animal awaiting slaughter, gulping down the fed sorghum wine with one peck at a time.
Fang You stayed by Xia Nuo's side, quietly observing the reaction of his childhood friend.
In the beginning, Xia Nuo was also eager to help, but as she saw the adults sharpening knives while chatting and laughing and discussing what side dishes to add later, her excitement slowly faded away…
She became somewhat silent.
Xia Nuo didn't follow the adults to help, instead she knelt down to observe Brother Dong.
At this point, Brother Dong was staring up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, either drunk or something else, exuding a bright and melancholic sorrow.
Xia Nuo watched Brother Dong quietly, when Fang You also crouched down and asked Xia Nuo:
"Nuo Nuo, you know what slaughtering a goose means for Brother Dong, right?"
Xia Nuo nodded her head, "We want to eat Brother Dong, so we have to kill him first…"
"But, it must hurt Brother Dong a lot…"
Xia Nuo muttered.
"Yeah, after all, such a sharp knife has to be jabbed into him."
Fang You gestured, saying, "Like this, with one 'clack,' Brother Dong would be dead."
"Then, we won't be able to see Brother Dong ever again."
"..."
Xia Nuo hung her head in silence, making tiny, gurgling noises.
"What's wrong?"
Fang You poked Xia Nuo's little face, "Do you feel sad about Brother Dong?"
Xia Nuo didn't make a sound, she just kept watching the intoxicated goose.
And at this moment, Red Brother, which had narrowly escaped, actually walked towards the crowd.
Xia Nuo saw Red Brother constantly calling out to Brother Dong, but Brother Dong didn't respond.
It seems that the alcohol really wasn't weak.
It looked like he was trying to wake his companion.
This act took Fang You by surprise as well.
Knowing that he now carried such an imposing presence, even the ordinary geese would take a wide berth around him, but Red Brother managed to face Fang You's pressure and ran over.
Maybe, indeed all things have a spirit…
And after witnessing this scene, Xia Nuo couldn't bear it anymore.
She hugged her knees and buried herself in her arms, tilting her head to look at Fang You with her eyes starting to redden.
"If we eat Brother Dong, Red Brother will be very sad."
Xia Nuo rubbed her eyes and then said to Fang You, "You You, I suddenly don't feel like eating stewed goose in an iron pot anymore…"
"Okay, then we won't eat it."
Fang You whispered to Xia Nuo, "Let's set Brother Dong free, okay?"
Xia Nuo pursed her lips and nodded vigorously.
At this moment, Uncle had already sharpened the knife, ready to give Brother Dong a quick end, to mark a fulfilling period to his own faded youth and broken glasses.
Xia Nuo quickly trotted forward, arms wide, blocking Uncle's path.
"Don't... I won't eat goose, Uncle."
Xia Nuo's voice carried a slight crying tone.
"I can't bear it..."
"Feeling sentimental now, eh? Didn't Brother Dong pick on you again today? Don't you want to get even?"
Xia Nuo shook her head, "Brother Dong didn't manage to bully me, You You chased him away."
"Oh, Nuo Nuo, don't be sad. However much you're grieving now, you'll forget all about it when you're happily eating the big goose later! Iron pot stewed goose, it's super delicious! Hahaha..."
Many adults laughed along.
Kids always have a soft heart when it comes to killing; they've seen such things too often.
They just can't bear to watch the killing directly; once it's served at the dinner table, they'll eat it up with relish.
It's always like this with kids.
The adults only think they're being sentimental, after all, it's not like they've ever gone without meat.
At that moment, Xia Nuo was anxiously explaining, "If we stew Brother Dong, poor Red will be so lonely..."
"You mean you're worried about Red being lonely, right? I understand... you're such a compassionate child, Nuo Nuo!"
Uncle gave Xia Nuo a thumbs-up, "But actually, that's easy to solve. Uncle has a suggestion, let's stew Red too. With so many relatives at home, two pots might not even be enough..."
As Uncle spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward, "As the saying goes, a family of geese should be together..."
"Ah—Uncle, no!"
Xia Nuo cried and tried to stop Uncle, but he paid her no mind.
Iron pot stewed goose, I'm set on it today!
He was stopped only when someone grabbed his arm, preventing him from advancing easily.
The one holding him back was Fang You.
This kid... looks so small but has such a strong grip!
Hearing Xia Nuo's crying, Grandma hurried over, and Xia Nuo threw herself into her arms and started to wail.
"What's wrong... Nuo Nuo, do you really can't bear it?"
Grandma reached out to wipe the tears that kept turning in Xia Nuo's eyes.
Xia Nuo nodded forcefully, hugging Grandma's arm and acting coquettish:
"Grandma... Brother Dong and Red learned their lesson today, they will be good from now on, they won't do bad things anymore, can we forgive them and not eat them, please?"
"We can, we can raise them until they're big..."
Xia Nuo's emotions were overflowing; she started to cry nonstop, big tears falling pitter-patter down her cheeks.
She was crying miserably.
Since Fang You could remember, this was the first time he had seen Xia Nuo cry so miserably.
Seeing Xia Nuo so upset, the adults, who originally came for a spectacle, began comforting her.
"Okay, okay, then we won't eat it!"
"If Nuo Nuo says we won't eat, then we won't eat!"
"Let's release the geese."
"I, I will do it!"
Xia Nuo no longer trusted others with Brother Dong.
She held Fang You's hand and they went together, both helping to untie Brother Dong.
"See? My Nuo Nuo is such a compassionate and lovely child! So adorable and tender..."
Xia Anyang proudly boasted to the relatives and friends about his daughter's kindness.
Lin Yi, on the other hand, raised her cellphone and captured this affectionate and loving scene.
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