An Ning had hunted a wild boar and brought it down from the mountain. It was a massive beast, said to weigh between three hundred and four hundred pounds, and she gifted it to the village.
News of this spread quickly.
Inspired by this, the village team leader, Sun Dazhuang, decided on the spot to slaughter one of the pigs the village was raising.
Pigs were always butchered before the autumn harvest and the New Year.
The pre-harvest butchering was to ensure everyone ate well and had the strength to work.
Butchering a pig for the New Year, on the other hand, was a tradition meant to add more dishes to everyone's holiday table.
Today, long before the New Year, the village was already buzzing with excitement.
The An family was raising the beam for their new house, so they had butchered a pig and invited everyone to a feast.
The village had also butchered two pigs, so every household could go and claim a share of the meat.
