It is a common practice in the army to have five men in a group and ten men in a group.

For the butcher camp, because large livestock such as cows and horses are slaughtered, the carcasses of cows and horses are carried on poles, three in front and three in back, so at least six people are needed.

The working characteristics of the Butcher Battalion are such that there are more teams of ten people than teams of five people. Teams of seven people are the most suitable, as they can take into account both efficiency and manpower utilization.

However, with seven or eight people forming a team, although the manpower allocation is reasonable, it is not easy to manage.

The simplest method is to use ten people per item. Ten people have one item, which is convenient for checking and managing.

Li Mengxi roughly counted twenty-four butchers who came to slaughter animals today.

There were more than 10,000 rebels and 24 butchers. This ratio may be on the high side.

Why are there only 24 butchers out of 10,000 people? Li Mengxi thinks the ratio is too high.

Because Li Mengxi remembered his previous life, there was a meat seller in the village of two to three thousand people. On weekdays, the meat seller of this family killed pigs every ten days, which was enough to supply the whole village with meat. During the holidays, even people from neighboring villages sold meat.

Came to buy pork.

In other words, one pig-killer can supply three to five villages.

Moreover, modern people's living standards are relatively high, they buy meat more than once a month, and their demand for meat is still relatively large.

In ancient times, ordinary people might not be able to eat meat even once a year.

In previous lives, a butcher could feed three to four thousand people.

Due to differences in supply and demand, in ancient times, one butcher might be able to supply four to five thousand people.

In other words, the rebel army now has ten thousand people. According to the average population ratio, there are only three or four butchers, including the famous butcher Zhang Fei and Zhang Yide.

Feeling that the number of people was not right, Li Mengxi couldn't help but scratch his head.

Li Mengxi was still a million miles away from his divine plan.

He is too immature and takes things for granted.

In ancient times, there were big families. One family was a butcher, and the male was the butcher. From then on, the male's father, the eldest, second, and third brothers of the same generation, and the nephews and nephews of the younger generation must also be able to kill pigs.

Therefore, out of 10,000 people, Li Mengxi guessed that the average number of butchers would be three or four.

And if people are replaced by households, if there are 10,000 people, there will be three or four households of butchers who specialize in killing animals for a living. This number is about right.

There are three or four households, each with about five or six men who are good at butchering. In total, there are not exactly about twenty people.

An old cow, which was either killed by the rain or scared to death by the thunder, and a mule were slaughtered by the butchers.

The tool for carrying meat is a large basket. The slaughtered meat pieces are placed in the basket. Seven baskets are filled with the beef bones that have been removed from the meat. The butchers use axes to chop them into sections and put them in another basket.

inside.

When the peasants were setting up camp, they were asked to go out and make baskets of sticks, rattans, etc. to exchange for food. During this time, they had compiled dozens of large baskets. These baskets were not qualified as carrying tools, and now they were even sent out.

Used for other purposes.

If there were not enough baskets in the army, how could the cows be slaughtered in the first place and the baskets could be collected so quickly.

The old man with a mustache, whom Li Mengxi paid a lot of attention to, wiped the sweat with his sleeves after slaughtering the cow, and walked over in a high-spirited manner, "Military advisor, have we slaughtered the cow? See, how is my old man's skills?"

The old man was very personable. Li Mengxi replied with a smile, "The old man's craftsmanship can be seen from years of practice. In my opinion, among all these people, the old man's craftsmanship is the best!" Li Mengxi praised it without hesitation.

After hearing Li Mengxi's praise, the old man put his hands behind his back, raised his head and laughed heartily.

Seeing that the butchers had finished their work, Li Mengxi glanced around and said, "Everyone, we have been busy for a while, so each of us can get some scraps as a reward... Huh? Why are the intestines thrown on the ground?" Li Mengxi was confused, what was his original intention?

I asked the butchers to get some offal such as intestines and tripe, so I looked around to find where the offal was, and then I saw that the butchers had randomly thrown the intestines on the ground, mixed with the mud.

Beef intestines are also edible. I asked the old butcher about it, and the old man shook his head like a rattle and said that the intestines were inedible and that eating them would make you sick.

Other butchers on the side also said that according to the rules passed down by the elders, the intestines cannot be eaten.

Intestines, can’t be eaten? Li Mengxi frowned.

He knew very well that whether it was pig intestines, sheep intestines or cow intestines, they were all edible.

Didn’t people in ancient times eat it?

No, like the Qing Dynasty, it was also ancient times. The poor people couldn't afford meat and needed to replenish their physical strength. They could only buy chopped intestines, tripe, heart, lungs, liver and the like that were chopped and mixed together.

Could it be that in the Central Plains, animal intestines were not eaten in the first place?

It is possible that the intestines are in direct contact with the waste, and the treatment process is very dirty. In addition, if the treatment is not clean, people will easily get sick after eating it. Therefore, after the experience was passed down, the ancients did not eat animals for a long time.

Intestinal.

It took a long time for the ancients to accept edible intestines. This process was not only the development of cooking technology, but also the improvement of hygiene and common sense.

The intestines butchers said they didn't want any, so Li Mengxi could only let the butchers watch while he got some beef liver, lungs, etc., and each person cut a pound of them and took them away.

It wasn't because of the atmosphere, but because Li Mengxi couldn't estimate how much one pound weighed.

Let the butchers take their own things. Some were honest and cut off a small piece. Some were cunning and thought that Li Mengxi couldn't see it. They hurriedly cut off half of the cow's lungs, fearing that Li Mengxi would see it, so they turned around and tried to kill them.

Walk.

Li Mengxi grinned and turned his face to the side, pretending not to see it.

What a fool. When the carpenters were sharing the food, no one took more. You butchers, no one carpenter is important, and you are extremely cunning.

Li Mengxi didn't want to compete, so he turned around and pretended not to see it.

"What the hell! Come back to me!"

Li Mengxi heard a sudden loud shout and thought something was wrong. Li Mengxi hurriedly went to see it.

Li Mengxi saw the old man with a mustache standing next to him just now, blowing his beard and glaring at a young young man who was running away to stop.

"People say it's a pound of cutting, but you mean it's a pound? Ah? Do you think I, old man, didn't see it?"

The old man turned out to be catching young people with unclean hands and feet.

Li Mengxi was stunned. This old man was unexpectedly dedicated and serious, and Li Mengxi's eyes shone brightly.

Few civilians in the military have such a strong sense of ownership.

Being watched by everyone, the young man who took a lot of beef lungs lowered his head and reluctantly turned back.

Li Mengxi knew very well that this group of butchers and this old man were not related to anyone.

However, when the young man who had brought extra beef lungs came back with half a fan of beef lungs, the old man walked up to the young man, who was not a relative but had a crutch in his arms, and cursed at the young man.

When Li Mengxi saw the old man beating someone, he screamed. He was very worried about what would happen if a conflict broke out. Now these butchers were holding knives that had just slaughtered cows. One of them was unhappy and drew his knife at each other. It was hard to say anything.

Someone dies.

However, to Li Mengxi's expectation, he was beaten all over the face by the old man. The young man looked dissatisfied, but did not say a word and endured it silently.

Under the Confucian moral system, the respect for elders has reached such an extent.

The young people were not honest and had unclean hands and feet. The old man who had been a butcher all his life felt that the young people had tarnished the moral integrity of the butcher's craft, so he asked the young people to throw all the meat back. The old man divided the meat himself and no one was allowed to take more.

.

Li Mengxi smiled when he saw it.

This old man's language is vulgar, and he has a lowly career. If this old man comes from a noble family and is well educated, wouldn't he have the character of a famous scholar based on his character?

But looking at this old man's appearance, shabby clothes, stooped figure, and vulgar language, he doesn't look like a celebrity.

There are also interesting characters among the general public, and Li Mengxi finds them very interesting.

The butchers lined up obediently and came to the old man to receive the meat. The old man was still cursing. Every time the old man cut off a piece, whether it was beef liver or lungs, he held every piece in his hand.

I weighed it carefully. If it felt too heavy, I would cut it again. If it felt light, I would add a little more, as if I was afraid that it would not be divided properly.

The old man divided the meat very fairly, and no one had any objections.

Who knows that among everyone, this old man is the oldest.

After dividing the meat, the old man seemed to have a sense of accomplishment. He stood next to the meat basket with his hands behind his hands, and he didn't know what he thought of.

"Uncle," Li Mengxi called, "and your own meat, don't forget to take it." Li Mengxi reminded with a smile.

The old man was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Li Mengxi, "Hey!" The old man smiled happily at Li Mengxi.

Later, the old man came over to chat with Li Mengxi warmly.

During the conversation, Li Mengxi learned that the old man was from Jizhou, that is, from Hejian. Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the old man's family was relatively well-off. He had a butcher shop in the county, which employed seven or eight helpers. Although the business was not as good as the previous two years.

It's a good year, but not bad.

But when the Yellow Turban rebels came together and looted across the border, everything was ruined.

Speaking of the family that died in the rebellion when the Yellow Turbans invaded the county town, the old man gritted his teeth.

After venting his emotions, the old man sighed and talked about the past again.

The old man's surname is Tu, which is the butcher's name.

When the old man talked about family affairs, he said that his ancestors had been butchers for five generations. Because their ancestors were kind and kind, they never lacked a good reputation. With a good reputation, the business became bigger and bigger, and the family prospered. The word "honesty" became a family name.

The wind has been passed down.

What do you rely on to do business? It’s not just integrity.
To be continued...