Witness a new way of killing chickens.

By chance, a few colleagues and I went to Huazhong Normal University's Huquan Night Market for dinner. It was my first time there, and as someone who has lived in Wuhan for eight years, it was also the first time I had heard of Huquan. When I mentioned this, I was mocked by others. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a night market mainly focused on barbecues. It seemed like all the delicious food in Wuhan could be found here. The market was quite large, and there were many people. It appears that the people of Huazhong Normal University are truly fortunate to have such a place to enjoy every night. Of course, it seems that eating too much barbecue isn't good, so one should stop when appropriate. Looking around, the methods of barbecuing varied depending on the location; most used charcoal-fired grills, but some used electricity. A colleague introduced that traditionally, the food from charcoal-fired grills tastes better, so we chose to sit at one of those places. Indeed, the feeling of dripping oil and rising smoke was more satisfying. Of course, whether the real chemical reactions between electric and charcoal grills are the same, I don't know, nor do I know if anyone has studied it.

This trip was not in vain, and now let's get to the main topic. On this evening, I witnessed a new method of killing chickens. I remember that the way my father taught me to kill a chicken involved feeding it well first, then cutting its throat while holding its wings and head with one hand, exposing its neck, and slicing it until the chicken stopped moving. But today, I realized how vast the world is. The tools used were much simpler than what I knew. All that was needed was a bucket. The process was simple: pour boiling hot water into the bucket, then throw the live chicken directly into the bucket, cover it, and wait until the chicken dies. That's it. It seems the chicken was quite wronged because it died without knowing how it died—whether it suffocated or was scalded to death. The relevant authorities haven't given a definitive explanation, so naturally, we don't know either. A chicken's life should be one dedicated to providing delicious food for humans, but I wonder what chickens think about such contributions. This reminded me of the cat-torture incident, and also of humanity's methods of acquisition. Speaking of which, everyone knows that the lacquer used on our furniture comes from lacquer trees. Therefore, harvesting lacquer involves making an incision directly on the lacquer tree. Not long ago, during a business trip, I witnessed a simple old farmer harvesting lacquer. He first stood about five meters away from the lacquer tree, then stood straight and saluted, then respectfully approached the lacquer tree before making the cut. Everyone present laughed, but the old farmer appeared very serious. I don't know the deeper meaning, but I seem to understand this simple old farmer's correct way of acquiring resources. In this light, a chicken's life seems even more tragic than that of a lacquer tree.

PS: The barbecue we ate that night was still very satisfying, as I hadn't had it in a long time, and I was also very hungry beforehand...