"Grandma, look what my sister brought back!"

Xiaoman went home, grabbed some firewood, rushed into the kitchen, and showed Grandma Sun what she had gathered that day.

Grandma Sun was stunned by the two pounds of meat. "Where did this pork come from, Miao'er?"

They were terrified that their granddaughter would be tricked by bad people and do something heartbreaking.

Sun Miao'er deftly slammed the pork onto the cutting board. "This was a gift from Uncle Liang."

Uncle Liang the Second? Old Mrs. Sun thought to herself that she wasn't particularly close to the second son of the Liang family. Although he was a butcher, he wouldn't be so generous as to send pork to her family.

Sun Xiaoman helped out, fetching water and starting a fire. "Er Ya was bitten on the hand by a fat bug. Thanks to her sister's help, the pain was relieved. Uncle Liang was overjoyed and gave her some pork."

"Hehe, I've watched my grandma tend to herbs since I was little. I may not have eaten pork, but haven't I at least seen a pig run?"

Sun Miao'er made up a random excuse to brush it off.

Two pounds of pork, one pound for braising, and one pound for filling—it's perfect!

The water boiled, the pot was boiling, and the chopped meat chunks were put into the pot and tossed around. This meat really needs to be blanched to be fragrant.

The aroma of the blanched meat already made Xiaoman impatient.

Sun Miao'er was worried because she had no oil in the pot.

As the old saying goes, there's always a way out. Sun Miao'er took some water, mixed it with brown sugar, and melted it into syrup at the bottom of the pot. She then poured in the blanched pork belly, and in a short while, the pork belly was browned to a golden brown. The even color of the caramelized sugar was very appealing, and each piece of meat shone with a glossy sheen.

Drizzle with soy sauce, add water to cover the pork, cover the pot, and simmer!

About half an hour later, Sun Miao'er added some water to the pot. Xiaoman couldn't resist the craving and secretly dipped some water into her mouth with her chopsticks.

The aroma was so enticing that he almost fell off his stool.

"Xiaoman, light the fire and reduce the sauce!"

Under Sun Miao'er's direction, Xiaoman made the fire in the stove burn even brighter, and the pot bubbled and churned as the meat chunks coated in sauce rolled around.

When the sauce has reduced to about 80-90%, it's ready to serve!

A plate of braised pork, with its perfect color, aroma, and taste, was placed in front of Grandma Sun and Xiaoman. Xiaoman swallowed her saliva frantically, and the steamed buns on the small stove were also ready.

"Why aren't you eating, Xiaoman?"

Sun Miao'er placed the meat on the table, but noticed that Xiaoman was acting strangely. According to his usual personality, he would have devoured the meat long ago, but now he hesitated and did not touch it.

"I want to look at it a little longer, so that I can remember what braised pork looks like next time I dream about it."

Xiaoman's words were both heartbreaking and funny. Sun Miao'er couldn't help but burst out laughing, "From now on, I'll make sure you have meat to eat every day. Don't worry about it, don't remember anything!"

Hearing this, Xiaoman felt reassured and started eating heartily. "Mmm, Xiaoman will believe whatever you say, sister! The meat you cook is so delicious!"

Grandma Sun is old, so Sun Miao'er specially cut the meat into smaller pieces and put a few pieces of fatty and tender meat into Grandma Sun's bowl, saying, "Grandma, you should eat more meat too."

"What's that smell? Oh, it's someone secretly eating meat behind my back!"

As soon as Jin entered the courtyard, she smelled the long-lost aroma of meat. She rolled up her sleeves and stormed into the kitchen. The three of them, grandmother and grandson, were eating meat, chatting and laughing, which infuriated her.

Sun Miao'er put down her chopsticks and stood in front of the table, afraid that Jin Shi would come closer. "Auntie, why can't we eat this meat?"

"Yes, of course you can! How can you not treat me like one of the family members? Fine, you all live in my house, eat my food, and even steal food from me behind my back!"

Jin's eyes were fixed on the meat on the table. If she hadn't been careful enough to sneak back and take a look today, she might have missed out on a good meal.

"Auntie, what are you saying? I just left some for you, didn't I?"

Sun Miao'er lifted the pot lid, revealing a bowl of meat scraps warm inside. These were leftovers from rendering lard. Since Jin had given them moldy wheat, it wouldn't be unreasonable for her to leave some lard scraps for her.

"This meat wasn't bought by Auntie, the stove wasn't cleaned by Auntie, and the firewood wasn't carried back by Auntie, so how come it's Auntie's turn to eat it?"

Just as Jin Shi had previously settled accounts with her, Sun Miao'er would now demand reimbursement for every single debt.

Jin's face turned pale. She snatched the scraps of meat from Sun Miao'er's hand. "Give it to me! You just wait! Let's see how long you can keep this up in this house!"

After seeing Jin Shi off, Miao'er sat down and took a bite. "What delicious meat! This pork belly is really fatty but not greasy, isn't it, Xiaoman!"

"Uh-huh!"

Xiaoman nodded repeatedly, holding the bowl and not wanting to leave even the broth behind.

Jin could hear the sounds from the kitchen even while sitting in the inner room. She only had a bowl of scraps of meat left in her hand. Just as she was about to smash the bowl, she heard her stomach rumbling. She should have just eaten at Hua Gu's place today. But then she thought about it and realized that Hua Gu was usually stingy. If she were to treat her, she probably wouldn't even be willing to give her scraps of meat.

He had no choice but to swallow his anger and eat the scraps of meat with his hidden dry rations.

After dealing with Jin Shi, Sun Miao'er slapped the remaining half jin of pork belly onto the cutting board and washed the shepherd's purse she had dug up that morning. In the 21st century, shepherd's purse buns were an unforgettable delicacy in her memory, but who knew that after coming to this desolate Fushui Village, even eating a bun would become a luxury.

Xiaoman stood on tiptoe, her little hands gripping the edge of the stove, drooling, "If only you could braise this half piece of meat for me, Sister!"

"Eating braised pork all the time is getting greasy. Let me make you something even tastier! I just told you to save room in your stomach, so you won't regret it later when you can't eat anymore."

With a swift stroke of her knife, Sun Miao'er transformed the pork belly into neat minced meat, which was then mixed with chopped shepherd's purse. The unique aroma of the shepherd's purse mingled with the fragrance of the meat, filling the small kitchen.

The smell was blown out by the southwest wind seeping in through the broken window, blowing straight into Jin's room. Jin was already holding back her anger, and had only eaten some coarse food at noon. Upon smelling this, she simply started cursing in her room, not caring whether the neighbors would hear and she would lose face.

"I am your elder. If you treat me like this, you will be struck by lightning in the future. I have plenty of time to waste on you. I don't believe you can stay in the Sun family forever!"

Although she didn't name names, anyone with common sense could tell who Jin was cursing. However, the Sun family had been making a fool of themselves for a long time. Ever since Sun Yuanyong disappeared and Song went mad, the Sun family had long been the subject of gossip among the neighbors.

In the kitchen, Jin's vile and foul language reached the ears of Old Mrs. Sun. She banged her cane a few times and pointed her index finger in the direction of Jin's room. However, she had already uttered all the harsh words she wanted to say in the past few days, but Jin did not show any restraint.

"Grandma, let's wait to eat the steamed buns. Don't get upset."

Sun Miao'er ignored these harsh words and focused on making noodles. Being well-fed and watered was the priority right now, not wasting energy arguing with Jin Shi after finally filling her stomach.