Zhang waited for the donkey to finish its cornmeal. She then poured water into the basin and added a handful of crushed salt. She thought to herself, ruefully, that she had forgotten to add salt when she had given the donkey water. Yun the butcher and the children usually fed the donkey, so Zhang didn't feed it often. Otherwise, she wouldn't have forgotten to add salt.

Zhang was sitting on a rock, leaning against a tree, dozing off. Suddenly, the donkey nudged her with its head. With a start, Zhang woke up, remembering she was feeding the donkey. She wondered how she could have fallen asleep.

Zhang looked at the basin in front of the donkey. It had already drunk all the water. She picked up the basin and set it aside. Then she filled the donkey's grass basket with grass. She brushed off the grass scraps, walked to the mat, took off her shoes, and lay down to sleep.

The woods beside the official road were long, and the people of Yunjia Village were scattered, so everyone was a bit far away from each other. Besides, by this time, except for those on duty, the rest of the Yunjia Villagers were asleep.

Last night, everyone was nervous, and after all the traveling, we were all exhausted and sleepy. Now, after dinner, it was time for a good night's sleep. All that could be heard in the woods was snoring. Fortunately, we were all far enough away from each other that we couldn't hear each other clearly, so it didn't affect our sleep.

Butcher Yun slept for about an hour before waking up. He first checked on the donkey and saw that Zhang had already fed it. The donkey's belly was round. "Ah, I wonder when my wife finally fell asleep. She's been working so hard," Butcher Yun thought distressedly.

Butcher Yun placed the fat next to the large iron pot, waiting for Zhang to wake up so he could make lard. Then, he took the basket of pig offal out separately. He found a clean large earthenware basin and placed it aside, then poured a bowl of strong liquor. Then, Butcher Yun smeared the pig offal with strong liquor, then salt. After smearing each piece of pig offal, he arranged them and placed them in the large earthenware basin. There was still some strong liquor left in the bowl, which Butcher Yun also poured onto the pig offal in the basin.

Butcher Yun wiped his hands, found a clean basket, and placed it over the clay pot. He looked at the pig's feet in another basket—there were still three. Butcher Yun thought for a moment and decided to pickle them and eat them later.

This time, he poured half a bowl of baijiu and half a bowl of soy sauce. He first spread the baijiu evenly over the pig's feet, then applied the soy sauce, making sure it was spread evenly. Once everything was done, he placed the pig's feet in a clean earthenware basin, then poured the remaining baijiu and soy sauce over them. Finally, Yun the Butcher found a clean basket and covered the basin.

The pig's offal and trotters needed to be marinated for a while longer to absorb the flavor, but it was hard to find another opportunity to be alone like today. So, before going to bed, Yun the Butcher decided to smoke the offal and trotters over a fire overnight. The daytime temperature was still a bit high, so the meat had to be smoked dry and less watery to keep it in a good condition.

After Butcher Yun finished cleaning the pig's feet, he quickly washed the fat and placed it all in a large iron pot, adding half a bucket of water. He had just sat down on the stone in front of the stove, preparing to add wood to the fire, when Zhang woke up and came over.

"Boss, why did you wake up so early? Are you still sleepy? Do you want to go back to sleep for a while?" Zhang asked with concern.

"No, wife. I've slept a long time. I've rested myself."

"Wife, let me tell you something. I have marinated the pig's offal with white wine and salt, and the pig's feet with white wine and soy sauce. This way, we can taste two flavors when we eat them." Butcher Yun looked at the children who were still sleeping and said in a low voice.

"Boss, did you put too much white wine and salt? It's still a bit hot during the day. I'm worried that if you put too little, the meat will go bad." Zhang asked hurriedly.

"Don't worry, wife. I put a lot of white wine, salt, and soy sauce. After marinating them before going to bed at night, I will smoke them and they will be kept for later use." Yun the butcher said in a low voice.

"That's good, head of the household. However, we have to move the basin onto the donkey cart. Soon, the villagers will come and you and Yiyi will go to the mountain to find water. It will not be good to put it outside for everyone to see." Zhang said in a low voice.

"Then I'll move it onto the donkey cart now." Butcher Yun stood up and carried the clay basin and basket of pig offal onto the cart. Zhang followed with the clay basin and basket of pig feet. Butcher Yun took them and placed them on the cart, lowering the curtain in front. That way, no one would know what was on the cart until the curtain was opened.

Yun the Butcher had just driven the cart into the woods when he untied it from the little donkey. The cart was now leaning against a large tree, while the little donkey rested and ate grass about five or six meters away.

Zhang and Yun the Butcher walked over to the large iron pot and stopped. Yun the Butcher added more wood to the fire while Zhang opened the pot and took a look.

"Master, have you put salt in the pot?"

"I only added water and no salt. I thought I'd add salt when it's time to serve so it doesn't get too salty. What do you think, wife?" Yun the Butcher asked in a low voice.

"It's okay to add salt at the end. But, use a lower fire. If the fire is too big, the oil in the pot will splash everywhere." Zhang said in a low voice.

After hearing what Zhang said, Yun the Butcher pulled out a few large pieces of firewood from the stove, put out the fire, and put them aside for later. After Yun the Butcher finished, he smiled awkwardly at Zhang.

"Fortunately, I woke up in time. Otherwise, the lard would have either been burnt or splashed all over your body, causing blisters." Zhang rolled her eyes at Yun the butcher and said.

"Oh, wife, I didn't mean it. I just thought that I would be angry and refine it faster." Yun the Butcher said embarrassedly.

"Okay, I won't nag you anymore. I'm very happy that you can help me with the work. I don't feel bad if the lard is burnt. But it's very painful when the oil splashes on your body and causes blisters, and it takes a long time to heal." Zhang said in a low voice.

"I knew my wife loved me." Yun the butcher said flatteringly.

Zhang gave Yun the butcher a blank look and said nothing.

At this moment, a crackling sound came from the pot. Zhang half-opened the lid, flipped the fat with a spatula, and then put the lid back on.

"Boss, keep the fire down." Zhang said in a low voice.

"Okay, wife." Butcher Yun pulled the firewood out of the stove hole, and the fire inside the stove became much smaller.

Zhang turned the fat in the big iron pot every two minutes, and soon the rich aroma of lard emanated.

"The lard smells so good, my wife." Butcher Yun said happily.