Chapter 35 Chapter 35 Big Rally

The night before the big rally, Gong Zhili cleaned the backpack thoroughly and then put a clean plastic sheet on it. He had to purchase a large amount of meat the next day and might have to make several trips, so he couldn't let the backpack get stained with blood from the meat.

I will go and see tomorrow if there are any bags for meat. After buying the meat, I will pack it separately and freeze it.

She sat in a chair in her bedroom and dreamed: "Beef curry, braised pork, sweet and sour spare ribs, hot pot, barbecue...Ah, we have to buy more meat!"

Nanako's saliva was about to flow out. She swallowed her saliva and asked, "Can I eat all these?"

Gong Zhili continued to fantasize: "Of course, if there is a grill or a grill iron plate, you can also make iron plate beef——"

Mimiko rolled over on the bed: "Master Gong, if you keep talking I'm going to be hungry again."

Gong Zhili had actually made herself greedy. Seeing the two children looking at her eagerly, she smiled and said, "Go to sleep. You can go buy meat tomorrow."

--

In the past, large gatherings in the village were never as lively as today.

Firstly, people used to have limited money, so they were always stingy and fussy when buying or exchanging things; secondly, everyone brought out the same things, which were all basic foods, and people had neither the time nor the mood to explore new things.

But this rally was completely different!

The village chief stood on the playground of the primary school: the rally is usually held during holidays, and the children can come to the rally to have fun during their holidays, and the school playground is also suitable as a venue for the rally.

Early in the morning, villagers came to the playground to set up stalls, carrying loads on their shoulders, driving small trucks, or pushing carts.

The village chief noticed that the supplies they displayed this month were far richer than in previous years, and he knew why: the species on the unmanned vegetable stalls had also increased a lot recently, and the people who came to the gathering today must have made careful preparations in private.

There is no fixed start time for the gathering. As long as people come, transactions can be carried out. The village chief was still standing at the entrance of the playground counting the number of people entering when he saw Lord Gong and two children following the team directly into the venue.

It’s too early!

The village chief, Yamada Shigeru, hurried forward and said, "Master Gong..."

Gong Zhili greeted him warmly: "Good morning."

Village chief: "What do you want to buy? Not everyone has arrived yet."

Gong Zhili nodded: "I know, but I need to buy a lot of things today, and I came late. Pork and beef are selling very fast, right?"

This was based on her previous experience. Any supplies that required a period of time to obtain would often be snatched up, so she hadn't eaten meat for a long time. Other people in the village also had no convenient channels to buy meat. Everyone had a great demand for meat, so the meat stall must be the one with the most intense competition today!

And you have to buy meat early. Today, she used her ability to cheat. She knew that the two pork and beef sellers got up very early to slaughter livestock. She followed them on time, so she was sure to buy the freshest and best parts of meat!

As she expected, there were not many people in front of the pork and beef stalls. She said, "I have a lot of things to buy today, so I won't talk about it for now," and rushed to the meat stall.

Because it was Saturday, the stall owner's whole family came out. Grandparents, parents and children were all busy at the stall. They warmly welcomed the first customer.

"I want ten pounds of pork belly, five pounds of ribs, five pounds of front leg meat, and six pounds of tenderloin. Do you sell them in individual bags?" She took off the backpack and her eyes wandered over the pork.

The proprietress quickly said, "Yes, we will pack them separately when we cut the pork. Sir Gong, do you need more bags? We can help you cut it together."

Such good service? Gong Zhili's eyes lit up: "I would be very grateful if you could help me cut it!"

The boss picked up a knife and started chopping the meat. Gong Zhili turned to the beef stall and said, "Please give me five pounds each of brisket, shank, tenderloin, and shoulder. Can you cut them up and bag them separately?"

The boss here was more efficient: "Of course, I can cut it into pieces by the pound."

Gong Zhili praised highly: "That's great!"

While waiting for the meat to be chopped, more people came to the gathering and many stalls were set up. At first, the children would gather around their own stalls to help, but when their classmates and neighbor children from other families who did not have stalls and could run around freely ran by, they also showed eager expressions. The adults at home basically just laughed and scolded them, and let them go out to play by themselves. Children who were sweet-talkers could even get pocket money from their parents.

As expected, the meat stall where Gong Zhili was standing was quickly surrounded. Experienced home chefs requested even more specific cuts than she did. Seeing the pieces of meat she bought, they all said, "As expected of Master Gong, you really know how to choose."

In fact, it was the boss who helped to select the meat. Gong Zhili accepted the praise calmly. She packed the meat, led the twins out of the crowd, and said, "I'll be back soon!"

She had to put the meat back home first to free up the backpack. She saw that some families were selling smoked meat and air-dried chicken, and she wanted to eat those too!

She went home and put all the meat into the freezer. Seeing the compartments filled to the brim, she felt very satisfied.

Gong Zhili is back at the gathering with full energy, but her house is still empty. She doesn’t know when she will have such a lively opportunity next time!

Moreover, the villagers had so many good things, such as wild honey, homemade rice wine, goat milk cheese, dried bamboo shoots, kelp, red dates, plant-dyed cloth, wicker cushions, bags for frozen meat, instant curry blocks, various seasonings that she didn't have at home, smoked meat, air-dried chicken... Her backpack and hands were soon full.

Gong Zhili squeezed out of the crowd and then found out: the twins who had always been following her were gone!

She stood there for a while, and then groups of unfamiliar children came running over, saying nervously, "The girls are at the Hashimoto family's knitting stall, watching the owner knit a woolen blanket."

Gong Zhili immediately cast her gaze in that direction, then retracted it, smiling and saying to the children, "Thank you. Could you please tell them I'm going home first and will come back later?"

The leading girl was very excited: "I'll go talk to them!"

Gong Zhili returned home again carrying her things. This time she bought a lot of different things, so she put them away separately. This time she did not carry a backpack and walked back to the meeting.

At this moment, some people have set up stalls to sell snacks at the gathering. The roasted rice balls are imprinted with the scorch marks of the iron mesh and are brushed with soy sauce, with a fragrant aroma; the glutinous rice balls skewered on bamboo sticks are bulging with scorch marks, and the rice cakes are swollen into round shapes on the wire mesh and brushed with a layer of amber soy sauce. The sweet and salty aroma catches the corners of the clothes of passers-by.

The iron plate at the stall next door sizzled as the owner, wearing a white towel, poured batter into a honeycomb-shaped iron mold. With a twist of a wooden skewer, small, golden, round pancakes popped out, flipping over. Children stood on tiptoe, passing coins and accepting the scalding snacks. Red bean paste oozes from the cracks, and they bite into them while they're still hot, hissing and refusing to let go.

In front of the temporary counter supported by a fir table, translucent kudzu starch noodles were soaking in an aluminum basin. The proprietress swiftly scooped up a bunch, poured black honey on it, and sprinkled two pickled green plums. When Gong Zhili saw Mimiko holding the bowl, she was able to say thank you to the proprietress without flinching.

The freezer cart in the corner of the playground was creaking and turning, the shaved ice machine was spinning out smoothies, and the bowl was piled with crushed ice. The boss poured a spoonful of homemade perilla syrup on it. No child would refuse a bowl of such shaved ice.

The old woman stood next to the pan where tempura was fried. The wild vegetables coated with flour were floating in the pan. The fried pumpkin slices and the eggplants just out of the pan gave off a particularly tempting smell of fried food. Even adults were willing to line up for it.

Gong Zhili also went to line up. It was easy for her to not attract attention in the village. She completely integrated into the gathering and ate all the snacks that interested her. She also brought a lot of food for Nanako who was still sitting in front of the weaving stall.

"Are you interested in this?" She squatted down and asked Nanako, "What do you want to knit with wool?"

Nanako held the snack bowl in her hand, her eyes full of anticipation: "I want to learn how to knit a scarf!" Gloves are too complicated and she may not be able to learn it.

The stall owner sat on a chair and knitted slowly, not caring at all about the little girl trying to steal his skills.

Gong Zhili looked with her for a while and then asked the stall owner, "Do you have knitting needles and yarn sets for children?"

She realized: This is a kind of play house set!

To be honest, I have never bought similar toys for my children, so you can buy them.

So get the wool knitting set x1!

"Mimiko, do you want this?" Gong Zhili pointed at what he was holding and asked Mimiko. Mimiko was still eating black honey kudzu vermicelli and shook her head when she heard it: "I want to buy something else!"

She took Gong Zhili to a small stall near the playground exit and pointed at the cartoons on it and said, "I want to learn this."

"Painting...that's not bad either." Gong Zhili packed up and bought some painting supplies, paper, and children's art books. Speaking of which, children loved playing with these things when they were young. She asked the owner of the children's paintings and paints, "Do you sell any handmade clay here?"

Masaru Kono introduced his wife next to him: "My wife makes clay toys, and she occasionally takes orders online."

So amazing! Gong Zhili looked at Kono Kumiko and couldn't help asking: "Actually, you drew this picture book yourself, right?"

Kumiko Kono was a little embarrassed: "Because he and I are both art teachers in middle school..." One is responsible for painting and the other is responsible for handicrafts.

Gong Zhili successfully placed an order for clay and also bought the matching tools.

--

After having fun, we got enough food and drink to replenish our supplies at the big gathering, and of course we had a big meal when we got home at noon.

Neither of the two children wanted to play with the toys they had just gotten, and they just sat in the kitchen waiting for delicious food.

Gong Zhili was full of energy in the kitchen: not to mention the two children, she herself hadn't eaten meat for a long time!

Of course, there is meat to eat in the end times, but the cost of raising it is too high. It’s not that the raw materials for feed are rare, but that there is a shortage of manpower.

In order to produce enough meat to feed everyone, large-scale farming is necessary, but there is a shortage of manpower. Even with machines, maintaining the operation of large-scale farms requires a considerable amount of manpower support.

But the reality is that the population size in the end times makes it difficult for the base to expand its breeding scale.

So the meat we ate was also rationed.

This time she generously took out both the ribs and beef, put them in a pot with cold water, added ginger slices and cooking wine and brought to a boil, then blanched the ribs, skimmed off the foam, and removed them and drained them.

Since she rarely cooks meat, she also prepares some caramel. She heats a pan with cold oil and adds rock sugar, then stir-fries over low heat until caramelized. Then, she adds the pork ribs and stir-fries until they are browned. Then, she adds ginger, garlic, star anise, and bay leaves, sautéing until fragrant. Season with light and dark soy sauce, then pours boiling water over the ribs to cover them. Then, she lets them simmer gently while she turns to the beef.

She placed the sliced ​​beef in a bowl, added soy sauce, crushed black pepper, and starch, mixed well, drizzled with oil to lock in the moisture, and marinated for 15 minutes. Then she heated oil to sauté onions, added the beef slices, and quickly stir-fried them over high heat until they changed color.

She thought for a moment, found some carrots and green peppers, shredded them, and in another pan, stir-fried them until cooked through. She then added the beef and mixed them in. The carrots were also part of the day's harvest; she'd cut a piece off and eaten it raw before chopping. It tasted so sweet. Finally, she added the shredded carrots and green peppers to the meat, added oyster sauce and the remaining crushed black pepper, and stir-fried until evenly combined. Then, she served it in the pan!

The two children were so lost after eating a dish of beef that it smelled so good. Mimiko sat on a small stool, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She felt that the aroma could make her eat a big bowl of white rice.

Nanako was more looking forward to the pot of steamed pork ribs. She stood on tiptoe and twitched her nose gently. She knew that there was something more delicious in the pot with the lid!

Seeing that the time was almost up, Gong Zhili opened the lid of the braised pork ribs pot, put in potatoes and carrot cubes, and continued to stew until they were soft. After the sauce was absorbed, she opened the lid and sprinkled chopped green onions.

The moment she finally opened the lid, the rich aroma of the potato chips spread across the kitchen like a tide. The potatoes soaked in gravy were sticky and dense, giving off an almost pure meaty aroma, interwoven with the subtle fragrance of potatoes and carrot chunks.

"It's time for dinner!" Gong Zhili also took a deep breath in ecstasy, "I cooked a lot of rice today, enjoy the meat!"

She didn't cook any other dishes. The portions of the braised pork ribs with potatoes and carrots and the black pepper beef were very large. The three of them were so engrossed in eating that they didn't have time to talk.

Gong Zhili was rarely full. She turned around and saw that her two children were also full. She sighed and went to boil hawthorn water.

She ate so much that she felt a little dizzy: it was carbon monoxide poisoning.

She simply indulged herself and went to the bedroom with the twins for a nap.

The wooden window was half-open, letting the mountain breeze into the bedroom, filtering fragments of light through the bamboo curtains. The curtains fluttered gently, and the wind chimes by the window swayed, their clear chimes gentle and joyful. The cotton sheets were soaked with the warmth of the sun, the cotton quilt was soft and fluffy, and the pillows smelled of small wildflowers from the sun.

Gong Zhili fell asleep without any resistance.

--

Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu High School.

The high school boys who had just finished a game walked arm in arm to the vending machine to buy water.

"It's so hot today—" Gojo Satoru complained lazily, "The thought of having to meet those rotten oranges in the afternoon really makes me sick to my stomach."

He really didn't eat anything at noon, and after drinking half a bottle of drink, he seemed to be a little more energetic.

Xia Yujie said calmly: "Do you need me to go with you?"

Gojo Satoru: "Those guys are even more disgusting than the Cursed Spirit Jade, huh?"

Geto Xia Yu smiled: "The Cursed Spirit Jade has now become like Konpeito. As long as you find the right method, rotten oranges can also be turned into fertilizer."

Gojo Satoru looked at him in surprise, then burst into laughter: "Yeah, I'm actually a gardener. Turning them into fertilizer is a genius idea!"

Geto: "So I'll go with you this time."

Gojo Satoru was silent for a moment, then asked him, "Is it really okay?"

Geto Summer Oil: "Don't treat me like someone who needs to be cared for. It's disgusting."

Gojo Satoru's face wrinkled. "You're disgusting when you say that."

Putting aside his personal concerns about Geto Suguru, Gojo Satoru began to prepare: "Next, let's go to my dormitory!"

Geto Xiayou: "Not going to the general directors' meeting?"

Gojo Satoru: "Before I teach them a lesson, I need you to know why you are teaching them."

He thought for a moment and said, "I'll call Nitro as well."

They went to the infirmary and found Glass, who was taking a nap, and forcibly woke her up. Glass took a deep breath and exhaled, telling herself that it was pointless to argue with these two muscular gorillas. This was the only way to keep her voice steady: "What's the matter? Tell me quickly."

She massaged the soles of her feet back and forth on the gravel road for a long time, and tasted some village specialties before she adjusted herself and went to sleep. They should compensate her for all this!

Gojo Satoru: "Glass, come play in my dorm. We're going to do something big this afternoon!"

Glass: "I'm not going."

Xia Yujie suddenly asked: "What if we go to the village?"

Glass adjusted her bangs and asked, "When do we leave?"

Gojo Satoru's expression was complicated: "Glass, your heart is flying."

The three of them eventually went to Gojo's dormitory together, and listened to Gojo Satoru seriously explain to them the darkness and incompetence of the Director Council, and showed them his grand plan to change the world of sorcery, which also involved even deeper darkness and secrets in the world of sorcery...

Glass sat cross-legged on the floor, looking at the small blackboard Gojo Satoru had gotten from somewhere, and asked, "But what does this have to do with me, a doctor?"

Geto: "According to what Wu said, changing the unreasonable structure and operating mechanism of the Jujutsu world will greatly reduce your overtime hours, Glass."

Gojo gave a thumbs up: "As expected of you, Jie!"

Glass was surprised: "No way, you took his words seriously? To be honest, I thought he was still in his rebellious phase and that's why he saw everyone as dark."

Gojo: "Hey!"

Geto Suguru pondered, "Actually, when I'm on a mission, I can feel the irrationality a little bit. If it's true, then the changes that Satoru mentioned are very necessary."

Glass: "Can you just start something like this?"

The scope involved is too broad.

Gojo decisively used his next move: "If this is done, you can go to the palace for a vacation! A long vacation!"

Glass said without hesitation: "I'll do it."

The author has something to say:

----------------------

Although his words are a bit childish, Mr. Gojo has very detailed plans.