Chapter 43 Crispy Fried Pork Belly Builds a New House!

Today was the day construction was to begin. As dawn broke, Lin Yao and Lin Cheng arrived at their own yard.

Liu Dazhuang and Liu Xu arrived early and were clearing weeds from the yard. There was also a boy that Lin Yao didn't recognize. He was slightly short and chubby, with fair skin and a pleasing appearance. He was carefully collecting the weeds that Liu Dazhuang and Liu Xu had pulled out into a basket.

Lin Cheng noticed his sister's gaze lingering on the boy, so he explained softly, "That's Aunt Liu's eldest son, Wu Tong, who's fourteen years old. He had a high fever when he was little, which damaged his brain, so he acts like a three-year-old. Aunt Liu usually keeps him at home, afraid he'll run off and cause trouble. A few days ago, I went to find someone to help repair the house and happened to run into Aunt Liu. She insisted that I take Tong with me, saying that Tong can't do much heavy work, so he can just help out here. She said it wouldn't be taking advantage of us, and we shouldn't worry about Tong's lunch; he should go home to eat."

Listening to Lin Cheng's explanation, Lin Yao understood his confusion about Liu San Niang's actions. However, having spent her days surfing the internet before her transmigration, she had some understanding of the situation of children with special needs and could appreciate Liu San Niang's good intentions. Liu San Niang was doing this to help Wu Tong develop his social skills and gradually try living independently. She had also taken good care of the three siblings, and had even spoken up for them when Lin Demao caused trouble. They felt they should repay this kindness.

Lin Yao nodded. Hearing that someone else had arrived, she turned around and saw that it was Lin Yougong, the eldest son of the village head, and Zhang Ping and Zhang An from next door.

Lin Yao still remembered this older cousin. Whenever Lin Youfu bullied the original owner's siblings, Zhang Yougong would always stand up for them if he saw it.

The two families lived far apart, so Lin Yougong couldn't interfere in other people's affairs. Every time Lin Yougong finished disciplining Lin Youfu, that guy would only bully them even more severely.

Even so, the three siblings were still deeply grateful to their cousin. Lin Yougong was two years older than Lin Cheng, making him the oldest among their generation.

He was tall and robust, and when he entered the courtyard, he was carrying a brand-new hammer. He shouted loudly, "Brother Cheng, Sister Ayao, I'm here!" His cheerful voice instantly broke the tranquility of the morning.

Lin Cheng hurried forward, took the hammer from his hand, and said with a smile, "Big cousin, you're here really early. Take a break and have some water." Lin Yougong waved his hand, "No need to rest, the house repair work is more important." As he spoke, he looked around the yard and saw Wu Tong intently gathering grass, so he asked, "Is this Aunt Liu's Tong?" Lin Cheng nodded.

Lin Yougong walked over to Wu Tong, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "A Tong, work hard with your brothers today, and I'll treat you to sweet cakes tonight."

Wu Tong looked up, his eyes sparkling, revealing a set of bright white teeth, "Okay, okay, sweet cake!"

After a brief division of labor, everyone got to work with great enthusiasm.

Lin Yougong and Liu Dazhuang, being experienced, took the initiative to undertake the important task of ramming the earthen wall.

They first erected the pre-prepared wooden planks to form a rectangular trough, which was the prototype of the earthen wall①. Lin Cheng and Liu Xu were responsible for carrying loess, load after load, which was poured into the trough and gradually piled up.

Lin Yao and Wu Tong were also busy. Lin Yao watched carefully from the side, occasionally handing everyone tools. Wu Tong followed Lin Yao, helping to tidy up the scattered planks and tools, running around without stopping for a moment.

Lin Yougong picked up the stone rammer, which weighed several dozen kilograms and was difficult for an ordinary person to lift with one hand, but in his hands it was like a toy.

He raised the stone rammer high and then slammed it down heavily onto the yellow earth in the trough, each strike carrying considerable force, the dull thud echoing through the courtyard.

Liu Dazhuang assisted from the side, directing the dumping of loess while using a hoe to spread it evenly, ensuring that the rammed earth wall was uniform and solid.

After working for most of the day, half of the mud walls of Lin Yao's house were completed. At noon, Lin Yao went to the kitchen. Today was the first day of construction, and she hoped that she could treat everyone well so that it wouldn't be in vain that they had put down their work in the fields to help them build the house.

Lin Yao took out the chicken that she had cut up yesterday from the well.

Yesterday, she put the chopped chicken in a basin and hung it in the well to keep it fresh, so that she only needed to wash it again today.

She first placed the chicken in clean water and gently rubbed it to allow the blood to seep out completely until the water became clear. Then she took the chicken out and drained the water.

To make the chicken more flavorful, Lin Yao sprinkled a layer of fine salt and five-spice powder on the chicken, then poured in a little cooking wine, carefully coating each piece of chicken with the seasonings so that it could be fully absorbed.

Lin Yao washed a large handful of scallions and cut them into thin, long segments. She also chopped some of the green parts into small pieces. The chicken in the pan had already been pan-fried until golden brown on both sides. Lin Yao then evenly spread the chopped scallion segments over the chicken, covered the pan with the lid, and let the aroma of the scallions slowly permeate the chicken.

After marinating for a while, Lin Yao poured an appropriate amount of lard into the iron plate. When the oil was hot, she put the prepared scallion segments into the oil and fried them to make scallion oil. When the scallion segments began to turn golden brown, she placed the chicken pieces on the iron plate.

Lin Yao occasionally used a spatula to gently turn the chicken, and the chicken skin gradually turned into an enticing golden yellow, and the aroma became more and more intense.

Before long, the chicken in the pan was fried until golden brown on both sides. Lin Yao spread the chopped green onions evenly on the chicken, allowing the aroma of the green onions to further penetrate into the chicken.

Finally, Lin Yao took out the pan-fried chicken and arranged it on a plate. At this point, the pan-fried scallion chicken had a golden and crispy skin, and was tender and juicy inside. The aroma of scallions and chicken blended perfectly, making it look incredibly appetizing.

Then Lin Yao started making crispy pork belly. In her previous life, crispy pork belly was popular all over the country, and she had posted several different recipes, one of which was the pan-fried crispy pork belly she was going to make today.

Lin Yao had the pork belly skinned and soaked for half an hour beforehand.

Now, she takes the soaked pork belly out of the water, puts it in a pot, pours in enough water to cover the pork belly, adds a little salt, brings it to a boil over high heat, skims off the foam, and then simmers it over medium heat.

While the food was simmering, Lin Yao began to prepare the dipping sauce.

She ground the dogwood into powder, added it to the five-spice powder, then added garlic powder and scallions, and poured hot oil over it, instantly releasing the aroma through the high temperature.

Lin Yao took out chopsticks and stirred quickly to fully blend the spices and oil.

At this point, the water in the pot had evaporated, and Lin Yao began to pan-fry the pork belly over low heat, turning it over constantly until the surface of the pork belly turned golden brown and crispy.

She took the pork belly out, cut it into small pieces, and put it on a plate.

There was still a lot of oil left in the pan from frying the pork belly. Lin Yao added some firewood to the stove, put the minced pork in the pan, and stir-fried it briefly until it was cooked through. Then she added the chopped eggplant to the pan. Before long, a delicious dish to eat with rice, minced pork and eggplant, was ready.

While Lin Yao was preparing the last dish, she asked Lin Song to call the people who had been repairing the house to come and eat. Everyone was already in the courtyard waiting for the meal. Lin Yao brought out the pan-fried scallion chicken, crispy pork belly, and eggplant with minced meat to the table. Lin Yougong gasped, "Ah Yao, this is even more lavish than the banquet Old Xu's family held for their daughter's wedding! It's all meat dishes!"

Lin Yao smiled a little embarrassedly and said, "We can't let everyone help us repair the house on an empty stomach, and it will take several days of hard work. I can't be of much help anyway, so I thought I'd cook something nice to reward everyone."

Lin Yougong laughed heartily, "No need to be so polite, we should treat each other like this when we're from the same village."

Everyone was starving and took their seats. Liu Xu couldn't wait to pick up a piece of pan-fried scallion chicken. He took a bite, and the tender, juicy chicken mixed with the rich aroma of scallions burst in his mouth. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Ayao, with your skills, it's a shame you don't open a restaurant in town!"

Wu Tong, standing to the side, had his mouth stuffed with crispy pork belly, his cheeks bulging as he ate with relish. The men, who were already big eaters, were even more so after a day of hard labor, and they all wolfed down their food.

As the group was enjoying their meal, a knock came at the door. "Dazhuang! Is Dazhuang home?" Wu Tong recognized Liu San Niang's voice, immediately stopped eating, and ran towards the door. "Mother! Mother! Tong is here!"

Liu Dazhuang pressed him back into the chair, saying, "Eat your food properly, I'll go open the door."

“Dazhuang, is Atong here…” Liu Sanniang was halfway through her sentence when she saw her son eating with his mouth full of oil, and her face instantly turned red.

Liu San Niang's personality was quite similar to Liang Shi's, so despite their significant age difference, the two got along very well.

She knew that Lin Cheng's family were kind-hearted. Originally, she wanted her son to help build the house so he could get to know people better. With Lin Cheng and his family taking care of him, she was sure there wouldn't be any problems. She even assured them that she wouldn't take advantage of the Lin family and invited her son's family to have lunch at their house.

Unexpectedly, her son was eating here. Looking at the dishes on the table, Liu San Niang thought that Lin Yao must have thought that repairing the house would be too strenuous, so she had made meat dishes. A Tong couldn't help much, but he was eating so happily.

Liu San Niang rushed over to Wu Tong's side and reached out to help him up, but Lin Yao quickly put down her bowl and stopped her, saying, "Aunt Liu, it's alright, Brother Tong has been a great help today!"

Liu Dazhuang chimed in, "Atong is such a diligent kid. He's very efficient and quick at his work. Today, when we were ramming the earthen wall, he even helped by handing over the hammer, running around and never stopping for a moment."

Wu Tong was still chewing on crispy pork belly. Although he was young and immature, he was very sensitive to the emotions of those around him. He looked at Liu San Niang with his eyes full of grievance and said, "Mother, can...can you help?"

Looking at her son, Liu San Niang's eyes reddened slightly. She knew perfectly well that Lin Yao and the others were just trying to comfort her. She gently patted Wu Tong's head and said, "Alright, then Tong will eat with his older brothers and sisters." As she spoke, she turned to Lin Yao and the others and said, "I'm so sorry, everyone. This child has caused you all so much trouble."

Lin Yao quickly waved her hand, "Aunt Liu, please don't say that. Brother A Tong has helped us a lot."

Liu San Niang turned her back, secretly wiping away her tears, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

Over the years, she has worried herself sick over Wu Tong.

Seeing her son accepted by everyone today filled her with both joy and emotion. She composed herself, turned around, walked to Lin Yao's side, gently took her hand, and said with a slightly choked voice, "Yao, Auntie knows you have a kind heart. A-Tong has been a pitiful child since he was little. I've always been afraid that he would cause trouble for others, so I haven't dared to let him go out on weekdays. Thank you all so much today."

Lin Yao grasped Liu San Niang's hand. "Aunt Liu, you've helped us several times before. This is how we repay you. We're neighbors, so helping each other is only right." Lin Yao originally wanted to invite her to stay for lunch, but Liu San Niang refused, saying that lunch was already prepared at home and it would be a waste not to eat. She pulled Wu Tong aside, gave him a few instructions, and then went home.

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Author's note: ① Quoted from Baidu