Chapter 76 Sausage Casing, You Packer

When Lin Yao and her brother arrived at the martial arts school, Lin Song had already been waiting for quite a while. Seeing them come to meet him, he was about to run over when someone beat him to it. Zhang Dashan rushed to the door and gave Lin Yao a hearty fist-and-palm salute: "Thank you so much for your hospitality today, Sister Lin Song! We've never had such delicious snacks before!"

Lin Yao looked at him, so young yet behaving like a mountain king, and couldn't help but laugh: "Oh? Do you still want to eat?"

Zhang Dashan, who had just been acting like a little adult, immediately lost his composure. Of course he wanted to! Back when his parents were alive, the family was relatively well-off, and his father would occasionally buy him a piece of malt candy from town to satisfy his cravings, but it had never been as lavish as what Lin Song had brought today. But his face flushed red, and he ultimately couldn't bring himself to say it.

Seeing the conflicted look on his face, Lin Yao found it amusing and reached out to pat his head: "I'll make some more for everyone when I have time. You all must practice martial arts diligently with Master Lü and Master Xu."

Zhang Dashan and the group of little kids behind him immediately brightened up, chattering excitedly as if they were a flock of chirping sparrows. Lin Song stood to the side, his face full of pride and satisfaction.

They bought too much grain today, and the rented shack in town couldn't hold it all, so the three siblings drove a donkey cart back to the village. On the way, Lin Song talked non-stop about everything that happened at the martial arts school, down to the smallest detail, even recounting for a long time who fell down while practicing horse stance. Seeing his energetic appearance, the siblings felt much of the gloom in their hearts dissipate.

Winter days are short and it gets dark early, especially since I had spent some time at the county government office today. When I returned to the village, every household had already lit their lamps.

The sound of the donkey cart rolling over the land was particularly clear in the quiet village, and everyone at the village entrance and near Lin Yao's house knew they had returned.

Just as Lin Cheng had finished tying up the donkey cart, Zhang Ping and his wife arrived with freshly made egg pancakes: "We heard the donkey cart from afar and guessed you were back. Haven't eaten yet? These are freshly made pancakes. They're not as good as A Yao's, but they'll do you something to fill your stomachs. Don't mind them."

"How could we complain? I was just worried about having to cook when we got back, and who knows what time it would be by the time we finished." Lin Cheng quickly took the cake and invited the couple inside to sit down.

Zhang Ping waved his hand: "You must be starving after traveling all this way in this freezing weather. Hurry up and eat. We won't go in."

Just after seeing Zhang Ping and his wife off, Lin Yougong arrived: "My grandfather invited you to his house for dinner; he's prepared a lot of dishes."

Lin Yao initially wanted to decline, but her gaze swept over the grain covered with a blanket on the donkey cart, and then she noticed the egg pancake in Lin Cheng's hand. Suddenly, she changed her mind: "Let's go. It's been a long time since we visited Grandpa Village Head."

Lin Cheng was somewhat surprised. His younger sister had never liked to join in the fun, and although it was dark, it wasn't too late. She could easily make a simple bowl of noodles at home. But he didn't ask any questions and followed the village head's house with the egg pancake.

When they arrived at the village head's house, only the village head and his wife, Madam Pan, were sitting at the dining table.

As Lin Yougong had said, there were indeed many dishes on the table, several of which were still steaming hot, clearly freshly made. When the village head saw them arrive, he greeted them, "Come, sit down and eat with us. These are all home-style dishes, don't be shy."

Pan pulled Lin Yao to sit down and picked up a big chicken leg for her: "You're so thin, eat more. It'll look more auspicious if you're a little chubby."

Lin Yougong pretended to be jealous, saying, "Grandma, why are you always so focused on Ayao? Don't you even see your eldest grandson?"

Pan laughed and scolded, "You unreliable person, how old are you, still fighting over a girl? Hurry up and eat your food."

Lin Yao ate her meal quietly, occasionally exchanging a few words with the elders, and the meal passed peacefully.

After the meal, the brother and sister helped clear the table. Once the table was clean, Lin Yao gestured to Lin Yougong to close the doors and windows. She looked at the village head with a serious expression: "Grandpa Village Head, there's something I must discuss with you. I heard from a friend in town that things are not peaceful in the capital and the northern frontier, and war may be on the horizon."

The village head paused in his hand, which was shaking his pipe, and looked at Lin Yao with his cloudy eyes: "Yao girl, this is not something to joke about."

“I’m not entirely sure either. A few days ago, I bought a group of people from a slave trader. They were all refugees from Xingning Prefecture. I heard it was because the Jurchens massacred a town. In the past, there were soldiers guarding the town, and the Jurchens would only come to steal some food for the winter. Now they’ve been able to drive straight in. I’m afraid it’s because…” She didn’t finish her sentence, but everyone present understood.

Lin Yao continued, “The villagers have always taken good care of us. I think it’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to matters of life and death. If you don’t need the money urgently, don’t sell your grain in town, even if someone offers a higher price later. If you have extra money, you might as well stockpile some grain. However, this is just my guess. Whether there will be a war or when it will start is uncertain. Ultimately, it depends on the villagers’ own choices.”

The village head rubbed his sore eyes. These farmers, what did they know about war? They often only found out when conscription occurred or the enemy attacked, by which time survival was long gone. He understood Lin Yao's concerns. If no war broke out, some would inevitably blame her for causing their families to spend extra money. "I understand. Tomorrow I'll gather everyone at the threshing ground to discuss this. Once the message is delivered, what each family does is their own fate; you don't need to worry."

Stepping out of the village head's house, Lin Yao let out a long sigh of relief. Seeing her relieved expression, Lin Cheng asked, "Didn't you say before that you wouldn't tell Grandpa Village Head about this?"

"The New Year is approaching, so everyone can stock up on some food before the grain shops close." Lin Yao looked up at the full moon, her mind filled with thoughts. She had originally thought it was better to avoid trouble. No one could say for sure whether or not a war would break out, or when. If it didn't happen in the end, someone might blame her for spreading rumors.

But when she returned to the village today, seeing Zhang Ping and his wife bringing her egg pancakes, and thinking of the village head's family who had invited them to dinner, she finally changed her mind. She knew that everyone's enthusiasm for her now was mostly because of the changes she had brought to the village, but the sincerity in these actions couldn't be faked. Not to mention, when this family was down on their luck, many people in the village had lent a helping hand, but in this world, those meager acts of assistance were ultimately insufficient to change their fate.

~

Having just returned from the village, Lin Yao went straight back to the eatery to see the mung beans she had been longing for. Lifting the lid, she saw a large basin of mung beans, plump and swollen, their pale green skins almost translucent; each bean could be crushed with a little force. This was the perfect state for grinding into a paste.

She scooped the mung beans into the earthenware basin, added half a ladle of water to the stone mill, and Afu pushed the millstone to turn slowly. With each turn of the millstone, soy milk with fine residue overflowed along the grooves. She would add more mung beans to the millstone from time to time until the whole basin of beans had turned into thick white soy milk, with a layer of fine foam forming on the rim of the basin.

The ground soy milk was stored in a rough earthenware jar. Lin Yao found a small earthenware pot from the corner of the wall, which contained sour liquid. She scooped out three spoonfuls of sour liquid and poured it into the jar, stirring it with a long wooden spoon to fully mix the sour liquid with the soy milk. Then she covered it with a bamboo lid, weighed down the rim with a bluestone, leaving only a narrow gap for ventilation. "Let's leave it for now. It'll take a full day and night."

After processing the mung bean milk, Lin Yao began cleaning the pig intestines she had just bought. Unlike making braised pig offal, these intestines were to be used as casings for sausages, a much more complex process.

She originally intended to do it herself, but Wan Chunlai offered to help her: "Shopkeeper, let me do this dirty work." Usually, Wan Chunlai was the one collecting money at the spice stall. When the spices weren't ready yet, she would help out in the kitchen, mainly moving things wherever needed.

"It's okay, just watch me do it first. There's a lot to do later, so we'll do it together once you've learned." Lin Yao poured the pig intestines she had just bought into a large basin. The murky blood water accumulated into dark red puddles at the bottom of the basin, emitting a foul odor. Fortunately, she had already made cotton masks out of scraps of cloth and put some spices inside. But Wan Chunlai wasn't so lucky. Lin Yao hadn't originally planned to ask her for help, so she hadn't prepared a mask for her.

She first picked out the sticky fat clumps, then gently tore the sausage casing by pinching the edge with her fingertips. The pale yellow fat slowly fell off, revealing the pink intestinal wall inside.

Lin Yao filled the basin with water, grabbed one end of the small intestine, put a funnel on it, and had Wan Chunlai use a ladle to scoop water into it. This was mainly to imitate the way water flows from a tap, but the water flow was relatively slow, so it had to be rinsed several times.

The water flowed through the intestines, carrying away the remaining waste. They rinsed it repeatedly until the water became clear before putting the small intestines into a basin with white vinegar and coarse salt.

After finishing these steps, Lin Yao began to repeatedly rub the sausage casings. She picked up a casing and held it up to the light, watching as the mucus on the inner wall was gradually rubbed away before rinsing it again with clean water.

The most crucial step in making sausage casings is turning them inside out. Lin Yao gently pushes the sausage end inside, turning the casing over completely like turning a sock inside out, revealing the grayish-brown inner wall that was originally hidden inside. Then, she uses the same method to rub and wash it with salt and vinegar until the casing feels slippery to the touch and has no fishy smell at all.

The washed sausage casings need to be soaked in warm water. She moved a small wooden board, laid the casings flat on it, and carefully scraped away the remaining membrane on the inner wall with a knife. After scraping, she put the casings into clean water, lifted one end and held it up to the sunlight. Only when the casings were so clear that she could see Wang Chunlai on the other side did she take them out and soak them in the liquor. "After processing them like this, they can be soaked in liquor. Soak them in the liquor for half an hour, and the fishy smell will be removed."

The two of them spent the whole morning in the yard processing sausage casings, filling a large basin. After they finished, Lin Yao felt like her back was completely numb when she stood up. She washed her hands several times with scented soap, but still felt a lingering odor, so she finally decided to go home and take a shower.

Unfortunately, Lin Yao ran into Xu Zhiheng as he was leaving. The moment they met, Xu Zhiheng's expression changed, and the stench emanating from Lin Yao made him blurt out, "Did you fall into a pit?" He immediately regretted his words; they were far too vulgar. But before he could even try to smooth things over, Lin Yao quickly retorted, "You're the one who fell into a pit!"

Both of them were taken aback. Lin Yao wasn't exactly a gentle and considerate person in her previous life, but she had to restrain herself a lot in this ancient world. Before her mind could even process Xu Zhiheng's words, her inherent nature had already made its own response... But Xu Zhiheng was indeed still as unreliable as when they first met. It was a shame that she had thought he was quite reliable after they started doing business together.

Xu Zhiheng hadn't expected that Lin Yao, who usually seemed so gentle and well-mannered, would be so reckless. The two exchanged a glance, both realizing with a sense of seeing through each other's true nature.

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Author's Note: Xu Zhiheng: I never expected you to be this kind of person~~ [Let me see]

Lin Yao: [rolls eyes]