Chapter 20 Stewed Beef Bones

"Just wait and see." Lu Qiniang picked up the axe and started chopping the beef bones.

The axe got stuck in the raised joint of the spine, making a teeth-grinding squeezing sound, and yellow-white bone marrow oozed out from the bone joints.

She split the leg bone in two pieces like splitting firewood.

Hot air wrapped in the aroma of oil gushed out, and the bone marrow pillars as thick as fingers condensed into a translucent fat film in the cold wind.

She picked up a piece of bone marrow and laughed, saying, "Look, what is this!"

This is fat, fat that is much more valuable than meat!

Xiao Yan understood her intention and nodded.

It turns out that her real intention was not to drink.

What she had originally set her sights on was this cow skeleton.

Lu Qiniang quickly chopped all the bones and put them into the big pot.

Looking at the shiny layer of oil on the mat, she was reluctant to let it go, so she let the yellow dog lick the mat before she felt satisfied.

Daya wanted to light the fire, but Lu Qiniang said, "No, I'll do it."

To boil oil, you need to use a strong fire, burn firewood, and the time must be long enough, a whole day.

She sat in front of the stove, lighting a fire, her eyes shining, without any sign of fatigue from getting up early.

The firelight from the stove illuminated her smiling face.

She even hummed a little tune, checking the fire from time to time and making careful adjustments.

Soon the pot boiled, steam rose up, and she was completely enveloped in the white mist, with a bright smile on her face.

The fragrance followed and drifted far away.

If every household had not received beef today, the aroma would probably have attracted all the children around.

San Ya didn't run around anymore, but sat on a small stool, watching over Lu Qin Niang, drooling.

"Mom, when can I drink the soup?" she asked again and again.

"Little greedy girl," Lu Qi's mother nodded her head with a smile, "you can eat it tomorrow! Don't worry, go out and play. Even if I eat a mosquito at home, I will definitely give you two legs."

"You can't eat it until tomorrow—" San Ya was a little disappointed.

Lu Qinniang asked Daya to take out a piece of malt sugar and cut it into three pieces with a knife. "Take it."

San Ya was happy.

Erya said that a piece of candy had to be divided into three parts, but she stuffed it into her mouth faster than anyone else.

Daya gave her small piece to Sanya.

"Just spoil her." Lu Qiniang said with a smile, and pointed at Sanya's forehead and said, "Sister loves you, so you should love her in the future too."

"I got it!" San Ya happily took the malt candy and went out to show off.

Arya yelled from behind, "Don't let those snotty-nosed kids lick your candy. It's disgusting."

San Ya ran out in a flash.

Erya sniffed the aroma and couldn't help but sniff, "Mom, I haven't smelled such delicious meat in a long time. Why do we have to wait until tomorrow? You're not saving it for the New Year, are you?"

"I'll keep it for the New Year and not give it to you."

Tomorrow is the 28th, and the day after tomorrow, the 29th, is New Year's Eve.

The days go by so fast.

Daya cut a green radish and shared it with her mother and sister.

Lu Qiniang took it, took a bite, and found it crispy and juicy. She couldn't help but praise it repeatedly.

Xiao Yan pushed the window open a narrow gap, looked at the lively atmosphere of the mother and daughter, and felt as if he had entered a world that did not belong to him.

He had never experienced such poverty.

He had never experienced such warmth before.

How did he celebrate the New Year in the past?

The memories have become a little fuzzy.

He didn't need to prepare anything before the New Year. During the New Year, he went out with the elders in his family to pay New Year's greetings, flatter each other, compete with each other secretly, and get drunk every day.

Later, he left home to go to the battlefield, and missed his family even more during the holidays.

During the Chinese New Year, the army was shrouded in a strong sense of longing.

According to custom, he would also arrange for everyone to slaughter pigs and sheep, but he was the busiest one and had to patrol everywhere, so he rarely participated in such excitement.

It’s not that he is being polite, but he is not used to it.

Now, Lu Qiniang brought her daughters and forced him into the fun.

It feels...not bad.

This is probably the feeling of everyday life, which is the most soothing to the heart.

Lu Qiniang stayed by the stove until the afternoon.

As evening approached, she finally got up and said, "Okay, I'll lift the pot tomorrow morning."

She couldn't sit still, so she came out to clear the snow in the yard.

Looking at the thick snow on the roof, she was worried that the roof would collapse if it continued to snow, so she went out to borrow a ladder and came back to sweep the roof.

"Mom, please be careful." Daya held the ladder and looked up nervously.

"Mom, please don't go on the roof. The roof can't bear your weight." Erya was also nervous.

San Ya shouted happily: "Mom, Mom, take me upstairs!"

Xiao Yan couldn't see Lu Qiniang, he could only hear the sound of the broom sweeping across the roof.

The snow fell in large chunks into the yard and shattered into pieces.

Xiao Yan suddenly remembered that when he was at the peak of his fame, he was praised as "a lone shadow on the cold river, snow pouring down from Jade Mountain".

Now, the snow has finally turned into mud, but it is no longer "a lonely shadow on the cold river".

He seemed to have a home.

For dinner, there was brown rice and boiled vegetables again, and Erya was not happy with the meal.

"Mom, the beef has been distributed. At least we can have some meat today."

"We just ate mutton yesterday. Do you think you're a queen in the harem and have to eat meat every day?" Lu Qiniang said unhappily, "Eat it if you want."

Erya shoveled rice into her mouth dejectedly, muttering about the six taels of beef that had been replaced with beef bones.

Six taels of meat is enough for the whole family to have meat porridge, and we can even have two bowls!

Since no one paid any attention to her, she kept quiet.

In protest, she went to bed without washing the dishes.

Xiao Yan looked at the fried eggs in his bowl and found it difficult to swallow.

He seemed to make their already poor life even worse.

To nourish his body, he was given an egg every day.

He thought about it, called San Ya over, and wanted to give her the eggs.

San Ya was so greedy and couldn't control her saliva at that age. When she saw him move, she backed away, protecting her bowl and said, "No, no, if you eat it, you'll get sick!"

"Hurry up and eat your food. Get well soon and help with the work. It's better than anything else." Lu Qiniang said, "By the way, have you all memorized the few words we learned today?"

Daya nodded, but Sanya felt a little guilty.

"Go back and teach your sister again." Lu Qiniang said to Daya.

"good."

In the evening, Lu Qiniang took a bath.

Because Xiao Yan was there, she took a shower next door.

Xiao Yan listened to the sound of splashing water and lowered his eyes.

Perhaps because she was too tired after that day, Lu Qiniang fell asleep as soon as she got on the kang.

Xiao Yan originally wanted to tell her some good news, but seeing this, he had to swallow his words.

Xiao Yan was a light sleeper, so when Lu Qiniang carefully got up early in the morning, he woke up too.

"Did I wake you up?" Lu Qiniang's eyes were filled with anticipation. "Come on, I'll take you to see some good stuff!"

As she spoke, she had already put on her clothes and reached out to pick up Xiao Yan, including the quilt.

"Wait——" Xiao Yan stopped her.

At the same time, Arya's noisy voice came from the kitchen.

"Mom, mom, come and see!"