More than a month ago, Liu Gou Dan'er was both cold and frightened, and was beaten so badly that his buttocks were bruised and bleeding. He is still in bed recovering from his injuries.

Shan Yongju and Liu Dagai called Liu Yuxiu back to Guanyutai almost every day to take care of their family of three.

Li Weijun went there with them today. When the couple returned to Lijiapo and heard the news, they rushed over, but there was no meat left on the stall.

Liu Yuxiu smiled broadly and asked Liu Yuliang, "Uncle Yuliang, our family hasn't received our meat yet!"

Liu Yuliang turned around and took out a pound of pork ribs and a pound of lard from a large basin behind him, handing them to her. "They've already been weighed, each weighing a pound!"

Liu Yuxiu took it, "Uncle Yuliang, this is just enough for one person, but what about the portion for our head of the household?"

Liu Yuliang asked in surprise, "Is this Wei Jun's share? Did you transfer your household registration here?"

In Lijiapo Brigade, people without household registration were not eligible for grain and welfare benefits.

Liu Yuxiu was stunned. How could she have forgotten something as important as changing her household registration!

"I haven't moved here yet, but it'll be in the next couple of days. Could you give me my share first?"

Hearing her speak, Li Xiangdong smiled inwardly. Sure enough, she was still the same Liu Yuxiu from his previous life—thick-skinned and never one to suffer a loss!

Liu Yuliang said sternly, "Niece-in-law, won't this create chaos?"

Li Xiangdong stopped listening to the two men and pushed the cart piled high with pig heads and offal home.

Before long, Liu Yuxiu caught up with them, grinning sheepishly, and said, "Second brother! Is this the pig's head we bought?"

Li Xiangdong kept walking without looking to the side, saying, "You won't get any advantage from me, so don't try to scam me."

Seeing Liu Yuxiu's face turn pale from choking, Li Xiangdong continued to threaten her, "Remember to stay away from our house in the future, and don't forget you still have a beating on my tab!"

Liu Yuxiu: ...

When Li Ping saw Li Xiangdong pushing a cart full of huge pig heads, he screamed in terror, "Brother, how are we supposed to eat this?!"

Li Xiangdong removed the pig's head and offal, saying, "Braised pig's head, braised offal, sausage stuffers—it's so delicious you won't be able to stop eating!"

After dinner that day, everyone helped roast the pig's head over a fire, then washed it clean with water, and finally put the pig's head in a large pot with spices to braise it.

To achieve a good color when braised pig's head, you need to caramelize the sugar before braising.

However, unlike stewing meat by directly frying the meat in caramelized sugar, when braising pig's head, hot water is poured directly into the caramelized sugar before throwing the pig's head in.

Add star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, Sichuan peppercorns, cardamom, dried chili peppers, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for three hours.

A group of children wanted to be the first to try braised pig's head, but they fell asleep while waiting.

The next morning, as soon as Li Ping opened his eyes, he complained, "Jiabao, what did you dream about last night? You were biting my hand in the middle of the night."

Li Jiabao chuckled, "I dreamt of eating pig's trotters."

Li Ping slapped him on the back, and Li Jiabao flopped onto the blanket, crying out, "Ouch, you've killed me!"

This amused everyone, and Zhao Sufang, who was cooking outside, lifted the curtain and scolded, "Don't talk nonsense now that it's the twelfth lunar month!"

Li Jiabao hurriedly touched the kangqin made of pine wood, implying that touching the wood would prevent any bad things from happening.

After the group got dressed and got off the kang (heated brick bed) to eat, they saw a large plate of chopped pig's head meat on the table, and a small bowl of pork jelly next to it.

Pork jelly is made from the broth of braised pig's head from last night. It's left outside to freeze overnight, and it becomes a trembling, cool, chewy, and bouncy jelly.

Li Jiabao happily picked up a steaming white steamed bun and opened his cheeks wide, ready to eat the pig's head meat.

He watched helplessly as the pig's head meat got further and further away from him. "What are you doing, bro!"

Li Xiangdong grabbed Li Jiabao by the collar and dragged him away from the table, saying, "No one else has even sat down at the table yet!"

Zhang Huan couldn't help but laugh; these two uncles were quite amusing.

When Li Jin returned from outside, the eight members of the family sat neatly at the dining table to eat.

White steam rose from the room. The big yellow dog lay under the kang (a heated brick bed), and the tabby cat lay on the windowsill, looking like a fluffy ball.

Li Xiangdong looked at Li Jin, whose hair was covered with tiny white snowflakes, and asked, "Dad, is it snowing outside?"

Li Jin nodded, "The ground is all white from the sleet. I just went to check on the vegetable garden, and the bok choy will be ready to sell in a few days."

Although the tatsoi in the field was planted a little late, it grew surprisingly well.

Against the backdrop of a barren, yellow landscape, the 300 mu of dark green tatsoi in Lijiapo stand out as a beautiful sight.

To prevent people from stealing vegetables or causing damage, there are joint defense teams patrolling day and night.

Li Jin also made it a habit to take a walk in the vegetable garden early in the morning to check on the growth of the tatsoi.

Looking out at the dark sky, Li Xiangdong thought, "If it could snow, the bok choy would taste even better."

Unexpectedly, God's words came true.

Right after breakfast, the small sleet outside turned into small snowflakes, then drifted down, and finally became a heavy snowfall.

After finishing his meal, Li Jin rushed to the brigade headquarters. It was the end of the year, and calculating work points and distributing money, grain, and meat was a huge undertaking!

Zhao Sufang was also in a hurry to go to work at the cannery, where braised pork cans were being made at an overtime pace.

Li Xiangdong estimates that the peak sales volume of the braised pork canned food will be during the Chinese New Year period, making it a very presentable gift for visiting relatives and friends.

The two adults left. Li Zhen went to work on the exercise books that Huang Guimei had brought back, while Li Jiabao, Li Ping, and Zhang Huan played with pebbles on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Li Yan lay with the tabby cat, occasionally tugging at its fur, making the tabby cat meow loudly.

Li Lan continued braising pig's head and offal in the kitchen, while Li Xiangdong tended the fire under the stove.

The firewood crackled and popped as it burned, and the warm fire made Li Xiangdong's knees and face feel hot.

Outside, snow was falling heavily, but inside it was warm and cozy, with the aroma of food wafting out. Li Lan was thoroughly enjoying the tranquility of her life at that moment.

Looking at his older sister's face, which was noticeably fuller than a month ago, Li Xiangdong finally asked the question he had been pondering for a long time: "Big sister, do you want a divorce?"

Li Lan paused, then smiled bitterly after a long pause, "I want to, I dream about it! But divorce isn't that easy."

Later generations summarized the attitudes of Chinese people towards marriage in different eras as follows: People in the 1960s would never get a divorce, people in the 1970s would argue to death but never get a divorce, people in the 1980s would get a divorce after just one argument, and people in the 1990s would get a divorce even without fighting!

People born in the 1960s would rather die than get a divorce, let alone Li Lan, who was born in the 1950s!

It's not that they're being unreasonable; it's mainly due to the constraints of their circumstances.

Nowadays, people think that divorce is a shameful thing for women. Divorced women not only have to endure gossip from outsiders, but their own families also look down on them for being shameful.

Most importantly, rural women lose their land in their parents' home after marriage, and they lose their land and house in their husband's home after divorce.

Therefore, divorce means that a woman will have no resources to survive.