Sheng Liancheng, Liu Changde, Zheng Xianyong, Zhao Limin, Chen Shiliang, Gao Daqiang and others sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), while Sheng Xiping and his group of buddies sat at a table on the floor. Zhang Shuzhen, Qin Qiuyan and others led the children in the west room.

On Saturdays, Sheng Yunfang and the other children still had classes. At noon, the children came back, gnawed on some bones or something, and then went to school.

Zhang Shuzhen specially saved some food for them to eat when they came back from school.

In early spring, everyone's stomachs were empty, but after this feast of pork stew, everyone's mouths were greasy and their hearts were full of joy.

Zheng Xianyong kept praising Sheng Liancheng and his wife for being good at managing their household, cultivating several acres of land, and raising a lot of pigs and chickens.

"Tell me, among all the families in our forest farm, not one of them is as prosperous as yours."

“Your eldest son is good at making money, he is ambitious at work, and he has a good father-in-law who takes him along and mentors him in everything he does.”

As long as he works hard, his future will definitely be bright.

Needless to say, your second and third children are college graduates; they'll both have good jobs after graduation.

Are your fourth and fifth children taking the college entrance exam this year? I heard they're both doing exceptionally well in their studies.

Principal Wang often praises the Sheng family in front of us, saying he doesn't know how they raised their children; every single one of them is so successful.

Zheng Xianyong had drunk some wine, but he wasn't drunk; his voice was just a little loud.

"Brother Sheng, you're lucky to have so many good sons and daughters. You'll be enjoying a life of luxury in the future."

Zheng Xianyong's words resonated with everyone, and Zhao Limin, Gao Daqiang, and others all spoke in unison.

Sheng Liancheng had drunk some alcohol and was already a little tipsy. With everyone's encouragement, he felt even more dizzy.

His mouth was stretched wide, reaching all the way to his ears, and he couldn't close it.

"In the end, it's all thanks to our eldest son that we've found such a good wife. A good wife brings prosperity to three generations—that's absolutely true."

"Yes, yes, yes, brother is right. Teacher Zhou is indeed very capable; Principal Wang always praises her."

Sheng Liancheng's words were met with agreement from everyone, who nodded repeatedly.

Being a teacher is a highly respected profession. Most forestry workers are rough and uneducated, but in their simple minds, respecting teachers is a fundamental principle of conduct.

Everyone has a deep-seated respect for the teaching profession.

The group chatted, drank, and ate, and the lively atmosphere lasted until almost four o'clock before everyone dispersed.

Before leaving, Sheng Xiping left a piece of meat for each of their families.

Zheng Xianyong and the others refused to accept it no matter what. They said that slaughtering a pig was not easy these days, and they were too embarrassed to accept food and gifts.

It's good to have a quick and satisfying meal, but it would be too embarrassing to take the meat back.

No matter what Sheng Xiping said, no one was willing to take the meat home. Sheng Xiping had no choice but to see them off at the door and watch them leave.

After everyone left, Zhang Shuzhen and Sheng Xiping tidied up the house inside and out.

"Mom, there's still so much meat left. What are you going to do with it?" Sheng Xiping asked Zhang Shuzhen, looking at the remaining meat.

"Didn't you say you were going to make some sausage and mail it to Qinglan? Just leave out a piece of pork shoulder."

I packed up the rest and buried it in the snowdrift behind the house; it should last for a few more days. I'll also pickle some to eat slowly.

Zhang Shuzhen was too busy during the day and hadn't had time to make sausages yet, but she planned to start making them later.

In mid-April, the forest farm is relatively warm during the day, but quite cool in the early morning and evening.

The snow on the sunny slopes of the mountain has melted, but the snow on the shady slopes hasn't melted yet.

Behind the Sheng family's house is a large snowdrift, which is blocked from the light by the house, and only a small part of it has melted so far.

Zhang Shuzhen suggested burying the meat under the snowdrift; given the current temperature, it should keep for another ten days or so. The remaining meat could be salted and eaten slowly, lasting a long time.

"Okay, sure." Sheng Xiping nodded. There was no refrigerator, so this was the only option.

Actually, refrigerators are already available for sale these days, but they are expensive and not commonly found in most places; they are only supplied to big cities.

While browsing a department store in the provincial capital, Sheng Xiping saw an appliance at the appliance counter. But upon closer inspection, he realized that Qianchuan Forest Farm still only had electricity until 9 p.m., and no electricity during the day.

If you bring back a refrigerator and it only cools for three hours at night, and then there's a power outage during the day for more than ten hours, wouldn't that be ridiculous?

Therefore, Sheng Xiping didn't even consider it.

After discussing it, the mother and daughter started cleaning the pig intestines to make sausages.

After turning the pig intestines inside out and cleaning them, scrape off the layer of fat inside, leaving only a thin layer.

Chop the pork belly with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, add seasonings and flour, mix well, and stuff the meat into thin sausage casings using a funnel.

After filling the container, tie it up, steam it in a pot until cooked, and then let it air dry for a day or two.

This is the sausage that Zhou Qinglan and Zhou Qingyue both praised as delicious. It's a recipe that Zhang Shuzhen and the others learned from Chef Li at the forest farm canteen.

Of course, I only learned a smattering of the skills. Anyway, for people these days, as long as it's meat, it tastes good no matter how it's cooked.

After finishing all that, Sheng Xiping and Zhang Shuzhen laid out some of the meat outside.

At this time of year, the nighttime temperature is not as high as in winter, so the meat only freezes to about half its original size overnight; the outside freezes hard, but the inside is still soft.

There's nothing we can do about it, this is just the weather.

Around five o'clock in the morning, the mother and son dug a hole under the large snowdrift behind the house, buried the meat under the snowdrift, and covered it up again.

We slaughtered a pig at home. After selling half of it and spending money on entertaining guests, we still had quite a bit of meat left.

The Sheng family ate head meat, trotters, and offal for several meals in a row. After that, they also made steamed buns. In short, Zhang Shuzhen was making all sorts of different dishes.

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