In the end, Xia Qingqing agreed to exchange phone numbers with Grandma Xia. Even if she disliked the Xia family, she had to consider Xia Heping's feelings. If Grandma Xia went to find Xia Heping, things would become even more complicated.
Although Xia Heping didn't say it, Xia Qingqing knew that he still cared about Old Man Xia and Old Woman Xia. No matter how biased his parents were, they still raised him. He chose his wife and daughter, but he couldn't really completely ignore his parents.
Every year, the pension food is still sent to the old house without fail, and Zhang Hongyan has no objection to this. It is only right for a son to take care of his parents. She is already very satisfied that her husband can stand by her and her daughter in critical moments.
The pigs were already slaughtered, and Butcher Zhang worked very quickly, cutting the pork into pieces with a swift stroke of his knife.
The family at the front of the line happily carried home the large, fatty piece of meat they had received, while the family at the back of the line looked unhappy, picking and choosing from a pile of lean meat, dawdling for a long time, wanting to pick out a piece that was even fatter.
When Xia Qingqing went to collect the meat, there were only some spare ribs and pork bones left on the table, which no one wanted.
When Butcher Zhang saw Xia Qingqing walking over, he smiled at her and said, "Qingqing, did your dad send you to collect the meat?"
"Hey, these bones are all for you. Don't be fooled by the fact that they're all bones; there's still some meat left. It's quite tasty to gnaw on them."
He was a little embarrassed after saying that. How much meat could there be on bones? It's still just bones, isn't it?
When it was Xia Qingqing's turn to go to the households before her, all that was left were some offal and bones. Compared to bones, although offal wasn't as flavorful as meat, it was all edible, while bones were not. So everyone chose offal.
Xia Qingqing glanced at the bones on the table and found that they were a rib and several tube bones, weighing about ten kilograms in total.
Her family's share of pork was four catties. From a modern perspective, four catties of pork in exchange for more than ten catties of bones would be a huge profit, but in this era, it would definitely be a huge loss.
Basically, every year, the family that gets the last cut of pork in line will make a fuss. Everyone works in the fields just the same, so why should my family get offal and bones while others get meat? We work hard all year and are just waiting for this little bit of meat to have a good New Year.
Just as Butcher Zhang was worried that Xia Qingqing would be dissatisfied, he saw Xia Qingqing smiling and saying, "Uncle, can you help me tie the bones together with straw rope so I can carry them home?"
"Hey, no problem," Butcher Zhang paused for a moment, then immediately tied the bones together with straw rope, made a knot, and handed it to Xia Qingqing.
Standing to the side, Gou Dan was clearly not happy about the bundle of bones, but he had also heard what Mao Dan had said earlier: that Grandma would give his family a piece of meat in return, so he kept quiet.
Xia Qingqing was carrying bones in one hand and leading Gou Dan by the other, hurrying home when she was stopped halfway by Old Lady Xia.
Grandma Xia's expression was still not good. She didn't say anything, but handed over a basket with a piece of white, fatty meat inside.
At this moment, Old Mrs. Xia was heartbroken. This was the best piece of meat she had chosen from several pieces, and now it was being given to her second son's family like this. How could she not feel heartbroken?
But it was agreed from the beginning that if the number was changed, the meat would have to be changed, and she didn't want Zhang Hongyan to come to the old house and go crazy over this.
Seeing that his older sister wasn't taking the basket, Gou Dan shook Xia Qingqing's hand in confusion: "Sister, hurry up and take it, give the bones back to Grandma."
"Um, how about we just leave it at that?" Xia Qingqing glanced at the piece of white, fatty meat and said hesitantly to Gou Dan.
If Grandma Xia had given her a piece of pork belly with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, she might have been willing to trade it.
But this big piece of fatty meat looks disgusting, and I have no desire to eat it at all. Is it because braised pork ribs aren't delicious enough? Or is it because radish and pork bone soup isn't delicious enough?
As soon as she finished speaking, a look of joy immediately appeared on Old Mrs. Xia's face: "Really not going to change it? If you're not going to change it, I'm leaving. You said it yourself, so you can't call your mother to come to the old house and cause trouble."
Without waiting for Xia Qingqing's reply, Grandma Xia grabbed her basket and ran off, giving Xia Qingqing no chance to back out.
Gou Dan stared dumbfounded at Grandma Xia running away at top speed, then looked at Xia Qingqing in shock and asked, "Sister, why didn't you change the meat? Isn't meat much more delicious than ribs?"
Xia Qingqing began to explain unhurriedly: "That piece of meat was so fatty, Mom must have used it to extract the oil. After rendering the oil, how much would be left?"
"Tomorrow I'll go to the county and buy a piece of pork belly to ask Mom to make braised pork. I'll also make braised pork ribs with this pork rib and a radish stew with this pork bone. Wouldn't that make a delicious feast of meat dishes?"
Upon hearing this, Gou Dan nodded repeatedly, realizing he had misunderstood. If he had really taken that piece of fatty meat, he definitely wouldn't have been able to eat braised pork.
Immediately, she tilted her little head up and looked at Xia Qingqing expectantly: "Sister, don't lie to me, I want to eat braised pork for Chinese New Year."
"No problem, I'll definitely make sure you get to eat braised pork," Xia Qingqing assured, patting Gou Dan's head.
When they got home, Zhang Hongyan and Xia Heping were both stunned to see the bundle of bones Xia Qingqing had brought back. They secretly guessed that Xia Qingqing must have drawn a bad number in the lottery.
This was originally a matter of luck, and it's definitely not because of this that I scolded the child.
Xia Heping was worried that his daughter would be unhappy about this, so he smiled and comforted her, saying, "The bones are fine too, and bone soup is really delicious."
“Yes, your dad is right,” Zhang Hongyan nodded in agreement.
"The truth is this," Xia Qingqing explained about how she and Grandma Xia had exchanged phone numbers.
After hearing what had happened, Xia Heping looked at his daughter with satisfaction. He wanted to praise her, but his wife was unhappy, so he ultimately said nothing.
However, Xia Qingqing could tell from his expression that he agreed to the matter, which was why he readily agreed to change the number when Grandma Xia said she was going to find her father.
In contrast to Xia Heping, Zhang Hongyan looked rather unpleasant: "They've been separated for so long, how could she have the nerve to ask Qingqing to change her number? Isn't she trying to take advantage of everyone?"
Xia Qingqing affectionately linked arms with Zhang Hongyan and said softly, "Mom, it's not as bad as you say. Grandma still offered to exchange meat for it in the end."
"It was my fault for not agreeing to exchange with her. I thought these bones were much better than the meat, and they weighed over ten kilograms in total. The ribs could be made into braised ribs, and the taste was just as good as braised pork. This bone soup is good for both children and adults. It can help supplement calcium, which can help children grow taller and help adults prevent osteoporosis."
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