After leaving the spice shop, Fang Yan went to the pork stall and bought a pig's head, a pig's trotter, and three sets of offal from another meat stall.
We've bought the meat and fish; next, we need to buy a long, large iron bucket, as well as pots, pans, and other kitchenware.
After a shopping spree, Fang Yan looked at the pitiful four yuan and thirty cents left in her hand and felt quite bitter.
As a food blogger with tens of millions of followers, when did she become so poor?
Therefore, making money is a very urgent matter.
There was too much stuff; the handlebars of the bicycle were completely full, and there wasn't enough room to put it all.
Fang Yan bought another long rope, tied a large iron bucket, which was almost a meter tall, to the back of the car, and then threw the pig's head, offal, and other things into the bucket.
Some fragile items, like bowls, were hung on the front of the vehicle.
Then he rode his bicycle home.
As soon as you enter the courtyard, you see Aunt Wang looking after the two children while tidying up the kitchen.
Furthermore, they instructed everyone to repair everything that needed fixing in the kitchen first.
It's for convenience, so that we can start preparing dinner as soon as Fang Yan comes back.
"You're such a spendthrift! Why did you buy so much?"
When she saw her return, Aunt Wang came over to help carry the things down. When she saw how much meat she had bought, she couldn't help but grumble.
Especially when she saw that she had bought so many pig offal, she didn't know how to react.
Pig offal is difficult to clean and has an odor, so people sometimes buy it to eat. However, for this kind of occasion, it is most appropriate to buy pork belly with seven parts fat and three parts lean. Who would buy pig offal for someone who has done heavy work?
"Aunt Wang, I went too late today. They've already bought all the pork belly and other cuts. All that's left are these heads and tails. They're still meat, so I bought them all."
After Fang Yan finished explaining, she leaned closer to Aunt Wang and whispered, "Aunt Wang, to be honest, of the ninety yuan Ji Zhou gave me today, I only have less than five yuan left. So after I finish braising these, could you please taste them? If they taste good, I plan to take some to sell throughout the city tomorrow and make some money."
"Is that all? Can you exchange it for money?" Aunt Wang pointed to the pig's head, tail, offal, and other items in the bucket.
Seeing Fang Yan's confident demeanor, she felt a little reluctant to discourage her. Only those who are too poor to afford such things would eat this kind of food.
But if you put in a lot of effort, washing and braising the meat, the price will definitely go up after you finish braising.
People are so poor they can't even afford meat, so how could they possibly have the money to buy this stuff?
Knowing that Aunt Wang didn't believe this thing could be sold for money, Fang Yan didn't say anything more, only thinking that she would prove it to her with her actions later.
"Mommy, you're back!" Bao Bao ran over, covered in sweat from playing with Aunt Wang's grandson Mingming, and hugged Fang Yan tightly, saying in her childish voice.
Without any tissues, Fang Yan could only use the corner of her clothes to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "Yes, Mom is back, but Mom is busy making dinner. You and Mingming go play by yourselves, okay?"
She pretended to rummage through her own purchases, but actually took out two cookies from the kitchen and handed them to the baby, saying, "One is for you, and one is for Mingming. Don't go and cause trouble for your uncles and grandpas."
"Okay, I won't cause any trouble." The baby took the cookie and went to play with Mingming again.
Aunt Wang watched silently from the side, cursing Huang Hongmei and Li Ermei in her heart. She said that Gou Dan was so thin because he was abused by Lao San's family.
The third son's family clearly dotes on Gou Dan and treats him like a precious treasure. Those few bastards never utter a single truthful word.
Fang Yan hurriedly washed the offal, including the pig's head and tail.
Fortunately, the stove at home is a double-burner design, and it's one of those large earthen stoves that can hold a lot.
When making braised dishes, using old braising liquid is the best.
In the kitchen, there was some old brine that she had left behind. Fang Yan took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention and scooped out most of it from the kitchen.
Then, using the dozen or so spices I bought today, such as bay leaves, cassia branches, star anise, and cardamom, along with soy sauce, aged oil, ginger, and the large basin of old braising liquid I scooped out from the kitchen, I poured them all into the pot and started braising.
"Aunt Wang, could you please keep an eye on these two pots? I'm going to tidy up the room."
After putting the pot lid on, Fang Yan said to Aunt Wang, who was sitting in front of the stove tending the fire.
At that time, every household in the countryside used this kind of large earthen stove.
Food cooked in a traditional earthen stove tastes many times better than food cooked in a gas stove or an induction cooker.
The downside is that someone has to sit in front of the stove and watch the fire.
"Go ahead, I'll keep an eye on the kitchen," Aunt Wang said casually.
Fang Yan then went to tidy up the room as if she were going to war.
Gouzi Village is located in the south, where kang beds are not needed in winter. However, in the past, everyone was poor and could not afford to build wooden beds, so they built earthen beds with mud bricks, similar to the kang beds in the north. Things could be placed underneath, and people could sleep on top.
Fang Yan cleaned the earthen bed, laid out a straw mat, and then wiped the windows and floor.
After quickly cleaning the room, we heard someone outside calling out, "Third brother's wife, what are you cooking? It smells so good we can't work!"
"I went late today and didn't get any meat, only pig heads and tails. Please don't mind," Fang Yan said with a smile, wiping her sweat.
"No problem, no problem, it smells so good, how could we not like it?" The uncles and elders who were helping with the work all laughed.
When Zhang Zongde and the village chief walked in, they stopped in their tracks upon smelling the aroma, took a deep breath in unison, and then walked together towards the kitchen. "Third brother's wife, are you making braised meat?"
"Yes, I'll braise some pig's head and tail so you can have some with your drinks tonight."
Fang Yan started processing several large black fish, preparing to cook them into sauerkraut fish. She said this as she worked.
In recent years, everyone's lives have improved, and they can braise meat during the Spring Festival. However, the taste of their braised meat is completely different from that of Lao San's family.
Even Aunt Wang, who was sitting in front of the stove tending the fire, had to admit that "the two pots of meat that Lao San's family braised are much more fragrant than the ones we used to braise."
The aroma of the braising sauce was so strong that it traveled far and wide with the smoke from the chimney, reaching almost everyone in the entire Gouzi Village.
Everyone thought Fang Yan had prepared a Manchu Han Imperial Feast to entertain those who came to help her. They all regretted not volunteering to help Lao San's family repair their house today. They would have been happy to get such a delicious meal!
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