"Xiao An, how come you're still so fair-skinned? Boys should get more sun to be manly, like me." Zhang Yu's eyes darted around and she saw Xiao An squatting next to Lin Xiazhu, helping to wash the pig's stomach.
His profile was simply dazzling. How could a boy be more handsome than a girl? Yet, he didn't look like a little girl at all; you could tell at a glance that he was a beautiful young boy.
Ugh, I don't like him. He looks like a pretty boy.
Xiao An merely glanced at him indifferently, her expression clearly indicating that she didn't want to talk to him. Tsk, this kid has been like this ever since he met him, so arrogant.
Lin Xiazhu retorted irritably, "Stop talking nonsense. Xiao An is different from you. Even if he goes out and gets tanned like you, he won't get tanned. Xiao An is an excellent student and will go to university in the future. There's no comparison."
Zhang Yu: "..." So what if you can get into university?
Okay, that's really impressive. College graduates get assigned jobs, which means they have a secure job.
In those days, vocational school graduates were still assigned jobs; in a few years, that will be gone.
Seeing that Zhang Yu had calmed down, Lin Xiazhu spoke to him properly, "Aren't you very busy? How come you have time to go into the mountains to hunt wild boars?"
Don't say that on purpose just to cover for Lin Chacha.
"We just finished all the work we took on a few days ago, and everyone was exhausted, so we're taking a few days off together to balance work and rest," Zhang Yu said with a chuckle.
"I didn't expect that as soon as I got back, Lin Chacha said she was going into the mountains. Zhang Shengli, Zhang Longfei and I thought we'd go see if we could get some wild game. We were so lucky and managed to hunt a pretty fat wild boar."
She even said, "Can you shut up? Can't you see her sister's eyes getting more and more sinister?" Lin Chacha was about to be driven crazy by Zhang Yu. This idiot was giving her a look, and she didn't know if he couldn't understand or was just pretending not to, but he kept talking.
"The situation was dangerous. We were chasing a wild rabbit when that big guy suddenly jumped out of the bushes. We almost got gored, but Cha Cha reacted quickly and pulled us away."
"You don't know how amazing Chacha is. She saved us by climbing up a tree right away, then waiting for the right moment to jump down and sit on the back of the wild boar. She grabbed the boar's ear with one hand to keep it from being thrown off, and then punched the boar's head with her other fist."
At this point, Zhang Yu showed admiration, and even Zhang Shengli and Zhang Longfei looked proud.
"But the three of us also contributed. The wild boar was dazed from being hit, but it wasn't completely knocked out. Zhang Shengli, his brother, and I took wooden sticks and beat the wild boar half to death."
As if afraid that Lin Xiazhu would be disgusted, Zhang Yu added, "Don't worry, it's not completely dead, it's still very fresh. We bled and slaughtered the pig after we brought it back."
"Yes, it's fresh. The pig's blood is in the basin. I'll go get it for you." Zhang Shengli got up to get the pig's blood.
"Stop messing around, I trust you guys, it'll definitely be something new." Lin Xiazhu was a little overwhelmed.
At this moment, the Zhang brothers, Shengli and Longfei, came over and said to Lin Xiazhu, "Xiaozhu, we heard that the medical expenses for our injuries and hospital visits were paid to you. We won't say anything more, but now that we have the money, we'll pay you back."
He then took out ten hundred-yuan bills and handed them to her.
Lin Xiazhu glanced at Zhang Yu, her eyes asking what was going on and what she was doing. Hadn't she already returned the money to her?
"Oh, they're rich now, they can earn over a thousand yuan a month, so don't refuse, just take it." As he spoke, he kept winking at her, indicating that she should accept it first and he would explain it to her later.
Lin Xiazhu: "..." Never mind, I'll just hold it for him for now.
Seeing that she had accepted the money, Zhang Shengli and his brother were happy, and then they went to kill a chicken.
"Tell me, what's going on?" Lin Xiazhu said in a low voice after everyone left.
Zhang Yu snatched the money from her hand, stuffed it into his pocket, glanced at the two brothers, and said, "I forgot to mention back then that I helped pay it back, and they never asked. I thought they would never be able to pay it back, but who would have thought they could pay it back now."
“If he didn’t have the money, that would be fine. But since he has the money to pay it back, I won’t be polite with them. However, I don’t want them to know that I helped pay back the money… Let’s not talk about this anymore. Anyway, I’ll keep the money.” Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment.
Lin Xiazhu ignored him. The immature teenager was acting up again. He had insisted on taking on the debt himself and even planned to do good deeds anonymously. He was quite loyal.
After cleaning the pig's stomach, I scrubbed it twice more with salt before it was ready. The young hen was also killed and stuffed whole into the pig's stomach. Then I added a couple of whole peppercorns, poured in an appropriate amount of spring water, and simmered it over low heat for two hours.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the pork tripe and chicken soup was ready to drink. Everyone sat at the large round table in the kitchen and each person was given a big bowl to eat.
"Wow, the taste is amazing, so delicious!" the Zhang brothers exclaimed exaggeratedly.
They had eaten pork tripe and chicken stew before, since everyone knows how to make this soup. However, their family didn't do it as carefully, and the soup was always cloudy and had a strong flavor, not nearly as fresh and delicious as Lin Xiazhu's stew.
The two asked Lin Xiazhu how she did it, and since there was nothing to hide, Lin Xiazhu told them directly.
"Don't add any more oil. If you really want to, add a little peanut oil or rapeseed oil, just a moderate amount. Don't add lard. Be sure to simmer over low heat. Just follow these steps."
"The main thing is to clean it thoroughly. You have to turn the pig's stomach inside out and rub it with salt. People like your parents who don't care about cleanliness can't make such a delicious soup," Zhang Yu complained bluntly.
"Go ahead and drink yours. Even food can't shut you up," Lin Xiazhu said with amusement.
Zhang Li nodded vigorously. She would stare at her son when he spoke, and she could tell what he was saying just by looking at his mouth.
"My sister's cooking skills are unparalleled." Lin Chacha flattered her vigorously.
"It's no use saying nice things; I'll settle the score with you later," Lin Xiazhu chuckled.
"Oh dear, I'll eat more then." Lin Chacha wailed, knowing she was going to get scolded later.
Xiao An quickly finished a bowl of soup, and Lin Xiazhu immediately made him another bowl, asking, "Xiao An, is it good?"
"It's delicious. I like pork tripe." The pork tripe and chicken were stewed and then cut into smaller pieces before being added back in. Lin Xiazhu gave Xiao An a lot of pork tripe and also added a chicken wing.
Since the chicken belonged to Zhang Yu's family, the chicken leg was given to Old Man Zhang and the mute girl.
After finishing the soup and digesting it, Lin Xiazhu carried Lin Chacha upstairs. Since the downstairs was a shop, the upstairs was a living room, where they were.
Lin Xiazhu sat in the armchair, and Lin Chacha stood less than a meter in front of her. "Speak, give a proper account of your laborious deeds during this period."
Lin Chacha hesitated for a moment, then slumped her shoulders and said, "Actually, it's nothing big. I just wanted to earn some money with my own abilities and then start a business. It turns out that my decision was correct. It's only been three months. I just went to the mountains for a walk on the weekend."
"Sis, do you know how much money I have right now?" She was quite proud of herself.
"How much?" Lin Xiazhu asked cooperatively.
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