Chapter 3: Showing off your cooking skills
Wen Zhenyi nodded in agreement while looking at the things in the kitchen. There was firewood, rice, oil and salt, but the rice was all corn, and the refined rice she had been eating these days was made specially for her.
There were many varieties of vegetables, even vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and corn, which surprised her.
Seeing that she was in good spirits, Old Lady Wen didn't force her to go back and rest: "Play for a while and then go back to your room. I'll go to the river to wash clothes and come back to cook."
Wen Zhenyi quickly agreed: Isn't this a good opportunity to make something to eat?
Seeing that she was well-behaved and sensible, Old Lady Wen picked up a basin of clothes outside the room and walked towards the river at the entrance of the village.
When Wen Zhenyi saw that his grandmother would not be back for a while, he picked up the kitchen knife on the table, made a beautiful knife dance, and carefully checked the ingredients on the table.
There were two small pieces of meat left over from yesterday's sale on the table, one piece of pork belly and one piece of fat. Although they were left over from yesterday, they had no peculiar smell and did not affect the consumption.
I cut off the excess fat from the pork according to its texture and cut it into thin slices. I was thinking how nice it would be to have some flour to make the meat smoother and more tender.
Unfortunately, she searched the entire kitchen but couldn't find the relevant seasoning.
There was not much oil left at home, so she simply poured the freshly sliced fat into the pot to refine the oil, and then used the oil to cook.
She planned to make stir-fried pork with green onions, stir-fried three-strand vegetable dish, and finally make a soup.
She cut the green onions into sections, and shredded the carrots, potatoes, and green peppers. After cutting all the ingredients, she was ready to start cooking.
This earthen stove has never been used. It has two stoves with a round stove hole in the middle for placing a kettle for boiling water.
Fortunately, when the old lady Wen went out, there was some water boiling in the pot. She just had to scoop out the water, otherwise it would have been difficult for her to make a fire.
First pour the fat into the pot, refine the oil, scoop out the excess oil residue, sprinkle some fine salt on it, and prepare to eat it when it cools down a bit. It tastes delicious just thinking about it.
She scooped out the excess oil and poured the chopped marinated pork into the pot and stir-fried it. She didn't know how to control the heat on such an earthen stove, so she could only do it based on her own experience.
When the pork is almost cooked, pour in the chopped green onion, stir-fry for a while, add the final seasoning to enhance the flavor and it is ready to serve.
After cleaning the pot, she stir-fried some shredded vegetables, made a cold cucumber salad, and a bowl of winter melon soup.
When Ma Yinghe and the others returned, they smelled the aroma of food wafting from their home. This was different from what they had eaten before. She was a little confused: "Chengwen, what did mother do?"
Wen Chengwen sniffed for a long time and said, "I don't know, but it smells good."
"You two came back early today!" Old Lady Wen's voice came from behind them.
The two turned around and saw Mrs. Wen standing behind them holding freshly washed clothes. "Mom, if you're here, who's going to cook at home?"
When Mrs. Wen heard this, she cried out in her heart, "Yi Yi is at home."
The three of them hurriedly pushed the door open and saw Wen Zhenyi standing in the yard, with some soot on his face and two plates of food in his hands: "Dad, Mom, Grandma, you're back."
Old Mrs. Wen quickly put the basin aside and looked at the two dishes in her hands.
Ma Yinghe looked at the dish in her hand and felt as if she was facing a great enemy.
Wen Zhenyi looked at the three people looking at him like that. Could it be that these dishes were inedible?
Put the dishes on the table: "What's wrong?"
The four of them sat at the table and looked at the three dishes and one soup on it.
Ma Yinghe looked at Old Lady Wen and said, "Mom, why don't you try it?"
Old Mrs. Wen looked at the dishes on the table. It’s not that no one had tried other cooking methods before, but they either had diarrhea or got sick, and no one tried other methods after that.
"Eat it. At worst, you'll have to go to the toilet."
"The food my daughter cooks must be delicious." Wen Chengwen picked up the cold cucumber and started eating it politely.
Wen Zhenyi looked at the dishes on the table. She just didn't know how to use this kind of earthen stove and couldn't control the heat well, but it wouldn't be to the extent that she would have to go to the toilet!
Ma Yinghe smelled the fragrance of the dishes, picked up a piece of meat with chopsticks, put it in her mouth and started eating. Her originally painful expression became lively.
Mrs. Wen picked up a piece of stir-fried shredded vegetables with chopsticks. It was refreshing, crispy and had a moderate flavor.
The three of them looked at each other and stopped talking. They ate while constantly picking up food for Wen Zhenyi: "Yi Yi, eat more."
Wen Zhenyi saw that the food in the bowl was about to overflow, and wanted to say that there was no need to serve her more, but when she looked down, she found that there was no food on the plate.
She looked at the food in the bowl and decided to eat in silence.
Wen Chengwen burped: "Oh! What delicious food is this?"
Ma Yinghe said with satisfaction: "I have never eaten such delicious food."
Wen Zhenyi finished the food in his hand and felt very satisfied. Finally, he didn’t have to eat boiled vegetables anymore.
Old Lady Wen looked at her: "Yi Yi, how do you know these things?"
Wen Zhenyi has been thinking of an excuse these past few days: "I'll be able to do it after I wake up. I also know martial arts."
Old Lady Wen touched her head and said, "That's great, that's great, may the Buddha bless you, may the Buddha bless you."
Ma Yinghe looked at her and smiled: "Your grandfather and the others will definitely be very happy when they come back."
"Yeah, they should be back tomorrow."
Wen Zhenyi was still looking forward to meeting his other family members.
Ma Yinghe cleared the dishes and said, "Yiyi, go wash your face. Look, your face has become like a little cat's."
As soon as Wen Zhenyi finished washing his face, he heard Old Lady Wen and Wen Chengwen and his wife talking in the kitchen.
"Yinghe, no one wants the pig offal today?"
"Occasionally, I'll come across some pig offal and bones from wealthy families to feed their dogs. If I don't, I'll give them to them from regular customers. But they don't want to take them back, as they think it's too much trouble to dispose of them and that they smell bad."
"We don't have much money left at home. Your father used the remaining money to buy pigs. Now we have to pay Liu Si back. We need to find a way to repay him."
"Mom, how much money do we owe Liu Si now?"
"We borrowed ten taels before, and now the interest has compounded to fifty taels."
"What should we do then? If we don't pay it back, they will definitely report us to the authorities."
Mrs. Wen thought for a moment and said, "I've already sold all my dowry jewelry. If that doesn't work, I'll just wait for your father to come back and sell the fertile land at home."
Ma Yinghe also sold a lot of her dowry jewelry this year: "Mom, if we sell the good farmland, what will we do in the future?"
Wen Chengwen thought for a moment and said, "Why don't I try my luck in the mountains?"
"Nonsense, you're not a hunter, what can you do in the mountains? Don't be unlucky and get yourself into trouble."
Wen Zhenyi heard everything they said clearly, and when he saw the pig offal in the basin, he had an idea: "Grandma, I have an idea."
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