Chapter 60 Roasted Deer Leg
Lin Changning, who brought Qi An'an home, settled her in the courtyard and handed her over to Shi Lang, who was processing medicinal herbs. He then went to the stove to prepare the deer leg. The deer leg weighed about ten pounds, which was definitely not enough to eat in one meal. Since Qi An'an was small, he simply skewered it with bamboo sticks to make kebabs, which would be cheaper for several people to share.
Lin Changning checked his family's seasonings and found he still had quite a few left. The weather was getting warmer, and the legs wouldn't keep for long if they weren't marinated. Aunt Hu was an expert at pickling vegetables, so he simply asked someone to come and help him marinate the remaining legs to prevent them from spoiling in a couple of days.
After finishing preparing the deer legs, Lin Changning came out of the kitchen and saw Qi An'an following Shilang around very obediently, asking him all sorts of questions. Shilang was very kind and answered all her questions. The two of them together were quite amusing.
Lin Changning rolled up his sleeves, picked up a rather large piece of venison, and instructed Shilang: "Tenth Brother, I'll go ask Sister-in-law Hu to help marinate the venison leg. Go find some dry bamboo, split it into skewers, and skewer the venison that I've sliced and put in the bowl on the stove. I'll make some roasted venison leg for us to eat together at noon."
Upon hearing this, Shiro replied, "Understood, Sixth Brother."
After saying that, Lin Changning went out and turned into the house of Sister-in-law Hu. The two families were neighbors. Sister-in-law Hu was a cheerful and kind person. When he arrived at her house, he heard her loud voice as soon as he entered the yard: "You little brat! I'll skin you alive! I only have one pearl hairpin, and you dare to steal it and give it away? You stop right there! You dare to run away?"
Lin Changning paused, looking at Aunt Hu chasing the child with a stick in the yard with some hesitation. She had come at a bad time, but it also seemed to be the right time.
Aunt Hu turned her head, saw Lin Changning, and her face instantly changed from fierce to beaming: "Oh~ it's Liu Lang! Why didn't you say anything before coming in? Oh dear, I was disciplining the child, please don't mind~"
Lin Changning glanced at the thick stick and swallowed hard. Seeing his mother stop, Hu Xiaowu darted over and hid behind Lin Changning, peeking out curiously.
"Uncle Lin, save me!!!"
Mrs. Hu was so angry her hair almost stood on end. She grabbed a stick and was about to grab Hu Xiaowu: "You little brat, even if the King of Heaven himself came today, he couldn't save you!! Get out here! Get out here!"
Lin Changning coughed and picked up the venison: "Sister-in-law, don't be anxious! Don't be anxious! Don't get upset and hurt yourself. The commander gave us a deer leg today, and I brought some with me. Please don't mind."
Sister-in-law Hu pointed at Hu Xiaowu: "I'll deal with you later!"
After saying that, she put on a smiling face: "Sixth Brother, why are you being so polite? The meat is good stuff, you can keep it for your own consumption. How could I possibly accept such a big piece of meat? It costs several tens of coins per pound. You should take it back and eat it yourself, okay?"
Lin Changning, hiding behind Lin Xiaowu, said, "I have some at home. I'm going to roast venison at noon. My sister-in-law has taken such good care of me. Please accept it. I have something else I need your help with."
Aunt Hu accepted the venison from Lin Changning with some embarrassment. It had indeed been a long time since they had eaten meat at home, and it would be a lie to say she wasn't craving it.
Sister Hu, having taken the meat, laughed heartily, "Sixth Brother, just tell me what's wrong, and I'll definitely help you."
Lin Changning nodded as he saw the man accept the meat: "Neither my brother nor I know how to marinate meat. As the weather gets warmer, the meat might spoil if we don't finish it in one or two meals. My sister-in-law is an expert at pickling vegetables. I was thinking of asking her to marinate the rest of the meat so we can eat it slowly later."
As she invited the guests into the house, Sister Hu beamed with joy: "This is no problem at all. Just leave it to me. I'll marinate the meat for you in the next couple of days, and it'll keep for a year or two without spoiling."
Lin Changning patted Xiao Wu's head and thanked him, "Then thank you, sister-in-law. I'll make roasted venison for lunch. Bring Xiao Wu and Xiao Ya to my house for dinner."
Sister-in-law Hu waved her hand: "Oh dear, how could I possibly eat and take food? We have our own food, Liu Lang can eat by himself."
Lin Changning winked at Hu Xiaowu: "Sister-in-law, the conductor's young master is at my house. The three of us can't finish eating anyway, so come on over. The young master doesn't have any playmates, so Xiaowu and Xiaoya can play with him. I have nothing to do today, so I can teach the children to read and write."
When it came to reading and writing, Sister-in-law Hu was intrigued, but since there were important people around, she was afraid of offending them, so she hesitated.
Lin Changning pleaded even more earnestly: "Sister-in-law, you have always taken great care of me and my brother. A single meal is hardly enough to repay even a tenth of your kindness. Do you not consider me an outsider?"
Since things had come to this point, Sister Hu naturally couldn't refuse. She scolded him playfully, "You silly child, go, I'm coming right now. Wait for me a bit, I'll hang the meat up and then help you out, okay?"
Lin Changning chuckled and took Xiao Wu's hand: "What are you waiting for, Xiao Wu? Call Xiao Ya out so we can go to Uncle's house for meat."
Back in the courtyard with the three of them, the children soon started playing together. Aunt Hu helped skewer the meat, while Lin Changning built a fire in the open space of the courtyard, set up a wooden frame, and prepared to cook.
When making kebabs at home, she naturally tries to make them as economical as possible. Four or five kebabs weigh about a pound, and she sliced off about six or seven pounds of meat, which should be enough for so many people.
Sister Hu carried a large basin of dough out of the stove and placed the skewered meat in front of Lin Changning: "Sixth Brother, it's all done. There's so much meat, I'll go back and get some flatbread."
Lin Changning placed the meat skewers on the fire to grill. The meat was rich in oil, so there was no need to brush it with anything. Just sprinkle a layer of salt and some cumin and Sichuan peppercorns, and it would be delicious. Thinking about the last time he traded spices with the Hu merchants, Lin Changning couldn't help but give himself a thumbs up. Everything was good in ancient times, except the food was bland. His mouth was almost as bland as a bird.
While grilling the meat, Lin Changning instructed Shilang to bring him some honey. These days, honey is all-natural, sweet and rich, perfect for brushing on meat.
Before long, the irresistible aroma filled the courtyard. The little devils, who had just been playing together, now huddled around the fire, their mouths watering at the smell of the meat.
Lin Changning flipped the meat on the wooden rack over, his mouth watering; it smelled so good...
Lin Changning, feeling that the meat was almost cooked, blew on it, smelled it, and took a small bite. It was salty, sweet, and slightly numbing, with tender and juicy meat. It smelled so good it made her dizzy!
Qi An'an looked at Lin Changning expectantly and gently tugged at his sleeve: "Sixth Brother~"
Xiao Wu and Xiao Ya watched longingly, swallowing hard.
Lin Changning bit off a piece of meat from his own skewer and handed it to Qi An'an. Qi An'an took a big bite, tearing off a piece and gobbling it down with slurping noises. Lin Changning then handed the skewer to Xiao Ya, who took a small, polite bite, covering her mouth as she chewed. Finally, Xiao Wu took a big bite, his eyes lighting up, and mumbled through his mouth, "Delicious, delicious~"
Seeing that the skewers were almost cooked, Lin Changning gave one to each person: "Eat slowly, they're hot."
After saying that, they grilled the rest. Just then, Sister Hu returned, and the two of them took turns grilling until they finished. The group sat on the stone table in the courtyard, with bowls of meat skewers in them. No one spoke; they were all engrossed in eating.
As she ate the roasted meat, Sister Hu squinted her eyes happily: "Oh my, Liu Lang's cooking is amazing! Any girl who marries you will be so lucky."
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