Before they knew it, they had reached the foot of the mountain. Both teams had leaders who separated the two groups and sent them back to their respective teams.
Xue Yanchen didn't have time to say more to Luo Jingyan, and said goodbye to her, "I'm leaving now."
He would confess his feelings to her the next time they met.
"Okay, goodbye!" Luo Jingyan waved to him.
The next day, when it was time to distribute the meat, Li Hongying wanted to go and get to know Zhuang Feifei, but Liu's mother felt that distributing the meat was an important matter and wouldn't let her go. She insisted that she, as the head of the family, should go instead, and told her and Liu Aiguo to wait at home.
When Li Hongying was newly married, she made various excuses to avoid consummating the marriage with Liu Aiguo. Although Liu Aiguo was honest, with his mother directing her from behind, she obediently submitted to Liu Aiguo's tattered cotton trousers after only a few days.
Even if she has a child with Liu Aiguo, she will still walk her own path, and no one can stop her.
Luo Jingyan and Luo Changtian each received a pound of meat, and they both wanted to give it to their parents.
Luo Jingyan delivered the meat and brought along ingredients for braised pork, such as dried shiitake mushrooms and dried wood ear mushrooms.
“Mom and Dad, this was distributed by the village. Xiaotian and I got two jin of meat in total, and we gave you half of it.”
Since being arrested, Mr. and Mrs. Luo had been eating coarse food and wild vegetables every day in Beijing. They were lucky to have a meal of cornbread. Since coming here, they have been able to eat rice and wheat flour, which is like eating delicacies.
Now that her daughter had brought them meat again, Luo's mother almost burst into tears. If it weren't for her daughter here, she didn't know what their lives would be like.
Mr. Luo asked Mrs. Luo and Luo Jingyan, "What kind of food would you like to eat? I'll make it."
When Mr. Luo lived in Beijing, he was the head chef in the family. He loved cooking and would cook more often than Mrs. Luo whenever he had free time.
Because her parents were both very busy, Luo Jingyan learned to cook from her father at a very young age, which is why the original owner had better cooking skills than the average person.
Luo Jingyan was supposed to go back to the educated youth settlement for lunch, but after checking the time, she realized it was still early, so she stayed to have lunch with her parents.
“I can do anything,” she told Mr. Luo.
Mother Luo said, "Zhenhua, you're in charge of cooking, so you decide what to make. We'll eat whatever you make."
"Alright then, let's make braised pork, which our family all love."
"OK."
Mr. Luo was in high spirits. He immediately washed his hands and the meat, then put it on the cutting board and started cutting it with a knife.
Luo's mother got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and wanted to help Luo's father, but Luo Jingyan stopped her: "Mom, you should rest. I'll go help Dad."
Mr. Luo cut the pork belly into small cubes with great skill, resembling a professional chef demonstrating his knife skills.
He first blanched the meat in boiling water, then put it in clean water, caramelized sugar, and stir-fried the meat to remove most of the fat. Then he added other seasonings and water to stew it.
The meat chunks should be simmered over low heat to make braised pork that is rich but not greasy, and has a fresh and delicious flavor.
An hour later, Mr. Luo's braised pork was ready, with a bright color and a fragrant aroma.
Luo Jingyan said, "Dad's cooking skills haven't diminished at all; the braised pork he makes is still so delicious."
Mr. Luo smiled and said, "As long as your father loves to eat, his cooking skills will not diminish, and the food will only get better and better."
"Haha, birds of a feather flock together. I also enjoy cooking, but your dad always takes over and doesn't give me a chance to practice, so my cooking skills aren't as good as his," said Mrs. Luo.
Luo Jingyan felt that her parents were just her type, and they even shared some similarities with her parents from her previous life. Luo Changtian also loved to cook; their whole family were foodies, and cooking was something most foodies enjoyed doing.
"Dad, Mom, since you both enjoy cooking, if we can move back to the city and the government allows private businesses to operate, how about we open a restaurant?"
“That would be great.” Mr. Luo was immediately intrigued. “Daughter, your dad’s biggest hobby is cooking. I often dream of opening a small restaurant in my old age, running it with your mom, so you and Xiaotian can come and eat every day. And when you’re both married and have spouses and children, you can bring your spouses and children to eat here.”
“Then when we get back to the city, we’ll open a restaurant. I’ll bring my in-laws to eat there, and Xiaotian will bring his wife, kids, and mother-in-law. We’ll eat you all out of house and home.”
"Haha, we'd love to too." Mr. Luo laughed heartily.
The father and daughter had a very pleasant conversation, but Luo's father knew very well that returning to the city and opening a restaurant were just wishful thinking.
Mrs. Luo said, "You two can just talk about it. Zhenhua, even if you can't open a restaurant, you're still our family's head chef. Jingyan, Xiaotian, and I are all your loyal customers and will always support you."
"Thank you, thank you." Mr. Luo thought of Grandma Zhang and asked his daughter for her opinion: "Could we give some of this meat to Grandma Zhang? We're neighbors and often help each other out. Grandma Zhang is all alone and quite pitiful. Could I go and bring her some?"
“I also think Grandma Zhang is a good person. Dad, you are still the head of our family. You can make the decision on this matter. You don’t need to ask me.”
"Okay, I'll go deliver it then."
Mr. Luo ladled three or four pieces into the bowl. Since there wasn't much meat in the pot to begin with, he poured some broth over it, added some shiitake mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms, and then took it to Grandma Zhang.
He knocked on Grandma Zhang's door from outside. Grandma Zhang opened the door, and Mr. Luo said, "Auntie, my daughter went hunting in the village too. The two children got some meat, and I cooked it and brought some over to you."
Grandma Zhang's mouth watered at the sight of the brightly colored braised pork. She hadn't eaten meat in a long time, and her gaze lingered on the bowl in Mr. Luo's hand as she couldn't help but swallow a few times.
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