Chapter 6: Pork Cracklings and Roof Repair, Rendering Pork Fat, Planting Potatoes, Daggers...
Now that we've bought some caul fat and some good quality fatty meat, let's just render some lard.
The pots we use at home to render lard are all high-rimmed soup pots, which are very inconvenient to use.
Lai began to miss the big iron pot connected to the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) at her grandfather's house, which served both as a source of warmth and a place to cook rice. She would steam rice in it and enjoy the crispy rice crust at the bottom.
It smells amazing!
Back to the present.
Lai cut the lean and fatty parts of the Gulu beast meat apart, carefully cleaned the fat and caul fat, and cut it into small pieces.
Blanch the fatty pork and caul fat pieces in boiling water, then put them all into a pot, add cold water to cover the surface, and start simmering.
The water boiled, and the meat began to turn translucent, releasing its meaty smell. Lai added two spoonfuls of salt, skimming off the foam as he simmered.
After the water boiled away, I started stirring it constantly with a wooden spatula. The aroma began to improve, and once some oil was rendered out, I added some spices. The spices turned black, and I took it out of the pan. This step was mainly to remove any fishy smell.
Neil sniffed the air.
It smells so good!
"Neil, bring the drying jar over here."
Neil placed the earthenware pot next to Lai and watched him scoop spoonfuls of glistening oil into the pot.
"Bring me another plate."
Neil jogged over and grabbed a plate, and Ray scooped the golden-brown, crispy fried pork cracklings onto the plate.
After frying the meat, add water to the pot and heat it up, then add noodles and vegetables.
"Open your mouth."
Neil obediently opened his mouth, and Ray pinched a piece of pork fat and threw it into Neil's mouth.
Neil chewed, and the lard popped into his mouth through his teeth. The crispy lard cracklings became more and more fragrant with each chew, and he finished them in a few bites, with almost no fishy taste.
"Is it tasty?"
Neil nodded firmly, his eyes filled with a subtle light.
Ray sprinkled a spoonful of salt on the pork cracklings and handed the whole plate to Neil.
"Take it and eat it."
"Brother, you eat too."
Lai took a few pieces and popped them into his mouth before letting him take them away.
Neil placed the noodles on the table but didn't touch them. Instead, he gave two large bowls to Lai, and the two of them ate together after the noodles were ready.
The next day at dawn, Lai put the fermented dough into the oven.
Western food is not his forte, but bread is the staple food here.
For some time now, Lai had been learning how to bake bread properly. After countless failures, he finally learned how to bake bread well with Linda's guidance.
Linda also taught him how to make fruit pie and cream of mushroom soup, and it has to be said that Ray does have some talent when it comes to cooking.
After preparing breakfast, Lai cultivated a small plot of land in the backyard next to the original vegetable garden to grow potatoes and sweet potatoes.
The soil was a bit hard and needed to be turned over. But without the right tools, Lai could only clear the land bit by bit with a hoe.
Neil heard the noise and got up, following behind him to shake the soil off the grass roots he had dug up and throw them outside the vegetable garden.
Ray deliberately dug ridges of equal length, and then dug equally spaced pits on the ridges to bury the seeds. This made turning the potatoes in the fall easier.
Pour a large bowl of water into each hole, then press the prepared tuber with the root and bud facing upwards into the hole and cover it with soil.
The potatoes and sweet potatoes have been planted.
When Neil wasn't looking, Lei had sent a cluster of light to the tuber, which is why the buds all looked very strong.
He also planted the seeds he brought back from Rosen.
The bread was baked by then. The two of them ate all the bread, along with the leftover pork cracklings from last night.
Whenever Ray eats rye bread, he misses the fragrant rice from his hometown.
Wheat is all here, and Ray doesn't believe he can't find rice in his lifetime!
With the rainy season approaching, roof repairs are urgently needed.
In the morning, Lai carried his axe into the forest.
As he became more proficient in using magic, his perception of nature also improved.
The forest is rich in wood and earth elements, which makes him feel more relaxed here.
Following the direction where the elements were plentiful, Lei found some good things.
A patch of wild berries laden with fruit and a blade of grass I don't recognize.
Lei took them all.
There are many trees in the mountains suitable for making planks, but cutting them down and hauling them back is a problem, and drying them after cutting also takes time. It's quite difficult to do it all by myself.
He marked the suitable trees and planned to hire some villagers to help.
The dagger was still with Gray Wolf; after all, it was Victor's keepsake. Ray decided to go check it out.
When they arrived at the original location, the remains of the gray wolf had already disappeared.
The vegetation damaged by the fight has been replaced by new shoots, and upon closer inspection, the surrounding plants are growing better than those in other areas.
Never underestimate the power of nature; it can metabolize everything in a very short time.
Nearby, Ray saw the gray wolf's skull, which was already in pieces, with two sharp canine teeth next to it, about twenty centimeters long.
He picked up both wolf teeth together.
Continuing their search along the skull, they found the dagger on a vertebra.
The blade is slightly chipped, but it can still be used after sharpening.
After finding the item, Ray returned the way he came.
"elder brother!"
Ray turned around, and Lamb emerged from the woods carrying a small tree as thick as a thigh.
The sapling weighed several hundred pounds, but Lamb still moved with great speed, showing he had some strength.
With a thud, Lamb placed the tree at Rae's feet.
"Brother, did you go hunting today?"
Lamb's expression was full of accusation.
"No. The roof is damaged and needs some panels replaced. I came here to cut down trees."
Lamb stared at Ray's empty shoulders, his eyes screaming "I don't believe it!"
"The tree is too heavy for me to handle by myself. I'm going to go back to the village and hire some villagers to help."
"real?"
"real."
"All right."
"Brother, wait here for me a moment, I'll help you with it, no need to hire anyone."
Without waiting for a response from Ray, Lamb carried the tree and ran home.
Less than half an hour later, Hagrid, Brian, Lamb, and two young men he didn't recognize arrived with their tools.
"Brother, I'm back! I wanted to bring the two of them to help you, but Dad and my older brother insisted on coming along after they heard about it."
Ray greeted the group, and Hagrid patted him on the shoulder affectionately.
"Why didn't you come to me sooner when the roof was broken? Are you being too formal with your uncle?"
"Everyone was busy in the fields, and the roof wasn't too badly damaged. I wanted to learn how to repair the roof myself, so I didn't bother you, Uncle."
"You little rascal, you always make excuses."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, they stopped wasting time and got to work with their tools.
With a large workforce, all of whom were strong laborers, the work was done quickly. What would normally take several days was completed in just one morning.
They cut down three thick shrubs, each half a meter in diameter, and also chopped down five or six dead trees along the way.
As the weather gets warmer, these dead trees are prone to catching fire. Cutting them down can both protect the forest and provide firewood.
The six men spent some time transporting the tree to an open space near Ray's house.
The timber was raised on a platform and sawn into planks using a large iron saw, then left to dry on the spot.
The remaining deadwood was sawn into pieces, which were then divided equally among the six people.
When Ray finished the work and wanted to pay him, Hagrid simply stopped him.
Lamb's two friends also firmly refused, saying that the dead wood was enough.
Ray memorized their faces.
The group worked for a while longer to transport the wooden stumps back to their respective homes.
Hagrid's family is large, so they moved out quickly.
After helping Lamb's friend move things, Ray and Lamb returned to Ray's house to rest.
Lamb sat unceremoniously in the armchair, eating the wild berries that Lai had picked that day.
During his time with Lamb, Ray discovered that he was just a carefree and simple-minded young man.
"Brother, the wild berries you picked are really delicious."
"Then eat more."
"Okay, sure."
Lai began to sort through his haul from the woods that day. He tossed the grass outside to dry, and casually placed the dagger and wolf fang on the table.
Lamb's eyes widened when he saw Wolf Fang.
"Brother! Brother! Did you get this wolf fang?"
Lamb jumped up, his excitement almost frightening, and Ray suddenly wanted to get away from him.
He finally realized that the child had some degree of ADHD.
"No, I found it."
"Brother, you lied to me!"
"......"
Lei chose to remain silent.
Lamb held the wolf tooth up and down, looking at it from all angles, as if he wanted to kiss it. Ray wanted to tell him that it hadn't been washed yet.
Of course, Lamb wasn't that ruthless.
"This must be at least level seven."
Ray heard a new term again.
"What can this thing be used for?"
"This is incredibly useful, for forging weapons and concocting potions. Bounty hunters often travel from here to the Eton Great Forest to hunt magical beasts."
“Brother, you used to rarely go out. The last time a bounty hunter asked for your way was two years ago. It’s normal that you don’t know these things.”
Lamb gave Rye a very good excuse.
"Is there anyone in the village who can turn them into weapons?"
Lamb frowned as he recalled something, then, as if a thought had occurred to him, he hesitated before speaking.
"'The mysterious man' seems to be able to make simple weapons. I remember Uncle Victor contacted him before."
Who is the mysterious person?
"I don't know his name. He lives in the house near the river. He doesn't usually go out and doesn't communicate much with others. But people often ask him to make ironware."
Lei nodded to indicate that he understood.
Lamb left before dinner, and Ray forcefully gave him six silver coins, telling him to split them equally with his two friends.
A few days later, the wooden boards were dried.
Hagrid and his boss Brian came over and fixed the roof.
There were plenty of leftover planks, and after asking Ray, Brian helped him nail together a huge shelf, which Ray placed in the first-floor storage room.
Hagrid has always been very dedicated to helping the Leonil brothers, treating them like his own children.
His help made Ray feel a sense of home in this unfamiliar world, enabling him to adapt to his new life more quickly.
After the roof was repaired, Neil reluctantly moved back to the second floor.
The rainy season here lasts for more than half a month, so you need to prepare firewood for cooking in advance.
Whenever he had free time, Lai would split the deadwood stump into strips of wood.
After everything was prepared, Lei finally had time to deal with the two wolf fangs.
He plans to find a "mysterious person" to turn them into two curved swords.
A note from the author:
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He then arrived in the territory of the elves.
But the fruit wine brewed by the elves was so delicious that he drank two large barrels of it in one go and slept for three whole days. After waking up, he drank three more large barrels... He spent a month between drinking and sleeping, and spent all his gold coins.
Finally, he arrived at a human city.
Human cities require money to buy food, but Golden Oak is penniless and has nowhere to go.
Until he met a white-bearded man in a magic robe who told Golden Oak that he could provide him with lodging, food, unlimited amounts of fine wine, and all the forging materials he needed.
But the condition was that Golden Oak forged three items for him, and Golden Oak shamelessly became tempted...
So he lived in the mage tower in the city of Bersudun for the next fifty years.
Note:
Golden Oak: The inventor of the magic detector, the most renowned dwarf blacksmith in the human world, and the youngest senior blacksmith in the dwarf world (also a laughing stock).
Meiling: A legendary master craftswoman in the dwarf world, SSS-rank, female, known as the "Goddess of Forging".
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Fir Tree Chick: A miserable writer on Earth, -S-rank magician, "Secret Technique - Abba Abba Abba, the Great Art of Increasing Favorites!"
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