Chapter 184 Making Roasted Pig
The next morning, Qiao Junxian went to pick up the Yue family's grandparents and grandchildren. Yue Ning, holding Dahei, and Yue Baohua were already waiting at the intersection.
Qiao Junxian saw that she was only carrying an everyday backpack, and even Yue Baohua only brought a small luggage bag.
"To worship our ancestors, aren't we bringing anything with us?" Qiao Junxian asked. He had specially driven this car with a larger space today just to fit more things in it.
"No, no, everything is ready."
Yue Baohua opened the back door of the car and Dahei jumped in immediately.
Qiao Junxian thought, maybe Yue Ning came from the mainland, and people in the mainland don’t really believe in these things, right?
They first sent Dahei to Qiaoyuan, and then Qiao Junxian drove to the port.
The radio station reported Yu Wanmei's death, and the police were investigating the cause of death. Then they talked about her remarks in a hot interview last night, in which she encouraged Hong Kong businessmen to invest in the mainland, and even said that she was optimistic about Japan in the next ten years and China for the rest of her life.
In this regard, the reporter interviewed a professor from Hong Kong City University, who said: "We don't discuss what Japan did during World War II. Let's just say that from the Meiji Restoration to World War II, and even after World War II, Japan was already so poor at that time, but its economy was able to recover quickly and then develop rapidly. What about China? When did its most prosperous period date back to? The Kangxi and Qianlong eras? Yue Ning said that Japan will be glorious in the next ten years, and I agree with this. But when it comes to saying that China will develop in a positive direction, I can only say that she is still a child. I sincerely hope that she can get good grades in the college entrance examination and enter Hong Kong City University as she wishes to receive systematic learning."
His subsequent remarks were all about how it was impossible for the mainland to develop, and that if Hong Kong capital went to invest in the mainland, it would most likely end up losing all its money.
"Thank you, Professor Wu! We also wish Yue Ning good grades in the exam."
Yue Ning sat in the car listening to the radio, thinking that Professor Wu was still waiting for her to enter the school and teach her the world view! I wonder if Professor Wu will immigrate?
Yue Ning remembered that in his previous life, Ning Roasted Meat opened in Vancouver, and the distribution centre hired an uncle from Hong Kong who came to Vancouver in the 1990s to work as a warehouse manager.
The uncle wore a pair of glasses and looked quite scholarly, so Yue Ning chatted with him for a while. The uncle couldn't help but talk about his glorious years in Hong Kong. He was an associate professor at a university and his wife was a bank manager. He talked about these things endlessly and with great relish. However, when he talked about Vancouver, his eyes flickered and he passed it by in a few words, then turned to talk about his children, with a proud expression on his face, because his children were admitted to famous Canadian universities and worked in Canadian companies.
Hearing him emphasize the Canadian company, Yue Ning felt very awkward. He wanted to retort him, but felt that it was unnecessary.
Later, the distribution center supervisor privately talked to Yue Ning about this uncle, saying that he was difficult to get along with and especially looked down on colleagues from the mainland who came to Canada. In fact, apart from his time in Hong Kong and his children's achievements, he had nothing to brag about. It is said that after he came here, he started as a tally clerk, then got a bus driver's license and drove a bus. He also had a car accident and could no longer drive a bus. Later, he did many jobs sporadically.
"Grandpa was reading the newspaper this morning and he said, you are right. But there must be a qualification."
After hearing what Qiao Junxian said, Yue Ning came back to his senses: "What are the restrictions?"
"It means that China's reform and opening up and the policy of making economic development the primary task will not change. He said that the Chinese are one of the most hardworking and intelligent people in the world. In Southeast Asia, most of the wealthy people are Chinese. Even in the white society that is anti-Chinese in its bones, the Chinese started as low-level laborers, and after several generations, they usually accumulated a good fortune. So as long as the policy does not change, the mainland will develop very quickly." Qiao Junxian drove into the parking lot.
"We will definitely persist in reform and opening up, as the international environment has changed. Now the United States is trying to win over China to fight against the Soviet Union, which has given China an opportunity to develop. If one billion people work together to achieve moderate prosperity, how much energy will that have?"
"You are really optimistic." Qiao Junxian said with a smile. When chatting at home, his father and grandfather were not so optimistic. They said that there were many variables in the future. However, they are Chinese. If the Chinese do not support China, can they still expect the foreign devils to support China? Just like during the Anti-Japanese War, the Qiao family bet all their wealth that China would win. It is the same now. They have to go back first.
The three of them crossed the port, took a bus to the city, and then took a train to Yuecheng. After leaving the station, the car from Fuyunlou came to pick them up. Yue Ning said to Qiao Junxian: "I'll take you to make the ground stove roasted pig together."
"What?"
"Roasted pigs are used for mountain worship."
The car arrived at Fuyunlou, and Yue Ning walked in. It was already past one in the afternoon, and the head chef of Fuyunlou, her uncle Yao Fuyuan, accompanied them for dinner.
Yue Ning changed into chef's uniform and carried a large bag of spices for marinating pork.
Yao Fuyuan shouted, "Hou Yaming, you and Ningning should get ready together."
"Got it." A chef came over and said, "Ningning, the pigs are here. Let's go take a look."
This is Ma Yaoxing's good brother Hou Yaming. He was a little lazy before and failed the second round of selection. Yue Ning asked him to be more diligent in Fuyunlou, practice more, and wait for the third round of selection. Ah Fa came from the northwest and wanted to find a master to lead him. He Yunbang recommended Hou Yaming to Yue Ning.
"Let's go." Yue Ning turned around and saw a group of chefs following her.
The lunch market is over, and the chefs should have gone to rest, but today the grandparents and grandchildren of the Yue family came, and everyone wanted to show off in front of them. The chefs with skills hope to be selected to go to Gangcheng in the next batch. Think about it, Niu Hebang has only been there for half a year, and he has already bought a big house. From a family squeezed in a bamboo building of 20 square meters, to a family moving into a big house of 400 square meters. The apprentices all know that in the spring, Fuyunlou will form a joint venture with Baohualou, and Fuyunlou will be taken over by people from Gangcheng in the future. These two are big bosses! In this way, those who want to learn skills will follow, and those who want to be lazy will also be forced to follow.
Yue Ning saw Ah Fa hiding among a group of cooks and called out, "Ah Fa!"
Ah Fa emerged from the crowd, and Yue Ning said, "Come here!"
Hou Yaming took them to the backyard of Fuyun Building, where chickens, ducks and geese were raised and clucking noisily, and there were fresh fish in the pond.
"Ah!" Qiao Junxian suddenly screamed.
Yue Ning stepped forward and pulled him aside.
Qiao Junxian took a deep breath. The smell of chicken, duck and goose mixed together was not very pleasant. He looked at the snake coiled in the cage and said, "Go, go."
Yue Ning laughed at him: "You were so happy when you were eating, why are you scared when you see me?"
After passing through a door, there is a shed near the river with three pigs hanging under it.
Qiao Junxian looked at the pigs and said, "So big?"
"They are all black pigs weighing more than 200 kilograms." said Hou Yaming.
"Why do we need three heads?" Qiao Junxian was a little puzzled.
"My dad, my grandma, Grandpa Luo and Grandma Luo. Don't you want three heads?" Yue Ning said.
Hou Yaming went on to say: "She also asked us to prepare ten chickens and ten fish."
"So many?" Qiao Junxian said.
"Yeah! Three kinds of meat." Yue Ning said generously, "Let my dad and grandma share them with the neighbors to try."
Yue Ning patted the pig, sniffed it, and said, "It's OK."
Yue Baohua stood beside a dark stove.
Roasting pig in a ground stove is also called roasting pig in a deep well. A big hole is dug in the ground like digging a well, and bricks and tiles are laid inside to make a hollow stove. Wood is burned underneath, and the whole pig is hung in the middle.
He squatted down to check. Thinking back to the end of the year, when wealthy families would worship their ancestors, who wouldn't come to Fuyunlou in advance to order a roasted pig to offer to their ancestors?
In recent years, the mainland has broken away from feudal superstitions, and there have been fewer ancestor worship activities, so the demand for roasting whole pigs has also decreased. Most people just put pork belly in the stove to make roast meat, so the ground stoves in Fuyunlou are used less frequently.
"Uncle Hua, it has been cleaned and grilled over charcoal fire." Yao Yuanfu said.
"good."
Yue Ning looked at it and said, "Grandpa, please help me light the fire and let's roast the pig."
Yue Baohua went to get some litchi wood and started a fire to burn the stove.
Yue Ning said to Hou Yaming and Afa: "Aming, Afa, come with me to pickle the pork."
Yue Ning led them to marinate and roast the pork.
Pork is fatty, especially the hind legs, so it must be marinated thoroughly. She taught everyone how to cut and marinate. The marinade was prepared at Ning Yan, and she also brought the recipe and gave it to Hou Yaming.
After marinating, Yue Ning prepared to pre-bake.
If you want to make roast pork with pork belly, you just need to boil the pork belly in water, add marinade, hang it in the air-drying room to air-dry, and then put it in the oven to roast. But this is a whole pig, how can there be a big pot like that? So first roast it three times at low temperature repeatedly, so that the pork is basically roasted, and then air-dry it.
"Sure!" She turned around and called Ah Fa, "Come on, come with me to carry the pig."
"Can't you just carry it by yourself?" Ah Fa muttered.
Others had already been vying to carry the pig, but Yue Ning said, "I'll let this boy carry it for me." She kicked Ah Fa and said, "Let's go!"
Ah Fa and she hung the pig in the oven and covered it with a black pottery lid. It would take some time to slowly roast such a large pig at low temperature, so Yue Ning went back to the kitchen to make red tortoise cake for tomorrow.
Although everyone wanted to help, Fuyunlou's evening market would open soon, so they didn't bother the people there. Yue Ning steamed the glutinous rice and beat it into rice cakes. Qiao Junxian was the best at this, so he was asked to do it.
She went to stir-fry the bean paste. She originally planned to make these things in Hong Kong and bring them over with the paper money and ingots. But then she thought about it. The Northwest was in a difficult situation. When her father taught her, she was short of this and that. He had never eaten anything she made with complete ingredients. Yue Ning decided to come over and make it now, making sure her father could eat the freshly cooked dishes.
She made red tortoise cakes, sweet rice cakes, and boiled chicken. She roasted three pigs three times, hung them outside and poked holes in them, then rinsed the marinade off the pigs and hung them there to let the water drip out.
Yue Ning exhaled slightly and said, "Let's go. Come back at five tomorrow morning."
Afa, who was held by Yue Ning, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He could finally go back to sleep.
"Afa! Come to the building at five o'clock tomorrow morning." Yue Ning said to the boy.
"Five o'clock?" Ah Fa screamed, "I can't get up!"
Yue Ning stretched out his hand and twisted the boy's ear: "Go ask the masters of Fuyun Building. When they were apprentices, they told you to come at 3 o'clock, not to mention 5 o'clock. You still had to arrive at the same time."
"Yes! If you don't come, I will." said a master.
"Come, come, I will definitely come." Ah Fa agreed repeatedly. He was scary for Yue Ning.
The three of them returned to the hotel, and Yue Ning said to Yue Baohua: "Grandpa, we will leave for the mountain at 7:30 tomorrow. I'll have a car pick you up."
"I'll go to Fuyun Building with you," Yue Baohua said, "I'm old and wake up early."
"That's fine!"
Qiao Junxian said, "Then I'll be five too."
"You must do it at five o'clock. This is a chance for you to perform in front of my father. Otherwise, what should I do if my father appears in my dreams at night and says that I am too young and that he won't allow me to find a partner?" Yue Ning said.
Qiao Junxian immediately turned around and looked at Yue Baohua: "Grandpa agrees that we should date each other."
Yue Baohua shook his head: "I am a generation apart, so my words don't count."
Qiao Junxian: “…”
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