It was late at night.
The sobbing family of the second sister-in-law now declared that they would never be separated, and temporarily slept on the floor in Meng's mother's room, planning to return home the next morning.
The others returned to their rooms. Meng Chijian looked at A Mian, who was curled up in a ball, burying her head in the blanket and fast asleep, and felt inexplicably itchy.
He wasn't angry because he heard Ah Mian say those things.
Instead, he suddenly realized that if Ah Mian had actually married into the Zhang family by some twist of fate, the situation would probably have been the same.
Zhang Yixing was her childhood sweetheart and should like her too. If he really passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, A-Mian's life would definitely not be bad. Besides, if the Zhang family treated her badly, she might just run away back to her own home and live her own life.
Lu's father will not be able to sell the house at all (Ah Mian will definitely ruin the deal), and will even try to buy or obtain the deed himself.
Even if she didn't marry into the Zhang family, but into the Wang, Li, Ji, or any other family, Ah Mian would still be the same!
If she were to encounter a family with corrupt values, she might just ride Ah Dou up the mountain and become a wild woman, since she has her own legs.
Although it will probably be eaten by wild beasts like wolves soon.
There are always some people in this world who are like clouds.
When you run, you feel like the cloud is following you. But when you lie on the grass and gaze at the cloud for a long time, you realize that the cloud never stays for anyone.
"Mmm..." Ah Mian was sleeping soundly when she suddenly felt like a little monkey being pressed under a mountain. "I'm not cold... don't touch me... I want to sleep..."
She couldn't even open her eyelids. She didn't know what was wrong with Meng Chijian, why he insisted on holding her like a hot water bottle.
Meng Chijian gave a sinister sneer, feeling an urge to bite this heartless, ungrateful wretch.
After a long while, he forcibly turned Ah Mian, who was as thin as a shrimp, over so that she faced him before closing his eyes and falling asleep.
Even if the clouds don't care about or like the humans on Earth, the fact that humans can see the clouds is already beautiful enough.
The next day, Ah Mian had faint dark circles under her eyes and yawned, saying, "You can't keep bothering me even if you have insomnia!"
"I know, hurry up and get ready, my second brother's family is slaughtering a pig for the New Year and having a feast."
Meng Jing was washing up in the yard when she heard this and shouted, "Let's not eat breakfast, let's go on an empty stomach!"
Ah Mian recalled the eel rice she had eaten before, "Second Sister-in-law knows how to eat, she'll definitely have lots of delicious food."
She then moved quickly, tidied herself up, and put on the tiger-head hat. The hat had two dangling pom-poms on the side, which swayed back and forth as Ah Mian shook her head.
She hurriedly fed the chickens and brushed Adou's feathers a few times, but Meng Chijian still made them eat breakfast before setting off, so they wouldn't get hungry on the way.
Every spring, the Meng family would buy a piglet and raise it for a year until it became a large, fat pig by the New Year. The pig wasn't raised to sell; it was raised to provide meat and oil for the family during the New Year, the winter, and even the autumn harvest.
When we arrived, a group of people had already gathered around; they were all relatives or close friends.
Amian first went inside to play with Xiaotanggao for a while. The little girl was unaware of the fright she had suffered at home last night and was now imitating Amian by making funny faces.
"Tiger, watch over your sister!" Second Sister-in-law walked around handing things to everyone, seemingly extremely busy.
However, upon closer inspection, it can be seen that the pig-slaughtering knife, cutting board, large basin, rope, etc., which were originally placed on the ground, do not need to be moved.
The second brother said, "Alright, alright, you take your younger siblings inside and have some hot tea while we slaughter the pig."
"It's alright. No matter how hard it is, I'm doing it all for our family." The second sister-in-law wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead and went into the house, rubbing her lower back with one hand.
Amian held a cup of sesame tea, watching intently as the young men caught pigs.
The men first drove the pig out of its pen, then worked together to pin it down and quickly tied its limbs with ropes.
Meng Chijian did not participate in catching the pigs, as he felt they were too dirty. Instead, he took a pig-slaughtering knife, found the pig's neck, and quickly stabbed it in. He then immediately used a large basin to catch the hot pig blood along the cut.
After the blood was drained, the second brother brought over a bucket filled with hot water to scald the pig. This was a meticulous task, requiring the pig to be scraped clean of all its hair with a scraper.
It didn't take long for everyone to work together. Afterward, the pig was carried to the chopping board. The second brother was already quite experienced, so he didn't need to find a butcher. Instead, he butchered the pork himself. Although his skills weren't that refined, he didn't care too much about the appearance since it was for his own family.
"We're going to eat pig's trotters!" the children shouted excitedly, and A-Mian ran around shouting along with them.
Watching the pig slaughter is just a pretext; the main event is eating the pig-slaughtering feast!
Second Sister-in-law was in high spirits and rushed into the kitchen like a whirlwind. Soon, a faint aroma wafted from the earthen stove. Meng Jing had been determined not to do any work since arriving at her second brother's house, and was drinking tea and eating roasted sweet potatoes. But A Mian couldn't resist the aroma and volunteered to start the fire.
"I don't dare let anyone else into the kitchen!" Second Sister-in-law hurriedly made arrangements. Most of the pork had to be cured by her husband to preserve it for a year, and lard had to be rendered and put into jars. The ingredients for the pig-killing feast were usually the corners and internal organs of the pig, but because of what happened last night, a large piece of pork belly was set aside.
Meng Er put down his things and went outside to work again, leaving only his busy sister-in-law and A Mian tending the fire in the kitchen.
"Hey, A-Mian, want to eat something good?"
Amian asked in confusion, "What?"
Second Sister-in-law smiled mysteriously: "You mustn't tell anyone. I only make this once a year, and no one outside has ever eaten it. But those who eat it really love it, though it sounds and looks a bit scary. Want to try it?"
A-Mian nodded vigorously.
I wonder what kind of delicious food my second sister-in-law secretly eats in the kitchen every year.
Ah Mian leaned closer and saw a fist-sized, soft, tofu-like ingredient in the porcelain bowl, covered with a membrane and blood streaks. "This is pig brain. There's only this much on a whole pig. The taste of roasted pig brain... it's absolutely amazing," her second sister-in-law said, her face glowing.
Next, process the brains by carefully removing impurities and fascia, and soaking them to remove blood.
Amian saw her take out a small bowl, chop up the dogwood, chili peppers, and garlic; add minced ginger, chopped green onions, vegetable oil, and salt; then find a clean stone slab and place it next to the charcoal fire to preheat it.
Once the stone slab is thoroughly heated, place the pig brain on it. The slight curve of the slab allows for even heating. Then, slowly roast it over a low flame. During this time, use a wooden spatula to turn it occasionally and repeatedly brush the prepared seasonings onto the pig brain. It's done when both sides of the pig brain are golden brown and a wooden block can be easily inserted into it.
Ah Mian got half of the pig brain, and her eyes widened as soon as she took a bite.
"Such a delicate texture! It's like eating silk! Soft like tofu, but with a much richer flavor," Ah Mian was simply unable to describe the deliciousness. "It's fragrant with a hint of spiciness, it's like a flowing, rich meat flavor..."
The second sister-in-law winked at her, "Don't tell your husband."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
