Chapter 17 Braised Pork Ribs Rice
After exchanging gifts, the Yao family had no further contact with them.
Sometimes in the early morning, she would see Yao's son, the boy nicknamed "Doggy," herding sheep. Of the four sheep, three were large and one was small. They were all snow-white goats. The small one seemed to have already started eating grass, but it still stayed close to its mother, occasionally trying to steal a sip of milk. However, its mouth was covered by a muzzle made from the bottom of a plastic bottle, which prevented it from eating grass or drinking milk. It could only pitifully stick to its mother.
—The ewe should still be lactating, but in order to produce milk for people to drink, she has stopped letting the lambs drink milk.
Herding sheep is not a difficult job, but it's not easy either. Sometimes the sheep stay in one place for a long time, and sometimes they move very fast. In short, it takes a long time to feed a flock of sheep, and you have to keep an eye on them during that time, otherwise the sheep will easily run away.
The four sheep were plump and healthy, clearly a testament to the good care Yao's son had given them—he would set out before sunrise each day to graze them along the stream, and then herd them back home when the sun got too strong around noon. He wasn't idle either; while tending the sheep, he would also gather a full basket of grass, presumably for when the sheep couldn't get out after rain. There were many side paths along the stream, originally hidden by weeds, but thanks to him and the sheep, they had been kept very clean.
In textbooks, children who herd sheep are usually portrayed as representing poor families, but in this apocalyptic world, a family with four sheep certainly cannot be considered poor in Zhao Xuan's view.
Dairy products can supplement iodine. In these remote mountains, where there is no seafood, goat milk is considered a very rare supplement.
However, Yao's son was kind-hearted. Once, when Zhao Xuan was picking mushrooms, he saw Yao squatting in a place with lush weeds and taking off the plastic bottle from the lamb's mouth, letting the lamb run around and drink milk.
Although Yao's son looks young, he has a hard life. He herds sheep in the morning and then works with his father in the fields in the afternoon. His little hands are dark and rough.
He was very shy, and his personality was very much like his father's. Sometimes when he bumped into Zhao Xuan, he would not say a word, but would quickly look away and drive the sheep away into the distance.
If this relationship continues, they and the Yao family may maintain this distant neighborly relationship for the rest of their lives.
Both sides knew the other was not a bad person, but after experiencing the apocalypse, neither was willing to take it any further.
Zhao Xuan thought this was fine too. Although she lost the fruit trees in the neighboring village, the Yao family was hardworking, and their presence in the fields could also deter the birds that came to steal rice.
As Xiaoman approaches, the rainfall gradually becomes more abundant. Unlike the gentle, fine rain of spring, the rain often pours down like a downpour. Generally, the sun shines brightly in the morning, but by three or four o'clock in the afternoon, dark clouds gather and the rain falls rapidly and heavily for a while, before the sun shines brightly again.
Zhao Xuan had already figured out the routine: the bedding and dried food were taken out to dry in the morning and then brought in in the afternoon. She and Lu An usually got up early in the morning, gathered pig feed, fed the pigs, and patrolled the fields, and after taking a nap in the afternoon, they did some light chores and went to bed early when it got dark.
The sweltering afternoon air would cause them to suffer from heatstroke, and the heavy rain was not something their straw hats could shield them from.
The piglets are growing bigger, and they need more and more pig feed. What used to be one basketful a day has now increased to three basketfuls. However, since I cook a pot in the morning and feed them twice a day, it's not too tiring.
In the afternoon, Lu An would clean the pigsty and chicken coop, while Zhao Xuan would do chores like collecting laundry and cooking.
During the period of heavy rain, they would sit in the hall, watching the water curtain connecting heaven and earth, splashing up a cloud of dust.
Zhao Xuan was sewing a small cloth bag. She had never done this kind of handicraft before, so she was sewing very slowly. The bag was somewhat like a satchel, which fit perfectly on 460's back. Sometimes when she was picking up some fruit and her hands were full, she could put it into the bag.
460 usually loves to fetch things for them, but it's silly and often forgets it has a bag in its mouth, so when it opens its mouth and flicks its tongue, the bag flies away.
Lu An was applying lubricant to their tricycles. Lubricant is common in rural areas; it can be used as long as it's not dry. There was also an electric tricycle parked in the living room—the only one he could find that wasn't too badly damaged. He'd fix it; once it was repaired, transporting anything would be much easier.
The Yao family visited again on this rainy day.
Upon hearing the knock, she and Lu An exchanged a glance. Both looked calm, but just in case, Lu An grabbed an axe to open the door.
Contrary to expectations, Yao's wife and dog were standing outside the door.
The two men held a rusty, tattered umbrella, and because the rain was falling at an angle, most of their bodies were soaked. The woman's hair clung to her face, and large patches of yellow mud were stuck to her front, indicating that she had slipped and fallen on the way there.
She had lost an arm, which made it difficult for her to maintain her balance while walking, and it was truly admirable that she had walked such a long way in the heavy rain to get here.
Zhao Xuan remembers that when they first met, her husband seemed to call her "Xiao He".
"Can you help me?" the woman asked anxiously. Before Lu An could answer, she added, "Besides you, I don't know who else I can turn to."
In the living room, the dog sat on the bench, looking at the mud spots he and his mother had left when they walked in. He tried to wipe them off with his shoes, but the more he wiped, the dirtier they became.
He lowered his head, his face slightly flushed.
Zhao Xuan happened to see this scene when she came out with a dry towel, and she immediately looked away. At this moment, to avoid embarrassing the child, it was best to pretend she didn't see it.
Lu An brought over a pot of boiling water, made a cup of hot tea for the woman, and a cup of sugar water for the child.
The dog stared at the teacup for a long while, then carefully took a sip. He probably rarely gets to eat sweet things, savoring each sip meticulously.
Even though the woman looked anxious, she didn't forget to pat her son on the back and said gently, "Doggy, you should say thank you to your uncle and aunt first."
The child slowly called out, "Brother, sister... thank you."
Zhao Xuan handed them bath towels: "Sisters, you..."
The woman, completely oblivious to the fact that the family hierarchy had been confused, leaned forward, her face showing embarrassment: "I'm so sorry to bother you at this time, but my husband has been missing for two days. I... I've searched everywhere I can think of, but I can't find him..."
The Yao family mother and son hadn't slept all night.
The night before and the daytime of today had left the woman's eyes sunken, and the area around them was covered in a grayish-black color.
She probably didn't have time to shower or change. In this kind of weather, she sweats a lot, and at that moment, she and her child smelled faintly of rancidity.
She said her name was Zhang Xiaohe, and she used to be a nurse at the health center. Her husband, Yao Yuan, was a programmer. Their son, Gougou, was ten years old, and his full name was Yao Yinuo.
Their family used to live in a large camp in the far north. That camp had essentially become a town, where people grew crops, raised livestock, and produced some simple semi-finished products, making them quite self-sufficient.
The dog was still young when the apocalypse broke out, so the couple chose to stay at this camp to provide their child with a safe living environment.
The camp leader was a good person with a high reputation. The camp was peaceful and the people were friendly, giving it a secluded, idyllic feel. At that time, because there were too many people in the camp, the leader was considering whether to move everyone to an abandoned small town to generate electricity and dig wells. Everyone had their own strengths, and perhaps they could live a better life.
However, the more people in a camp, the greater the risk.
Before they could move into town, the disease broke out again. The source was unknown, but it spread rapidly, and many people died within days. Left with no other choice, Yao Yuan fled with his wife and children.
They wandered from then on, with no one to help them, and even finding food was difficult. Zhang Xiaohe said they had to go south, where there were mountains and they wouldn't starve.
So they traveled all the way here.
The decision to stay here wasn't because they saw Lu An and Zhao Xuan, but because when they first arrived, they saw the forests and clear streams covering the mountains and thought that farming and herding sheep in this desolate place would be wonderful, so they decided to find a house to settle down in.
They deliberately avoided the village where Zhao Xuan lived, fearing that the disease might suddenly flare up again on them. But they knew the young couple weren't bad people, because they would give back two large strings of salted meat in exchange for just two bottles of soy sauce.
The Yao family hadn't eaten pork for a long time. They had eaten half of the eight sheep they once owned, and they couldn't afford to let the remaining sheep go to waste. So even though they were severely malnourished, they never considered eating sheep again.
In this day and age, a piece of meat can truly save a life.
Therefore, after her husband had been missing for a night, all she could think of was seeking their help.
“He didn’t come back yesterday afternoon. The dog said he saw a pheasant and ran into the woods to catch it. I waited for him all night, but he didn’t come. I went out to look for him as soon as it was light, but I couldn’t find him.”
Zhao Xuan was somewhat surprised: "Didn't it rain all night last night?"
Zhang Xiaohe nodded and wiped away her tears.
Lu An said, "If Brother Yao were to walk by himself, he wouldn't get very far. It rained yesterday afternoon and again last night, so he's probably stuck somewhere." As he spoke, he and Zhao Xuan exchanged a glance.
They both saw fear in each other's eyes.
They all thought of the same thing: they were afraid that Yao Yuan would step into those two animal traps.
Those traps, capable of clamping down on wild boars weighing hundreds of kilograms, would surely break a person's leg if they were caught, causing them to bleed. Add to that a night of torrential rain, and the person would likely...
"Sister Xiaohe, I think the rain is about to stop. It's not good to go up the mountain when it's raining. We'll go up the mountain with you when the rain stops."
After saying that, Zhao Xuan and Lu An began preparing their things for going up the mountain. A straw hat and a raincoat were essential, and they also brought a coil of rope and an axe. Zhao Xuan picked out two sets of clean clothes that Yao's mother and son could wear for them to change into. The dog was too small, so he only wore Lu An's large T-shirt, which just reached his knees, as a dress.
Zhao Xuan and Lu An each rode a tricycle towards the foot of the mountain. Zhao Xuan carried the dog, and Lu An carried Zhang Xiaohe. Because of the rain, the ground was still very wet, with puddles every now and then. The tricycles were not easy to travel on this kind of road, but it saved a lot of trouble. In addition, if Yao Yuan really couldn't walk because of his leg injury, they could take him back by tricycle.
However, people with broken legs don't live long in this apocalypse.
The tricycle stopped at the foot of the mountain, and the group hiked up. Lu An wanted to let the dog sit in the back of the vehicle to wait, but the child stubbornly shook his head and whispered, "I will keep up with you."
There was no other way but to take him with them. Zhang Xiaohe was missing an arm, making mountain climbing difficult, so she naturally couldn't hold the child's hand. Lu An and Zhao Xuan were leading the way and couldn't look after him either, but the dog silently followed closely and didn't fall behind.
Zhao Xuan didn't tell Zhang Xiaohe about the animal traps. She wasn't a kind person either, and in this apocalyptic world, there were no laws anymore. Telling them would only cause trouble for herself. But Zhao Xuan wasn't a bad person either, and she didn't want the innocent Yao Yuan to get hurt because of the animal traps.
Lu An and she shared the same idea, and both of them silently climbed deeper into the mountains with their lips pursed.
They never go into the mountains after heavy rain, firstly because the roads are difficult to travel, and secondly because they are afraid of landslides.
Even in densely vegetated mountains, landslides can still occur in some steep areas due to excessive rainfall. In addition, the roads are slippery and it is easy to slip and fall. In this world, the greatest fears are injury and illness.
Perhaps because they had something on their minds, Lu An and Zhao Xuan walked exceptionally fast. The location of the animal trap was far away, but they arrived in just two hours.
The location of the first bear trap is not found.
Then they rushed to the next bear trap, but still nothing.
Zhao Xuan and Lu An didn't speak, but they both saw a sense of relief in each other's eyes.
But if Yao Yuan isn't here, where could he be?
There are no lakes or cliffs nearby. Where can I go if I just want to catch a pheasant?
Zhao Xuan surveyed the surrounding mountains for a long time. The forest, heavy with moisture, was now shrouded in thick fog. The fog after a heavy rain is quite peculiar. Usually, it lingers around the mountaintops, but after the rain, the fog sinks down, creating a strange scene where the mountaintops are clear while the foot of the mountain is surrounded by fog.
You can see this fog if you're in it; it's very thick, like dry ice being released on a stage.
After discussing it, the group decided to go back to the area where Yao Yuan disappeared.
Lu An walked ahead, holding Zhao Xuan's hand tightly, and asked, "Doggy, are you sure your dad came into this area?"
A child's panting voice came from behind: "Um! Dad told me to wait for him a while, then he caught something for me to eat and took me home. I watched him run inside, and then I waited for a long time, until it got dark, but Dad didn't come back..." He finished, gritting his teeth, as if regretting, "I should have gone with Dad!"
If it weren't for the chance to eat, who would bother chasing a nimble pheasant?
Zhao Xuan could always see so many pheasants outside the village, but she never tried to catch them because she knew she couldn't. But if Lu An and 460 didn't catch prey for her, she might also try to hunt in this clumsy way.
Even sheep will fall into a pit for a morsel of grass, let alone people who are unfamiliar with nature.
...In the pit?
Zhao Xuan seemed to have thought of something, and she tugged at Lu An's hand in front of her: "If we go a little further ahead, there seem to be a few grave pits, right?"
Lu An's eyes lit up. He nodded and then led a group of people toward the burial pit further away.
In some mountainous areas of rural areas, these kinds of grave pits are often found, all dug up by grave robbers. Before cremation became widespread, earthen graves were commonly seen in the mountains, and many people would go out at night to dig them, even using small excavators. They could dig a grave three meters deep, deep enough that not only people, but even sheep that fell in couldn't climb out.
In reality, ordinary people's graves don't contain anything valuable, at most a few silver dollars. The large pits that are dug up, however, cause a lot of trouble for many people, because no one fills them in. The thatch that grows around the pits covers them, and when shepherds notice that their sheep are missing, they often go to those pits to search, and they usually find them right away.
The area around this village was no exception; Zhao Xuan had discovered several pits while patrolling the village with her notebook and had made notes about them. She and Lu An usually avoided those areas, for fear that they might slip and fall in one of them.
Yao Yuan wasn't the type to abandon his wife and children easily. Unless he was dead, he would crawl home no matter what—most likely because he fell into those pits.
The group hurried toward the burial pit, where there were several century-old locust trees. Their canopies stood out from the other trees, making them easy to spot.
Sure enough, as the sun set and night fell, Lu An found Yao Yuan in a large pit.
After years of wind and rain, the grave pit had become an irregular, deep pit filled with filthy water. In one corner, a person was huddled, completely soaked, his clothes covered in yellow mud. He sat there with his head down, clutching a dead chicken in his arms.
"Dad!" the dog cried loudly as it lay on the edge of the pit.
The pit was about four meters deep. Lu An tied a rope around himself and slowly lowered into it. He nudged Yao Yuan, calling out, "Brother Yao..." and gently lifted his arms and legs. His right arm was dislocated, and there was a wound on the back of his head where the skin had been turned inside out from being soaked in water, but the bleeding had stopped. His clothes were intact, so there were likely no fatal wounds to his chest or abdomen.
Yao Yuan had already fainted. His body temperature was very low, but he was still breathing.
Lu An tied the rope around Yao Yuan's body, and Yao Yuan held on from below while the people above pulled him up.
"Hurry up and carry him home, his body temperature is too low." Lu An said, and was about to carry Yao Yuan back, but Zhang Xiaohe stopped him.
“I’ll do it,” the woman said, and then, with her son’s help, she carried her husband on her back. She was missing an arm, so the dog helped support her from her left.
Zhao Xuan paused for a moment, then said to Lu An, "It's not far from the foot of the mountain. I'll go get the tricycle first." After saying that, she turned and ran down the mountain.
Yao Yuan wasn't tall, just over 1.7 meters, and due to malnutrition, he wasn't heavy. In contrast, Zhang Xiaohe was considered tall for a woman. After the apocalypse, even the most delicate women would have to roll up their sleeves and work, which would definitely increase their strength. Therefore, Zhang Xiaohe carrying Yao Yuan back shouldn't be a problem.
Even Zhao Xuan, who is not very strong, had to carry the tall Lu An on his back.
— Zhang Xiaohe probably doesn't want to owe them any more favors, that's how Lu Xuan understands it. Back then, when she carried the bloodied Lu An all the way back to her tent, she gritted her teeth and didn't call for help from anyone around her.
Fortunately, the old locust tree was not far from the village, but it was located in a remote corner. The Yao family was new to this place and unfamiliar with the area, so the Yao mother and son must have unintentionally missed this place when they were looking for Yao Yuan.
She rode her tricycle to the place they would inevitably pass after descending the mountain, and soon she saw Lu An walking ahead, and Zhang Xiaohe and her son following closely behind, their faces ashen.
Sigh, what a stubborn woman.
With a sigh, she gripped the handlebars of her tricycle with one hand and pulled the handlebars of the other with the other, then pushed off with her foot, quickly heading towards the other vehicle.
Guided by the dog, they drove into the house where the Yao family lived in Xiaxi Village.
The Yao family also lived on a high point on the edge of the village; no one would want to live in the center of a deserted village. Their house was a cement building with old-fashioned green-patterned tiles on the walls. It was two stories high, with a smaller courtyard in front, but the wall was too low, only about a person's height. The gate wasn't a sturdy iron gate, but a rusty iron fence, which looked fragile enough to be kicked away with a single step due to years of neglect. Adjacent to the back of the courtyard was what appeared to be a pigsty, where the Yao family kept sheep, as Zhao Xuan could occasionally hear bleating coming from behind the house.
This house is no different from the other houses in the village. The first floor is a hall for dining and entertaining guests, as well as a kitchen, while the second floor is the bedroom.
Zhang Xiaohe and the dog carried Yao Yuan upstairs. Lu An and Zhao Xuan did not follow. Zhao Xuan went to the kitchen and saw that there was still water in the jar, so he took a plastic ladle and scooped water into the pot. Lu An sat down in front of the stove and started a fire.
The kitchen had a window, beneath which sat a tattered long table with several jars on it. The window was missing sometime during the day, temporarily covered by a plastic sheet by the Yao family, making the kitchen somewhat dim. She opened the jars under the window and peeked inside, finding they contained various grains: rice, millet, corn, and beans. In another corner, there was a small round bamboo basket containing a few dried, ugly mushrooms.
The chicken that Yao Yuan risked his life to get was still left in the yard.
Zhao Xuan turned around and saw Lu An adding firewood to the stove; the fire was already burning very brightly.
Last year, Zhao Xuan collected all the usable items from the surrounding villages. Later, the Yao family probably couldn't find anything useful, so the pitiful amount of furniture in this house now must have been brought by them.
With another sigh, Zhao Xuan called to Lu An, "Let's go home."
...
It was completely dark when a small tricycle slowly made its way along the narrow path connecting the two villages—perhaps not because the rider was intentionally moving slowly, but because it was carrying an enormous load.
Lu An pedaled the tricycle, with Zhao Xuan standing in the back compartment, one hand on his shoulder and the other holding a flashlight to light his way. At her feet were a thick quilt wrapped tightly in plastic film, a bundle of bright green radishes, three green pumpkins, a bag of coarse rice, and several small jars containing, in order, some cured meat, a jar of lard, and a jar of sugar.
Everything inside was either grown by them or made by them.
Zhao Xuan felt a pang of sympathy.
As she muttered to herself while packing her things, Lu An, watching her, burst out laughing: "Why don't we just stop helping them? Once that man dies, we'll take their sheep."
Zhao Xuan, who was dividing the lard, thought for a moment and replied, "This isn't quite right..."
—She was actually thinking about this question?
“If we really did that, how would we be any different from those three Yu brothers…” she said as she closed the lid of the earthenware jar and carefully placed it on the tricycle.
The three Yu brothers who attempted to rape her in the camp were also the ones who nearly killed Lu An—these strong men had no parents, no wives or children; they were dangerous on their own, and when they gathered together, they were like a pack of hyenas.
Ironically, the camp needed them to guard it, yet they were also the most destabilizing element in the camp.
Lu An and Zhao Xuan suffered a lot at their hands, but it was also because of these people that they quickly became familiar with the laws of the apocalypse.
She and Luan rarely felt compassion for strangers, but they maintained an emotional bond. As long as they knew they were alive, they remained human, not hyenas.
It was already dark when they arrived at Yao's house. As the two rode their tricycle into the house, they saw the dog carrying a bucket of hot water upstairs. The child was surprised to see them: "I thought you had left..."
Lu An asked, "How is your father?"
"Mom has set his hand and is now stitching up his head... but Dad has a fever."
Zhao Xuan walked over with the quilt in his arms and said to the dog, "I'll go upstairs with you to take a look. This is your quilt; it was just aired out a few days ago..."
As they spoke, the two of them headed up to the second floor.
The Yao family's house was much older than Zhao Xuan's. Zhao Xuan's house had a modern layout, with a bedroom and a toilet. The Yao family's house was old-fashioned, with all the rooms in a line, and a staircase leading up to a corridor that connected all the rooms.
There were three rooms on the second floor, and they lived in the middle one.
The room was dark, with only one candle lit. Yao Yuan had been changed into clean clothes and was resting his head on Zhang Xiaohe's lap. Zhang Xiaohe was holding a sewing needle and stitching up his wound.
As Zhao Xuan got closer, he saw that the needle was tied with a long hair.
She then realized that Yao Yuan and Zhang Xiaohe must have a good relationship, right? In the apocalypse, many women cut their hair short for convenience, but Zhang Xiaohe must have been well protected, which is why her hair was still so long and smooth.
She quietly placed the blanket aside, and Zhang Xiaohe nodded gratefully at her.
The dog carried hot water up, wet the towel, and stood beside its mother, holding it tightly.
Seeing that he couldn't be of much help, Zhao Xuan withdrew.
In the yard, Lu An was plucking chicken feathers. Unlike ducks, chickens don't have small downy feathers. Once scalded with boiling water, a large piece of feather can be torn off, revealing the tender white chicken skin.
Zhao Xuan took a flashlight and walked into the kitchen.
The firewood in the stove had almost burned out, so she threw in a few more pieces. Then she picked up the rice she had brought and began to rinse it.
It was getting late, so she decided to cook something easy.
Mince the ginger and shred the garlic leaves. Once the pan is hot, ladle some lard into it and then add the ribs and stir-fry.
The ribs themselves contain fat, so you don't need much oil. Sauté them slowly over low heat. If the pan gets too dry, add some wine or water. The most important thing is patience; repeat this process several times. On the last attempt, when the bottom of the pan dries out, the fat will render out. Use the fat from the ribs to render out the fat yourself, frying until you're slightly golden brown. Then add the soaked shiitake mushrooms, minced ginger, and garlic leaves in that order, sautéing until fragrant. Finally, add a little soy sauce. Because the soy sauce is homemade, it's not as fragrant as store-bought, but in this resource-scarce post-apocalyptic world, it's the best seasoning available.
At this point, both the ribs and side dishes are half-cooked. Pour in the soaked rice and stir-fry it together with the diced pumpkin. Finally, sprinkle in salt, add some water, cover the pot, and wait for the rice to cook.
This kind of braised rice would be even more fragrant if some onions and dried scallops were added, but Zhao Xuan had never found onions in the village, and the sea was too far away from them.
While they were cooking, Lu An had already cleaned the chicken.
Zhao Xuan chopped off a small portion of the chicken, and then salted the rest, including the innards, in a large porcelain basin. The Yao family didn't eat meat easily, and a whole chicken couldn't be consumed in one meal.
After searching for a while, she finally found a stove and an iron pot in the corner.
She picked out some parts of the chicken with more fat, cut them into small pieces, and stir-fried them with shredded ginger. After the chicken fat was rendered, she added hot water and cooked it into a pot of pseudo-chicken soup. While the chicken soup was boiling, she took the time to wash a handful of small radishes.
The radishes were washed with their leaves on. At this time, the white radishes were not yet fully grown, but Zhao Xuan, being greedy, couldn't wait and often pulled them up to eat. The radishes were only the size of a finger, just at their sweetest, and the radish leaves were still green and tender, without any bitterness. They were very delicious when stir-fried with ginger slices and lard.
In the countryside, iron pots conduct heat quickly, and firewood burns a large fire, so the aroma soon fills the air.
Zhao Xuan and Lu An were extremely bored, so they sat on a bench, propped their chins up, and looked at the stars.
After settling her husband in, Zhang Xiaohe lingered before coming downstairs, smiling apologetically at them: "Thank you so much for today..."
"It's alright, we're going to cook anyway, and I even borrowed your firewood and water," Zhao Xuan reassured him.
Lu An asked, "How is Brother Yao?"
"He's already asleep. He was soaked in the rain all night and still has a fever." In the post-apocalyptic world, fever has become a major hurdle for humans. "But," Zhang Xiaohe added, seemingly reassuring herself, "I'm a nurse, you know. I can take good care of him."
The braised pork ribs rice was a dish that Zhao Xuan's mother taught her to make. Like many parents, Zhao's mother was worried that her daughter wouldn't eat properly while working away from home, so she taught her to make this dish. All she had to do was pour the fried rice and vegetables into the rice cooker and wait for it to cook. But what her mother didn't know was that the reason why modern young people don't eat properly is probably not because cooking is difficult, but because washing the dishes after eating is difficult.
Before the apocalypse, Zhao Xuan didn't cook much, but she enjoyed watching her mother and grandmother cook. She was a very meticulous person, and although she had never done many things herself, she had already memorized the steps.
People are very different as individuals. For example, Lu An likes electronics and mechanics, so he often focuses on how a machine works or how to use it to maximize its functionality. Zhao Xuan's world, on the other hand, is often filled with his grandmother's nagging and his mother's instructions.
Mom said that this kind of rice tastes even better with some onions, and it will also be sweeter if it's stewed with taro or pumpkin.
She remembered everything her mother said very clearly, but she never did it—or rather, she never did the dishes her mother taught her or the lifestyle she taught her. But strangely, as she got older, she found herself living more and more like her parents.
After the rice was cooked, Zhao Xuan sprinkled on some chopped green onions and then used a spatula to mix the green onions and rice together. The ribs were so tender that they almost fell off the bone. The rice absorbed the flavors of the mushrooms and lard, making each grain plump and glossy. The only drawback was that the pumpkin wasn't fully ripe and wasn't sweet enough, but that didn't detract from the overall excellence.
This is a very visually appealing dish, with vibrant green scallions, glistening rice, golden ribs, and pumpkin—these colors are designed to maximize appetite.
The dog helped fetch the food bowl, and swallowed hard as it looked at the pot of braised pork ribs and rice.
The soup was still simmering on the stove when Zhao Xuan finally added the handful of small radishes he had washed earlier. After a few boils in the glistening chicken oil broth, the radish leaves turned a vibrant green.
Radish leaves can be scooped out and cooked as a separate vegetable dish, while small radishes can be cooked a little longer until they become translucent. This will allow the radishes to absorb the aroma of chicken oil and make them even sweeter.
In winter, she and Lu An often cooked this fake meat soup. They would boil a piece or two of meat in water until it was no longer oily or flavorful before eating it. The soup made from a few pieces of meat and a large pot of water could hardly be called meat soup; it was more like boiled water with a hint of meat flavor. But this way of eating could be used to trick a stomach that wanted to eat meat.
Even girls like Zhao Xuan have larger appetites after the apocalypse. Their bodies, deprived of fats for a long time, turn to consuming more starches to maintain balance. Zhao Xuan can eat a whole bowl of rice, and Zhang Xiaohe is no exception, yet they remain very thin.
Over the past five years, Zhao Xuan has rarely had the opportunity to enjoy flavorful seasonings. The flavor enhancers like MSG have expired, so her taste buds have become increasingly sensitive. When the pumpkin is cooked, it becomes soft and tender, and she can easily break the distinct fibers in the flesh with a flick of her tongue. The faint sweetness that used to be present now tastes quite sweet. The ribs also have their own unique meaty flavor, which she could never have tasted before. Now she can easily distinguish the differences between the freshness of mushrooms, meats, and vegetables.
The dog probably hadn't had such a hearty meal in a long time. He first shoveled down a few mouthfuls of rice, then wolfed down half a bowl before suddenly realizing that he shouldn't be swallowing such delicious food like Pigsy eating ginseng fruit without tasting it. Instead, he began to savor each small bite.
Zhang Xiaohe frowned slightly, still worried about her husband.
Zhao Xuan and Lu An were not talkative people to begin with, so although this was a rare dinner in five years with the square table full of people, they miraculously remained silent throughout.
Zhao Xuan was very hungry, but he restrained himself and only ate one bowl of rice. He turned to look at Lu An, who had also only eaten one bowl before putting down his chopsticks.
There was still half a bowl of rice left in the pot, quite a few glossy radish leaves left, and more than half of a pot of boiling light chicken soup left. Because it had been simmering on the stove, the small radishes had been cooked until they were translucent, with thin, white, round slices whose veins were clearly visible. They rolled around in the soup like snowflakes, which looked very pretty.
It was completely dark, and only one candle flickered dimly in the hall.
Before the meal, Zhao Xuan had already set aside a portion of the pork rib rice and radish leaves in a clean clay pot and placed it aside—this was food left for Yao Yuan, who had fallen into a deep sleep after being carried back. Zhao Xuan estimated that he wouldn't wake up for a while, so he took it upon himself to leave him some food.
Zhang Xiaohe got up to clear the dishes. She was missing one hand. Normally, she could stack the bowls very high and carry them back to the kitchen with both hands, but she could only carry half of them. The dog got up to help her, but she gently pushed it away: "Go get some cold water."
Upon hearing this, the boy obediently went to get a basin and filled it halfway with water.
He was a very clever child. His mother only said half of what he was saying, but he knew to scoop out the rest of the rice, put it in a large bowl, cover it with a plate, and then put the bowl into a basin.
It was already very hot, and without a refrigerator, this was the only way to prevent the food from spoiling. The food left for Yao Yuan was placed next to the stove so that if he woke up in the middle of the night, he could be heated up immediately.
Seeing that there was no work to do, Zhao Xuan said goodbye to Zhang Xiaohe and prepared to leave, but she stopped him.
After fiddling around in the kitchen for a while, the woman came out carrying a basket with a hot earthenware pot on it, the very pot she was using to simmer a light chicken soup.
"You can take this with you." She smiled apologetically.
Zhao Xuan discovered that Zhang Xiaohe was a very gentle woman. Most of her expressions were smiling—a faint smile, a bitter smile, and even a slightly apologetic smile. In the aftermath of the apocalypse, many people's expressions were numb because of hunger, the loss of loved ones, and the lack of social interaction. So whenever Zhang Xiaohe smiled, Zhao Xuan couldn't help but feel a sense of closeness.
“You must be very tired today, but I noticed you haven’t eaten much… You’re going to ride your bikes back later, right? It’s hot now, so the soup won’t get too cold. When you get home, you can have some soup. Eating something hot will help you sleep better tonight.”
Zhao Xuan did not refuse and accepted it as instructed.
Holding the earthenware pot, Lu An sat down in the small cargo box, pushed off with his long legs, and the little tricycle started moving slowly with a creaking sound.
Zhang Xiaohe stood at the door watching them leave. Zhao Xuan saw the dog peek out from behind his mother and secretly wave at them.
Zhao Xuan smiled and waved to them as he turned around.
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