Chapter 48 Canned Chicken
Zhao Xuan got up very early that day and inspected the chicken coop.
The chickens have multiplied to more than twenty. This year's harvest was good, and Zhao Xuan was generous with the grains and corn, so each chicken is well-fed and glossy. Now, these chickens are often let out in the morning to find insects to eat on their own, and they return in groups in the evening. This routine continues day after day.
In the past few months, because Lao Dao has often hunted wild game, there has been no shortage of meat at home, and the number of chickens has increased. With more chickens, more grain is consumed.
Zhao Xuan counted the number of chickens, then directed Lu An to catch fourteen plump and strong ones. They were all slaughtered in the yard, and the chicken blood was drained, frozen into blocks, and then stored in the refrigerator. The chickens were plucked, chopped into small pieces, and Zhao Xuan carefully removed the large bones, such as the chicken leg bones, leaving only small, easy-to-gnaw pieces of meat.
The free-range chickens from the farm are quite large; fourteen of them can be stacked into a small mountain in a large basin. Sprinkle them with a handful of salt and a handful of Sichuan peppercorns and bay leaves, then pour in some soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili powder, and let them marinate for a morning.
At noon, Zhao Xuan found more than thirty glass jars of various sizes, all of which were canned goods they had collected. After finishing the canned goods, Zhao Xuan tore off the labels, washed the jars, and put them away. She had an extremely deep love for all kinds of bottles and jars with storage functions, and she would carefully store them away as long as they were usable.
Zhao Xuan took a small stool, sat in the yard, washed all the glass jars again, and then began to stuff them with marinated chicken. She packed them very tightly, and after stuffing each jar, she twisted the cap tightly and gently placed it aside.
Fourteen chickens were stuffed into thirty-four jars. Then a fire was lit, a thick towel was laid at the bottom of the pot, and the chicken jars were neatly arranged on top of the towel. Water was added, the pot was covered, and the simmering began for several hours.
—Zhao Xuan learned this recipe for canned chicken from Zhang Xiaohe. The towel at the bottom of the pot is to prevent the glass jars from colliding and breaking. Food cooked in these jars can be kept for a long time as long as it is not opened. Zhang Xiaohe once gave her several jars of tomato sauce made this way, which allowed Zhao Xuan and the others to enjoy sweet and delicious tomatoes even in winter.
Although Zhao Xuan was very careful, she still managed to damage two cans during the steaming process. After the remaining thirty-two cans cooled down, she cleaned the cans and wrapped each one with several layers of straw-woven shockproof netting. Finally, she put the cans into a thick suitcase, filling all the gaps between the cans with rice husks. This way, when the suitcase was zipped up and placed on the back of the tricycle, no matter how bumpy it was, the canned chicken inside wouldn't be damaged.
Zhao Xuan had initially wanted Lu An and the others to bring cured meat as provisions for the journey, but cured meat requires a long cooking time. This kind of canned chicken is much better; it can be eaten immediately without needing to light a fire, and there's no worry about it spoiling. Zhao Xuan even cooked it a bit saltier so that they wouldn't reduce their salt intake whether it was used as a main dish or a side dish.
Besides the generous amount of canned chicken, she also brought a huge variety of noodles, including sweet potato noodles, potato noodles, and rice noodles. She also brought lotus root starch, salted eggs, oranges, and other foods. Although the total amount of food was large, Zhao Xuan packed it all neatly in the truck bed.
Lao Dao thought Zhao Xuan was exaggerating. He said, "No need for that much. I can even hunt!" He used to wander around these mountains for a long time with a bicycle without rims.
Zhao Xuan replied, "That won't do. You'll be hunting on the way, and it'll take half a year to get there and back." Then she instructed Lu An, "Don't be stingy with these things. You can eat the canned meat as soon as you open it, and you can also eat the lotus root starch by mixing it with hot water. Remember to eat oranges, they're good for vitamin C... Also, don't take off your clothes all at once if you're sweating. It's best not to let your head and back get chilled. Remember to wear a hat when you're riding your bike..." She nagged on and on, like an old mother.
Lu An solemnly agreed, while Lao Dao, with a blade of grass in his mouth and his eyes closed, was basking in the sun; clearly, he hadn't heard a word of it.
Lao Dao and Lu An discussed the route. Since they didn't have a map, Lao Dao roughly drew out the route in his mind on paper. Lu An could drive and had driven on highways many times in the province, so he had a general impression of the route. However, the route they planned this time would most likely take provincial and national highways. Compared to high-speed rail lines and highways that carve roads through mountains and build bridges over rivers, provincial and national highways would be relatively more rugged. They wouldn't be driving all the way. Along the way, Lao Dao would meet his friends, some of whom were local residents and some camp leaders. He would introduce Lu An to them so that Lu An could receive some help if he traveled this route alone again.
There are also some villages and towns that they need to take a detour to avoid, but they still generally follow the roads, because apart from the slightly flatter roads, the rest of the mountainous area consists of rolling hills and countless rivers and lakes of all sizes. If they have to force their way through these places, Lao Dao would rather wait until he can build an airplane before going there.
On the fifth day of the lunar calendar, Lu An and Lao Dao officially prepared to set off.
Early that morning, the Yao family arrived, bringing two small jars of their homemade stir-fried diced meat and bamboo shoots, and a bottle of chili sauce. The jars contained a generous amount of lard, the thick layer of milky-white fat sealing the openings and preserving the meat and bamboo shoots. The chili sauce was prepared in the same way. There was also a bag of rice cakes specially made by Zhang Xiaohe. The rice cakes were simply seasoned with sugar and salt, emitting a subtle rice aroma. They were very dry, filling, and wouldn't spoil easily.
Fearing they wouldn't accept it, the Yao family packed all the food into net bags so that even if there was no room in the truck bed, they could hang it on the side of the truck.
The cold air in the south can seep into cotton clothes. Zhao Xuan dislikes damp and cold mornings like this the most. The sky is still a little dark. She looks up at the light and guesses that the weather won't be very good today.
Frost fell last night, and everything looked crystal white in the distance. Under the blue sky, Zhao Xuan and the Yao family escorted Lao Dao Lu An all the way to the fork in the road.
Lao Dao and Lu An both put on hats, gloves, and knee pads. Although they weren't riding fast, riding like that for a long time in winter would still cause their exposed skin to get frostbite.
Lu An left 460 with Zhao Xuan. The night before, Lu An pinched 460's two soft ears and said something to it. 460's eyes were shining, but it was unclear whether it understood.
As they were about to part, 460 tilted its head and watched Lu An walk away. It seemed to know that its master was leaving, but after thinking for a moment, it turned back and stopped behind Zhao Xuan.
Zhao Xuan looked at Lu An, his eyes red, and waved to him with a smile.
Lu An, who was about to set off, suddenly jumped off the tricycle, bit off his glove with his mouth, pinched her face, and kissed her mouth and cheeks hard for a long time.
As if anticipating something, Yao Yuan had already covered the dog's eyes long ago, while 460 was jumping around wildly beside its two owners, letting out a monkey-like scream in a dog's voice.
After Lu An had his fill of kissing, he hopped on his tricycle like the wind, called to Lao Dao who was watching the show, and the two of them drove off in a flash.
It was a long time before the creaking sound finally disappeared completely.
The surroundings suddenly fell silent again, leaving only four tire tracks and a few people breathing on their hands at the crossroads.
Zhang Xiaohe wanted to invite Zhao Xuan to her home for dinner today, but Zhao Xuan declined. After saying goodbye to the Yao family, Zhao Xuan put his hands in his pockets and slowly walked towards home.
It was the same familiar village. She looked up at the withered branches of the old trees by the roadside and the dilapidated little building, sniffed, and finally swallowed back her tears.
The surroundings were too quiet. This quiet was actually the same as usual. She could clearly hear her own breathing and footsteps. But even after she got home and Zhao Xuan pushed open the big iron gate of the yard, after that clear "creak," the quiet continued. No one called her name anymore.
"Woof woof!" 460 kept sticking to Zhao Xuan, trying to attract her attention with its enthusiastic barking.
Zhao Xuan sighed, patted the dog's head, and said to it, "Come on, let's get to work!"
Before Lu An left, he did many things for Zhao Xuan: he chopped a lot more firewood, and the woodpile in the yard was already quite high. He re-fertilized the vegetable garden and loosened the soil. He even gathered a lot of pig feed, because the weather was cold now, and the pig feed wouldn't rot even if piled up for several days.
Zhao Xuan went into the pigpen next door and cooked pig feed in the kitchen there. They now cook two large pots of pig feed early in the morning, two meals a day. When it's time for the afternoon meal, Zhao Xuan will throw his leftover food and some old vegetable leaves that he doesn't want to eat into the pig feed, heat it up, and then feed it to the pigs.
Currently, the pigs mainly eat water hyacinth and sweet potatoes. There are still plenty of winter melon and pumpkin, but winter melon makes the pigs thinner and thinner, so Zhao Xuan doesn't dare to feed them it too frequently.
The water hyacinth was chopped up, along with the sweet potatoes, old pumpkins, and old cabbages. A large ladle of beans was also added. After boiling them together, Zhao Xuan would scoop in a large ladle of fine bran, mix it well, put it in a bucket, and then take it to the back yard to feed the pigs.
Yesterday, more than a dozen chickens were killed. The remaining six chickens were quite frightened. Frightened chickens tend to lay eggs randomly. In order to avoid losing eggs, Zhao Xuan did not plan to let the chickens out today. After feeding the pigs, she chopped some green vegetables for the chickens and also scattered a handful of corn kernels.
Because pig feed needs to be cooked, a lot of firewood and straw were prepared in advance. Lu An had worked overtime to chop them before leaving, and even the cleaver for chopping pig feed was sharpened.
He did everything he could think of and do for Zhao Xuan.
While Zhao Xuan was cooking pig feed inside the house, 460 stood guard at the gate, watching over all the intersections. As soon as Zhao Xuan finished feeding the pigs, it immediately followed him.
After locking the door, Zhao Xuan slung a basket over his shoulder, took a machete, and prepared to go to the vegetable garden to cut some vegetables.
Lu An had also tidied up the vegetable garden. Most of the vegetable patch was covered with sheds, and the remaining row of vegetables without sheds were bok choy. They were actually growing quite well. Zhao Xuan wanted to eat vegetables that had been touched by frost, so no sheds were built. This morning, frost fell, so this row of bok choy would definitely taste especially sweet.
After checking the growth of the other vegetables, Zhao Xuan cut off a few small bok choy plants, threw them into his basket, and left the vegetable garden.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
