After hearing Fu Man'er's suggestion, Liu Fang took a bamboo basket filled with pig offal and went to the stream. When she returned, she saw her mother-in-law sitting in the yard, looking rather unwell.
"Mother, I want to try Man'er's method. We don't need the pig offal anyway." Since her mother-in-law was in charge of the household, Liu Fang wanted to get her mother-in-law's approval first.
While she was out washing things, Old Mrs. Xu had already pulled Fu Man'er aside and asked, "The pig offal is free, but aren't those ginkgo nuts and other seasonings you wanted free?"
The Xu family didn't have many of these seasonings, so Liu Fang just borrowed some from Granny Zhou next door, which barely made up the rest.
"Fang, I know you're a good cook, but this pig offal... really, you shouldn't bother with it." Old Mrs. Xu wasn't the kind of mother-in-law who would belittle her daughter-in-law; she just didn't want her daughter-in-law to waste her effort and resources.
Fu Man'er, who was playing nearby, somehow slipped up to her legs and said, "Grandma, something delicious."
Grandma Xu glared at her, "You've eaten it? How do you know it's delicious?" She thought it was just a child being silly, but her daughter-in-law actually took it seriously.
Fu Man'er shook her head. She had never eaten it before, but it must be delicious. Her mother's cooking skills were so good.
“Look, she’s never even tried it, yet she knows it’s delicious. Isn’t that just ridiculous?” Old Mrs. Xu asked again, “Man’er, how do you know about this stuff if you’ve never eaten it?”
She's been living for decades and has never heard of eating pig offal like this. Putting aside whether it tastes good or not, this method just doesn't sound very reliable.
How did you know? Fu Man'er's little head was about to explode again. She knew she couldn't tell anyone that she was a lucky koi fish, or she would end up like the fish that day.
She didn't want half steamed and half braised.
“I…” she blinked and said, “It was something a deity told me in my dream.” She spoke with utmost sincerity.
She often heard her second aunt praying for divine protection, so she figured the deity must be very powerful. Fu Man'er silently prayed: "Please don't blame me, please don't blame me."
Liu Fang and Old Lady Xu were startled. They looked at each other and thought of the same thing: A blessed woman is coming.
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Grandma Xu pulled the little girl beside her to her face, looking a little nervous. "Man'er, tell Grandma, what do immortals look like?"
"Huh?" Fu Man'er's mouth gaped open. How could she know what a fairy looked like? She shouldn't have lied. What should she do now?
"Grandma, the gods forbid us from saying what he looks like," Fu Man'er whispered, too guilty to look at Grandma Xu.
Grandma Xu suddenly seemed to understand, and she put her hands together in prayer. Even Liu Fang said, "Mother, how could a deity let us mortals know what he looks like?"
“Yes, yes, that’s right.” Old Mrs. Xu echoed, and said to Liu Fang, “Go quickly. Since it’s what the gods said, it must work. Go ahead and do it. If you need anything, tell your mother and I’ll go find it for you.”
Liu Fang went off to do her chores with her bamboo basket, while Fu Man'er was held in Old Lady Xu's arms. She would ask her what else the fairy had said, and then cover her mouth, saying, "Oh dear, you can't say it. If you do, the fairy will be angry."
Finally, she reminded Fu Man'er not to tell anyone about these things. Fu Man'er nodded hurriedly. She wanted to say that there were no gods anymore because her grandmother was asking her so many questions, but she held back because she saw her grandmother's wrinkles from smiling so much.
Fortunately, I've already taken a small step towards earning my own money.
Although her mother-in-law told her to go ahead and do it, Liu Fang was still quite cautious. She used a small portion to test it first, and after it was cooked, she tasted it herself and then let the Xu family taste it to see if there was anything missing.
Seeing that everyone looked somewhat disgusted, Liu Fang went directly to Xu Genshan.
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Xu Genshan ate a small piece, chewed it carefully before swallowing, and Liu Fang didn't dare to breathe, staring intently at him, "How is it?"
"The strange smell is gone, but it still feels like something's missing. It's not very fragrant, but it's already very good." Xu Genshan's evaluation was quite objective, after all, even pig offal was edible.
This was the same thing Liu Fang had thought. She understood, picked up the plate, turned around and left. Xu Genshan opened his mouth as if to say something, but only chuckled lightly.
It's rare to see my wife so focused on doing something. I can't help her much, so I'll go chop some firewood. The big stove in the yard needs a lot of firewood.
Liu Fang returned to the stove and readjusted the broth for the braised offal, adding some more seasonings as well.
She heard Man'er say that the longer the braising liquid is cooked, the richer the flavor becomes. She had just started, and the flavor was not strong enough, which made the offal bland and tasteless.
After some time, a fragrant aroma wafted from the large iron pot in the courtyard.
Ma Hong was folding clothes in her room when she took a few sniffs and muttered, "Whose cooking smells so good at this hour?"
Outside, Fu Man'er's cheers rang out: "Grandma, Mom, it's done! It's delicious!"
"Done? The pig offal that my sister-in-law made?" Ma Hong didn't even bother folding clothes anymore. She opened the door and went out. At this moment, everyone else in the Xu family's courtyard gathered around.
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Everyone found the aroma incredible. Xu Genzhu exclaimed, "Is this really the smell of pig offal? How can something so stinky smell so good?"
When Fu Man'er saw Xu Genshan coming over, she quickly exclaimed, "Dad, it's delicious, it's delicious!"
The little girl stayed by the stove, and Liu Fang fed her several times. She even had a piece of large intestine in her hand, and her mouth was greasy.
However, people didn't really believe her when she said it was delicious, since the little girl could taste the nectar of the gods even when drinking plain water.
Xu Genshan scooped his daughter up, and Fu Man'er took the opportunity to stuff the large intestine into his mouth.
"This tastes amazing?" Xu Genshan nodded repeatedly. "It's delicious. It's completely different from the one I tasted at first."
Liu Fang had already taken a section of large intestine out of the pot, cut it up, and offered it to everyone to try. The children were so eager that they grabbed a piece and threw it into their mouths.
It was so hot it felt like my tongue was about to fly off, but I couldn't bear to spit it out. "Delicious, so delicious."
“Aunt, this isn’t even large intestine anymore, it’s even tastier than stir-fried fatty pork.” Xu Wen said, reaching for the chopsticks again, but Xu Genzhu slapped his hand away. “Go get the chopsticks.”
Master Xu kept nodding as he ate, while Ma Hong, still eating, mumbled, "Sister-in-law, your cooking is amazing! You can even make something that looks like excrement taste so good."
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this……
Xu Genzhu couldn't help but slap her, "What are you saying? Food can't shut you up."
Ma Hong chuckled to herself, realizing she had said the wrong thing again. She meant to say that her sister-in-law was amazing because the food was so delicious.
Old Xu took several bites in a row. "Not bad, not bad. It's great that an old man can still eat such delicious offal. Genzhu, go and get the wine. With so much stuff, it would be a waste not to have a couple of ounces of wine."
"Alright." Xu Genzhu went to fetch the wine, while Xu Yi led his younger brothers to move tables and chairs.
The Xu family members sat or stood around the stove, and the aroma from the large iron pot probably wafted for miles.
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