After lunch, Zhang Shuzhen put the two children to sleep, and then led Sheng Yunfang and Sheng Yunfei to start preparing the meat.
The meat was bought with Wang Chunxiu's help; about 20 jin (10 kg) were pork belly, and the remaining 10 jin (5 catties) were pork hindquarters.
Keep the pork belly for braised pork belly and red-braised pork, and keep the hindquarters for stir-frying. This way, you can make several dishes.
Drip oil onto a piece of parchment paper, clean it thoroughly, and then put it in a large pot outside to simmer.
Turn the pig intestines inside out, scrub them twice with wood ash, then clean them with baking soda and vinegar. Once the pig's head has been stewed to a certain extent, take it out and, while it's still hot, split it open with a knife to separate the meat from the bone.
Scoop out the water from the large pot, wash the pot and add water again. Then put the half-cooked pig's head, pig liver, pig lungs, pig heart, pig tongue, etc., into the pot together.
Add Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, soy sauce, and other seasonings, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat, keeping an eye on the pot as it cooks.
Pig liver and similar foods shouldn't be cooked for too long; take them out as soon as they look almost done.
The mother and her two children were busy in the yard when they heard voices coming from the gate.
“Sister-in-law, didn’t I tell you to let us know if there’s anything to do at home? If we hadn’t run into Xikang just now, we wouldn’t have known you were busy at home.”
As they were talking, Xu Xiuxiang and the others came in from outside, laughing.
"We're having a banquet tomorrow night, and I figured there was no rush, so I didn't bother you all," Zhang Shuzhen explained with a smile as soon as everyone arrived.
“Oh dear, Yunfang and Yunfei, what do they know? We have to do these chores.”
Zhao Chunlan, Li Yuqin, and the others immediately rolled up their sleeves and got to work, shooing the Sheng Yunfang sisters aside.
"You two go inside and study or do your homework. You're in the third year of junior high now, and you'll be taking the high school entrance exam next year. Your studies are important."
Previously, it was a nine-year consistent education system consisting of five years of primary school, two years of junior high school, and two years of senior high school.
This spring, a new document came down from above, changing the primary and secondary education system to ten years: five years of primary school, three years of junior high school, and two years of senior high school.
At the same time, the entrance examination for junior high school graduates will be strengthened, and junior high school graduates can directly apply for vocational schools or enter senior high schools.
The Sheng Yunfei sisters are just in the middle of this cycle. They should have been in their first year of high school, but they ended up in their third year of junior high in the fall and will take the high school entrance exam next year.
Although the Forestry Bureau's high school entrance exam isn't too difficult, I still have to study hard so I don't fail to get into high school.
Especially for the Sheng family, with three college students in the first three years, it would be a real disgrace to the family if Sheng Yunfei and Sheng Yunfang had poor results in the high school entrance exam.
So, as soon as Zhao Chunlan and the others arrived, they sent the two girls into the room to study.
These people were outside, helping Zhang Shuzhen with her work while chatting and laughing.
Zhao Chunlan and the others are all skilled workers, and with their help, this task is naturally a piece of cake.
In less than two hours, everything that needed to be boiled and chopped was ready.
Zhang Shuzhen suggested that everyone stay for dinner, but the others refused. They tidied up the yard, washed their hands, and went home to cook.
In the evening, Sheng Liancheng and Sheng Xiping returned home from get off work, and the family discussed the menu for tomorrow's dinner party while having dinner together.
At this time of year, the garden has all kinds of vegetables, plus meat and offal, so hosting a few banquets is definitely not a problem.
"After you finish eating, you two should also inform all the people who are close to our family."
"We're having dinner tomorrow night. The construction crew will be off work soon, so just come over for dinner." Zhang Shuzhen brought this up at the dinner table.
"We've already told them we won't accept any gifts, we just want everyone to come and have some fun."
"Three of our family members went on to university this year. We can't keep accepting gifts from people every time. That's not right," Zhang Shuzhen reminded them.
When Zhou Qinglan and Sheng Xi'an were admitted to university, most of the guests who came to congratulate them gave them gifts.
Every household has its big and small events, but if they happen too frequently, it's bound to annoy others.
In the past few years, the Sheng family has had one happy event after another: Sheng Xiping's wedding, the birth of their two children and their one-month celebration, and the college entrance examination banquet. They can't afford to be too extravagant.
So the family had already discussed it beforehand, and they were determined not to accept any gifts this time. They just wanted to invite everyone over to celebrate, since he had been admitted to Peking University, which was a joyous occasion.
After finishing their meal, Sheng Liancheng and Sheng Xiping went out separately to inform their close friends and colleagues.
Sheng Xiping even made a special trip to the Dajianchang (a type of alkali field) to tell Liu Changde and Qin Qiuyan that they must go there tomorrow to join in the fun.
The people at Dajianchang had already heard the news and knew that Sheng Xikang had been admitted to Peking University.
Liu Changde was overjoyed and chatted with Sheng Xiping for a long time. Qin Qiuyan also said that she would bring her wife over to help tomorrow.
Monday, September 4th, was the day the Sheng family was hosting a banquet. Families with good relations with the Sheng family sent people over to help with the preparations.
Qin Qiuyan led her daughter-in-law over with four large roosters, which they had collected from house to house in the Dajianchang area.
"Sister-in-law, kill these chickens in a bit, and we can make a stew of chicken pieces and potatoes."
"Oh my goodness, sister-in-law, where did you find four big roosters?"
"How much is it? I'll pay you in a bit. I can't just take it for free." Zhang Shuzhen was shocked; four big roosters would cost a lot of money.
"Hey, why are we making such a big deal out of each other's business? It's just a few chickens, let's stew them and eat them." Qin Qiuyan waved her hand and said in a particularly generous manner.
"But everything else is settled. We've already agreed that today we're just inviting everyone over to have some fun."
"You've brought me several chickens, which has been a great help. I can't let you pay for them."
Would Zhang Shuzhen really accept four chickens for free? These chickens definitely didn't belong to the Liu family; they were bought with money.
The Sheng family is hosting a dinner, so why would the Liu family have to pay for it?
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