On December 22nd, Shen Anning went to the farm to find Liu Jiaman with the wine he brewed in the fall.
And tomorrow is the winter solstice, so the farm will definitely slaughter pigs and sheep and distribute the meat today.
Looking at the four bottles of wine on the table, Liu Jiaman fell into deep thought again, "Shen Anning, how come you are so skillful? You can even make wine, it's amazing."
"Well, it's actually not difficult. If you want to learn, I'll teach you next year when the wild grapes are ripe." Shen Anning emptied the backpack and put some of the vegetables Liu Jiaman brought in. "I'll just take some amaranth and coriander. I've planted the others in my yard before, so I have them all."
"Okay, then you pack up and I'll take you to buy meat." Today is the day when the farm slaughters pigs and sheep. Because the 23rd is the winter solstice, there is a custom of eating dumplings in the Northeast. This year's New Year will be later, and we have to wait until February of 1973. They should slaughter sheep again before the New Year.
Shen Anning planned to take this opportunity to buy more mutton. It would probably not be very convenient during the Chinese New Year. After all, she was not from a farm. She ate radish in winter and ginger in summer. In winter, stewed mutton with radish was the best dish.
There is not much work in the fields now. Only some strong laborers are busy. Everyone else is at home preparing food for the winter. If they don’t go to work, they will eat two meals a day. The whole family stays on the kang, and dry food and other things must be prepared early.
The cold wind was blowing, and without a headscarf, Shen Anning's hair was pulled by the wind and blocked her face. She was really careless.
After much difficulty, we reached the place where the pigs were being slaughtered. There were circles of people surrounding the place inside and outside.
When Shen Anning and Liu Jiaman arrived, the meat had already been distributed. The farm was different from the village. Every household here had a fixed amount of meat. If they wanted more, they had to spend extra money to buy it. They stood outside and waited for about half an hour. A large group of people slowly left.
Liu Jiaman took Shen Anning over, and Liu's father Liu Zhiguang looked at them. The meat from the farm was taken out to sell. As long as there was money, no one would care too much. Everyone had relatives and friends, and this was a tacit understanding.
"An Ning is here, come and see what you want, there's still a lot left."
"Uncle Liu, how much mutton can I buy?" Shen Anning was thinking that if she bought half a mutton, she didn't know whether the farm would sell it.
"How much do you want? Is forty pounds enough?"
"That's enough, uncle. I want four more pig's trotters." The butcher neatly cut the meat into pieces and put them into Shen An Ning's backpack. Shen An Ning paid a total of thirty yuan for forty kilograms of mutton and four pig's trotters, and he didn't even need a meat ticket. It was a good deal.
"Thank you, Uncle Liu. Jiaman, I'll go back first! I'll come to play with you next time when I have time." After thanking Liu Jiaman and Liu Zhiguang, Shen Anning carried the backpack and left. He first took a detour to visit his parents, brother and sister-in-law. Only Liu Manxue was at home, and the others were cleaning the pigpen and cowshed in the back mountain.
"An Ning, come in quickly and warm up on the kang." Liu Manxue saw Shen An Ning coming over, and hurriedly brought her into the house and closed the door.
"Sister-in-law, it will snow in a few days and we will have to hibernate. The roads will be difficult to travel then, and I guess I won't be able to come for a month or so. I'll send you some things first, and then see if there is a chance to come again before the New Year." Shen An Ning took out the prepared things from the backpack: fifty mixed flour buns, twenty white flour buns, three pounds of pork, five pounds of mutton, two pickled pig ears, four red sausages, and ten pounds each of mixed grains and black flour.
"Sister-in-law, it's time to hibernate for the winter, and there's less work on the farm. You just came out of confinement, so remember not to touch cold water all the time. You should take good care of yourself during this period and try to take good care of your body. You can stew the ginseng slices and ginseng roots I sent you before into soup or soak them in water. I'll bring more next time you come." Shen An Ning said as she helped Liu Manxue put things away.
"Okay, An Ning, the things you sent are enough. We will definitely not starve. But on your side, you have grandparents, brothers and sisters, and now Xixi. Just take care of yourself." Speaking of Xixi, Shen An Ning clearly felt the change in Liu Manxue's mood.
"Don't worry, sister-in-law, Xixi can eat and sleep well, and she has gained weight. I will bring her to see you next time."
Afraid of running into Liu Jiaman and Liu's father, Shen Anning took a detour to the factory gate, pushed her bicycle, and left two bags of Daqianmen for the gatekeeper. She could see that the old man was not short of food and drink, but he was short of rare things.
On the way back to the village by bike, Shen Anning saw several ox carts full of people. They were probably from nearby villages going to the town to buy things. Everyone had a smile on their face. Although life was not so good now and everyone did not have much money, the feelings between people were very pure.
When she got home, Shen Anning remembered that she had just seen everyone scrambling for pork lard on the farm. Then she remembered that the six pieces of pork lard in her space had not been touched at all. She always poured out the oil directly from the bucket and forgot about this.
Eat dumplings during the Winter Solstice, and the next time you eat them will be during the Chinese New Year. Take out a large piece of pork lard and cut it into small pieces. Put cooking wine in the pot and blanch it to remove the blood foam. Then start to boil it. Stir it constantly with a wooden spatula to dry the water on the lard. Simmer it over low heat. When the lard residue floats on the oil, scoop it out with a spoon, pour the oil into a jar, and sprinkle some fine salt on it. This way it can be preserved for a longer time.
Put two small plates of oil residue, one with sugar and the other with pepper, salt and cumin. It smells so good.
He brought it to the north room and looked inside. His younger brothers and sisters were sitting on the kang, teasing little Zixi, "Anyu, Anning, come over and eat some oil residue first."
The twins didn't use chopsticks and just started eating. The oil residue that hadn't cooled down completely tasted delicious and burst with juice with every bite.
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