Ten dishes and one soup
Those who are self-aware have already sat down around the table, while those who are not are still immersed in the ocean of knowledge, like Sun Min.
Chen Bing was trying to get ashore, but Sun Min in the sea was dragging him there and he couldn't get ashore.
The moment the bedroom door was knocked on, Chen Bing sprang to his feet, shouting, "Coming!"
Sun Min could sense his eagerness from his back. She shook her head. He was about to enter his final year of junior high. How could he still be so greedy? He should be focusing on his studies!
Sun Min had forgotten that not long ago, she had just eaten a boxed lunch in the kitchen, while Sun Bing was still hungry!
It's like a well-fed man doesn't know the hunger of a starving man!
There were ten people in total, divided into two tables. The men sat at one table and the women at the other. This way, it wasn't crowded, and it made it easier for the men to drink while the women could eat and chat properly.
Wang Yao prepared ten dishes and a soup. Although the number of dishes was not large, the portions were generous.
The dishes were the same at every table, but Li Cheng still refused to sit with her father. Instead, she sat down next to Wang Yao and happily ate from her small bowl.
"Yaoyao, don't put fish in Xiaochengzi's bowl. There are bones in the fish," Liu Xiangmei said, sitting opposite Wang Yao.
As soon as Wang Yao said "I know," Xiao Chengzi cried out, "Fish, fish, eat fish."
But Wang Yao ignored her completely and instead put a lot of sweet and sour pork on his plate. Kids love this kind of sweet and sour food, and Xiao Chengzi was easy to fool. He ate the food that Yao Yao put on his plate right away.
Besides the fact that Xiao Chengzi really likes Yao Yao, it's also because the food today was really delicious, and even the adults ate faster than usual.
No matter which table you're at, the braised pork is always the fastest to be eaten.
In the morning, Wang Yao bought a full ten pounds of pork belly. At noon, she cut it all into small cubes, borrowed a coal stove from the landlord, and stewed it on the stove for an hour or so until it had a gelatinous texture.
A large plate of braised pork belly sits precariously on the table, its aroma a blend of spices and oil. The deep red sauce clings to the meat, making it look like the pork belly is coated in sugar.
Although things are not like they were a few years ago, and everyone can eat their fill, no one can remain unmoved by this plate of braised pork. Once all the dishes were served, everyone reached for the plate of braised pork with their chopsticks.
Old Li didn't have a good grip and accidentally broke the braised pork he was holding with his chopsticks. The translucent fatty part and the dark red lean part separated and fell back into the plate.
He exclaimed "Ouch!" feeling quite disappointed. This piece of meat was the one he had his eye on as soon as it was served, but it was so mushy. However, he immediately picked it up again and quickly put it in his mouth.
"Hmm~ Not bad, not bad, this is the taste! I haven't had this taste in years. The last time I had it was when the leader treated me to a meal..."
As he recalled the events, his chopsticks never stopped, but the others around him were eating even faster.
Don't be fooled by the fact that braised pork is all meat. The fat in the fatty parts has been broken down during stewing, and the lean parts are tender and juicy. So you can eat more than ten pieces without getting tired of it. Instead, it really satisfies your cravings.
Next, we focused our attention on the other dishes.
Sweet and sour pork tenderloin that's not too sweet or greasy, tender and juicy minced meat and eggplant, fresh and crisp bok choy, tender and chewy braised fish, soft and chewy Kung Pao chicken, tender and refreshing stir-fried tofu strips, and crisp and refreshing stir-fried potato strips with vinegar—each dish is unique and has a rich flavor.
Of course, the soup must be placed in the very center. The pork rib and lotus root soup is clear and mellow. The lotus root, which has been simmering for nearly two hours, has turned from white to pink. From the cross-section, you can not only see the unbroken lotus root fibers, but also the soft and powdery texture.
The most eye-catching dish was, of course, the pork ribs that had been stewed until tender. While everyone was struggling with the braised pork, Li Jin, who preferred a lighter taste, had already drunk a large bowl of soup and eaten five or six pieces of pork ribs. She was sweating profusely from eating, but she still persevered.
When everyone had almost finished eating, they realized that the bottle of liquor the Li family had brought was still unopened.
With meat, how could there be no wine? Old Li immediately called on everyone to raise their glasses.
Last time they ate at the restaurant, Li Cheng, who had been adamant about not letting his grandfather drink alcohol, was now enjoying his meal and completely forgot about his grandfather. Li Jin wanted to intervene, but the old man ignored him.
So Old Man Li completely let loose and soon started reminiscing with Chen Hai, praising Chen Hai for being lucky to have such a good eldest son as Chen Bing, while complaining about Li Jin's lack of filial piety, for not even letting him drink alcohol.
Li Jin, standing to the side, kept a blank face, as if he hadn't heard anything. He stuffed something into his mouth while secretly glancing at the skillful girl at the opposite table out of the corner of his eye.
The table opposite was also very lively. As the saying goes, three women make a drama, and this table was full of women, so they were chattering away. Their topics ranged from marriage to farming, from clothing to children. In short, once someone started a conversation, it was impossible to control which direction the topic would take.
Wang Yao, who was feeding Xiao Chengzi, was completely unaware that someone was spying on her, because she was carefully savoring the plate of green vegetables.
If she hadn't eaten the vegetables from her aunt's house, she probably wouldn't have noticed, but comparing the two, she could tell that the bok choy she bought at the market today wasn't as good as the ones from her aunt's.
I asked my aunt, and she told me that her family's vegetables were all irrigated with spring water from the mountains.
However, Wang Yao felt that the soil in Lianchi Town was probably more fertile than that in other towns in Zhou County, because Lianchi Town was one of only two towns in the entire Zhou County through which the Dingjiang River flowed. Therefore, compared to other towns that were entirely mountainous, the soil in Lianchi Town was better.
"Actually, everyone says that the vegetables grown in our town, especially in our village, taste better, but there's nothing we can do. Growing lotus roots is more profitable, so each household grows just enough for their own consumption."
"Then why don't you and your uncle grow lotus roots?" Wang Yao asked.
Liu Xiangchun sighed, "We used to grow them too, but last year we had a bit of a falling out with the lotus root buyers in town. They said if they didn't buy our lotus roots, we wouldn't be able to sell them, so what was the point of growing them?"
Liu Xiangqiu angrily asked, "What? Why won't they accept your family's property?"
Liu Xiangchun shook his head. "What can we do if they don't want to buy? If they don't want to buy, they don't want to buy. We're doing just fine growing vegetables and raising pigs now."
Seeing that Liu Xiangchun was unwilling to talk about it, no one asked any further and started talking about farming and raising pigs again.
Only Wang Yao noticed Chen Xiu's unusual behavior. Although Chen Xiu was still eating with her head down, her tightly clenched left fist revealed her anger.
Wang Yao didn't know what had happened at her aunt's house, nor did she know how to help. But since her aunt's family was now growing a lot of vegetables, she decided to buy all the vegetables her mother needed from her aunt's house from now on.
This not only provides income for my aunt's family, but also makes the food in our own boxed lunches taste better, creating a win-win situation.
By the way, my aunt's homemade cured pork and sausages are also delicious. I wonder if the pork tastes better because it drinks spring water.
After suggesting it to his aunt, Liu Xiangchun glanced at his younger sister, Liu Xiangmei, who immediately nodded. "I've said before that I'd buy vegetables from your family, but you don't sell in the county town. Before, I didn't have a tricycle, so it wasn't convenient to go to your family to buy vegetables. Now that I have a tricycle, it's much more convenient. From now on, I'll go to your family every morning, and you can prepare the vegetables for me."
When Liu Xiangchun heard his younger sister mention the tricycle, he thought about how his family had also bought one and wondered if they should go to the county town to sell vegetables.
After thinking it over, Liu Xiangchun rejected the idea. He currently raises ten pigs and more than twenty chickens at home, and there is a lot of work to do in the fields and at home every day. He doesn't have time to go out and sell vegetables every day.
After deciding on the dishes, everyone had almost finished eating. Except for Old Man Li, who had drunk a little too much, everyone else volunteered to clean up.
Oh, Li Cheng didn't do anything, because he was standing angrily in front of Old Man Li with his hands on his hips, saying, "Grandpa, you're disobedient..."
The little boy pouted and seriously scolded Old Man Li, making everyone laugh.
After everything on the table was moved to the kitchen, Liu Xiangmei instructed Wang Yao to wipe the tables, chairs, and benches clean and return them to the landlord.
Chen Xiu originally wanted to go with them, but Li Jin took over her work and followed Wang Yao downstairs.
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