Chapter 13
Xun Yi eventually went to the woodshed and gave Shu Wanxiu the old wood-chopping knife from his home.
He pointed to the rabbit in Shu Wanxiu's bamboo basket, indicating that he should leave her there.
"After I skinned the meat, I sent it up the mountain."
That's certainly not a problem.
She brought a rabbit with her when she came, and although she left the rabbit behind when she left, Shu Wanxiu was truly happy.
Holding her machete, she thought there was no time like the present, so she decided to cut down two trees today.
She dared not leave Shu Shouyi alone at home again. She chose a spot closer to home and, in one afternoon, actually cut down three trees as Xun Yi had requested.
After dragging the tree out of the mountain, Shu Shouyi ran over to pour her water.
"Auntie!" He slowly walked out carrying a full bowl of water, and happily shouted from a distance, "The rabbit is back!"
Mistaking it for Xun Yi, Shu Wanxiu hurried over to greet him.
But there was no one in the half-collapsed shed; instead, there were two items on the stove.
On one side was their family's bamboo basket, and on the other side was a small lotus leaf pouch.
Shu Wanxiu hesitantly took the purse into her hand and squeezed it.
You can feel that it contains very fine granular matter, like tiny pebbles.
She opened it with confusion, but was immediately stunned.
These irregular, granular things... are actually salt!
After a moment of stunned silence, she remembered to feel the weight.
...At the very least, it's one or two ounces.
Shu Wanxiu quickly guessed the identity of the person who delivered the salt, given that they had left so much salt here without saying a word, especially at this critical moment.
She calmed down a bit, carefully wrapped up the salt, and then checked her own bamboo basket.
The plantains were still piled on top, but if you parted them, you would find a layer of lotus leaves underneath, and then the rabbit.
Shu Wanxiu realized that Xun Yi was a thoughtful person; he must have been afraid that the raw meat would dirty the basket, so he put a lotus leaf under the rabbit.
After removing the fur, the rabbit didn't look much smaller. She picked it up and weighed it in her hand. Perhaps because her hands were sore from cutting and dragging the tree, she really felt that it was the same weight as before she skinned it.
Xun Yi only peeled off her skin; he did not cut her open.
Shu Wanxiu lowered her eyes, trying to figure out how to eat the rabbit.
Grilling it would be a good way to eat it.
Simply use a machete to prepare the rabbit's internal organs, then clean it thoroughly and roast it over charcoal.
The roasted meat was easy to divide; a fat hind leg could be torn off and sent down the mountain to Aunt Chen.
She had planned everything, but suddenly noticed that the lotus leaves at the bottom of the basket were bulging, as if there was something underneath.
Upon opening it, one would find a cleaver and a small oil paper package hidden underneath.
Shu Wanxiu touched the blade in disbelief, and was stunned again after opening the oil paper package.
Another bag of salt?!
...
The Shu family prepared their dinner extra early today.
By mid-Shenshi (3-5 PM), a good fire had been lit in the hearth.
The cleaned pot was placed on the fire and heated up in no time. Shu Wanxiu squatted by the fire pit, timing it perfectly, and put in the washed and chopped rabbit meat, as well as the Sichuan peppercorns she had picked in the mountains that afternoon.
The fire was high, and the meat sizzled as soon as it touched the side of the pot.
Shu Wanxiu didn't dare to delay for a moment. She immediately picked up the spatula and stirred the food in the pot evenly.
Before long, a strange fragrance rose around the fire pit.
This aroma combines the fragrance of meat with the spiciness of Sichuan peppercorns. The longer it is stir-fried, the stronger the aroma becomes, and the farther it travels.
As the aroma intensifies, the meat in the pan is fried to a golden brown and slightly charred.
Shu Wanxiu, who had been intently watching the pot, immediately gave a stern order: "Pour in water."
Shu Shouyi, holding a ladle of water, stood by the fire pit, ready to go. Upon receiving the order, he did not hesitate and poured the water from the ladle into the pot.
"Okay, stop!"
Upon receiving the order again, he withdrew his small hand, and the water immediately stopped.
Shu Wanxiu poked at the meat on the edge of the pot with a spatula and said, "That's enough, put the gourd ladle back."
Shu Shouyi's shoulders, which had been tense for a long time, relaxed instantly. He took a deep breath on the spot before putting the water ladle back into the wooden bucket.
When he returned, he saw that Shu Wanxiu had broken off tree branches and stuffed them into the fire pit, so he moved a stool over and sat down.
After adding cold water, the previously pleasant aroma suddenly became barely noticeable.
Shu Shouyi sniffed the ground, then sniffed closer to the pot, and finally sniffed again, finding that his clothes still smelled better. He couldn't help but ask, "Auntie, will the meat still smell good when we eat it later?"
"Yes, of course."
A little while later, Shu Shouyi's stomach rumbled. He patted his belly and asked, "Auntie, how much longer do we need to stew it?"
"It'll be here soon."
The soup in the pot has boiled, and the aroma is wafting up again.
Shu Wanxiu stopped adding firewood and added some salt to the pot.
He continued cooking for another quarter of an hour, during which time Shu Shouyi couldn't help but wipe his drool twice.
After the broth in the pot had reduced considerably, Shu Wanxiu poured the peeled, washed, and chopped stems of the Thousand Golden Vegetable into a bamboo basket and continued cooking until the stems were soft on the outside and crisp on the inside. Then, she decisively removed the firewood from under the pot.
Because the hearth was filled with red charcoal, the soup in the pot continued to bubble even when the fire was suddenly turned off.
Just then, Shu Wanxiu sprinkled in a few shredded perilla leaves.
Shu Shouyi brought over the porridge that had been cooked before cooking the other dishes and waited expectantly on the side.
Shu Wanxiu took a moment to pat his head and comfort him, saying, "Auntie will serve two bowls, then we can start eating."
Fortunately, Aunt Chen had given them a few bowls and plates beforehand; otherwise, Shu Wanxiu would not have had any extra bowls to divide the food.
After dividing the food into two portions, the two finally started eating.
Drinking bland and tasteless porridge for a long time can make a person's sense of taste exceptionally sensitive.
Gently pick up a piece of meat with your chopsticks and put it in your mouth; with just a sip, you can taste its freshness, aroma, numbing sensation, and spiciness.
This was the most lavish meal the two had eaten in months. The aunt and niece ate in exactly the same way, sucking on the bones until they were tasteless before reluctantly spitting them out.
Shu Wanxiu kept the old doctor's words in mind and did not dare to let herself and Shu Shouyi eat too much.
After eating about four or five pieces of meat, gnawing on half a rabbit's head, and a few pieces of wild vegetable stems, she took the pot away.
Shu Shouyi didn't make a fuss; he just stared longingly at the pot that was taken away and finished the remaining porridge in his bowl.
Shu Wanxiu was also not full, but there was nothing she could do. If she got sick from eating, they wouldn't even have the money to see a doctor.
After a moment of silence, she offered a weak consolation: "At least we can have two meals tomorrow."
"Okay! I'll listen to my aunt."
When it was time to deliver the meat down the mountain, Shu Wanxiu was afraid that the smell of the meat from their meal would attract some wild animals that would steal and eat the rest of the meat. So she carried the pot and a small piece of uncooked hind leg meat to the main room and tied the door shut with straw rope.
She was still carrying a basket, and she was still covering it with something for concealment, but she seemed more guilty than she had been at noon.
Fortunately, she asked Shu Shouyi to go ahead and scout the way, while she followed behind, carefully avoiding people, and did not run into anyone along the way.
From afar, smoke could be seen billowing from the Pang family's chimney. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed found that Aunt Chen was cooking in the kitchen, while Chen Lian was chopping vegetables and tending the fire to help out.
The door to the main room was open, but no one else in the house was visible.
The children are probably still playing outside, and the men are busy working in the fields, and haven't returned home yet.
She stood at the kitchen doorway and glanced around, observing the two men busily working and the house filled with the aroma of cooking. Without saying much, she quietly placed the bowl of meat she had left for them on the table in the main room and left.
A note from the author:
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