Pig's trotters are delicious but difficult to prepare. The Zhao family makes tofu, so they have soybeans all year round. Therefore, they have eaten almost all dishes made with soybeans, such as soybeans mixed with spinach, cold soybeans, soybeans stewed with pork belly, soybeans stewed with pig's trotters, fried soybeans with bean paste, soybeans in brine, etc.
Among them, soybean stewed pork trotters is the family’s favorite. Practice makes perfect. Li Yuemei’s skill in stewing pig’s trotters has improved day by day, and she can eat several bowls of rice every time she eats it.
Lin Yan has also cooked pig's trotters, but most of the time he stewed them with radishes. When he heard Amo talk about stewing pig's trotters, he was also very much looking forward to it.
Li Yuemei had soaked the soybeans in the afternoon, and they were almost soft now. Now she would deal with the pig's trotters first.
First, boil water and make a fire. While the water was still hot, Li Yuemei took a piece of firewood from the stove and used the fire to roast the hair off the pig's trotters. After roasting them carefully for a while, when she thought they were almost done, she washed them with water and scraped the blackened areas clean with a knife.
Chop the washed pig's trotters into small pieces, put them into the pot, add ginger slices and a little white wine, blanch them, cook for about half a quarter of an hour, skim off the foam, take them out and put them in a basket to drain the water.
Put a little oil in the pot, add malt sugar, and stir-fry over low heat until the sugar color comes out. When the sugar melts and turns into caramel color and small bubbles appear, add the pig's trotters and stir-fry until they are evenly coated with sugar color. Then add onion segments, ginger slices, garlic cloves, star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves and stir-fry until fragrant.
Add soy sauce and continue to stir-fry until the pig's trotters are evenly colored. Add enough water to cover the pig's trotters, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for about half an hour.
While the pig's trotters were being stewed, Li Yuemei washed the rice and started steaming it, and also washed some vegetables.
The aroma of pig's trotters slowly spread. Lin Yan had nothing to do, so he simply took a small stool and sat at the door of the kitchen. He took a piece of Zhao Shiyun's torn clothes and started mending them.
"Mo, do you have any clothes that need mending? I'll help you with that." Lin Yan was quick and finished mending them in no time.
"No, not really. If you have some free time, you can make some children's clothes. Buy some soft cotton cloth to make them."
Lin Yan thought about the red cloth left over from making wedding clothes. He could make a bellyband for the baby, but since the baby was born in winter, it would be cold, so he probably wouldn't need it. So he made some small underwear, some socks, and two hoods.
The pig's trotters had been stewed for half an hour. Li Yuemei opened the lid, put in the soaked soybeans, and cut some dried chilies. She continued to stew for more than two quarters of an hour until the pig's trotters were soft and the soybeans were tender.
Lin Yan went back to his room and looked around. Apart from the red cloth left over from making wedding dresses, the other cloths were rather rough and not suitable for children to wear. He decided to go to the cloth shop tomorrow to have a look.
Zhao Qiming hadn't returned yet. Li Yuemei looked out the kitchen door several times, but there was no sign of him. The dish was almost ready, what was taking so long to talk?
The rice was cooked by now. Li Yuemei opened the lid of the pot of stewed pig's trotters and nodded. It was almost done. Finally, she cooked it over high heat, added appropriate amount of salt to season, and sprinkled with chopped green onions.
Li Yuemei put the pig's trotters into a large bowl. There was a little soup left in the pot, which she used to cook the vegetables. She threw the vegetables in directly and stir-fried them for a few times. When they were almost cooked, a little bit of salt was enough. Because she had already added it once before, Li Yuemei also threw in two dried chilies for seasoning.
The air was filled with a fragrant and spicy smell. Zhao Qiming could smell it from a long distance away. He quickened his pace and when he entered, Li Yuemei was just serving the dishes to the table.
"Are you back? Wash your hands and have dinner. Brother Yu, come and serve the food."
"Here it comes!" Yu Ge'er had been hungry for a long time and now he wanted to swallow a chicken.
The family's chopsticks all reached for the pig's trotter. "Mmm! So delicious!" Lin Yan picked up a piece of skin-on pig's trotter. It was soft and sticky, with a hint of spiciness that wasn't greasy. He also scooped a spoonful of soybeans into the bowl and ate it with rice.
"These vegetables are not bad, and they have a meaty aroma." Yu Ge'er ate two chopsticks of vegetables.
"I cooked it with pig's trotter soup, how could it not be delicious?" Li Yuemei said with a smile.
No one asked Zhao Qiming what he had learned from his uncle's house. The most important thing in the world was eating, so he could talk about it after dinner.
After eating too much, they all drank a cup of sour plum soup to help digest the food and relieve the greasiness. Then the family began to talk about Zhao Qide.
"I went over there and asked around, but no one else knew what was going on. My aunt, however, told me that the day after Qingming Festival, my second brother came back to the village and asked to borrow money from her, saying his shop was struggling and he would pay it back as soon as possible. My aunt discussed it with my uncle and lent him five taels of silver."
"Five taels? That's a lot? Have you paid it back now?" Li Yuemei was shocked.
"No, he said he would pay it back in a month, but it's been two months and he still hasn't paid. My uncle asked Shi Wen to take time out to go to town to collect the debt. Guess what? My second brother's shop is closed."
"What? It's closed? Is something really wrong?" Lin Yan began to get nervous, his feet shaking unconsciously. Zhao Shiyun raised his hand and rubbed his thigh, signaling him to calm down.
Lin Yan took a deep breath and slowly relaxed. He didn't know if his second uncle would come to cause trouble like before, so they had to be prepared.
"Well, Brother Shi Yun, let's go to town tomorrow and find someone to ask about what happened so we can make plans early."
Zhao Qiming and Li Yuemei both agreed that they must not let their second brother do anything bad to their shop again. This shop is Lin Yan's hard work. They have seen how much effort he has put in from the time the shop opened to now, and they cannot let anyone destroy it easily.
"Brother, I'm going too. I have a day off tomorrow, so I'll go help out at the shop." Yu Ge'er was still young at the time. Although he had never experienced his uncle causing trouble, he was not one to be bullied. If his uncle really showed up, he would beat him back. Yu Ge'er clenched his fists to motivate himself.
"Then you should be careful. If you really meet your second uncle, protect yourself. At worst, you can report to the police." After saying this, Li Yuemei glanced at Zhao Qiming, wanting to know his attitude.
Zhao Qiming was silent for a while, then nodded and agreed.
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