"Alright, I won't stand on ceremony with you then."
Xiuhua's sister-in-law continued sewing shoe soles.
Wei Yuyan blanched the pig's trotters and ribs and set them aside. Then she poured out the water, added fresh water, and poured it into the pig's trotters.
Add salt, sugar, soy sauce, cinnamon, bay leaves, star anise, and rice wine.
The little bit of rice wine we had at home was given to us by my older sister from my maternal family last Chinese New Year.
Now that everything was completely ruined, Wei Yuyan thought she would buy some Shaoxing wine next time to cook something delicious.
Finally, add scallions and ginger, cover the pot, and simmer for half an hour.
"It smells so good, sister-in-law, my mouth is watering. Please cook more rice tonight."
Xiuhua's sister-in-law felt her stomach was about to rumble.
"Alright, alright, I'll cook you three bowls of rice. Let's see if you can finish them."
Wei Yuyan thought that people in the countryside usually have big appetites, so three bowls of rice shouldn't be a problem for them.
"How could I possibly finish all this? Do you think I'm a pig?"
To be honest, unless it's a busy farming season and I can eat two bowls of rice, nowadays I'm full after eating one or one and a half bowls of rice.
Sister-in-law Xiuhua found it somewhat amusing, recalling that the largest she had ever eaten was only two and a half bowls.
"I can't eat too much rice, I prefer vegetables."
Wei Yuyan put the rice into the clay pot, preparing to cook rice.
"Hey, are your rice seedlings ready yet?"
Suddenly, Sister-in-law Xiuhua asked.
"It's almost done. We'll move it to the paddy field tomorrow."
Wei Yuyan looked at the rice stalks soaking in warm water beside her. They had already sprouted, and the sprouts would be deeper tomorrow, when they could be placed in the paddy field.
"Sister-in-law, your brother Zhang and I have agreed to try planting a small plot of land. We'll soak the rice seeds tonight."
Xiuhua originally planned to tell Brother Zhang during dinner, but now she can't hold it in any longer.
"Sure, we can harvest and plant together then."
Wei Yuyan thought to herself that she would definitely not let them down.
Next, start chopping chili peppers. In a little while, put green and red chili pepper rings in the pig's trotters and dried chili peppers in the ribs.
Once the pig's trotters are cooked, add chili peppers and reduce the sauce over high heat until thickened. Then remove from the heat, cover, and keep warm. Continue cooking the ribs, which are cooked in a similar way to the pig's trotters, but the ribs don't need to be stewed for as long.
While braising the ribs, slice the pork belly into thin slices. Later, stir-fry it with scallions and chili peppers; it will be incredibly fragrant.
Cut the cleaned pig's stomach in half, and leave half for Sister-in-law Xiuhua to take home and eat later.
Pig stomach tastes best when stir-fried with celery.
"Sister-in-law Xiuhua, do you have any celery at home?"
Wei Yuyan did not plant anything in the field.
"Yes, and would you like some cilantro too?"
Sister-in-law Xiuhua put down the shoe sole and prepared to go home to pick it.
"Yes, the more the better."
Wei Yuyan hasn't eaten cilantro in a long time, and she misses it a little.
By evening, a five-dish-and-soup meal was laid out on the table: egg and spinach soup, bok choy, braised pork trotters, braised pork ribs with potatoes, stir-fried pork belly with celery, and stir-fried pork belly.
"Sister-in-law, Xiuhua, I'm here."
Brother Zhang's voice came from the doorway, and everyone immediately got up to serve the rice.
"Brother Zhang, I've been waiting for you for so long, I've been drooling for miles."
Wei Yuyan found it amusing to recall how the two adults and two children had drooled over the table full of food.
"Oh my, I was drooling on the way here."
Brother Zhang replied humorously while washing his hands with water.
"Dinner's ready, dinner's ready!"
Sister-in-law Xiuhua brought several bowls of rice to the table, unable to wait any longer.
"Let's eat, don't be shy!"
Wei Yuyan added a pig's trotter to each of Zhang Dage and his wife, and a spare rib to each of their two children.
"No need to serve, we're not strangers, don't be so polite, just eat more, you're so thin."
Sister-in-law Xiuhua also put two pieces of pork ribs on Wei Yuyan's plate.
"This pig's trotter is so delicious, sister-in-law, what did you put in it? It tastes just like restaurant food."
Brother Zhang's favorite dish today is pig's trotters.
"Cinnamon, bay leaves, star anise, these things make stewed meat the most fragrant."
Wei Yuyan doesn't keep anything to herself.
"What? This thing is expensive."
Although Sister-in-law Xiuhua has never bought it, she sometimes sees the chef using it in his dishes when he hosts banquets, and it smells especially delicious.
She also asked about the price in town; it was several tens of coins per pound, and she couldn't bear to spend the money.
"It is a bit expensive, so I only bought a few coins' worth of each. I put a little in when entertaining guests during holidays, but not at other times."
Wei Yuyan explained that she had indeed been a little extravagant.
"Then I'll buy a few coins' worth, to use in cooking for the Dragon Boat Festival."
Xiuhua's sister-in-law quickly said that she wanted to buy some too.
“Okay, by the way, sister-in-law, Xiuhua and I have thought it over. We’d like to try farming a plot of land together. We’re just sitting around doing nothing anyway, so who knows, we might win this gamble.”
Brother Zhang had actually inquired about this in town recently. It's true that some places can grow two seasons of rice, but we women don't dare to try it easily.
"Great, welcome. You need to soak the rice seeds tonight, it's not good to be late."
Wei Yuyan picked up a piece of stir-fried pork belly with her chopsticks; it smelled so good, it was perfect for today's dish.
"What is this? Is it internal organs?"
Sister-in-law Xiuhua picked up a piece of pig's stomach with her chopsticks and found it to be particularly chewy and quite flavorful.
"Guess."
Wei Yuyan started to keep everyone in suspense.
"I guess this might be pig's stomach?"
Brother Zhang had eaten pig's stomach before, so he guessed it quickly.
"Huh? I didn't know this was so delicious. I've never had it before."
Xiuhua's sister-in-law secretly thought it was a pity.
"They're not available on the market either. Usually, these waste products are either given away by the owners or fed to their dogs. Even if they were sold, no one would buy them."
Brother Zhang is thinking of buying a pig's stomach tomorrow and stir-frying it.
"Brother Zhang is right. I just happened to run into him with pig stomach. You usually can't buy it."
Wei Yuyan thought that next time she went to town, she should ask if they had any pig stomach, so she could buy some and make pig stomach chicken, which would be good for her spleen and stomach.
"Look how well-behaved these two kids are today, they're eating quietly."
Brother Zhang noticed that the two children were not saying anything and were eating quietly.
Upon hearing this, Sister-in-law Xiuhua and Wei Yuyan also turned to look at the two children.
Xiaoqian was seen gnawing on a pig's trotter, her face covered in grime, while Wu Lei was eating heartily.
"Hahaha~~".
The three adults laughed, and the two children laughed too, and they immediately burst into laughter.
Before leaving, Wei Yuyan took out half a pig's stomach that she had saved beforehand.
"Sister-in-law Xiuhua, wait a minute, there's still half a pig's stomach left. Although it's not anything special, I see you like to eat it. Take it and add it to your dishes tomorrow."
Wei Yuyan handed over the pig's stomach.
"This won't do. You're eating and taking things at the same time. No way, you can keep them for tomorrow."
Sister-in-law Xiuhua waved her hands repeatedly, saying that she was already embarrassed to eat so much meat, as her sister-in-law's family was even worse off than her own.
"Oh, this was a free gift with the purchase of meat. Take it. Just remember to call me next time you have something delicious to eat."
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