"Okay, that's it. I haven't thought of sweet and sour shredded radish yet."
"Go to the cellar and get the purple radishes later. Cut them all up this afternoon."
"Yes, sister-in-law."
When are Jianguo and his wife coming over?
Li Cuihua fell silent. "We didn't tell them that Maocai was thinking of separating the family property, but Er Ya and the others came back."
"Alright, stop overthinking it. Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Jianguo isn't a child anymore. Just focus on marrying Erya off properly and getting the two younger ones married off as well, and that'll be fine."
"Yes, that's what I think too. Jianguo is a father now, he's not young anymore. Maocai said he doesn't need to support him in his old age, and he doesn't have any of his things in the house."
Actually, he was saying this to his wife. That woman is thinking that none of the three of them can stay at home, and that the two of them, the old couple, should be supported by them.
"Something Si Liu doesn't understand. He seemed pretty straightforward, but I never expected him to be like this."
"It's easy to draw a person's skin, but hard to draw their bones; it's easy to know a person's face, but hard to know their heart."
"We don't rely on them; we just hope they can live a good life on their own."
"They're all enemies. Yesterday, your mistress called my second uncle and said she wasn't coming back this year. Bah! Those are my daughter and son. Why can't they come back?"
"Sister-in-law, don't take it to heart. To put it bluntly, those three children have long since disowned you."
Hu Aifen sighed. "Yes, they haven't treated us like Mom and Dad for a long time."
Although things may appear glamorous on the surface, every family has its own troubles. Each person knows their own story.
Neither of them spoke again, and they continued working with their heads down.
Li Cuihua thought of her eldest daughter, who was mentally challenged and whose fate was unknown.
Hu Aifen was even more miserable than her. Her eldest son was unmarried, and her younger son and two daughters didn't acknowledge them. She had lived such a miserable life.
The meat was stewed in the pot, and Shi Tou and Cheng Guangxu started the fire.
The five of them started preparing vegetables again.
Liu Maocai brought back a block of tofu, so let's prepare the fried meatballs first. The vermicelli has been scalded with hot water and chopped. Crush the tofu and put it in a bowl, along with chopped green onions, ginger, five-spice powder, salt, and the vermicelli.
I kept kneading it with my hands because the tofu was freshly pressed and had too much moisture. I added flour, millet flour, and mung bean flour until it felt right, then I took it into the kitchen and fried it in a small pot.
The bright orange soybean oil is heated to a boil. A handful of kneaded dough is squeezed outwards with the thumb and forefinger, scraped off with a spoon, and dropped into the oil. Someone is specifically responsible for flipping it in the oil, and once cooked, it's removed.
Li Cuihua took out more than twenty purple radishes from the cellar, washed them, and set them aside.
"Cuihua, I think we have enough time. Let's cut the cabbage and pickled cabbage tomorrow. We'll prepare some."
Are there enough basins? If not, I'll go home and get some. What about the big bowl for the meat?
“Sister-in-law, I’ve got everything ready. When Jianguo got married, I gritted my teeth and bought all new clothes. I’m thinking about the three little ones we have to take care of, so I can’t keep borrowing.”
"Hehe. You're so meticulous about daily life. Hurry up and find it, let's wash it clean, and then we need to cut some meat."
Wang Hongxi's wife came over. "The pork needs ginger and fermented black beans. I'll go prepare it."
"Sister-in-law, we have sweet bean sauce at home, so we don't need to add ginger or fermented black beans. Just make sure it's sweet bean sauce, and add salt to it."
"I can't do this job. I'll wash the dishes, you do it yourself."
"That works too."
Once the ingredients are ready, it's time to take out the large chunks of meat. They shouldn't be stewed too long, otherwise they'll be difficult to cut or pick up.
"Cuihua, bring out all the pots, and you guys take the pieces of meat out of the pot too. The pig's head meat isn't ready yet. Keep stewing that."
The group was all quick and efficient, having worked in the cafeteria for several years, so they all knew what to do.
The pork pieces were ready, and the two women who made the meatballs were also done. This time, they were in charge of arranging the meat pieces in the bowls, skin side down. They would then steam them directly in the steamer the next day. When serving, a plate would be placed on top of the bowl, and when it was flipped over, the meat would be skin side up, still in the shape of the bowl.
Cut the pork into strips, coat them with sauce, and arrange them in a bowl, skin side down. Turn them upside down before serving.
Li Cuihua instructed Wang Hongxi's wife, "Sister-in-law, you also need to chop some ginger and put it into the bowl of meat along with the fermented black beans. It will taste better that way."
"Okay!" Wang Hongxi's wife felt particularly bad. Other people's daughters get engaged and have such a big banquet, but her daughter's wedding only has two tables. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Dashan and his family were no good people, and the more she felt sorry for her daughter.
But he didn't show it on his face. If Li Cuihua had noticed that he was being displeased, she probably would have kicked him out.
She and Dashan's mother were in-laws, but they never spoke a word to each other, as if they were enemies.
Liu Maocai also brought over the bean curd sheets, which were uncooked and just boiled.
"Cuihua, there's also fish, so that makes eleven dishes. Or how about we cook bean curd slices in meat broth, which would also count as a cold dish?"
"middle!"
"However, the meat broth and bean curd sheets need to be cooked at night. The oil needs to solidify before they can be taken out, otherwise the bean curd sheets will be covered in oil."
"Okay, sister-in-law, you can stew the fish, and add more chili peppers."
Hu Aifen poured the broth into a basin, washed the pot, and used the soybean oil from frying the meatballs to fry the fish.
Braised fish tastes best when it's deep-fried.
They're all meticulous people in the family, and they're very frugal with oil. But the flavor definitely came through.
The meat is all packed, enough for twelve bowls. We can't leave any extra, otherwise we'll be caught off guard when there are more people tomorrow.
All the arranged meat was put into the kitchen.
Li Cuihua was busy cutting the tofu into blocks and freezing them in the yard; tomorrow they would be frozen tofu.
Little by little, the semi-finished products were carried into the kitchen. There was still a whole basin of chunks of meat left. Wang Hongxi's family felt it was a pity. "Cuihua, bring a few more large bowls and fill them with more chunks of meat. The strips of meat can also fill three bowls."
“Okay, sister-in-law, you’ll handle this. I see the dough has risen, and once the pig offal is cooked, we’ll steam the buns. You’ll have to do this; no one else can knead the dough as well as you do.”
"Okay, leave it to me. I'll go order the meat first, and then I'll knead the dough for the steamed buns."
"Cuihua, are you still inviting his uncles, grandparents, and other family members to dinner tonight?"
Eat!
"Then hurry up and soak the rice."
"Look at my memory, I would have forgotten if my sister-in-law hadn't reminded me."
Wang Hongxi's family ordered another four bowls of meat. The leftover scraps will be used to stew sauerkraut tonight.
There will be at least three tables tonight. One table for the men who cooked and helped out, another for her family, and another for relatives. I reckon we'll all have to squeeze in.
Actually, Wang Hongxi and his wife are not bad people; they are just too selfish and envious.
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