The neighboring courtyards, drawn by the aroma, all came outside.
The old man sniffed, then rubbed his lower back with his cane.
"Oh, this braised pork smells so good!"
Liu San, standing nearby, said with some annoyance,
"Grandpa, that guy surnamed Jiang was trying to trade me wild boar for firewood. If I had known, I would have traded for a piece of wild boar meat instead."
The old man smiled and patted his grandson on the shoulder.
"We don't know who that Jiang guy is, so you're right not to switch."
"Remember, we're not here for food and drink. If we were here for food and drink, we wouldn't be here suffering."
We are doing this for our great cause, for our ideals.
Liu San said with a look of dissatisfaction,
I don't know what ideals Grandpa has or not.
I knew this place was a poor, remote area; we wouldn't eat meat even once every three months.
If you want to eat meat, you have to go to the city.
Why insist on staying here?
"I've had enough of living in this village since I was a child. The city is so much better; you can eat and drink well there. Why do I have to stay here?"
"Sigh, Grandpa also wants to eat and drink well. Do you think Grandpa doesn't want to take you out?"
But our identities are not something that can be made public, so when we went to the city, people checked our files everywhere.
"Then we'll be eating bullets, forget about meat, we won't even get a hot bowl of dog poop."
The old man patted his grandson's head. The child had never seen his parents since birth and came to this village with him. These years have been hard on the child.
Ouyang Zhenyu slept well, and the next morning he got up early and quickly swept the yard.
They took the pig's head, which had been braised overnight, out of the pot and then took the pot down from the ground. The pot had not only braised the pig's head, but also the pig's trotters, pig's liver, pig's heart, pig's lungs, and so on.
This pot of braising liquid is incredibly flavorful, and the braised pig's head meat is just right. The meat is taken off the pig's head and pressed into a small piece.
Sliced and served with drinks around noon, it's a wonderful snack.
Cuihua looked at the white rice porridge brought out from the kitchen and couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.
A man slept next door yesterday, but surprisingly, I didn't worry at all and slept quite well.
I overslept this morning and didn't even cook breakfast, plus I was too embarrassed to compete with Ouyang Zhenyu for the stove.
Ouyang Zhenyu eats white rice, but he and his mother and two sons cannot afford it.
They can only cook corn porridge, since corn is the main crop grown here. Not many families can afford to eat rice; only the old men in the village can afford it.
After her husband passed away, the grain allocated to her by the village was all corn.
Otherwise, it's sweet potatoes or potatoes.
It's good enough if we can have anything to eat. If we want to buy white rice, we can only hope to fool these outsiders.
That way they can bring back some things for the mother and her two children from outside.
But as a woman, I know that looks are unreliable. When I get old and my looks fade, why would these people bring me things for free?
The two children are still young, and the hard times are yet to come.
But seeing Ouyang Zhenyu today, I suddenly realized that a family really can't function without a man.
Pretending to go inside to cook, she avoided the small table where Ouyang Zhenyu was setting out the food.
I have to say, it's quite a feast for a grown man like me.
I used a lot of white rice, otherwise this porridge wouldn't be so thick.
Good heavens! This morning, besides drinking white rice porridge, they also sliced a plate of pig liver and a plate of pig heart.
Eating such a greasy meal so early in the morning.
Cuihua suddenly felt a little annoyed, thinking that she should never have let Jiang Lin stay at her house.
If my own son saw this, wouldn't he be tempted?
The main problem is that the child is suffering. I'm thinking of making a tough decision to cut off a small portion of the pork for the child to stir-fry for lunch.
I've already decided what to do with the rest of the meat: either cure it with salt or hang it on the rafters to make preserved meat.
If this Jiang guy stayed in his yard for a few more months, he and his mother and children might get a few more meals of meat.
Hoping that the children can gain more weight is a rare opportunity, a reward that can be obtained without any cost.
I glanced at the clean pot and was about to go to the cupboard to get some cornmeal.
Then they heard Jiang Lin shouting in the courtyard.
"Sister-in-law, Tiger."
Cuihua came out impatiently, wearing an apron.
"What's wrong? What's the matter? I'm making breakfast right now."
Speak quickly if you have something to say. After you finish eating, go up the mountain and chop some firewood. You used up almost all the firewood yesterday.
"You burned through a whole week's worth of firewood for the three of us in one night."
"Sister-in-law, Tiger, let's eat."
Cuihua then noticed that there were three bowls and three pairs of chopsticks on the small table.
"What are you doing...?"
“Sister-in-law, since I’m staying at your house, it’s not appropriate for us to cook in separate pots. Let’s eat together.”
Don't worry, if I have food to eat, you will have food to eat too.
"These are braised pig liver and pig heart from last night. Tiger, come and have a taste."
Ouyang Zhenyu waved to Hu Zi, who was standing there. This kid was the least resistant to food; he was born to eat.
Sure enough, Ouyang Zhenyu looked at his mother with some anxiety. It was clear that Cuihua had taught the child very well; if she didn't say anything, the child wouldn't dare to step forward.
"You don't have much rice. If you give it to us, what will you eat?"
Cuihua was unusually kind-hearted this time. It wasn't that she couldn't bear to take advantage of him, but mainly she knew that Chu Wu was behind this person, and she couldn't afford to offend Chu Wu.
"Sister-in-law, don't worry. Didn't you say you'd be able to go out and buy things in a few days? I'll hunt a lot of game and exchange it for food, so you can eat without worry."
"You said we should have two separate stoves, but that's not appropriate. Come on, sister-in-law."
“Sister-in-law, you look like my sister. In my heart, I consider you my sister.”
Ouyang Zhenyu had his hair cut short, so he really looked a bit like a simple, honest boy.
Cuihua couldn't help but sigh at his silly appearance, and her eyes showed a hint of sincerity.
"Xiao Jiang, you're lucky to have met me. If you met anyone else, you'd be eaten alive, leaving not even bones."
"What kind of luck did the fifth day of the Lunar New Year have that you were able to save?"
"Hehe, sister-in-law, let's not talk about anything else. Let's have breakfast first. I'm starving. After we finish eating, sister-in-law, you clean up the dishes and I'll go up the mountain to chop firewood."
Cuihua had breakfast with Huzi and Ouyang Zhenyu, and they ate a very satisfying breakfast.
The little one in my arms drank more than half a bowl of white rice porridge.
With his little mouth smacking, this kid clearly preferred white rice porridge to cornmeal porridge. Yes, who doesn't like to eat good food!
This kid is pale and thin, and he doesn't eat properly. Is it because he doesn't eat well?
I just don't like that spicy corn porridge!
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