The pig intestines that Old Zhou brought home were extremely troublesome to prepare.
She was reluctant to use flour, but she had plenty of sauerkraut brine at home!
"Mother, can you use this rice water?"
After asking about the origin of the pig intestines, Da Zhou then collected all the rice water in a bucket while rinsing the rice, not wanting to pour it out.
"Use pickled cabbage water and rice water to wash it several times. Even the smelliest pig intestines can be cleaned."
Old Mrs. Zhou looked at her eldest daughter-in-law approvingly. Not bad, no wonder she was taught this way!
"Mom, my third sister-in-law just said that she has finished processing the honeysuckle we brought today, and she will weigh it tomorrow and pay us accordingly."
Xiao Zhou was sitting on a small stool in the kitchen, picking vegetables. It was just the three of them—mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, and son—at the time, so there was nothing they couldn't talk about.
"Can honeysuckle really be sold for money?"
Someone had to do the work at home. Da Zhou didn't go to her third brother's wife's house, so it's unknown what her mother-in-law and second brother's wife discussed.
Xiao Zhou and her sister-in-law exchanged a glance and nodded. Yes, it could make money!
"The third brother's family has really changed. Although I don't know how they came up with the method, at least they have a way to make a living, so I don't have to worry about the livelihood of Da Niu and his three siblings..."
Old Mrs. Zhou muttered to herself, and while the pig intestines were soaking in the pickled cabbage water, she took a broom and swept all the pickled and dirty things into a corner, then poured wood ash on them and covered them up. In the afternoon, she would go to the vegetable garden to make compost for fertilizer.
After the pig intestines are cleaned, they are cooked by Master Zhou, a skilled chef. He first puts in two spoonfuls of lard, then adds dried chili peppers and garlic and stir-fries them.
In an instant, the spicy aroma hit my head.
Just then, Grandpa Wu, who had returned home early from work, was greeted by a familiar aroma that whetted his appetite.
However, it's not a holiday, not a special day, so why would my wife buy pig offal?
"Dad's back. Sit down and rest for a while."
After selecting the vegetables, Xiao Zhou got up from her small stool and hurriedly went to pour water.
Having an elder in the family is like having a treasure.
Neither she nor her sister-in-law were scheming people, and neither of them wanted to separate the family while their parents-in-law were still alive!
Therefore, taking good care of their parents-in-law is a consensus reached by both families.
"Hey, second brother's wife, get me another basin of cold water. The sun is scorching today, it's so hot."
Grandpa Wu said without ceremony, and after putting down his hoe, he was so tired that he slumped into a bamboo chair and hid under the osmanthus tree to cool off.
Hearing the commotion, Old Zhou came out of the kitchen, took the basin of water from her second son's wife, filled it herself, and brought it over, saying:
“Old man, if you can’t handle it, don’t go to the fields this afternoon. If you get sick from overwork, you’ll have to spend money on medicine. It’s better not to go.”
"Well, I won't go this afternoon. Judging from the sky, it's probably going to rain tomorrow."
Grandpa Wu was used to his wife's nagging, so he didn't get annoyed and just responded to her.
After washing my face, I gulped down half a pot of cool boiled water, which made me feel much clearer-headed and more comfortable.
Suddenly remembering something, he asked his wife:
"What a special day it is today? Why are you buying pig intestines?"
"Sigh, I don't have any spare money to buy this stuff. It's my third son's wife; she went to Huichuntang in town to sell flowers today..."
Old Mrs. Zhou then explained the whole story, including how the third son's wife said she wanted to collect ten catties of honeysuckle for ten copper coins, but only for ten days.
"The third son's wife is capable; this is a good thing."
After a moment's thought, Old Master Wu realized that his third daughter-in-law had revealed this matter because she was thinking of the Wu family.
This is a good thing. First, their family can make some money; second, it will enhance the Wu family's prestige in the village and, incidentally, wash away the third son's wife's bad reputation...
"Old woman, I'll go talk to the village chief right now."
Old Master Wu couldn't sit still any longer. Relying solely on his Wu family, he couldn't help his third son's wife pick enough honeysuckle within the allotted time. Moreover, the honeysuckle was located deep in the back mountains, so it would be best if the village's able-bodied men brought their tools and accompanied her.
"Go and come back quickly, or the whole family will be waiting for you to have lunch alone."
Old Zhou nodded. The old man was sensible; since he had gone to the village chief, let him worry about it.
"knew."
Old Master Wu moved with lightning speed, disappearing from sight in no time...
After preparing the pig intestines, Da Zhou filled a large basin with them.
Old Zhou personally served a large plate, then ladled broth over it and gestured for the second son's wife to deliver it to the third son's wife.
This time, Xiao Zhou was less resistant. She picked up the bamboo basket, covered her head with the veil, called out, and headed towards her third brother's wife's house...
"Mom, should we make sweet potato and mixed grain porridge for lunch?"
Da Zhou asked for instructions, "The pot is already cleaned. Let's stir-fry some wild vegetables and make a cold dish of houttuynia cordata."
“Recently, Dalang, Erlang, and you all have worked hard. At noon, you cook mixed grain rice, and each of you adds a spoonful of pig intestines as a topping. If there are any pig intestines left, make dough in the evening, cut hand-pulled noodles, and then add the remaining pig intestines as a topping.”
The reason why Old Zhou was respected and loved by her two daughters-in-law was because she was fair and never made things difficult for them.
Especially when it comes to distributing food, we try our best to treat everyone equally.
This is what it means to share good fortune...
"Yes, I'll listen to my mother."
Da Zhou responded and quickly started cooking.
I thought to myself, "Life is getting better and better!"
Here, Grandpa Wu arrived at the village chief's house without stopping.
Just then, the village chief was counting with his grandson, and the old woman was cooking.
"Yongfu? What brings such a busy man like you here today?"
When the village chief saw his old friend arrive, he got up to greet him.
The two were childhood friends from the older generation. Sixty years of ups and downs have passed in the blink of an eye, and both of them now have a house full of children and grandchildren, and their hair and beards are gray.
“Yongfa, I’m not like you. You’re the village chief of Wujia Village, and you’re a very busy person. I have many children at home and many things to do in the fields. I don’t have the leisure to chat with you.”
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two sat down, and he hesitated, clearly indicating that he had something important to discuss.
"Youyin, go to the kitchen and help your grandma tend the fire. I have something to discuss with you."
The village chief naturally noticed something amiss and, without saying a word, sent his grandson away.
"There's something I need to discuss with you."
With no one around, Old Master Wu frankly stated his purpose.
"What's our relationship? Just say it."
Seeing his old friend's serious expression, the village chief also became more serious.
Clearly, Old Master Wu didn't treat the village chief as an outsider. He told him about his third daughter-in-law's transformation and that he wanted to help his third daughter-in-law harvest honeysuckle. He needed the village chief's help to figure out which families in the village were suitable for this task.
Old ginger is spicier.
Jiang Yue hadn't considered this point; she was only thinking about getting the villagers to pick and harvest the flowers as soon as possible, ignoring the fact that if many people were to do something together, it would fall apart into chaos!
Old Master Wu, however, was thinking of asking the village chief for help to select a few reliable families to do this...
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