Sour cabbage blood sausage stew
"Knock knock knock..." Aunt Guan's knife skills are among the best in the entire Baishan Bathhouse. After the pickled sauerkraut is turned into shreds on the chopping board, she pushes it hard. In the big iron pot, the sour aroma and the overflowing meat aroma mix together, making Uncle Shi, who is catching up on his sleep in the west room, unable to hold back his saliva.
"No, Old Guan, why are you stewing big bones so early in the morning?" Uncle Shi lifted the thick door curtain and looked at Guan He in confusion.
"Zang Zang is back! I have to make something delicious for her?" Guan He opened another small pot, and the blood sausage inside was already cooked.
"Oh! That's right!" Lao Shi slapped his thigh and looked towards the main house. He guessed that his eldest daughter was being scolded by her grandmother. It would have been fine if she had forgotten about them for so many years, but she suddenly turned herself into a little ghost.
"Hey!" Seeing Guan He cutting blood sausage, Lao Shi hurried forward. "Zang'er doesn't like blood sausage. She thinks it's fishy, don't you know?" [1]
Guan He glanced at him and said, "I'm not going to chase you away anymore. Be quiet, you'll understand in a moment." She thought of the smell she had sensed on Li Xingzang and couldn't help but sigh. She had watched this child grow up and had wanted her to follow her, and her boss agreed, but she had never been interested in these things since she was a child. That's why she hadn't been back for so many years, but she actually had those Western auras on her. She didn't know what had happened to her. [2]
Guan He glanced towards the main house, worried that Li Xingzang would be scolded as soon as he returned, and even more worried that her bad temper would cause her to argue with the boss. She nudged Lao Shi, who was helping her fry the meat, and said, "Go and see how Zangzang is doing." [3]
Lao Shi muttered, "Why don't you go?" Ever since they heard about Zang'er's accident yesterday, they knew the boss was holding a grudge. Who would rush forward at this moment? Do they think he's a fool?
Guan He glared at him and said, "That's all you have." He took the firewood and said, "Watch the fire." [4]
Lao Shi waved his hand and said, "Let me see if the pot can be burnt." Although Guan He cursed, he naturally understood his control over the fire. He wiped his hands and walked towards the main house.
Just as he reached the door, before he could lift the curtain, Li Long came out and asked, "Boss, what's going on?" Guan He looked around the room with concern, but didn't hear any sound.
Li Long shook his head. "Zang'er might have eaten something filthy from the west. Lao Bai can help her get it out, but if she's infused too much with the power of the mountain god, she'll change in other ways. She still wants to be human." [5]
Guan He sighed, "But she can't be considered a human being now."
Li Long's eyes darkened. "So what if our child is different from other little gods and devils? Whoever dares to cause trouble, I will kill him!" The dark clouds in the sky became thicker because of his words.
Lao Shi felt the power of the Dragon God and quickly leaned forward, "Boss, how's Zang'er?"
Li Long took a deep breath and said, "It's nothing serious. Lao Bai helped her clean up part of it. We can deal with the rest after she wakes up."
"How is it? Is it different? Delicious, right?" Grandma Bai asked with a smile as she looked at Li Xingzang, whose eyes lit up after eating the blood sausage.
Li Xingzang buried her head in her large bowl. Ever since her body mutated, she could no longer feel full no matter how much she ate. Instead, even foods she once enjoyed found them difficult to swallow. But she could only force herself to eat, lest her thirst for human blood lead her to do something irreparable. Fortunately, the pendant her grandmother had given her helped. Otherwise, even if the early morning flights and trains were sparsely populated, she wouldn't have dared take public transportation home.
But three or four days seemed like a lifetime ago to her. The taste of food returned to her body again, and she was almost in tears.
She tried hard to swallow the bone stick meat in her mouth. Her teeth were stronger than before, and she even chewed the bones and swallowed them. "It smells so good!"
"Oh, no one is competing with you for the food, why are you acting like a starving ghost?" Li Long looked at her speechlessly as if she was starving. He picked up the big porcelain bowl and went to the kitchen to add more food for her.
"That's enough. She's eaten a lot." Grandma Bai stopped Li Long. "Even if she's not a mortal now, she can't eat so much at once. She'll get indigestion."
"We can't let the child go hungry!" Li Long widened his eyes, looked back at Li Xingzang who was holding a pot-fried dumpling and looking at him eagerly, and took a step forward with his long legs to walk towards the kitchen.
"Li Xingzang!" Bai Shan called out his full name directly. She raised the corner of her mouth awkwardly, "Uncle Li, I... am almost done." She had indeed eaten a lot. She had a big bowl of stewed bones with sauerkraut, a thick layer of blood sausage on top, a plate of sweet and sour pork, and large rice noodles. Aunt Guan also steamed a curtain of tofu, and she ate it all.
In the past, she would have only eaten two or three pieces of sweet and sour pork, a bowl of pickled vegetable soup, and at most two tofu buns, and that would have filled her up. Now, eating so much food only made her feel a little full, but the joy in her heart was beyond words.
"Okay, I'll stew some fish for you later." Li Long simply retracted his long legs. "By the way, you have to call me Brother Li from now on."
Li Xingzang fell silent as he looked at his handsome face, which had remained unchanged for decades. Her parents had passed away when she was in junior high school. They had raised her as a father and mother, but she was so focused on visiting the hometown her father had talked about that she hadn't noticed her own memory becoming hazy. If she hadn't had the accident in Yuncheng, she probably wouldn't have remembered anything about it.
"Uncle Li, grandma, I'm sorry for all these years." Li Xingzang lowered his head with some guilt.
"Hmph!" Before Li Long could say anything, Grandma Bai snorted coldly, "Now you feel sorry for it, what were you doing earlier? Didn't I tell you to carry the pendant with you? If you had it with you, would you have gotten into these terrible situations? You only realized it afterward, and you have to have a big nose running before you know how to throw it away?" She had been holding her breath since she sensed something was wrong with her. She had been holding it back when Li Xingzang had just returned this morning, and now she finally had the chance to rant. [6]
"No, grandma, that thing you gave me looks really valuable. How could I dare to wear it with me?"
"You're still talking back?!" Bai Shan raised his eyebrows and was about to continue scolding her. Li Long beside him said hurriedly, "Okay, I scolded her in the car, it's almost time to do it again! The child just finished eating, it's hard for her to digest it." [7]
"Screw you!" Bai Shan glared at him, "It's all your fault!"
"No, how can this be my fault again?" Li Long looked at him aggrievedly. "I'm by the river all year round, and she hasn't been back for several years. How can I be the one who spoiled her?"
"Then stop talking nonsense!" Bai Shan's attack power exploded. "Indigestion? She's not even human anymore, how can she still have indigestion? What nonsense!" [8]
"Then grandma, what's my current situation?" Li Xingzang interrupted hurriedly.
Bai Shan glared at her. After being interrupted by the two of them, she didn't want to continue scolding her.
"What's that thing in the west called?" She put down the yarn in her hand. "The one that eats human blood?"
"...Vampire?" Li Xingzang said in surprise.
"Yes, that thing." Grandma Bai nodded and said, "The pendant contains my magical power. It saved you before you became a real vampire, but the power in your body is quite strong. If I help you clear it all, you might become my divine servant. Although you can't take another step forward, you can keep your human identity."
"But... you didn't." It was almost noon, and the room was well-lit. The sunlight shone through the windows, making her feel warm all over, but at the same time, she could feel a slight tingling on her exposed skin, as if... after having a skin allergy, she didn't give up and used skin care products again, but it turned out to contain alcohol.
And… she raised her eyes to look at the face reflected on the wardrobe opposite. The red pupils definitely did not look like a servant of God.
Bai Shan nodded calmly, "Although you can't practice like ordinary people, you can take another path - the ghost path."
"Ghost Dao?" Li Xingzang looked at her in surprise. "I should be a vampire, right? Can I also practice it?"
"Who says vampires can't practice cultivation? It's not a big deal." Bai Shan glanced at her, as if to say she was surprised by something she hadn't seen before. "The ghost way can only be practiced by ghosts. Isn't it just right for you now?"
She pointed to the storage box on top of the closet and said, "Dalong, take that down."
Li Long rolled his eyes, "Why don't you take it yourself?"
"How long has it been there? Isn't it dirty?!" Bai Shan looked at him as if it was a matter of course. [9]
Li Long was speechless, but still picked it up.
"Give it to her." Bai Shan picked up the crochet hook again and pointed to Li Xingzang standing beside him. "Take your time to read it. Ask me if you don't understand anything."
Li Xingzang took the box and opened it. There were books: "Teaching You the Basics of Ghost Dao in Ten Minutes," "Self-cultivation for Ghost Cultivators," "Essential Handbook for Ghost Dao Cultivators," and "Fifty Little-Known Tips for Practicing Ghost Dao"...
Is this really a serious cultivation book? But looking at her grandmother's kind face, she finally swallowed the doubt in her heart.
"Zang'er, what are your plans for the future? Do you want to find a job directly in a bath center?" Li Long asked while cleaning the table.
Li Xingzang picked up the plate and said, "I have made up my mind. I want to reopen my family's restaurant."
The room was silent.
"What the hell?" Grandma Bai put down her crochet hook again. "With your skills, you dare to open a restaurant? You are really stupid." Her face was full of disbelief. [10]
"Why are you still looking down on me?" Li Xingzang was unconvinced. "Grandma, if you don't believe me, I'll show you my skills at noon!"
"Okay, then show me your skills. Let's see if you can beat me with those two." Grandma Bai said to the surprised Li Long as if she was enjoying a good show, "Your eldest daughter can cook now. I'm going to show you her skills at noon!"
Li Long was stunned for a long time before he said, "Ah... then... then I'll go out and buy you some groceries."
"No need, just give me the car keys and I'll go by myself." Li Xingzang held his breath, determined to save his face.
Seeing her holding the plate in a threatening manner, Li Long hurriedly followed her.
"Where are you going?" Grandma Bai asked puzzledly.
"I have to ask Lao Guan to cook two more dishes, otherwise she will dance all day at noon and what will we eat?" [11]
To put it bluntly, Li Long doesn't believe it either!
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