Chapter 36 The Wedding
In the kitchen, the aunts were working hard.
The person who was talking loudly in the kitchen was Uncle Big Eyes's wife. Uncle Big Eyes' name was Chen Shengli and his wife's name was Tao Xiu'e. Tao Xiu'e is thin and has a very thin waist, which seems like it might break if the wind blows. The description of "willow-like waist" is exactly what Aunt Chen is like. The most amazing thing is that her legs are also very slender. If her skin had not been darkened by time and her hands were not covered with calluses, she would have been a real beauty. Today Aunt Chen is in charge of making the soup, pork bone and straw mushroom soup.
The uncle with a beard is named Hu Haohan and his wife is Sun Meili. His wife is the youngest and the most beautiful among these aunts. The woman was almost forty years old, but still had a slim figure and her skin was the kind of cold white that would not be tanned by the sun. Her big eyes were clearly black and white, and she didn't look like a mother of two children at all.
My tall and strong uncle’s surname is Du, his name is Du Qingcang, and his wife is Wang Cuihua. Her height was the exact opposite of his, she looked particularly petite and fragile, as if she was about to float away with the wind.
Later, I heard from Zhang Yuling that Aunt Du Wang Cuihua had a heavy bleeding when she gave birth and almost died. Although she was rescued, she has been weak and sickly since then. She never got pregnant again after giving birth to that child. The doctor said it would be difficult for her to have children in the future. Fortunately, the baby was a boy, so there was finally someone to carry on the family line. Aunt Li is Uncle Bamboo Pole's wife. Uncle Zhugan’s name is Li Youcai and his wife’s name is Chen Hongmei. Shen Hongmei's cheeks are thin, her cheekbones are particularly prominent, her face is yellow, and she is usually taciturn. Zhang Yuling assigned her to be responsible for cooking, but there were no electric rice cookers for cooking at that time. When cooking rice, you must first boil the water, put the rice in and cook for a few minutes, then take out the rice and filter it. The filtering tool is a winnowing basket woven from bamboo strips. This kind of winnowing basket has tiny holes that allow water to leak. It is not the kind of winnowing basket with densely woven bamboo strips that is specially used for drying things. The cooked rice is scooped out and the water is drained out. Then it is put back into the pot on a bamboo mat supported by a bamboo frame. The bamboo mat is covered with a layer of white gauze to prevent the rice from leaking off. This bamboo mat has holes so that the water vapor underneath can steam the rice, so Shen Hongmei has to watch over it while cooking. While putting firewood in the pot, keep an eye on the water in the pot to make sure there is water in the pot.
Aunt Hu's daughter Sun Meili helps Zhang Yuling with the housework, while the petite Aunt Du's daughter Wang Cuihua helps Zhang Yuling with the fire.
Zhang Yuling is the head chef today, and today's banquet requires ten dishes, which symbolizes perfection.
To cook braised pork with black fungus, wash the pork belly, cut it into pieces, put it into boiling water, stir, and blanch the meat when it starts to turn white; pour lard into a hot pan, add the meat and stir-fry, dry the water and start to sizzle the oil, add the sauce, wine, and garlic and stir-fry for a few times, pour in water and bring to a high heat, then simmer on a low heat after boiling. After half an hour, add the soaked black fungus, bring to a boil over high heat and then simmer for seven or eight minutes, take it out of the pot, put green garlic on top, and a pot of braised pork with black fungus is ready.
Stir-fried pork intestines with green peppers. Wash the pork intestines, boil them in water, cut them into small pieces, chop the ginger, onion and garlic, cut the green peppers into small pieces, warm the lard, add the ginger, onion and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant, add the pork intestines and stir-fry until fragrant, add the green peppers and salt and stir-fry evenly. Stir-fry the green peppers until cooked, and the stir-fried pork intestines with green peppers are perfectly served.
Stir-fried pig ears with bamboo shoots, stir-fried pork liver with garlic shoots, stir-fried Chinese cabbage, stir-fried green beans with garlic, stir-fried radish leaves, and stir-fried bean sprouts with cold Houttuynia cordata. Shredded radish and sweet potato pancakes, every time Zhang Yuling cooked a dish, Yi Ke would give it a name. When Zhang Yuling cooked, Yi Ke would watch the whole process, under the euphemism of learning. In fact, Yi Ke knew how to cook in her previous life, but she had no reputation to do so in this life. If she could make meat dishes that were both delicious and attractive, just imagine where a little girl who was always hungry could learn to cook. Now that I have watched Zhang Yuling cook, I can cook when I want to eat delicious food myself and can legitimately say that I learned it from Zhang Yuling.
In fact, Zhang Yuling’s cooking method is very simple. In this age of food shortage, it is good enough to be able to eat enough. Where would the money be to buy various seasonings? It would be great to have your own seasonings like ginger, onion and garlic. As for other seasonings, like star anise, fennel, bay leaves, etc., the world is still waiting for people to discover, but Yike can be a promoter.
The table was too small to hold so many dishes, so Li Haoran and several other uncles found a flat ground, swept it clean, covered it with large leaves, and used it as a table.
"Cuihua, there is still soup that has not been served out. Please serve the soup out." Zhang Yuling shouted in the kitchen.
"Okay! I'll be there right away." Wang Cuihua put a plate of food on the table.
"Hongmei, you can just take the rice and the pot out. There's no need to scoop rice in the kitchen." Chef Zhang Yuling not only has to cook but also arrange for everyone to eat. She is so busy that she has no time to rest.
"Auntie, let me help serve the dishes." Yike came forward and wanted to serve the dishes.
"Don't move," Zhang Yuling slapped Yi Ke's outstretched hand away, "You are the bride today. How can you ask a bride to do anything?"
"That's right, bride, just take care of her. There are so many of us here." Sun Meili said.
"Dashan, Xiaoshan, Dawang, Xiangdong, you boys go and help serve the dishes," Li Haoran ordered the boys to do the work. With the help of these young men, the aunts in the kitchen can have an easier time.
Ziyi went to Water Cave No. 2 to take out the wine he bought, as well as some wine he brewed himself.
There are a total of 20 people today, sitting in a big circle. In addition to plates, there are also large bowls, wash basins and earthenware jars on the table inside the circle. In addition to their own bowls and chopsticks, guests also brought their own bowls and chopsticks when they came.
When Li Haoran notified the mountain people to come for the wine, he specifically asked them to bring their own bowls and chopsticks to drink the good wine that they could not taste all year round.
The banquet officially began. On the table were braised pork, stir-fried rabbit meat, chicken stewed with mushrooms, pig ears fried with bamboo shoots, pork liver fried with garlic shoots, steamed bacon, cabbage meat rolls, stir-fried Chinese cabbage, stir-fried garlic green beans, shredded radish and sweet potato cakes, and a big bowl of white rice in front of everyone. The soup was not on the table, so if you want to drink soup, you can serve it yourself.
“This is too good to be true!”
"Brother Haoran, you are not going to empty out all our family assets, are you?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Brother Haoran's family is so rich, I'm afraid he hasn't touched even a tiny bit of it."
"That's right, Brother Haoran is such a great hunter, this meat is nothing."
"Yuling, why do you have so many dishes at home? Can't you just make something casual?"
"Ziyi, look how good your uncle and aunt are to you! You must be more filial to them in the future."
…
When the uncles, aunts and their children saw such a sumptuous banquet, they all started talking about it. Then they thought about packing a big bowl of braised pork to take home before leaving, and everyone was very happy.
The mountain people set their own rules: bring food home from weddings. Of course, the dish is decided by the host himself, and any dish will do. Li Haoran knows how to hunt, and the most common dishes are meat dishes, so everyone knows that they must have braised pork when they get home.
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