Smoked meat

The whole family never thought that the stinky durian cake could be so delicious.

Mother Song said with a lingering fear: "You'd better eat less of this stuff. It smells so bad, I can't eat it raw anyway."

Ji Weiqing couldn't stand the smell of durian, and was equally unable to accept durian mille-feuille. This was the first time he had shown obvious disdain for food.

Ji Weiqing doesn't eat onions, ginger and garlic, but if there is garlic-flavored food at home, he will pick it up with chopsticks to taste it for the sake of face. The only thing he is unwilling to try is durian.

Song Shixia did not force him, luckily there was some unused baked cake.

"If you don't like it, just eat this. There's no durian in it, it's just the cake base."

Han Rong ate durian and couldn't stop praising it.

"It tastes strangely sweet, and has a soft and creamy texture in the mouth. I can't describe it, but I quite like it. It's just too smelly."

Ji Xueya held the thermos and drank water rapidly, but he still couldn't accept the strange taste. He neither rejected nor liked durian.

In the family, only the children, Han Rong, and Song's father, Song Qiu Sheng, and Song Dong Dong can accept durian.

Song Shixia took out the New Year gifts that he had prepared for his family from his suitcase.

This year, Song's mother made wind-dried pork intestines in advance. She killed a pig in October and picked the wind-dried pork intestines from the balcony.

"Pack these and send them to Yao Xue's father at the post office."

Song Qiusheng was surprised and asked, "Didn't your family send us the pigs they slaughtered before?"

"That's for you two to eat. We have to give New Year gifts to people during the New Year. Yao Xue said her father likes the pork we raise at home, so I learned how to smoke meat from your sister."

Song's mother treated her in-laws with caution and was unwilling to take advantage of anyone. She gave the Ji family a pig as a thank you gift and gave the Yao family a lot of homemade dried goods and smoked meat.

Seeing that her son was unwilling to move, Song's mother urged him twice.

"If you go to town and mail it today, it will be delivered before the New Year. If you delay it by two days, the post office will be closed."

Song Qiusheng explained, "Mom, there is so much meat that the two of us at Yao Xue's house can't finish it all."

Song's mother criticized her son with a stern face: "Just do it when I ask you to. Why are you talking so much?"

Song Qiu Sheng was scolded by his mother, and feeling aggrieved, he packed a bunch of New Year gifts and sent them by mail.

Song Shixia called out to her brother,

"Brother, wait a minute."

She took out two boxes of ginseng that she had packed herself from her suitcase.

"This is the wild ginseng root I bought from a source. It's perfect for making tea or soup."

In fact, they were some roots that Song Shixia had pulled from the ginseng in the space. They were just the right size for making tea or soup. If they were a little bigger, he would probably overdo it and get a nosebleed.

Song Qiusheng teased, "Is it so expensive? Yao Xue will probably bring you a bunch of New Year gifts when she returns from the New Year."

Song Shixia joked with her brother: "I have become very picky now, and the gift that Senior Yao gave me is just what I wanted."

Han Rong and her husband sat in front of the stove, warming themselves by the fire, muttering to themselves how generous her in-laws were.

"Wouldn't it be too little if we brought the New Year gifts?"

Ji Xueya never worries about these things.

"No, you were carrying so many things, how come there is less?"

"My in-laws gave us a pig, a 200-pound fat pig."

Ji Xueya smacked his lips and said, "My in-laws are really good at raising pigs. The pork tastes better than the ones bought at the market. I can't explain why. No wonder Old Hu was so anxious to get the school cafeteria to cooperate with my in-laws."

Han Rong lowered her voice and said, "To be honest, the wives of your old comrades all asked me how to buy pork from their in-laws. Do you think I should ask them?"

"Just ask. Those people are very generous and buy pork in bulk, starting at a dozen kilograms. The few pigs in my in-laws' factory can't be sold out even if we rely on the whole village."

Before leaving, Song Shixia took out a few boxes of donkey-hide gelatin and bird's nests from the space and put them in her suitcase. She removed all the outer packaging, leaving only the inner packaging without words.

"Mom, this is a New Year's gift I prepared for you and my sister. Only women can eat it. Don't let my dad and my brother-in-law touch it. This is a female tonic."

Song's mother was flattered and surprised: "This packaging looks very fashionable, it must be expensive, right?"

"The price is not bad. This is a new product that our company will launch in the future. Currently, I am the only one who knows the production method."

"It's amazing that my daughter is going to college. Now she can even be a supplement."

Song Shixia felt a little guilty, but with her double degree in pharmacy and Chinese medicine, donkey hide gelatin and bird's nest are both recorded in Chinese medicine books, so it's not strange to make them. It's just that the raw materials are a bit troublesome, and the company needs to purchase them from outside.

Song Qiu Sheng went to the town to mail something, and on the way he stopped by his sister's shop to sit for a while.

When Song Chunxia heard that her sister's parents-in-law were coming to visit, she could no longer sit still.

"I'll go back with your brother-in-law. We've sold almost everything for today."

Song Qiusheng said to his sister, "Don't worry, make some money at the end of the year when there are more customers. You can still have time to visit during the Chinese New Year."

Song Chunxia disagreed: "No, they have come from a long way so we have to be polite."

"If you really feel bad, come back tomorrow. It's afternoon now, and it's not safe for you two to go home."

Song Chunxia thought it made sense.

"Okay, I'll bring some halved pork and vegetables over tomorrow so Mom doesn't have to cook two less dishes."

Ever since Song Dongdong transferred to another school, the burden of taking care of his parents fell on Song Chunxia. She would go home every now and then to see if her parents needed help.

She is the one who calls the shots at home now. Her husband and mother-in-law have no objection to her going back to her parents' home to help out from time to time. Even if they did have an objection, how could they have the nerve to raise it?

The business ideas at home were all suggested by her younger sister. What else could she be dissatisfied with when she could have meat every day?

Song Chunxia's personality has changed a lot. She used to be sharp-tongued when she worked at the supply and marketing cooperative, but now that she's her own boss, she's aggressive and straightforward.

"Your brother-in-law and I are going to close the shop. We are exhausted after running the shop for half a day. We have to hurry home to prepare the things for tomorrow's visit. You can take the unsold items on the stove back home. They are all clean."

Song Qiu Sheng couldn't persuade his sister, so he took a big portion of spicy hot pot back home.

The children at home had never eaten at roadside stalls except in restaurants. Ji Yuan sniffed the delicious food.

"Is Uncle a hot pot?"

Song Qiusheng burst into laughter when he heard this.

"Uncle is not a hot pot."

He shook the lunch box in his hand.

"There's spicy hot pot in here. Ask grandma to get each of you a small bowl and chopsticks to eat with."

The two brothers ran to the yard to look for their grandmother. Song Shixia came into the house humming a song.

"Brother, have you gone to see my elder sister? How is her business going?"

"It looks pretty good. The shop is very clean and the tables are spotless. My eldest sister heard that your family was coming back and asked me to bring back the unsold spicy hot pot. She and her brother-in-law closed the shop and went home to prepare the gifts for tomorrow's visit."

"As long as the business is good, brother, have you noticed any competitors in our county?"

Song Qiusheng tried to recall: "I used to see a lot of them, but now they all sell noodles."

When the eldest sister's business was successful, many people followed her and sold food at lower prices than the eldest sister. Some people thought that the same food would taste the same no matter where they went, so they only ate the cheaper ones. After eating, they found the food not tasty and started to blame the eldest sister.

"This is the importance of word of mouth. Sister has accumulated a lot of repeat customers in one year of operation. In the future, our county will be able to expand its scale as it develops."

Song Qiu Sheng shrugged: "County town? It will probably take several decades for it to develop."

"Not necessarily. Maybe in 20 years, there will be a new change. Just look at the rapid development of the capital."

The conditions in their county town are actually very good, with roads extending in all directions, but they have not been repaired yet. Once the infrastructure is completed in the future, it will definitely be a potential stock.

Currently, there is no highway, and it takes more than ten hours to drive home from the capital. Once there is a highway, the time will be shortened by half, to about five hours. It will be even faster if there are high-speed railways and airports.

The next morning, the Song family welcomed their eldest daughter and son-in-law.

Han Rong had met Song Chunxia before, and her impression of her was that she was nimble and quick in her actions, and had the boldness and competence of a northern girl.

She liked the two daughters of the Song family very much. The eldest was sensible and the youngest was considerate. She didn't know how her mother-in-law raised such a beautiful daughter.

During the meal, everyone learned a piece of news from Song Chunxia that the railway station in the county town will be renovated after the new year. It is said that two trains will stop for a few minutes every day.

The news may not be accurate, but it is true that the county railway station is going to be renovated. If there was no need for trains to stop there, why would it be renovated suddenly?

Regardless of whether the news is true or not, since the notice has been issued saying that the renovation will take place, we can look forward to it.

Ji Xueya asked about the train station address and confirmed the news.

"This news is true. I heard them discussing it before I retired. They said they wanted to boost the cities around the capital."

Song Shixia saw the same surprise in her brother and elder sister's eyes. The opening of the county railway station meant that it would be more convenient to transport agricultural products from the village in the future.

After dinner, Song Qiu Sheng hurried out to discuss something with his second uncle.

Song Shixia and Ji Weiqing were strolling in the village, each holding a child in their hands.

Everyone in the village was familiar with Ji Weiqing, but they didn't dare to approach him and talk to him casually. A university professor must be a very powerful person.

An auntie shouted to Ji Weiqing,

"Xiao Xia's man, do you know how to take care of a sow after it gives birth?"

Song Shixia raised her voice and replied, "Auntie, you have to go to my house to ask. My parents just delivered a pig this year, and we don't know how to deliver a baby."

The aunt who asked the question did it on purpose.

She married from Chenjia Village and was already at odds with the Song family. She just wanted to embarrass the highly educated son-in-law of the Song family. What kind of university professor is he if he doesn't even know how to raise pigs! Unfortunately, she didn't succeed. The little girl of the Song family has been rude since she was a child, and she is still so rude when she grows up.

She carried a hoe and went to the fields to weed. Whenever she met someone, she would say that the little girl raised by the Song family had become a good girl on the surface, but in reality she was still disrespectful and dared to talk back to her, an elder.

However, no one agreed with her.

"Come on, the two children of the Song family made money and built roads for the village. If you have the ability, don't step on the roads they built."

She talked for a while, but no one agreed with her point of view. She stomped her foot in anger and stepped on the hoe handle. The hoe handle hit her forehead and a big bump appeared instantly.

Song Shixia and Ji Weiqing were taking their children home when they met their aunt who was carrying a hoe back home.

Ji Yuan stared at her curiously: "Mom, that grandma has a big bump on her forehead."

The aunt glared at Ji Yuan fiercely: "What are you looking at, little bastard!"

Song Shixia stared at her sharply: "Auntie, we have no grudges against each other, you won't just come up and scold my child, right?"

The aunt was frightened by Song Shixia's fierce look and stepped back with the hoe.

"What's so fierce about it? Take good care of your child and don't stare at a woman's face all day long. What if he raises a hooligan in the future?"

Song Shixia stopped her and said, "Auntie, please explain clearly. What did my child do to you? Why are you speaking so harshly?"

The auntie threw away the hoe and said: "Your little bastard is staring at my face. This is a hooligan!"

Just as Ji Weiqing stood up, a man suddenly rushed over, grabbed the woman's hair, slapped her twice, and kicked her hard twice.

"You bitch, you're the one who spreads bad things about others in the village every day. I just came back and heard people say that you gossip everywhere. I still don't believe that I can't deal with you!"

The man smiled at Song Shixia.

"I'm sorry, Shi Xia, it's my fault that I didn't take good care of your aunt. She deserves to be punished. I'll give her a beating when I get back and she'll be obedient."

Song Shixia was in a complicated mood. People from the same family are alike. He came up and kicked and beat her. What else could she say?