The fire melted the fat into clear oil, and Chen Yunyun scooped out the pork cracklings and placed them in a bowl next to her. While they were still hot, she added some salt, and a large bowl of crispy and fragrant pork crackling snacks was ready.
The lard in the pot was put into a clean jar and placed in the yard to cool.
It was already dark outside, and the temperature was even lower. Before long, the lard solidified into a snow-white paste, and when you brought it close, it smelled especially good.
The rice was cooked, and as soon as the wooden lid was lifted, the steam swirled and enveloped the earthen stove, obscuring the white rice inside the pot.
When the fog cleared, Chen Yunyun served four bowls of rice, three large and one small.
At the bottom of the rice, each person scooped up a piece of lard, added a little soy sauce and chopped green onions.
The lard melted from the heat of the rice and was stirred, coating the rice grains with color and making them shiny.
Then, take out the pickled vegetables that were pickled a few days ago from the pickling jar. Chop the radish and pickled cabbage and put them in a small dish. Sprinkle some chili powder left over from making sausages on top and pour hot oil over it. This way, the pickled vegetables taste even better and won't be too cold when you eat them.
Sanwa is already one year old and can eat a little rice, so Chen Yunyun has been bringing him to the table these past two days to feed him a little.
Although the amount was small, the little guy ate with great satisfaction, pouting and making little noises, with food even getting on his nose.
Seeing that Chen Yunyun was feeding the three children while barely eating herself, Niu Niu stood up and said, "Mom, you've had a long day, you should eat something first."
As she said this, a glistening grain of rice was still stuck to the corner of her mouth, but she was completely unaware of it.
Chen Yunyun suppressed a smile, picked out the rice for her, and handed the third child to Niu Niu so she could hold her for a while.
Only then did she look at the rice in front of her. Perhaps she was starving, because she completely disregarded her image and used her chopsticks to pick up a big mouthful of rice and put it in her mouth. The soft and sticky rice, coated with soy sauce and lard, became delicious.
The scallions inside are also the essence of the bibimbap. The unique aroma of scallions activates the taste buds, making you want to have another bite after taking one, and you just can't stop eating it.
She picked up some more kimchi, mixed it with rice, and put it in her mouth.
The initial taste is the numbing spiciness of the chili oil, making your mouth water. Then comes the sour and salty flavor of the kimchi, which is quite unique. Finally, the rice is soft and sweet. The kimchi is so delicious with rice!
In her previous life, her friends often said that she had a talent for cooking, but unfortunately she was a corporate slave and only had time to cook and invite a few friends over to eat on holidays.
I never dared to dream of cooking for myself every day like this before.
Chen Yunyun didn't feel tired at all; in fact, she even found enjoyment in it.
The children have similar tastes to hers, and they always finish all the dishes she makes, which gives her a great sense of accomplishment.
Tonight, Xiaoshanzi's family in the same village made sweet potato soup again. The sweet potatoes were cut into large chunks and boiled until they were mushy. I don't know what they added to it, but the taste was strange.
A bowl of sweet potatoes, nine-tenths of it was soup, and it was dark in color. After being cooled down by the wind, it completely killed my appetite.
Xiaoshanzi slammed his chopsticks aside and angrily shouted at his mother, "We eat sweet potatoes every day! Are we so poor that we can't even afford to eat? Huzi's family eats meat every few days, and they also have sorghum rice!"
Xiaoshanzi's mother looked pale and said, "It's good enough that we have anything to eat. Think about Niu Niu and Xu Jia's eldest son. They can't even afford sweet potatoes."
Xiao Shanzi raised his head. "His family is the poorest. Why should I compare myself to them? Everyone in the village knows they're about to be abused and starved to death by their stepmother!"
Xiaoshanzi's mother had no way to refute this, so she could only lie and say, "We don't have any extra money at home. The village will distribute food during the winter festival, and then your mother will cook meat for you."
Xiao Shanzi had heard this at least ten times, but there wasn't even a hint of meat in it. His mother was just lying to him!
Smelling the faint aroma of pork lard in the air, Xiaoshanzi's stomach ached with hunger, so he dropped his bowl and ran outside.
His mother called urgently from behind, "It's getting dark, where are you going?"
Xiaoshanzi was going to Huzi's house, of course. The pork cracklings must have been fried by Huzi's family, and he wanted to go and get some to eat.
When he arrived at Hu Zi's house, the fragrance had already dissipated. He raised his hand and knocked on the door, and it took a while before someone came to open it.
"Who is it?" It was Tiger's mother's voice.
"It's me, Xiaoshanzi."
Tiger's mother didn't open the door. "Tiger is already asleep. Come and play with him again tomorrow." Her footsteps faded into the distance.
It's still early, would Tiger be sleeping? Hmph, he's clearly being stingy and doesn't want him to eat.
Xiao Shanzi frowned, feeling annoyed. He hadn't gotten any food and had even gotten his shoes wet. Xiao Shanzi complained about Hu Zi's family, turned around and walked away, his feet crunching in the snow.
But in fact, Tiger's mother was not lying. Tiger developed a high fever after dinner and kept touching his head, saying that he had a headache. The whole family was very worried and quickly helped him to go to bed early.
It's possible that I wasn't fully recovered from falling into the water before, and with the temperature dropping these past two days, I caught a cold again.
Tiger's mother brewed the Chinese medicine she had prepared earlier and fed it to Tiger, but he vomited it all up shortly after swallowing it.
He was vomiting and had diarrhea; the illness came on rapidly.
Tiger lay on the bed, looking like he'd been drained of all his energy, with a persistent high fever.
They tried every folk remedy imaginable, and Tiger's mother and Zhang the hunter worked all night, but the child's condition didn't improve.
Tiger was too weak to cry out in pain. Seeing her son like this, Tiger's mother collapsed and sat on the ground wiping away her tears.
Zhang the hunter gritted his teeth, carried his son on his back, took a big step, and said sternly, "To the town hospital."
With her husband's words, Tiger's mother finally felt reassured. She packed her things, and the family left the village in the dark.
They went to town and got a fever-reducing injection. The hospital said they needed to stay for two more days for observation, so the couple stayed at the hospital with them.
Half an hour after the injection, the fever subsided. The couple breathed a sigh of relief, and while her son's condition improved, Tiger's mother went back to the village to pack some clothes and towels.
When she left the village, someone saw her hurried appearance and asked her a question. By noon, the whole village knew that Tiger had gone to the hospital in the middle of the night.
Thinking back to what happened half a month ago, the villagers silently looked in the direction of a family of four living at the east end of the village.
Villagers usually catch a cold and get better after taking medicine for a day or two, and burning a mud house can quickly reduce the fever. This is the first time that the Zhang family's case has become so serious that they have to go to the town hospital for treatment.
Could it really be the work of evil spirits? It's really weird.
Chen Yunyun was unaware of the villagers' gossip, and even if she had, she would probably have scoffed at it.
When I woke up early this morning, the yard was piled high with snow again. Last night, the roof beams creaked under the weight of the thick snow, making it difficult to sleep.
So as soon as she got up, Chen Yunyun found a long pole to poke off the icicles on the eaves and remove the thick layer of snow from the roof.
The long pole is very thin, so it takes a lot of effort to knock off the icicles.
However, none of this mattered to Chen Yunyun. Ever since she started practicing the Koi Fish Technique—oh right, that's the name she gave to the technique herself, with a golden fish on it, calling it the Koi Fish Technique was just right.
Since she started practicing her exercises daily, she has become increasingly energetic and in high spirits. This simple task of shoveling snow on the roof is no challenge for her.
Telling the children to stay away from the eaves, Chen Yunyun then took action. She swung her long pole, creating a sharp wind that struck the transparent and brittle icicles. The icicles broke off from the eaves and smashed against the stone surface beside them, shattering into pieces on the ground.
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