Lady Gu 10,000 Years
LG-25'S
Making half a pig into a pork belly is no small project. They still need to prepare a lot of things.
“Before we start boiling, we should marinate the meat first. The weather is cold, I'm afraid we have to soak it until the second half of the night.” Said Uncle Yu.
“And salt. Our family does not have much salt,” said Yu Song.
“The season is also not enough.” Yu Feng had learned a little cooking from his father, so he knew that sauces required a lot of seasoning.
“I say,” Lady Jiang, who has been silent all this time, said, “Should we kill that pig first?”
Each person : “...”
Slaughtering pigs is a technical job. The only butcher in the Lotus Flower Village had been taken away with Ah Wan's father back then. There was also a butcher in a neighboring village, but unfortunately, he accompanied his wife back to her girl's house two days ago and had not returned.
“How about.... I go find Shuanzi?” Said Yu Song. Shuanzi was the son of a village butcher. She was the same age as Yu Song and they had a good relationship. “At least he killed some pigs with his father.”
Yu Feng shook his head and said, “How old was Shuanzi back then? He just gave the bucket to his father. How can that be considered killing a pig? I think we should drag that pig into town to kill him.”
Uncle Yu disagreed. “If we go, we not only have to spend money, but the meat will not be fresh enough. We have to slaughter it and soak it in place.”
The three of them chatted as they arrived at Yu Wan's house. A faint yellow light came from Yu Wan's house. Yu Wan had opened the door earlier than them.
Yu Song pouted and snorted. “What can we do? Can we slaughter it ourselves?”
Uncle Yu looked at the sky and sighed. “It looks like I can only slaughter it myself.”
As soon as he said that, moans came from the backyard. Some of them looked at each other in confusion and walked into the backyard to take a look. It was Yu Wan who dropped the pig with a stick. Then, he grabbed the front and back legs of the pig and threw them onto the bench. He held it with one hand and quickly picked up the knife with the other.
The pig didn't even have time to feel pain before Yu Wan “ drove it”.
The three of them were dumbfounded and swallowed their saliva. The year the girl disappeared, she was probably kidnapped to slaughter a pig.
Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night.
To make the most delicious boiled food, Uncle Yu had to make the best boiled seasoning. Yu Wan also needed to make refined salt. Instead, the Yu brothers went to the city as quickly as possible to buy the necessary ingredients, side dishes, and brown sugar.
Yu Wan had bought ten pounds of salt. After purifying it, there would be less than six pounds left. Therefore, he had Yu Feng and Yu Song buy a bucket of extra salt as well as the soybeans used to cook the salt.
Yu Wan handed the fine salt to her uncle. His uncle started salting pork. He made the season saltier for the New Year. For the meat stew is rather bland.
Aunt Yu also came to help. It's been a long time since my family has been so busy. Aunt Yu looked at the courtyard filled with flesh and disbelief.
“Take and hang in a ventilated place.” Uncle Yu pointed to the meat inside the barrel. It's for the New Year.
“I got it!” Aunt Yu left in high spirits.
Yu Wan's kitchen was too small, so she couldn't cook enough boiled meat.
Madam Jiang was left behind to take care of the two little children. Yu Wan and his uncle's family brought the meat to the old house.
That night, the scent of boiled meat spread to almost the entire village. All the villagers were stirred!
It was past midnight when all the boiled meat was ready. Initially, the three brothers were worried that Uncle Yu would not be able to bear it. However, Uncle Yu became increasingly energetic as he worked. In the end, he was even more energetic than the three of them.
“Ah Wan, try this.” Uncle Yu cut off a piece of the most tender pork belly and handed it to Yu Wan.
The flesh has a crystalline and plump luster. A rich and fragrant taste developed layer by layer on his tongue. It was fat but not greasy, and the season was thick. It tastes savory and tender, and reveals a bit of a fitting sweetness.
“How is it?” Uncle Yu asked with a smile.
“Lezat!” Yu Wan said without thinking.
The two brothers also craved it and they came soon. Uncle Yu also cut two pieces for them.
The two of them looked at the boiled meat in front of them which was about the size of a fingernail. Then, they saw a huge fat meat that could not even fit into Yu Wan's bowl. The corners of their mouths twitched so much that they almost had a stroke.
“Uncle, are you not going to make this pork belly?” Yu Wan asked while looking at the meat on the table.
Uncle Yu smiled and said, “This is a pork belly. Boiling it is not the best option, but it is best if it is made into crunchy meat. A striped pig is a piece of meat in a pork belly. It was plump and thin, and it was best suited for its crisp texture on the outside and padded on the inside.
When Uncle Yu finished preparing a large plate of crispy meat, it was already midnight.
It snowed late into the night, leaving a thick layer of snow on the way.
Some of them packed their things and rented ox carts from the village. They stepped on the snow and walked away noisily. Although it is a small market, as it is nearing the end of the year, it is no worse than a large market. However, due to the snow, everyone came slower than usual.
Yu Wan noticed that the cost of the stalls was increasing, which meant that their prices were also rising.
It's not a bad thing.
Yu Wan rented two stalls at once, one to sell boiled food and the other to sell hunted animals.
Yu Wan took the stool for her uncle to sit down because his legs were not in good shape. There were not many customers at the moment, so he and his two older brothers could handle it.
Yu Wan's crucian carp and winter shoots are rather popular. After a while, one returned.
“Lass, it's you again. How are fish today? Is it fresh?” A fat aunt asked with a smile.
“Aunt Wu.” Yu Wan greeted him politely. He crouched down and picked up the fat goldfish with his bare hands. The goldfish shook its head and wagged its tail. It looks so alive. “Are you still worried about the fish I sell? The weather was cold and the lake was frozen. This is the last group of fish. We will not sell it this year after we finish selling this batch.”
After hearing this, Aunt Wu decisively asked for five!
On the other hand, the cauldron had also been prepared. Uncle Yu slowly heated the boiled marinade, and a seductive scent slowly smelled.
Aunt Wu then looked at the stall beside Yu Wan. “Is this also yours?”
Yuwan nodded. “Ya, just presented this morning. My uncle's cooking is great. If you don't believe me, try.”
Yu Wan cut off a piece of pork belly that was fitting with Aunt Wu and handed it to her.
Aunt Wu stuffed the hot pork into her mouth and chewed it carefully. His eyes immediately widened. “Aiyo! Why so delicious! Give me a pound!”
Yu Wan asked, “Do you want pork belly? Or half a pound of pork belly and half a pound of lean meat? The price is almost the same.”
“How much is one pound worth?” Aunt Wu asked.
Yu Wan said, “If for another customer, it costs thirty-five copper coins. Since you are a returning customer and this is the first business deal today, I will charge you thirty copper coins.”
“Is it expensive?” Aunt Wu was surprised.
To be honest, it was indeed expensive, but to the exclusion of labor costs, their families used snowflake salt. The price of salt alone was much higher than their counterparts, and this price was even lowered specifically to open the market.
“Your stuff is more expensive than others!” Aunt Wu complained.
Yu Wan said, “The workmanship is different, the material price is different, so the price is also different. You are someone who is experienced, so you can tell if it feels good or not.”
Aunt Wu did not know what to say. Although he felt a little sad, he did not lack some copper coins. After hesitating, he bought it. “Give me something else too.”
“My family's boiled pig skin is also good.” Yu Wan cut off half a roll of sparkling pig skin and gave it to her. “Did you bring a bowl? I'll return the marinade for you. My family's spice is not salty. You can use it to mix boiled meat, stir-fried vegetables, and rice. It's delicious no matter what you make.”
Uncle Yu was sitting on the side collecting money. When he heard Yu Wan call him “out me”, he grinned widely.
