klisemfg Chapter 38 Buying a Large Jar
Chapter 38 Buying a Large Jar
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Zhou Jiefang arrived.
Zhao Zhaodi and Zhao Laidi were already getting ready to go to school. When they saw Zhou Jiefang, they called out "Uncle Zhou" and went to school with their schoolbags on their backs.
When Zhao Yuan saw Zhou Jiefang arrive, he invited Zhou Jiefang to eat some sweet potatoes and drink some porridge for breakfast.
"Brother Zhao, I wonder what brings you here today?"
Zhou Jiefang said while eating a sweet potato.
"Today the two of us went to the commune to sell a few large vats, but I can't carry them all back by myself."
Zhao Yuan said.
After the two finished breakfast, Zhaoyuan greeted Lin Fangfang, put some straw on the cart, and then placed two planks on it. The two then dragged the cart to the commune.
When they arrived at the commune, they went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought a pig's head from Butcher Lu. Using Butcher Lu's knife and chopping board, they cut off the pig's ears in one piece, then cut off the whole piece of pig's face meat, took out the pig's brain intact, chopped the pig's skull into small pieces, and then bought two more catties of meat, as well as all the large and small intestines and a bag of flour.
They bought two of the largest vats from the supply and marketing cooperative. The vats were very heavy, each weighing about 2 kilograms. The two of them lifted the vats onto the cart together, put all the things they had bought into the vats, and secured them with straw ropes. One of them pulled the cart in front, and the other pushed it from behind. When they encountered particularly bumpy potholes, they carefully lifted the cart around them or placed a few planks under it to make it smoother.
What should have been a half-hour walk took the two of them more than an hour to get home.
Back home, the two carried the large vat to the front of the pigpen and placed it there. They then took out all the things they had bought from the vat and put them in the kitchen.
Zhao Yuan measured the width of the large vat's belly with his hand.
Zhao Yuan then brought over two more shovels, handed one to Zhou Jiefang, and drew two more circles on the ground.
"You dig this, I'll dig that, let's dig a circle this wide."
Zhao Yuan said.
Then the two of them, one digging on this side and the other digging on that side.
After digging for about half the morning, the two put the large vat into the pit. Zhao Yuan looked around the vat, then lifted it up again. They continued digging for a while, then lifted the vat back in, shook it, looked at it, and felt it was about right.
"This one is fine."
Then he put another large vat into another pit, shook it, looked at it, and then lifted it out. He repeated this process twice until he was finally satisfied.
Secure the two large vats in place and remove any excess soil.
By the time the two finished their work, it was already noon.
Zhao Yuan tidied up the hoe and dustpan, and the two of them washed their hands.
Zhao Yuan went into the kitchen, rinsed the rice and put it in the pot, and told Zhou Jiefang to start the fire and cook, saying he would be back soon.
Zhao Yuan greeted Lin Fangfang and then headed towards the home of carpenter Zhao Sihai.
The door to Zhao Sihai's house was open, and Zhao Sihai was doing carpentry work in the main room.
"Brother Sihai, is everything I have finished?"
As soon as Zhao Yuan entered, he greeted Zhao Sihai.
"The two desks are ready; you can take them back now."
Zhao Sihai said.
"Okay, I'll carry one later, and you can carry one for me. Let's go to my house together. I need to make two big lids that need to be sealed tightly. You need to come to my house to measure the dimensions."
Zhao Yuan said.
As soon as Zhao Yuan entered, he handed a cigarette to Zhao Sihai and lit it for him with a match.
"Let's go."
Zhao Sihai brushed the sawdust off his clothes and stood up.
"Brother Sihai, how much sawdust do you have? I'd like to buy some from you."
Zhao Yuan then asked.
"What do you need sawdust for? You have a lot of stuff, but it's all piled up in the back. If you want to haul a whole truckload, why are you even talking about buying it?"
Zhao Sihai said.
“I need a lot, so of course I need to calculate the cost. I brought back 20 pigs, and I need this to line the pigpens. I'll need it for the future, so it's better to buy it.”
Zhao Yuan said.
"We'll talk about that later. If you want, take some back first. I'm just keeping some for firewood."
As they talked, the two each carried a table to Zhaoyuan's house.
Upon arriving at Zhao Yuan's house, Zhao Sihai measured the dimensions of the large vat and confirmed the size of the lid with Zhao Yuan.
"Zhaoyuan, why did you buy two such big vats and bury them here?"
Zhao Si asked while smoking by the sea.
"I use it to store pig feed."
Zhao Yuan said.
Zhao Sihai couldn't understand, so he just smoked and left.
Zhaoyuan placed two desks in the main room near the courtyard, where the light was good, and each of his two daughters had a desk.
Zhao Yuan came to the kitchen and saw Lin Fangfang tending the fire, Zhou Jiefang squatting in the courtyard washing carrots, and a washed cabbage next to her.
"I'm back."
When Zhou Jiefang saw Zhao Yuan return, he looked up and asked.
"Yes, the rice is cooked."
Zhao Yuan went to the kitchen and began to process the pig's head. First, he burned off the remaining pig hair on the pig's face over the fire. Instantly, the smell of burning hair filled the kitchen. After burning the pig's face, he cleaned the pig's face and ears thoroughly.
Zhao Yuan put the pork belly and pig ears into a large pot to boil. Once the water boils, he skims off the foam, then boils the water again and adds the braising sauce he prepared in advance.
Zhao Yuan started a separate pot, boiled the pork bones with water, skimmed off the foam, simmered for a while, then added diced white radish and continued to simmer.
Then I made a scallion-flavored pig brain, stir-fried cabbage, and stir-fried carrots with meat.
Zhao Yuan opened the braising pot, moved the pig's ears and face meat with chopsticks, and when it was almost done, he turned off the heat.
This was the first time Zhao Yuan's family had lunch, and it consisted of four dishes—the best food available in those days.
"Wow, wow, wow, how can pig brains taste so good?"
Zhou Jiefang suddenly shouted.
Lin Fangfang also picked up a piece of pig brain with her chopsticks after hearing this.
"Wow, this is delicious! Brother Yuan, when did you learn to make such delicious pig brain marrow?"
After saying that, he picked up two more chopsticks.
“Leave some for Zhaodi and Laidi.”
Lin Fangfang said, preparing to get up to get a bowl.
"Fangfang, no need, I've kept them all."
"Brother Zhao, your cooking skills are hard to find anywhere else. The braised pig's feet and braised pork bones we had for lunch the other day were so delicious. You're a cooking genius."
Zhou Jiefang said while eating.
"I'm planning to open a braised food restaurant. What do you think, Zhou Jiefang?"
trillions of dollars.
"The taste is fine; there are very few dishes that can taste better than yours. But everyone is struggling financially these days, so will it be able to sell?"
Zhou Jiefang asked.
"Give it a try. After dinner, help me clean my large and small intestines."
Zhao Yuan said.
“Okay, I’m so happy to have such a good meal here. I haven’t had such a good meal at your place even during the Chinese New Year.”
Zhou Jiefang said.
After finishing your meal, clean up the dishes.
Zhao Yuan and Zhou Jiefang each moved a stool, filled a basin with water, and sat down to wash their intestines.
"Brother Zhao, this stuff smells terrible, can we eat it?"
Zhou Jiefang finally couldn't take it anymore.
"Hurry up and take a shower."
After washing for an hour or so and changing the water several times, Zhao Yuan was finally satisfied with the cleansing of the intestines.
Zhao Yuan chopped some more minced meat, seasoned it, and then, after tying one end of the small intestine closed, stuffed all the seasoned minced meat into it from the other end, packing it tightly until all the minced meat was stuffed in. Then he tied the end closed and steamed it.
Zhao Yuan sliced all the remaining pig intestines and put them into the braising liquid from lunchtime to cook.
The two were busy until mid-afternoon.
Zhao Zhaodi and Zhao Laidi got home from school around 2 p.m. As soon as they entered the door, they happily greeted their parents. When they saw Zhou Jiefang, they also called him "Uncle Zhou".
"Zhaodi, Laidi, we've saved lunch for you at home today, hurry up and eat."
Lin Fangfang said.
It was the first time the two sisters had lunch at home, and they ate with great joy. After eating the scallion-flavored pig brain, they kept saying, "Mom, this is so delicious! It's so good! Dad's cooking is so delicious!"
Seeing how happy the two little ones were, the three adults looked at each other and smiled.
"Zhaodi, Laidi, eat slowly, don't eat so much. We'll have dinner later, and there will be something even better for dinner."
Lin Fangfang said.
"real."
The two sisters looked at their mother and said in surprise.