My 1995 Small Farm.

"Miao village?"

"Yes, they also want to leave the mountains now. The neighboring county is almost entirely Miao villages, but one Miao village very close to us has changed its name to 'Study Village,' encouraging young people to study hard, take exams, and leave the mountains..."

Those who weren't good at studying put all their effort into working.

A lot of people went out to work this year.

They really like the fashionable clothes outside.

Wang Qingzhong smiled faintly.

It's not just the Miao villages in the neighboring county; it's the same in Fenglei Town.

The area is mountainous, transportation is inconvenient, and the terrain is rugged, so there are very few processing plants.

It can't compare to the area east of Fenglei Town.

Although there are mountains, they are not as high and deep as the mountains and valleys here, with no flat land at all.

Only when you reach the vicinity of the county seat, such as east of Chenwangzhuang and Huangni Town, and south of Bogeying, will you find flat terrain.

Unlike here, where even clearing land is difficult.

Not to mention the processing plants.

Even if they had the money, they wouldn't open a shop here.

As darkness fell, the light dimmed considerably, and the courtyard became gloomy.

Wang Qingzhong then put away the account book and called his father, Wang Cunye, saying that he would have dinner at his house. Knowing that Chen Ling couldn't leave that night, his two sisters-in-law went home early to start preparing the meal.

My older brother should be back from town soon.

Let's just go there as soon as possible.

The weather hasn't been very good these past few days.

If it rains, eat dinner early and get some rest.

"Zhenzhen, stop taking Rui Rui running around. It's time to eat. Come to my house for dinner tonight."

"Eat already? Second brother, I haven't even checked the calculations for you yet."

"No rush, it's dark and we can't see anything. Your brother-in-law and I haven't finished calculating yet. Let's calculate it tomorrow."

Wang Qingzhong casually brushed off his younger sister, saying, "Now, let's eat first. Your two sisters-in-law have prepared a delicious meal today."

"What kind of dishes are there? It's not like it's nine big bowls, is it?"

"Oh my, you guessed right! Your sister-in-law is planning to stew a huge pot of cured pork!"

"Wow, I want to eat it all, it's all mine."

Wang Zhenzhen shouted, and Rui Rui followed suit, raising his chubby little arms and yelling, "Wo de~ Wo de~"

"Haha, my good Rui Rui, come with your second uncle and try the food your two aunts cook. Is it as good as your dad's?"

Wang Qingzhong was delighted with his nephew's adorable appearance. He picked him up, played with him for a while, and then put him on the packhorse.

Lead the horse out.

Rui Rui often rides the little blue horse with his dad at home.

But I've never ridden one of these small, delicate packhorses.

Just now, when Wang Zhenzhen and I were feeding the horses and giving them water, they kept calling out "Little horse, little horse".

However, even though Wang Zhenzhen was a bit unconventional, she didn't dare let him ride a horse on his own.

I kept trying to get him to do other things.

Now that Wang Qingzhong and Chen Ling are with me, I'm naturally not afraid.

Rui Rui also seemed extremely excited, sitting on the packhorse's back, grabbing the horse's mane, swinging his legs, and shouting "Giddy up!" repeatedly.

He would occasionally stop and look at a group of children running around and playing in the village.

Pointing and laughing, after being scolded by Wang Zhenzhen, they ran off happily.

In the summer heat, as the night gradually darkened, everyone rushed home for dinner.

Chen Ling and his two companions, along with two children, descended the slope and soon arrived at the edge of the village, not far from Wang Qingzhong's house at the village entrance.

By this time, Guo Xinping and Su Ligai, the two sisters-in-law, had almost finished preparing the nine dishes.

Guo Xinping was washing cured meat under the dim light of an electric lamp.

Another portion consists of cured pork ribs.

With her face covered in sweat and her cheeks flushed, Guo Xinping looked up and smiled, "You've come at the perfect time. You men are strong and good at cutting meat. Hurry up and put it in the pot to stew after you're done cutting it. There was just thunder in the sky."

"I'll come, I'll come."

Chen Ling quickly went forward to help.

Wang Qingzhong also joined in, saying, "Lingzi, you chop the ribs, I'll cut this."

"it is good."

The two of them quickly cut the cured pork and cured ribs.

The cured pork ribs were cut into sections.

The cured pork was cut into large chunks, square pieces, which made it more satisfying to eat.

After chopping, put the ingredients into a large hanging pot, add scallions, ginger, garlic, dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, etc., then throw in potatoes, sweet potato noodles, white radishes, pickled vegetables, fried tofu, wood ear mushrooms, dried bamboo shoots and all sorts of other ingredients, and start simmering it over the fire pit.

"Dad, this~"

Rui Rui looked curiously at the dark, huge pot, which was even bigger than a washbasin, and stood next to Chen Ling, looking up at him with her big, dark eyes.

"This is a hanging pot. We have one at home too, but it's not as big as this one. We only take it out to use when it gets cold."

Chen Ling patted his little head and explained with a smile, "Go play with your aunt over there, it's hot here."

The little boy pointed at a large pot of cured meat and chuckled, "Good!"

When Su Ligai and Guo Xinping, the two aunts, saw this, they couldn't help but laugh in surprise, "Rui Rui is so smart... This pot of meat will all be yours later. No one else will eat it, so you can eat your fill, okay?"

"Okay, I'll go."

The brat was so happy his eyes disappeared when he laughed, and he shouted, showing his little white teeth.

His two aunts liked him even more when they saw this, and they played with him while cleaning up the food.

Nearly twenty minutes later, the pot boiled and the aroma began to waft out.

He couldn't wait to return to Chen Ling, craning his little head and staring longingly at the bubbling hot pot, constantly sniffing and swallowing.

Like a puppy waiting to be fed at the dinner table.

"Niu Niu, eat Niu Niu."

"This isn't beef, it's cured meat. Wait a little longer, it'll be ready in a bit."

The cured meat and ingredients in the hanging pot need to be thoroughly stewed to taste good, but the aroma wafting out is also wonderful.

Chen Ling couldn't help but feel a little tempted.

Fenglei Town bears strong traces of three provinces. This hanging pot is said to have been brought by the Miao people who migrated north during the Qianlong era.

Say so.

In fact, every household in the mountains here has a hanging pot.

After all, as autumn arrives, the mountain air grows increasingly cold, and eating around a steaming hot pot is a great way to ward off the chill.

However, getting meat in the pot is not easy.

In the past, people would just simmer a pot of hot potatoes.

Those braised potatoes are perfect for warming up in winter, but you can't eat them too quickly, or one bite will burn your heart.

It's also quite awkward.

The fire pit that Chen Ling set up outside the kitchen was not only for barbecuing, but also for enjoying this hot pot.

Actually, hanging pot is somewhat similar to hot pot, and it's not really suitable for eating in the summer.

It's usually in the kitchen.

In many mountain homes, a smaller stove hole is carved next to the large pot on the stove.

A hanging pot is placed on the stove hole. The stove hole is connected to the stove opening, and the flames in the stove opening can reach the bottom of the hanging pot directly. The temperature and heat of the flames in the stove opening are extremely high, which makes it easy to cook the food in the hanging pot and bring out the deliciousness of the food.

Of course.

More particular families would dig a square pit about one meter deep in a separate kitchen.

The pit would be surrounded by smooth bluestone or bricks to prevent the embers from spreading and to provide a place for people to put their feet while warming themselves by the fire.

Ordinary families don't dig pits; they simply bring a few bluestones or bricks from the wild and arrange them in a semi-circular or oval shape against the corner of the wall, thus forming a simple fire pit.

Several horizontal beams are suspended above the hearth with wires, and iron nails are evenly nailed on the beams to facilitate hanging pork, mutton, beef and chicken when roasting or smoking cured meat.

As for what Chen Ling set up at the farm, it was for the purpose of combining barbecue with grilling.

Therefore, the hearth was set up outdoors.

……

"The cured pork is ready, it's on the table!"

"It's quite cool today, and it looks like it's going to rain, so it's perfect for hot pot."

At Wang Qingzhong's signal, he and Chen Ling placed the scalding hot pot in the middle of the nine bowls.

"Of course, that's why my sister-in-law prepared the hanging pot in this weather."

Chen Ling took a deep breath, inhaling the rich aroma, and couldn't help but enjoy it: "Tsk, it smells so good. It has to be the original earthen pot cured meat from our mountains. The taste is the most tempting."

The lush green scallions on top couldn't cover the red broth and the large chunks of meat sizzling inside.

The pot was still bubbling gently when Wang Zhenzhen and Rui Rui started jumping and shouting excitedly around the table.

"How old are you? You're still as greedy as Rui Rui. I think you're about to get a beating."

Wang Cunye scolded his youngest daughter with a stern face.

Wang Zhenzhen pouted, about to retort.

Then they heard the little yellow dog barking and running out, followed soon by the excited voices of two children.

"It smells so good! Grandpa, what delicious food are you making? Is Uncle cooking?"

"Definitely. My uncle's cooking is so delicious. When I grow up, I want to go to my aunt and uncle's house to study, so I can eat delicious food every day."

But it was Wang Qingwen who brought Xiao Dong and the other two back.

In the afternoon, after Chen Ling parked the tractor at Fenglei Town Middle School, the two of them played around the tractor for the whole afternoon.

Wang Qingwen just watched them play.

Let Su Li switch back to cooking first, and then entertain Chen Ling in the evening.

"You two ungrateful little brats, all you ever think about is your uncle. Go ask your mother who cooked dinner this year!"

Wang Cunye would train this person and then train that person.

But nobody was afraid of him.

They chuckled and ran over to Chen Ling to tease Rui Rui, then washed their hands and boasted to Wang Zhenzhen about what they had played that afternoon.

"Alright, Big Brother and the two kids are back too, let's eat now."

Chen Ling gave her seat to her brother-in-law and sat down next to him with her son in her arms.

Even the usually serious and upright Wang Qingwen had a big smile on his face when he saw his nephew. He pressed Chen Ling down so he wouldn't move: "You sit still, I'll hold Rui Rui, I'll hold him."

Chen Ling had no choice but to hand over his son.

“Sweetie Rui Rui, sleep with your uncle tonight. There are lots of fireflies in my yard.”

"Niu Niu~"

"You want to eat meat? Come on, let your uncle put some on your plate. Let's eat big pieces."

My brother-in-law's face was beaming with joy.

Chen Ling felt a wave of helplessness, shook his head, and decided to stop eating.

I picked up a piece of cured pork rib; the dark red meat had been stewed until it was tender.

One bite, and you'll find it chewy and tender, bursting with broth and meat juices.

"Wow, that was awesome, so awesome!"

Having traveled such a long distance, Chen Ling was already starving.

I ate several pieces of ribs in a row and couldn't help but exclaim how delicious it was.

Then I picked up another piece of cured pork. Compared to cured pork ribs, this well-cooked cured pork had a perfect balance of fat and lean meat, with its muscle texture clearly visible.

The skin is tough and the meat is soft, with the edges naturally curled up after being stewed at high temperature.

With a careful chew, even if you've eaten ribs beforehand, your mouth will be filled with rich, oily flavor and incredibly tender texture.

"Tsk, this cured meat smells so good, it's so fragrant."

"Haha, isn't it delicious, Lingzi? Come on, let's have a drink."

They clinked glasses and ate meat heartily.

Before long, the thunder in the sky grew louder, and the rain began to pour down.

This made the room feel even warmer.

Add to that the lively chatter of the little kids.

It was truly a joyful time.

I'm tired from drinking and eating meat.

Su Li and her sister-in-law served some steamed buns baked in the earthen stove for everyone to eat.

These baked buns are golden brown, crispy and fragrant. Soaking them in meat broth before eating makes them incredibly delicious.