Abandoned the Immortal Cultivator, returned to his hometown to farm and sing

Chapter 1318, 1306.378 pieces, 5
Don't let Lu Ruicong's unappealing appearance fool you when you see his fried pork chop.

The thin slices didn't hold their shape and still broke apart while frying.

The edges are burnt and the color is not good.

But surprisingly, it tasted pretty good.

The pork chop was pan-fried until the surface was crispy and golden brown. You could hear a slight "crunch" when you bit into it, and it tasted just like crispy rice crust.

The center is a golden color, the outside is also crispy, but the inside is still tender and juicy, not dry at all.

I was worried that the lack of marinating would result in a fishy or musty smell, but it was barely noticeable, and even if there was a slight odor, it was completely masked by the salt and pepper.

The aroma of pepper is amplified by the hot oil, becoming especially strong, mixed with the caramelized aroma of the meat itself, making it irresistible.

The texture is layered, starting with crispness, then softness, and finally the chewiness of the meat itself.

Although it's thin, it doesn't lack any of the essential flavors: aroma, crispness, tenderness, saltiness, and freshness.

The old man's words were law: "This stuff is perfect with alcohol. My grandson is also very skilled. It's all mine, and none of you are allowed to take it from me."

Lu Rui Cong was pleased with what he said. Although he didn't say how delicious it was, his attitude spoke volumes.

This is called stream of consciousness, it's sophisticated.

Anyway, he won this round.

When the others heard that the old man had taken it all for himself, they couldn't stand it and started egging him on, pretending to try and snatch it away.

The old man held the plate and hid it behind his back.

It was a happy occasion.

Except for one small one, Zhu Lanlan's hasn't been tasted yet.

She acted cute and playfully shook her grandfather's arm.

They dragged Grandpa to the bowl of big meatballs.

"Grandpa~~Grandpa~~Try my meatball soup~~"

Old man Lu Jingcheng looked at the several large meatballs in the basin with a troubled expression.

This thing is quite sturdy, round and plump, lying among the cabbage leaves.

It looks pretty good.

But did you notice the key point? It didn't float; it sank to the bottom.

Its importance is evident.

And size...

Is this head... cooked yet?

Lu Jingcheng couldn't help but mutter to himself.

He was doing it on purpose; he was stalling.

If it's not cooked through, a big chunk of raw meat... at his age, his stomach isn't what it used to be, he might not be able to handle it.

However, this time there's no way to delay it any longer.

Whether you stick your neck out or not, you'll still get hurt. It's all for my granddaughter's good intentions, so let's go for it.

The old man shakily picked up a spoon and scooped out a small piece from the large meatball, just half a spoonful.

I didn't dare dig too deep; the outside should be cooked... I guess.

Holding the spoon, I didn't put it in my mouth right away; I took a look first.

The meatballs weren't made from finely ground meat; you could tell they were hand-chopped, and they still retained some of the meat's texture.

The surface is not very smooth. Because of its large size, it absorbs a lot of soup while cooking, making it look slightly fluffy and trembling in the spoon.

Most importantly, no red color can be seen on the cross-section.

It should be cooked through.

Lu Jingcheng blew on it and took a small bite.

The outer part, because it was cooked in close contact with the soup, has a soft and tender texture, with the unique sweetness of cabbage.

The minced meat was seasoned to the perfect level of saltiness and had the ideal ratio of lean to fat. It had the aroma of lean meat and the rich, juicy flavor of melted fat. It wasn't dry or tough, and it was just a little crumbly, but that didn't affect the overall taste or cause any problems.

"It tastes really good. Our Lanlan is awesome."

As usual, he started by praising her, but the praise was so casual that Zhu Lanlan was very dissatisfied.

I feel that I don't receive as much praise as my older siblings.

But then, the old man reached out with his spoon and scooped out a large piece from the meatball, taking out almost half of it with one spoonful.

The meat filling inside was revealed, its color being a deeper shade of pink than the outer layer.

Although the meatballs were large, they were cooked thoroughly, inside and out, because the heat was just right.

The old man was relieved and opened his mouth wide, stuffing a spoonful of meatballs inside.

Wow, this tastes different from the previous one.

The core of the large meatball still retains an amazing tenderness, and you can even taste some delicious meat juice. The texture is firm and the meat flavor is even stronger.

Pure, unadulterated meat flavor, a sense of pristine purity.

It has a completely different flavor from the clear soup served outside.

He prefers the flavor of the middle part.

He smacked his lips again, savoring the taste carefully, as if a flavor almost forgotten from a long, long time ago had been awakened from the depths of his memory.

"Lanlan did a great job! Grandpa can eat a whole meatball. These are all mine, and no one is allowed to take them." As usual, Lu Jingcheng praised first.

This time, Zhu Lanlan was happy because her grandfather had taken two bites of her food, and now it was taken by him too.

I definitely like it, I like it terribly.

After praising his granddaughter, the old man called out to everyone, "Try it, try it. These dishes are all pretty good. The meat is good, it tastes just like it did back then, and it doesn't have that porky smell."

Grandma Ni rolled her eyes at her husband, "What nonsense are you talking about in front of the children?"

After saying that, he picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of his eldest granddaughter's braised pork.

She took a bite, her eyes lit up, "Wow, this is really good! It's better than Grandma's. Feifei must have been practicing at home, it doesn't look like it's her first time."

Zhang Yufei chuckled, beaming with pride and modesty, "Oh, Grandma, this is really my first time cooking. It's my first time cooking, so it has to be for you and Grandpa. I can't let anyone else eat it, not even my parents."

That little mouth of hers, so sweet.

Grandma Ni was delighted and picked up another piece with her chopsticks.

The others had been waiting impatiently, and the two elderly people started eating as soon as they picked up their chopsticks.

Several pairs of chopsticks immediately reached for the plate.

There's also a spoon, which is used to scoop up meatballs.

Parents will definitely look at their own child's work first.

Lu Jiaying and Zhang Bowen each picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in their mouths.

After chewing a few times and swallowing, they looked at each other in astonishment.

It wasn't that I was surprised by the taste of the braised pork.

Strictly speaking, the taste is only passable. The stewing time was not long enough, the heat was too high when reducing the sauce, and it was a little burnt. Too much dark soy sauce was added for color.

It wasn't particularly delicious; it wasn't as good as Zhang Bowen's.

It's simply because the pork is good enough that all the shortcomings are overshadowed.

To their surprise, it was really their daughter who made it.

The parents from the other two families had similar expressions.

Do you think they don't know what their own child is like? He's never been in the kitchen since he was little. Aside from ordering takeout, he can only make instant noodles at most. When will he ever be able to cook?

Lu Jiahui was the most surprised. She had been watching the whole thing, and these little ones, sigh, were complete novices. They were so clumsy that they couldn't even understand the recipes, and things were incredibly chaotic and disorganized.

Surprisingly, it turned out pretty good.

Lu Rui Cong's father, Lu Li Hui, didn't think cooking was difficult at all. He didn't go into the kitchen; his wife did the cooking at their house.

Lu Lihui was pondering the taste of the past that the old man had mentioned.

After trying all three dishes, he felt that they tasted somewhat similar to the meat he had eaten before, but it had been so long since then, back when he was a child.

"I don't remember it well," she murmured. "It tastes a bit like it did back then, but not quite. Is the meat different from what we have now?"

His muttering was overheard by the old man, who immediately began to scold his son.

"How much have you even eaten?"

"Back in the 80s, every day after work I would come home and your mom would buy me two ounces of meat, slice it up and stir-fry it with cucumber slices to go with my drinks. You would eat a few slices, and your two younger sisters would eat a few slices. It would be gone in just a few bites."

"It was only in winter, on the day I got paid each month, that I would be willing to buy two pounds of pork belly. I would stew a pot of it, with little meat and a lot of soup, and I would put it in a small bowl and freeze it outside. Back then, we still lived in a single-story house."

"Leave some extra broth so you can cook the cabbage."

"Every time I just put in a few pieces of meat, a small bowl of soup, and a head of cabbage. That's enough to give it a meaty flavor."

"Only on New Year's Eve, when your grandfather was still alive, did you celebrate his birthday."

"There are only two days a year when we can eat pure stewed meat without any vegetables."

"Back then, meat was very precious."

The old man has a lot to say about the past; he's full of stories.

In the 1980s and 90s, in Beijing, the Lu family was a dual-income household with high incomes, and meat dishes were a rare treat on their daily meals.

In more remote areas, people might not eat meat more than a few times a month.

Even so, Grandma Ni still gets angry whenever she thinks about it.

He said sarcastically to his wife, "You think you're so gluttonous, so precious, so carefree, and you still complain that I didn't buy enough? Who eats meat every day? Back then, how much did you earn? 378.5 yuan. How much was meat per pound? Five yuan! Do you think you could buy a few pounds of meat in a month? How could the whole family survive? You didn't have a penny left at the end of the year, it all went into your stomach. Look at Old Ge's family, how carefully they manage their money, they'd rather split a penny in half to spend it."

Grandma Ni was also very sharp-tongued; she could rattle off a whole string of arguments that left the old man speechless.

He muttered a rebuttal, "The Ge family has five children..."

"You think I didn't give you enough children?!" Old Mrs. Ni retorted.

The old man dared not speak.

The group of children and grandchildren looked slightly embarrassed; it wasn't really appropriate to say those words in front of them.

That was awkward.

A clear voice suddenly rang out, "75.6 jin!"

It was Zhu Lanlan who spoke.

Her mother, Lu Jiahui, asked, "What do you mean, 75.6 jin?"

“Grandpa’s salary is 75.6 jin of meat in Mumbai,” Zhu Lanlan answered loudly.

This girl has been counting on her fingers ever since the old lady asked her to calculate how many pounds of meat she could buy in a month.

Now I finally understand.

Silly child, there's a calculator on your phone.

Her interruption completely dispelled the awkward atmosphere.

Grandma Ni chuckled and teased her granddaughter, "Lanlan, your grandpa's retirement pension is six thousand. Calculate how many kilograms of this meat you bought, how much can he afford?"

The old lady knows very well that the younger ones aren't good cooks, but the dishes they make are pretty good, mainly because the meat is good.

Everyone else knows it too.

Except for Zhu Lanlan.

She answered loudly, took out her phone, and opened the calculator.

Now I know to use a calculator.

"350 grams is 34.9 yuan. One jin is 500 grams. 34.9 divided by 350, then multiplied by 500, is 49.857 yuan per jin."

It has both whole and fractional parts, all up to three decimal places.

"Grandpa earns six thousand a month. Six thousand divided by 49.857 equals...Grandpa can buy 120.48 jin of meat a month!! That's four jin a day!"

This little guy can even apply what he's learned to other situations.

Grandma Ni praised with a smile, "Oh my, it's even cheaper than before! Now the two of us old folks can keep our retirement pensions and spend them as we please, without having to support you kids."

Since the old lady had said that, the three sets of children quickly chimed in, "We'll take care of ourselves, and we'll take care of you two too."

Lu Lihui added, "You two have been saving your retirement pensions, so I'll give you the money."

"Hmph." The old lady snorted coldly and said irritably, "Do I have to ask you for money if I want to spend some?"

Lu Lihui touched his nose and dared not speak anymore, then quickly nudged his son.

"Rui Rui, where did you buy this meat? Buy a few more pounds for Grandpa and Grandma so they can savor the taste from when it cost 378.5 yuan."

As children grow up, their status declines sharply, but they can't compare to the affection of their grandchildren.

Lu Ruicong pushed up his glasses, took out his phone, and while searching for an app, he explained, "Grandpa and Grandma, you're tasting the flavor of the past, aren't you? This pork is from the local breed of pig from back then. It's been rediscovered and is being raised using a combination of traditional and modern methods, which is why it tastes the same as before..."

This kid seems to be a big fan of cat heads, at least he's been paying a lot of attention to them lately and knows a lot about them.

Unfortunately, his words aroused the elders' interest.

I finally found an online supermarket app, but when I opened it, all I saw was a special page for "Qingyin Agriculture Cat Cat Top Brand Rongchang Pork," and all the content inside was grayed out.

Each product category is marked with the words "Sold Out".

"Uh, sold out." Lu Ruicong showed his phone.

"Oh, how come it's sold out so quickly? Didn't they say it just came out today?" Lu Lihui complained in disappointment.

He's the quickest talker.

The others hadn't even had time to feel disappointed yet.

Zhang Yufei also spoke up, holding up her phone, "Cat Cat has issued an announcement saying that today is the first day of its launch, and consumers are so enthusiastic. Their supply standard is that the meat is slaughtered and killed on the spot every day, and then shipped out overnight via cold chain. Every day, the meat on the shelves is fresh. There will be more tomorrow, and the supply will be increased."

"This place isn't bad, they slaughter pigs fresh every day." "These days are so advanced, pigs slaughtered in other places can be sold to the capital overnight." "Maybe they came by high-speed rail." "Does the high-speed rail allow meat transport...?"

A group of adults started chatting, but the conversation quickly veered off-topic...

Since I know it will still be available tomorrow, I'll just buy it tomorrow. It doesn't matter if it's just a day or two.

These kids are getting more and more of a worry as they get older.

Still chatting? Don't you even know what time it is?

The old lady waved her hand, "Set up the pot, let's eat."

The dishes the children just prepared were for tasting; it wasn't a formal birthday banquet.

The actual birthday banquet has been prepared.

At the old lady's command, the whole family sprang into action.

Tidy up the table and move the chairs.

Two tables were pushed together.

I brought out the induction cooker, put the pot on it, and started boiling water.

There are many people, so we have two induction cookers.

Meat slices and cold dishes were placed in the refrigerator.

Of course, the three dishes made by the three children were also indispensable.

Place it in the middle.

Make room for bowls, chopsticks, cups, and plates.

Please take a seat, sir, and pour me some wine.

In just a short while, the old man finished the remaining half of the meatball and was full...
-
A lively birthday banquet came to an end.

In the afternoon, I played four more rounds of cards with the old man.

Just after four o'clock, before dinner, all the children and grandchildren were sent home.

Dinner is not provided in the evening.

Today has been a lively and enjoyable day, but it's also been quite tiring.

The elderly couple are too old to manage.

I'm just planning to cook a bowl of noodles for dinner tonight; I haven't prepared anything for my children or grandchildren...

(End of this chapter)