I'm already a concubine, who wants to fight with you?

Chapter 77 Killing a Pig to Entertain Guests

Xie Fei thought, it would be fine if he didn't want any wages.

Then let’s have a good meal and treat everyone.

Chipping ice is not an easy task. It took the men two or three days to build the ice cellar.

Then, Xie Fei asked them for help to kill a pig for the New Year.

While the weather was fine and there was no snow, everyone in the village came to help.

Xie Fei's pigs were very fat. They were grunting in the pen and their bellies were dragging on the ground.

The white knife went in and the red knife came out, and the fat pig fell to the ground motionless.

The women boiled water to scald the pigs and scraped off the dirt and fine hair on the bodies, and then the men cut open the pigs' stomachs.

A fat pig can give you a lot of offal, meat and ribs.

Xie Fei kept some to eat and made the rest into pickled meat.

Fu Yu went to buy various seasonings and came back. Mother Liu, Aunt Zou and others helped to pickle bacon and sausages.

Xie Fei knew how to do it, but couldn't do it well, so he learned on the side.

Mother Liu said as she washed the pork: "Whether this bacon is delicious or not depends on the sauce. Use fine salt, fennel, star anise, and peppercorns to make the sauce, and apply it on the meat. If it is well-seasoned, it will be a very delicious bacon. But it is also important to get rid of the fishy smell, so don't be reluctant to add ginger."

Aunt Zou was also washing the meat skillfully, rubbing off impurities and dirt, and then burning it over the fire to burn off the fine hair.

She is also a person who has worked hard all her life. Although her family is poor now and she doesn't make much bacon, she made a lot of it in the past.

Aunt Zou said, "If you like smoked bacon, I'll ask Erniu to pick up cypress trees. The bacon smoked with cypress trees tastes the best."

Xie Fei said: "Then smoke it, it will definitely taste good."

Aunt Zou called Erniu over and asked him to take the children to pick some cypress branches nearby and dry them to make smoked meat.

Erniu called out to the children, who gathered around him and followed him happily.

Since Xie Fei said that he wanted to treat everyone to a big meal, everyone did not hold back and brought all the vegetables from home to let Xie Fei see how to distribute them.

The most common ones are cabbage, white radish and winter vegetables. These are stored in cellars after harvesting. They are not easy to spoil due to the low temperature and can be taken out in winter.

In addition, there are taro, broad beans, cucumbers, etc., but in small quantities.

Xie Fei counted the ingredients and planned what kind of dinner to make in the evening.

The village was originally deserted, but it became lively because Xie Fei was going to slaughter a pig.

Erniu went to pick cypress branches and came back, saying that there were winter bamboo shoots growing in the bamboo forest, which would be delicious if stir-fried with meat in the evening.

Xie Fei also wanted to eat bamboo shoots, so he immediately picked up a hoe and went to dig bamboo shoots with Erniu and others.

The snow in the bamboo forest has not completely melted yet. When the wind blows, ice beads on the leaves and branches above drip down.

It falls on the hair or hits the neck, freezing people so much that they shiver and shrink their shoulders.

Erniu dug away the dead leaves and bamboo shoots under the bamboo, and the tips of the bamboo shoots soon appeared underneath.

"Thank you, little lady. Here, there are so many!"

Xie Fei came over quickly and said in surprise: "It looks very tender, the fried meat must be delicious!"

The two men started digging quickly. The children were of no use and just laughed and played nearby. For a moment, the silent bamboo forest was filled with noise.

Although Erniu is just a teenager, he is used to working and his movements are more agile than Xie Fei's.

Xie Fei dug with his hoe and broke off the tip of the bamboo shoot, with most of it still stuck in the ground.

Erniu first dug out a little bit around the bamboo shoots, and then dug out the bamboo shoots one by one with his hands. They were all intact. After digging for a long time, Xie Fei was very discouraged and threw the hoe away, "I won't dig anymore!"

Erniu laughed at her without any respect, "Little girl, you are such a grown-up, and you are still playing tricks on me! You can't dig the hoe all at once, you have to feel your way around, otherwise you will ruin everything."

Xie Fei had no choice but to pick up the hoe and dig carefully like Erniu.

But the speed was still slow. Erniu had dug up most of the nearby bamboo forest and carried a large basket of bamboo shoots.

Xie Fei's bamboo basket is not even full, and it is full of crooked, cracked and broken melons and dates.

When the two of them returned to the village, the contrast between them was so obvious that everyone laughed when they saw them.

Xie Fei felt that this person was good at different things. After all, she was someone who often dug herbs, but she really didn't have the patience to dig bamboo shoots.

Unlike Erniu, who looks like a careless and sloppy boy, he is actually very meticulous when doing his work.

Fresh bamboo shoots are rich in oxalic acid, so they have a bitter taste. You have to peel the bamboo shoots you want to eat in the evening and soak them in clean water.

Erniu went to fetch some water, and Xie Fei peeled off the bamboo shoots layer by layer. The snow-white bamboo shoots were very cold, but they gave off a fresh bamboo fragrance.

Cut it in half, soak it in a wooden barrel, and you can eat fried bamboo shoots with meat in the evening.

At noon, Fu Yu took people to cook. They had a simple lunch and the main meal would be in the evening.

In the afternoon, some people are marinating the meat, and some are preparing the dishes.

Madam Zou led the young wives to clean up the internal organs, even the pig's large intestines were not spared, they scrubbed and washed them again and again, dried them and later made sausages.

It includes kidneys, heart, lungs, pig tails, and even pig gallbladder. It is said that it has medicinal effects whether it is paired with millet or white wine.

They made sausages and bacon, while Xie Fei, Fu Yu and several other women prepared the dishes.

Shui Huaiyu also came to help, walking around in front of the stove with her child on her back.

Xie Fei asked, "Have you named your child yet?"

Shui Huaiyu said shyly: "My nickname is Mi Gao, and my full name is Chen Ankang."

It doesn't sound very nice, but it mainly means peace and health.

Xie Fei said enviously: "It's good to have a child. There will always be something to look forward to in life."

Shui Huaiyu didn't dare to respond.

Anyone with a bit of common sense would know that Xie Fei was not favored and might not be able to have a child of his own in this lifetime.

Shui Huaiyu was afraid that she was tongue-tied and might say something that would make Xie Fei sad.

Xie Fei added a handful of firewood to the stove and asked, "I heard that Mother Liu has children and they don't live in the village?"

Shui Huaiyu was chopping vegetables and said, "Yes, my mother-in-law has three children. The eldest son is my husband. The second daughter married to another place in the spring. My father-in-law and uncle went to see her off and have not returned yet."

Xie Fei calculated the time and said, "Is she marrying far away?"

"Yuan, she married and moved to the south. But she's been away for so long, my father-in-law and uncle will probably be back soon." Shui Huaiyu didn't say much, and she shut up after she finished speaking.

Xie Feiqi said: "This girl married so far away, it's inconvenient to travel by car, I'm afraid I can only see her once in many years. Mother Liu seems to love her child, how could she bear to let her go?"

Another woman who was peeling garlic in the room said with a smile: "Xie Xiaoniang, you don't know that Miss Chen Er is well-known for her hot temper. No one dares to marry her. It's not easy to find someone who is not afraid of her and is willing to marry her. Why don't you marry her quickly?"

This remark seemed like a joke, but Shui Huaiyu did not refute it, which shows that it is true.

For a moment, Xie Fei became curious about this Miss Chen Er.

Mother Liu has a calm personality and never shows her emotions. Chen Dafa is also steady and reliable, not the kind of person who talks without thinking.

If it were Miss Chen Er, would her temperament change?
(End of this chapter)