General, your wife has gone to deliver another calf for your horse.

Chapter 19 Rendering Lard and Making Buns

"This"

A Yong didn't give Jiang Nuanzhi a chance to refuse. He turned around, got into the carriage, and waved goodbye to her with a smile.

Jiang Nuanzhi: "Ayong, please thank your master for me."

From afar, they could still hear Ah Yong reply, "Don't worry, my wife, I will definitely convey your message."

Young Master Lü leaned out of the carriage window and waved, saying, "Master, I'll come looking for you again next time."

As Jiang Nuanzhi watched the carriage recede into the distance, she couldn't help but smile.

It's quite interesting how these two seem to have a master and a servant.

Upon opening it, I was surprised to find a complete set of silver needles. This set was even more complete and of better quality than the ones I had seen in the store before; it couldn't be more satisfying.

Jiang Nuanzhi really couldn't refuse this offer right now. She figured she should hurry up and earn some money to pay for the silver needles, so she wouldn't owe this person a favor.

Turning around and going into the house, the two little ones were staring blankly at the things on the table.

I didn't see Li Junping.

Jiang Nuan subconsciously glanced into the room and found that he was already tidying up the quilt he had brought back.

"Let's take both of these quilts out to air them. The sun hasn't set yet, so bring them back in before sunset. This one is new; you and your brother can use it tonight."

Li Junping paused in folding the blankets, turned to look at Jiang Nuanzhi, and nodded: "Okay."

Jiang Nuanzhi glanced at Li Junping in surprise; he seemed unusually gentle today.

As she came out, she saw Li Xiaoer and Xiao Baozhu staring at her intently, and she couldn't help but smile and pat their heads.

"You brought back candy, why aren't you eating it?"

Xiao Baozhu peeked into the room, and Jiang Nuanzhi immediately guessed what was going on.

It must be her brother who's objecting.

Then he took a candy and put it in Xiao Baozhu's mouth, blinked his eyes and asked her, "Is it sweet?"

Little Baozhu seemed to be amazed by the sweetness, her big eyes curving into crescent shapes. She nodded like a chick pecking at rice, and mumbled, "Sweet!"

Jiang Nuanzhi saw Li Xiaoer swallowing his saliva on the side and stuffed a piece into his hand as well.

Most children love candy, and even Li Xiaoer, who usually pretends to be fierce, couldn't help but smile, as if he was jumping for joy.

Jiang Nuanzhi gave Xiao Baozhu a piece of candy: "Go give one to your big brother too."

"it is good!"

Little Baozhu nodded vigorously, then immediately grabbed the candy and skipped out the door to find the older brother who was airing out his quilts.

She came bouncing back in no time: "My brother said he doesn't like candy, so he saved it for me."

Jiang Nuanzhi secretly glanced outside. The little boy was brushing dust off the quilt. All she could see was his thin back and tattered clothes; she couldn't tell his complexion.

She gave a bag of sugar to Xiao Baozhu: "This is cane sugar. Cane sugar has the effects of warming and nourishing, dispelling cold, and promoting blood circulation. It is very good for the body. Go and tell your brother not to be picky about food and to take good care of his body so that he can protect you."

As she spoke, her voice rose a little, and the little boy outside paused, then continued tapping the blanket as if he were very busy.

Little Baozhu nodded confidently: "Yes! Brother can't not eat."

Little Baozhu once again confidently took the candy to Li Junping, insisting on stuffing it into his mouth.

Jiang Nuanzhi couldn't help but laugh.

She poked Li Xiao'er's forehead again: "My little helper, help me start a fire. I'll make you meat buns." Li Xiao'er's face turned a little red when she heard her words, and she silently squatted down to start a fire.

Jiang Nuanzhi took out the meat and flour.

Clean the fatty pork thoroughly, cut it into small pieces, blanch it in a little water with some strong liquor to remove any unpleasant smell, then remove and set aside. Heat half a bowl of water in a pot, then add the blanched fatty pork. After thinking for a moment, Jiang Nuanzhi also cut a small piece of lean pork into the pot, intending to give it to the children as a snack later.

Then she started kneading the dough. Since there was no proper cutting board at home, she cleaned the table and used it to knead the dough.

The flour at this time, perhaps due to a different manufacturing process, produced a slightly yellowish dough instead of pure white. It had a rich, wheaty aroma.

Little Baozhu came back at this moment, watching her knead the dough, her big eyes full of curiosity.

Jiang Nuanzhi simply tore off a small ball of dough and gave it to her: "Go play."

When she was very young, she also liked to play with dough. If her mother wouldn't give it to her, she would secretly take it and inevitably get a beating and scolding.

At that time, she thought her mother didn't like her playing with dough, so she never played with it again. Later, she realized that it wasn't that her mother didn't like her playing with dough; it was more likely that her mother didn't like her.

But that was a long time ago. After that, she lost her mother. When she grew older, she would knead a big bowl of dough in the middle of the night and play with it little by little, doing whatever she wanted.

Xiao Baozhu stood there dumbfounded, staring at the dough, too afraid to take it: "I...I...my hands are dirty."

Jiang Nuanzhi smiled and said, "Then go wash your hands first. I've put the dough here for you."

Xiao Baozhu immediately turned to wash her hands, and after washing them carefully for a while, she cautiously returned to Jiang Nuan, her eyes full of anticipation.

Jiang Nuanzhi placed the dough in her hand.

Little Baozhu carefully held the dough in her little hands, gently poking it with her little finger. After poking it once, she secretly looked at Jiang Nuanzhi's expression.

Jiang Nuanzhi smiled and encouraged her, "Go ahead and play. You can mold it into any shape you like. If you get tired of it, ask your second brother to cook it for you; you can eat it."

Little Baozhu held the dough like it was a precious treasure, and couldn't help but run to Li Xiaoer: "Brother, look! Let me make one for you too."

The fire in the stove burned brightly, making Li Xiao'er's face flush red. He wiped his sweat and said, "Brother doesn't want to play, little sister, you can play by yourself. I'll cook something for you to eat later."

Jiang Nuanzhi then tore off two small pieces of dough and had Xiao Baozhu give one to each of her two older brothers to play with.

Then cover the kneaded dough with a bowl and let it rise briefly.

Then she focused on rendering the oil. She bought two pounds of pork, almost half lean and half fat, and rendered a small amount, which made it quick. Soon the fat was sizzling and releasing its oil, and the aroma filled the air.

In fact, once the meat was put into the pot, the children lost interest in playing with the dough in their hands, even though it was something they had begged for before.

Rendering lard is extremely fragrant, especially for the children who didn't have lunch, it was an irresistible attraction.

Even Li Junping, who was outside the door, couldn't help but take two steps back and stare intently into the pot.

Seeing that the children's eyes were wide open and the lard was almost rendered, Jiang Nuanzhi picked out the pork cracklings and put the plate on the table: "Try it and see how it tastes."

Little Baozhu came running over, then leaned over the plate, drooling, and asked, "Can I eat this?"

Jiang Nuanzhi smiled: "Of course."

"Let it cool down before you eat it, so you don't burn your hands."

While giving instructions, he packed up the lard.

There was another small jar at home, and the lard only filled the bottom of the jar, but it was enough for them to eat for a few days. They sealed it, put the lid on, and stored it away.

Then, using the small amount of oil left at the bottom of the pot, I stir-fried the blanched lean pork into small, fingernail-sized cubes, added a little strong liquor to remove the fishy smell, and stir-fried it over high heat until the fishy smell dissipated and the skin was slightly browned. Then I added scallions, ginger, salt, and Sichuan peppercorns for seasoning, added hot water, covered the pot, and started stewing it over high heat.

(End of this chapter)