The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 205 Borrowing Flavor

The saying "April's flowers have all faded" doesn't apply to the Great Northwest.

The daytime high temperature feels like no more than 15 degrees Celsius.

It's still extremely cold in the early morning and evening.

Rainfall was negligible, and the overall feeling was dry and cold.

The human stomach craves warm, comforting soups and broths.

The neighbors near No. 36 Courtyard were all tempted by the aroma of meat today, making it hard to swallow their simple meals at home.

A careful sniff revealed that it was undoubtedly the mutton they were most familiar with!

But who would slaughter a sheep during this season?
And they've all been eating sheep for half their lives, what kind of sheep has such a domineering aroma?
Some curious people followed the scent and arrived at the entrance of courtyard number thirty-six.

"Oh dear, no wonder! This Scholar Zuo must be seriously injured! His father-in-law's sheep were only half-grown lambs, yet he was willing to slaughter them for his son-in-law to eat!"

"The Gan family used to be a well-known wealthy family in Daming Prefecture, with a very good family tradition. Their dowry for their daughter included a share of the profits from the Gan family's business."

"They're so willing to give their married daughters a share of the profits, what's a sheep slaughtered in the spring? With a family like this, Scholar Zuo must have accumulated great virtue in his past life!"

“Smell this again. I’ve been eating mutton for over twenty years and I’ve never smelled anything this fresh. Do the people of Daming Prefecture know how to make mutton better than us people from the Northwest?”

"No wonder they dared to open a mutton soup restaurant. Just based on the aroma of this pot of soup, I will definitely go and support them after they open."

"You little pup, what are you doing squatting at the gate of someone's yard?"

"Slurp. I'm not doing anything else, just... just borrowing the flavor."

"Hahaha, great to borrow! I'll borrow the flavor too!"

Doing good deeds doesn't mean being ignorant.

Everyone has heard that Scholar Zuo's son cried as if his father had died. How serious must his injury be?

Even the most shameless among them wouldn't dare to go to the injured person's home for a meal.

The aroma of this stewed meat is enough to tempt anyone's taste buds!
The aroma lured a group of people who came to find it and couldn't leave, squatting outside the gate of the house, slurping and enjoying the scent.

The number of people borrowing the scent is showing a growing trend.
Meanwhile, in the Zuo family's kitchen, where the aroma of meat originated, the slurping sounds were even louder.

"Slurp."

Gan Minglan had just sucked a piece of lean rib meat off her ribs.

The mutton is neither fishy nor gamey, and has a slightly chewy texture with a hint of elasticity.

Chewing the meat, you can clearly taste its fresh sweetness.

Every single member of my family was completely won over by the aroma and taste of the grassland lamb. They practically gnawed on the bones while slurping up the meat.

A large bowl of bone-in meat, weighing seven or eight pounds, was devoured by the five adults and one child in the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

They thought this was the best mutton they had ever eaten in their lives.

When the second bowl of lamb bones with dog rice grass roots was served, an ice cream-like creamy aroma instantly overwhelmed one's sense of smell.

For those who have never tried ice cream before, it's a refreshing milky flavor!

Even little Yuanyuan, who was in Gan Minglan's arms, was getting anxious.

What is this thing that smells as good as rice?

Wow, baby wants to eat!

Her chubby hands waved incessantly, and her head swayed in search of the meaty aroma.

The little one's unusual reaction quickly brought everyone back to their senses, who had just been immersed in the aroma of milk.

Their hands react much faster than their brains.

The taste buds, which had just been savoring the deliciousness, quickly experienced what true freshness is all about.

The rich, milky aroma blends perfectly with the sweet and savory lamb; too much would be greasy, too little would be bland.

Cooked at the same temperature, the mutton stewed with dog rice grass root is even more tender, soft but not dry, and the meat becomes more delicate.

After taking a bite of meat with the bone, everyone sped up their display of meat without saying a word.

They were enjoying their meal when suddenly they heard a "whoosh" sound.

Turn around and look.

It turns out she was a little baby, and she was crying because she was so hungry!

She cried so pitifully, her little face turning bright red.

The funniest thing is that while crying and wailing, the little guy's five or six-inch-long hair on his round head suddenly stood on end.

Ah! The sea urchin afro hairstyle is back!
My older brother, mother, and uncle were all charmed by this afro.

Gan Hongzhen, who dotes on her granddaughter, hurriedly tore off a piece of rib meat and tried to stuff it into the little girl's hand.

"Don't cry, Yuanyuan! We may not have much else, but we have plenty of mutton! Your grandfather will slaughter a sheep for you every few days!"

It was only Yang and Luo, two women who had personally fed children, who still retained their rationality.

“Father-in-law, Yuanyuan hasn’t grown any teeth yet. She can’t eat anything except milk right now.”

"Fu Ge'er's father, what are you doing making things worse! Who feeds a baby less than five months old meat? If she gets meat in her stomach, she'll poop it out on you later!"

Gan Minglan didn't know how other babies with stomachs of this size fared.

But how could this little thing, who has been enjoying supernatural cleansing since birth and drinks the essence of the sacred tree diluted with water as a daily beverage, possibly have any stomach discomfort?
Seeing that her afro was still frizzy, her emotions weren't going to calm down anytime soon.

Quickly said:

"Mom, just give her a bite of the unsalted minced meat to taste. She just drank a lot of milk, and I guess she's getting hungry from the smell of this mutton."

A spoonful of minced meat?
That shouldn't be a big problem!
Yang helped pick out a piece of unsalted lamb leg from the large pot and personally tore off two thumb-sized pieces.

Gan Minglan mashed the meat into mince with a spoon in just a few strokes.

The creamy, fragrant minced mutton was quickly fed into little Yuanyuan's mouth, who was still crying loudly.

The crying stopped abruptly.

The little guy, with teary eyes, took a big gulp of the minced meat the moment his tongue touched it.

Bah, bah, bah.

It tastes so good!

Have another bite!
Not enough!

What happened to the promise that I drank my fill of milk?

What happened to the agreement to only try one flavor?

Whose baby under five months old can eat several large spoonfuls of minced meat in one go?

If you give someone less than a bite, they'll cry so much that even the adults will feel embarrassed to eat alone!

The little guy thoroughly enjoyed his first taste of meat.

The adults thought that after eating their fill of lamb bones stewed with dog rice grass, they would no longer crave any other delicious food.

Unexpectedly, the mutton offal soup once again pushed the limits of my digestive system and my understanding of food!

The broth, made with dog rice grass roots and fresh lamb bones, releases the freshness, sweetness, and rich creamy aroma of the lamb into the soup.

The soup is clear, sweet, and savory.

The lamb liver is delicate and firm, the lamb tripe is chewy and crisp, the lamb lung slices are smooth and tender, and the radish is sweet to the core.
A bite of offal, a bite of radish, a sip of soup—eating, chewing, and slurping.

Accompanied by that bright, steaming aroma, it travels triumphantly from the tip of your nose all the way down to your stomach, where a warm, comforting sensation makes you sigh with pleasure.

Even if you're stuffed from eating meat, there's still room in your stomach for this bowl of mutton offal soup.
(End of this chapter)