Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1066 Continued

Remove the cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise, and also remove the meat strips. Add salt to the pot, and take out the sauerkraut that has been simmering on the stove in the north all morning and pour it into the bone broth. Simmer over low heat and cover the pot.

Xiaowei's mom, Aunt Wang, and Ga Zi's mom had already filled the blood sausage and handed it over to Ga Zi's dad to cook. Ga Zi's mom came over, picked up the cooked pork belly from the ribs, and while it was still hot, cut it into large, thin slices and arranged them in a bowl.

Xiaowei's mother and Aunt Wang continued to make enemas, meat sausages and egg sausages.

After slicing the meat and washing the chopping block, Gazi's mother started cutting the side dishes.

Fourth Aunt cleaned the pot in the north stove thoroughly, boiled water to cook the heart, liver, spleen, stomach, and large intestine. Only half of the heart and liver were cooked; the other half was to be stir-fried. Even if the intestines and stomach were to be stir-fried, they had to be cooked first; they couldn't be stir-fried raw.

We're not making spare ribs today. We'll scald the pig's head and trotters to remove the hair, wash them, and then string them together with the pork hock and spare ribs and hang them under the eaves. That's how we put them in the freezer. They'll be frozen solid in about ten minutes.

Gazi's dad cooks blood sausage. He puts it in a pot of plain water, nothing else, just be careful not to let it stick to the bottom. Once the water boils, he keeps adding cold water, otherwise it will burst. This method applies not only to blood sausage, but to all kinds of sausages.

Once the blood sausage floats to the surface, poke it with the tip of a chopstick; if no oozing liquid comes out, it's cooked. Take it out and set it aside.

Xiao Wei picked up the cleaver and started cutting. The blood sausage needed to be cut into large diagonal slices. When cutting, you should hold it a little with your other hand, and move the knife back and forth instead of straight up and down. This way, you can cut it smoothly and into slices.

Inside the room, three rice cookers were steaming hot.

By the time all the sausages were cooked, and the organs were removed from the pot and cut into pieces, it was almost noon. Uncle Si and Xiaowei's father washed their hands and cleaned themselves up before going out to entertain guests.

This is to invite the older people in the village. The younger people can just shout it out and it's up to them whether they come or not.

After Xiaowei's father and fourth uncle invited several elderly people from the village over, they started cooking. The whole courtyard and surrounding area were filled with the aroma of stir-fried and boiled meat, and all the children and dogs from the village gathered around the courtyard and the gate.

Auntie Si walked to the big pot of stewed bones, lifted the lid and took a look. She added half a basin of chopped green onions and minced garlic, stirred it, added some salt and MSG, poured in the sliced ​​pork belly, spread the pork slices out with a spoon, and then spread the sliced ​​blood sausage on top of the pork slices. A big pot of stewed pork belly was ready.

As soon as the pot lid was lifted, a plume of steam carrying the aroma of meat wafted out, causing the children gathered around to swallow hard. The dogs also stirred.

Gazi's mother carried a bag of cooked and chopped lungs, along with bits of meat, offal, and tendons, out of the yard and tossed it onto the snow. A pack of dogs pounced on it and started snatching it.

"Go home and get your bowls, are you waiting to be fed?"

The children scattered in a flurry, running home like little rabbits. One little girl, who couldn't run fast enough, started to cry.

Gazi's mother said, "Ya Dan, don't rush, we'll wait for you. Go to Salem."

Xiao Hong asked, "If you're not in a hurry, why are you being so cold?" This earned her a slap in the face from Aunt Ga Zi.

Fourth Uncle said, "It's been years since the village has been this lively. I remember the last time was in 1981, when the village distributed mutton, right, Seventh Uncle? I remember you were the team leader back then."

Seventh Uncle, whose teeth were almost all gone and whose white goatee was pale, chuckled when he heard Fourth Uncle speak and said, "Right, dividing the sheep. Back then, you weren't allowed to kill them; you had to report it."

I told Xiao Wuzi and Dazhuang, right? They took the sheep up the back hill and threw them down the cliff. They threw five, but one was lucky; it was lame but didn't die. So the whole village got four sheep. We were poor; we had no meat to eat.

Ga Zi's dad chuckled a few times and said, "That's true. Back then, we didn't dare to say it, we just kept it to ourselves. I remember Uncle Qi gave me a hard time, and I had to wrap myself in my cotton-padded coat to get home. My dad even gave me a beating."

I told Dad we need to eat quickly, or someone will find out and arrest us. Or you can hit me after we've finished eating.

The older generation laughed, recalling some things from those years.

Ga Zi's dad took a drag of his cigarette, threw the butt on the ground, and stomped it out, saying, "We're just poor. Even now, everything belongs to one person, and we're still poor. We have to pay quotas for even a pig, so who would dare to eat it? Let alone host a dinner party. Right now, besides your two families, no one else can afford to host a dinner party."

An old man holding up his pipe said, "Yes, Qinghai, you have to come back often and treat us to meat."

Xiaowei's dad said, "Okay, tomorrow, I'll come back every year, slaughter a pig and a sheep, and treat everyone to a meal. You old folks, just live well, let us know if you need anything, live a few more years, enjoy life. The world has changed, life is getting better every day."

Aunt Wang and Fourth Aunt came over to call people into the house; the table was already set.

The children with quick legs also ran back. Ga Zi's mother made them line up and put stewed sauerkraut, sliced ​​meat and blood sausage into the basin she brought.

Xiao Hong said, "No wonder there was such a big pot of stew."

Xiao Wei said, "We're leaving tomorrow. How can we finish a whole pig? We can't afford to invite anyone else; we don't have that much space."

With about twenty children, they only managed to scoop out about half a pot.

The little girl who was running at the back was really too small, only five or six years old. Everyone else had already taken their food before she arrived, and she only had a small bowl for eating.

Ga Zi's mother was amused by the way she was holding up the small bowl and asked, "Where's your mom? Is she home?"

Ya Dan nodded, and Ga Zi's mother said, "Go and call your mother. What kind of thing can you possibly bring?"

Xiao Wei said, "They're all kids, how could her mother feel comfortable doing that? Forget it, let Xiao Bing take it to her. You get her some meat. Xiao Bing, come here."

Zhang Bing walked over, gnawing on a bone, and said, "What are you doing? I'm busy."

Xiao Wei found an aluminum basin, scooped up some vegetables and meat, and said, "Send this to Ya Dan's house, she can eat it when we get back. She's too small to carry it."

Zhang Bing tossed the bone in his hand to the big dog that was staring at him, reluctantly took the bowl, and said to Ya Dan'er, "Let's go, look how much you've done."

After sending the children away, everyone went inside to eat.

The sauerkraut, stewed until tender, is rolled up with pork belly and blood sausage, dipped in a little minced garlic, and the aroma is so delicious it'll make you want to crawl to the ground. The blood sausage is fresh, tender, and smooth. The rich broth made from stewed pork spine and pork bones is so delicious it'll melt in your mouth. Add a sip of sorghum liquor, and you've got a wonderful experience.

The meal lasted until after 3 p.m., almost dinnertime, before they finally parted ways. This was mainly because there was nothing to do in the rural areas of Northeast China at that time; people were mostly idle except for going up the mountain to collect firewood.

After everyone left, we took the elderly folks who were drunk home, and then several families worked together to clean up. It's easier to clean in winter; we just shoveled up the debris, oil, blood, and other things in the yard, along with the snow, and threw them out.

After cleaning up, the remaining meat and other food were divided among Ga Zi, Chang Yuan, Xing Hai, Si Wei, and others, and a portion was also sent to Lai Zi's family.

I went to bed early last night, I was a little tired. I'd been busy all day just for this one meal.

(End of this chapter)