Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

After finishing each piece, he would carefully set it aside to dry, then watch with a smile as the host would take a small handful of roasted peanuts or pumpkin seeds from their pocket or basket and carefully place them in a small basket that had been prepared in advance on the corner of the table.

He watched the small mountain gradually pile up in the basket, his eyes behind his glasses gleaming with satisfaction and shrewdness. In his mind, every peanut and every melon seed automatically translated into an extra small dish of snacks that could be added to his family's table on New Year's Eve.

While the front yard was filled with the aroma of ink and the pleasantries of neighbors, the small moon gate in the east wing remained tightly shut. Inside, however, lay a completely different world, brimming with the rich scent of oil and the bustling activity of happiness.

As soon as Wei Chen left, Wang Xiulan immediately sprang into action. She first dragged Wei Ran, who was still lazing in bed, out of bed.

"Xiao Ran! Get up! The sun's high in the sky! We have something important to do today!" Wang Xiulan's voice was unusually light and excited.

"Mom... let me sleep a little longer..." Wei Ran rubbed her eyes and mumbled as she shrank deeper into the blankets.

"What are you sleeping for! Get up and start the fire! Today we're rendering lard and stewing pork!" Wang Xiulan yanked off the covers, and the icy air made Wei Ran shiver, instantly waking her up.

"Render oil? Stew meat?" Wei Ran's eyes lit up instantly, all her drowsiness chased away by these two magical words.

She jumped up and hurriedly put on her padded jacket and trousers. "Really, Mom? The ones my brother brought back yesterday?"

"Shh—!" Wang Xiulan quickly raised her finger, lowered her voice, and said seriously, "Keep your voice down! Have you forgotten what your brother told you? This matter is between heaven, earth, you, and me! Absolutely no one else can know a word! Do you hear me?" She stared intently into her daughter's eyes.

Seeing the unprecedented seriousness in her mother's expression, Wei Ran realized the gravity of the situation. She nodded vigorously, her voice low, "Yes, Mom, I remember! I won't tell anyone! I'd rather die than tell!"

"Good girl!" Wang Xiulan finally smiled, patted her daughter's head, and said, "Hurry up and wash up, then go to the kitchen to help Mom start the fire! Let's keep busy today!"

The kitchen quickly became the main battleground. Wang Xiulan first directed Wei Ran to make the fire in the stove burn brightly. She then took out the huge oil paper package, untied the hemp rope, and carefully lifted the oil paper.

When the thick, snow-white piece of pork fat, as smooth as jade, was exposed before their eyes again, the mother and daughter couldn't help but gasp at the same time, their eyes filled with amazement and satisfaction.

"Mom, this oil...it's so white! So thick!" Wei Ran couldn't help but stick out her little finger and gently poke it. The cool, slippery touch made her giggle.

"Don't touch it!" Wang Xiulan slapped her hand away, but smiled. "This is a treasure! Enough for us to eat oil and fat for a year!" She picked up a cleaver and deftly cut the huge piece of fat into evenly sized cubes. As the blade cut into the fat, its dense and supple texture made a soft "shh" sound.

After slicing the lard, Wang Xiulan took out ten pounds of top-quality pork belly. The pieces were perfectly marbled with fat and lean meat, the red lean meat clearly defined, and the white fat about two fingers thick, glistening enticingly in the morning light. She picked up the knife and demonstrated its shape.

"Mom, should we cut off some of this fat to render oil too?" Wei Ran squatted in front of the stove adding firewood, her mouth watering as she looked at the tempting piece of pork belly. "The cracklings will definitely smell delicious!"

Wang Xiulan nodded subconsciously: "Yes, render the fat into oil, keep the lean meat..." Halfway through her sentence, she remembered her son's earnest persuasion last night.

"Mom, let's not render all ten pounds of pork belly into oil." Wei Chen had earnestly instructed her last night, "Rendering fat is good, but it's a waste to render all of this good pork belly. Let's save half of it and make braised pork belly. We can have a hot bowl of it during the New Year, that would be so satisfying!"

"For the other half, render some fat from the fatty part, then chop the cracklings and lean meat together to make dumpling filling—it'll be just as delicious! Don't worry about Grandpa and Grandma; my friend saved some for me, I'll pick it up when I go back tomorrow."

Thinking of her son's words, and looking at the excellent-looking piece of pork belly in front of her, Wang Xiulan hesitated for a moment, but finally made up her mind. With a swift stroke, she cut the pork belly in half.

"Listen to your brother! This piece," she pointed to one with thicker fat, "cut off the fat to render the oil, and keep the lean meat for dumplings. This piece..."

She pointed to another piece of pork with a more even ratio of fat to lean meat, "Let's stew it with the pig's head today! We'll have braised pork for the New Year!" When she said "braised pork," Wang Xiulan's voice trembled slightly with a hint of pride. This was an unthinkable luxury in the past.

"Wow! Braised pork!" Wei Ran was so excited behind the stove that she almost jumped up, but Wang Xiulan glared at her and she quickly covered her mouth, but the excitement in her big eyes couldn't be hidden.

With preparations complete, the real "battle" began. Wang Xiulan first poured the chopped pieces of lard into the large, cleaned iron wok. As the flames licked at the hearth, the cold lard began to soften and melt slowly, emitting a soft sizzling sound. Wei Ran was very obedient, carefully controlling the heat to ensure even distribution.

Soon, the sizzling sound turned into a continuous bubbling sound. Under the heat, the white lard shrank rapidly, turning golden brown and crispy. More and more clear lard appeared in the pan, like melting amber, emitting a primal, domineering, and irresistible aroma! The aroma spread aggressively, instantly filling the entire kitchen, even trying to escape through the cracks in the doors and windows.

Wang Xiulan's nerves immediately tightened. "Xiao Ran, quick! Close all the doors and windows tightly! Lock the bolts!" she hurriedly ordered as she carefully stirred the oil residue in the pot with a long-handled iron spoon to prevent it from sticking.

Wei Ran tensed up as well, running quickly like a little soldier to tightly close the door leading from the kitchen to the courtyard, bolting it in place. She also checked the windows, sealing every crack as tightly as possible. Even so, the rich aroma of oil still seeped out in every nook and cranny.

"Mom...it smells so good! It smells amazing!" Wei Ran returned to the stove, sniffing hard, her stomach rumbling, her eyes fixed on the bubbling, golden-brown cracklings in the pot.

Wang Xiulan couldn't help but take a deep breath of the intoxicating aroma, her face showing a mixture of delight and heartache: "It smells wonderful, but this scent... is too overpowering!" Her hand kept moving the iron spoon. "I hope the door is closed so that not many people outside can smell it."

Rendering oil is a task that requires patience. Wang Xiulan was completely focused, occasionally using a slotted spoon to scoop out the fried cracklings, drain the oil, and place them into a large bowl prepared beside her. The cracklings were piping hot and crispy when they came out of the fryer, golden in color, and emitting an extremely tempting aroma.

Finally, the last piece of cracklings was scooped out. Only a small portion of clear, slightly golden liquid lard remained in the pot, emitting a rich aroma. Wang Xiulan signaled Wei Ran to reduce the heat, allowing the oil temperature to slowly decrease.

She picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of slightly cooled, golden and crispy fried pork crackling, blew on it, and held it to Wei Ran's mouth, who was watching eagerly: "Here, you glutton, have a taste! Be careful, it's hot!"

Wei Ran couldn't wait to take a bite. The hot cracklings made a "crunch" sound in her mouth, and the rich aroma of oil exploded in her mouth!

It was so hot that she kept spitting it out, but she couldn't bear to spit it out. Her little face scrunched up, and she mumbled indistinctly, "So...so hot! So fragrant! So delicious!" She held a small piece of fried pork crackling in her mouth for a long time, as if it were the most delicious thing in the world, before finally swallowing it. Her face was full of satisfied happiness.

Seeing her daughter's expression, Wang Xiulan smiled and put a small piece into her own mouth. The long-lost, pure aroma of caramelized oil brought a great sense of comfort to her taste buds, even for a housewife who usually ate only bland food.

Rendering the lard was only the first step. The bigger challenge was yet to come. Wang Xiulan carefully scooped the scalding hot lard into a large, clean, rough earthenware jar that had been prepared beforehand.

Watching the scalding lard gradually fill the jar, an unprecedented sense of security and abundance welled up within me. This was the essence rendered from a full twenty pounds of lard, at least sixteen or seventeen pounds! It was the foundation for a comfortable life in the coming year!

Next, it was time to prepare the pig's head and the pork belly that would be made into braised pork. Wei Chen had already done a simple cleaning of the pig's head beforehand, removing most of the hair.

Wang Xiulan carefully cleaned the fine hairs with tweezers, scraped away the dirt from the folds of the ear with a knife, and finally rinsed it repeatedly with hot water until the pig's head skin and meat turned a clean light pink. She also cut the selected piece of pork belly into appropriately sized cubes.

The large iron pot came in handy once again. Wang Xiulan put the pig's head and pork belly chunks into the pot with cold water, added scallions, ginger slices, and a large spoonful of a secret spice packet wrapped in gauze that Wei Chen had "begged" from Sha Zhu. The packet contained Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, fennel seeds, and other spices. As the stove fire was reignited, the pot began to slowly heat up.

This time, Wang Xiulan was even more nervous than when she was rendering oil! If the aroma of rendered oil was domineering and intense, then the aroma of this braised meat was a complex and lingering temptation! The aroma of meat and spices blended and rose with the steam, forming an even more complex and mouthwatering rich fragrance! Once this aroma wafted out, it would definitely explode like a bomb throughout the entire courtyard!

Wang Xiulan was on high alert and carefully checked the airtightness of the doors and windows again. She even found some rags to stuff the gaps in the doors and windows even more tightly.

She stood guard by the pot, her nerves on edge. She skimmed off the foam with a spoon while sniffing the air like a hunting dog, afraid of giving away even the slightest hint.

Wei Ran also wisely controlled the heat, keeping the soup in the pot at a gentle simmer, ensuring that it was flavorful without boiling too vigorously and causing the aroma to dissipate too quickly.