newbobooks Chapter 14 Braised Pork Intestines
Chapter 14 Braised Pork Intestines
"Big sister, help me start a fire. I'll make something different for you tonight," Song Jiaojiao said mysteriously.
"Mom, what's different? Is it made with that smelly stuff?" Mu Xue asked, pinching her nose with a look of disgust.
“Yes, this is called pork intestines. Don’t be fooled by its smelly appearance now; it will smell delicious once it’s cooked,” Song Jiaojiao replied while slicing ginger.
"I don't believe it. How can something that smells bad become fragrant? I still prefer big steamed buns," Mu Xue said, wrinkling her nose.
Song Jiaojiao smiled and shook her head, replying mysteriously, "You'll find out soon enough."
Put the cleaned large intestines into a pot of cold water, add the three essential ingredients for removing the odor: ginger and garlic. Unfortunately, I forgot to buy wine, so I only had the other two. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the large intestines and rinse them in warm water, then cut them into sections. Heat oil in a pot until it reaches about 50% of its maximum temperature. Add the ginger, garlic, and dried chili peppers that I bought in town today, and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the chopped large intestines and stir-fry until the edges are golden brown. Add a bowl of boiling water to cover the large intestines, cover, and simmer over low heat for 1 minute.
A moment later, Song Jiaojiao picked up a piece of fatty intestine with her chopsticks, blew on it, tasted it, and found it to be perfectly cooked—soft, tender, and sweet. "Big sister, turn up the heat and reduce the sauce."
Reduce the sauce over high heat, sprinkle with salt before serving, and a delicious and flavorful braised pork intestines dish is ready.
"Second sister, He Fan has washed his hands and is ready to eat," Song Jiaojiao called out to the courtyard, carrying a plate of braised pork intestines.
Mu Qing brought out the steamed buns and mantou that Song Jiaojiao had bought in town, and her younger sister followed behind with chopsticks. Wang Hefan brought out the pork bone and chestnut soup that Mu Qing had stewed that afternoon.
"Let's eat," Song Jiaojiao said, picking up a steamed bun.
She broke the steamed bun in half, sandwiched the pork intestines inside, took a bite, and her mouth was filled with fragrance. The soft and chewy pork intestines, paired with a touch of spiciness and the aroma of wheat, tasted absolutely delicious.
Mu Xue watched Song Jiaojiao's enjoyable expression, her face full of confusion. She couldn't understand why her mother ate such smelly food with such relish. Mu Xue glanced at Mu Qing, then at He Fan.
Carefully, I reached out with my chopsticks and picked up a smaller piece of pork intestine. Looking at it, I gritted my teeth, stomped my foot, and stuffed it into my mouth, chewing away. My eyes lit up; there was no foul smell, only a fragrant aroma, and a hint of spiciness.
Mu Xue's increasingly rapid chopping motions spoke volumes about how delicious the fatty intestines were.
"Hehehe, Mom, this smelly intestine is delicious! Hehe, I'll buy it again next time!" Mu Xue gasped for breath from the spiciness, but still couldn't forget the intestine.
Seeing Mu Xue's flushed face from the spiciness, Song Jiaojiao ladled a bowl of soup for her. "If it's spicy, eat less. Here, drink some soup."
"It's not spicy, it's delicious." Mu Xue looked up and gasped as she spoke.
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, all the dishes on the table were gone, and Song Jiaojiao and the others were so full they could barely stand up straight.
Mu Qing cleaned up the table and dishes. Song Jiaojiao led everyone in the courtyard. The stars twinkled in the sky, and the bright moon hung in the horizon.
While tidying up the chestnuts, Song Jiaojiao said, "I made some money from selling the he shou wu today. Seeing that the weather is getting colder and colder, I bought cotton and cloth, which I will deliver tomorrow. If I'm not here tomorrow, please remember to receive them." Song Jiaojiao thought for a moment and then spoke again.
"Hefan, do you know how much it costs to buy land and build a house?"
“It depends on how much land you buy and what kind of house you build. The foundation is usually barren land, which isn’t worth much, about two taels of silver per mu. If it’s just a thatched house, it won’t cost much money. Four thatched houses won’t cost more than ten taels, and four tiled houses will cost about fifty taels. If it’s a brick and tile house, it might cost over a hundred taels. You’ll have to ask Grandpa Village Chief for the specifics; his family built a brick and tile house.” Wang Hefan replied without stopping his hands.
Song Jiaojiao remained silent, lost in thought about her space. The sweet potatoes she planted the day before yesterday should be ready for transplanting today, and she also needed to plant the seeds she bought in town today. She wondered if she could upgrade her space by one level.
As it was getting late, Song Jiaojiao told the group to wash up and go to bed. Thinking that having only one room made getting around inconvenient, she decided to finalize the housing arrangements as soon as possible.
Song Jiaojiao estimated that it was already Hai Shi (9 to 11 pm) and the two sisters should be fast asleep, so she moved closer to the bed and entered her space.
Sure enough, the sweet potato vines had grown quite long, so Song Jiaojiao cut them down and planted them one after another. She estimated that they would be ready to harvest in about eighteen days. Half an hour had passed by the time she finished. Some of the seeds she brought back yesterday had sprouted, while others had not. Song Jiaojiao didn't pay much attention to them and just scattered today's seeds all over the place next to yesterday's seeds.
The space itself hasn't changed much. I figured these things probably aren't rare, and leveling up isn't easy. There aren't any specific rules; it seems to depend entirely on the space's mood.
Flying Tiger, feeling guilty, scratched his head in the corner.
Finally, Song Jiaojiao took out a chili pepper, split it open, removed the seeds, and scattered them on the yellow soil. Chili peppers have a long growth cycle and produce fruit quickly; she wondered if she could start a business related to chili peppers.
Song Jiaojiao worked diligently for an hour, until she was so tired she could barely stand up straight. Farm work was no easy task. "Feihu, how long will it take me to finish all this land? I'll leave the harvest to you from now on." Since there were spirits in her space, she figured she might as well make use of them.
"I'm still a baby! You're exploiting child labor!" Flying Tiger shouted angrily, jumping up and down.
"You're not even human, so you can't be considered a child laborer." Song Jiaojiao glanced at it, thinking that this guy was always urging her to find rare seeds. Could it be that he had some connection with her?
"It's fine if we don't do it, but there will be more things to do later, and I won't have time to find any seeds. It seems that upgrading will be difficult later on." Song Jiaojiao said deliberately, glancing at Feihu, and sighed, "It seems that's the only way. Growing some grain in the future will keep us from starving."
Feihu suddenly appeared in front of Song Jiaojiao, and said with a fawning expression, "It's just collecting things, don't worry, I'll definitely do it well, it's a small matter." Feihu rubbed his paws and continued to speak in a flattering tone.
"We still need to find seeds, and the space still needs to be upgraded. Jiaojiao, don't forget, there are still five million waiting for you to develop."
Sure enough, this little cat was up to no good and definitely had a problem. But it was hard to give up such a hard-won prize, it was bound to be a disappointment. "Alright, for the sake of five million, I'll go back into the mountains and keep looking."
Around midnight, Song Jiaojiao left the space and saw that the two sisters were still asleep. She lay down next to each other. She needed to settle on a house as soon as possible; it was really uncomfortable being so cramped. She would go to the mountains again tomorrow... Thinking about this, Song Jiaojiao drifted off to sleep.
Time passed, the moon hid behind the treetops, and as the rooster crowed outside, the sun slowly rose. The mountains were covered in a white blanket of autumn, and smoke rose from the houses at the foot of the mountain.