Chapter 43 : A Pot of Butter

“What kind of people are these? They must be mentally ill.”  

While cursing, Lu Fangfang picked up the pot lid from the ground.  

Seeing that it had some dirt on it, she scooped up a bucket of water and rinsed it clean.  

After putting the lid back on the pot, Lu Fangfang sat down and started sulking.  

Yang Yufen’s attitude toward her daughter and the little girl’s reaction had really scared her.  

There was no need to think too much, Yang Yufen was definitely not treating her daughter well.  

If you give birth to children but don’t take good care of them, what’s the point of having them?  

When Lu Fangfang thought about the fact that Yang Yufen’s husband was an instructor, she became even angrier. He couldn’t even manage his own household, so what was the point of teaching others?  

“No, I have to talk to Mingcheng when he comes back.”  

Lu Fangfang muttered to herself, then sighed helplessly.  

It was someone else’s family matter, what could Zhuang Mingcheng do about it?  

“Oh.” Lu Fangfang could only feel sorry for the child.  

Reaching directly into the pot just to grab some meat, how hungry and desperate must she have been?  

No wonder Yang Yufen even wanted the blood foam. She was probably even skimping on her children’s food.  

The more Lu Fangfang thought about it, the angrier she became. If that were her own child, she would be heartbroken. How could anyone treat their child like that?  

Seeing that the fire under the pot was dying down, she grabbed a handful of hay and stuffed it under the pot again.  

Still fuming, she lit the fire recklessly, and soon the pot was boiling again.  

Lu Fangfang went into the house, grabbed an enamel basin, and scooped all the bones out of the pot, filling two large basins.  

At this moment, the steaming beef bones filled the entire yard with a rich aroma.  

“Sister Fangfang? Sister Fangfang?”  

“Who? Who’s talking?” Lu Fangfang shuddered in surprise.  

“It’s me, Yang Yufen. Sister Fangfang, are the bones ready now? Can you give me two? The child is crying for some.”  

Lu Fangfang followed the voice and turned toward the west wall.  

She vaguely saw half a head peeking over the wall, trying hard to look into her yard.  

Lu Fangfang: “…”  

“Sister Fangfang? Say something! It’s not that I’m greedy, it’s just that the child really wants to eat.”  

Yang Yufeng was standing on a chair, struggling to lean over the wall.  

Lu Fangfang: “…”  

The walls in the compound weren’t very high. She made a mental note to get some broken glass and stick it on top of the wall to keep people from peeking in.  

Ignoring Yang Yufen entirely, she picked up the basin full of beef bones and strode into the house.  

“Sister Fangfang? Sister Fangfang?”  

Yang Yufen suddenly became anxious, but no matter how much she shouted, there was no response from inside.  

The rich aroma of meat lingered in the air, and she suddenly felt weak in the knees, losing her balance and falling straight off the wall.  

‘Thud.’  

Yang Yufen landed on her butt.  

Seeing her son and daughter standing nearby, just watching, she scolded angrily, “There’s no meat! She’s too stingy to give me any! What are you still looking at? Hurry up and help me up!”  

The two children looked disappointed. Without saying a word, they turned around and walked back into the house.  

“Hey? You two heartless brats! I gave birth to you for nothing! You useless little things!”  

Yang Yufen cursed as she rubbed her sore backside and climbed to her feet.  

Limping into the house, she picked up a cabbage, preparing to cook dinner.  

There was still some blood foam left in the basin, she would just stew the cabbage with it tonight.  

Earlier, she had hoped to get a free meal at Lu Fangfang’s house, but who would have thought that the little girl would ruin everything? If she had known, she would have acted sooner.  

—

“How shameless.”  

Lu Fangfang listened for a while, her ears perked up. When the conversation next door finally quieted down, she curled her lips in disdain.  

Sitting under the dim light, she picked up a knife and began shaving the meat off the beef bones.  

The butcher had already shaved the bones quite clean.  

But after boiling, Lu Fangfang still found small bits of meat clinging to the crevices of the bones.  

Holding the kitchen knife, she carefully shaved down both basins of bones again.

The small pieces of shaved meat filled an entire small enamel basin.  

Lu Fangfang estimated that it was at least over one kilogram, and she immediately felt like she had made a profit.  

She was also asked to use chopsticks to scoop out all the marrow from the bones so that the beef bone oil would be released faster during cooking.  

She put the bones and marrow back into the large iron pot and continued to cook.  

After a while, she took a spoon, stirred the soup, and found that it had already become very rich.  

Going back inside to get a bowl, Lu Fangfang scooped up some bone soup, then grabbed a handful of freshly shaved beef.  

Looking at the coriander in the cupboard, she resisted the urge to use it and ultimately left it untouched.  

Just a little salt, nothing else.  

Lu Fangfang stared at the bowl of beef bone soup in front of her and swallowed subconsciously. Her body told her she really needed this bowl of soup.  

Lowering her head, she took a small sip.  

“Hmm.”  

The soup was slightly sticky and greasy, but after swallowing it, Lu Fangfang’s face lit up with satisfaction.  

She picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of the beef.  

After chewing for a few moments, Lu Fangfang closed her eyes in contentment.  

Only a little salt had been added, and the beef had no other seasoning just its own natural flavor.  

She wasn’t sure if it was because she was too hungry, but she felt that the beef from this time period tasted much better than what she had eaten in later generations.  

After finishing the bowl of beef bone soup, she went out and scooped another.  

After drinking two bowls, Lu Fangfang felt completely relaxed, her entire body turning warm and lazy.  

By then, it was already completely dark. She walked into the yard, stuffed a few thick logs under the pot, let them burn slowly, and then went back to sleep.  

In the middle of the night, Lu Fangfang woke up.  

She picked up a flashlight, shone it towards the stove, and saw that the firewood had burned out, leaving only a few glowing embers.  

When she lifted the lid of the pot, she found that only half of the beef bone soup remained, and the bones had been boiled until they were soft and brittle.  

Lu Fangfang yawned, took the bones out of the pot, and then went back to sleep.  

—

Early the next morning…  

“Ooooooh.”  

“Bang, bang, bang…”  

“Sister Fangfang? Sister Fangfang?”  

Lu Fangfang was fast asleep when she was abruptly awakened by knocking on the door.  

Still drowsy, she got up, put on her clothes, and walked outside. Yang Yufen stood at the door, her eyes shadowed with dark circles.  

“What are you doing here so early in the morning?”  

Lu Fangfang yawned, still feeling grumpy from being woken up.  

Yang Yufen studied Lu Fangfang carefully.  

After just one night, she suddenly realized that Lu Fangfang’s complexion looked much better than before she even looked radiant.  

“It must be because of the meat,” Yang Yufen muttered to herself.  

The aroma of meat coming from next door had kept her awake almost the entire night.  

“Stop talking, or I’ll close the door,” Lu Fangfang warned impatiently.  

Seeing her annoyance, Yang Yufen quickly put on a flattering smile.  

“Sister Fangfang, didn’t you say you wanted to treat everyone to beef bone soup? I was worried you wouldn’t be able to handle it alone, so I came to help!”  

With that, Yang Yufen squeezed directly into the yard without waiting for an invitation.  

‘Hmph.’  

Lu Fangfang curled her lips in disbelief.  

But since Yang Yufen was offering to help, she didn’t refuse.  

There was still some unburned wood under the large iron pot in the yard. Yang Yufen squatted down, preparing to relight the fire, but Lu Fangfang quickly stopped her.  

Instead, she went inside to fetch a large pot, then returned with a shovel.  

Under Yang Yufen’s puzzled gaze, Lu Fangfang lifted the lid of the pot.  

Inside, a smooth, glossy white paste gleamed like a mirror.  

“Hiss…”  

Yang Yufen inhaled sharply.  

“Oh my god, this… this…”  

She widened her eyes in shock, pointing at the thick white substance in the pot, struggling to find words.  

Butter! A whole pot of precious butter!