Chapter 44 : Success

Lu Fangfang stood in front of the large iron pot, feeling somewhat proud.  

She had smashed the bones, dug out the marrow, and boiled them for such a long time, all for this moment.  

Holding the shovel, she gently scraped away a bit, revealing more of the white paste underneath.  

Even she was surprised this time. She hadn’t expected to endure so much effort for this.  

She carefully shoveled the butter into the jar, little by little.  

Yang Yufen rushed over quickly.  

Watching Lu Fangfang scoop the butter from the pot, she was practically dying of envy and jealousy.  

Swallowing hard, Yang Yufeng stammered, “Sister Fangfang, h-how did you do this?”  

“You were here yesterday afternoon. Didn’t you see everything I did?”  

Lu Fangfang curled her lips, not wanting to entertain her any further.  

“But…”  

Yang Yufen still couldn’t figure it out. She knew that bones could produce oil, but how could they produce this much?  

Looking at the amount of oil in the pot, it seemed as if it had come from several large pieces of fatty meat. But Lu Fangfang had only used bones, how was this possible?  

Yang Yufen was completely baffled. She felt like she had lived in vain for decades and wasn’t even as knowledgeable as a young girl.  

Lu Fangfang glanced at her but continued shoveling the butter.  

After a while, Wang Shufen arrived. When she saw the white substance in the pot, she was also shocked.  

In this era, oil was a precious commodity.  

Not to mention in the countryside, even people in the city who relied on government-issued food rations received less than three taels of oil per person per month, which was barely enough to cook with.  

Wealthier families could only try to stretch their supply by rendering lard.  

But no one had ever seen this much oil produced at once. Such a large pot full of it was simply astonishing.  

“Girl, how did you cook this? Did you add something else? Why is it that when I boil bones, I don’t get this much oil?”  

Yang Yufen, who was standing nearby, immediately perked up her ears to listen.  

“Sister Shufen, cow bones contain bone marrow, which is rich in fat tissue. That’s why they can produce oil. When boiling the bones, smash them open to let the marrow release, and you’ll get more oil.”  

Lu Fangfang didn’t intend to keep it a secret, so she explained it directly.  

In this small northwestern town, they barely slaughtered one cow a day.  

If you wanted to extract oil from bones, it wasn’t very cost-effective unless you could buy bones at a low price.  

This time, she had managed to buy an entire cow skeleton cheaply from the county, thanks to her sister-in-law Meijiao. But Lu Fangfang wasn’t hopeful that she would get such an opportunity again.  

“So that’s the reason. No wonder!”  

Wang Shufen and Yang Yufen seemed deep in thought.  

They didn’t understand the science behind fats, but they did grasp where the oil had come from it was extracted from the bone marrow.  

“I’ll have to try it next time I buy some bones.”  

Lu Fangfang smiled and continued scooping the butter.  

Before long, the large jar in her arms was nearly full.  

There wasn’t much of the white paste left in the pot, just the yellow, jelly-like broth and some broken bones at the bottom.  

Lifting the jar to test its weight, Lu Fangfang estimated it to be around five or six kilograms.  

Excluding the weight of the jar itself, she had produced about four to five kilograms of butter.  

Using an entire cow skeleton to extract only four to five pounds of butter, she felt it was “a little low. That means the cow wasn’t very fat when it was slaughtered.”  

“A little… a little low?”  

Yang Yufen was stunned and suddenly had the urge to smack Lu Fangfang.

Such a big jar of oil was enough for their family to use for a year. How could that not be enough?  

You’re too arrogant!  

Watching Lu Fangfang carry the butter into the inner room, Yang Yufen’s eyes turned red with jealousy.  

As soon as Lu Fangfang came out of the room, Yang Yufen quickly asked, “Sister Fangfang, how much did you spend on that cow skeleton?”  

“I bought it at market price,” Lu Fangfang replied, unwilling to reveal the exact amount.  

If you take advantage of a good deal, just take it, there’s no need to flaunt it.  

Seeing that Yang Yufen was still staring at her, Lu Fangfang sighed helplessly and said, “Sister-in-law, didn’t you say you were here to help? The water for boiling the bones is gone. Go fetch some, please.”  

Yang Yufen pouted, looking a little displeased.  

But when she glanced at the pot and caught a whiff of the aroma, she swallowed, picked up the iron bucket, and went to fetch water.  

“Sister Shufen, please help me light the fire.”  

“Got it,” Wang Shufen agreed and started the fire.  

Lu Fangfang poured the bones she had taken out last night back into the pot.  

These beef bones had been boiled for so long that they were now completely clean.  

Most of the calcium had already been cooked into the soup, making the bones very brittle.  

She planned to boil them one last time, then take them out and grind them into bone meal to feed the chickens later.  

Next, she took out the beef liver and tripe that had been soaking overnight, washed them thoroughly, and began cutting them up.  

The beef liver that her sister-in-law Meijiao had given her was huge at least ten pounds. After slicing it, it filled an entire basin.  

Once she finished cutting the beef tripe, it filled half a small basin.  

By this time, the soup in the large iron pot was boiling, releasing a rich, mouthwatering aroma.  

She instructed Yang Yufen to take out all the large bones, then added the beef liver, tripe, and the shaved beef from last night. After that, she went into the house to grab the spices.  

“Mm, smells so good…”  

As soon as Lu Fangfang stepped back outside, she saw Yang Yufen gnawing on a beef rib.  

Since the bones had been boiled for so long, they had become soft and crispy, yet Yang Yufen was actually munching on them like a snack.  

Lu Fangfang rolled her eyes and pushed Yang Yufen aside before tossing the spices into the pot.  

Onions, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, pepper, chili…  

One by one, she added the spices her sisters-in-law had brought yesterday.  

After sprinkling a little salt, Lu Fangfang stirred the pot with a spoon. Instantly, a special, enticing aroma filled the air.  

“Gurgle, gurgle…”  

Wang Shufen touched her stomach and, a bit embarrassed, said, “Sister, the soup you’re cooking smells amazing. Just the scent is making me hungry.”  

“It’s mostly because the sisters-in-law brought enough spices,” Lu Fangfang admitted.  

If she had to make it herself, she wouldn’t even have been able to gather enough onions and ginger, let alone star anise, cinnamon, and other seasonings.  

In this time when people struggled just to get enough food, cooking a pot of beef offal soup with so many spices was a rare luxury.  

She covered the pot and added more firewood to keep it simmering.  

Then, she spotted a bunch of coriander in the cupboard. Not forgetting it, she quickly washed, chopped, and set it aside in a bowl.  

Now, everything was ready it just needed time to cook.  

Once the delicious aroma spread throughout the family compound, the sisters-in-law would surely arrive soon. Lu Fangfang was looking forward to it.