In the kitchen, Mother Xu and Aunt Lu had just started preparing the meal when Xu Ning said, “Mom, Aunt Lu, just make some flatbread. Yesterday, when I went to town, I saw that no one wanted the pork offal or the pig’s head at the butcher’s, so I bought them. I braised them this afternoon, and I added some potatoes and kelp too. You should eat it while it’s hot. I also brought two pounds of wine. It’s cold today, and no one is going out, so let Dad and Uncle Lu keep Grandpa Qi company and have a drink with him.” After speaking, she placed the dishes on the table and took out the wine from her basket.

Mother Xu and Aunt Lu looked at the two large bowls of food piled high on the table, one of them filled to the brim with meat. They exclaimed, “How is there so much meat?”

Xu Ning explained, “It’s not anything special—it’s just pig’s head and offal. Hurry and call Grandpa Qi to come and eat before it gets cold. Also, don’t cook tomorrow night. There’s still more than half a pot of braised food left. I’ll bring some more over tomorrow evening. We’re heading back now, since Xiao Mo is home alone.” With that, she and Xu An left.

The women exchanged glances, and Mother Xu finally said, “Go and call Uncle Qi to eat. It’s snowing today, and no one’s likely to come by, so keep him company with a bit of wine.”

Back at home, Xu Ning scooped herself a bowl of food and began eating. She asked Xu An and Xu Mo if they wanted more, but both shook their heads, saying they were still full from earlier.

Over by the cowshed, the two women looked at the two large bowls of food on the table. They put away the cabbage they had just washed but hadn’t yet cooked. They added water to the pot and stuck a circle of cornmeal flatbread around the sides.

Father Xu and Uncle Lu had already invited Grandpa Qi to sit at the table. Father Xu brought over the wine jar, while Uncle Lu fetched three bowls. He filled one completely and poured only a little into the other two, just enough for a couple of sips.

Father Xu handed the full bowl to Grandpa Qi with a smile and said, “Uncle Qi, Ning Ning brought this wine over. Since it’s snowing and cold today, she thought you should drink some to warm yourself up. Lu Brother and I will just have a couple of sips with you.”

Uncle Lu also picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and placed it in Grandpa Qi’s bowl, saying, “This is Ning Ning’s braised pig’s head and offal. You should try it.”

Grandpa Qi took a big gulp of the wine, then a bite of the meat. He sighed, “It’s been so many years since I’ve had wine this good and meat this flavorful. The last time was when your Aunt Qi was still around—she used to make pig’s head meat this delicious.” After speaking, his eyes drifted away, staring off at the Daqing Mountain, lost in thought. It wasn’t until Uncle Lu’s voice urging him to eat more that he snapped back from his memories.

They continued drinking, and soon Grandpa Qi’s past came up. It turned out that over forty years ago, he had fled to Yushu Village during a time of famine. His entire family had perished along the way. While scavenging for food on the Daqing Mountain, he was discovered by Chen, a hunter from Yushu Village. Seeing that Grandpa Qi was still young, Chen feared he’d be eaten by wild animals, so he brought him back to the village. When Grandpa Qi turned fifteen, Chen passed away, leaving him to fend for himself. Grandpa Qi then found work at a wealthy household in the city, just enough to keep his stomach full. As a growing teenager with a hearty appetite, the meals provided by the household were rationed, leaving him hungry all day.

One night, he was so famished that he thought he’d sneak into the kitchen to see if there were any leftovers. As he approached the kitchen, he was hit by a strong, fragrant aroma. Unable to resist, he peeked through a crack in the window and saw a young kitchen maid stirring a pot of meat. As she stirred, she muttered, “Almost 200 pounds and still eating pig’s head in the middle of the night? How hasn’t he eaten himself to death yet?”

Grandpa Qi knew the kitchen maid was talking about the Third Young Master of the household. She was renowned for her braised meats, which was why the family had specifically hired her to make such dishes. The strong, intoxicating aroma from the pot made Grandpa Qi open the window wider and wider until the kitchen maid spotted him and let out a startled cry. When she realized it was him, she asked, “Why aren’t you asleep at this hour? What are you doing in the kitchen?”

Swallowing his hunger, Grandpa Qi looked longingly at the meat in the pot. The kitchen maid, understanding that he was starving, grabbed a large bowl, scooped out a big piece of pig’s head meat, placed it on the cutting board, sliced it, and then filled the bowl with both meat and broth. She set the bowl on the table and said, “Go ahead, eat.” She also pulled two steamed buns from a basket and gave them to him. Grandpa Qi devoured the food ravenously, then sheepishly thanked her. The kitchen maid smiled and told him, “If you’re hungry again, just come find me in the kitchen.”

From that moment on, the two grew closer in the household. Those years were tumultuous, with wars breaking out everywhere, and the situation was unstable. The master of the house decided to move south and dismissed all his servants. The kitchen maid’s family was not local; she only had one brother back home who had married years ago. She had originally run away because her sister-in-law had tried to sell her.

After years of depending on each other, the kitchen maid and Grandpa Qi had developed feelings for one another. They eventually got married. During their time working in the household, they had saved up some money, especially since the kitchen maid was often rewarded for her excellent cooking. They made a plan to rent a shop with a courtyard in the city. The front would be used to sell braised dishes, while the back would serve as their home. Despite the unrest, the kitchen maid’s exceptional skills kept their business afloat.

A year after they were married, the kitchen maid became pregnant. Grandpa Qi insisted she stop serving customers at the front and instead focus on braising the dishes, while he handled the shop.

For a few months, things went smoothly. Then one evening, just before closing, five or six burly men came into the shop. One of them, drunk and slurring his words, unintentionally revealed their plan to raid Yushu Village for grain the following night. Another man, the leader of the group, glared at him sharply, and they quickly settled the bill and left. As they were leaving, the leader cast a lingering glance at Grandpa Qi.

Grandpa Qi steadied himself, forced a smile, and saw the men off before immediately hurrying to the backyard to tell the kitchen maid what had just happened. The people of Yushu Village had been kind to him, and he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. He wanted to rush back and warn them that very night, but the look the leader had given him as he left made him worry about leaving the kitchen maid alone.

The village had just finished the autumn harvest, and all the grain was stored in the village granary. If the bandits stole the grain, the entire village would have no way to survive the winter. He quickly packed their things and, together with the kitchen maid, set out for Yushu Village under the cover of night.

They took a small path, winding around the Daqing Mountain toward Yushu Village. In their haste to warn the villagers, they didn’t notice that they were being followed.

It wasn’t until they were nearly at the mountain that they realized someone was tailing them. Grandpa Qi told the kitchen maid to hide in the Daqing Mountain while he went on to Yushu Village alone. He could run fast and reach the village sooner to warn the villagers. The kitchen maid, understanding that he was trying to lead the pursuers away from her, nodded in agreement. She hid on a small hillside in the mountain, watching Grandpa Qi run into the distance. Soon after, two men following them appeared, and she pretended to panic and flee further up the mountain. The two men spotted her and immediately gave chase. The kitchen maid led them on a wild goose chase, weaving through the mountain paths, buying Grandpa Qi time.

When Grandpa Qi reached Yushu Village, he sensed something was wrong. He quickly knocked on the door of a house and told the person inside to go find the village chief and warn them that bandits were coming to raid the granary. Without wasting a moment, he turned and ran back the way he had come.

By the time he made it back to the mountain, it was too late. The kitchen maid had accidentally fallen off a cliff. Filled with rage and grief, Grandpa Qi immediately fought with the two men who had been chasing her. Shortly after, villagers arrived and helped subdue the two, handing them over to the police. Through further investigation, the entire bandit gang was eventually rooted out and destroyed. However, the kitchen maid and the child she had been carrying were lost forever. During the fight, Grandpa Qi’s leg was also injured, leaving him with a limp.

After hearing the story, Father Xu and Uncle Lu sat in silence, deeply moved by the tragic tale. Grandpa Qi took another sip of wine and softly added, “Xu girl is a capable, good child.”