Chapter 2

‘Hahahaha, this is definitely the most miserable streamer in history, no doubt about it. The person next door, dressed like they’re from a primitive forest, is now eating meat in big bites.’

‘I googled 1960, streamer, take care.’

‘The corn buns look so delicious, I really want to eat them!’

‘I feel like this pork belly is going to smell amazing.’

Su Ye’s eyes fixed intently on the pork belly for a moment, then she glanced at the livestream room that had mysteriously appeared in her mind, and accepted the reality of the situation.

Since she was already dressed like this, Su Ye could accept the appearance of a livestream room. She quickly decided the fate of this piece of pork belly.

“Thank you for the meat!”

Su Ye took a quick look around the kitchen, she had soy sauce, salt, and other simple kitchen items, which she usually used as seasoning when there was no food to eat.

Fortunately, the pork belly itself could render out its own fat, so she didn’t need to use oil, or else Su Ye really wouldn’t be able to afford it. Although every household in the town received a monthly supply of two taels of oil, when Su Ye went to the supply and marketing cooperative earlier that day, the oil had already sold out.

The only problem was that there was no knife at home.

Su Ye had no choice but to grit her teeth and once again ask the neighbor grandma downstairs to borrow a knife.

The neighbor’s grandma’s house was in good condition and had the precious tool— a knife. However, the knife had not been used for a long time, and its blade had become so dull it could hardly cut through the meat. Su Ye took the knife, went outside the compound, and picked up a stone, spending half an hour sharpening it.

Su Ye carefully began to cut the pork. The beautiful marbling of the fatty and lean pork belly made her mouth water as she continued to slice.

The snow-white, delicate fat and the pinkish lean meat alternated in layers, with the fat near the pigskin being about an inch thick, forming a solid layer of fat.

It was even fattier and more delicious than the pork belly that had been treated like “gold” by the master chef at the supply and marketing cooperative today. Su Ye could render a lot of pork lard from it.

The pork had just been put into the pot and hadn’t had time to be stirred when a sharp-nosed male neighbor poked his head out and shouted, “It smells so good, whose house is frying pork?”

His wife immediately closed the window, grumbling, “Why open the window so wide? It’s freezing, are you possessed or having a fit? Who’s frying pork on a regular day like this, not during a festival or anything!”

His nose was as sensitive as a dog’s.

Su Ye coughed lightly and pulled the window closed a little tighter. At this point, she couldn’t worry about the smoke, whether she would be able to cook a second round of meat in this room in the near future was still uncertain.

Su Ye rendered a bit of fat from the pork belly, then added soy sauce, ginger slices, cooking wine, and salt, stir-frying everything together to bring out the fragrance.

She filled the clay pot with water and slowly began stewing the pork belly. Su Ye washed her hands, then strolled over to the bookshelf and pulled out a copy of ‘Marx’ to read.

Yesterday, Su Ye had only eaten a black steamed bun, and the rest of the time she had been using these spiritual “^[1]“Spiritual sustenance” refers to something that nourishes the mind, soul, or emotions, rather than the body. It can come from activities like reading, meditation, art, music, or any … Continue readingmental sustenance” to fight off hunger. Unfortunately, while her mental world was rich, her stomach was still empty.

At this moment, with a pound of pork belly in hand, Su Ye truly felt like the struggling peasants who could now sing songs of freedom.

The pork belly was stewing away nicely in the pot, the water inside bubbling and boiling, and the old, yellowed book in her hands, the satisfaction in her heart rising.

The fragrance of the stewing meat slowly wafted from the pot, and Su Ye’s sense of anticipation swelled, causing her to forget all about the frustration of not having had meat yesterday.

The fried meat from the canteen couldn’t compare to her own freshly made, hearty pork belly.

An hour later, Su Ye lifted the pot lid. The sauce inside had thickened, bubbling with bright red, shiny bubbles. The snow-white fat had turned into a sticky yellow-brown color. When she poked it with chopsticks, the meat was so tender it fell apart, sizzling as golden oil oozed out.

This beautiful scene was enough to make a hungry person willing to sacrifice their soul for that pot of meat.

High-quality ingredients often use the simplest, most rustic cooking methods. No fancy ingredients are needed, the braised pork is already delicious enough to be stewed perfectly.

Su Ye picked up a piece and tasted it. The braised pork was incredibly tender, the fat was juicy but not greasy, the meat was chewy and flavorful, and it melted in her mouth.

The delightful flavor spread from her taste buds to her brain, reaching every cell in her body. Su Ye was so moved by the delicious braised pork that tears welled up in her eyes.

It was so wonderful. Thank you.

Su Ye ate half of the pork belly and placed the rest by the window to freeze, saving it for tomorrow.

Ding — Completed a dish of braised pork, reward: 5g of pork.

The live stream chat immediately filled with laughing comments: “Hahahahaha, only 5g, the streamer is so unlucky.”

Maybe it was because this era was so far in the past, and the live stream’s material rewards were limited. Everyone felt sorry for the streamer for a second.

‘If I were suddenly thrown into this ancient time without any meat to eat, I’d be miserable.’

‘The streamer’s braised pork really smells amazing. The aroma seems to float out from the screen. Slurp.‘

It turns out there are rewards in this live stream. Su Ye’s eyes instantly sparkled with hope.

Even mosquito legs are still pork. Su Ye clenched her fist, believing that one day, she would gather enough pork to make a full meal.

On the other side, over at the next door, Old Xu’s house…

The man, who hadn’t tasted meat for two months, paced back and forth in the room, unable to settle. After all this time, he finally had a break at home, but the whole afternoon was filled with the tantalizing aroma of meat. The worst part was, even though he could smell it, he couldn’t eat it.

His afternoon nap was ruined by the smell, and he simply gave up trying to sleep. No one could rest peacefully with that delicious, mouth-watering aroma of meat in the air.

At dinner, he ate the bland cabbage, chewing it as if it were grass.

“There’s definitely a meat smell! You take a good sniff, and you’ll notice it!” he said.

“What kind of nose do you have? You can smell it all the way from the canteen?” Xu Maogang’s wife wasn’t happy, suspecting her husband was dissatisfied with her cooking on the stove at home.

He never thought about it, though. How could eating canteen food every meal be enough? Wouldn’t it be more economical to go to the supply store and buy grains and vegetables?

She put a piece of potato on his plate and said, “You’re just craving meat too much. Save up some more, and by next month, when we have enough meat coupons for the New Year, we can finally have a good meat feast.”

—

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Su Ye, while using the coal stove, specially wrapped two pieces of braised pork in oil paper for Grandma Zhou downstairs.

Grandma Zhou smiled and accepted the stove. “Aren’t you going to use it a bit longer? I’ll still give you the money, we’re neighbors, don’t be so polite. I’ve watched you grow up.”

Su Ye shook her head. “No, who knows, I might have to borrow the stove again sometime. Just keep it, Grandma Zhou.”

She took out a small packet of braised pork from her pocket and quietly handed it to Grandma Zhou, saying, “This is for you. When you have a moment, heat it up on the stove and eat it in secret.”

Su Ye had read enough of the novel to trust Grandma Zhou’s character. Her husband and children had all died for the country, and her life was tough and simple. She hadn’t gotten involved in any of the petty dramas or conflicts like the ones found in the novels.

Grandma Zhou gave Su Ye something. “This is for Xiangqian. He was planning to borrow it from the library recently. You can take it back so he doesn’t have to make an extra trip.”

Su Ye nodded and casually took the book, bringing it home.

After Su Ye left, Zhou Honghan unwrapped the oil paper. To her surprise, there were two pieces of braised pork inside. She stared at the pieces of meat for a long time, then folded the oil paper, wrapped the meat, and placed it by the window to freeze.

—

That night.

After washing herself with water boiled on the stove, Su Ye had nothing to do and decided to open the book Grandma Zhou had given her.

Su Ye came from a science and engineering background and could only barely understand a few formulas.

Before she had entered the book, Su Ye had been very busy with work. She had picked up the novel on a whim and didn’t usually read novels. She had only read part of it and hadn’t finished it, which she now regretted.

In the novel, the character of Comrade Xu Xiangqian was written in a way that appealed to female readers. At the beginning, the novel described his heroic deeds, almost every unmarried woman in the story was infatuated with him and wanted to marry him.

The female protagonist was excellent and beautiful, while the original rural wife had lost her marriage, regretting it deeply but facing humiliating slaps in the face through much of the story.

However, there was no mention of his interests in that regard. How could he even read such a complicated book?

Su Ye turned to the cover. It was made of kraft paper, and inside the first page was a handwritten title with a fountain pen: ‘The Scientific and Technological Values and Functional Relationships of Uranium Elements’.

Flipping to the back, a thin five-cent coin fell out gently. Su Ye froze.

She wasn’t the type to take advantage of others. In such a poor era, everyone struggled to survive. Coal needed a coupon to be purchased every month, and the five-cent coin was a compensation to her. Without it, how would an elderly person like her manage on such a small coal coupons?

Su Ye picked up the coin, feeling conflicted as she put it into her pocket.

—

The next morning.

Su Ye was awakened early by the sound of the army’s bugle. She ate the leftover buns from yesterday.

The food supply was running low, and after breakfast, Su Ye went out to start looking for work.

In this era, finding a job on your own was impossible. Even going far away required a letter of introduction, and shopping required coupons. It was an era where job distribution was strictly controlled.

The difficulty lay in the fact that many units and factories set educational qualifications as a requirement. Education in this era was as valuable as gold, and having a secondary school diploma was enough to make you stand out.

Unfortunately, the original owner only had an elementary school education, and the jobs she was assigned to were either physically demanding or exhausting.

The original owner only dreamed of securing a stable government job with state rations, unwilling to do the same kind of work as people in the countryside after moving to the city. Nearly a month had passed, and despite the organization having tried several times to find her a job, nothing had been confirmed. She could only sit idly by, watching her resources deplete day by day.

Grandma Zhou got up early to clean the corridor. When she saw Su Ye heading out so early, she was taken aback.

Su Ye smiled warmly when she saw her. “Good morning, Grandma Zhou.”

“You’re up so early today?” Grandma Zhou asked, holding a broom.

Su Ye awkwardly touched her nose, remembering the first day she woke up, and the rumor that had spread throughout the whole courtyard—”She slept like a pig, so her newlywed husband couldn’t find a place to sleep in the middle of the night.”

Thinking of this, Su Ye realized she had to get a divorce from Xu Xiangqian before the female protagonist came back. Su Ye was not interested in giving others the chance to slap her face.

Clearing her throat, Su Ye said, “I’m going to the organization to sort out a job.”

Grandma Zhou said, “That’s good. You should hurry and look for work. It’s almost New Year, and many units won’t be hiring anymore. If you find work before the year ends, you’ll also get a food subsidy from the unit during the holidays.”

Grandma Zhou’s mention of “food subsidies” referred to the rare supplies of sunflower seeds, peanuts, and snacks that were available. Town workers could receive a free supply of one pound of unshelled peanuts and half a pound of sunflower seeds from their units at the end of the year.

Units with better welfare would also provide additional subsidies of refined grains, such as one pound of fine grains and half a pound of snacks.

From Su Ye’s perspective in the future, this was nothing to mention, but in the current context of the 1960s, where people ate black flour and dark buns for every meal and famine was widespread, this subsidy was a precious asset.

Su Ye nodded and waved goodbye.

Grandma Zhou waved her broom and casually said, “When you go to the Women’s Federation to look for work, remember to mention to the comrades that you’re Xiangqian’s wife.”

This was something Grandma Zhou would never normally bring up to Su Ye, but for some reason, she unexpectedly added this remark.