Gu Linchen’s mother thought that her son was incredibly lucky. Every time he went up the mountain, he either found precious fruits or caught wild chickens. This must be what people meant by “those who survive great calamities are destined for good fortune.” She took the two chickens down from the basket and picked them up. My goodness, these chickens must weigh around ten pounds each. She was so happy inside that she could barely contain her joy. “These wild chickens can’t be raised, so let’s kill one and sell the other in town.”

Gu Linchen thought for a moment. If they sold a chicken for eight or nine wen per pound, each chicken would only bring in around forty to fifty wen. Considering the hundreds of taels he had recently earned, which was a fortune that most rural families wouldn’t be able to save in decades, the few dozen wen weren’t much of a concern. Besides, he had been longing for some wild game. “Mom, if we catch more next time, we can sell them, but let’s keep these two for ourselves.”

Gu Linchen’s mother thought about how difficult it might be to sell one chicken and decided to listen to her son. “Alright, I’ll go prepare some hot water to kill the chicken.”

“Thank you, Mom.”

“Hey, you’re being polite to me now? When you were studying, I never saw you this polite. Where did you learn that?”

“These wild chickens are hard to handle, so it’ll take some effort. That’s why I’m asking you to do it, Mom.”

“It’s no big deal. Don’t worry, leave it to me.” After saying that, Gu Linchen’s mother walked towards the kitchen.

Gu Linchen finished applying medicine to Feng Ge’er’s ankle and told him to stay put and not move around. Then, he went back into the house. After a while, he came out with a water pouch and poured a bowl of water, handing it to Feng Ge’er. “Here, drink this.”

Feng Ge’er looked at the bowl and saw clear water. He wondered where his husband got it from, but his rationality told him not to ask. He knew his husband wouldn’t harm him, so he didn’t ask anything and just accepted the water. It tasted sweet and refreshing.

Feng Ge’er looked at Xige’er and said, “Xige’er, try it too.”

“Mom drinks it, Xige’er is fine, I don’t need it.” Xige’er thought it was medicine and immediately shook his head, afraid it would be bitter.

“Go ahead and drink it. There’s more, here, try some of the nectar that Dad collected earlier. It’s not bitter.” Gu Linchen took the bowl Xige’er had used to bring him water and poured a little, offering it to Xige’er.

Feng Ge’er realized that this was the nectar, and it tasted so good.

Gu Linchen then went back inside and brought out another bowl of nectar for his mother.

By the time Gu Linchen’s mother had heated the water, both chickens had regained consciousness and were flapping their wings wildly. Gu Linchen’s mother grabbed a knife and was about to slit the first chicken’s neck.

“Mom, wait a moment,” Gu Linchen thought about how chicken blood could be eaten and was quite delicious. It seemed that his mother didn’t know this, so he quickly returned to the house, grabbed a large bowl, put some salt in it, and took a chopstick.

“Mom, the chicken blood can be eaten. Catch the chicken, I’ll do the killing.”

The blood from both chickens filled up a large bowl, and after stirring it a bit, Gu Linchen placed it on the table to let it coagulate.

Gu Linchen’s mother scalded the chickens with boiling water and the whole family sat in the yard, plucking feathers. Even Xige’er was busy helping, looking quite professional.

Since there were still some leftovers from last night’s braised dish, Gu Linchen’s mother decided to stew just half of one chicken and preserve the rest for later. She planned to turn another chicken into cured chicken to keep for the winter. But half a chicken was still plenty of meat for the family.

When Gu Linchen’s father returned from work, the delicious smell greeted him as soon as he entered the yard. They were killing chickens today! He hadn’t had chicken in a long time, and it smelled so good.

“Wife, cook a bit more. Second and Third are coming over later to drink wine,” Gu Linchen’s father called out to the kitchen.

Today at work, Gu Linchen’s father mentioned he was going to buy some wine in the evening to pair with a delicious braised dish. He had been in a good mood all day, and even his movements felt quicker while carrying his pack. Gu Linchen’s second and third uncles had never heard of braised dishes before, so they became curious and asked what it was made of. When they learned it was made from pig offal, they lost interest. They thought that part of the pig was dirty and not as tasty as meat, so they didn’t give it much thought. On the way back, Gu Linchen’s father repeatedly praised how delicious it was. After hearing him so many times, their curiosity piqued again. Could pig offal really be cooked golden and taste sweet? That seemed impossible. When they heard that there would be some delivered to their house, they were about to head back to town to buy some wine, but Gu Linchen’s father stopped them. He thought there was still plenty of braised food at home. Although the weather wasn’t hot, food that had been stored for a while wouldn’t taste as fresh, so he invited them to his house for dinner that evening.

In the kitchen, Gu Linchen was cooking, while Feng Ge’er was tending to the fire. Gu Linchen’s mother and Xige’er stood by. Gu Linchen’s mother was learning from Gu Linchen, and Xige’er was still too short to reach the stove, so he could only smell the aromas. As Gu Linchen’s mother prepared the hot water, she walked out. On the table were a pot of chicken soup, half a large pot of braised pig offal, a large plate of chicken giblets, and a wok of stir-fried garlic sprouts and chicken blood. This would be enough to feed the family, but with Gu Linchen’s second and third uncles coming over, there wouldn’t be enough rice. Gu Linchen transferred the food from the wok, washed the pot, added water, and planned to cook some noodles. With the braised dish and chicken giblets, mixing them with noodles would also taste great. Gu Linchen’s mother, worried it might not be enough, hurriedly went to the kitchen to make some flatbreads. Hearing that Gu Linchen was making noodles, she started to knead the dough.

As soon as Gu Linchen’s second uncle entered the door, he was greeted by the strong aroma of meat wafting from the kitchen. It seemed like there was something special going on today. His wife must have bought some meat. He praised as he walked into the kitchen. “What are you cooking? It smells so good.”

“Father, you’re back!” Gu Tian looked up from the fire and saw his father standing at the door, his eyes fixed on the pot.

“Lao Gong, you’re back. Today, Big Sister-in-law brought over a bowl of braised dish. We didn’t eat it at lunch, but we thought we’d wait for you to come home to eat together. Don’t say, this kid Chen is really good at cooking. As soon as it steamed, the smell came out. Don’t just stand there, go wash up and eat.”

“Braised dish? Well, you all eat, I’ll wash up and go to Da Ge’s house. Da Ge asked me and Old Three to go to his place to drink wine, and they have braised dish there too.”

“You…” His mother wanted to say something, but when she turned around, he was already gone.

By the time Gu Linchen’s second uncle finished cleaning up, Gu Linchen’s second aunt and the others had already sat down to eat. On the table was a bowl of golden braised dish. They hadn’t expected that Chen could make pig offal look so good.

“Father, do you want to try it first?” Gu Tian asked as he saw his father swallowing his saliva several times.

“Heh, let me try it,” His father said as he picked up his chopsticks and placed a piece of pig intestine in his mouth. There was no unpleasant smell at all, and it was soft, with a hint of sweetness. “Haha, it’s delicious, really delicious. I didn’t expect Chen to be so good at this.” He picked up another piece and put it in his mouth.

“Father, weren’t you going to Big Brother’s house? Don’t keep Big Brother waiting,” Gu Linchen’s second uncle’s youngest son, Gu Qing, quickly interjected when he saw his father about to finish the whole bowl. He had been reading in the room but couldn’t concentrate because of the smell. He couldn’t let his father finish it all.

“Hey, you little rascal, fine, fine, you all sit down and eat, I’m leaving,” Gu Linchen’s second uncle said, giving his son a playful glare before happily walking away.

“Drink less,” Gu Linchen’s second aunt cautioned.

“I know,” he replied.