Making money is the most pressing task.

With money, fixing relationships later will be much easier, won’t it?

Shen Qing gave Jiang Xiangnan a glance, and the latter immediately understood.

He took up the load and marched toward home.

A part of the pig’s large ear inevitably peeked out of the water bucket.

It was spotted by Sun Xiaomai, who secretly regretted that she shouldn’t have been sarcastic toward Shen Qing earlier.

The fatty meat that was almost in her mouth was now gone!

Otherwise, she could’ve grabbed a few pieces of meat for herself.

She swallowed her saliva and thought about the contemptuous and accusing looks the village women had given her earlier.

She muttered, “You’re buying a big pig’s head in the middle of the year, not even a festival! With the way you live, it’s no wonder you had to get rid of your granddaughter to save on food!”

“Don’t blame me for not warning you. When you run out of money and food, don’t come begging me. It’ll be useless~”

Shen Qing couldn’t help but want to laugh.

Sun Xiaomai was as poor as her; her family could only afford thin gruel twice a day, and she was asking for help?

As if begging her would magically get her food or money.

It was clear that Sun Xiaomai had no proper understanding of her situation.

“My mom would never abandon her granddaughter! She’s doing just fine!” Jiang Xiangnan, carrying the large water bucket, straightened his back and shouted with full energy.

Sun Xiaomai didn’t expect Jiang Xiangnan to speak up.

Shen Qing’s sons were ranked in terms of filial piety and intelligence.

The most foolish was the eldest, while the youngest was the sharpest.

Jiang Xiangnan was somewhere in between, both smart and not overly filial.

She was used to him ignoring her sarcastic remarks about his mother, so why was he defending her now?

While Sun Xiaomai was lost in thought, Shen Qing and Jiang Xiangnan had already quickly returned home.

She looked at their straight postures and couldn’t help but feel disdainful.

Let them eat.

This trip must have cost quite a bit of money, and she was curious to see how they would manage from here on out!

---

“Mom, you’re back! There’s wild vegetable dumpling soup in the pot, kept warm. I’ll go serve it,” Huo Bing said, running out when she heard the noise.

Shen Qing responded, slowly placing the bundle of hides down from her back.

Not to mention, the full bundle of hides was really heavy! Her shoulders were marked with two deep indentations.

But now wasn’t the time to be picky. She grabbed two wooden basins and began sorting the hides.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xiangnan placed the large water bucket down and carefully took out the sesame oil and rapeseed oil, placing them on the dirt ground in the yard. Then he began extracting the pig lard and bones from the bucket.

The pig lard was expensive and couldn’t be seen by the villagers.

The pig bones and lard were easy to wash. He’d rinse them twice with well water later, but the pig head, especially the ears and nose, had to be carefully cut and cleaned.

Huo Bing came out with two bowls of dumpling soup, and was stunned when she saw the items being prepared.

Shen Qing made a “silence” gesture, and Huo Bing quickly nodded in understanding.

In Qili Village, the houses were closely packed together. The benefit of living in a cluster was that people could help each other in times of danger. But the disadvantage was obvious—there was no privacy at all.

When the Jiang family was poor, they ate simple meals of porridge with pancakes, without much grease, so there weren’t any strong smells. But with meat dishes being prepared, the smell was hard to conceal.

Shen Qing lowered her voice and said, “When we passed by the village entrance earlier, many people saw the pig’s head. Today, there’s no need to hide it, but we’ll have to be more careful in the future.”

They couldn’t stop eating meat just because others might talk.

Besides, they weren’t facing a famine yet, and they weren’t on the road fleeing from danger.

If anyone was envious or craving the meat, they could always go to the city and buy a piece to satisfy their cravings.

After all, their family was already the poorest in the village; it wasn’t like the other families couldn’t afford a meal of meat.

But when they settled in a new place, they’d need to choose a more secluded spot.

When it came time to fry and cook, they wouldn’t have to worry about the smell of meat leaking out.

Jiang Xiangnan immediately grabbed a bowl of wild vegetable dumpling soup and began eating it quickly.

Hearing Shen Qing, he eagerly said, “Sister-in-law, I’ll wash the dishes. Once I’m done, you decide how we cook it.”

His mother had said that his sister-in-law was still in her postpartum recovery period.

She could cook, but she mustn’t touch cold water for washing dishes or clothes.

But he wasn’t planning to let his sister-in-law wash. He might slack off in other tasks, but when it came to food, he was serious. Besides, who wasn’t working around the house? He was happy to help.

“Okay,” Huo Bing readily agreed and then turned to her mother-in-law, asking, “Mom, how should we cook this pig’s head?”

After all, it was meat. If it wasn’t cooked well, wouldn’t that be a waste? Not only would her brothers and sisters-in-law complain, but she would feel bad as well.

Shen Qing had many ways to cook it.

The most common method was braising, but many of the ingredients for braising were expensive, including soy sauce and sugar.

Now that they had meat, it was already a blessing, and they couldn’t be too picky.

She thought for a moment and said, “First, blanch it in water, adding plenty of ginger and garlic for stewing. Once it’s cooked through, we’ll make a soup with the broth and some wild vegetables.

For the pig ears, slice them thinly and mix with blanched Malan head (a type of herb) for a cold dish. Half of the meat from the bones will be stir-fried with wild mountain garlic and chili for flavor. The other half will be saved for tomorrow’s lunch, and I’ll make a soup with the bones. We’ll have the pig’s snout and tongue for dinner tomorrow.”

Since it was cold, they could keep the meat for three or four days without issue.

One pig’s head could yield three or four pounds of meat, which would be enough for the whole family to finish in one meal, though it might not be enough since no one had had meat in a long time. Eating too much at once might upset their stomachs.

But eating too much wasn’t necessarily good for the body. Now, they’d eat little by little, making sure to absorb the nutrients and store energy for the future.

Huo Bing’s eyes widened: “Mom, we’re going to eat this entire pig’s head in just two days?”

When she heard her mother-in-law say they’d finish it in two days, Jiang Xiangnan was thrilled!

Mom was really generous!

Huo Bing still thought it was too extravagant to finish it in two days and advised, “Mom, the boneless meat should be eaten soon, but the ears and tongue can be pickled and dried. Later, we can slice them and stir-fry with vegetables. Anything with a bit of meat flavor is delicious.

The pig’s snout can be smoked and kept for months.

The bones, I’ll start stewing in the morning, and we’ll have meat soup all day.”

Jiang Xiangnan logically knew his sister-in-law’s suggestion made sense, but emotionally, he couldn’t accept it.

He wanted to eat meat, and he wanted to eat more than just a slice!

If they did it like his sister-in-law suggested, he’d only get a small piece, but it was for the family’s good. After all, in the past, the few pieces of meat would have gone to his younger brother.

Shen Qing was also shocked.

What she considered a small amount was actually a lot for everyone else…