Chapter 109: Dividing Pork, Braised Pig Head

The next day was the Little New Year. Early in the morning, Shen Yiyi heard a lively commotion at the drying yard.

However, she didn’t think much of it and stayed home, teaching Da Bao and Er Bao how to read.

By late morning, Mother Li hurried over. “Second Daughter-in-law, why are you still at home?”

“What’s wrong?” Shen Yiyi was puzzled.

Seeing her expression, Mother Li realized she truly didn’t know. She slapped her thigh and said: “Today is the day we divide the pork!”

Only then did Shen Yiyi remember. “Oh, that’s right!”

Mother Li was utterly exasperated. Countless people in the village had been looking forward to this day, hoping to get some pork to celebrate the New Year properly. Many had gotten up before dawn to line up at the drying yard—yet she had actually forgotten!

“Where’s Old Second?” Mother Li glanced around. Did Shen Yiyi forget, and Li Chen forget too?

“He went to town early in the morning.”

Li Chen had been busy selling the batch of goods Shen Yiyi gave him the day before. He had left at dawn.

Mother Li: “…”

Seeing the complicated expression on Mother Li’s face, Shen Yiyi quickly climbed off the heated brick bed. “Let’s go, let’s go! We’ll head there right away!”

Mother Li pulled her back. “No need to rush. The village chief is busy today, so your father took his place. I asked him to save your share. Just put on some thicker clothes before heading out—it’s freezing outside.”

Hearing this, Shen Yiyi quickly dressed warmly and bundled up the Three Baos tightly before following Mother Li to the drying yard to collect the pork.

However… Father Li hadn’t actually saved a portion for Shen Yiyi. And the reason why…

Shen Yiyi glanced at the Brigade Leader, whose face was cold and stern, then at Father Li, who looked helpless. She immediately understood—it was probably the Brigade Leader who had stopped him.

Mother Li also considered this point. Their Li family belonged to the same clan as the village chief, while the Brigade Leader did not get along with the village chief—nor with their Li family. Naturally, he would not be willing to let Father Li use his position for personal gain.  

But if they were talking about personal gain, as soon as the pigs were slaughtered, the butchers would automatically set aside the best cuts of meat for the village officials. The Brigade Leader’s family, for instance—who knew how much good meat they had already taken? What right did he have to stop them?  

Mother Li was furious, but since everyone understood how things worked, it wouldn’t sound good to say it out loud.  

Shen Yiyi, however, didn’t mind. On one hand, it was indeed her own fault for forgetting. On the other hand, the leftovers picked over by others… were actually the best parts!  

In this era, people considered fatty meat to be the best, followed by lean meat. Bones and offal were generally unwanted.  

Since she arrived late, only bones, offal, and about four to five jin of lean meat remained.  

“How much meat can our family get?” Shen Yiyi asked.  

“Your family only has Li Chen working in the brigade, plus the basic grain allotment.” the accountant checked his ledger. “You can get about eight jin in total.”  

“There’s five jin of meat, and the rest is bones.” the Brigade Leader added. “See what you want.”  

“That’s not fair.” Mother Li wanted to argue. The five jin were all lean meat, while the leftover bones were worthless.  

“Mother, it’s fine.” Shen Yiyi stopped her. In truth, she wasn’t even interested in the pork, because what was left was pork rump—extremely tough and dry. She’d rather take something else instead.  

“Brigade Leader, I don’t want the pork. I want the bones and offal instead. But since bones and offal don’t have as much meat and tend to be strong-smelling, could I get a little extra?”  

???  

“Second Daughter-in-law.” Mother Li was anxious. Giving up the meat for bones and offal? Those things were fishy, smelly, and barely had any meat on them—was she out of her mind?  

“Sure!” The Brigade Leader, worried she might change her mind, nodded eagerly. “Tell me what you want.”  

“I want that pig head.” Shen Yiyi pointed at it.  

“The pig head has a strong smell.” Mother Li tugged at her hand.  

“Mother, it’s fine.” Shen Yiyi continued: “I also want those two marrow bones and that rack of ribs. No one wants that pile of offal, right? Can I have it?”  

“You can.” the Brigade Leader, feeling like he’d scored a huge win, quickly gathered everything for her.  

There was quite a lot to carry, so Shen Yiyi asked Mother Li to help her take it home.  

Mother Li carried about twenty jin of pig offal, looking as if she had suffered a great loss. “Second Daughter-in-law, you should’ve insisted on taking the pork. They must have more meat stashed away to send to the commune leaders. If they couldn’t refuse you, they’d have no choice but to give you pork in the end. But now, you’re carrying home bones and offal—what good is that? Look at these ribs, they’ve been stripped completely clean of meat!”

“Mother, actually, pig head and offal taste really good. If you don’t believe me, wait until I cook them, and you can try for yourself.” Shen Yiyi said with a smile.  

Xiao Bao wrinkled his little nose in disgust, fanning the air as if to drive away the smell. He clutched his eldest brother’s hand and shook his head in disapproval. “It stinks! It’s not good to eat.”  

“It’s delicious!” Before Shen Yiyi could say anything, Er Bao, who had eagerly volunteered to carry the pig head for his mother, immediately retorted. “Everything Mother makes is tasty!”  

“I won’t eat it!” Xiao Bao shook his head vigorously like a rattle drum.  

“Then don’t eat it later.” Er Bao said, raising an eyebrow.  

“Won’t eat it!” Xiao Bao nodded firmly and moved a little farther away from Er Bao, disliking the strong smell of the pig head he was carrying.  

Er Bao was furious. He shouted at Xiao Bao: “You said it yourself, so you can’t eat any later!”  

Although their family had been able to eat meat nearly every day this month, Shen Yiyi hadn’t had the chance to try many new dishes.  

Now that she had brought home so much pig offal and a whole pig head, she was ready to showcase her cooking skills. As soon as they arrived home, she told Da Bao and Er Bao to keep an eye on Xiao Bao before rolling up her sleeves to get to work.  

Seeing her working alone, Mother Li stayed behind to help.  

Shen Yiyi handled the pig head while Mother Li took care of the offal.  

Once the pig head was cleaned, Shen Yiyi added scallions and ginger to remove the gaminess, then seasoned it with rock sugar, dark soy sauce, salt, dried chili peppers, and a small bowl of rice wine. Finally, she added braising spices and set it to simmer.  

The pig intestines, however, were another story—they were difficult to clean. Shen Yiyi and Mother Li worked on them together, and after half an hour, they were finally washed thoroughly.  

Since there were about twenty jin of pig intestines, Shen Yiyi didn’t plan to cook them all at once. After blanching them to remove any lingering odor, she took two to three jin and put them into the pot with the pig head, letting everything simmer for another fifteen minutes.  

Soon, the entire kitchen was filled with an irresistible aroma. The large pot of braised meat was visibly tender and delicious.  

When Mother Li saw how many seasonings Shen Yiyi had added, she had wanted to say something but hesitated. Deep down, she felt distressed—distressed over the generous use of ingredients.  

She muttered to herself, Good thing Second Daughter-in-law’s family is well-off, or who in their right mind would dare to marry a wife like this?  

But when Shen Yiyi handed her a piece of braised pig intestine, she nearly swallowed her tongue along with it. “Delicious! Delicious! It’s not stinky at all!”  

Shen Yiyi then gave her a piece of pig head meat. Mother Li ate while nodding repeatedly, her eyes filled with astonishment.  

Seeing her looking like she was about to cry from sheer delight, Shen Yiyi couldn’t help but laugh.  

Mother Li, realizing she was being laughed at, felt embarrassed.  

Just then, the Three Baos caught the enticing scent and gathered around.  

Shen Yiyi cut up half of the braised pig head, served it with rice, and drizzled it with the rich, fragrant sauce. The dish was overwhelmingly tempting.  

Er Bao ate with his mouth full of grease and still found time to tease Xiao Bao. “You can’t eat any. You just said you wouldn’t!”  

Xiao Bao stared unblinkingly at the braised pig head, his mouth practically watering. He was just waiting for his mother to serve him a bowl of rice when he heard his second brother’s words. He hesitated for a moment before shaking his head and weakly denying: “I didn’t say that…”  

“You did!” Er Bao declared loudly, his voice firm. He pointed at Xiao Bao accusingly. “Don’t try to weasel out of it! Big Brother heard it too. Big Brother, tell him!”  

Da Bao, unwilling to get involved in the childish argument between his two younger brothers, simply ignored them and continued eating his rice in dignified silence.