Chapter 89: Sweet Rice, Braised Pork, and the First Encounter with Tiger Bone

Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian had bought roasted sweet potatoes from a stall beneath the opera stage, each holding one.

At that time, the sweet potatoes weren’t particularly delicious. They didn’t have the sweet, fragrant taste of the smoked ones from Ming Dai’s previous life. They were mostly starchy and dry, making them somewhat hard to swallow when roasted.

However, they were very warm in their hands.

Zhou Sinian had even come up with a new way of eating them. He smeared frozen, rock-hard honey chunks onto the piping hot sweet potato, making it taste as if it had honey’s sweet flavor.

As they watched the lively market scene, Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian ate with their mouths full, getting black mustaches from the potato skins.

By midday, the market was winding down. It was a rare moment of freedom for shopping, and everyone had bought a lot and sold quite a bit as well.

Ming Dai even saw the educated youths. The new educated youths were mostly busy buying things, while the older ones were selling vegetables they had grown.

Only Liu Yan had sold some of the newly distributed grain.

Ming Dai thought she was completely insane. This was next year’s food ration. What was she planning to eat if she sold it?

As the market broke up, Aunt Huang and Huang Dalian’s relatives followed them to Liujiawan. The mountain was far, and they wouldn’t be able to make it back today, so they would stay at the village leader’s house for the night.

Ming Dai walked with them, listening to Xu Fengxian telling some interesting stories from the mountain. Though it was amusing, she could tell that life on the mountain was much harder than down below.

Liu Dazhu carried his mother-in-law on his back, panting heavily as he trudged forward. Zhou Sinian kept glancing at him, his disapproval evident.

Grandma Huang, wearing a yellow scarf given by her daughter, was happily carried by her son-in-law. She casually asked, “Are we having rice for lunch? Are we adding sugar?”

The village leader answered loudly, “Yes! We are having rice! Of course, with sugar! I’ll add two spoonfuls of sugar for you!”

Grandma Huang joyfully patted his sheepskin hat and said, “Good son-in-law, hurry up, let’s go home!”

This instantly amused everyone.

Back in the village, Ming Dai politely declined Aunt Huang’s repeated invitations to stay for lunch. Instead, she walked back with Zhou Sinian, carrying the items they had bought.

At the educated youth quarters, the others also took advantage of the rare opportunity to stock up on supplies. They purchased half a sack of wild pears and persimmons, along with a generous amount of dried mountain goods—some for themselves and some to send to their families in the city.

With urban supplies scarce, many families couldn’t buy food even if they had money, relying heavily on whatever their rural relatives could send them.

Fang Rou, in particular, bought a large quantity of dried goods. Since she had purchased so much, the sellers even offered to help deliver it for her.

With everyone else carrying their own haul, what Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian had bought no longer seemed unusual.

When they returned home, they were greeted by a wave of warmth. The stove was still burning, filling the house with a cozy heat, and the leeks on top had grown tall—almost ready to be eaten.

She began sorting through the things she had bought, and Zhou Sinian followed her every step of the way, rubbing his stomach and complaining that he was hungry and wanted rice.

Ming Dai, who was always quick to respond, immediately thought that it had indeed been a while since they had rice cooked with firewood in a big pot. She agreed to make it.

She rinsed the rice and asked Zhou Sinian to wash the pot. Once the rice was steaming, she took out a piece of pork belly.

How could a meal of rice be complete without braised pork?

Zhou Sinian, recalling the taste of braised pork, stood by the chopping board with a fire poker in hand. He watched as she cut the meat into pieces the size of Mahjong tiles, a bit worried as he spoke, “Is this enough to eat?”

Ming Dai rolled her eyes. “Brother, this is two jin of meat! Two jin!”

“It’s enough. I’ll fry some mushrooms and vegetables too,” she added.

Zhou Sinian made a face. He didn’t want to eat vegetables.

However, lacking any say in the matter, he obediently went back to tend the fire.

When it was time to eat, Ming Dai served Zhou Sinian two bowls of rice, one of which had two spoonfuls of sugar added.

The sweet rice opened a new world for Zhou Sinian. He finished the bowl and still wanted more.

Ming Dai pushed the other bowl, which had braised pork sauce poured over it, toward him. “Finish this bowl, and then I’ll give you more.”

Reluctantly, he set down the first bowl and picked up the other, savoring each bite of rice and meat with satisfaction.

Ming Dai also picked up a piece of pork. It was bright red and tender, with a chewy texture. As soon as she bit into it, the rich flavor filled her mouth.

As she thought about the remaining meat in the pantry, Ming Dai decided that raising pigs needed to be put on the agenda soon!

If they got tired of the meat, they could always add some mushrooms and vegetables to refresh their taste.

The shiitake mushrooms were freshly picked from the small forest in the space, and the baby bok choy was grown by Ming Dai herself. The vegetables were crispy and sweet, perfectly balancing out the greasiness of the braised pork.

The final touch was the rice water scooped out when the rice was steaming. It was so comforting!

After they finished eating, Ming Dai pried out the crispy bits from the pot, the leftover rice crust. Each of them took a piece and dipped it in the remaining braised pork sauce, crunching as they bit into it.

The pure fragrance of rice combined with the rich meat sauce was a delicious taste that couldn’t be replicated after rice cookers became common.

Feeling completely satisfied, Ming Dai continued sorting through the things she brought back, while Zhou Sinian took care of the dishes and cleaned the kitchen in one smooth operation.

In the afternoon, the two of them went back to work in the space. The fertilizer contributed by the little lambs had fermented enough, so it was the perfect time to use it for fertilizing the land.

Zhou Sinian was still a little resistant to the idea of eating cucumbers and tomatoes grown with fertilizer made from lamb manure. However, he obediently helped, digging out the fermented fertilizer from the pit.

Ming Dai mixed in some lime water for disinfection before starting to fertilize the land.

Fertilizing was simple. She just buried some fertilizer in the soil at intervals.

By the end of the afternoon, they had finished the work, and the fermentation pit was emptied, waiting for the little lambs to keep up their work.

As a reward for themselves, Ming Dai planned to make lamb offal soup again that evening.

As night fell, Aunt Huang and Huang Dalian visited again, bringing half a cartload of goods. There were half a bag of persimmons and mountain pears, along with a small basket of apples and another small basket of hawthorn.

Xu Fengxian also came along, curiously inspecting the small yard.

“A brick house is really nice, much better at blocking the wind than our stone house,” she commented with a hint of envy. “I’ll probably never live in a brick house in my life.”

Ming Dai quickly invited everyone inside, bringing hot water and bowls with her.

As they stepped inside, Xu Fengxian’s eyes once again landed on the vegetable basket sitting on the stove, amazement written all over her face.

“You can still grow vegetables in winter? You educated youths are incredible!” she exclaimed.

Huang Dalian took the bowl Ming Dai handed her and chuckled. “They’re not the amazing ones—it’s Xiao Ming who is. She’s the only one who knows how to grow vegetables in winter.”

Xu Fengxian looked at the fresh green leeks, her expression filled with envy. “By the time winter comes, we’re all holed up at home with nothing to eat. It’s much better down here in the valley.”

Ming Dai smiled. “I’ll cut some for you in a bit. The leeks are ready to eat—perfect for dumplings. And the garlic sprouts can be harvested too. They’re tender and great for scrambled eggs.”

Xu Fengxian turned to Aunt Huang with a laugh. “Well, that depends on whether your aunt is willing to share some eggs with us!”

Aunt Huang let out a hearty laugh. “Then Xiao Ming will have to be extra generous! I need to make sure my sister-in-law gets enough, or she’ll go home complaining that I didn’t feed her properly!”

The four of them sat on the heated platform, sipping on bowls of fragrant fried noodles, laughter filling the room.

As Xu Fengxian savored the sweet, comforting taste, she recalled what her sister-in-law had said earlier—this Xiao Ming really was a good person.

She had another task while coming down the mountain this time. After hearing that Ming Dai knew medicine, she decided to ask her about it.

She looked at Ming Dai and hesitantly spoke up, “Xiao Ming, does anyone in your family practice medicine?”

Ming Dai was taken aback for a moment, then shook her head. “Now, I’m the only one in my family who practices medicine.”

Xu Fengxian seemed a little regretful upon hearing this. “I see.”

Ming Dai asked, “Auntie, is there something you need?”

Xu Fengxian sighed before getting straight to the point. “I wanted to ask—does your family buy tiger bones?”

Ming Dai’s eyes lit up instantly. “Tiger bones? Auntie, does your family have some?”

Xu Fengxian nodded. “Not my family, but my mother’s side. They live near Yuxia Mountain, not far from Daqing Mountain. Last year, their village’s hunting team killed an old tiger. They sold off everything else but kept the bones, and now they want to sell them.

They tried asking the commune over there, but the commune didn’t take them. We even checked with the commune here this afternoon, and they weren’t interested either.

As for the county, we don’t go out much. We’re afraid of getting scammed, so we haven’t dared to go looking for buyers ourselves. That’s why I thought I’d ask you.”

The moment Ming Dai heard about the tiger bones, excitement surged through her.

This was even rarer than ginseng in her past life!

Her grandfather had always said his biggest regret was not collecting a full set of tiger bones when he had the chance. And now, that chance was right in front of her!