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“Wait and see.” Lu Qiniang picked up the axe and began chopping the beef bones.
The axe got stuck in the prominent joints of the spine, emitting a sharp, teeth-gritting sound as it pressed through. Yellow-white bone marrow oozed from the cracks, releasing drops of oil.
She split the leg bone in half, much like splitting firewood.
The heat carried the rich scent of grease, and marrow columns, thick as fingers, began to form a translucent fat membrane in the cold wind.
She picked up one of the marrow columns, laughing as she said, “Look, what is this!”
This is fat, a type of fat far more precious than meat!
Xiao Yan understood her intention and nodded.
It turned out her true purpose was never the wine.
What she had really set her sights on was the entire beef skeleton.
Lu Qiniang quickly chopped all the bones into pieces and placed them into a large pot.
Seeing the layer of oil gleaming on the mat, she was still reluctant to part with it. She let the yellow dog lick the mat once before feeling satisfied.
Daya was about to start the fire, but Lu Qiniang said, “No, I’ll do it.”
To render the fat, a strong fire was needed, one that had to be fed with firewood, and the process would take a long time—an entire day, in fact.
The glow of the fire reflected on her smiling face.
She even hummed a little tune, occasionally checking the fire and adjusting it carefully.
Soon, the pot began to boil, and steam rose in thick, swirling clouds. She was enveloped in that white mist, her smile radiant.
The fragrance followed, drifting out far and wide.
Had it not been for the fact that every household had received beef today, the smell would likely have drawn all the children from the surrounding area.
Sanya no longer ran around but sat on a small stool, watching Lu Qiniang, her mouth watering in long streams.
“Mother, when can we drink the soup?” She asked again and again.
“You little greedy thing,” Lu Qiniang chuckled, tapping her on the head. “Not until tomorrow! Go ahead and play, don’t worry—if the house eats a mosquito, you’ll still get your two legs’ worth.”
“Not until tomorrow…” Sanya felt a little disappointed.
Lu Qiniang then had Daya bring out a piece of candy, cutting it into three parts with a knife. “Here, take it.”
Sanya was delighted.
Erya, though complaining that one piece of candy had to be divided into three parts, stuffed it into her mouth faster than anyone else.
Daya, on the other hand, gave her own small piece to Sanya.
“You spoil her too much,” Lu Qiniang laughed, then pointed at San’ya’s forehead, “Your sister loves you, so you need to love her back.”
“I know!” Sanya happily took the candy and ran outside to show it off.
Erya called out from behind, “Don’t let those kids with runny noses lick your candy, it’s disgusting!”
Sanya sped off in a flash.
They went outside.
Erya couldn’t help but sniff the air, “Mother, it’s been so long since I’ve smelled such a fragrant meat scent. Why do we still have to wait until tomorrow? You’re not planning to save it for the New Year, are you?”
“Yes, I’ll save it for the New Year, and you’re not getting any.”
Tomorrow was the 28th, and the day after, the 29th, would be New Year’s Eve.
Time seemed to fly by.
Daya cut a green radish and shared it with her mother and sister.
Lu Qiniang took it, took a bite, and the crisp texture and juicy flavor made her praise it non-stop.
Xiao Yan pushed the window open just a crack, watching the lively scene of mother and daughters, feeling as though he had intruded into a world that didn’t belong to him.
Such poverty, he had never experienced.
Such warmth, he had never truly known.
How had he spent the New Year in the past?
The memories had become a bit hazy.
Before, he never needed to prepare for anything. During the New Year, he would follow the elders in his family to pay New Year’s visits, exchanging pleasantries, secretly comparing with each other, and drinking heavily every day.
Later, when he left home for the battlefield, every holiday brought a stronger longing for his family.
During the New Year, the military camp was shrouded in a thick sense of homesickness.
It wasn’t that he was putting on airs, but rather that he wasn’t used to it.
Now, Lu Qiniang had forcibly pulled him into this warm atmosphere with her daughters.
The feeling… wasn’t bad.
This was probably what people called the warmth of human life—most soothing to the heart.
Lu Qiniang stayed by the stove until the afternoon.
As evening approached, she finally stood up. “Alright, we’ll lift the lid in the morning.”
She couldn’t stay idle, so she went out to clear the snow in the yard.
Looking at the thick snow on the roof, she became worried that the continued snowfall might cause the roof to collapse. She borrowed a ladder and returned to clear the snow from the roof.
“Mom, be careful!” Daya held the ladder, nervously looking up.
“Mom, don’t go up to the roof, it can’t support your weight!” Erya also looked worried.
Sanya, on the other hand, excitedly called out, “Mom, Mom, take me up there!”
Xiao Yan couldn’t see Lu Qiniang but could only hear the sound of the broom brushing against the roof.
Chunks of snow fell into the yard, shattering into pieces.
Suddenly, Xiao Yan remembered how he was once praised in his prime: “The solitary figure on the cold river, the snow falling on Jade Mountain.”
Now, that snow had finally melted into mud, but it was no longer the “solitary figure on the cold river.”
It felt like… he had a home now.
At dinner that evening, it was coarse rice and boiled vegetables again. Erya was not pleased.
“Mother, they distributed beef today. Can’t we at least have a bit of meat?”
“We just had lamb yesterday. What do you think this is, the imperial harem? You expect meat every day?” Lu Qiniang snapped. “Eat it or don’t.”
Erya sulkily shoveled rice into her mouth, muttering nonstop about the six jin of beef that had been traded for beef bones.
Six jin of meat—enough for the whole family to have meat porridge, and still have two bowls left over!
No one paid her any attention, so she stopped complaining.
As a form of protest, she went to bed without washing the dishes.
Xiao Yan looked at the poached egg in his bowl, suddenly finding it hard to eat.
It felt like he had made their already difficult life even harder.
To help him recover, he got to eat one egg every day.
After a moment’s thought, he called Sanya over, intending to give her the egg.
Sanya, still at that age where she couldn’t resist her cravings and couldn’t even control her drool, saw his movement but quickly leaned back, guarding her bowl. “No, no! You eat it—you’re the one who’s sick!”
“Just eat it and get better soon. Once you can help out with the chores, that’s worth more than anything,” said Lu Qiniang. “By the way, do you all remember the characters you learned today?”
Daya nodded, while Sanya looked a little guilty.
“Go over the lesson again with your sister later,” Lu Qiniang told Daya.
“Alright.”