Chapter 14: The Golden Thigh Is Truly Useful

    “I dare to come, which means I’m confident. Don’t worry, just wait to eat meat.”

    Xie Jiu’er didn’t reply. *How can I not worry?  A meal or two doesn’t matter, but if anything happens to my money bag, my future prosperity will be ruined!

    Entering the woods, luckily, they quickly caught a rabbit. Xie Jiu’er was delighted. Now she could make a warm neck warmer for her mother. “Save this rabbit; it’s enough for two meals. Let’s go!”

    Xiao Jinyu didn’t look back and continued walking deeper into the woods. Xie Jiu’er, frightened, didn’t care anymore and pulled his arm. “Let’s go! Do you want to stay and be lunch? You still owe me money! Who will I ask if you die?”

    Xiao Jinyu turned back, annoyed. “When did I owe you money?”

    Xie Jiu’er said seriously, “You promised me prosperity and haven’t fulfilled your promise, so it’s like you owe me money.”

    Xiao Jinyu was amused. Without saying a word, he walked straight into the woods. The surroundings were terribly quiet. Before, they could hear birds singing, but now, except for the occasional breeze, there was no sound at all.

    Xie Jiu’er followed him tremblingly. “This isn’t right. It’s too quiet.”

    As soon as she finished speaking, a “roar” came from behind them. Xie Jiu’er turned around and froze. What was that? A wild boar? Why was it so big, with sharp, long tusks on both sides of its mouth?

    Seeing the wild boar running towards them, Xie Jiu’er grabbed Xiao Jinyu’s robe. “What do we do?”

    “Nothing. My leg is injured, and you can’t outrun it. We’re going to die here.”

    Xiao Jinyu was calm, but his words were despairing.

    Xie Jiu’er wanted to pull him forward, but Xiao Jinyu stood still. When the wild boar was about to reach them, he grabbed Xie Jiu’er and leaped onto a tree branch.

    Was this the legendary light skill? How could there be such a defiance of gravity? Xie Jiu’er was still shocked by the light skill, when Xiao Jinyu shot an arrow, hitting the wild boar’s neck.

    The enraged wild boar let out a piercing shriek and started to run around wildly. Xiao Jinyu leaped down from the tree, and the wild boar jumped up in the same way.

    In a flash, Xiao Jinyu drew a soft sword from his waist, and the wild boar was killed instantly, twitching on the ground with weak breaths.

    Xie Jiu’er, brought down from the tree by Xiao Jinyu, finally recovered from her shock and amazement. “We have meat to eat! You’re amazing! You’re truly amazing! How many weapons do you have hidden on you?”

    Xiao Jinyu twitched his lips. “You guess?”

    Xie Jiu’er: …

    I don’t want to guess.

    Seeing that the wild boar wasn’t dying, Xiao Jinyu was about to stab it again, but Xie Jiu’er stopped him. “Don’t kill it yet. Pork without letting the blood out isn’t tasty. Let’s bleed it at home; the blood can be used to make many delicious things.”

    Then, the two of them worked together to drag the wild boar to the edge of the forest. Xiao Jinyu guarded the wild boar while Xie Jiu’er carried the rabbit home and called Zhou shi and Wuyang for help.  It took them half an hour to pull the wild boar home.

    Outside the courtyard, they sat on the ground for a long time. Xie Jiu’er looked at Xiao Jinyu without changing his expression. “Brother Xiao, are your wounds alright?”

    “It’s fine.”

    Then, Zhou shi brought out several earthenware jars. Xiao Jinyu made an incision below the wild boar’s neck, and blood gushed out, filling two jars.

    After doing this, Xiao Jinyu went into the house, went into the kitchen, and drank a bowl of water. “You guys boil water to scald the hair; clean it outside, and I’ll handle the offal.”

    “Okay, okay, you’ve worked hard today.” Zhou shi quickly got up and responded politely.

    The mother and daughter boiled water and plucked the hair for a long time. Then, Xiao Jinyu quickly and neatly handled the offal. Zhou shi took out the chipped kitchen knife, and Xiao Jinyu cut the pork into large pieces.

    The rabbit’s offal was set aside; they would eat it in two days. The outdoors in winter was a natural refrigerator.

    Zhou shi separated a large piece of ribs and put it in the pot. “We’re having ribs today.”

    By the time the wild boar ribs were put in the pot, it was almost Shen time (3-5 pm). That morning, villains had come to the village, and after dealing with them, Xiao Jinyu hunted a wild boar. They were busy processing the wild boar and didn’t have time to cook, so now their stomachs were rumbling with hunger.

    Wuyang stretched his neck, looking at the large pot of ribs, and swallowed. “I wonder if the wild boar meat is more delicious than the rabbit and chicken meat from the past few days?”

    Xie Jiu’er put the pig offal that Xiao Jinyu had thrown under the eaves into a basin and washed it repeatedly. “They each have their own taste. This wild boar is huge; we’ll have enough food and clothing for the whole year.”

    After the ribs were stewed, Zhou shi took them out of the large iron pot, added taro to the broth, and simmered it over high heat until the taro was soft and flavorful. Then, she added a handful of green dog milkweed, added more fire, sprinkled pepper and salt, and the soup was done.

    After the soup was ready, they used what was at hand. They cut a large piece of fat from the wild boar meat and rendered it in the pot. When the oil was clear, they added the stewed ribs and stir-fried them.

    After stir-frying until the outside was crispy and the inside was tender, Zhou shi took a handful of wild onion roots dug from the mountain, washed and chopped them, and sprinkled them on the ribs. After stir-frying, the aroma of the ribs was even more intense, thanks to the wild onions. Finally, they added salt and pepper before serving. Lunch was finally ready.

    The wild boar meat had a chewy texture that the rabbit and chicken meat didn’t have. Everyone ate without talking, each holding a rib, their cheeks bulging as they ate.

    After eating the meat, they drank a mouthful of delicious broth, picked up a chopstick of green vegetables, and enjoyed a balanced meal of meat and vegetables. It was so satisfying.

    After the meal, at Jiu’er’s request, Wuyang squatted in the courtyard to wash the offal. Jiu’er and Zhou shi, one chopping meat on the cutting board and the other adding firewood, rendered the meat in the pot.

    The clear pig oil boiled in the pot. The square pieces of meat, with their fat and lean parts, tumbled and jumped in the oil, some white, some red.

    The mother and daughter rendered the fat from late Shen time until Xu time (7-9 pm) before stopping, but more than half of the meat hadn’t been rendered yet. Zhou shi put the processed raw meat in another unoccupied room to continue rendering it tomorrow.

    Even though it was the cold winter, the best way to store pork was to render it. The pig fat covered the pork, and they were put into a jar, which could be stored for a year. Even in the hot summer, it wouldn’t mold or spoil.

    When cooking, they could just scoop out a piece with a spatula, which was very convenient.

    After rendering the meat for an afternoon, Zhou shi and Jiu’er’s backs ached, and their arms and the skin between their thumb and index finger were slightly swollen from chopping meat.

    Luckily, they had eaten a late lunch, so they weren’t hungry yet. The two of them cleaned up the rendered meat and cutting board, leaving a large pot of oil for cooking dinner, then went back to the room to lie down for a while.

    Lying on the kang (heated bed), the kang was warm, and a basin of red-hot charcoal was placed on the floor, making the whole room warm.

    This was all thanks to Wuyang. After washing the pig offal, he burned charcoal in each room, because his sister had said that they could burn charcoal to sleep every night, and they would no longer be afraid of frostbite.