Chapter 29 Which Country Are You From?

40 jin (20 kg) of pork came out to 36.8 yuan. Song Youyou directly pulled out four ten-yuan notes and handed them over.

The stall owner was momentarily stunned.

You had to know that the commonly circulated paper currency now was in units of yuan, jiao, and fen. The ten-yuan bill—nicknamed “big unity”—was the highest denomination and rarely used in daily transactions, let alone someone pulling out several at once just to buy pork.

Seeing the stall owner hesitate, Song Youyou felt helpless inside. Her manuscript fee was paid in big unity bills—there wasn’t much she could do about it. It’s not like she could sneak around trying to exchange them into small change before coming to shop.

“We’re hosting a celebration at home. The money was just withdrawn from the bank—it’s not counterfeit,” she calmly explained.

“Oh, just got it from the bank, no wonder,” the stall owner nodded, understanding dawning on his face.

After getting her change, Song Youyou placed all the pork into her bamboo basket, packed the wild produce into a separate bag, and left.

Once she brought everything home, she returned to the black market and went back to that big trader’s compound. Using the excuse of hosting a celebration, she bought another 40 jin (20 kg) of pork and also picked up a few earthenware jars.

Her plan was to make all that pork into jarred meat. Jarred meat was not only delicious—it could last over a year without going bad.

No sooner said than done.

Back home again, Song Youyou went straight to the kitchen. She rolled up her sleeves and chopped the pork belly into palm-sized chunks, then rubbed them with spices to marinate.

Once they were ready, she simmered the meat slowly over low heat to render some of the fat, then deep-fried it.

While frying the meat, she washed the newly bought jars several times, then used burning paper to dry out any leftover moisture inside.

When that was done, the meat had turned a beautiful golden color, releasing a mouthwatering aroma.

Next, she added a spoonful of cooking wine and tossed in a handful of Sichuan peppercorns. The numbing fragrance of the peppercorns hitting the hot oil filled the entire room and was instantly appetizing.

Song Youyou swallowed involuntarily, picked out a piece of meat, cut into it with a small knife, and took a bite.

“Mm, so good,” she murmured with narrowed eyes, savoring it.

Seeing the texture was just right, she turned off the heat and began packing the meat into the jars.

She placed the chunks in layer by layer, then poured in the leftover pork fat until it covered everything. Once the fat solidified, it would act as a natural preservative.

This way, she could take out a piece or two whenever she wanted to eat meat, and the leftover pork fat could also be used for stir-frying—truly a win-win.

Since the jars were relatively small, all the pork added up to four full jars.

She kept one at home, planned to give one to Wen Xiaorou, one to Grandma Gu’s family, and one to send to Shuangshui Village.

Shuangshui Village—that was where she had been sent during her rural re-education in her previous life.

The next day, according to her plan, Song Youyou first went to the post office.

She packed a hundred yuan, some spare ration coupons, and a letter into a small cloth bundle and shipped it off to the countryside along with one of the small jars.

Then she went back home, packed a small jar of meat into her bamboo basket, and headed to Grandma Gu’s house.

At the gate of the military compound—

“Comrade, please stop. Who are you here to see?” asked the guard at the gate.

“I’m here to visit the Gu family,” Song Youyou answered politely.

“Please come over here and register.”

“Okay. My name is Song Youyou. I’m here to see Grandma Gu. If it’s not convenient for me to go in, you can help pass this package along instead.”

Her tone was cooperative, and the guard’s tone softened in response. “I need to go ask for permission first. Please wait here a moment.”

“You’re looking for someone in the Gu family? What’s your relation to them?” a voice called from behind.

Song Youyou turned around and saw an elderly lady about the same age as Grandma Gu.

The moment she laid eyes on her, the old lady was already giving her a once-over.

“You must be the Gu family’s granddaughter-in-law, right?” she asked, looking at Song Youyou’s stunning face. The memory of Grandma Gu bragging the other day flashed in her mind, and a sense of threat rose in her heart.

But then she looked at Song Youyou’s plain clothes and the rustic bamboo basket on her back, and she relaxed.

“What’s in your basket? Don’t tell me it’s some local goods you brought from the countryside? Which village are you from, anyway?”

She hadn’t expected this at all. This granddaughter-in-law of the Gu family, though incredibly pretty, was clearly some country bumpkin.

That meant her own granddaughter-in-law was still the brightest star in the whole military compound!

After all, her granddaughter-in-law was a city girl—employed at the prestigious Overseas Chinese Store!