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“Alright, let’s order fifty jin of cornmeal, and another twenty each of rice and white flour—just to have them ready.”
Xingchen thought to himself: his wife clearly wasn’t someone suited to eating coarse grains alone. Of course, he wouldn’t let her suffer. She probably only said that out of thrift, not because she actually preferred coarse grains.
“Okay then. I have to wake up early tomorrow to buy meat, so I won’t keep you up. Sleep, sleep.”
Even though it was the middle of summer, they were surrounded by mountains, without the later generations’ greenhouse effect. At night, the two of them curled under a light blanket in the same bed, and it was perfectly comfortable.
“Wife… Momo.”
“Mm?”
“Wake up—it’s time. Didn’t you want to go to the supply co-op early?”
Momo blinked awake, glanced at her watch, and gasped.
“It’s already almost six o’clock?”
They’d gone to bed at nine-thirty the night before, yet she still struggled to get up. She hadn’t even heard the bugle call.
“Breakfast is ready. I have to go to work now.”
“How many people are coming tonight to help?”
“Six comrades, plus Big Brother. Tinghao can’t always ask for leave, so he won’t be there.”
“Got it. Go on then, don’t be late.”
He kissed her quickly, then straightened his uniform and left.
Momo washed up, braided her hair neatly, and had her own breakfast: porridge with an egg and pickles. One egg a day was non-negotiable; Xingchen trained hard, and without proper nutrition, his body would suffer. Overworking when young always brought health problems later.
After breakfast, she strapped a basket to her back, got on her bicycle, and set out.
The morning air wasn’t hot yet, and outside, the mountains smelled fresh and earthy. Breathing it in cleared her head.
She left at ten past six and arrived at the supply co-op at seven sharp. Luckily, there weren’t many ahead—only six or seven people.
“Two jin of first-class pork, two jin of belly, trotters, offal, bones—all of them. I’ll also take two hearts and kidneys.”
Most people avoided trotters and offal. What everyone valued most was lard. People behind her looked at her enviously, but their ration coupons only allowed half a jin. Envy couldn’t change that.
The butcher, seeing Momo’s generous purchases, her good looks, and tidy clothes, treated her with extra politeness.
“Want a pig’s head? No coupons needed.”
“Half of one, please.”
Pig’s head meat was delicious, and stored in the cellar, it would last several days.
Once the meat was packed into her basket, she continued buying.
“A jin each of red beans, mung beans, and soybeans. Star anise, bay leaves, and…”
To stew pig’s head and intestines properly, she’d need spices. To get rid of the odor, she even bought a cheap bottle of liquor. After a final look around, she headed home by bicycle.
At the neighbor’s:
“Sister Xu, can I borrow a jin of cornmeal? I’ll return it tomorrow. Old Lin went to order from logistics today.”
Cornmeal was best for cleaning intestines; using fine flour would be wasteful.
“I’ve got some, I’ll bring it over in a bit.”
“Thanks, Sister.”
When Momo returned, she washed the meat in a big basin. Soon, Sister Xu arrived with a jin of cornmeal and two pumpkins.
“These intestines always have a smell. I can’t stand it.”
Just the thought made her gag.
“That’s because they’re not cleaned properly. Done right, they don’t smell at all, and when stewed, they’re delicious. Try mine later, you’ll see.”
Momo turned the intestines inside out, scrubbed them with cornmeal and vinegar until spotless, leaving only a little fat.
“Yours will definitely taste better. But cornmeal and vinegar? That’s too extravagant for us. We usually just rinse with water.”
A whole bowl of cornmeal could feed two people. Too wasteful, she thought, shaking her head.
Once everything was cleaned, Momo blanched all the meat. Then she set the pig’s head and intestines to stew with spices, soaked soybeans in water, and put pig trotters into the clay pot with beans.
“I’m planning six dishes: trotters with soybeans, stir-fried pig’s head with peppers, intestines with carrots, stewed belly with potatoes, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and shredded potatoes with vinegar. Main dish: mixed-grain steamed buns.”
“That’s plenty. Make more of the shredded potatoes—they’re light, tangy, and everyone loves them.”
Custom dictated that vegetables be plentiful, while meat dishes only needed enough for everyone to taste. Nobody could afford to let people eat meat to their fullness.
“Got it, Sister.”
Sister Xu had wanted to help, but when she saw Momo slicing potatoes, she gave up.
The shreds were impossibly fine and uniform. Nowadays, most people only care if the food was cooked through, taste comes second, and appearance hardly matters. Momo’s simple dish, however, looked refined enough to stun anyone.
With Sister Xu helping tend the fire, Momo wasn’t too tired. When the last dish—tomatoes with eggs—was done, Xingchen arrived with his comrades.
**“Wife, this is Commissar Xu, this is Commander Wang, Commander Hu, and Commander Li. This is Shitou, this is Yutou.
And these two kids are Goudan and Hutou, Commissar Xu’s sons.”**
“Welcome, everyone. Thank you for all your hard work today. Dinner’s ready—please, sit down and eat.”
“Old Lin, your wife is gorgeous. You really struck gold.”
“Of course. With a sister like mine, who else could deserve her but him?”
Only then did everyone realize that Battalion Commander Su was Momo’s brother. Xingchen had kept his mouth shut the whole time.
“Old Xu, go grab some stools from home. We’re short a few here.”
Commissar Xu fetched extra chairs, and soon everyone was seated. In the northeast, women had no restrictions about sitting at the same table, so ten adults and two children all squeezed around together.
“This dish is intestines. Sister Xu said she could never stand the smell before. Try mine—I promise they’re good.”
The dish, fried with carrots, looked appetizing. Everyone eagerly reached for their chopsticks.
The rich flavor of pork fat, the chewy bite, the sweetness of carrots—all burst together in their mouths. Words failed them. They only knew it was the best intestines they’d ever eaten.
“Delicious.”
“Comrade Su, you’re amazing.”
Though disciplined and steady, they couldn’t help murmuring praise between bites. It was the highest compliment a host could get.
“Commander, do you have another sister? Introduce me! I’m already a company commander, not bad, eh?”
Shitou and Yutou leaned forward eagerly—they were bachelors too.
“No. She’s the only one. Don’t even think about it. Better save up for a wife instead. Your Vice-Commander here handed over his entire savings to my sister—including the three-turns-and-one-sound, all complete.”
Tingjie wasn’t afraid of breaking their hearts.
The others all thought the same: if they could marry a wife like this, they’d happily hand over everything too.