Chapter 10: Chicken Soup

“Mom, can you help me watch the fire? I need to boil water to remove the chicken feathers and start stewing it. By the time Big Brother and Little Sister get back, we’ll have meat to eat.” 

“Okay, okay.” Though Wen’s mother couldn’t see clearly, she wasn’t completely blind, and she could manage simple household tasks. 

The mother and daughter worked in harmony—one tending the fire, the other preparing the ingredients—chatting now and then. 

Wen Yunhe quickly searched the kitchen cabinets. There was a bag of black flour, around 30 pounds, and half a bag of brown rice, about 10 pounds. There were also some miscellaneous grains, seasonings, and a small bag of red dates. 

(This “black flour” refers to coarsely processed flour that retains more bran and germ, giving it a darker color. This type of flour has a higher yield as less of the bran and germ are removed during processing.) 

“Mom, is this all the grain we have at home?” This amount wouldn’t last until next year. 

“There are still two stones of wheat in my room, but that’s about it. Once we finish harvesting the rice, we’ll pay the taxes and sell some of the remaining rice to save money for your older brother’s schooling. We’ll keep five dou for the household.” 

“Once the rice harvest is done, we’ll have to gather the corn, sweet potatoes, and sorghum. In the fall, we can store some other vegetables and melons. That should last us until next year.” 

Her son’s education was a big concern for Wen’s mother. Even though their lives were tough, she had always been determined to ensure her children had a future, so even if it meant eating the bare minimum, she would sacrifice for their schooling. 

The amount of grain they had was carefully calculated—just enough for the three of them to survive until next year. Their situation wasn’t easy. 

Wen Yunhe couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. She had already scooped a large bowl of black flour and quickly returned half of it to the bag. 

One meal was already taking up several days’ worth of grain—such a waste. 

To avoid her mother noticing, she secretly took a bowl of buckwheat noodles from the space and mixed them with the black flour on the counter. It looked similar enough. 

She then added water, kneading and shaping the dough, letting it rest for a while. 

Meanwhile, the water in the pot had boiled, so Wen Yunhe grabbed the two wild chickens and swiftly slit their throats. 

The blood from the chickens filled half a bowl. She didn’t want to waste any part of the chickens, so she planned to cook the blood as well. She had heard that drinking it could help cleanse the body of toxins, though she wasn’t sure if it was true—still, better than nothing. 

After collecting the blood, she placed the chickens in a large wooden basin and poured boiling water over them to scald the feathers. After two minutes, the feathers could be easily plucked. 

Wen’s mother, though she couldn’t see, worked efficiently, feeling her way through the process. Wen Yunhe would check the details after her mother was done. 

Once the chickens were plucked, it was time to deal with the insides. 

In these hard times, eating a whole chicken was rare, so nothing could be wasted. 

She kept all the organs—gizzards, hearts, intestines, kidneys, and liver. 

She cleaned the gizzards by opening them up and removing the yellow membrane, also known as the chicken’s inner gold. 

For families with children, the “chicken inner gold” was considered valuable, often dried and ground into powder to aid digestion. However, they didn’t need it right now. 

The chicken intestines were threaded onto a chopstick and pulled apart for easy cleaning. The sight wasn’t pleasant—there was a lot of waste—but she persevered. 

Once all the organs were cleaned and collected, she ended up with a small bowl of edible parts—just enough for each person to have a couple of extra bites. 

Even the dirty water from the cleaning process wasn’t wasted—it was poured onto the ground outside as fertilizer. 

Next, it was time to cook. 

They would eat one chicken tonight and have the remaining chicken tomorrow, along with a bowl of chicken offal. 

As for the few birds left in the space, Wen Yunhe decided to keep them there for now. She would find a chance to take them out later. Killing them today might result in them spoiling, especially since the weather was still a bit warm in September. 

The wild chickens didn’t have as much meat as domestic ones. After processing, there were only about two pounds of meat. When cut into small pieces, it barely filled a big bowl. 

The meat was so lean that Wen Yunhe didn’t even bother blanching it, lest the little fat it had be lost. Instead, she simply put it straight into the pot to stew. 

After bringing the broth to a boil, she skimmed off the black foam, aiming to retain as much of the chicken’s nutrients as possible. 

Wen’s mother, watching the pot, decided to go out into the field to see what vegetables could be added to the stew. 

Unlike in the future, where people paid attention to nutritional balance when making chicken soup, in this time, getting everyone full was the most important thing. With just meat, it would never be enough. 

In the small yard, they grew various vegetables, though they couldn’t afford to waste good farmland on them. Most families in the village were in the same situation. 

Despite the small space, the Wen family grew quite a lot of produce. 

Wen Yunhe picked two bundles of tender corn and a big handful of spinach. 

The aroma of the chicken soup wafted through the kitchen as it simmered over low heat. As she entered, Wen Yunhe’s mouth watered uncontrollably. 

Her body was starved of nutrients, craving meat. The fact that the stewing water was infused with diluted spiritual spring water made the smell even more irresistible. 

“Thanks to you, Mother, just smelling this makes me feel so much better,” Wen’s mother remarked, smiling widely, something rare for her. 

“How can we just smell it? Today, everyone will eat until they’re full and satisfied.” 

As she spoke, Wen Yunhe kept working, slicing ginger, cutting the corn into pieces, slicing the beef liver mushrooms, and tearing the chicken pine mushrooms into strips. Once the chicken had stewed for a while, she planned to add all of these ingredients to the pot. 

The family didn’t have many seasonings, but fortunately, chicken soup didn’t need much. A few slices of ginger and a pinch of salt were all it needed. 

As the soup continued to boil, Wen Yunhe didn’t stop. She started to knead dough to make noodles. 

With their current financial situation, eating rice was a luxury. The coarse rice they had would be gone in a few meals. So, she had to rely on noodles to make do. 

Overall, their family was simply too poor. She needed to find a way to earn money, so she could one day afford to eat whatever she wanted. 

The noodles were neatly arranged on the counter, and the chicken soup was nearly ready. Wen Yunhe took a few red dates from the cupboard and added them to the pot, along with a little more coarse salt. The chicken soup was nearly done. 

Meanwhile, Wen Yunqing and Wen Yunwei, carrying their baskets, were walking back. Their legs were tired, and they were hungry. 

“Brother, do you smell that? It smells so good!” 

“I can smell it too…” 

As they neared the house, the fragrance grew stronger, and their hearts leapt with joy. 

It must be their older sister cooking something delicious. 

When Wen Yunhe was home, she was the best cook. She could take simple ingredients and turn them into something flavorful. But in the past two years, with Wen Yunwei taking over the cooking, “edible” was the best that could be said about the meals. 

“Older sister, I thought I’d be the one cooking when I returned. What did you make? It smells so good!” 

Wen Yunhe carefully took Wen Yunwei’s basket off his back. 

Wen Yunqing didn’t need help with his own basket, so he set it down himself.