Chapter 42

The concept of metaphysics is not something that can be easily understood by everyone. Gu Xiangqian, being well-read, should be a materialist. If he hadn’t experienced it himself, he probably wouldn’t have believed Su Ye’s one-sided words.

Before she transmigrated into the book, Su Ye wasn’t superstitious either. But now, she believes that the end of metaphysics is science.

If this “good luck” happens a few more times, even Gu Xiangqian, who didn’t believe it, would have to believe it.

Su Ye greatly respected the national security department and did not dare to underestimate it.

Compared to her “unsafe identity,” Gu Xiangqian was upright, having grown up in the military. Naturally, he wasn’t afraid of being investigated. However, Su Ye was different. If the security department kept an eye on her, she would probably never be able to sell food on the black market in her lifetime.

Su Ye rubbed the sausage casings clean with salt and asked Gu Xiangqian to slice the pork belly.

She taught him how to make cured meats and sausages, saying, “You used to love eating these two things. You could finish a whole bowl of rice with just a piece of meat.”

As she spoke, Su Ye looked at the sausage casings and pig’s blood in her hands and suddenly excitedly asked, “Xiangqian, did you remember something?”

These were things she had deliberately kept the last time she brought the wild boar to the canteen.

Gu Xiangqian calmly asked, “Remember what?”

Su Ye felt a bit disappointed upon hearing that, “The last time I hunted a wild boar, we ate these things. I thought you remembered something.”

“Because you’ve been thinking about them recently,” Gu Xiangqian replied.

Su Ye didn’t say anything else, focusing her attention more on the blood sausage in front of her.

She mixed the pig’s blood and water in a 1:9 ratio and added onion and ginger juice to remove the fishy smell.

She fried spices like Sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon, and star anise in lard, and the entire room filled with an incredible fragrance. Su Ye swallowed her saliva and quickly scooped out the residue, pouring the fragrant oil into the pig’s blood and mixing it well, adding a little salt at the same time.

Su Ye tightly tied off the casing at one end and began to stuff it with pig’s blood. She managed to make four plump blood sausages, wiping the sweat from her forehead with satisfaction.

This time, Su Ye had exchanged for more pork, and the wild boar that Gu Xiangqian brought back was even larger—about 200 jin (100 kg), a full circle bigger than the last one. The pig’s blood was also more plentiful, last time, there was only enough to make two blood sausages, but this time, she had enough to fill four.

Su Ye regretted that she didn’t have a refrigerator at home, if she did, she could save the sausages for later.

During lunch, she steamed two of the blood sausages and made a delicious dipping sauce using crushed garlic, chili, green onions, ginger, and soy sauce. The slices of blood sausage dipped in the sauce were incredibly fragrant.

After patiently slicing the pork belly, Gu Xiangqian marinated it with five-spice powder. He cleaned the ribs and made a dish of garlic ribs.

The ribs and garlic were lightly fried in pork lard, and the aroma of the meat mixed with the garlic, creating an unbelievable fragrance. The scent of the meat drifted through the window, wafting into the neighbors’ homes.

Neighbors around the house smelled the delicious aroma and couldn’t resist the temptation, wondering which family was eating meat.

Such a strong smell of oil must have used a lot of lard—too extravagant, even wasteful, in fact, it was almost scandalous.

Downstairs, Fang Xiulian tugged at Li Maogang’s sleeve and said, “I heard Xiangqian killed a wild boar. I saw him bringing back a lot of meat. Shall we go to Xiangqian’s house for a meal?”

Li Maogang wasn’t too eager to go, but remembering the mouthwatering braised pork from last time, he couldn’t resist.

His Adam’s apple moved as he thought about it, and Fang Xiulian pulled out a set of lipstick and face powder from the cupboard. “I bought this recently at the department store. I’m sure your sister-in-law will like it. Let’s go.”

Su Ye knew there would be plenty of meat today, so she had already invited Grandma Zhou from downstairs to come for dinner.

Once the meal was ready, Grandma Zhou arrived.

She walked into the house, paused for a moment, and murmured, “So much meat, what’s the special occasion today?”

It wasn’t long before Zhou Honghan arrived, and then Fang Xiulian and Li Maogang came. Before Su Ye could show any displeasure, Fang Xiulian quickly handed her a box of cosmetics.

“Sis, look at this! I bought it a while back—young women over in Shanghai love it these days!”

“Do you know how to do makeup? After dinner, I can show you how to use it!”

Su Ye opened the box and glanced at it. When she saw the familiar logo, she paused in surprise. Chanel already existed domestically this early?

Fang Xiulian noticed Su Ye’s surprised expression and felt pleased with herself. Smiling, she said, “It didn’t cost much, it’s just a little gift. You’ve got such great features, Sis. With makeup, you’d look stunning.”

Su Ye accepted the cosmetics with a smile and placed them in the cabinet.

Although she accepted the gift, she had no intention of actually using it for makeup. In recent years, the focus on maintaining proper conduct had been strict. While makeup wasn’t explicitly banned for women, it could easily draw criticism in the future. However, using it for a side hustle? That could work. Disguising oneself without quality cosmetics was far too challenging. Ahem.

After putting away the gift, Su Ye seriously offered the couple a piece of advice:

“Don’t buy these kinds of things again. These foreign items are the ^[1]“sugar-coated bullets of capitalism” refers to seemingly attractive or appealing things that are seen as harmful or subversive influences of capitalism. These “bullets” are … Continue readingsugar-coated bullets of capitalism—extravagant and wasteful, not in line with our values of hard work and simplicity. Maogang, you should keep an eye on Xiulian when it comes to this sort of thing in daily life.”

She earnestly served Fang Xiulian a bowl of rice, inwardly noting how expensive a full set of Chanel cosmetics must have been.

Fang Xiulian couldn’t stop swallowing as she eyed the spread on the table. This month, Li Maogang had only managed to get a single jin of pork.

Their pork, unlike how Gu Xiangqian and his wife used thin slices for meals, had to be rendered into lard. Otherwise, it would be impossible to endure the whole month without a trace of oil in their meals. After rendering the lard, the leftover scraps weren’t even enough to fill a single tooth gap for Fang Xiulian.

Seeing the feast Su Ye had prepared, they were so envious it defied description.

The table was laden with a full plate of glossy, plump blood sausage, garlic-flavored ribs exuding a faintly rich aroma, and sweet potato leaves stir-fried in lard, glistening with a tender sheen. Dishes cooked with a generous amount of lard smelled and tasted divine!

Su Ye normally wasn’t fond of paying attention to commentaries, but in moments like this, she particularly enjoyed them.

Especially when there was delicious food involved—the viewers’ eager exclamations made everything even more satisfying. She turned on the comment feed, and a flurry of comments burst onto the screen like snowflakes:

Streamer, hurry and start eating! Poor Sister Xiulian’s drool is about to fall—she looks so pitiful!

People who haven’t eaten meat for a long time have pale, waxy complexions, losing all their charm. After staring for so long, I actually find the streamer’s round face more pleasing. Someone save me from my distorted sense of aesthetics!

Hurry up and start eating! I’ll accept this live food stream, even late-night food temptations—I just can’t handle the suspense anymore. Let’s eat!

Su Ye served Zhou Honghan a bowl of rice, smiling as she said, “Come on, let’s eat, why are you just staring at me?”

Fang Xiulian eagerly picked up a piece of blood sausage and dipped it in the sauce. The flavor was fragrant and tender, delicate to the touch, and with a gentle bite, a little bit of juice splashed out.

The garlic-flavored ribs were also very flavorful, with the fried garlic cloves giving off a faint, savory oil aroma. The ribs and garlic flavors merged together, reaching deep into the bones, making people lick the bones and not stop. Why is the food at Su Ye’s house so delicious?

Fang Xiulian quickly devoured the food, one rib after another, so delicious it almost brought tears to her eyes.

Zhou Honghan finished the meal, her mouth greasy, feeling very satisfied.

Su Ye also felt happy, enjoying the fruits of her labor. The taste was so satisfying. She had eaten all kinds of exotic delicacies before, but back then, she had eaten so much that it led to picky eating. Now, with such a strong craving, a meal like this felt incredibly fulfilling.

Happiness is indeed something you realize through comparison.

After the meal, Su Ye wrapped up a piece of blood sausage and gave it to Zhou Honghan, smiling as she said, “Elderly people tend to be anemic, eating more can help replenish your strength. I just made it today, it’s very fresh. Grandma Zhou, please enjoy it while it’s fresh tonight!”

Zhou Honghan felt a warmth in her heart, a comforting sense of care.