Chapter 116: Encountering the Oddball Hu Family

Although Xiang Xinyao was nearly 17 and Xiang Xinyu almost 15, there was no sense of awkwardness when they sucked their fingers.

After finishing the cracklings, everyone went back to their tasks. Xiang Xinyao, along with her mother and sister, began making sausages, while Aunt Ji and Chunhua headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Making sausages by hand was slow work, so Xiang Xinyao found three small metal rings, about the size of a mineral water cap, to help stuff the casings. She slid one end of the sausage casing through the ring, then folded it over to hold it in place while her left hand gripped tightly. With her right hand, she began pushing the meat into the casing.

The small metal rings sped up the process considerably. Her mother and sister were soon working efficiently as well.

After the New Year, Xiang Xinyao planned to return to Bianjing with her parents, and she wanted to bring some of the meat and sausages along. Since she’d be returning after a while, the Ji family could always slaughter another wild boar from her space if needed.

Half a year had passed, and under Xiang Xinyao’s influence, life in the village had improved greatly. However, the families that had once looked down on her or bullied her didn’t have the same opportunities to prosper.

Six such families existed in the village, all having once been close to the Hu and Yang Dahui families. They were jealous and envious of Xiang Xinyao but didn’t dare to provoke her, only watching others get rich with green eyes.

Unable to find anything to do, Xiang Taifu sat beside Xiang Xinyao, bringing a small stool to join her in making sausages. Xiang Xinyao had to grab another metal ring and personally show her father how it worked.

Once the sausages were done, it was time for dinner. After eating too many cracklings, Xiang Xinyu and Xiang Xinyao didn’t feel like eating much.

Although it hadn’t snowed yet, the winter air was still chilly, and the pork cooled quickly. Both the cured and fried meats needed to cool completely before they could be salted or stored, or they would spoil.

Since they weren’t hungry, Xiang Xinyao led Xiang Xinyu to cure the meat. She kept it simple, using only salt and a little wine to preserve the pork’s natural flavor. After rubbing the meats with salt and wine, she set them aside to cure.

The fried pork would only need to be washed and cut into chunks the next day for frying. The cured meat could be rinsed after two days and then hung to air-dry, ready for stir-frying or boiling when needed.

By the time night fell, their tasks were almost finished, and anything left would have to wait until tomorrow.

—

However, it was not only the Ji family that had slaughtered pigs that day. The Hu family had also killed a pig.

The Hu family was notoriously stingy, always unwilling to pay for help, fearing others might eat all their pork. But with only one man in the house, Hu Dashan needed help to flip the pig onto the slaughtering table. At least two more men were required, plus his wife, Zhang, to help lift the pig.

Though their pig wasn’t large, weighing under 200 pounds and somewhat lean, it was still lively, and without help, it would be nearly impossible to handle.

Hu Dashan called upon Yang Dahui and another man he was friendly with from the village. Both men were eager for a good meal of pork at Hu Dashan’s house.

Yet, the Hu family was so miserly that while Zhang was preparing the meal, Hu Dashan instructed her to intentionally add more salt than usual. Since it was cold, the food wouldn’t spoil quickly, and they could save the leftovers for later. When they needed to, they’d simply add some fresh vegetables to balance the flavor.

At lunch, after eating the disgusting, overly salted dish, Yang Dahui and the other man’s faces turned so sour, they looked like they’d eaten something unpleasant. They barely had a couple of bites before storming out, shaking their sleeves in frustration.

The Hu family’s pig was too lean, with hardly any fat, and the lard was just a thin layer. The lard they had rendered was barely a fifth of what the Ji family managed to get from their pigs.

Hu Dashan was extremely frustrated.

When Xiang Xinyao was still with them, the pigs they raised were plump and fat. Though they weren’t particularly large, they had plenty of fat and thick back fat. The rendered lard could last for half a year.

Of course, that was assuming Xiang Xinyao didn’t get any.

But now, the little lard they managed to render wasn’t enough for his family of three to last even three months.

While the Ji family’s rendered lard wafted through the entire village, Hu Dashan only felt increasingly bitter as his lard simmered down.

Looking at the small pot of lard, Hu Dashan angrily scolded his mother, slapped Zhang a few times, but never once stopped to think—if they had no grain for themselves, how could they expect their pigs to be fed? It was a miracle they hadn’t starved to death.

But that wasn’t the end.

After Yang Dahui and the other man left the Hu house, it didn’t take long for the whole village to learn that the Hu family had deliberately added extra salt to their dishes, refusing to let their guests eat properly.

The whole village’s contempt for the Hu family reached new heights. It was as if everyone had collectively decided that Hu family was as disgraceful as a rat crossing the street.

However, the Hu family was completely oblivious, still feeling a sense of petty pride over not letting Yang Dahui and his friend get a free meal.

The Ji family and Xiang family, of course, didn’t know about this incident. Even if they did, they wouldn’t have cared much.

—

That night, Xiang Xinyao still shared a room with Madam Xiang and Xiang Xinyu.

The next day, they planned to buy New Year’s goods. After her mother and sister fell asleep, Xiang Xinyao intended to go into her space to feed the wild boars, chickens, and ducks.

After a few casual words, she pretended to feel very tired, her eyelids starting to droop.

Xiang Xinyu, sleeping on a straw mat, kept talking, but Madam Xiang gently spoke, “Yuer, Yao’er is tired, don’t disturb her. Quickly go to sleep.”

“Okay.” Xiang Xinyu immediately quieted down, her voice barely audible, like a mosquito buzzing.

After about an incense’s worth of time, both her mother and sister’s breathing became steady and even.

Xiang Xinyao pretended to turn over, kicking the blanket off her.

Madam Xiang kept her eyes closed but reached out to pull the blanket back over her daughter, then cuddled her closely, as if she were still asleep.

After waiting a little longer, ensuring both her mother and sister were fully asleep, Xiang Xinyao quietly pulled her mother’s hand from her and tucked it into the blanket before slipping into her space.

Now that she knew the vegetables from her space not only tasted better but also had higher nutritional value and matured much faster, she wasn’t hesitant to use them to feed the animals.

Once the space expanded further and the land became larger, she wouldn’t have to worry about running out of food even during a famine.

Xiang Xinyao grabbed a large basin used for animal feed and, with a thought, began pulling various vegetables from the space and piling them near the edge of the basin. Then she started chopping them up with a knife.

Her speed increased rapidly. As long as the vegetables were chopped up—whether it was large stalks or big leafy greens—she added cornmeal and spring water from her space, and the animals would eat everything without leaving a trace.

These days, when she ground the cornmeal, it wasn’t as fine as before. She ground it into corn grit, and the animals still ate it all.