Chapter 74: The Smell Really is Gone

Last time, Uncle Ji had dug a pit for starting a fire to boil water, which was still there. Ji Chunhua gathered some firewood and started the fire.

She placed a large pot over the flames and added water to it.

Aunt Ji brought a clean basin, and Hu Zhaodi put a bit of salt in it, then scooped a large ladle of water into the basin before carefully positioning it under the boar’s neck to collect the blood.

Eldest Brother Ji sharpened the butcher’s knife until it was razor-sharp. Fifth Brother Ji and Third Brother Ji set up a long wooden table.

The men worked together to lift the wild boar onto the table. The body of the boar lay on the table, its neck and head hanging off the side.

Uncle Ji, holding the knife in one hand and the boar’s mouth in the other, swiftly stabbed the knife into the boar’s neck with a “thunk.”

Hu Zhaodi placed the basin underneath to catch the blood, which flowed into the basin immediately.

Once the blood drained completely, Hu Zhaodi carried the basin into the kitchen to let the blood coagulate.

The men worked together to move the boar from the table to the large pot of boiling water before washing up and sitting down for their meal.

At the dining table, Hu Zhaodi spoke up, “Grandpa Ji, please go to the school later and let the villagers who helped with the school know that they can come to the Ji family to collect a pound of wild boar meat after they finish their work this afternoon.

If they want more, I’ll sell it at seven copper coins per pound.

For the other villagers, I’ll sell it at fifteen copper coins per pound.”

The old scholar nodded, “Okay, I’ll go notify them after lunch.”

Hu Zhaodi continued, “Grandpa, after you finish eating, please go tell the villagers. We’ll start selling the pork at Shen hour this afternoon. Anyone who wants some can come buy it.

Eldest Brother Ji, you and your brothers stay here and don’t go to the eastern part of the village. Stay and help with processing the boar.”

Uncle Ji and his sons nodded in agreement, “No problem.”

Hu Zhaodi smiled, “Eldest Brother Ji, make sure to save some meat for us, enough for our family to have two meals. Don’t sell it all.”

“Got it,” Eldest Brother Ji replied with a smile.

After the meal, everyone took a short rest, and then the Ji family got busy.

Even Ji Big Sister-in-Law and the other sisters-in-law came to help, bringing their children along.

Aunt Ji and Ji Chunhua were preparing for tomorrow’s grain harvest.

Hu Zhaodi headed into the kitchen to boil water and then cut the coagulated blood into small pieces to cook briefly.

The blood couldn’t be cooked for too long, or it would become tough.

Once the blood was cooked, she took it out and set it aside to drain. Hu Zhaodi went to the yard to pick vegetables, preparing the ingredients like onions, ginger, and garlic in advance.

Once the boar’s fur was cleaned off and it was moved to the wooden table, Hu Zhaodi got a clean basin to collect the liver and heart.

Pig liver was good for replenishing iron, boosting blood, and improving eyesight, so Hu Zhaodi planned to fry it.

Ji Chunhua’s two children, as well as Hu Zhaodi herself, had gained some weight, but they still seemed too thin for their age and hadn’t reached the proper height yet.

Once Eldest Brother Ji had taken out the liver, heart, and lungs, Hu Zhaodi quickly collected them in a basin and carried them to the kitchen.

After cleaning a large piece of liver, she sliced it thin and set it aside.

Once the liver was ready, she cleaned the cutting board.

By then, Ji’s brothers had already finished with the offal, and they had also removed the small ribs.

Hu Zhaodi scraped most of the meat off the ribs, leaving a thin layer on, then chopped the ribs into small sections. After cleaning them, she put them into a large pot to make rib soup.

Ji Heying helped Hu Zhaodi by fetching water and disposing of dirty water, doing simple tasks.

After starting the soup, Hu Zhaodi was about to begin cleaning the pig’s offal when Ji Chunhua snatched the basin from her hands. “Zhaodi, you’ve been working for half the day. Sit down and rest for a bit. I’ll wash these.”

Hu Zhaodi smiled and nodded. “Sister Chunhua, when you wash the offal, add a little soy sauce to help remove the smell.”

( NOTE: if you’re a bit confuse offal is the name given to the edible internal parts of animals produced for food, including heart, kidney, liver and tongue.)

“Huh?” Ji Chunhua looked incredulously at her. “Isn’t adding soy sauce to wash the offal a waste? It’s so smelly that not many people are willing to eat it. The money we get from selling the offal probably won’t even be enough to buy two bottles of soy sauce.”

Hu Zhaodi laughed lightly. “Sister Chunhua, the reason the offal smells is because it’s not cleaned properly and the method is wrong.”

“Then how should it be washed?”

“First, mix flour with a little soy sauce and rub it on the offal. This will clean off the dirt and smell. Then rub it with salt two or three times, and after a few washes, it will be very clean.”

Ji Chunhua nodded. “I’ll give it a try. In the past, when I washed the offal, it never seemed to washed away the smell, no matter how many times I washed it. Even the lard made from pig intestines smells too. If it weren’t for having nothing else to eat, who would want to eat it?”

“Why don’t we skip the washing and just sell it if someone wants to buy it?”

Ji Chunhua knew how awful the offal smelled and didn’t want Zhaodi to eat it. She would rather go without meat herself than let Zhaodi eat it.

However, Hu Zhaodi, with her soul from the 23rd century and her love for food, knew exactly how to make offal delicious without any foul smell. She loved the braised flavor.

She shook her head. “No, let’s keep it for ourselves. After it’s braised, it will taste great, and I promise it won’t smell.”

“Alright! I’ll go wash it then.”

Initially, Hu Zhaodi had planned to make some sausages, but given the hot weather and the fear of them spoiling, she decided against it. She would wait until the New Year, when they slaughter the pigs, to consider making sausages.

By then, the pig had already been completely broken down, and the three Ji brothers were busy removing the bones.

An incense stick’s time later, Ji Chunhua had finished cleaning the offal.

Hu Zhaodi started another fire in the stove and placed the offal into cold water, adding onion sections, ginger, and cooking wine to blanch it.

Once the water began to boil, the smell of the offal started to emerge.

Ji Chunhua furrowed her brow. “Zhaodi, didn’t you say that adding soy sauce while washing the offal would get rid of the smell?”

Hu Zhaodi smiled and replied, “Sister Chunhua, don’t worry. This is just the blanching step. The smell will be gone after a little while.”

“Oh,” Ji Chunhua still looked doubtful.

From childhood, Ji Chunhua had eaten plenty of offal, and it had never been without a smell. But since the family didn’t have much to eat, she’d had to bear the terrible smell and eat it anyway.

After blanching the offal, Hu Zhaodi washed it once more and then started to caramelize sugar. She added star anise, cinnamon, and other seasonings before placing the offal into the pot to braise.

An incense stick’s time later, the pot was filled with the delicious aroma of the braise, and not a trace of the foul smell remained.

Ji Chunhua smiled. “Zhaodi, I really can’t smell the bad odor anymore. It actually smells quite good.”

“Of course! Why would I lie to you?”

Seeing that there was nothing else to do at the moment, Ji Chunhua pulled Hu Zhaodi into the main room. She then ran to the bedroom to bring out the clothes she had made and showed them to Hu Zhaodi.

“Zhaodi, look! I made the two sets of clothes I saw at the tailor’s shop last time.”

Hu Zhaodi took the clothes and examined them carefully before giving a thumbs up with a delighted expression.

“Wow! Sister Chunhua, I didn’t expect you to have such skill! Your needlework is incredible, really impressive.”

Ji Chunhua’s face turned red with the compliment. “Oh, stop. My needlework is just okay, but compared to yours, I’m far behind.”