Chapter 50: Make Up for the Wedding Banquet

“Pregnant? What pregnant?” Gu Ye, who had returned home at noon, smelled a foul odor as he reached the front door. He thought Shen Zhiyu had been too diligent and had gone to the latrine to fetch some manure to fertilize their private plot. Gu Ye’s feelings were complex.

When they talked about planting vegetables in the yard, he had suggested adding some farm manure, which would make the vegetables grow better. Shen Zhiyu had refused, her opposition was resolute and fierce. He could only let it go, and finally decided to get some wood ash. Wood ash was also good, it could not only fertilize the soil, but also reduce pests.

 It’s just that he couldn’t hang his clothes in the front yard for a few days, and he had to wear light-colored clothes less often in the house, otherwise, his fingernails, clothes, everything would be covered in black ash. Wood ash was good, but farm manure was better. If she really got some, wouldn’t the vegetables in the yard grow better? But, Gu Ye heard her retching, and it made him feel uncomfortable. He was afraid that she was comparing herself to someone, feeling inferior, and being provoked. He hurried into the house. Before he even reached the room, he saw the bag of pig offal. Gu Ye: “….. What’s going on? Why did you suddenly think of buying pig offal? It’s smelly.

” Fu Chunni heard “pig offal” and inexplicably felt disappointed, her tone was tinged with regret, “I thought she was pregnant, but this pig offal is too smelly.” As she spoke, she felt like vomiting, and quickly ran out of the yard, telling Shen Zhiyu to come find her later. Shen Zhiyu was vomiting, tears streaming down her face, she shook her head, unable to speak, and weakly raised her hand. Gu Ye put the thing aside, then went to fetch a basin of water and grabbed some soap. Shen Zhiyu washed her hands with soap several times, until her hands were about to peel, before she stopped. Gu Ye found it funny, “You know this stuff, even in the countryside, no one eats it, why did you think of buying it?” Shen Zhiyu was annoyed thinking about it.

The book had just mentioned the smell of pig intestines, devoting a lot of ink to how delicious and chewy it was, and how it would burst with juice! Shen Zhiyu had never eaten anything so delicious. She was just curious. But she couldn’t say that to Gu Ye, so she said she had heard people say that pig intestines, when washed clean, were more delicious than pork belly, and they were free, so she got some. And if it was really delicious, they could have pig offal for their wedding feast this Sunday, which would save them a lot of money. Gu Ye almost laughed. They were almost starving back then, and no one ate this stuff. But seeing that she wanted to eat it so much, and it was to save money for their wedding feast, the man fell silent for a moment, “How do you make it? I’ll try it.”

 Shen Zhiyu widened her eyes, “Aren’t you afraid of the smell?” “It’s okay, it’s not that smelly.” They had spent hours in piles of cow dung during their field training, they were used to it. Gu Ye and the others had a long lunch break. There was wood ash at home, so he filled a basin with water, put the pig intestines and wood ash together in the basin, and rubbed them back and forth.

Shen Zhiyu was afraid of the smell, but she didn’t want Gu Ye to wash the pig intestines alone, so she stuffed some cotton into her nostrils, squatted down, and kept him company. Someone passed by outside, smelled the stench, and looked into the yard.

They saw the two of them squatting face to face. They were startled, “Oh my god, are you two defecating in the yard?!” Gu Ye: “……” Shen Zhiyu was dumbfounded, her face instantly flushed red, she wished she could find a hole to crawl into. When Mai Laidi saw that they were washing pig intestines, she was also embarrassed. This couple, they weren’t doing anything useful in the house in broad daylight. They were squatting in the yard washing pig intestines.

Even if they were standing up to wash, she wouldn’t have thought they were defecating in the yard. She gave a sheepish smile and quickly ran away carrying the firewood. After the person left, Shen Zhiyu looked at Gu Ye’s aggrieved, speechless, but still serious expression, and her lips curled up, then she burst into laughter, “Hahahahahaha” Gu Ye: “……” Okay, as long as she was happy. The man continued to wash the pig intestines, a smile gradually appearing in his eyes. He washed them for over twenty minutes before they were clean.

 After washing, he blanched them in boiling water with ginger slices and scallions for two minutes, then took them out, and the smell was basically gone. He cut them into pieces, put a pot on the stove and poured in some oil. Gu Ye was reluctant to use oil, so he only put in a little, Shen Zhiyu’s eyes hurt when she saw it, and she asked him to pour in some more. The book said that when making this dish, you have to be generous with the seasoning.

 So much oil, Gu Ye’s eyes hurt. But now that they were at it, if he was reluctant here and there, the dish wouldn’t be delicious, and all the effort would be wasted. He simply listened to Shen Zhiyu, ginger slices, chopped peppers, soy sauce, salt, star anise, peppercorns, as if they were free. This area was a basin, the climate was humid and hot, due to the climate and terrain, the ingredients and spices were particularly abundant. There were bay leaf trees and such along the road. These things were very expensive in their hometown, but they were everywhere here, and Gu Ye didn’t feel bad about using them. As he cooked, the fragrant aroma of oil filled the air.

Finally, he covered the pot and simmered it for twenty minutes. After taking it off the stove, both of them looked at the glistening, chewy pig intestines, and silently swallowed. Picking up their chopsticks, Shen Zhiyu picked up a piece, blew on it, and brought it to the man’s mouth, “You worked hard today, the first piece is for you.” Back home. He was the second son, and whenever there was something good, it would go to his younger brother first, then his older brother, and finally to him. Like today, the first bite was for him.

The man looked at the woman with deep eyes, his throat bobbing, the emotions within him so intense they were about to overflow. Shen Zhiyu felt uneasy under his gaze. Did he guess that she had made him eat first because she was afraid it was too disgusting and wanted him to try it first?

 She bit her lip, about to retract her chopsticks, when Gu Ye stepped forward, opened his mouth, and ate it. The spicy, garlicky, and ginger-infused flavor was naturally delicious, and after simmering for twenty minutes, it was even more flavorful. And the texture was exactly as Shen Zhiyu had imagined, the intestines were tough and the meat was tender. The man chewed twice and nodded vigorously, “Delicious.” Shen Zhiyu’s eyes lit up, and she quickly took a bite herself.

 “Mmm, so good! Better than meat!” Wasn’t it better than meat? Gu Ye had originally come back from the canteen with a meal and two dishes. Now, no one was eating those two dishes, and they could finish the rice with this plate of pig intestines. It was even better than they had imagined. And it was free, although the processing was a bit disgusting, but Gu Ye thought it was worth it. So he asked Xiao He to get them a bunch of pig offal from the meat processing plant. Counting the comrades who were close to Gu Ye, including those who were invited to his wedding, and their families, they would need at least two tables. They went to the canteen a day in advance to borrow tables and chairs. They also ordered a pot of rice and cornbread. As for the dishes, it would be exhausting for Shen Zhiyu and Gu Ye to cook everything themselves, and they might not even be good.

They decided to spend two yuan to ask the canteen chef to help them cook. Since they were spending money anyway, they bought three-yuan worth of pork belly and a pound of bone-in pork. They had bone broth, stewed meat, and pig intestines.

Three meat dishes, no matter where you were, this kind of feast was excellent. Their guests didn’t come empty-handed either. Pillows, handkerchiefs, fruit, and eggs, all the most common gifts during this time. These things were piled on the table, and the originally empty house suddenly felt alive! They worked from morning till night, and the house was lively all day.

Wang Guizhi felt bad about what had happened last time, so she came over early to help her out. The chief’s wife was so warm to her, and Shen Zhiyu wasn’t the kind of person who was very timid or strong-willed, she was smiling and generous.

She basically got acquainted with the other military wives here. It’s just that she kept hearing them mention another person, comparing Shen Zhiyu and Gu Ye’s feast tonight to that person’s feast several times. Shen Zhiyu was curious about this military wife who was still away, taking care of some business back home. But… Liu Qian, why did that name sound so familiar?

Shen Zhiyu, whose brain was turning to mush from exhaustion, heard them say that Liu Qian’s family was in the capital, and she suddenly remembered – wasn’t she the real city dweller in the book who made He Qing self-harm out of guilt, the white moonlight of Jiang Wenbin’s older sister?!