“How fragrant!” Jiang Xiangbei, carrying a water bucket, had just entered the yard and couldn’t help but breathe in deeply.

Jiang Xiangdong, covered in dust and sweat as he moved soybean stalks, had a bright and radiant smile on his face despite the dirt on his skin.

He grinned and said, “Fourth Brother, Mother bought a pig’s head, and tonight we’ll have pig’s head meat!”

Mother said that the pig’s head was seen by some women in the village, so they could mention it, but the pig fat was not to be talked about.

After all, the pig’s head wasn’t worth much, but pig fat was very expensive.

If someone came around trying to get some pig fat for free, it wouldn’t be good.

Jiang Xiangbei exclaimed, “Wow!”

Without having time to report his achievements for the day, he placed the bucket down and rushed into the kitchen.

Shen Qing had already sorted the raw materials by type, and the ones soaked in lime water were ready to go.

The others just had to wait for the soybean stalk ashes to be cleared before they could be soaked.

Seeing Jiang Xiangbei returning with fish and shrimp, she quietly moved toward the water bucket.

As she got closer, the system made a clear and pleasant sound.

“Wild small river shrimp, 4.6 jin (about 2.3 kg), 37 yuan per jin;”

It wasn’t easy to find a place for them, but she didn’t want to waste any, so she kept the remainder, earning 148 yuan.

“Wild small river fish, 11.3 jin (about 5.65 kg), 13 yuan per jin,” Shen Qing was willing to let go of more of these.

However, there were too many to fry at once, so she kept the majority and sold the rest, earning 50 yuan.

Her total earnings were 204 yuan, leaving a balance of more than 1,500 yuan.

Looking at the sky, Shen Qing estimated that Jiang Xiangbei would go out again soon and might make over 100 more yuan.

This daily income should be enough to last until the river shrimp and fish season ended.

She quickly cleaned the shrimp and fish, placed them into a large soup basin, and added some pre-mixed coarse salt water for flavor.

After tossing the fish and shrimp in flour to coat them, she carried the mixture to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Jiang Xiangbei stared longingly at the pig’s head simmering in the large iron pot, swallowing his saliva.

He also glanced at the pig fat in the nearby clay jar, its contents gently floating, making him swallow even more.

He had already heard from his older brother and sister-in-law that the neighbors thought the smell was from simmering pig head meat, and it should remain a secret.

He wasn’t stupid, and he wouldn’t shout it out.

He understood the rule—if there was meat, it should be hidden in the bowl and eaten quietly.

When he saw Mother bring in the large soup basin, he almost leaned forward to hug her.

Mother was so nice to buy meat for them to eat! And pig fat too!

Huo Bing, seeing Shen Qing enter, quickly handed over a pair of chopsticks and asked, “Mother, do you think it’s done yet?”

It had been simmering for about half an hour.

The chopsticks easily slid into the meat of the pig’s head, and the smell of the crispy pig fat had started to waft through the air.

Shen Qing leaned forward, tested with chopsticks, and nodded in approval.

Then, she instructed, “You can take it out now. Save the pig fat for later, and let it cool—I’ll need it in a moment. As for the fish and shrimp in the soup basin, fry them in rapeseed oil and give everyone a portion as a snack.”

Huo Bing was fine with it, but Jiang Xiangbei nearly jumped in joy.

His heart was pounding with excitement, feeling like it was about to leap out of his chest.

Pig head meat, pig fat, and fried fish and shrimp in rapeseed oil—was this a New Year’s feast?

No, it was even better than that!

He squeezed his leg hard, wincing in pain, then smiled widely, like a silly grin. “Hehe, it hurts, but it’s not a dream.”

Jiang Xiangdong walked in and saw his younger brother grinning foolishly.

With one glance, he understood—it had only been a short time since he had smiled like that himself, and it lasted for a long while.

It was like a dream, but it felt real.

Everything was just so much easier to do now.

Jiang Xiangbei was eager to wait for the fish and shrimp to finish frying, but he remembered that Mother had said everyone would get the same portion, so it didn’t matter whether it was early or late.

If he ate later, he would have more left over, and he could enjoy his share without making anyone else jealous.

Yes, he’d go catch more shrimp.

Maybe he could get lucky and catch a big fish, and with that money, Mother would buy even more delicious food!

He thought about it and immediately went outside, looking back at the kitchen every few steps, reluctant to leave.

Shen Qing didn’t have time to pay attention to the others.

She was busy mixing the wood ash Huo Bing had collected with water and filtering it repeatedly with cloth.

After extracting the alkaline water, she poured half into the raw materials to soak them, and the other half she carried to the kitchen, where she placed it next to the pig fat and sesame oil.

Making soap required both heating and adding alkaline water, constantly monitoring the saponification process.

Only when the time was right could it be poured into molds to cool and set.

However, both pots were already in use, and there were people constantly coming and going in the kitchen, so it was impossible to focus.

She’d have to wait until after dinner to try making a batch using the sunset light.

Given the conditions were simple, she had to make use of every opportunity to get things done.

Suddenly, she remembered something important.

She had prepared herself for multiple failures in the early stages of making soap, planning to make small batches each time and letting them cool in bowls.

So, she didn’t urgently need molds. But since she was going to need them eventually, she might as well go ahead and order them and settle a few things at the same time.

She stood up and said to Huo Bing, “I’m going to the carpenter’s house. You take care of things here.”

“It’s no trouble, Mother, you go ahead.” Huo Bing stammered, watching her leave with concern.

Then she shook her head, reassuring herself. What was she worrying about? Mother was different now!

She believed in her mother.