Pig Killer

"They helped us plow the land. Now that we have harvested the pigs, we will host a banquet to thank those uncles." Shen Hui'e said to them with her bright dark eyes.

"It should be." The big tiger nodded in agreement.

"With a big iron pot, the meat is easier to cook." Li Nu said, looking at his own big iron pot.

"That's right!" Shen Hui'e said as she looked at them with her amber eyes reflecting the fragmented light of the sun.

Shen Hui'e sent the brother and sister to the Huang family, and then pushed a wheelbarrow to the countryside to collect pigs.

As agreed long ago, the pig was collected smoothly and slaughtered as soon as we returned.

The pork is braised directly in a large iron pot, and the aroma can be smelled throughout the entire street.

"It's open, it's open." All of the neighbors came running over.

"Sorry, sorry, we're not selling it today." Shen Hui'e clasped her hands together and looked at them apologetically.

"Why? You look down on us, don't you?"

"Our money isn't money!"

"Or the price they offered is high enough."

"No, no." Shen Hui'e looked at them with eyes as dark as ink and said hurriedly, "This is a huge misunderstanding. I didn't say I would raise the price." She added with a gentle look, "This is spring ploughing! There are only three of us in my family. We can't carry it on our shoulders or lift it with our hands. We rely on everyone's help. This is a reward for them." She smiled and said, "After it's cooked, take it out and give it to them."

Having said that, what else can the people present say?

"Then give us this broth!"

"Okay! Why not?" Shen Hui'e responded readily.

Shen Hui'e cut the braised meat into large pieces and asked Da Chong and Cheng Donglai to carry clay basins and baskets and deliver them door to door.

"Mother, what are we going to eat?" Li Nu looked at her with his watery eyes and said, looking at the empty big iron pot, the broth was gone.

"Let's eat something fresh today." Shen Hui'e looked at her mysteriously with her ink-black eyes.

"What's new?" Li Nu looked at her with green eyes.

"The chives in the yard are growing well. I've left two pounds of raw meat. Let's make dumplings." Shen Hui'e looked at her with her crystal clear eyes and said, "The second of the five vegetables is chives."

Chinese people have been eating leeks for 3,000 years. Leeks are regenerative plants. As long as the roots are not damaged, the leaves can be harvested endlessly.

Spring leeks are the most delicious. The leeks in May and June are rotten and stinky, and they are not delicious.

Du Fu has a poem that says: Cutting spring leeks in the night rain, and cooking yellow rice in the new rice pot.

Early spring leeks and late autumn cabbage are the most delicious vegetables.

"What are dumplings?" Li Nu looked at her curiously and asked.

"A kind of pasta, you will know it soon." Shen Hui'e looked at her with her jade-like eyes and said, "Everything can be made into dumplings." She looked at her with a smile and said, "I'll knead the dough first." There was still some flour at home.

Shen Hui'e first took the clay basin and woke up.

I picked a huge handful of leeks from my own vegetable garden, so big that I couldn’t hold them in both hands.

"Can you pick leeks?" Shen Hui'e asked the cat slave with her eyes as gentle as jade.

"Yes!" Li Nu nodded and said, "I'll pick the leeks." He moved the pebbles to the side of the vegetable patch, took a small basket, and began to pick the leeks.

"Now we have lard and eggs. This scrambled eggs with leeks is also very delicious." Shen Hui'e looked at her with clear and bright eyes and said.

"Scrambled eggs with leeks?" The cat slave asked, looking at her with her big, bright eyes.

"You'll understand when I make it for you later." Shen Hui'e looked at her gently and said.

"Use a big iron pot?" Li Nu looked at her with his watery eyes and said.

"Of course." Shen Hui'e looked at her with eyes as gentle as jade.

"Does it smell good?" Li Nu looked at her eagerly and asked again.

"It smells so good!" Shen Hui'e looked at her with eyes as bright as stars and said, "Let's fry some eggs later and have a good nourishment."

"It's getting warmer, and our chickens have started laying eggs." Li Nu said with green eyes, "We've been saving them for the past few days!" He said with a smile, "I go to the chicken coop every day to look for eggs, and I always get them. The eggs are warm."

"Aren't you afraid of touching chicken shit?" Shen Hui'e looked at her with amusement and said.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid! It will be clean after washing." The cat slave said, raising his little hand.

"Your little hands are so black, go wash them quickly." Shen Hui'e said, pointing at her little hand with her index finger.

"Oh!" Upon hearing this, Li Nu turned around and went to wash his hands.

Shen Hui'e chopped two pounds of pork into meat paste and pork fat, and made it into oil residue. After the lard was heated, she added chopped onion, ginger, garlic, pepper powder and a little salt. After the oil cooled, she put the meat into the oil and stirred it.

"It smells so good!" The cat slave came running over and sniffed, "Are you going to make pork meatballs, mother?"

"Uh..." Shen Hui'e hesitated for a moment, looked at her with bright eyes and said, "It should be meat and eggs." Pointing at the tip of her nose with her index finger, she said, "You'll know in a while." Looking at her with a smile, she asked, "Have you picked the leeks?"

"I've picked it." Li Nu looked back at the basket in the yard and said.

"Let's mix the stuffing right away." Shen Hui'e washed the leeks that her precious daughter had picked, and then held the leeks and shook them hard... to dry the water on the leeks.

Shen Hui'e chopped the leeks into small pieces and mixed them into the minced meat. After stirring evenly, she used a wooden spoon to scoop the minced meat into a clay bowl.

Shen Hui'e cleaned the big iron pot, put in clean water, and lowered the flame. Making dumplings takes time.

Everything was ready, but Shen Hui'e slapped her forehead and realized that there was no dough stick at home.

In the past, soup noodles were pulled by hand and rolled into strips, and steamed cakes were also patted or pinched by hand.

What should I do?

Shen Hui'e looked at the noodle shop opposite. The boss's soup noodles seemed to be made entirely by hand without the help of any tools.

What a mistake! I forgot I didn’t have a rolling pin at home.

There is no time to make one now!

"Mother, mother." The cat slave looked at her blankly with his eyes like black grapes.

"Well!" Shen Hui'e lowered her eyes and looked at her and said, "What do you want me to do?"

"What are you thinking about, mother?" asked the raccoon with his bright eyes.

"I'll get our clay pot." Shen Hui'e had an idea and said, "You wait here." She went back to the house and got an empty clay pot. She used the bottom of the clay pot to press the dumpling skins.

Shen Hui'e was afraid that the bottom of the clay pot would get stuck with the dumpling skins and would be difficult to get off, so she deliberately spread some flour on the bottom of the clay pot, and then turned the clay pot to press the dough.

The effect was quite good. Shen Hui'e picked up the clay pot and looked at the round dumpling skin that was of moderate thickness.

Shen Hui'e first made a dumpling, which looked like a white and plump ingot.

"This is the dumpling." Shen Hui'e pointed at the dumplings with her index finger and said, "Put them in boiling water and cook them until they are done. You can eat them."