Song Sanniang's Journey to Wealth

When they got home, Song Ersao had not come back yet, so Song Sanniang prepared the food herself. Song Laoer went to the threshing ground to replace Song Ersao.

When Mrs. Song came back, her face was flushed from being exposed to the sun. Even though she was wearing a hat, it couldn't protect her from being in the sun all day long.

The fourth and fifth mothers also came back with Song Ersao, and they were all smiling and rosy in the sun. They kept telling Song Sanniang how they helped Song Ersao.

Today's dishes include soy sauce chicken, steamed tilapia, braised pork head, stir-fried pork offal with cucumber, scrambled eggs with beans, salted Chinese cabbage, and pork tripe and chicken soup.

Mrs. Song first washed all the meat, chopped off one third of the chicken, and stewed the chicken feet, chicken neck and pig stomach together, and used the remaining chicken to make soy sauce chicken.

When the oil is hot, add the diced sand ginger and shallots and stir-fry until fragrant. Then put the chicken in and fry the skin until golden brown on all sides. Pour in a cup of cooking wine, a bowl of soy sauce, half a spoonful of dark soy sauce, a little sugar, and a bowl of water.

Cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, chop into pieces and place on a plate. Pour the remaining sauce in the pot on top.

Next, we start to braise the pig’s head. The pig’s head has been prepared by a butcher and we only need to blanch it before cooking.

It is rather troublesome to blanch the pig's head. You need to add cooking wine, green onion, and ginger to remove the fishy smell. Cook until all the floating foam comes out, then take out the pig's head and wash it again.

Fry sugar color in the pot, then put the pig head in, add water, then add onion, ginger, star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon, dark soy sauce, soy sauce and cooking wine, then cover and stew. The pig head should be stewed for about half an hour.

Song Sanniang was preparing the vegetables. She washed all the vegetables, peeled and sliced ​​the cucumbers, diced the beans, and cut off the old parts of the cabbage heads. The seasonings for the side dishes had already been prepared.

When the aroma of the braised pork head filled the whole house, Mrs. Song lifted the lid, added an appropriate amount of salt, and continued to simmer for another quarter of an hour before taking it out and letting it cool.

Next is to make pork offal fried with cucumber. The pork offal has been marinated. Heat the pan with oil and add shredded garlic and ginger to fry until fragrant.

Pour the pork offal into the pot, stir-fry with a spatula until the offal changes color, then add the cucumber and stir-fry, finally pour in the thickened water and add appropriate amount of salt, stir-fry evenly and it is ready to serve.

The following dishes, scrambled eggs with green beans and salted Chinese cabbage, were simple as can be. Mrs. Song put the steamed fish at the end because steamed fish would become fishy when it cooled down.

After cutting the cooled pork head, it was already getting dark. When everyone came back, noisy voices could be heard outside. Then Second Sister Song started to steam the fish.

The most important thing about steaming fish is the heat. Apply salt to the fish, squeeze out the scallion and ginger juice from the crushed scallion and ginger, and then rub it evenly on the fish body.

Put a few slices of ginger on the plate, put the fish on top, then stuff some scallions and ginger into the fish body and belly, put the fish in when the water boils, cover it with a lid and steam it.

This fish is very big, so it needs to be steamed for ten minutes. Generally, it only takes eight minutes to steam a small fish.

When the time is up, take out the fish, pour out the steaming water, remove all the steamed ginger slices and onions, sprinkle onion shreds on the fish, pour hot oil to bring out the aroma of the onion shreds, and finally pour soy sauce on it. The tender and delicious steamed tilapia is ready.

By the time Song Ersao brought out the fish, Song Sanniang and the others had already set the table and everyone was seated. There were three more people today, so it was a little crowded.

Song Lao Da, Song Lao Er, and Song Da Zhi took a seat.

Uncle Liu and Uncle Liu sat on one seat.

Song Ersao, Song Sanniang, Song Siniang and Song Wuniang sat on the same bed.

Liu Zezheng, Liu Zecheng and Liu Zehuan sat at the same table.

The room was packed with people and it was as lively as a wedding. Everyone was chatting animatedly. As soon as Mrs. Song sat down, Mr. Song invited everyone to start eating.

Everyone had been hungry all day, so they didn't show any courtesy and ate voraciously.

The adults had tasted Mrs. Song's cooking last night, so they didn't waste any time praising her and just focused on eating.

Only Liu Zezheng and his two brothers were eating while squeak-squeaking.

"The chicken made by my aunt is so delicious." Liu Zezheng said incoherently while chewing the chicken.

"The braised pork head is so delicious that I swallowed my tongue." Liu Zecheng swallowed the pork head in his mouth.

"I think it tastes better than what my grandma makes." Liu Zehuan bit the cucumber in his mouth, making a crisp crunching sound.

"You are a bunch of little brats. If the food tastes good, eat more, but don't say bad things about grandma." Mrs. Song smiled and scolded them.

The three of them nodded their heads and ate their meal seriously. Si Niang and Wu Niang looked at their three cousins ​​and couldn't help but laugh.

The three brothers were eating seriously and didn't pay any attention to the two little cousins. Song Sanniang noticed this and picked up some food for them and told them to eat properly first.

Today, everyone finished their meal and chatted in the yard.

Song Lao Er took the opportunity to talk to Song Lao Da about asking Song Dasao and others to help thresh and dry the grain, and Song Lao Da agreed without hesitation.

This was originally my family's business, but now my younger brother has given money to hire someone and also provided meals, and he has contributed both manpower, money and effort.

He thought to himself that he would have to give his wife a warning when he got home so that she would not cause any more trouble.

Liu Zecheng and his two companions and Song Sanniang were whispering to each other about something, and the adults were also chatting animatedly.

The bright moonlight shines in the joyful courtyard, as if listening to everyone's laughter.

It's another busy day.

Song Lao Er and Song Ersao went to the threshing ground again. They had just worked for a while when the two sisters Song Dasao and Song Chunhua came over with stern faces, followed by a Song woman.

Although Mrs. Song did not show a very good attitude, it was much better than before. She had a good face towards Song Lao Er, but her attitude towards Song Er's wife was still indifferent.

But Song Ersao didn't care. She had been married for more than ten years and was used to it.

Song Lao Er was a little surprised and asked, "Mom, why are you here?"

Mrs. Song glared at him unhappily and said, "Why can't I come? I'll come and watch you work so that some of you won't be lazy."

After hearing what Mrs. Song said, Mr. Song had no choice but to humbly ask, "Aren't you afraid of tiring you out?"

"Why are you so tired? I can still do it. If I'm not here, some people will make a fuss. Don't bother me! Just do your own thing." After saying that, he went to direct Mrs. Song and the other two to work.

Song Lao Er had no choice but to continue threshing the grains with Song Ersao. When the time was almost up, Song Ersao went back to make sugar water.

When the eldest sister-in-law Song saw the second sister-in-law Song go back, she began to grumble. "It's only been a short while, and you're quitting. You're really lazy."

But no one paid any attention to her, everyone was doing their own thing.

When it was time for lunch, Song Lao Er and Song Po Zi agreed to go home.

Mrs. Song started to make indirect accusations again, but Mrs. Song did not tolerate her and asked Song Chunhua and her sister to go back and make lunch.

She and Sister Song stayed in the threshing ground and plowed and turned the grain from time to time. The threshing ground, which was not so busy before, became lively.