Spring comes to the desperate place

After hearing what Song Dazhuang said, the two brothers began to eat the glutinous rice balls in small bites. The glutinous rice balls that were boiling hot just now were now a little cold, but it was just the right temperature to eat, and there was enough ginger in it. After the two children drank a few sips, they felt warm all over, and their stomachs had some hot food in them, and their heads were no longer groggy.

The two brothers stood aside holding the bowls. They wanted to help, but the adults would not let two children work and just took them aside to wait.

The house is relatively small, and you can see that the roof is very dilapidated, otherwise it would not have collapsed because of this little snow. Someone checked the wooden beams, and found that they were somewhat rotten, and even if they were repaired, they would not last long.

But everyone tacitly agreed not to mention it. Everyone’s life is hard these days, so where would they get extra money to help others?

It would be nice if I could lend a hand.

Song Dazhuang looked at the crumbling house and sighed silently in his heart. He wanted to help the two people, but the people in the village had not asked for help yet. If he, a newcomer, stepped forward, he might even annoy others. Therefore, he could only suppress those thoughts.

However, the two brothers were already very grateful. The village chief not only found someone to repair their roof, but also asked each household to give them some firewood so that they would not freeze to death due to lack of firewood for heating in the winter. As for food, only a few wealthy families gave the two of them a small bag of brown rice. If they saved some and just made rice soup, they would be able to survive until the spring.

A small shabby house was quickly repaired. Song Dazhuang couldn't bear to see the two skinny brothers, so he asked them to go to his house to help in two days.

"My family will be slaughtering a pig in two days. We will be too busy to handle the work. If you are free, please come and help. I will provide you with a day's meal, with meat and enough to keep you full."

When they heard that they could not only eat their fill but also have meat to eat, their eyes immediately lit up and they quickly agreed. Early that morning, the two children stood at the door waiting, fearing that their jobs would be snatched away by others.

When Song Chunlin came out of the space, he sensed the two men standing at the door. He remembered Song Dazhuang's instructions, so he put on his clothes and went to open the door for them.

Song Qin had also gotten up at this moment and was preparing to boil some hot water for the whole family to wash up. She was slightly startled when she saw the two people come in.

The two brothers' surname was Wang, one was called Wang Qin and the other was called Wang Mian, which together means Qinmian. Their personalities were just like their names, diligent and hardworking. When they heard that Song Qin was going to boil water, one of them carried water while the other started a fire, and soon they had boiled a large pot of hot water.

Seeing that her work had been done by them, Song Qinshi was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, so she asked them to watch the fire while she prepared to make breakfast.

The Song family had a simple meal in the morning, thinking that they would slaughter pigs today. Killing three pigs at once is not an easy task, so today's breakfast is steamed buns and a bowl of hot meat porridge.

The steamed buns and steamed buns were steamed last night, so they just need to be heated in the pot now. Song Qin first cooks the porridge, and while it is cooking, she chops the meat and cuts the vegetables. After the porridge boils, add the seasoned minced meat, and then boil it again before adding the chopped vegetables. Finally, sprinkle with chopped green onions and pepper powder, and add a little sesame oil. A pot of fragrant vegetable and minced meat porridge is ready.

The two brothers had never seen such thick porridge. It was all made of polished round-grained rice, not brown rice. There was plenty of minced meat. The air was filled with the aroma of meat, which made the two brothers, who had not eaten meat for a long time, swallow their saliva involuntarily.

Seeing them lowering their heads and not daring to speak, Song Qinshi sighed softly when she thought of what had happened to the two of them. She turned around, picked up two bowls and spoons, and scooped two spoons of the thickest porridge into the bowls. She placed the bowls in front of the two of them and said softly, "You came here so early in the morning. You must be starving. Eat quickly."

Wang Qin and Wang Mian expressed fear and trepidation: "Thank you, Aunt Song. We came here after we had already eaten." As soon as they finished speaking, their stomachs began to growl.

After their lie was exposed, both of them felt a little embarrassed. Song Qin didn't say anything, but took two more steamed buns from the pot and gave them to them.

"Your uncle Dazhuang has said that he will provide you with a day's worth of food, including breakfast. Don't worry and eat. There is still a lot of work to do later. How can you work if you are not full?"

Hearing what Song Qin said, the two brothers hesitated for a moment, but finally reached out to take the two steamed buns and thanked Song Qin in a low voice.

"Thank you for the steamed buns and porridge, auntie."

"Well, eat quickly, we have to eat too. The water is hot enough, don't boil it yet. Let's talk about everything after we finish eating."

All the members of the Song family had gotten up by now, including the youngest, Song Xiaobao, who was also pulled up by Song Xiaojiu. Song Xiaojiu had heard yesterday that the family was going to slaughter a pig. He grew up in the palace, so he had never seen a pig being slaughtered. He had only seen what a pig looked like after he came to the Song family. As a result, he was so excited that he didn't sleep much all night and woke up at daybreak.

"Mom, when are we going to slaughter the pigs?" Song Xiaojiu could now call Song Dazhuang and his wife dad and mom very naturally. He strode to the kitchen with his short legs and first threw himself into Song Qin's arms, tilting his head and letting her wipe his face. After wiping his face, he saw the two brothers of the Wang family sitting by the stove.

Song Xiaojiu tilted his head curiously: "Mom, who are they?"

"They are here to help kill the pig. Come, let me see if they have wiped their faces clean. If they have, go to the main room and prepare for dinner."

Song Xiaojiu said "oh" and looked at the two of them curiously. Then he rushed to the main room quickly and pulled Song Chunlin's sleeve to gossip with him.

"Second brother, there are two strange people in the kitchen. They have no meat on their bodies and are dark."

Song Chunlin thought for a while and felt that Song Xiaojiu should be talking about the two brothers. Well, the description was quite apt, but the younger brother still needed to be educated.

So Song Chunlin frowned and said to Song Xiaojiu seriously, "Xiaojiu, that person is not a weird person. He is here to help us with our work. Xiaojiu, you can't say that he is weird in front of him. It's rude, don't you know?"

Song Xiaojiu immediately frowned when he heard this: "Xiaojiu knows. Xiaojiu is a polite child. Xiaojiu won't say anything more."

Song Chunlin patted his head with satisfaction: "Well, Xiaojiu is really good."

After receiving praise from his brother, Song Xiaojiu hugged Song Chunlin's legs embarrassedly and rubbed his head on his legs.

After breakfast, the invited families arrived one after another. Having learned from the lesson of last year's pig-killing banquet, Song Dazhuang did not invite many people this time. He only invited a few villagers who were on good terms with the family and a few respected elders. That was all.

However, there were still some people who rushed to buy pork after hearing the news. Song Dazhuang said that he would only sell one, the fattest one. Nowadays, his family didn't like to eat fat pigs, so it was just right to sell the fat pig. The remaining two would be enough for the Song family to eat for a long time.

The butcher was very fast at killing the pigs. He had finished killing all three pigs before noon. He skillfully cut the pork into several large pieces.

Wang Qin and Wang Mian were busy running around, helping the butcher carry the cut meat onto the wooden boards so that the buyers could choose.

Those people agreed on the pig one after another, and the butcher started cutting the meat according to their requirements. After weighing the meat, he gave it to Wang Qin and Wang Mian, who would pack the weighed meat. Song Dazhuang stood by and collected the money throughout the process.

The meat from pigs raised by farmers themselves is relatively cheap. Since we are all from the same hometown, it is difficult to ask for a high price. Fat meat is sold at 32 cents and lean meat is sold at 24 cents per pound. Pork bones and offal are relatively cheap. You can take the bones home to cook soup and taste the meat. Some poorer families like to buy bones and offal so that they can have a good meal during the New Year.

The ribs that were more expensive than meat in the past life are now sold for only 18 cents per pound here. They are slightly better than pork bones because they have more meat. The offal such as pig heart, lung and liver are even cheaper. They are all sold for 15 cents each, without even weighing them. In a short time, a fat pig is cut up and sold out, and the villagers who bought the meat go home happily.

The butcher also took the agreed pig fat and wages and left. It was the end of the year and there were many people slaughtering pigs, so his business was good.

After seeing off the butcher and the villagers who came to buy meat, the Song family officially started to prepare the pig-killing banquet.

This year, Song Chunlin specifically requested that all the trotters be kept, intending to have Song Qinshi make a stewed pig's trotter with soybeans. A piece of ribs was also kept and chopped into small pieces to make sweet and sour spare ribs. A large piece of pork belly was cut into small pieces to make braised pork. This was the main dish on the table, and Song A'mo was the chef. A lot of quail eggs and potatoes were added to it. A large bowl of it was served, and everyone's mouths were drooling with the food.

The Wang brothers were also assigned to the kitchen, where they sat at the same table with the aunts who came to help. They knew everyone present, so the two of them didn't seem awkward, though they were a little embarrassed.

Because the dishes on the table were exactly the same as those outside, they were all the same dishes, just with smaller portions. Wang Qin and Wang Mian hadn't eaten such a good meal for a long time, and for a moment they didn't know how to pick up their chopsticks.

Song Qin was also sitting at this table. Seeing that the two were only focused on eating, she took the initiative to put a piece of pork ribs into their bowls.

"Eat it. These spareribs are sour and sweet. You kids love them the most."

After hearing what Song Qin said, Wang Qin and Wang Mian carefully picked up the ribs in the bowl. The ribs were fried until golden brown and dry, and coated with sour and sweet sauce. Sesame seeds were sprinkled on them before being taken out of the pot. A bite of the sour and sweet taste was revealing the rich and oily meat aroma. The two couldn't stop after just one bite.

Because spare ribs have no meat, they are naturally not as delicious as braised pork in the eyes of the ancients. However, today's spare ribs are sweet and sour, just as Song Qin said, very suitable for children to eat. The two of them ate with several chopsticks, and when they saw that no one reacted, they extended their chopsticks to the pig's trotters which also had little meat.

Some vinegar is added when stewing the pig's trotters. At this time, the texture is soft and glutinous but not mushy. The skin inside has absorbed the soup, and it tastes oily and fragrant, and it is especially good with rice.

The Song family entertained their guests with rice mixed with brown rice, which was very consistent with the custom of entertaining guests of that era. The two brothers ate two bowls of rice in a row, and when they wanted to have a third bowl, they were stopped by others.

An auntie with a kind smile explained to them: "You don't usually eat so much, do you? Eating so much at once will easily cause indigestion, which is not pleasant. Feel your stomach, if it is bulging, you are full."

The two brothers hurriedly touched their stomachs and found that they were full, indeed.

After the pig-killing banquet, the villagers said goodbye one after another. Those who came to help were also given a small piece of pork and some leftovers. Most of these were untouched from the pot. Even if they were touched, no one minded, after all, there was meat in the pot.

The Wang brothers also got a piece of meat, Song Dazhuang gave them two extra large bones, and Song Qin also came out holding a large bowl filled with braised pork.

"I saw you guys gnawing on the bones during dinner. You didn't even eat a few bites of the meat. There's a lot left in the pot. Take it back and eat it slowly."

Wang Qin hurriedly said: "No, Aunt Song, we, we have already taken a lot..." Not to mention that so much meat was eaten on the table. If it were converted into silver, it would be worth half a string of coins.

Song Qin directly stuffed the bowl into Wang Mian's arms and said, "Just take it if I tell you to. Look at those people who came to help, who didn't eat and take something? If others can do it, you can do it too. Don't think too much at your young age. This is your wages for today, understand?"

Wang Qin pursed his lips and looked at the bowl of braised pork in his brother's arms. Although it was now cold, he could still smell the rich aroma of meat. He had eaten such fragrant meat when his parents were alive.

Thinking of his parents, Wang Qin couldn't help but have tears in his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and didn't let the tears fall. He just choked up and thanked the Song couple: "Thank you, Uncle Song and Aunt Song."

Song Dazhuang hated to see children crying, so he waved his hand and asked them to go back.

"Go back quickly. It gets dark early in winter. It will be too late if you don't go back now."

The two brothers thanked them again and went back with their things.

Watching the two people's backs going away, Song Qin couldn't help but sigh: "Children without parents have a hard life."

Song Dazhuang patted her shoulder gently, knowing that his wife was thinking of Chunlin from another world. Although Chunlin's parents were still alive at that time, it was the same as if they had never lived. He lived worse than these two children. At least when their parents were alive, they truly loved their two sons.

Gu Fengyue did not come to the pig-killing banquet this time. Song Dazhuang had invited him before, but he did not see Gu Fengyue. The housekeeper said that the two brothers of the Gu family were busy all day and were not seen. Song Dazhuang came back and told Grandpa Song about it. Grandpa Song reacted and guessed that the Marquis and Gu Fengyue were busy with Song Xiaojiu's affairs.

It was obviously not an easy task to make a prince disappear quietly. Even after Song Dazhuang had delivered the smoked bacon and sausages to the Marquis' Mansion, he was still unable to meet Gu Fengyue. Instead, he heard some groundless rumors in the capital.