Ugly girl only wants to farm

Xu Chaoyan smiled and said, "It's nothing, just a small matter. When the time comes, save me some extra pig's blood, and I promise I'll make you a lot. We're such good friends."

After this incident, the people around gradually dispersed, and the old woman Wang wisely slipped away long ago. She was fearless, except for her deadbeat husband at home, who would beat her so badly that she would cry and scream.

Meng Jiuhe stuffed everything into the basket to lighten the weight in her hands.

"You just carry this basin of pig's blood, and I'll take care of the rest. It's still early, so I'll take you back."

Xu Chaoyan glanced at the sky and asked with a worried expression, "Won't it be too late for you to take me back after all this?"

Meng Jiu urged, "Hurry up and come with me. If we keep arguing, it will get really late. How are you going to carry this heavy thing back?"

Along the way, Xu Chaoyan was chased by several people asking why she wasn't setting up her stall anymore, as she really missed the taste of tofu pudding.

Meng Jiu bought two sesame seed cakes and put them in his pocket when he passed by a sesame seed cake stall.

When Meng Jiuhe returned, Zhang Xuyang had just finished delivering the tofu and was about to come over to call him to go to school together. Seeing him carrying a full basket, he quickly came over to help.

"I heard from my sister yesterday that she had arranged to go to the butcher's to buy meat with your wife, but today she was delayed because she was delivering tofu. I'll take it to you first, and then ask the butcher to reserve some for my family as well."

As Meng Jiuhe was leaving, he took out a still-warm sesame seed cake from his pocket, looking anxious: "Wife, eat it while it's hot."

He was afraid that Xu Chaoyan would find his cautious manner distasteful, but Xu Chaoyan was very touched and quickly shared one with him: "My sister-in-law and I will just have one. You should focus on your studies and eat it quickly without refusing."

Meng Jiuhe had a faint smile on his lips.

The sun hasn't been shining too well these past few days, which is perfect timing since these meats need to marinate for about seven days before being taken out to hang.

She prepared a sauce with soy sauce and star anise to make some braised meat, and then used salt to marinate the rest. In those days, salt was scarce and expensive. When she mentioned marinating the meat, the butcher was quite surprised, saying that she was really willing to spend money on such a precious commodity as salt.

Xu Chaoyan smiled faintly. In winter, no one wants to move. It takes courage to go out when the cold wind howls. It's good to make some cured meat to eat during the New Year. Cook a pot of cured meat with radishes around the fire and the aroma will spread for miles.

She always felt that it wasn't New Year's if you didn't eat some cured meat or sausages. So many things had happened this year, including the disappearance of Meng's parents and the earthquake. She wanted her brother and sister to get out of these shadows as soon as possible. Coincidentally, she also made a small profit this year and planned to have a good New Year.

Meng Jiuxia came out of the kitchen at this moment, carrying a basin of hot water and a small bamboo stick, looking puzzled: "Sister-in-law, I've prepared almost everything you asked me to prepare. What do you need these for? These small intestines smell really fishy. How about we braise them and eat them?"

Xu Chaoyan gently tapped her forehead: "You, all you know is eating. I'm preparing for the New Year. When we eat during the New Year, you can follow me and gently scrape off this layer of skin from the small intestine. You'll have to give me a hand later, I can't do this by myself."

After saying that, she recited a nursery rhyme to her sister-in-law: "Red radish is sweet, seeing it means it's almost New Year, red radish is sweet."

This made Meng Jiuxia laugh out loud.

Xu Chaoyan also prepared the ingredients for the sausages herself. She didn't know the proportions and just put them in by feel. Just the step of cutting the meat alone took her an hour, and her hands were frozen red and almost stiff.

After Meng Jiuxia finished scraping all the small intestines, she came over to help her, quickly bringing over a hot water bottle: "Sister-in-law, warm your hands for a while. Look how red your hands are. If you ask me, this meat should just be marinated and dried. Why make it so complicated? Look how frozen your hands are. When my older brother comes back later, he'll be heartbroken."

After Xu Chaoyan's hands warmed up, she took some wine and mixed it with the meat. To be honest, she didn't know the exact proportions and just went by her gut feeling.

I've seen people do these things before, but this is the first time I've done it myself. You only know after you try it.

In this era of scarcity, she gathered all the ingredients she could think of: chili powder, Sichuan peppercorn powder, black pepper powder, salt, and a little sugar—just enough to make do for now. She added all these ingredients to a bowl, mixed the meat well, and let it marinate for about an hour before preparing the meat.

When she and her sister-in-law finished lunch, it was a rare sunny day with the sun out, but the sun didn't feel very warm, and there was a slight breeze blowing.

Meng Jiuxia was eating a sweet potato, and her mouth was covered in black stains. Xu Chaoyan picked up a handkerchief and gently wiped it for her, saying, "Don't be in such a hurry. Look at the mess you've made of food."

Meng Jiuxia almost choked on the sweet potato. She ate while muttering, "I just wanted to finish those tasks as soon as possible, while the sun is still warm."

In modern society, a machine can do the job, but now these sausages are all made by hand. You cut a suitable bamboo tube, put the scraped small intestine on it, and then use chopsticks to stuff it in little by little.

Meng Jiuxia had been helping out the whole time, her head bowed. Finally, she couldn't help but ask, "Sister-in-law, tell me, how delicious must these things be that you'd give up your time to sleep in and go through all this trouble to make them?"

Fortunately, she steamed some buns the night before last and cooked a big pot of hot soup today, so the artisans' lunch was taken care of and they didn't have to work for long.

Otherwise, Xu Chaoyan would definitely be exhausted today. She looked at the sausages she had made in the basin with a sense of accomplishment.

With a confident look on her face, she boldly declared to her sister-in-law, "Just you wait and see, this stuff is delicious. Oh, and in a while I'll make you some spare ribs and sausages, but those are much more complicated than this, so don't be lazy then."

The two women worked for more than an hour before they finally packed everything up.

Xu Chaoyan stretched and rubbed her aching lower back, and couldn't help but complain, "As I get older, my back gets bad."

Meng Jiuxia made a face at her: "You're only a few years old but you look old."

Looking at her masterpiece in the wooden tub, she felt it was all worthwhile. Just then, a commotion came from the other side of the courtyard, seemingly originating from the Zhang family's courtyard.

She looked puzzled: "Sister-in-law, go and see if Auntie and the others have run into any trouble. Everything has been peaceful these past few days, and Li Dazhu hasn't caused any trouble."

She then frowned: "What if that person comes looking for us again?"

Xu Chaoyan had previously gone to the back mountain to cut some palm leaves. These palm leaves could not only be used to make brooms, but also to be picked and used to string cured meat during the New Year. However, her skills were not very good, and the ropes she made were only passable.

Before Xu Chaoyan had even finished tying the ropes on that basin of sausages, Meng Jiuxia called out anxiously, "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, come quickly! Something's happened at my sister's house!"

Xu Chaoyan quickly carried the wooden basin back to the kitchen and put it away. There were stray cats and dogs everywhere. She and her sister-in-law had been busy all morning, and they didn't want those animals to get away with it.

Her hands were also greasy. She had originally wanted to get some hot water to wash them properly, but she didn't have time to do that right now. She just ripped off her apron, wiped her hands haphazardly a few times, and ran over there with her sister-in-law.

"What happened? What's wrong at Auntie's house?" The two of them rushed over there, asking about the situation as they went.

Meng Jiuxia was out of breath from running, but she still didn't forget to answer her question: "I just glanced out of the yard and saw an old man and a very mean old woman there, yelling and smashing things. Judging from their tone, they seemed to be Yaya's grandparents."

Since the last time I sent over the divorce papers, that bastard tore them up, and then I haven't been able to come over much because of some other things.

Xu Chaoyan thought she should put the matter aside for now, since it was the end of the year and it wouldn't look good to cause trouble at someone else's house in the dead of winter. She thought they would be more considerate and wait until after the New Year to discuss the divorce. Who would have thought that these people would be so shameless as to cause trouble at someone else's house again.

When she ran to the gate of the courtyard, she heard that sharp and sarcastic voice.

“Zhang Yueniang, let me tell you, you were born a member of the Li family, and you will die a ghost of the Li family. You brought Yaya back for so long, and I haven’t said anything to you. Don’t take advantage of me. What do you mean by this? Are you taking my granddaughter to have an affair? Yaya is so young, and you’re going to corrupt her.”