Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Xia Yu put the large intestine soaking in the basin next to her into her spatial storage, preparing to make stir-fried eggs with chives and twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts. Liu Shi, standing next to her daughter, was in charge of beating the eggs, chopping the chives and garlic sprouts, while Chang Yun was in charge of tending the fire. The group worked well together. Xia Yu prepared the easiest dish, stir-fried eggs with chives, first and then put it into her spatial storage to prevent it from getting cold later. After waiting another ten minutes or so, she also took the piece of pork belly that was boiling in the pot. She cleaned out the large pot to prepare millet porridge. The steamed buns were freshly steamed that morning and stored in Xia Yu's spatial storage; they could be served directly later. However, the porridge in their household was always freshly cooked.

Add water to the wok and bring it to a boil. Then add the chopped garlic scapes, a pinch of salt, and a tiny bit of lard. Blanch the garlic scapes until just cooked through, then immediately remove them and plunge them into cold water to maintain their vibrant color. Mrs. Liu watched her daughter cook the garlic scapes this way, somewhat puzzled. She understood how to blanch meat—her daughter had explained it was to remove blood and impurities—but why blanch the vegetables first?

When her mother asked, Xia Yu explained that this was to prevent the garlic scapes from burning when stir-frying them with meat later. If you stir-fry garlic scapes raw, the outer skin will burn while the inside remains raw. Boiling them first ensures that the garlic scapes are cooked while the outer skin remains green.

Liu nodded silently beside her, having learned something new. Xia Yu sliced ​​the cooled meat into thin slices, then poured the sliced ​​pork belly directly into the heated pan without adding any oil.

"Brother, turn the fire down a bit."

"Good Le"

Xia Yu used a low flame to render the fat from the pork belly in the pan. Watching as the oil accumulated, she added sliced ​​garlic, chili peppers, scallions, and ginger, stir-frying them with the pork. She then seasoned with salt and added some soy sauce for color, continuing to stir-fry a few more times. Xia Yu then told her brother to turn up the heat, adding the previously cooked garlic shoots and quickly stir-frying them with the pork before plating them onto a plate. She stored one plate in her spatial storage to serve to her father and the others later, while the other plate was for the mother and her two children.

The aroma of garlic and chili mingled with the smoky fragrance of pork, making everyone's mouths water. Taking advantage of the lard at the bottom of the pot and the still-hot pan, Xia Yu cracked three eggs into a bowl and fried a few more. She then took out three steamed buns from her spatial storage, placing a fried egg inside each. She handed one to Liu Shi and one to Chang Yun.

"Mom, brother, let's have some steamed buns to tide us over first. The porridge won't be ready for a while."

Thankfully, the family was earning money; otherwise, Liu Shi really wouldn't have been able to bear eating these fried eggs. The group sat in the kitchen eating and chatting, while the others in the main room were drinking. Every now and then, Liu Shi would send Changyun over to check on them.

The millet porridge was cooked and kept warm in the pot. Xia Yu would occasionally go to the main room to check on her grandfather and her father's brothers, sometimes overhearing their conversations. They talked about everything from the prospects of farming to the recent bad weather, and finally, their fourth uncle who was going to the prefectural city to take the imperial examination. The old man seemed fine on the surface, but he was actually very worried. The whole family had emptied their savings to support his fourth son's education; if he didn't pass the exam, he would not only have failed his ancestors, but also his other sons.

Finally, seeing that the old man was harboring so many worries, and noticing the somber atmosphere, Zhang Youyin quickly changed the subject. What to say? His eyes darted around and he saw the unfinished watermelon on the small table, so he asked his third brother, "Third brother, did you grow that watermelon you were cutting earlier?"

"It wasn't me, it was your sister-in-law and the children who planted them. I had completely forgotten about it, who knew they would grow the melons so quietly." Zhang Youtie hiccuped as he spoke. Xia Yu happened to hear this and couldn't help but roll his eyes in the darkness. His father was really good at talking. They really did grow them quietly in a day, so it wasn't a lie.

Seeing that they had almost finished drinking, Xia Yu went to the kitchen to find her mother. Upon hearing that the wine was gone, Liu Shi told the siblings to bring up the hot dishes they had just cooked. The two dishes brought out from their spatial storage looked exactly as they had been prepared. Liu Shi and Xia Yu each carried one, while Chang Yun followed behind carrying a basket of steamed buns made from a mixture of wheat and water. As soon as the two dishes were on the table, seeing the slices of meat in the twice-cooked pork dish, the old man sighed silently. His third son's wife was filial; he had shamelessly brought his eldest and second sons here for dinner today, and his third son's family had already spent money. Leaving aside the eggs, that plate of meat slices alone contained at least eight ounces of meat. If they made dumplings with that, it would be enough for their small family for three meals.

Seeing that Liu was about to take the two children to the kitchen again, Old Master Zhang said, "Changyun's mother, don't go to the kitchen. There are no outsiders here. Just sit down and eat with the children!"

“Yes, sister-in-law, we’re all family here, sit down and eat together. Xiaxia, go get three pairs of chopsticks, come over and let’s eat together,” Uncle Zhang Youjin also urged.

"Yes, let's eat here. We're all family, there's no need for so many taboos," the second uncle also advised Liu.

Seeing that everyone was saying this, Zhang Youtie said to Liu Shi, "Mother, please sit down. Father and the others are not outsiders."

Seeing that everyone was saying this, Liu didn't stand on ceremony anymore. She simply said to go to the kitchen and bring over the porridge. Liu told her daughter to bring up the plate of leftover dishes as well, otherwise two hot dishes wouldn't be enough for the seven of them.

The porridge was ladled into a rice bowl and carried inside. Xia Yu obediently sat down next to her father, while Chang Yun was called to sit beside the old man. Liu Shi served everyone a full bowl of thick millet porridge.

The group enjoyed the meal very much. Although the old man sighed inwardly at the expense of his third son's family, he had to admit that his third son's wife's cooking skills were indeed excellent, especially the twice-cooked pork, which left him wanting more after eating it.

"Third brother's wife, your cooking skills are getting better and better. This twice-cooked pork tastes even better than the meat dishes in the restaurants in town. Although pork is usually fragrant, it always has a faint fishy smell. It's just that the meat in the restaurants in town tastes so good that the fishy smell is ignored. But the meat you just cooked has no fishy smell at all."

Being praised by her father-in-law like that, Liu was actually a little embarrassed. She was about to say that it was her daughter Xiaxia who made it, but then she suddenly remembered what Zhang Youtie had said that night about protecting his daughter. The words that were about to come out of her mouth turned into: "Father, if you like it, please come to eat here often so that my husband and I can also have the opportunity to show our respect to you."

These words made Old Master Zhang feel extremely relieved. So far, the thing he was most proud of in his life was having four good sons and three good daughters-in-law, all of whom were filial and obedient. Suddenly thinking of his youngest daughter, the old man couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He also doted on that daughter, but over the years, his wife had spoiled her too much, making her disregard her brothers and sisters-in-law, only showing affection to her fourth brother. He didn't know what his fourth brother's future wife would be like, but all his daughters-in-law were good. He would have to ask his wife to teach Qinghe how to get along well with her sisters-in-law.