Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Receiving Liu's gaze, Liu's sisters-in-law also felt strange. Putting aside the others, she hadn't seen her sister-in-law since arriving at the old house, so how could she have been upset by her? Just as they were wondering, Qinghe burst into tears. Qinghe's crying made Liu even more anxious. Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she asked Qinghe, "Did your father scold you again?"

"Mmm," Qinghe nodded, sounding aggrieved and sobbing.

"Why is that now? She was fine at lunchtime," Grandma Liu asked, puzzled.

"I don't know why, but when my third brother said we were going to the county town tomorrow, I asked him to buy me another watermelon. Dad got angry, boohoo..." Qinghe started crying again, feeling wronged, when she talked about the reason.

Upon hearing Qinghe's explanation, the sisters-in-law each had their own thoughts. Liu, knowing the watermelon was from their own garden, wasn't bothered, but Wang and Li didn't. They only heard that their sister-in-law had asked their third brother for watermelon again, and they thought it was incredibly inconsiderate. Their third brother's two children were so hungry they could only afford pig intestines to satisfy their cravings, yet she, as their sister and aunt, was thinking of buying such impractical food.

When Grandma Liu heard what her daughter said, she also felt that she was wrong, but in front of her three daughters-in-law, she was unwilling to embarrass her daughter. Seeing that her daughters-in-law were all working with their heads down, she could not kick them all out. Helpless, she could only take her daughter to the yard herself.

She explained her third son's family situation to her daughter in her own words, but Qinghe still felt she was right. If they were broke, why did they buy watermelons yesterday? Anyway, her father had been giving her the cold shoulder these past few days.

Meanwhile, on Xia Yu and Chang Yun's side, during the braising of the large intestine and pig stomach, Xia Yu would turn the pig stomach over every ten minutes or so, and also turn the large intestine over from top to bottom. Every time the lid was opened, an enticing aroma wafted out, and Chang Yun, who was tending the fire, didn't know how many times he swallowed his saliva. After simmering for about half an hour, Xia Yu took a section of large intestine with chopsticks and placed it on the cutting board, cut it into two small pieces, and tasted it first. The chewy, tender texture was Xia Yu's favorite flavor—perfect. Then he gave the other piece to his brother, Chang Yun, without hesitation. Just from the aroma he smelled, he knew it must be delicious. The soft, chewy, and springy texture of the large intestine was different from the braised large intestine he had tasted before, but he liked both.

"Brother, how does the sweet and salty taste to you?" Xia Yu herself thought it was a little bland, but she wanted to ask her brother if she felt the same way.

"How about adding some more salt? I think the flavor is a little bland, but it's okay to eat on its own," Changyun suggested after chewing it carefully.

"I think it's a bit bland, add some more salt." As she spoke, Xia Yu scooped a spoonful of salt from the salt shaker and sprinkled it in, stirred it a few times, and tasted the broth. "Hmm, that's more like it." Xia Yu nodded in satisfaction.

Then she turned the pig's stomach over, put the lid back on, and said to Changyun, "Brother, no need to add firewood anymore, it's ready."

"Okay," Changyun obediently did as his sister asked. "Xiaxia, when are we going to fish it out?"

"Let's soak it a little longer before taking out the ones we're preparing for the old house. As for the ones we're eating, let's soak them overnight; they'll taste even better tomorrow." Xia Yu stood at the door, looking at the sun that hadn't completely set in the distance. She felt it was still a bit early and didn't want to go to the old house so soon.

After dawdling at home for another twenty or thirty minutes, seeing that the sun had completely set, Xia Yu finally took the large intestines and pig stomach out of the pot and put them in a large basin to cool.

Xia Yu cut off two-thirds of the pig intestines and gave them to the old house, then put the rest back in the pot. The pig stomach was too small, so Xia Yu planned to give it all to the old house.

Xia Yu took out some cilantro, chili peppers, scallions, and a few cloves of garlic from her spatial storage. She asked her brother to peel the garlic first, while she cut the large intestine into small pieces and the pork stomach into strips, placing them separately on plates. She chopped the cilantro, sliced ​​the scallions, and cut the chili peppers into rings, mixing them all together with vinegar, sesame oil, and a pinch of salt. Finally, she added the minced garlic and some well water from her spatial storage, stirring it all together. The sauce for the pork stomach and large intestine was ready. Xia Yu initially wanted to keep the sauce separate, but then thought it inconvenient, so she poured it directly into the dish and mixed it well. While mixing, she felt there wasn't enough cilantro, so she took out a handful from her spatial storage, washed it, cut it into sections, and added it all in. She picked up a piece, tasted it, and nodded in satisfaction. Seeing her sister's actions, Chang Yun also picked up a pair of chopsticks, took a piece of pork stomach, and ate it.

"Mmm, delicious."

It has the exact same texture as pig intestines, but those are soft and chewy, while this one is a bit crunchy. In short, it's delicious. Changyun actually wanted to find more words to describe how delicious the pig stomach was to his sister, but unfortunately, he's illiterate, and all he could manage to say was "delicious." At most, he could only say "very delicious."

Seeing that Changyun liked the braised pig's stomach, Xia Yu picked up another big mouthful and stuffed it into his brother's mouth.

"Brother, the pig's stomach was too small, so I took it all to the old house. We didn't keep any for ourselves. If you like it, we can buy two more in the county town tomorrow, and I'll cook them for you again," Xia Yu said somewhat embarrassedly.

"It's alright, we still have pork intestines at home, right? We can give these to our grandparents." Changyun didn't think there was anything wrong with this.

The brother and sister each carried a small basin as they headed towards the old house. Changyun's basin was larger, containing three jin of braised large intestines, while Xia Yu's small basin contained cold-dressed pig stomach.

"Grandpa, Grandma, we're here!" Changyun shouted before even entering the courtyard. Qinghe, who was still in the yard, turned her head, saw Xia Yu and Changyun come in, snorted, and turned away again. Although she was so ignorant, Xia Yu and Changyun still called her "Auntie".

Qinghe seemed not to hear her nephews and nieces calling her, and did not respond at all. However, Liu, who was in the kitchen, heard her grandson's voice, went out and saw Changyun and smiled: "Your father came a long time ago, why are you only coming now? If you had come any later, there would have been no dumplings for you."

Xia Yu, the neglected granddaughter, called out "Grandma" from the side. Only then did Liu Shi shift her gaze from Chang Yun to Xia Yu. "Well, since you're here, help carry the dumplings up to the house."

Mrs. Liu knew that her daughter had brought food, and she was also curious about what her daughter's braised large intestines tasted like.

She handed the strainer to Wang Shi, then took the large basin from Changyun and led her daughter into the kitchen. She wasn't worried about anything concerning Changyun at the old house; everyone knew the old lady loved her grandson. She placed the basin on the cutting board and uncovered the steaming cloth. The aroma of sesame oil mingled with the scent of minced garlic, subtly carrying the rich, unique fragrance of braised dishes, assaulted Liu Shi's senses, causing her mouth to water uncontrollably.

"Oh my, what did the two kids bring? It smells so good it makes my mouth water." After scooping the dumplings from the pot into a bowl, Wang ostentatiously came over to look at the food in the bowl.

"What is this?" Wang looked closer a few more times but still couldn't recognize it.

At this moment, Xia Yu lifted the steaming cloth on the basin she had brought, and the same aroma spread throughout the kitchen.

Wang looked at the food in Xia Yu's hand again, but still couldn't figure out what it was. She could see the coriander and minced garlic, but what were those strips, and what was that smelling so good?

"Second sister-in-law, come and take a look! What did those two kids bring? I've lived for over thirty years, and I still can't figure out what's inside!"