The Otherworldly Journey of a Quick Transmigrator

Su Yuanyuan looked at the few pieces of fatty meat and said, "How about we render the oil? I can have my family send the meat, but there's nowhere to buy oil."

The three of them thought about it and agreed that it was a good idea. Their families would send them meat from time to time, so they were not short of meat to eat.

They needed oil coupons to buy cooking oil, and even with all of them combined, they couldn't buy much. They could render lard to last them a while.

"I heard from Aunt Wang today that there will be a big market in the next three days, we can go and have a look."

After discussing how to prepare the meat, Li Hongmei brought up another matter.

Upon hearing that there was a market, the group became excited again, because they could always find many things they couldn't buy normally when they went to the market.

"When?" Zhang Zhiying asked Li Hongmei impatiently.

Li Hongmei thought for a moment, "I remember it's tomorrow, right at the village entrance."

"What are you thinking about? Hurry up and finish your meal and go to sleep." Liu Yan jumped up and headed to the kitchen, not forgetting to pull Su Yuanyuan along.

Since only Su Yuanyuan among them knew how to cook, the other three could only assist her.

Su Yuanyuan quickly prepared dinner, leaving the rest to them. She then spent her time in the kitchen organizing the food and figuring out what she needed to buy for tomorrow.

We need to buy some soy sauce, salt, vinegar, and sugar, and also prepare some fruit candies so we can distribute them to the children in the team during the Chinese New Year.

After looking at all the different items, there are quite a few that I want to buy.

Su Yuanyuan was pulled out of bed early in the morning. She groggily got ready, but the cold wind outside immediately woke her up.

The market was already bustling with people, and the sounds of vendors hawking their wares filled the air.

There were long queues in front of each stall, so they decided to buy separately. There were so many people queuing at each stall that if they shopped together, they didn't know when they would finish.

Su Yuanyuan hadn't walked far when she saw a stall selling mutton. She quickly walked a few steps and joined the queue. She happened to not have any mutton in her space, so she could buy some to make dumplings.

The old man selling mutton was clearly an expert; he was quick at cutting the meat and giving change, and it wasn't long before it was Su Yuanyuan's turn.

She only bought two jin of mutton. There were four of them, and if they added some vegetables to make dumplings, it would last them two days. After buying the meat, she carried it to another place.

Passing by a long queue, Su Yuanyuan couldn't resist turning back to peek inside. They were selling New Year pictures, so she turned back and joined the queue.

How can the New Year be complete without New Year pictures and couplets? Because the people in front of you are busy choosing, the people behind you can't get in.

She stood on tiptoe and craned her neck to look inside, occasionally catching a glimpse of people walking in front of her.

It contains auspicious phrases like "May you have abundance every year," as well as New Year paintings with distinctive characteristics of the era, such as "The Red Lantern," "Shajiabang," and "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy."

"May you have abundance every year" is a modern invention, and it's readily available. She wants to buy "The Red Lantern" and "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy," so she can buy several copies to take back with her.

When Su Yuanyuan found Li Hongmei again, carrying large bags and small packages, the two of them laughed. She, too, had a huge pile of bags and small packages.

The four of them strolled around until noon before heading back. Each of them carried a string of candied hawthorns, eating them as they walked. The candied hawthorns were all-natural and pollution-free, with a sweet and sour taste.

Back at their lodgings, Su Yuanyuan carefully took out a couplet to show them, thinking that it would definitely attract attention if it were posted.

Liu Yan and she opened the couplet together, and saw that it read: "The east wind is blowing strong, the revolutionary situation is infinitely good; the red flag is waving, the production front is full of new atmosphere."

"This couplet is really well written. We'll put it up tomorrow." Zhang Zhiying carefully touched it, afraid that she would break it if she used too much force.

Li Hongmei nodded in agreement, "The meaning is good too."

Su Yuanyuan smiled happily, saying that she had good taste and that she had chosen this couplet at a glance out of so many.

In the following days, every household in the team cleaned up, both inside and outside the house, making sure it was spotless.

Sweeping from inside the house towards the front door is believed to sweep away bad luck and misfortune, symbolizing a smooth and prosperous year ahead.

Although this statement cannot be openly stated, everyone knows in their hearts that this is done every year.

After cleaning, those who could afford it would start making tofu, while those who couldn't would buy some tofu from families that were making it themselves.

Su Yuanyuan and the others didn't make tofu. Liu Yan went to a fellow villager's house and bought two jin (1 kg) of tofu. Su Yuanyuan had already started rendering lard.

She washed the fatty meat and cut it into large chunks. She poured a bowl of water into a pot, put the meat in, and brought it to a boil over high heat. After the water had mostly evaporated, she turned the heat down to low.

At this point, the aroma of meat begins to fill the air; then add ginger and scallion segments and simmer slowly.

After most of the oil has been rendered out, strain out the cracklings and put them in a separate bowl to add to stir-fries.

Whether you make steamed buns or dumplings, they can all be made into a delicious dish.

Store the rendered lard in a jar. Use a little for stir-frying; it tastes much better than cooking with soybean oil.

"I'll try one."

Liu Yan came in just in time to see her scoop out the fried pork cracklings. She reached out, grabbed one, and put it in her mouth. It was so hot that she stuck out her tongue and kept waving it.

"What's the rush? Didn't you see I just poured it out?"

Su Yuanyuan said to her in an annoyed tone, then scooped up a bowl of cold water and made her hold it in her mouth. Although it could only relieve the pain, it was better than having to keep in pain.

Li Hongmei came over when she heard the noise, and immediately knew what was going on. She smiled and rolled her eyes at Liu Yan, then glanced at the fried pork cracklings in the bowl.

"Let's stir-fry some pork cracklings for dinner. I haven't had meat for several days, and I'm really craving it."

Su Yuanyuan glanced at the pork cracklings; there would be plenty left over after stir-frying a dish, so she nodded in agreement.

The next day, Su Yuanyuan remembered that they didn't have any noodles yet. She told the three of them and ran out. She wanted to buy some noodles before the market closed.

After running to the vicinity of the market, she carefully observed her surroundings and, to make sure no one was around, took out ten jin of flour from her spatial storage, carried it around the market once, and then walked back.

She sighed repeatedly along the way, as it had been quite a struggle for her to get those ten pounds of noodles through the right passage.

Along the way, we encountered several groups of people heading to the market. We exchanged New Year's greetings and pleasantries before parting ways.

I prepared the dough before dark, put it in a bowl, covered it with the pot, and waited for it to rise before steaming the buns tomorrow.

This was Su Yuanyuan's first attempt at making steamed buns; whether it succeeded or not depended on whether the dough rose properly by tomorrow.

The next morning, Su Yuanyuan opened the pot lid early to take a look. It had risen, but not well. She figured the steamed buns would be rock hard.

Su Yuanyuan frowned and put the pot lid back on. She'd check again at noon; if it still didn't work, the noodles might be ruined.

"Didn't it send properly?"

Zhang Zhiying peeked out from the kitchen doorway, followed by Liu Yan and Li Hongmei, all three with expressions of anticipation.

Su Yuanyuan looked at the three people speechlessly, "What's there to gloat about if the dough doesn't rise properly? That's more than a dozen steamed buns."

The three of them didn't answer, but chuckled and ran away like ghosts.

Su Yuanyuan burst out laughing, "You're crazy!"