Crossing Over to Yamada Love

Wang Shi blanched the meat and cut it into small cubes. She put some oil in the pot, then threw in some of the rock sugar that Mo Lan had crushed. She stirred it slowly. This rock sugar was bought by Mo Lan and the others when they went to town the day before. They originally intended to make it into a drink, but they didn't expect it to come in handy today.

The oil and rock sugar in the pot slowly combined and began to form threads. Mo Lan poured the meat from the bowl into the pot with a sizzling sound, and smoke rose from the pot. Wang Shi began to stir the meat continuously. The meat began to change color, turning a little yellow, and started to sizzle as it cooked. Mo Lan quickly moved away, as the meat with skin was easy to splatter, and if it splashed onto her little face, it would turn her into a little pockmark.

Seeing that the stir-fry was almost done, Mo Lan threw in scallions, ginger slices, star anise, soy sauce, and a little vinegar. Actually, most places don't put a lot of things in braised pork, but it's different in Northeast China. They love to add a lot of spices, especially to stews.

After stir-frying for a while, salt was added, boiling water was poured in, the lid was put on, and it was stewed. Actually, Wang was going to add cold water to stew, but Mo Lan said that adding cold water directly would make the meat tough, so she changed to hot water.

Mo Lan took the chopped firewood and put it into the stove. The small splinters on the firewood were a bit prickly, so she carefully stirred the firewood in the stove to make the fire burn brighter.

After Mo Lan finished, she and Mo Mei used spoons to scrape the potato skins, while Wang Shi was chopping chives.

Soon, a meaty aroma wafted out, growing stronger with time. Mo Lan sniffed, "Wow, it smells so good!" She felt a little hungry. In her past life, she especially loved pork belly. Apart from tenderloin, she rarely ate lean meat because it wasn't flavorful at all. Braised pork belly, twice-cooked pork, and garlic pork belly were her favorite dishes.

She also has a particular fondness for skin, including pork skin, fish skin, and chicken skin. It's often said that a gluttonous person loves to cook what they love to eat, so Mo Lan knows quite a few home-style recipes.

"It smells so good! Oh, this is stewed meat, isn't it? I'm telling you, Aunt, you've only just separated from the family, and you're already cooking meat with every meal. You even said you didn't embezzle our money. If you didn't embezzle, how could you eat meat and fine grains every meal? You're just fooling us." Cui said to Wang with dissatisfaction as she entered the kitchen, sniffing the air.

“This is the meat my grandfather brought today. My grandmother didn’t steal any of your money.” Mo Mei replied. She finished peeling the potatoes, stood up, and glared at Cui Shi.

"Your maternal grandparents are so poor, how could they afford meat? Don't make me laugh my head off. Could it be that they borrowed money to buy meat to put on a show of wealth? Sigh, how pitiful." Cui sighed dramatically as she walked to the kitchen and brought out her family's belongings.

The basin contained pork head meat, and there was a large piece left over from yesterday. Cui picked up the pork head meat and started cutting it on the cutting board.

He cut two pieces, put one in his mouth first, and said while chewing, "Tsk tsk, it's really delicious. This is braised pig's head meat sold at Xiangji Meat Shop in town. My father specially had someone buy it for us and bring it back. Those poor people can't afford it. They want to separate from us. Let them be so envious."

Before long, Cui had already eaten several pieces of pig's head meat. Seeing how much she enjoyed her meal, Mo Lan couldn't help but remind her, "Eat slowly."

"What? It's none of your business if I eat my own pig's head meat. I won't eat it slowly, what can you do about it?" Cui Shi retorted angrily to Mo Lan, while stuffing two more pieces of pig's head meat into her mouth.

“I’m afraid that if you finish all the meat, your second wife and third uncle won’t have anything to eat, and they’ll start cursing.” Amusement flashed in Mo Lan’s eyes.

"Cough cough, you brat, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Cui was a little choked when she heard Mo Lan's words. She was only focused on being angry. She ate a big piece of pig's head meat. Wouldn't her mother-in-law scold her to death later?

"Hehe." Mo Lan covered her mouth and chuckled.

Wang ignored Cui completely. Feeling that the time was almost up, she lifted the pot lid, placed the cooked rice on a cloth, and brought it out. Immediately, a fragrant aroma of rice wafted out.

Cui sniffed twice, then came over with a smirk: "Auntie, look, you've steamed such a big pot of rice and you still can't finish it all. Why don't you share some with me? My husband is your nephew, after all, and Dalang is your grandson. And give me some of the meat too. You can't just watch them go hungry, can you?"

Mo Lan immediately looked up at the sky. How thick-skinned was this Cui family? The wounds on their faces hadn't even healed yet, and the family had already been divided, but they still had the nerve to ask for food. This was truly extraordinary.

"You're blocking the way, move your feet." Wang smiled at Cui first, and just as Cui was starting to think there was a chance, Wang said this to her.

Cui felt like she was about to explode with anger. Her aunt used to be so good-tempered, how could she have changed like this?

"I just wanted you to order some food, why are you making such a fuss?" Cui muttered discontentedly. She glanced at the pot of rice that Wang had brought out, which still had a lot of boiling water and plenty of firewood in the stove. She hurriedly said, "I want to steam rice too, so I'll use this pot. Auntie, you can wait until the meat is stewed before you stir-fry the vegetables." After saying that, she hurriedly picked up a basin to scoop out the rice.

Mo Lan looked at her using the water in the water vat, curled her lips and said sarcastically, "Third Aunt, that water was all carried by my father. When are you going to ask Third Uncle to carry water back too?"

"You brat, why are you so particular about water? It doesn't matter who picks it." Cui didn't care what Mo Lan said at all; she would still use hers.

Mo Lan really wanted to snatch the water ladle from her, but in the end she thought better of it. It was the busy farming season, and arguing with her would only cause more trouble.

Wang lifted the lid of the pot and a stronger aroma of meat wafted out. She turned the meat over in the pot.

Mo Lan looked at the meat, turned down the fire in the stove, and decided to simmer it over low heat for a while to make it more tender.

"Braised pork, Auntie! It's been so long since Dalang has had meat. Could you serve us a bowl when it's done?" Cui Shi stepped forward and saw the meat in the pot. Her mouth watered.

"Wasn't Third Aunt eating meat just now? Did Third Aunt eat all the meat and not give any to Eldest Brother?" Mo Lan asked Cui Shi in confusion.

"Hehe, how can we possibly eat this little bit of pig's head meat? There are so many of us, we can each have just two chopsticks and that's it. Unlike you guys, who are cramming so much meat." Cui chuckled, not at all ashamed.

None of them paid any attention to her, each busy with their own things. Cui Shi sat the basin in the pot and didn't leave, her eyes fixed on Wang Shi and Mo Lan, watching them cook.

Wang cracked five more eggs into the bowl and stirred them continuously with chopsticks. The egg mixture spun around with Wang's chopsticks.

“There’s meat, eggs, and vegetables. Auntie, you’re really generous. I’ve never seen you so generous in previous years. You’re so different with your own children. You’re so biased.” Cui started muttering again.

The dish was served amidst Cui's grumbling: a pot of braised pork, its color a glossy red, with plenty of broth left over, which she planned to use to soak rice.

A plate of stir-fried eggs with chives, the chives bright green and the eggs golden brown, looks so appetizing.

A plate of potato slices stir-fried with red chili peppers. The potato slices are cut very thinly, and when stir-fried with red chili peppers, they are fragrant and spicy, making them a great accompaniment to rice.

A plate of stir-fried bean sprouts with a little red chili pepper in it tastes especially refreshing.

There was also a pot of stir-fried bracken, which tasted refreshing and delicious, a large pot of rice, and a large pot of rice porridge.

Mo Lan's mouth watered at the sight of the food. She swallowed hard, inwardly scolding herself for being so gluttonous. She had eaten these foods before, so why was she so hungry now that she was here?

Wang took a basin and scooped out a little bit of each vegetable, along with some cooked rice. Then she found a large wooden basin and put the vegetables and rice into it together.

"Auntie is so kind, she really gave us some food. Please give us more, this isn't enough." Cui was overjoyed as she watched Wang's actions. She hadn't expected her aunt to actually give her some food, though it was a little little. She wished there was more.

"Lan, take this to your uncle's room, then call Erlang out and have him come with me to deliver the food." Madam Wang handed the bowl of food to Mo Lan.

Before Cui could retract her outstretched hand, the smile on her face froze.

Seeing Cui's amused expression, Mo Lan and Mo Ju couldn't help but chuckle.

Mo Lan carried the basin into her uncle's room, and Er Lang hurriedly got off the kang (a heated brick bed) to take it from him.

"Uncle, you and San'er eat first. My brother and I will go to the fields to deliver food to Grandpa and the others," Mo Lan said to Mo Changhai with a smile.

"I made so many delicious dishes today, you guys go ahead, your uncle will wait for you to come back and eat together." Mo Changhe smiled gently. He originally wanted to go to the fields, but transplanting rice seedlings requires bending over, which is very hard work, and his family wouldn't allow him to go. So he could only teach Erlang and Xiaosan'er from the kang (heated brick bed).

"Okay, we'll go first then. Be good at home, San'er." Mo Lan patted San'er's hair, and seeing the little guy nod to her and say he would be good, she and Erlang walked out together.

A large wooden basin covered with a wooden lid, plus a basin for holding rice water—this is what's meant to be delivered to the fields.

There's quite a lot of stuff, and since Dad took the cart to the field while he was hauling the seedlings, we'll have to carry it by hand.

"Grandma, my brother, sister, and I will go deliver it. You should rest at home." Mo Lan didn't want her grandmother to go. With her bound feet, carrying things and walking that long distance would surely exhaust her.

“This is heavy, you can’t lift it.” Madam Wang also felt sorry for Mo Lan.

"It's alright, let's walk for a bit and then rest." Mo Lan picked up the basin of rice porridge and walked ahead. It was really heavy, Mo Lan thought to herself, but carrying it for a while wouldn't be a problem.

Mo Mei and Er Lang each carried one side of the wooden basin, following behind. Soon, Mo Lan felt as if her arms were about to break. "Why is it so heavy?" she thought, her arms beginning to feel weak.

"Lanlan, you carry the wooden basin, I'll take it." Erlang placed the wooden basin and Momei on the ground first, and then took the rice soup basin from Molan.