Chapter 19: Delicious Braised Meat
Although Old Madam Zhu had given each branch twenty yuan, Su Huimin’s injury required money for medicine and proper nutrition. So, Yu Juanfang sold the silver dowry bangle she hadn’t been able to part with before.
It sold for exactly thirty yuan.
Su Huimin had bought his bicycle himself, and he was the one who usually rode it. Zhang Guixiang had briefly considered laying claim to it, but Su Jianjun had firmly put a stop to that; he was too embarrassed to ask his brother to divide up the bicycle as well.
Su Juesheng was now in his second year of junior high. With the family split, there was no longer a need to worry about being perfectly fair. Su Huimin gave the bicycle directly to him to ride to school. This not only saved him time but also spared him the exhausting twenty-li daily walk.
After the family division, Yu Juanfang’s parents and siblings came to visit her once, insisting on giving her five yuan and a dozen eggs. The children were all sensible enough to give the eggs to their father. Yu Juanfang would cook one for him every day, occasionally changing it up by frying it or beating it into a soup.
…
For dinner, Yu Juanfang made a simple meal: stir-fried shredded potatoes with vinegar, pickled vegetables, and a thin porridge of sorghum and black beans, along with a few steamed dark flour buns. After the family of six had eaten, the children went out to the courtyard to play. Yu Juanfang helped Su Huimin take his medicine, and just as she was about to take the empty bowl to the kitchen, he grabbed her arm.
“All these years, I have wronged you.”
Yu Juanfang was stunned for a long moment before shaking her head faintly. “There’s no wronging or not wronging. That’s just life. You support me, I support you, and we get by helping each other.”
After so many years of marriage, she knew what kind of man he was. Although he was a bit dense and overly filial, and their life was hard, he was fundamentally a kind and decent man who was genuinely good to her and the children.
She had never regretted marrying him.
…
Yu Juanfang had originally had fifty-five yuan, but after spending nearly twenty on medicine and other necessities for her husband, she was left with only thirty-five.
The children had to go to school, and Su Huimin needed medicine and time to heal. The third branch was now relying solely on her work points. The grain they would receive at the end of the year would likely be very little, certainly not enough to eat.
Then, her long-held dream resurfaced—to build a new house.
The dark roof beams were covered in cobwebs and the marks of insects. The old house they lived in was the same one Su Huimin had grown up in, a dilapidated adobe structure with an earthen kang. The six of them were squeezed into one stuffy room. Before the family split, she wouldn’t have dared to dream of a new house, but now, the thought would occasionally cross her mind. But building one would require at least a thousand yuan.
The bricks and sand, the lumber for beams, posts, doors, and windows, hiring craftsmen… each was a significant expense. An adobe house would cost around 1000 yuan, while a brick-and-tile house would start at 1500 to 2000 yuan.
The children were playing with a beanbag in the courtyard, and it was accidentally kicked into the house.
Tangtang came in to get it and saw her mother at the table, writing and calculating something. “Mom.”
Tangtang pursed her lips. She knew their family was now relying on her mother’s work points alone and that they would likely go hungry before winter. “Grandma said before that the tofu business had to be done by the whole family or not at all. First Aunt and Fourth Aunt didn’t want to wake up early, so we stopped. But now that we’ve split, can we start it up again?”
Her thinking was simple: if they had money, they could buy grain, and if they had grain, they wouldn’t starve.
Tangtang’s words were a reminder to Yu Juanfang. That’s right. She could absolutely pick up her black market business again.
A bolder idea formed in her mind. “We won’t make tofu. It’s time-consuming, laborious, and the profit is low. I can’t do it alone. We’ll make braised meats instead!”
…
Finally having some free time, after finishing her morning farm work, Yu Juanfang took the afternoon off from the production team and went out with Tangtang.
She took Tangtang because the girl had been with her throughout the tofu venture, and the two had developed a tacit understanding and experience. Besides, the girl was sharp. Sometimes, when Yu Juanfang’s mind was slow to catch on, Tangtang would quickly grasp the situation and give her a helpful suggestion.
Since the crackdown, the black market’s location had become even more hidden and difficult to find. It took them half the day to locate the new spot.
Yu Juanfang spent five yuan to buy fifteen catties’ worth of meat ration coupons. They also managed to buy some rare rock sugar and spices, which were essential for making braised meats.
…
A long line had formed at the non-staple food store that sold meat. Pork belly was sixty-five cents a catty, chicken and duck were fifty cents, and pork head meat was cheaper at forty cents. With her fifteen catties of coupons, Yu Juanfang bought five catties of pork belly, five of chicken and duck, and five of pork head meat. There were also some miscellaneous offal that didn’t require coupons, so she bought all of it.
Noticing the salesclerk’s eyes lingering on her, Yu Juanfang’s heart skipped a beat. Though she forced a calm expression, her hands were trembling. Buying so much meat at once was too conspicuous. Just as she was panicking, she heard Tangtang’s clear voice. “Mom, Uncle’s wedding is a huge celebration. Didn’t he also ask you to buy some spices for the meat? Don’t forget.”
Hearing this, Yu Juanfang quickly regained her composure and smiled. “Your uncle’s wedding is a big deal. How could I forget!”
The salesclerk overheard their conversation, and her suspicion was dispelled.
They packed the meat into a large basket, covered it with a layer of lotus leaves, then a floral cloth, and finally a layer of straw. Yu Juanfang then pedaled the bicycle home with Tangtang. By the time they reached Yuhuai Village, it was completely dark.
The wind was chilling, and the dark sky was dotted with stars. The villagers had all returned home, and the only sounds were the occasional barks of dogs.
Seeing their mother and sister return, the three Su brothers ran out to help with the bicycle and unload the goods.
“Why are you all out here? Have you eaten?” Yu Juanfang asked, surprised.
“We’ve eaten. We saved dinner for you and Tangtang. When the others asked, I told them you took Tangtang to Grandma’s house and would be back late,” Su Juesheng explained. Knowing they would be late, he had taken the initiative to cook porridge with sorghum and black beans and had set out the leftover pickled vegetables from the morning.
He didn’t know how to stir-fry, but he knew how to make porridge.
Yu Juanfang breathed a sigh of relief. She habitually looked down at her son, only to realize with a start that he had grown almost tall enough to meet her gaze.
She felt a sense of wonder, and also of pride. If there was one thing she was proud of in her life, it was her children. Each one was more sensible and well-behaved than the last, and all of them were growing up to be handsome, clever, and bright.
…
Back home, after she and Tangtang had eaten, and seeing that the lights in the other houses were out, Yu Juanfang began to prepare the meat in the dark. She washed it, then blanched it for 15 minutes to remove the scum, rinsed it again, and then placed it in a clean pot of water. She added the braising ingredients: scallions, ginger, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, dried chilies, cinnamon bark, bay leaves, cao guo, dried tangerine peel, licorice, fennel, and rock sugar.
Adding some vegetables to the braise would have been good, but she hadn’t prepared any, so for now, it was just the meat and offal.
Su Huimin’s leg made it difficult for him to move, so she didn’t have him come over.
The kitchen was separate from the main house. While the meat was braising, Yu Juanfang had the children shut the door tight, forbidding anyone from going in or out. She also stuffed the cracks in the windows and door to ensure no aroma escaped.
After a good forty minutes, the meat was tender and had turned from its original white to an enticing sauce-brown color. Yu Juanfang used chopsticks to pick out a small piece of pork head meat. After letting it cool, she sliced it thinly. She minced some garlic, ginger, and celery and mixed them with soy sauce and vinegar to make a dressing, which she then tossed with the meat. Only then did she have them each grab a pair of clean chopsticks to taste it.
It had been years since she had made braised meats, and she was a bit nervous.
She had spent fourteen yuan on the meat and over two yuan on the sugar and spices. If the braised meat didn’t sell, all that money would be down the drain.
The moment it touched her tongue, Tangtang’s eyes lit up. A fresh, spicy, and numbing flavor exploded on her palate. The pork head meat was tender with a slight chewiness. The sourness of the dressing and the spiciness of the garlic and ginger were perfectly balanced, stimulating her taste buds. It wasn’t greasy at all and had an endlessly satisfying aftertaste.
“Mom, this braised meat is the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten!” Tangtang exclaimed with genuine praise.
Su Juesheng was also blown away by the flavor. “Mom, this is amazing! Your cooking is incredible!”
Su Juexiao nodded in agreement. “Yes, it’s savory, spicy, and refreshing. The meat is so rich. Your braised meats will definitely sell for a good price.”
“That’s right! They’ll probably sell out the moment you set up your stall!”
Their reactions made Yu Juanfang laugh, and a bit of confidence settled in her heart. She had them finish the last few slices and cut a few more for Su Juesheng to take to their father.
After taking the meat out, she washed the pot twice, then boiled a pot of water with fresh grass to remove any lingering smells. Only after checking several times that the aroma was gone did she lock the kitchen door.