Making half a pig into pork belly was not a small project. They still needed to prepare a lot of things.
“Before we start braising, we have to marinate the meat first. The weather is cold, I’m afraid we’ll have to marinade it till the latter half of the night.” Uncle Yu said.
“And salt. Our family doesn’t have that much salt,” Yu Song said.
“There’s not enough spices either.” Yu Feng had learned a bit of cooking from his father, so he knew that sauces needed a lot of spices.
“I say,” Madam Jiang, who had been silent all this while, said, “Should we kill the pig first?”
Everyone : “…”
Slaughtering pigs was a technical job. The only butcher in Lotus Flower Village had been taken away along with Ah Wan’s father back then. There was also a butcher in the neighboring village, but unfortunately, he had accompanied his wife back to her maiden home two days ago and had yet to return.
“How about… I go look for Shuanzi?” Yu Song said. Shuanzi was the son of the village butcher. He was the same age as Yu Song and they had a good relationship. “At least he killed a few pigs with his father.”
Yu Feng shook his head and said, “How old was Shuanzi back then? He was just passing a bucket to his father. How could that be considered killing pigs? I think we should drag the pig into town to kill it.”
Uncle Yu disagreed. “If we go, not only will we have to spend money, but the meat won’t be fresh enough. We have to slaughter it and marinate it on the spot.”
The three of them chatted as they arrived at Yu Wan’s house. A faint yellow light came from Yu Wan’s house. Yu Wan had opened the door earlier than them.
Yu Song pouted and snorted. “What can we do? Can we slaughter it ourselves?”
Uncle Yu looked up at the sky and sighed. “It seems like I can only slaughter it myself.”
As soon as he said that, a groan came from the backyard. The few of them looked at each other in confusion and walked to the backyard to take a look. It was Yu Wan who had knocked the pig down with a stick. Then, she grabbed the pig’s front and back legs and threw it onto the bench. She held it down with one hand and quickly picked up the knife with the other.
The pig didn’t even have time to feel pain before Yu Wan “exorcized” it.
The three of them were dumbfounded and swallowed their saliva. In the year that the girl disappeared, she was probably kidnapped to slaughter pigs.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
In order to make the most delicious braised food, Uncle Yu needed to make the best braised marinade. Yu Wan also needed to make the fine salt. The Yu brothers, on the other hand, went to town as fast as they could to buy the necessary ingredients, side dishes, and brown sugar.
Yu Wan had bought ten pounds of salt. After purifying it, there would be less than six pounds left. Hence, she had Yu Feng and Yu Song buy an extra bucket of salt as well as the soybeans used for cooking salt.
Yu Wan handed the fine salt to her uncle. Her uncle began to marinate the pork. He made the marinade more salty for the New Year. As for the braised meat, it was slightly bland.
Aunt Yu also came over to help. It had been a long time since the family had been so busy. Aunt Yu looked at the yard full of meat and could not believe it.
“Take it and hang it where it’s ventilated.” Uncle Yu pointed to the meat in the barrel. These were for the New Years.
“I got it!” Aunt Yu left in high spirits.
Yu Wan’s kitchen was too small, so he couldn’t cook enough braised meat.
Madam Jiang left behind to take care of the two young children. Yu Wan and her uncle’s family carried the meat to the old mansion.
That night, the fragrance of the braised meat spread throughout most of the village. The villagers were all stirred up!
It was already past midnight by the time all the braised meat was ready. At first, the three siblings were worried that Uncle Yu wouldn’t be able to endure it. However, Uncle Yu became more and more energetic as he worked. In the end, he was even more energetic than the three of them.
“Ah Wan, try this.” Uncle Yu cut a slice of the most tender pork belly and handed it to Yu Wan.
The meat had a crystalline luster and was plump. The rich and fragrant taste bloomed layer by layer in her taste buds. It was fat but not greasy, and the marinade was thick. It was savory and soft, and it revealed a trace of sweetness that was just right.
“How is it?” Uncle Yu asked with a smile.
“Delicious!” Yu Wan said without thinking.
Uncle Yu cut another large piece for her.
The two brothers were also craving for it and they quickly came over. Uncle Yu also cut two pieces for them.
The two of them looked at the braised meat in front of them that was the size of a fingernail. Then, they looked at the big fat meat that could not even fit into Yu Wan’s bowl. The corners of their mouths twitched so much that they were about to have a stroke.
“Uncle, are you not going to make these pork bellies?” Yu Wan asked as she looked at the meat on the counter.
Uncle Yu smiled and said, “These are pork bellies. Braising them isn’t the best choice, but it’s the best when made into crispy meat.” The streaky pork was a piece of meat on the belly of a pig. It was fat and thin, and it was most suitable for the texture of crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
When Uncle Yu finished preparing a large plate of crispy meat, it was already midnight.
It was snowing late into the night, leaving a thick layer of snow on the road.
The few of them packed their things and hired an ox cart from the village. They stepped on the snow and walked away noisily. Although it was a small market, as it was close to the end of the year, it was not worse than a large market. However, due to the snow, everyone arrived later than usual.
Yu Wan noticed that the stall fees had increased, which meant that their prices were also going up.
This was not a bad thing.
Yu Wan rented two stalls in one go, one for selling braised food and the other for selling wild game.
Yu Wan took a stool for her uncle to sit down as his legs were not in good shape. There were not many customers at the moment, so she and her two older brothers could handle it.
Yu Wan’s crucian carp and winter bamboo shoots were a bit popular. After a while, a returnee came over.
“Lass, it’s you again. How’s the fish today? Is it fresh?” A fat auntie asked with a smile.
“Auntie Wu.” Yu Wan greeted her politely. She squatted down and picked up a fat carp with her bare hands. The carp shook its head and wagged its tail. It looked very lively. “Are you still worried about the fish I sold? The weather is cold and the lake is frozen. This is the last batch of fish. We won’t sell them this year after we’ve finished selling this batch.”
Upon hearing this, Auntie Wu decisively asked for five!
On the other side, the cauldrons had also been set up. Uncle Yu slowly heated the braised marinade, and a tempting fragrance slowly wafted out.
Auntie Wu then looked at the stall beside Yu Wan. “Is this also yours?”
Yu Wan nodded. “Yes, it was only served this morning. My uncle’s cooking is very good. If you don’t believe me, try it.”
Yu Wan cut a piece of pork belly that fit Auntie Wu and handed it to her.
Auntie Wu stuffed the hot streaky pork into her mouth and chewed carefully. Her eyes instantly widened. “Aiyo! Why is it so delicious! Give me a pound!”
Yu Wan asked, “Do you want pork belly? Or is it half a pound of pork belly and half a pound of lean meat? The price is about the same.”
“How much for a pound?” Auntie Wu asked.
Yu Wan said, “If it’s for other customers, it would cost thirty five copper coins. Since you’re a returning customer and this is today’s first business deal, I’ll charge you thirty copper coins.”
“It’s that expensive?” Auntie Wu was shocked.
To be honest, it was indeed expensive, but putting aside the cost of manpower, their family used snowflake salt. The cost of salt alone was much higher than that of their peers, and this price was even specially lowered to open the market.
“Your things are more expensive than others!” Auntie Wu complained.
Yu Wan said, “The workmanship is different, the cost of the ingredients are different, so the price is naturally different as well. You’re someone who’s experienced, so you can tell whether the taste is good or bad.”
Auntie Wu didn’t know what to say. Although she felt a bit pained, she wasn’t short of a few copper coins. After some hesitation, she bought it. “Give me something else too.”
“My family’s braised pork skin is also not bad.” Yu Wan cut half a roll of glistening pork skin and gave it to her. “Did you bring a bowl? I’ll put some marinade back for you. My family’s marinade isn’t salty. You can use it to mix the braised meat, stir-fry vegetables and rice. It’s delicious no matter what you make.”
Uncle Yu was sitting at the side collecting money. When he heard Yu Wan call him “my family”, he was grinning from ear to ear.
