80s Transmigration: The Young Widow's Hustle to Riches

After being blanched, the bones and pig trotters went into a large pot to simmer slowly. Half the broth would be for stewing radishes, the other half for a blood curd soup.

Qiaohui added some charcoal to the firebox, then looked up at Wu Shufen. "Auntie, my cousins are coming tomorrow morning, right?"

Wu Shufen, who was roasting peppercorn salt, nodded. "They’re taking the first bus over." She glanced up at her. "Lower the fire a bit, or the peppercorns will burn."

Qiaohui nodded and shoveled two lumps of charcoal into the inner firebox. Watching Wu Shufen deftly stir-fry the peppercorn salt, she said, "Auntie, how come my mom’s cooking isn’t as delicious as yours?"

"Sigh!" Wu Shufen sighed. "When your mother left home, we barely had enough to eat. Your grandpa couldn’t get any work catering banquets, so where would she have learned to cook?"

Qiaohui thought of how her parents rarely even got to eat meat at home. "When I make money in the future, I’ll buy them good food and bring them to East Market to live."

’I remember my second brother, who married into his wife’s family. Every time he came home, he’d complain that our parents were useless and had forced him into that position. After he left, Mom would secretly wipe away her tears, saying she never should have brought us into this world to suffer.’

"Silly girl," Wu Shufen said, giving her a reproachful look. "Even if you’re willing, your brother and your mother wouldn’t agree."

Qiaohui looked at her, confused. "Why not?"

"Why would they rely on a daughter for their old age when they have a son? If your parents really came to live with you, your brother and sister-in-law would be the talk of the town." Wu Shufen looked at her. "Besides, once you get married, your husband’s family won’t agree to you bringing your parents to live with them!"

Qiaohui thought for a moment. "I’m going to learn everything I can from my cousin. When I make enough money, I’ll buy a house for my parents to live in myself."

Wu Shufen smiled. "Alright, then. Your parents will be waiting for their filial daughter to make money and buy them a house."

Once the peppercorn salt was roasted, it was transferred to a ceramic bowl. Wu Shufen and Qiaohui then threaded strips of pork belly, hind leg, and ribs onto straw ropes. They rubbed the peppercorn salt onto the meat and placed it in a wooden basin to marinate overnight. It would be hung up the next morning, and once the surface was dry, it would be smoked with cypress branches, sugarcane peels, and rice husks.

For the oil-sealed pork, they used pork rump, cutting it all into large pieces. It was mixed evenly with salt, white liquor, ground pepper, and ground Sichuan peppercorn, then left to marinate. By the next afternoon, it would be ready for deep-frying.

With the meat marinating, Wu Shufen drained the soaked glutinous rice. She poured in a large bowl of brown sugar, mixed it well, and spread the mixture evenly in a steamer basket.

She ladled two large scoops of water into the pot. Before placing the steamer inside, she added a few strips of blanched pork belly to the water below, then began to steam the glutinous rice for the sweet steamed pork belly.

Qiaohui added some more coal to the firebox, and the flames inside roared to life.

Wu Shufen had her help slice the meat set aside for sausages—pork shoulder and butt—into thin pieces.

Into the meat slices, they poured a suitable amount of salt, white liquor, ground tsaoko cardamom, ground pepper, ground Sichuan peppercorn, and chili powder. Finally, she grabbed a handful of rock sugar, crushed it into a powder, and added it to the mix. After combining everything thoroughly, they left the meat to marinate on the cutting board.

Qiaohui entered the kitchen carrying the small intestines. "Auntie, are we making the casings now?"

Wu Shufen nodded. "Mhm, bring me a pair of scissors."

Wu Shufen took the selected intestines and used the scissors to trim off the excess fatty membranes. She emptied the intestines into a large wooden basin full of water. Holding one end, she ran her other hand down the entire length, squeezing out the contents, then rinsed them clean with warm water.

Next, she took a chopstick, slid one end of an intestine over it, and began to pull the length of the intestine down over itself, easily turning the entire section inside out.

She rubbed the inverted intestines repeatedly with flour several times, then rinsed them clean with fresh water.

You can’t add salt when cleaning the intestines. Salt changes their elasticity, causing the finished casings to break easily when stuffing the sausages.

She spread the inverted intestines on a washboard and scraped off the thick inner lining and mucus. After rinsing them again, she filled them with water to check for any holes or leaks.

If she found any, she would cut out the leaky section to prevent the filling from squeezing out through the hole.

After being thoroughly cleaned and with the inner lining and mucus scraped away, all that remained was a thin, transparent, and resilient layer—as delicate as a cicada’s wing. The sausage casings were now ready.

She cut the casings into specific lengths, washed them one more time, and left them to soak in clean water until they were needed.

Qiaohui washed her hands, wiped them on her apron, and stretched her back. "Making sausages is so much trouble. My back is killing me."

"You won’t be saying that when you’re eating them."

After saying this, Wu Shufen glanced at the sky and told Qiaohui to go pick up Little Douzi from school, and to take a look around town while she was at it.

She went to the woodshed, found a bamboo stalk, and used a cleaver to chop it into sections, each a little over an inch long. After washing them, she set them aside to be used for stuffing the sausages later.

When Wu Shufen returned to the kitchen, the braised pig’s head in the clay pot was cooked through, emitting waves of a tantalizing aroma.

"Shufen, are you braising pig’s head? I could smell it the moment I walked into the courtyard!" Before the words were even out, Yang Liqun and her two sons had arrived at the kitchen door.

Wu Shufen nodded cheerfully. "Zhigang helped me prepare the pig’s head, so I’m braising it with some spices for tonight."

Wang Zhilin sniffed the air. "Grandma’s cooking is the best! I’m going to find a wife who knows how to cook."

"You little glutton!" Yang Liqun said, laughing as she gave him a light smack. Then she turned to Wu Shufen with a smile. "Shufen, you must be tired."

"Not at all. I have to trouble you all again." Wu Shufen used a meat hook to fish out a piece of the pig’s head, sliced off a chunk, and gave it to Zhilin. "Help Grandma taste this. Is it flavorful enough?"

"It smells delicious," Wang Zhilin said with a grin, taking the bowl and moving to the side to eat.

Wang Zhixue saw the sliced meat in the basin and smiled. "Grandma, you’re so fast. Not only are the casings scraped, but the meat is already marinated."

"Not at all. Zhigang and Mingzi were a big help this whole time!" Wu Shufen said as she brought the basin of soaking casings over to the meat. "I’ll go get you the scissors and cotton thread."

Wang Zhilin pinched off a piece and stuffed it into Wang Zhixue’s mouth, calling out, "Grandma, your braised meat is even better than the stuff they sell!"

Wu Shufen chuckled. "If you like it, go get some more from the pot and cut it yourself."

"Greedy boy!" Yang Liqun smacked Wang Zhilin again. She grabbed a small stool, and the three of them—mother and sons—gathered around the large wooden basin.

Wang Zhilin wiped his hands and passed her the small bamboo tube used for stuffing sausages. "Mom, I don’t know how to do this. Let me help with something else!"

Yang Liqun shot him a sideways glance. "Lazybones."

"Hehe!" Wang Zhilin offered a sheepish grin.

Wu Shufen came out from the other room with two spools of white cotton thread and two small needles, handing them to Yang Liqun. "You all can help me stuff the sausages. I’m going to go pull up some radishes and pick some pea shoots."

"Let Zhilin help you with the vegetables," Yang Liqun said, taking the thread and cutting it into short lengths with the scissors.

Wu Shufen nodded. "Alright. Zhilin can help me with the vegetables, and I’ll go make the red-braised pork belly and steam the sweet steamed pork."

Hearing this, Wang Zhilin swallowed hard. "Grandma, I love both the sweet steamed pork and the red-braised pork belly!"

Yang Liqun shot him a reproachful glare. "Have you no shame? You’re a grown man, and still so greedy."