Chapter 48: Showing Off a Skill
Zhang Liang quickly got permission for leave from his supervisor and walked out, carrying a white plastic pail half-full of white liquor.
"Heh heh, I was saving this loose liquor for my old man for the New Year. Let’s have some first, brother."
The Northeast was extremely cold, so everyone—men and women, young and old—liked to drink to ward off the chill. The other thing was dry-leaf tobacco. It wasn’t just the men who smoked; many women did too. After the three years of famine, it was a common sight to see elderly women clutching the bowls of their tobacco pipes.
"Hmm, wait, there’s still something."
As Zhao Wendong spoke, the saleswoman returned, holding two large bundles of vermicelli tied in the middle with red nylon rope.
"You bought vermicelli for home too? This stuff doesn’t fill you up. It’d be more practical to buy grain."
"It’s fine. It’ll be enough."
After he spoke, Zhao Wendong took the vermicelli, said goodbye to the woman, and pulled Zhang Liang straight out the door. The two of them headed to the Agricultural Technology Station together.
"Hey, aren’t you that guy from the supply and marketing co-op?"
"Yeah, that’s me. I didn’t expect you to be the buddy Dongzi was talking about! My name’s Zhang Liang, but everyone calls me Liangzi!"
"I’m Li Dong. Just call me Little Shanghai."
Both Little Shanghai and Liangzi worked at the Commune and would occasionally pass each other on the road, but they weren’t well acquainted. Now that they were sitting together, with a brief introduction from Zhao Wendong, they quickly warmed up to each other.
"Whoa, look at all this food!"
Liangzi’s eyes went wide when he saw the large pile of burlap sacks on the sled.
"Heh heh, we got lucky and bagged a big wild boar. Traded it for all this!"
"Badass!"
"This is nothing. In a bit, I’ll let you have a taste of my cooking. Then you’ll see what’s *really* badass!"
Zhao Wendong smugly rolled up his sleeves, but Liangzi was instantly skeptical.
"Get outta here! You’re the kind of guy who won’t even come to the table unless your rice is already in your bowl and your chopsticks are set out for you. You know how to cook?"
Little Shanghai and Zhao Wenjun looked just as skeptical. Only Zhao Wenwu unconditionally supported his third younger brother.
"Wendong’s cooking is amazing!"
’Second Brother, you just haven’t eaten anything truly good,’ Zhao Wendong thought. ’Everything I made before was just thrown together. That potato and cabbage stew for Little Shanghai last time was actually pretty mediocre, and I wasted so many seasonings from their Ag-Tech Station. No matter what, I have to show them what I can really do today.’
So, did Zhao Wendong know how to cook? He really did. And he wasn’t just passable—he was excellent. In his past life, he had spent decades alone with little to look forward to, so he’d poured all his time into two things: missing his family and food. To what extent had his culinary skills developed? Let’s put it this way: if he wasn’t the one cooking for a village banquet, at least half the guests wouldn’t bother showing up.
Zhao Wendong just chuckled and, without a word, began to prepare the ingredients. He started by selecting a nicely marbled piece from the remaining wild boar meat. This eleven-pound cut had been set aside for Little Shanghai and Liangzi, not given to Big Wang. He thawed the meat and sliced it into roughly one-inch cubes. The red and white pattern was enough to make one’s mouth water.
Next, he pulled a head of thoroughly pickled cabbage from a mesh bag. After rinsing it and squeezing it dry, he shredded it into fine slivers. A refreshing, tangy aroma mixed with the scent of cabbage filled the air. The four onlookers forgot all about their conversation, staring dumbfounded as Zhao Wendong’s cleaver flashed and danced.
"Holy shit... he... he actually knows what he’s doing?"
Liangzi shot Little Shanghai a look of utter disbelief.
"Damn it, you’re his childhood friend, why are you looking at me? We’ve only known each other for a week! The last time we ate together, *I* was the one who made the potato and cabbage stew! Hey, man," he said, turning to Zhao Wenjun, "didn’t Wendong practice this at home every day?"
Little Shanghai looked toward Zhao Wenjun, and Liangzi’s gaze followed. Zhao Wenjun wore an expression of profound confusion. ’Who am I? Where am I? My third younger brother has never, ever cooked at home.’
’Is this really my lazy, good-for-nothing third brother, who never sets foot in the kitchen or lifts a finger to help?’
Seeing the look on Zhao Wenjun’s face, the other two understood. Even Zhao Wendong’s own family had no idea he possessed such a skill.
"Holy shit, Wendong, how could you have been hiding a skill like this!"
"Heh heh, you can’t make bricks without straw. If we didn’t have all these ingredients today, plus all of Little Shanghai’s seasonings here, and if I wasn’t in a good mood from seeing you all... I would’ve been too lazy to bother!"
"Such a show-off!"
The others jeered in unison, looking at his smug expression.
Zhao Wendong kept talking, but his hands moved with nimble efficiency. He quickly diced the potatoes, then soaked the vermicelli in warm water until it was pliable enough to bend without snapping. He looked around for a moment, then shook his head with a touch of regret.
"Sigh, it’s a shame we don’t have any ginger, chili peppers, garlic, or green onions."
"We do, we do! Fatty Li has green onions, I’ll go swipe some. He’s always sneaking off to eat dried tofu sheets rolled with green onion. He thinks I can’t smell it all over his breath."
Little Shanghai quickly returned with Fatty Li’s green onions, and Zhao Wendong immediately chopped them into large sections.
The perks at the Ag-Tech Station were genuinely good; they had a fairly complete stock of basic seasonings. Zhao Wendong tossed the wild boar meat into a hot wok to stir-fry. The fat slowly rendered out, and the chunks of meat began to turn a golden brown. Once the edges started to caramelize, a rich, mellow aroma of pork drifted up with the steam, making Zhao Wenwu swallow hard.
Once the pork was seared until glistening, he ladled out some of the excess lard, then threw in the green onion sections. With a loud SIZZLE, the combined aroma of onion and pork instantly intensified.
Zhao Wendong then swiftly added the shredded pickled cabbage, stir-frying rapidly until it softened and the raw, sharp tang was cooked off. He poured in enough boiling water to cover all the ingredients, leaving the potatoes and vermicelli aside to be added closer to the end. He then began adding the various seasonings from the Ag-Tech Station’s supply. Finally, he partially closed the firebox door to lower the heat and let the pot simmer slowly.
"And we’re set. Now we just wait for it to cook through!"
"Damn, that’s incredible! I’m already starving!"
"Yeah, you’re right! We’re in for a real treat this afternoon, haha!"
Liangzi and Little Shanghai watched the delicious stew bubbling away in the pot, grinning so wide they couldn’t contain it.
"You need plenty of seasonings to make food taste this good. Liangzi, I’m thinking I’d like to get my hands on some. We have to have a proper feast for the New Year."
Zhao Wendong wiped his hands, sat down beside his friends, and took a sip of water before speaking to Liangzi.
"Sure, no problem. When we get rare stuff in like star anise, fennel, and Shisan spice, I’ll set some aside for you. If other things are about to sell out, I’ll save some of those for you too."
"When do you need them?"
Zhao Wendong did a quick calculation in his head. ’The money I have on me won’t buy much grain, and besides, you can’t find any for sale right now even if you have the cash. It’s much more practical to trade meat and fish for grain. Spending a little money on food isn’t a waste, either. It wouldn’t cost much to significantly improve our quality of life at home. It’s a worthy trade-off.’ He nodded.
"Let’s do it in a bit. I need to buy some other things this afternoon. When the time comes, just help me get a little bit of whatever seasonings you have."
"Alright. Do you have the ration coupons?"
"No..."
Many of the rarer seasonings required non-staple food coupons. Although Zhao Wendong didn’t have any, he was confident Liangzi would have a solution. And just as he expected, Liangzi immediately offered one.
"Hmm, so you don’t have any! But it’s fine, I have a way!"
Liangzi replied with complete confidence.