aircannonsinc Chapter 83 Our Parents
Chapter 83 Our Parents
Soak raw bones in clean water to remove blood, then blanch them in boiling water. Marinate them with a little soy sauce, sugar, and cooking wine. Stir-fry them briefly, add water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat and skim off any foam. Cover and simmer without adding anything else until the broth turns a cloudy white. Add star anise, peppercorns, ginger slices, scallion segments, and garlic slices, along with some salt. Then add vegetables such as green beans, potatoes, radishes, or lotus root. Continue to simmer covered, being careful not to let the heat get too high, or it will boil over.
Once the vegetables are stewed and the meat is cooked through, remove the star anise, peppercorns, and ginger slices. These ingredients should not be eaten as they affect the taste. It's best to wrap them in gauze before removing them and then simply take them out. They can be set aside for later use.
Then season it. You can add some dried chili peppers, but don't add them at the beginning, otherwise the spiciness will be too strong and overpower the other flavors.
Add salt, a little sugar, and MSG to taste. Then add minced garlic and chopped green onions, reduce the broth until thickened, add chopped cilantro, and it's ready to eat. It's a great tonic for cold weather. A sip of the rich broth followed by a bite of meat is simply divine.
Many people dislike cilantro or garlic, but frankly, they should change their minds. Cilantro and garlic are both good things; eating more of them is good for your health and helps keep colds away.
Eating freshly baked buns, large chunks of meat, and big mouthfuls of vegetables, along with garlic, the group, including Chen Xiao, were all sweating profusely, feeling hot from the inside out. Xia Maosheng and Xiao Wei even took off their outer clothes.
The few steamed buns stuck in the pot were definitely not enough, so everyone got a big bowl of rice. In Northeast China, a bowl is equivalent to two bowls, and one bowl of rice can be as good as several bowls in the South. They ladled the thick meat broth into the rice, mixed it, and shoveled it down their throats, feeling refreshed all over.
Before we finished our meal, the owner brought us tea—a very strong brew, with lots of tea leaves. This wasn't actually meant for drinking. Northeasterners, both men and women, love to eat raw garlic in the cold weather; it's an ancient remedy for illness. Chewing tea leaves after a meal removes the garlic smell from your mouth. While a cold isn't considered a serious illness now, in the past, it could be fatal, and eating raw garlic was very effective in reducing the chances of catching a cold.
After putting down my rice bowl, I patted my belly contentedly, took a sip of tea and chewed on the tea leaves, and a wonderful dinner was over.
"It's really delicious, boss. This dish you make is amazing." Xia Maosheng gave the boss a thumbs up, and everyone at the table nodded in agreement. It was indeed fragrant and delicious.
The boss, puffing on his cigarette, said nonchalantly, "How about that? I wasn't kidding you, was I? My pigs are really delicious, but unfortunately, the amount of fermented grains is limited, so I can't raise more."
Xiao Wei took the napkin Xiao Hong handed him, wiped his mouth, and asked, "Boss, do you sell these pigs individually?"
The shop owner glanced at Xiao Wei and asked, "What? Want to buy it?"
Xiao Wei nodded, but the boss shook his head and said, "You can't buy it. If you really want it, you have to order in advance. I don't have enough pigs to go around. There aren't any in the market. I'm using the bones myself, and the offal and meat are all being fought over by the restaurants in this area. I eat two or three pigs a day, and there are still shops here that don't sell them to me."
Yang Tiebin asked, "Why don't you kill a few more?"
The shopkeeper glanced at him, shook his head, and said, "How can you do business like that? Slaughter all the pigs in one day? How will you survive? This kind of business needs to be sustainable. To be honest, the price can be higher if you do this. Pigs need to be raised in batches. If you cut off the supply all at once, how will you continue?"
Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng both nodded. What the boss said made sense and was true wisdom. Unfortunately, too many people were blinded by immediate gains.
Xia Maosheng paid the bill, 50 yuan, and the group said goodbye to the owner and left the restaurant.
Before coming out, Xiao Hong turned her head to look at the restaurant's sign and sighed, "It's so delicious, but it's too far away." She smacked her lips a few times, which made Chen Xiao burst out laughing. At that moment, her face turned as red as a peach blossom. Chen Hui was stunned and almost tripped on the curb. He was only saved by Xia Maosheng's quick reflexes. Everyone laughed, making Chen Xiao's face turn completely red.
As dusk approached—in fact, it was already late—the entire city was shrouded in a gray shadow, and the streetlights along the roads were already on. The wind had picked up, and the chill that had been suppressed by the sun all day seemed to have emerged from nowhere, swaggering about. Frost falls in October, and snow begins to fall at the end of October. At this time, the temperature difference between day and night is enormous, with a difference of nearly fifteen degrees between noon and midnight. If you get up early in the morning, the puddles on the roadside are already icy.
There were few pedestrians on the street, and the whole market was busy packing up, except for the shops in the middle street, which were still bustling with activity.
The air was filled with the aroma of food, a time when families, tired from a long day, would gather for a lively dinner. Television was now commonplace in the city, and music emanated from every household, all the sounds blending together to create a warm and inviting cacophony. This is life.
Xiao Hong, with one arm around Xiao Wei and the other around Chen Xiao, looked at the lights on the buildings in the distance and said, "It's more lively here than where I live, but it's not noisy at all. The countryside is too quiet."
Xiao Wei said, "Then let's work hard and put in more effort so that we can bring our parents here to enjoy their retirement in the future."
Xiao Hong smiled and glanced sideways at Xiao Wei, asking, "Are your parents or my parents?"
Xiao Wei said, "Our parents."
People from Fengtian are used to using "zan" (咱, meaning "our" or "our") when speaking. They say things like "our dad," "our mom," "our family," "our neighborhood," and "our child." No matter how close the relationship is, their words always convey a sense of intimacy. There was a popular song in the 90s that goes, "People from Fengtian have a unique way of speaking, except when it comes to their wives, they don't use 'zan' (咱, meaning "our" or "our"). When they talk about their wives, they say "my wife," which is a clear and unambiguous way of saying "my wife."
In fact, people from Northeast China at that time were a bunch of fools. They were enthusiastic, nosy, talkative, trusting, concerned about face and keeping their word. They were straightforward in their words and actions, but also had bad tempers. They would act before they even got the words, and liked to fight. These were habits formed by the regional culture.
Then, because of this personality trait, it was amplified, leading to the perception that all Northeasterners are gangsters. In reality, the old Beijing customs are just a group of Northeasterners who have been living in Beijing for hundreds of years. This is also why Northeastern dialect and Mandarin are 90% similar.
Chen Xiao loosened her grip on Xiao Hong's arm and took two steps back, saying, "My goodness, can you two stop being so annoying? I'm getting goosebumps. Let's go home. I'll pay for a taxi. It'll get colder soon, and the buses are crowded and too slow at this hour."
Before anyone could react, Chen Hui jumped into the middle of the road to stop a car. Xiao Hong sighed and said, "They're such a perfect match. They'll be spendthrifts in the future. How will they manage?"
Chen Xiao rolled his eyes at Xiao Hong and said, "We earn more, so what if you're not happy?"
Xiao Hong was stunned for a moment, then laughed. Everyone laughed too. After a while, Chen Xiao finally came to her senses and angrily shouted at Chen Hui, "You take so long to get a taxi! How can you be so stupid?"
Chen Hui stood in the middle of the road, scratching his head. What's wrong? Why are you cursing me? I don't dare to talk back.