In the kitchen, Li Min had just finished steaming the pumpkin when Tian Jing tasked her with scrubbing the pot and stoking the fire.
"Not eating dinner?" Li Min didn't understand. The dinner was ready, why not eat it while it was hot?
"Hurry up and finish your work." Tian Jing didn't answer her.
Li Min could only scrub the pot and continue stoking the fire.
Tian Jing scooped hot water from the earthenware pot into the larger pot, then added the pork, urging Li Min to stoke a fierce fire.
As Li Min added firewood, she wailed, "Sister-in-law, that's ten catties of meat! Are you planning to eat it all at once?"
"No," Tian Jing finally deigned to explain. "We don't have Sichuan peppercorns or star anise at home, so I decided to stew it all at once. Eat as much as you can the first time. The rest will be stewed with cabbage and vermicelli."
Li Min breathed a sigh of relief, but then she thought that by the time the New Year came, there would be no more meat. Her heart felt a pang of unease. Her sister-in-law was too extravagant.
Li Zhengguo had been in the kitchen for a while. Seeing that Tian Tian had already explained, and his sister still looked unconvinced, he reprimanded his sister, "Shut up, you talk too much."
Li Min pursed her lips and lowered her head, continuing to stoke the fire.
After the pork was blanched and placed on a rack to drain, Li Min scrubbed the pot to render fat. Tian Jing looked at Li Zhengguo, who was standing by, and said, "You should eat with your mother first. I'll be done in about ten minutes. Pig liver gets gamey when cold. After you eat, you can help your mother go for a walk to digest."
Li Zhengguo reached out and pulled Li Min away from the stove. "You go. I'll stoke the fire."
Li Min silently went to attend to her mother. Her elder brother was angry.
As Li Min left with the basin, Li Zhengguo said to Tian Jing, "I'm sorry. She doesn't know that wild boar was hunted by you."
"It's fine," Tian Jing said dismissively. "She's someone who's suffered through hard times. When I go up the mountain again, I'll hunt more prey."
Li Zhengguo was speechless. He had just found his sister's chatter annoying, and now he couldn't forbid Tian Jing from going. Besides, he had promised not to follow her when they were on the mountain.
If he couldn't help himself, he could only say, "It's too dangerous."
"Don't worry," Tian Jing knew what he meant. The prey was too big. Today, she was in a hurry to get into the mountains and had ignored the wild rabbits and pheasants she encountered on the way.
"This wild boar was an accidental encounter. I'm not stupid, why would I bring people meat? I'll hunt some wild rabbits and pheasants. I'll skin the rabbit hides and tan them. I can make knee pads for your mother, or stitch them together to make a lining for a cotton-padded jacket."
"Okay, and I'll make one for you too," Li Zhengguo smiled at Tian Jing. Tian Tian liked to see him smile.
Looking at the person who was smiling happily, Tian Jing twitched her lips and smiled too. "Okay, hunt more. Can you tan hides?"
"Yes," Li Zhengguo's smile widened.
Tian Jing lowered her head and continued working, scooping the cracklings into a large bowl and the lard into an enamel basin.
Using the oil in the pot, she sautéed minced garlic until fragrant. She then stir-fried the pumpkin vine that she had planned to eat at noon but hadn't, wanting to use starch, but the slurry hadn't settled yet, so she just stir-fried it casually.
She scrubbed the pot and returned it to the dry stove, adding oil to stir-fry the meat chunks. All the seasonings were added.
After adding hot water from the earthenware pot, the water level was insufficient, so she added some cold water. "Add good firewood, and let it simmer slowly. Let's go eat."
"Okay." Li Zhengguo added firewood to the stove, washed his hands, and carrying the stir-fried pumpkin vine, followed Tian Jing to the main room.
In the east room, Mother Li had already finished eating. She ate a small piece of pig liver and a large piece of steamed pumpkin, then dared not eat more, for fear of indigestion.
Seeing her son and daughter-in-law enter, she quickly called them to sit down and eat.
Tian Jing looked at the pig liver, which had not diminished, and asked, "You didn't eat?"
"I ate a small piece, it tasted good. Minmin didn't eat," Mother Li replied, carefully observing Tian Jing's expression. Her daughter was being difficult again.
Tian Jing picked up a piece of pig liver and put it into Li Min's bowl. "With your disposition, you'd starve to death at the Tian family's. The meals at the Tian family are all portioned out by Old Mrs. Tian herself, and you can only eat until you're half full."
"Those with soft natures will have their food snatched by those with strong natures. Old Master Tian and Old Mrs. Tian never intervene. Those who cannot protect their food are incapable and should not be valued."
Li Min lowered her head and quietly said "thank you," and began to eat.
Seeing her meekness, Tian Jing felt annoyed. "Li Min, the person who makes herself miserable is the most foolish. Your elder brother can hunt a wild boar, so he can hunt wild rabbits and pheasants. In the future, I will help him cover for him, and we won't lack meat. Do you understand?"
Li Min looked up, tears welling in her eyes. "Sister-in-law, I'm sorry. I was being petty."
"It's alright, I won't hold it against you. Otherwise, I wouldn't be saying so much nonsense to you. After eating, quickly collect the cracklings and that basin of oil."
"Also, whatever you owe anyone, tell your elder brother. In a couple of days, we'll go to the county town to buy it back and return it to them. If there's anything you particularly want, tell your elder brother too."
Tian Jing dropped the bomb and continued eating, wanting to eat more pig liver to replenish her blood.
Mother Li and Li Min were stunned, as if they didn't understand what Tian Jing meant.
After a long while, the two of them reacted. "You, we, our family has no money."
Tian Jing ignored them and continued to eat.
Li Zhengguo coughed lightly and lowered his voice. "When we go to the county town, after exchanging what Tian Tian has, we'll have money."
"No!" Mother Li's gaze fixed on Tian Jing's neck. The red string looked like ancient craftsmanship. How could they possibly exchange it?
Li Min followed her mother's gaze, then looked at her elder brother in disbelief. "Brother?"
How could Brother exchange Sister-in-law's things for money? That was too, too shameless.
Tian Jing pulled out the string around her neck, revealing the small key. "This little thing, it doesn't even weigh ten grams. Selling it would only fetch forty to fifty yuan. Can that be considered having money?"
Forty to fifty yuan isn't considered money? Then how much is?
Tian Jing understood the expressions of the mother and daughter. She tucked the key back inside her collar.
"In short, don't worry about it. Comrade Li Zhengguo and I know how to live. A better life is still ahead."
"In the future, no matter who asks, you'll just say you don't know. If you know a secret and can't keep it, the whole family will be unlucky."
When Mother Li heard the word "secret," she stopped asking. She stared at the bowl of green mush on the kang table. "Is this the pumpkin vine?"
"Yes, try it." Tian Jing took a bite herself first. Even though there was no rice flour, with her special ability, it tasted delicious no matter what.
Mother Li picked up her chopsticks again, took a bite, then took two more before reluctantly putting them down. She couldn't eat any more, so she urged her daughter.
"Minmin, quickly eat. After you're done, help me go for a walk. I feel stronger these past two days. I want to recover my health and help your elder brother and sister-in-law raise the children in the future."
Cough, cough, cough. Tian Jing and Li Zhengguo both choked.
Li Min, happily eating pumpkin vine opposite them, blinked at the choking couple when she heard her mother's words.
Then she continued her mother's line of thought, "Yes, Mother's idea is very good. Life has hope, right?"
"That's right. Ever since your sister-in-law entered the house, our family's life has had hope."
Mother Li's face was full of longing, as if she could see the days of children and grandchildren surrounding her.