After finishing breakfast, everyone got up and prepared to go out for their respective tasks. Mother Liu and Hu Yuzhen went to clean the kitchen, while Uncle Fu, Xiang Dong, and Xiang Xi got ready to leave.
Chen Lan called out to the three of them, who were holding chainsaws, "Uncle Fu, Brother Xiang Dong, Xiang Xi, wait for me. I'll go with you."
Uncle Fu and the three of them looked at her strangely. Chen Lan didn't explain. She followed the three out of the courtyard. As they walked towards the courtyard gate, she said, "Uncle Fu, are you preparing to go up the mountain to get firewood now?"
Xiang Xi said impatiently, "Little Lanzi, just say what you want. Aren't we taking chainsaws to get firewood from the mountain?"
Uncle Fu immediately reprimanded him, "What are you babbling about? Let Little Lan finish speaking. Little Lan, we were indeed planning to go to the mountain. Don't mind that brat; he just has a bad temper and bad manners. You don't need to pay attention to him."
Chen Lan quickly replied, "It's okay, it's okay. We're used to talking like this. Uncle Fu, you don't need to go to the mountain today. I can make a couple of trips into the mountain myself and bring back enough branches for everyone to burn through the winter."
Uncle Fu repeatedly said, "That won't do. You're just a young girl. How long will that take? This is very tiring work and not suitable for a young girl."
Chen Lan immediately said, "No, Uncle Fu, it's like this. Yesterday I went to the valley where the wild goat was hunted, planning to hunt a few more wild goats to get through the winter. But instead of wild goats, I hunted wild boars."
Xiang Xi immediately became excited upon hearing this, saying, "I thought you only hunted a few pheasants and rabbits! So you even hunted wild boars! Where are the wild boars? How many did you hunt? Did your father-in-law keep them for you again?"
Uncle Fu was displeased and reprimanded, "You brat, what are you thinking? How many did she hunt? Do you know how fierce wild boars are? They can injure people. Little Lan, are you alright? Were you injured?" He then looked at Chen Lan with concern.
Chen Lan quickly shook her head and said, "No, I'm fine. Uncle Fu, don't worry, I'm doing well!" Then, she said to Xiang Xi, "Little Watermelon, you guessed right. Yesterday, I hunted six large wild boars in that valley. We can have pork dishes today. Aren't you happy? Excited!"
Xiang Xi happily exclaimed, "Six of them, my goodness! I knew it! Little Lanzi, I know you. If you had only hunted one, you would have brought it out yesterday. You wouldn't have waited until today to say it. You hunted wild boars."
Uncle Fu smiled and patted Xiang Xi's shoulder, saying, "You guessed right again, you brat. Go quickly and notify your Uncle De to send some people here to carry the wild boars."
Then, he smiled at Chen Lan and said, "Little Lan, just have your father-in-law leave the six wild boars here. You don't need to bring them over directly. Let them come and carry them away themselves. This way is more appropriate."
Xiang Xi agreed and quickly ran off.
Chen Lan followed Uncle Fu's suggestion and took the wild boars out of the system warehouse, dropping them directly on the ground.
Uncle Fu and Xiang Dong looked at the six wild boars repeatedly. Uncle Fu said, "No wonder people say these creatures are extremely fierce and can injure people. Look at their long tusks and snouts, and their bristles are like needles." Sudan Novel Network
Xiang Dong's focus was different from Uncle Fu's. He looked at the wounds on the wild boars and said, "Little Lan, the wounds on the wild boars' heads don't seem to be caused by the crossbow you used? However, the throat wounds do look like it!"
Chen Lan exclaimed, giving Xiang Dong a thumbs-up, "Brother Xiang Dong, you're amazing! You really are a former soldier!" She then took out the newly purchased crossbow from her system warehouse and handed it to Xiang Dong.
Xiang Dong took the crossbow and examined it repeatedly. He heard footsteps approaching, so he returned the crossbow to Chen Lan and said, "Little Lan, quickly ask your father-in-law to put it away first. I'll borrow it from you again to study when I get home."
Chen Lan quickly took the crossbow and put it back into the system warehouse. Uncle Fu looked on dumbfounded.
Soon, the footsteps grew louder, and Uncle De quickly walked over with a group of people.
Everyone commented and discussed again. After the discussion, Uncle De assigned tasks. They formed pairs to carry four wild boars to the big kitchen. The remaining two wild boars would be carried back by Xiang Xi, Xiao Shan, Xiao Shuan, and Lin Mao.
Just after breakfast, the big kitchen immediately became busy and lively again.
The women boiled water, and the men followed Uncle De's instructions to skin the wild boars. Because the bristles of the wild boars were too hard and their skin too thick, they had to skin them. After skinning, the wild boars were hung upside down, ready to be gutted.
The gutting was somewhat gruesome, and Chen Lan couldn't bear to watch anymore. Since there was nothing for her to do, and everyone was busy preparing the wild boars, she decided to go to the mountain to gather firewood, as it was urgent and it was going to rain in a few days.
She thought about it and then explained to Uncle De, "Uncle De, don't worry about the wild boar intestines. They are too dirty and inedible! Have someone bury them far away! I'm free now, so I'm going to the mountain."
Without waiting for Uncle De to react, she turned and walked towards the mountain near the big kitchen.
When Uncle De finally reacted and was about to stop her, he saw that Chen Lan had already walked far away. He could only reluctantly continue his work.
Meanwhile, Uncle De used a knife to slit open the wild boar's belly. Xiao Shuan held a basin underneath to catch anything, and Xiang Xi helped beside him.
Uncle De dug out the boar's internal organs with his hands and said to Xiao Shuan and Xiang Xi, "Shuanzi, Xiang Xi, watch carefully. When doing this work, don't use too much force. Try to be as gentle as possible to avoid breaking the stomach or intestines. It would be bad if feces got on the meat!"
Next, came the butchering of the wild boar into eight pieces. This task also required skill and was handled by Uncle De. As he butchered the meat, he explained the tricks to Xiao Shuan and Xiang Xi, who were helping.
Once the meat was divided, Xiao Shuan and Xiang Xi were told to carry it to the women in the big kitchen.
At this point, the mother-in-law, who had appointed herself the head of the kitchen, made a grand entrance and immediately instructed everyone to start preparing the pork dishes.
The first dish prepared was "Boiled Meat."
A large pot was filled with more than half its capacity with water, and then pepper, star anise, ginger, and scallions were added. Large chunks of pork were placed in to boil. Since wild boar meat is tough, it needed to be boiled for about two hours. This dish used pork shoulder, which was said to be the most flavorful and was specially used to entertain friends and relatives.
The second dish was "Boiled Pork Shoulder Blade Meat."
The shoulder blade meat is the part of the shoulder blade. The lean meat was removed from this bone and also boiled in the large pot with the pork.
The third dish was "Boiled Pig Liver."
After the pork was removed from the pot, the cleaned pig liver was placed in to boil. Pig liver cooks quickly and was soon ready! It was sliced thinly and eaten with garlic chili sauce, which was very delicious.