noffsinger Chapter 163 Provoking Zhai Hua to Ask for Meat
Chapter 163 Provoking Zhai Hua to Ask for Meat
Tian Guihua rushed into the yard quickly. If Song Huili and Ye Nuan hadn't reacted quickly as well, Tian Guihua probably would have rushed straight into the kitchen to get the meat.
Song Huili rolled her eyes. How could you think of such a thing?
With meat so hard to buy, who would be willing to share it with others?
"I'm sorry, Sister Tian, we don't have enough meat at home either. We were just thinking that if we made meatballs, we probably wouldn't be able to eat them for more than a few meals."
"What? I bet you carried at least ten pounds of meat, right? And that's not enough?"
These days, most people's meat coupons are for four or five ounces of meat each. Occasionally, you can find meat coupons for one or two jin (500-1000 kg), which means you're considered a wealthy family.
Ye Nuan brought back ten pounds of meat, and said it wasn't enough.
What an extravagant way to eat!
Does he intend to eat meat at every meal?
It's impossible to eat meat at every meal.
Ye Nuan didn't want to eat anything greasy first thing in the morning.
“Sister-in-law, you see a lot of meat, but I’ll have to render lard from all that fat, right? Also, Gu Hanchuan has some elders in Shanghai, so we need to make some cooked food and send it to them.”
Song Huili's eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously: "That's right! My brother's maternal grandfather's family lives in Shanghai, so we should go and pay them a visit during the Spring Festival."
Tian Guihua was still unwilling to give up: "You can't eat that much meat, can you? Even if you take two pounds as a gift for the elders, there will still be a lot left."
"Sister-in-law, won't we eat some ourselves? Besides, it's Chinese New Year, who would complain about having too much meat!"
That's saying absolutely nothing.
Tian Guihua's face darkened, but she couldn't blame her, since the meat was bought by the woman herself.
"Xiao Ye, now that you mention it, I just remembered. How do you have so many meat coupons? Even if you and your husband combine your money, it should only be eight taels a month, right?"
"Of course not! Our doctors get high subsidies. I get eight taels of meat coupons a month, and I also got a bonus this month, so I have even more. Besides, we've been saving them up for the past few months. Didn't you notice that when I went to the supply station to buy vegetables before, I only bought fish and shrimp that didn't require coupons?"
Upon hearing this, Tian Guihua realized that she really couldn't find anything wrong with it.
Ye Nuan's family receives a higher ticket subsidy, and Gu Hanchuan's seems to be higher than Wang Jianming's as well, mainly because they have made meritorious contributions and will be rewarded by higher authorities.
In addition, Ye Nuan did indeed like to buy fish at the supply station. Back then, people would often gossip that Ye Nuan was probably saving all those meat coupons to send back to her parents' home.
So it turns out they saved up and bought it all at the end of the year!
This is something big that's been brewing!
You can't say they did anything wrong, after all, they spent their own money and tickets, and they saved them themselves, so what can you do?
Tian Guihua did consider going outside to ruin Ye Nuan's reputation, but the problem was that Ye Nuan had rarely bought pork in the past two months, which was common knowledge. So even if she really made a fuss about it outside, probably no one would believe her.
However, someone like Tian Guihua wouldn't give up so easily.
She didn't manage to take advantage of Ye Nuan, but she'll encourage others to do the same.
Tian Guihua deliberately looked dejected as she approached Zhai Hua and then told her about her desire to exchange some meat from Ye Nuan.
"You know, this Xiao Ye is really something. I didn't mean to take it for free. I was just thinking of exchanging some grain for it! It's the New Year, and we can't even buy meat. Even if the adults can make do, can the children at home stand it?"
"Sigh! It's just my bad luck. I might have had some issues with Xiao Ye in the past, so I think she's disliking me. Oh well, we're the ones who annoy people anyway. I'll think of something else."
Zhai Hua grabbed Tian Guihua's arm: "Sister-in-law, Xiao Ye brought back more than ten catties of meat?"
Tian Guihua's eyes sparkled: "How could it be fake? So many people outside have seen it!"
It wasn't that Ye Nuan didn't know to keep some, it was just that when the family ate meat, she couldn't let people say that she had secretly gotten it herself, could she?
It's better to just bring it back openly and say you bought it yourself. What can they do about it?
Zhai Hua's eyes darted around: "Sister-in-law, you have fewer children, so your burden is lighter. Unlike our family, life is tough. We have three boys in the family, and they all ask me for food. Life isn't easy for me either!"
Tian Guihua smiled and said, "Every family has its difficulties, especially those of us with sons and daughters. We have to tighten our belts to make ends meet! Alright, I'm going back now."
Having said that, Zhai Hua understood everything.
Ye Nuan doesn't have any children!
Besides, Gu Hanchuan hasn't come back yet. How can two young girls finish more than ten kilograms of meat?
Don't let it spoil!
Ye Nuan knows how to make cured meat; she learned it in her past life.
Now, after thinking about it, she and Song Huili also decided to make two pieces of cured pork.
Chop some minced meat and fry it into meatballs. These meatballs can be stored for a longer time in winter, mainly because they are deep-fried and won't spoil.
Then I thought I'd cook a few more pieces of pork belly so I could make braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens or braised pork belly with dried green beans, which would also be very delicious!
During the Chinese New Year, many people will come to pay their respects. When entertaining guests, you need to have a few impressive dishes to serve them.
Neither Ye Nuan nor Song Huili were idle. Song Huili took over the task of chopping the filling, mainly because it was tiring for her arms. She couldn't bear to let Ye Nuan do it, as those hands were crucial. What if she got tired?
Ye Nuan cut several pieces of pork belly and then started cooking them over high heat on the stove.
The seasonings are plentiful, and the aroma fills the air as soon as the pot boils.
Although winters in the south are damp and cold, they are not nearly as cold as those in the north. In the north, winter is a natural refrigerator, and meat can be stored anywhere without spoiling.
Perhaps for this reason, people in the north prefer to store large quantities of food.
The difference is less pronounced in the south.
Just as the two were getting into the swing of things, there was another knock on the door.
Zhai Hua came to our door.
Ye Nuan told Song Huili to continue chopping the filling. As soon as she heard Zhai Hua's voice from inside the gate, she could guess what she was there for.
Ye Nuan isn't the type to be shy or embarrassed to refuse others.
"Hey, Sister-in-law Zhai, it's so late, aren't you home cooking?"
As soon as Ye Nuan opened the door, she started walking out. This movement forced Zhai Hua to take two steps back, and the two of them were essentially talking outside the door.
Because of the aroma of meat, many teenagers were looking around, wanting to smell the meat as much as possible. If they couldn't eat it, couldn't they at least smell it?
Zhai Hua was very unhappy about being blocked outside.
"Hey, Xiao Ye, what are you busy with at home? Why won't you let us in?"
"Oh, they're stewing meat at home, it's burning a big fire, and it's smoky, I was afraid it would bother you. Did you need something, sister-in-law?"