After Yun Yin finished cooking and made sure Zhang Lin had begun eating, she washed the newly bought stone mill and set it aside to dry. She planned to use it to grind pepper-salt after rendering the lard.
Watching Zhang Lin eat happily, she said,
“You know bamboo weaving, right? This afternoon, make a cage and put it in the river. We’ll have shrimp tonight.”
Zhang Lin nodded. “No problem. I’ll do it in a bit.”
Yun Yin turned back to preparing the pork fat. She washed it clean, cut it into small pieces, and set most of it aside. She took one portion to season the new iron wok.
Once the wok was seasoned and cleaned, she added the pork fat along with water, enough to cover it. She boiled it over high heat until the water evaporated, then reduced the heat to slowly render the lard.
After setting the lard to cook, she asked Zhang Lin to watch the fire while she went into the mountains to gather bamboo shoots and toon leaves. She had been planning to make toon paste for a while but hadn’t had time. Now that she did, she intended to dry some bamboo shoots and toon leaves as well.
The mountains were still and quiet. Even the sunlight couldn’t break the calm—only scattered rays filtered through the trees. Walking through the forest, Yun Yin felt none of the day’s heat.
She gathered a large basket of bamboo shoots and some fresh toon leaves before returning.
Zhang Lin had finished eating and was tending the fire. Yun Yin dropped the basket and said,
“You don’t need to stare at it constantly. I kept the fire low—just check it now and then. Come help peel the bamboo shoots. We should store more dried vegetables for winter.”
She had learned that in winter, fresh vegetables were scarce. People relied on dried food until spring. Unlike modern times, fresh produce wasn’t available year-round—only wealthy families with heated gardens could grow vegetables in winter.
So she had no choice but to stock up.
Taking out a new bamboo tray and scissors, she slit each shoot and easily peeled off the outer layers.
Working together, they quickly finished peeling the entire basket in less than half an hour. After washing them, she boiled the shoots in salted water, cooled them, and spread them out to dry in the sun. She repeated the process for the toon leaves.
Meanwhile, she occasionally checked the lard. Once the cracklings turned golden, the lard was ready. She strained it, added a bit of salt, and stored it.
The aroma of the crispy cracklings made her mouth water. She couldn’t resist tasting one.
Nodding in satisfaction, she said, “Just like when I was a kid.”
She sprinkled some salt on them and called out,
“Come try.”
Zhang Lin washed his hands and took one. His eyes widened as he bit into it—crispy, rich, but not greasy. He ate several in a row and asked,
“Why didn’t I see this last time you rendered lard?”
Yun Yin replied,
“Last time I used a different cut. I stir-fried the leftover meat with vegetables. Didn’t you say it tasted great?”
Zhang Lin thought for a moment and nodded.
“That’s right! I even said I could eat two bowls of rice if vegetables were always cooked like that.”
Yun Yin packed most of the cracklings away and gave him a portion.
“These are for you. The rest we’ll use for cooking later.”
After finishing the cracklings, Zhang Lin went to weave the shrimp cage.
Meanwhile, Yun Yin heated the wok and dry-fried salt until slightly yellow, then stir-fried Sichuan peppercorns. The strong aroma filled the air, making her sneeze several times.
Once done, she ground the peppercorns into powder using the stone mill—though Zhang Lin soon took over.
Yun Yin then prepared for the next day.
“I’m heading out tomorrow. How’s your field clearing going?”
Zhang Lin replied,
“I’ve cleared about two mu. I’ll gather compost materials tomorrow.”
She nodded, satisfied.
When he asked where she was going, she explained,
“I’m going to check the official road ahead. No customers came today, and there’s no news from the county. I want to see what’s happening.”
Zhang Lin grew concerned.
“You’re not going to fight bandits, are you?”
She rolled her eyes.
“Of course not. I’m just going to observe.”
After finishing the pepper-salt, she happily stored a full jar. She then prepared rice flour for steamed meat dishes.
As evening approached, Zhang Lin retrieved the shrimp traps—full of small river shrimp.
Yun Yin cleaned and prepared them, marinated them in rice wine, coated them lightly in flour, and deep-fried them until golden and crispy. Then she stir-fried them with garlic, scallions, and pepper-salt.
The result was fragrant, crispy, and delicious.
She served the meal with stir-fried greens, bamboo shoots with pork, and egg soup. Four dishes and a soup.
As she ate, she sighed happily,
“This is the good life. I need to earn more money and eat even better food.”
Zhang Lin nodded enthusiastically.
The next morning before dawn, Yun Yin set out alone with a blade and basket.
After walking for hours, she finally saw smoke rising from a distant village. However, the place seemed eerily quiet.
The village looked poorer than Linjiang Village—small mud houses, no brick homes.
Just as she was about to knock on a door, a familiar figure stepped out.
The man looked at her in surprise.
“Yun Yin… what are you doing here?”