“Alright,” Zhu Mingyue said without trying to change Xie Pei’s mind. Since Xie Pei had hunted the pig himself, he could do whatever he wanted with it. Zhu Mingyue would be happy just to enjoy some of the food.
“I know how to cook. You can cut up the pig, and I’ll make dinner tonight!”
Xie Pei nodded.
He went to the kitchen, ate the taro that had been left in the pot, then carried the pig to the backyard and picked up a cleaver.
“Wait a second!” Zhu Mingyue suddenly stopped him. “I’ll get a basin.”
Xie Pei paused with the knife raised, confused but willing to wait.
A few moments later, Zhu Mingyue came running back, breathing heavily and carrying two large clay bowls.
He carefully placed them under the pig’s neck.
“Okay now. Remember to collect the blood in the bowls.”
“Why?” Xie Pei asked, puzzled.
Only then did Zhu Mingyue remember that people here probably didn’t know pig’s blood could be eaten. Or perhaps Xie Pei rarely had meat and simply didn’t know.
Smiling, he pointed at the blood on the ground.
“Pig’s blood is edible. If it’s cooked properly, it’s delicious.”
He wasn’t exaggerating.
Ever since middle school, when he had lived alone, he had learned how to cook. At first, everything was either too salty or too bland, but eventually he mastered it. He had even learned how much “an appropriate amount” of seasoning actually meant.
He believed he had some talent for cooking.
And now, with all the cooking knowledge from modern China in his head, he felt even more confident.
Xie Pei couldn’t understand what was so special about pig’s blood. It wasn’t meat or vegetables, and it smelled strong.
Still, if Zhu Mingyue wanted it, he didn’t mind.
He was curious to see what kind of dish Zhu Mingyue could make.
Bright red blood flowed down the blade and into the bowls until both were half full.
Xie Pei looked up.
“Do you need more?”
“No.”
Zhu Mingyue shook his head.
Two bowls would last several meals, and there wasn’t much blood left anyway.
He carefully carried the bowls back to the kitchen, crushed some salt, and mixed it into the blood.
He vaguely remembered that adding a little water helped it solidify, so he opened the water jar.
A thin layer of ice covered the surface.
He shivered.
Even though the sun was shining outside, the cold after a snowfall was no joke.
After breaking the ice, he added two small spoonfuls of water to the bowls.
Then he clapped his hands.
Done.
Now he only had to wait for the blood to set.
…
The sound of chopping continued in the backyard.
With nothing else to do, Zhu Mingyue wandered over.
The moment he saw what Xie Pei was doing, he nearly laughed.
He had forgotten that Xie Pei didn’t know how to butcher a pig.
When he arrived, Xie Pei was cutting off the pig’s head.
Once the last bit of flesh was severed, the pig’s four legs, head, and main body were neatly arranged on the ground.
It looked as if the pig had been torn apart by horses.
The sight was rather horrifying.
After only a brief rest, Xie Pei raised his knife again.
“Stop!”
Zhu Mingyue hurriedly interrupted.
As a lifelong food lover who had spent years living on a budget, he might not know much about expensive delicacies like abalone or sea cucumber, but he knew pork very well.
Different cuts had different uses.
Pork belly, tenderloin, and rump all had unique textures and cooking methods.
Randomly chopping everything apart would ruin the meat.
No!
He refused to let such disrespect toward pork happen right in front of him.
Zhu Mingyue reached for the cleaver, eager to show off his skills.
In ancient times there was a butcher famous for carving oxen.
Today there will be Zhu Mingyue carving pork.
Unfortunately, his grand dream died before it began.
Xie Pei smoothly avoided his hand.
Probably realizing his own butchering skills were poor, he said quietly,
“You tell me. I’ll do it.”
Zhu Mingyue sighed.
Fine.
As long as the pork wasn’t ruined.
Fortunately, Xie Pei was smart.
After a few explanations and gestures from Zhu Mingyue, the meat was soon separated into neat piles.
Only the internal organs remained.
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Mingyue nudged the pig intestines with his foot.
“Do you know how to clean these?”
“No,” Xie Pei answered honestly.
“Then throw them away.”
His voice carried equal parts disgust and regret.
In truth, he knew how to cook intestines.
The problem was that they required spices to remove the smell, and he had always bought them pre-cleaned in his previous life.
The intestines lying on the ground were obviously full of pig waste.
There was no way he was touching them.
As for the liver, heart, lungs, and kidneys, he couldn’t bear to waste them.
The weather was cold enough to preserve them for a while.
Stir-fried with chili peppers later, they would make excellent side dishes.
…
By the time they finished, the sun had already set.
Zhu Mingyue selected a large piece of pork belly and then gathered all the pig fat.
The remaining meat was stored outside in a pile of snow to freeze naturally.
Since Zhu Mingyue had promised to cook dinner, Xie Pei didn’t argue and simply started the fire.
Zhu Mingyue cut the fat into small pieces.
There were no onions or ginger in the house, but after searching around he found a jar of yellow rice wine and used it instead.
He briefly boiled the fat in water with the wine.
Afterward, the pieces looked white, smooth, and clean.
Satisfied, he began rendering the lard.
This was something he knew well.
Lard was cheap and made vegetables taste wonderful.
Back in his old life, he often prepared a large batch during school vacations.
The fat went back into the pot with some water.
Xie Pei added a thick log to the stove, and the fire crackled softly.
Zhu Mingyue stood by the pot, stirring patiently.
Slowly, oil began to emerge.
A rich aroma filled the air.
His stomach growled immediately.
The piglet wasn’t very large, but it had a surprising amount of fat.
By the end, they had nearly half a pot of lard.
The crispy pork cracklings filled an entire plate.
Unable to resist, Zhu Mingyue tossed one into his mouth.
Delicious!
The golden cracklings were crispy and fragrant.
His mouth watered instantly.
After starving for so long, he desperately craved fat.
He wanted to eat the whole plate himself.
But reason won out.
He picked up some chopsticks and handed the plate to Xie Pei.
“You eat.”
Xie Pei accepted it.
Instead of eating immediately, he took another bowl and divided the cracklings in half before handing one portion back.
Zhu Mingyue’s eyes sparkled.
“For me?”
He had to make sure.
Xie Pei nodded.
“Mm.”
Seeing Zhu Mingyue freeze in place, he simply set the bowl down and returned to tending the fire.
The cracklings were amazing.
Fresh from the pot, they were crispy, fragrant, and full of flavor.
If only they had sugar.
Pork cracklings dipped in sugar were truly heavenly.
This was the best meal Zhu Mingyue had eaten since arriving at the Xie family.
As he ate another piece, he looked at Xie Pei with gratitude.
Xie Pei must have been hungry too.
By the time Zhu Mingyue finished storing the lard, the plate on the stove was already empty.
Still, Zhu Mingyue saved more than half of his portion.
He planned to use it later when stir-frying cabbage.
…
“Xie Pei, have you ever eaten braised taro with pork?”
“No.”
Xie Pei shook his head.
He ate taro every day, but he had never heard of cooking it together with meat.
To ordinary people, taro and pork belonged to completely different worlds.
One was poor people’s food.
The other was rich people’s food.
How could they be combined?
Zhu Mingyue laughed.
That made sense.
Judging by Xie Pei’s life, he probably hadn’t eaten much meat growing up.
“Then tonight I’ll make braised taro with pork. Let me show you my cooking skills.”
Xie Pei said nothing.
He simply added more wood to the fire.
The flames seemed to be urging him:
Stop talking and start cooking already!
Zhu Mingyue grinned and got to work.
He stir-fried the pork belly first, then added chunks of taro and covered the pot.
Twenty minutes later, he lifted the lid.
A cloud of steam rushed out.
The smell nearly made him dizzy.
The pork belly, taro, and rich sauce bubbled together beautifully.
Without hesitation, he picked up a piece of pork.
He blew on it and was about to eat it.
Then he paused.
The piece of meat changed direction.
It stopped in front of Xie Pei.
Behind it was Zhu Mingyue’s slightly flattering smile.
“You eat first.”
Xie Pei accepted the chopsticks and ate the meat.
“Well? Is it good?”
He chewed very slowly.
It was as though he wanted to keep the flavor in his mouth forever.
“There’s still plenty left in the pot,” Zhu Mingyue reminded him.
Finally, Xie Pei spoke.
“It’s very good.”
The simple praise made Zhu Mingyue beam with happiness.
He immediately grabbed a piece of taro for himself.
The taro soaked in pork fat and sauce had transformed completely.
It was soft, smooth, sweet, and savory.
Absolutely irresistible.
Originally, he had planned to treat the taro as the main food.
Now he felt that was an insult.
This dish deserved at least two bowls of rice.
…
Soon, the cabbage stir-fried with pork cracklings was finished as well.
“Dinner’s ready!”
Only two dishes sat on the table.
Yet it felt more luxurious than many families’ New Year feasts.
Xie Pei was not talkative.
Neither of them spoke much.
They simply lowered their heads and ate enthusiastically.
Halfway through the meal, Zhu Mingyue was completely full and leaned back in his chair.
Xie Pei, however, continued eating.
A growing teenage boy naturally had a huge appetite.
Every bite was precious to him.
It was as though he were making up for all the fat and nutrition he had missed during the past seventeen years.
Watching him eat, Zhu Mingyue finally asked a question.
“Xie Pei, you’re such a good hunter. Why don’t you get more meat for yourself?”
If he had those skills, he would secretly eat meat every day and become healthy and well-fed.
Yet despite being so capable, Xie Pei remained thin and undernourished.
Perhaps because he was in a good mood, Xie Pei answered honestly.
“This is the first wild pig I’ve ever caught.”
“Usually I only catch rabbits and pheasants.”
“I sell them all.”
What he didn’t say was that even catching rabbits and pheasants regularly was already considered quite fortunate.