The pork was marinated for three hours to absorb the flavors. Since there was no oven or air fryer, she could only use other methods.
Before the sun set, she laid the meat strips out in the backyard to dry. Fortunately, the next day was bright and sunny, with excellent weather, so Shen Yueliang continued drying the jerky in bamboo trays.
In this era, five or six jin of pork counted as a “valuable asset.” After all, it had cost her the enormous sum of five yuan.
So she moved a small stool beside it and sat there keeping watch while sketching designs.
By evening, the pork had dried enough. She steamed it in a bamboo steamer to prevent it from becoming damp or spoiling later. After another full day of drying, the jerky was finally complete.
The process was somewhat troublesome, but the results were worth it.
Six jin of pork yielded nearly two jin of jerky.
Lin Qinfen tasted a piece and nodded approvingly.
“The more you chew, the better it tastes. It’s just a bit troublesome to make.”
If she had an oven, it wouldn’t have been nearly so complicated. Unfortunately, circumstances didn’t allow it.
Shen Yueliang divided the jerky into three portions.
The largest portion would be mailed to her brother.
A small portion was wrapped in oil paper to bring to Su Zhiqing.
The remaining portion, about three liang, she handed to Shen Mother.
“Mom, keep this for yourself.”
In her opinion, Lin Qinfen should eat more nutritious food.
The heavy labor she had done in her younger years had taken a toll on her health. Lin Qinfen was actually younger than both Aunt He Fengying and Eldest Aunt, yet she looked older than either of them.
Without a man in the household, a woman carrying the entire family on her shoulders while worrying constantly and working endlessly would naturally age faster.
“I don’t need it.”
Lin Qinfen thought about how, a few days earlier, her daughter had returned from the county seat and unexpectedly given her a can of malted milk essence and a tin of clam-shell hand cream.
Although she didn’t know why, she felt that ever since her daughter had awakened, she had become especially considerate toward her.
As a mother, she felt guilty. She hadn’t taken proper care of her daughter, and now her daughter was taking care of her instead.
“Take it.”
Shen Yueliang knew how kind Lin Qinfen was, which was exactly why she disliked wasting time arguing back and forth.
Besides, Lin Qinfen was genuinely a wonderful person.
After finishing fieldwork, she still handled all the cleaning and cooking at home.
Even the laundry…
Lin Qinfen washed Shen Yueliang’s clothes for her.
It wasn’t because Shen Yueliang was lazy.
The problem was that, as a modern person, she was accustomed to waking up around seven in the morning.
By the time she got out of bed, Lin Qinfen had already finished all the household chores, washed the clothes, and prepared breakfast.
Later, Shen Yueliang realized why.
Lin Qinfen went to bed early every night, often before eight o’clock, so naturally she woke up around five in the morning.
Wake up at five?
That was absolutely impossible.
So Shen Yueliang could only compensate in other ways.
She would try to secure more tailoring orders. When the time came, mother and daughter could work together making clothes, and Lin Qinfen wouldn’t have to suffer so much.
Soon, Sunday arrived.
As expected, Shen Yueliang failed once again at getting up early.
After washing up and drinking a bowl of porridge, she conveniently washed her bowl as well.
Lin Qinfen had already gone to the fields to earn work points.
He Erhong was still at her parents’ home and hadn’t returned.
Carrying her things, Shen Yueliang set out.
Every time she faced a long walk, the thought of buying a bicycle resurfaced.
Over the past few days, she had learned more about them.
Buying a bicycle required not only a coupon but also a considerable amount of money. A Phoenix-brand bicycle cost one hundred and seventy yuan.
No wonder the entire Qinghe Village only had one bicycle, owned by Brigade Leader Chen Gensheng’s family.
And she only had two hundred yuan on hand.
Spending most of it on a bicycle still felt painful.
It seemed she needed to find more ways to make money.
Lost in thought, she eventually arrived at the military family compound.
To her surprise, neither Su Qiuyun nor Yang Chunjiang was home.
“You’re that little seamstress who makes clothes, right? Su Zhiqing and the others are at Political Commissar Song’s house.”
Fortunately, a military wife living next door recognized her and took the initiative to speak.
Political Commissar Song?
Shen Yueliang didn’t know him.
“May I ask where his house is?”
Since she was already here, she didn’t want the trip to be wasted.
As long as she could find Su Zhiqing and deliver the clothes, that was enough.
If Su Zhiqing happened to help advertise her tailoring services, that would be even better.
Right now, she desperately needed to make money, so saving face wasn’t important.
“That little courtyard ahead. The first house.”
The courtyard was easy to spot.
Standing on tiptoe, Shen Yueliang immediately saw it.
To thank the woman for giving directions, she handed over several strips of jerky.
The military wife turned out to be straightforward and sincere.
She repeatedly insisted it was too much and even said she’d come to Shen Yueliang for clothes in the future.
Business was business.
Shen Yueliang readily agreed before following the brick path toward the courtyard.
At that moment, Su Qiuyun was indeed at Political Commissar Song’s house.
Originally, she and Yang Chunjiang had planned to host Qin Zhihang and Ji Yanchuan for a meal.
Later, Ding Shuhui learned about it and suggested everyone gather together instead. More people meant more excitement.
The only problem was that Yang Chunjiang’s house was too small.
As a result, the gathering was moved to the commissar’s residence.
Since they had promised to host, Su Qiuyun had brought all the ingredients over to Ding Shuhui’s place early in the morning and had been busy washing and preparing vegetables.
When Shen Yueliang arrived, Su Qiuyun and Ding Shuhui were sitting in the courtyard, chatting while sorting vegetables.
“Sister Qiuyun.”
“Yueliang, you’re here!”
Su Qiuyun hadn’t expected her to come today.
Wiping her hands on her apron, she pulled Shen Yueliang over and introduced her to Ding Shuhui.
“Sister-in-law, this is Shen Yueliang, the one I told you about. Her tailoring skills are excellent.”
How could Shen Yueliang miss the implication behind those words?
She smiled generously at Ding Shuhui.
“Hello, Sister-in-law.”
Ding Shuhui had already heard of this young woman.
Now that she finally saw her in person, she couldn’t help but think how fair and pretty she was.
Despite wearing very ordinary clothes, her figure looked elegant and well-proportioned.
She carried herself with confidence and grace.
In fact, she wasn’t inferior at all to Meng Yao, who had arrived not long ago.
For such a remote place to suddenly have two beautiful young women was truly pleasing to the eye.
Ding Shuhui felt delighted just looking at them.
“Hello, hello. Come inside and sit. I’ve already heard from Qiuyun how skilled you are at making clothes. When you have time, make one for me too.”
Shen Yueliang shot Su Qiuyun a grateful glance and smiled.
“If it’s for you, Sister-in-law, I’ll always have time.”
Ding Shuhui wasn’t merely being polite.
She genuinely intended to have clothes made.
“How about this? There’ll be a lot of people eating here at noon. Stay and join us. We can talk about the clothes afterward.”
According to her original plan, Shen Yueliang intended to visit the post office in the afternoon to mail a letter and package to her brother.
Staying for a meal wasn’t a problem, but she had heard there would be quite a few people present.
“If you’re entertaining guests, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to stay. If you’d like me to make clothes, I can come another day.”
Su Qiuyun immediately said,
“There aren’t any guests. It’s just a few close friends from the army getting together on their day off. We’re just making things lively.”
Ding Shuhui agreed.
“Exactly. The more people, the better. They’re usually busy training and never have time. Today’s their rest day. Since you’re already here, don’t leave.”
At this point, refusing again would seem rude.
Shen Yueliang nodded.
“Then I’ll trouble everyone. I can cook a few dishes too. Later, I’ll let you try my cooking.”
Since she was staying, she couldn’t simply show up to eat.
She joined them in washing and sorting vegetables.
The three women chatted and laughed together.
Shen Yueliang had an easygoing personality and a good sense of humor.
Time passed without anyone noticing.
Then a booming voice suddenly rang out.
“Quick, bring a basin! We caught two huge fish!”
The voice was highly recognizable.
It was obviously Yang Chunjiang’s booming shout.
Shen Yueliang looked up along with the others.
Three men entered her field of vision.
Yang Chunjiang was carrying two enormous silver carp.
The man beside him was someone she didn’t recognize.
As for the man on the far side—
It was none other than Ji Yanchuan.