Lu Zhan left for the bathhouse with a dark expression on his face.
Su Man stood in the courtyard, looking around at her new home.
The courtyard was fairly spacious, but it was overgrown with weeds. At a glance, it was obvious that two bachelors and two children lived here and simply had no time to maintain the place. There was a pile of broken pieces of wood in the corner, and even the chimney over the kitchen was crooked.
Inside the house, the two little wolf cubs were still watching her through the crack in the window. If she went near them, there would probably be another trap waiting for her.
Su Man ignored them. She walked straight into the little detached kitchen.
The moment she pushed open the door, a musty smell hit her in the face.
A layer of dust covered the stove. The rice jar was practically empty, and even if the oil bottle were turned upside down, not a single drop would come out. There were only a few chipped coarse-porcelain bowls in the cupboard, along with half a handful of dried noodles.
So this was how the so-called “Living Yama” lived?
Su Man shook her head. The man might be mighty and impressive outside, but he lived like an ascetic.
Fortunately, before Lu Zhan left, he had handed over the household finances to her.
The thick envelope contained his salary for the month, along with a large stack of ration coupons—grain coupons, cooking-oil coupons, cloth coupons, and even several industrial coupons, which were extremely valuable in this era.
This man might be a little cold, but he certainly wasn’t stingy.
Su Man counted the money, the corners of her lips curling into a satisfied smile. With this much money and these coupons, life would be much easier.
She turned around and walked outside, calling toward the two pairs of eyes behind the window, “I’m going out to take care of things. Don’t run around.”
With that, she slung a basket over her arm and walked out of the courtyard without looking back.
Inside the house.
Erbao sniffled and clung to the windowsill as he asked Dabao, “Brother, that bad woman is gone? Did we scare her away?”
Dabao frowned, gripping his slingshot tightly.
“Hmph, she definitely got scared away. All those women before were the same. Not a single one lasted more than a day.”
“But…but I’m hungry…” Erbao rubbed his growling stomach and looked pitifully at his brother. “If we hadn’t spilled that basin of flour earlier, Uncle Lu could still have made pancakes for us.”
Dabao glared at him.
“Pathetic! So what if you’re hungry for one meal? We have to drive that woman away. Otherwise, we’ll get beaten every day and won’t even have food to eat!”
Erbao pouted miserably and didn’t dare say another word.
An hour later.
Su Man returned.
Not only had she returned, but her basket was also packed to the brim.
Right on top was a full two pounds of pork belly!
The meat had beautiful layers of fat and lean pork. In this era of scarce oil and food, those glistening strips of white fat were practically more dazzling than gold. Besides the meat, there was a handful of fresh green onions, a bottle of soy sauce, a packet of rock sugar, and even several large steamed white buns.
Su Man hummed a little tune as she walked into the kitchen.
Before long, wisps of smoke began curling out of the chimney.
First, she boiled a large pot of water and thoroughly scrubbed the kitchen from top to bottom. Then came the main event.
She cut the pork belly into mahjong-sized chunks and blanched them in cold water, skimming off the scum.
She heated the iron wok without adding any oil and tossed the pork directly inside to fry.
Sizzle—
As the fat rendered out, a rich aroma of pork instantly exploded throughout the tiny kitchen.
Su Man worked quickly. Once the pork had rendered enough oil, she removed the meat, leaving the rendered fat in the wok. She added rock sugar and caramelized it. When the syrup turned a deep reddish-brown and began bubbling, she quickly returned the pork to the wok and tossed it until every piece was coated in the glossy caramel color.
Next came the star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, scallions, and slices of ginger.
Finally, she poured in enough hot water to cover the meat, drizzled in some soy sauce, covered the wok, and let everything simmer over low heat.
Su Man had practiced making this braised pork belly in her previous life. Back then, she had run a street stall selling boxed meals, and many of her regular customers came specifically for this dish.
As time passed, the irresistible aroma began escaping from the kitchen.
It slipped through the cracks in the door and drifted across the courtyard like a little hook with a life of its own, burrowing straight into the noses of the two children inside.
Grrrroooowl…
Erbao’s stomach let out an enormous rumble.
He pressed himself against the crack in the door, practically drooling.
“Brother… It smells so good… It really smells so good…”
That was meat!
Normally, the boys ate at the cafeteria, and they were lucky to see meat once a month. Although Lu Zhan earned a good salary, he was a rough-and-ready man who couldn’t cook to save his life. Most of the time, he simply took the children to the cafeteria for communal meals or made some noodles when they were hungry.
Proper braised pork belly, rich with oil and sauce, was practically a temptation from heaven to the two children.
Even Dabao couldn’t help swallowing. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
But he still held tightly onto his younger brother.
“Don’t go! It’s a sugar-coated bullet! It’s poison! You’ll die if you eat it!”
“But…but it doesn’t smell like poison…” Erbao was practically on the verge of tears.
Just then, the courtyard gate opened.
Lu Zhan walked in after his bath, dressed in a clean training uniform.
The moment he entered the courtyard, he stopped.
That smell…
It smelled incredible.
So incredible that even a man accustomed to chewing compressed biscuits and raw meat in the wilderness felt his stomach churn with hunger.
His gaze fell on the kitchen.
That petite figure was busy at the stove. Through the swirling steam, the side of her face looked exceptionally gentle, giving him the strange illusion of a peaceful, idyllic life.
“You’re back?” Su Man heard the movement and poked her head out. “Perfect timing. The meat’s done. Wash your hands and come eat.”
Lu Zhan walked into the kitchen and looked at the braised pork in the pot. The meat was glossy and richly colored, its fat tender without being greasy.
His eyes darkened slightly.
“You can cook?”
“A poor family’s child learns to take care of herself early,” Su Man replied with a smile.
She filled a large bowl with meat, grabbed two steamed buns, and carried them outside.
Instead of going into the house, she set up a small table beneath the old locust tree in the courtyard.
It was dusk, and the last rays of the setting sun spilled across the little courtyard.
Su Man placed the bowl of meat right in the middle of the table. The chunks were still trembling slightly, glistening temptingly in the fading sunlight.
“Brother Zhan, sit down,” Su Man called to Lu Zhan.
Lu Zhan glanced at the tightly closed door and frowned.
“Call those two little brats out to eat.”
“No rush.” Su Man stopped him, smiling mischievously as she picked up a piece of meat and waved it in the evening sunlight.
“That basin of flour was their welcoming gift to me. If I don’t return the courtesy, wouldn’t that be rude to the children’s ‘kind intentions’?”
With that, she put the piece of meat into her mouth.
The fat melted the instant it touched her tongue, while the lean meat was tender and pleasantly chewy. The balance of salty and sweet was perfect, and the juices burst across her palate.
“Mmm~ So good!” Su Man praised it with exaggerated delight. “Pork belly has to be braised like this. Rich but not greasy. And with a big steamed bun on the side? Absolutely perfect.”
Inside the house.
Erbao had completely broken down.
He stared through the window at the woman outside, eating until her lips were shiny with grease. Tears of hunger practically spilled from the corners of his mouth.
“Brother…I can’t take it anymore…I’m going to starve to death…”
Dabao’s face had also turned pale with hunger. He stared fiercely at the bowl of meat, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
Su Man acted as though she had only just remembered there were two people inside. She turned toward the window and called out loudly.
“Oh! I almost forgot about the two little ones inside. Dabao, Erbao, are you hungry?”
There was no response.
Su Man didn’t get angry.
Instead, she picked up the largest piece of meat and held it right in front of Lu Zhan’s mouth.
“Brother Zhan, open up.”
Lu Zhan froze.
He looked at the meat by his lips, then at Su Man’s smiling eyes.
Almost as if possessed, he opened his mouth.
The moment the meat entered his mouth, his taste buds exploded.
Damn.
It was delicious.
Lu Zhan looked at Su Man, his expression complicated.
This woman wasn’t just bold and ruthless—her cooking skills were also impeccable.
“Want some?” Su Man called toward the window.
“If you want to eat, come out. In our household, we believe in fair exchange. No work, no food.”
The door finally cracked open.
Erbao poked his little head out and timidly looked at the meat on the table.
“I want to eat…”
“Erbao!” Dabao grabbed him from behind.
Erbao shook off his brother’s hand and stumbled toward the table. He stood beside it, staring straight at the braised pork, his fingers already in his mouth.
Su Man picked up a piece of meat and waved it beneath Erbao’s nose before pulling it away.
“You can eat if you want.”
Su Man smiled like a big, sly wolf.
“Call me ‘Mom’ once, and I’ll give you one piece of meat. Fair and square.”
Lu Zhan, who was chewing his meat, froze and nearly choked.
He stared at Su Man with a strange expression.
This woman was actually using such a shameless trick?
Erbao froze.
He looked back at Dabao, who was standing at the door with a dark expression, then at the juicy piece of meat in front of him.
His internal struggle lasted less than three seconds.
“Mom!”
The word came out bright and clear, without the slightest hesitation.
Su Man burst into delighted laughter and immediately put the piece of meat into Erbao’s mouth.
“Good boy! This piece is your reward!”
Erbao wolfed down the meat, huffing from the heat, but his face was full of satisfaction.
“More! Mom! Mom! Mom!”
“All right, all right, don’t rush. One piece for every ‘Mom.’”
Su Man gave him another piece.
Now the pressure was on Dabao.
Standing in the doorway, Dabao watched his little brother “acknowledge the enemy as his mother” for a few pieces of meat. His eyes reddened with anger.
Those were the enemy’s sugar-coated bullets!
It was an act of treason!
But…
The meat smelled so good.
And that woman didn’t seem quite as bad as he had thought. At least she hadn’t hit Erbao. She had even given him meat to eat.
Su Man fed Erbao while giving Dabao a sidelong glance. In an unhurried voice, she said, “Dabao, you’re the older brother, so you need to have some backbone. Don’t eat, no matter what. Going hungry for one meal won’t kill you. A real man doesn’t eat food given out of pity.”
Her provocation was practically pouring oil onto a fire.
Dabao’s stomach betrayed him with a loud growl.
It was so loud that even Lu Zhan heard it.
Lu Zhan put down his chopsticks and looked at his stubborn eldest son. He was just about to scold him when—
Su Man kicked him lightly under the table, signaling him to keep quiet.
She picked up a piece of meat with a bit of soft cartilage and sighed.
“Oh, what a shame. This is the best piece—nice and chewy. Unfortunately, Erbao is too young to bite through it, and Brother Zhan doesn’t like cartilage. I guess I’ll have to throw it away and feed it to the dog…”
“I won’t let you feed it to the dog!”
Dabao finally couldn’t take it anymore.
Like a little cannonball, he charged over, snatched the piece of meat from Su Man’s chopsticks, and stuffed it into his mouth.
Because he ate too quickly, he nearly choked, his eyes rolling upward.
Su Man quickly handed him half a steamed bun.
“Slow down. No one’s going to steal it from you.”
Dabao chewed the meat, tears welling in his eyes as he looked at Su Man.
It was so delicious.
Even better than the food he got during the New Year.
“That piece doesn’t count. You stole it,” Su Man said with a smile. “If you want the next piece, you have to follow the rules.”
Dabao’s mouth was covered in grease.
He looked at the remaining meat in the bowl, then at his younger brother happily eating beside him.
His dignity shattered completely in the face of braised pork.
In a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, he finally called out:
“…Mom.”
“There we go!” Su Man said happily.
She smiled and gave him a generous piece of meat.
“From now on, we’re family. When there’s meat, we’ll share it. When there’s trouble, we’ll face it together. As long as you two behave, Mom promises to raise you both until you’re plump and healthy.”
Under the setting sun, two adults and two children gathered around the little table, fighting over a single bowl of braised pork.
Lu Zhan watched the scene.
The hard ice around his heart seemed to crack open ever so slightly.
This woman…
She was quite something.