This time, not a single boy dared mock Liu Qingshi again; instead, they were all envious.
After all, in 1978, everyone lacked oil, and fried fish was rarely seen, let alone Spicy Diaozi Fish that smelled this good.
After Wu Lanlan came back to her senses, she couldn't help but bite her index finger. "Radish head, I brought a fried egg for lunch today. Can I trade you for some spicy Diaozi Fish to eat?"
"Of course you can." Liu Qingshi nodded, then took Wu Lanlan's hand and ran into the classroom.
"Hey! Hey! Slow down, you little rascal." Liu Lijuan watched, amused and exasperated. Only then did she realize that Liu Qingsong's Wild Diaozi Fish had not only helped her save face today but also allowed Fourth Sibling to hold his head high before his classmates.
The teachers arrived at school one after another and filed into the office across the way, whose outer walls were peeling and whitewashed. She hurried over.
……
In the kitchen.
Liu Qingsong saw that the chopped Wild Hare meat would not fit in a single Porcelain Basin. He was reaching for another in the cupboard when little sister came running through the door with Little Mochi in tow.
Little sister ran up close, tilting her small head up at Liu Qingsong. "Third Brother, Pangdun asked me to ask if you're going fishing today."
"He said if you're going, remember to call him along," Little Mochi added in her babyish voice.
"Can't you see I'm busy?" Liu Qingsong said with a smile, pulling a porcelain basin out of the cupboard. "If we go fishing, it'll be in the afternoon. Tell Pangdun not to wait around this morning."
"Also, whatever you do, don't tell Pangdun that I'm dealing with a wild hare and a wild mountain goat in the kitchen." He paused, then added the warning.
If word got out, that would spell real trouble.
"Got it." Little sister assured him, then took Little Mochi's hand and ran out of the kitchen on her Short Little Legs.
Liu Qingsong watched them disappear, then returned to work beside the Stove Platform.
He salted the Wild Hare meat, then picked up the kitchen knife and began dismembering the Wild Mountain Goat.
The kitchen knife could not cut through the Wild Mountain Goat's bones, so Liu Qingsong wiped its handle with a rag and went to the rear courtyard for the Broken Blade.
With the Broken Blade in hand, dismembering the wild mountain goat became effortless.
Liu Qingsong was surprised to find leaf fat inside the Wild Mountain Goat's belly.
The goat's leaf fat wasn't much, only about half a kilo or so, but to Liu Qingsong, it was a fine find.
With the leaf fat, he'd be able to use it for stir-frying.
Liu Qingsong did not render the leaf fat right away. Instead, he processed the goat's stomach, liver, lungs, heart, intestines, and other organs—the parts people commonly called Goat Offal.
Once cleaned, he sliced everything and tossed it into the large iron pot, blanching it in boiling water.
Blanching removes the gamey smell from the offal, and it's the most crucial step in cooking Lamb Offal Soup.
Skip it, and few would dare drink the resulting soup.
The firewood was burning low. Liu Qingsong set down the wok spatula and was reaching for more when the kitchen's wooden door creaked open. Liu Lijuan walked in carrying a bundle on her back.
Liu Qingsong turned and paused in surprise. Then he asked casually, "Second elder sister, did you pay Fourth Sibling and Fifth Sibling's tuition?"
"Mm, I paid it. I also bought some seasonings at the Black Market on the way back." Liu Lijuan opened the bundle and took out cassia bark, bay leaves, chili powder, and other common seasonings.
There was also some loose soy sauce and grain liquor in the bundle.
But not much.
At most about a quarter kilo.
Liu Qingsong's eyes lit up as he looked at these things. "Second elder sister, this must've cost you a fair bit, huh?"
In 1978, seasonings at the Black Market were no worse than those at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and did not require Ration Tickets. But they were expensive, sometimes outrageously so. That was why he asked.
"Two yuan and thirty-five cents in total," Liu Lijuan said, rolling up her sleeves and picking up the kitchen knife to start on the goat's head. "But it was worth every cent. If I'd bought from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, it would've cost at least double, and I'd have needed Ration Tickets too."
"Since we're not selling the goat meat, I figured we should buy seasonings and cook it properly. So I gritted my teeth and bought a few things."
"And when I bought them, I went through someone I know, and specifically told him not to tell anyone."
"Is that so?" Liu Qingsong didn't doubt the truth of what Liu Lijuan said, but asked curiously, "This person you know — that's Wang Qing, your middle school deskmate, isn't it?"
"How did you know that?" Liu Lijuan turned to look at Liu Qingsong in surprise.
"Just a guess, of course," Liu Qingsong said with a smile, brushing it off. "Didn't you tell me before about a boy named Wang Qing who works in the Black Market?"
In truth, Liu Lijuan had never mentioned it. Liu Qingsong knew because of his memories from before rebirth.
And this Wang Qing was, in fact, second elder sister's future husband — his own future brother-in-law.
But at this point, Wang Qing only had feelings for second elder sister, while she merely had a favorable impression of him. Neither had broken through the barrier between them.
Of course, given his family's circumstances and the fact that second elder sister's engagement had only recently been broken off, neither could break through that barrier.
So even though Wang Qing had feelings for second elder sister, all he could do was help her out in secret.
Otherwise, how could a little over two yuan buy so much at the Black Market?
Liu Lijuan knew nothing of this. She was puzzled and a little dazed. "Have I ever mentioned Wang Qing to you?"
"Of course you have," Liu Qingsong said with certainty.
"All right, then." Liu Lijuan didn't press further.
After all, she had no reason to doubt her own younger brother's word.
Seeing that there was not enough room for all the goat meat, Liu Lijuan said to Liu Qingsong, "Go to the rear courtyard and bring over the big jar we use for pickled vegetables. We can salt the meat afterward."
"If we don't salt it, it'll spoil by tonight."
"All right." Liu Qingsong nodded and turned to head for the rear courtyard.
At the Main Gate of the rear courtyard, little sister and Little Mochi were nowhere to be seen, while the puppy had wandered off somewhere to cause mischief.
When Liu Qingsong pushed open the rear courtyard's gate, the Myriad Realms Garbage Dump appeared before him.
This left Liu Qingsong both amused and exasperated — after all, he'd only come to fetch the pickling jar!
Thinking was one thing, though. After a moment's hesitation, Liu Qingsong strode into the Myriad Realms Garbage Dump.
There was no other way. He could not find the door into the rear courtyard, so he had to check the Myriad Realms Garbage Dump first.
Oddly, the spot where he found himself upon entering the Myriad Realms Garbage Dump was quite different from before.
He had always appeared beside a familiar garbage heap, but the heaps around him were now completely unfamiliar.
Some Stone Steles standing at one-kilometer intervals ahead were also partly buried beneath garbage.
"What in the world is going on?" To test his suspicion, Liu Qingsong used a stick he had found to climb the nearest garbage heap.
The heap consisted entirely of construction debris and stood about five meters high.
Once Liu Qingsong reached the highest point,
he was just about to look around in every direction
when—
ripples appeared in the sky overhead.
Then a great deal of black garbage began falling from the sky.
"Not good!" Liu Qingsong's face changed drastically, and he ran down the garbage heap as fast as he could.
Even so, he was still struck on the back by falling debris, the pain making him grit his teeth.
Fortunately, he was not cut or bleeding. The impact had only swollen his back.
Liu Qingsong reached back to rub the spot, then hurried away from the garbage heap.
But he soon stopped in his tracks, a look of astonishment flashing across his eyes.
The garbage that had fallen turned out to be lump coal.
The largest pieces of lump coal were as big as a Wicker Basket, while the smallest were about the size of an egg. There appeared to be more than a thousand pieces in all.
They rolled down the garbage heap and scattered across the surrounding ground, striking it with a series of thuds.
Once Liu Qingsong was sure the area was safe, he reached out and picked up a fist-sized piece of lump coal.
He was about to examine it to see whether he could take it back to burn
when ripples appeared in the sky above the garbage heap behind him, followed by a large amount of medical waste.
To avoid the falling debris, Liu Qingsong hurried beneath a Stone Stele for cover.
That cover proved crucial—the next second, his eyes went wide.
On the Stone Stele, he saw the words "Myriad Realms Garbage Dump 03210" and, to his surprise, the words "Marvel Plane World" as well!
……