The ink Xie Jinzhu made was so valuable that a single batch could earn more money than the entire family could make in ten years.
With such a promising livelihood, of course the whole family should roll up their sleeves and get to work!
Xie Jinzhu pushed Xie Wuni away with a mix of amusement and exasperation, pointing at the setting sun in the west. “How about we go another day?”
If they rushed to the pine forest now, it would be dark by the time they arrived, making the trip pointless.
The family, immersed in dreams of getting rich, finally sobered up a little. They reluctantly halted their steps toward the door, but the thought of making money still brought them joy.
Xie Jinzhu had suddenly brought home a huge sum of money, which felt like a blessing from heaven.
Second Uncle Xie, along with Eldest Uncle Xie and Father Xie who had just returned home, closed the door to calculate the debts they could repay tomorrow.
Xie Jinzhu took out one hundred taels of silver for them to discuss debt repayment, keeping the rest as capital.
She didn’t want to listen to the details of debt repayment, which would only upset her. Instead, she took a small stool and sat in the yard, tidying up the small tools for making ink.
After all, one hundred taels was enough to cover the Xie family’s current debts, with even a few taels left over as surplus.
She had already fulfilled her promise, and the rest was none of her concern.
Xie Wuni didn’t go help with cooking either. She squatted beside Xie Jinzhu, counting on her fingers and saying, “This is such a profitable business! Our family is really going to get rich!”
Xie Jinzhu calmly corrected her, “It’s an immensely profitable business.”
“Hey, don’t nitpick! It’s valuable anyway!”
Xie Wuni happily imagined what they could do and eat once they had money. Unfortunately, having rarely eaten anything good in her life, she could only think of the taste of steamed egg custard and drool.
Xie Wuni nudged Xie Jinzhu. “Why don’t you go tell Grandma you want to eat eggs?”
Xie Jinzhu: “…”
Xie Jinzhu looked at her expressionlessly and stated flatly, “I remember now.”
Before the secret of the original host’s cross-dressing as a man was exposed, Xie Wuni wasn’t fierce toward her at all!
To get a share of the delicious food from the original host’s mouth, Xie Wuni would flatter and fawn over her in every possible way. She was the best at buttering up the original host!
Xie Wuni was baffled. “What do you remember?”
“Grandma cares about you the most. If you want to eat something, she’ll definitely agree.”
Xie Jinzhu said with a complicated expression, “Fifth Sister, have you lost your mind from happiness?”
Old Mrs. Xie liked her grandson. What did that have to do with Xie Jinzhu?
If she barged in now and said she wanted to eat eggs, Old Mrs. Xie would probably smack her mouth and break her teeth!
Xie Wuni was momentarily dazed, but her craving still lingered. She couldn’t resist suggesting, “How do you know if you don’t try?”
“Because I don’t want to eat eggs.”
“Huh?”
Xie Wuni opened her mouth in confusion. “Then what do you want to eat?”
Xie Jinzhu slowly put down the goose feather in her hand and looked meaningfully at the big hen tied by one foot, leisurely strolling around.
Xie Jinzhu made an outrageous statement: “I want to eat chicken.”
She really, really wanted to eat meat!
The weariness Xie Jinzhu had endured from the vegetable porridge was indescribable. Tired and hungry, she sniffled pitifully. “Let’s stew that chicken.”
Xie Wuni instantly lost her appetite.
Kill the chicken and eat it?
Was she really going to go crazy now?!
But before Xie Wuni could voice her disapproval, Xie Jinzhu turned and shouted toward the house, “Old Mrs. Xie, let’s slaughter this stupid chicken and eat it!”
Xie Wuni backed away in horror, frantically waving her hands. “It wasn’t my idea! I didn’t…”
“The child wants to eat something good!”
Xie Jinzhu casually grabbed a small stick and clanged it against the edge of her bowl, looking pitifully at Old Mrs. Xie, who had opened the door with a dark expression, and declared emphatically: “Meat!”
We’re earning money now, and the debts will be paid off soon—why shouldn’t we eat meat?
That chicken looks so ugly, but stewed, who knows how fragrant it would be? What’s wrong with having a bite?
If it weren’t for the long journey into town, Xie Jinzhu would have gone straight to a restaurant!
Old Mrs. Xie glared at Xie Jinzhu with exasperation: “Are you really that hopeless? Can’t you even control your cravings?”
“Do you know how valuable a laying hen is? Is this something to be eaten?”
Xie Jinzhu kept a straight face and banged her bowl loudly. Old Mrs. Xie was so angry she laughed: “Eat, eat, eat—look at how hopeless you are!”
“Stop banging the bowl, that’s what beggars do!”
Satisfied, Xie Jinzhu gave up her bowl-banging protest, thinking to herself: For a bite of meat, I’ve stooped this low—what difference is there between me and a beggar?
But being able to eat meat was still something worth celebrating.
Before nightfall, the plump, short-legged, large-winged hen met its end, destined to become a pot of delicious soup.
Father Xie deftly plucked the feathers, and the cleaned, plump chicken was placed on the cutting board. With swift strokes of the knife, the meat was separated from the bones. Even the tiny bits of meat that splattered to the side were not wasted—Madam Wang carefully picked them up and placed them back in the bowl.
But just as they were about to start stewing, Xie Jinzhu hurried over to stop them: “You’re just going to stew it like this?”
Without washing off the blood, blanching to remove the gaminess, or stir-frying to render the fat—just boiling it directly in plain water?
Madam Wang said matter-of-factly, “Yes.”
“Isn’t this how our family has always cooked?”
Poor families focused on survival when it came to food, without any culinary techniques or fancy seasonings.
Although Madam Wang worked as a kitchen helper in a small restaurant in the county town, the chefs’ skills were passed down through generations and absolutely no one was allowed to peek.
So the person hailed as the best cook in the family actually had very rough culinary skills.
Xie Jinzhu sighed deeply and decisively rolled up her sleeves: “Forget it, I’ll do it.”
This was the first proper meal she would have since becoming a member of the Xie family, and she couldn’t let down the chicken that had sacrificed its life.
Madam Wang was astonished and chuckled in disbelief: “You’ve never even been near the stove since you were little—how would you know how to cook?”
Eldest Aunt also held back a laugh: “Don’t mess around, your mother’s cooking is the best.”
Xie Jinzhu clicked her tongue twice, determined to show off her skills. When she picked up the spatula, Madam Wang and Eldest Aunt were both stunned.
When had she learned to do this without anyone noticing?
Xie Jinzhu spoke without hesitation: “I may not have eaten pork, but I’ve seen pigs run. I’ve watched others cook enough times to learn.”
First, she placed the chopped chicken pieces into a pot of cold water, blanched them to remove the blood foam, and then scooped them all out.
She poured the small bowl of chicken fat extracted from the chicken’s belly into the dry, heated wok. As it sizzled and crackled, the rich aroma of oil filled the air.
Once the greasy chicken fat had rendered sufficiently, she added the drained chicken pieces and stir-fried them. The only seasoning used throughout the process was a piece of ginger.
When the chicken in the wok turned golden brown, Xie Jinzhu poured hot water along the edge, covered the pot, rubbed her hands together, and called out: “Where are the chestnuts?”
“I saw the old lady sun-drying them the other day—where are they?”
“As the saying goes, stewing chicken without chestnuts makes eating meat no fun!”
Old Mrs. Xie, hearing this absurd statement, bristled with anger: “You’re the only one who knows how to eat.”
Though she said that, Old Mrs. Xie couldn’t maintain her feigned annoyance and went to fetch the treasured mountain chestnuts she had been saving to sell.
After shelling, flattening, and thoroughly washing the mountain chestnuts, she dumped them all into the large iron pot stewing the chicken. Soon, a rich, sweet aroma wafted out.
Everyone couldn’t help but stare eagerly, their mouths watering. Xie Jinzhu removed some firewood from the stove, letting the stew simmer over low heat while sighing, “It would be even better if we had some white flour to make flatbread.”
Flatbread soaked in meat broth would be soft and chewy, delicious no matter how you ate it.
Xie Wuni had never tasted such a rare delicacy and swallowed hard. “Is it really that good?”
“Of course.”
Xie Jinzhu deliberately teased her, speaking slowly. “First, a bowl of rich chicken broth, with tender, stewed mountain chestnuts that melt in your mouth—sweet and soft, warming you up from head to toe.”
“After finishing the broth, a piece of tender, stewed chicken that falls off the bone with a gentle bite, easy to chew and swallow, leaving you craving more.”
“When the meat is almost gone, you take a piece of white flour flatbread, dip it in the chicken broth and the crushed mountain chestnuts at the bottom of the bowl. That one bowl is simply…”
“Time to eat.”
Madam Wang struggled to suppress her laughter as she nudged Xie Jinzhu, lifting the pot lid and calling out, “Come quickly, everyone! It’s time to eat!”