Now everything is better—there was rice, flour, and meat, and even hope for future livelihood.
“We really… met a benefactor…” the old woman murmured softly, looking at Ye Mengyi’s back with deep gratitude.
Ye Mengyi was helping tend the fire and turned back with a smile when she heard it.
She knew this was only the beginning. If the Lu family truly wanted to improve their life, she would need to plan step by step.
The atmosphere in the courtyard gradually became lively. It was no longer the usual dull heaviness of worrying about survival.
Everyone wore light, relaxed smiles, as if they could already see life slowly getting better.
Sunlight filtered through a gap in the courtyard wall, falling onto the rice sacks piled in the corner, glowing warmly.
Lu Dahé sat on the doorstep smoking and quietly told Lu Erhe and Lu Sanhe, “From now on, just listen to Mengyatou. Whatever she says, we do. That girl is more capable than us grown men.”
Lu Qingshan and Lu Qinghai squatted by the river on a flat stone, following Ye Mengyi’s instructions as they scrubbed the pig offal with wood ash.
Ash mixed with greasy residue oozed out—it looked filthy, but neither of them showed any disgust. Their movements were firm and thorough.
“Mengyi said we need to scrub it a few more times to remove the smell. Let’s put in more effort,” Lu Qingshan said, grabbing another handful of wood ash.
The river water flowed steadily, washing away layer after layer of grime. The once sticky intestines gradually became clean, and even the strong fishy smell faded.
After seven or eight rounds of washing, the surface felt smooth and no longer carried any odor. Only then did they put it into a bamboo basket and head home.
As they passed under the old locust tree at the village entrance, they saw Old Lady Ye sitting in the shade with a few gossiping women. Their eyes immediately locked onto what the two were carrying.
Seeing the familiar items, Old Lady Ye curled her lips. “Well, well, if it isn’t the Lu boys. What treasure are you carrying? Let me see… isn’t that the pig offal Old Wang the butcher threw away? Tsk tsk, they must be so poor they’ve gone crazy—bringing home what even dogs won’t eat. What, planning to ‘treat’ that little bride of yours?”
The other women shook their heads too.
“The Lu family is really struggling. Who would eat that smelly stuff?”
“And isn’t his new wife from a scholarly family? How did she end up eating this too?”
“No money, what else can they do…”
Lu Qinghai flushed red with anger and clenched his fists. “You’re talking nonsense! What my sister-in-law cooks is even better than your white steamed buns!”
“Qinghai!” Lu Qingshan grabbed him, frowning. “Why argue with them? Let’s go home.”
“Brother!” Lu Qinghai was still furious. “She’s insulting sister-in-law!”
“Let them say what they want. We go home,” Lu Qingshan said calmly, lifting the basket. “When your sister-in-law cooks this properly, we’ll eat better than anything. Arguing with them isn’t worth it. They’re just jealous because our life is improving.”
Lu Qinghai thought about it and agreed. He glared at Old Lady Ye one last time before quickly following his brother.
Behind them, the mocking laughter and gossip continued, but as the wind blew, it seemed less sharp, almost distant.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, Ye Mengyi came over. “You washed it clean? The color looks good.”
“Sister-in-law, Old Lady Ye was gossiping at the village entrance, saying this pig offal is dog food…” Lu Qinghai complained angrily.
Ye Mengyi just smiled and took the basket. “Let her talk. Once it’s cooked, she might come sniffing around asking about it.”
“Go bring me the salt and vinegar. We’ll wash it again more carefully.”
Lu Qingshan and Lu Qinghai obeyed and handed her the items, watching as she rolled up her sleeves and washed it again skillfully.
This time she even added a few drops of vinegar, saying it would completely remove the smell.
After scrubbing, she instructed them to boil clean water and blanch the cleaned offal with ginger and scallions.
As the pot boiled, foam rose to the surface. Ye Mengyi quickly skimmed it off, then rinsed everything in cold water.
The once dull, gray offal instantly turned white and clean, with no smell at all.
“Good heavens, this looks so clean now!” Xu Ru said in surprise. “It looked so disgusting at the village entrance, but now it’s like new!”
“That’s only the first step,” Ye Mengyi said, wiping her hands. “Later I’ll braise it with spices. It’ll smell so good it’ll drift two miles away.”
Everyone in the courtyard laughed. The earlier gossip from the village entrance was completely drowned out by the lively energy here.
Ye Mengyi crouched by the stove, handling the blanched intestines with practiced ease. Steam rose as she turned them over, exposing the inner fatty layer.
She used a thin knife to carefully scrape it off, piling the white fat into a porcelain bowl.
“This stuff looks sticky, but it’s actually full of fat,” Xu Ru said in amazement.
“All good stuff,” Ye Mengyi replied with a smile. “We’ll render it into oil.”
She placed the cleaned intestines into water again, then continued processing the rest.
Sun Yanfeng kept the fire going, her face glowing red from the heat. “When I was young, families used to throw all this away. Who knew it could be used like this? Look at all that fat—it’s so white and solid.”
Ye Mengyi poured the fat into a clean iron pot and lowered the heat to a gentle simmer.
“You can’t rush it,” she said. “If the fire is too strong, it burns and turns bitter.”
Slowly, the fat melted. Tiny bubbles formed, then increased. The air filled with a rich meaty aroma, warm and slightly crisp.
She stirred occasionally with a long-handled spatula. The remaining bits of fat slowly turned golden and crisp.
“So fragrant!” Xu Ru exclaimed. “Even better than stewed meat! We used to throw away so much good stuff!”
Soon, Ye Mengyi scooped out the crispy cracklings and set them aside. The remaining oil was clear and golden, like melted amber.
She poured it into a clean ceramic jar, carefully sterilized with hot water. After the oil cooled slightly, she added a pinch of fine salt and stirred gently.
The kitchen was filled with warmth, aroma, and the quiet sense that life was finally beginning to change.