Ever since Yan Zihao and the others mentioned selling bamboo shoots in town, the villagers who hadn’t finished their work in the fields continued with their chores, while the older boys all ran up the mountains.
With Father Yan and Yan Zihao around, they weren’t afraid of accidents.
After a few days, almost every household earned a few hundred wen. The villagers were very grateful to Yan Zihao’s family. Of course, there were some grumblings too—from the old Lu and Yan families. They were the last to hear the news, so they dug the least.
Old Yan Family
“Mother, Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law are too much. They didn’t tell us about such a profitable business and went ahead and spread it. Now everyone is digging bamboo shoots, and the grove is emptied. Old Third and I worked hard all morning and barely dug thirty jin,” complained Zhao Shi, the wife of Yan Third.
The old Yan matriarch was also furious. “Hmph, what a family of ungrateful wolves, cursed! They’re not even afraid of digging too much and bursting themselves.”
On the other side, the old Lu family felt similarly, though the angriest was Lu Qingqing. Recently, Yao Shi had been trying to arrange a match for her. The prospective groom’s family lived in town; his father was a carpenter, and their home was fairly well-off—but he had a large dark mark on his face that looked frightening.
Before, when the Yan family was poor, Lu Qingqing thought the match was excellent. But now that the Yans suddenly had money, she felt instantly resentful.
Lu Qingran didn’t know any of this, nor did she want to. Recently, Father Yan, Yan Zihao, and Yan Ziyi had been going up the mountains to dig bamboo shoots; Mother Yan and Yan Ziyue were planting vegetables in the backyard garden; and Lu Qingran was pondering her next business venture. Eventually, she set her sights on a resource that even ancient people ignored—pig offal.
She had mentioned the idea at dinner the night before. Today, when Yan Zihao and Yan Ziyi went to town to deliver bamboo shoots, they bought two sets of pig offal to bring home.
Because most people were sending bamboo shoots to town, Wang Daye, the cart driver, started the first run of the day earlier to earn more. This saved Yan Zihao and the others the effort of walking there themselves.
Pig offal included the heart, liver, lungs, large intestine, and small intestine. These organs had to be thoroughly cleaned before cooking, or they would taste bad and be difficult to eat.
Lu Qingran first soaked the heart, liver, and lungs in water, then put the large and small intestines in a basin and took a firewood branch to the backyard.
Yan Silang and Yan Zimeng, the twins, were in the garden. When Lu Qingran walked past them carrying the intestines, both of them stepped back in shock.
“Big sister-in-law, you smell so bad!”
Seeing the two kids covering their noses in disgust, Lu Qingran mischievously brought the basin closer to their faces. “Smell it? I don’t smell anything bad. It actually smells nice! Take a good sniff.”
“You’re mean! Mother, she’s bullying us!” Yan Zimeng ran behind Mother Yan to complain.
Everyone laughed heartily.
After playing around a bit, Lu Qingran walked about fifty meters into the garden and stopped.
Using a stick, she flipped the intestines, rinsed out all the filth with water, then rubbed them repeatedly with salt, vinegar, and flour until all the fat and mucus were gone. She rinsed them thoroughly again and again until the strong smell disappeared.
Back in the kitchen, she cut the heart, liver, and lungs into small pieces and blanched them in boiling water to remove blood and odors, then rinsed them clean.
She put all the prepared offal into a pot, added water, ginger, garlic, cooking wine, and soy sauce, boiled it over high heat, and then simmered it on low.
After about half an hour, a delicious pot of braised pig offal was ready. The aroma wafted through the house, instantly attracting Yan Zihao, Yan Ziyi, and Father Yan, who had just returned from the mountains.
“Mother, what’s for lunch? Why does it smell so good?” Yan Ziyi asked loudly before even setting down his basket.
Mother Yan walked out of the kitchen and said, “This wasn’t cooked by me. Hurry and wash your hands and eat.”
A huge basin of pig offal was placed on the table. The three men stared in disbelief.
“Qingran, is this the pig offal we bought this morning?” Yan Zihao asked.
“Yes! It’s pig offal. Try it quickly.” Lu Qingran picked a piece of large intestine and placed it in Yan Zihao’s bowl.
He chewed a few times, and his eyes lit up.
“Delicious! The flavor is perfect, and there’s no bad smell at all. Qingran, you’re amazing!”
Everyone else began eating, praising the dish without stop.
“Big sister-in-law, this is so tasty! Is this really the ‘stinky’ stuff?” Yan Zimeng asked with bright, adorable eyes.
“Yes! Didn’t you just say it smelled bad? Does it still?” Lu Qingran teased.
The twins shook their heads vigorously. “Not stinky, not stinky! So delicious! Big sister-in-law, you’re amazing!”
Seeing her family enjoy the meal, Lu Qingran was very happy.
“Big sister-in-law, are we going to sell this?” Yan Ziyi asked.
Lu Qingran nodded. “Yes. The bamboo shoots are almost all dug, so you don’t need to go up the mountain anymore. Leave the rest for the villagers. Today’s batch, we’ll keep for ourselves. From now on, we’ll sell pig offal in town—five wen per big spoonful. How does that sound?”
Yan Ziyi asked, “Not selling today’s bamboo shoots? There’s over two hundred jin! Wouldn’t it be a waste if they spoil?”
“No. We can slice them and sun-dry them—they’ll keep for a long time,” Lu Qingran explained.
Yan Zihao nodded. “Sounds good! Qingran, is it troublesome to prepare this pig offal? If we have to sell it every day, you’ll have to wake up very early—won’t that be hard on you?”
Being cared for felt good. Lu Qingran smiled warmly, explaining, “It’s not hard. The main work is cleaning. Washing the intestines takes time. If we sell a lot, it will take a while to clean them all.”
Mother Yan immediately said, “Qingran, don’t worry about the cleaning. Leave it to me!”
“Yes! Big sister-in-law, I can help too!” Yan Ziyue added eagerly.
Seeing her family so harmonious, Lu Qingran felt extremely happy.
In modern times, she hadn’t truly experienced maternal or paternal love. Her grandparents were kind, but it wasn’t the same. Coming here, the original body had been a poor little thing, but now there were so many people caring for and loving her—it was impossible not to be moved.
“Alright, then Mother and Third Sister, thank you for your help.”
Once things were settled, Lu Qingran turned to Yan Zihao: “Husband, when you go to town this afternoon, tell the manager at Futian Restaurant that we’re done with the bamboo shoot business for now. Then buy two more sets of pig offal. Tomorrow, we’ll try selling it.”
“Got it!” Yan Zihao replied.