In the West Wing Room, Lian Manman was showing Lady Zhang the pork rind, at, and large bones they had purchased, discussing with the family how they should be eaten. Xiao Qi bounced into the room from outside.
"... Just now, grandfather called over Uncle Erbo’s family and said that we Lian Family mbers are all disciplined, never daring to steal chickens or dogs. If anyone dares to ruin our family’s reputation, grandfather said he’d beat them to death with his smoking pipe stick." Xiao Qi parroted what she had learned, "Grandfather said, no one is allowed to enter our family’s garden below, and no one is allowed to touch those wine jars either."
"Your grandfather really said that?" Lian Shouxin asked with delight.
Xiao Qi nodded, "Mhm, grandfather said it sternly while waving his dry pipe, and Fourth Brother turned pale with fright."
"I wanted to speak to father about last night’s matter, but I didn’t know how to say it. It’s hard to discipline a mischievous young lad; too harsh isn’t good either." As Lian Shouxin spoke, he suddenly rembered that Old Master Lian’s dry pipe had been broken, "Your grandfather was waving the dry pipe?"
"Second Sister went to town today and got grandfather’s dry pipe nded." Xiao Qi said.
"Is that so?" Lian Shouxin turned to Lian Manman.
"Yes, grandfather is used to his dry pipe, and I had long been thinking about getting it fixed for him." Lian Manman said.
That was just one reason; choosing this mont to repair the dry pipe, Lian Manman certainly had her considerations.
The pipe wasn’t just an old item that Old Master Lian had used for many years, but also because Old Master Lian had used it to enforce family discipline, breaking it while hitting Lian Shouren. By fixing the pipe and presenting it to Old Master Lian, the ssage she conveyed was rich, more powerful than directly asking Old Master Lian to restrain the mbers of Erbo’s household. At the very least, it would incline Old Master Lian’s affections toward her while reminding him to pay attention to the Lian Family’s conduct.
Old Master Lian had beco a Store Manager from a humble Apprentice by self-taught ans, naturally, he was not a foolish man; he should be able to receive the ssage she was sending.
This was the very dry pipe previously used by Old Master Lian to harshly discipline Scholar Lian Shouren; now it was being used to instruct Erbo’s side of the family and naturally had a heightened effect.
The repair of the dry pipe by Lian Manman ultimately had two direct consequences: Old Master Lian continued to use this pipe for his smoking, never switching to another, and then Erbo’s household never again touched those wine jars. Of course, what Lian Shouren thought when he saw the pipe wasn’t of much concern to Lian Manman.
Of course, all these were later developnts. Now, hearing that Old Master Lian had summoned the mbers of Erbo’s side to talk, Lian Manman knew that her actions had achieved the desired effect, and she shouldn’t have to worry too much about Erbo’s household tampering with the wine jars anymore.
Happy at heart, she worked with even more vigor.
Since they had brought the pork rind ho, and the weather wouldn’t allow for storing it, it needed to be rendered right away. Lian Manman first rinsed the pork rind with water, then removed the moisture, and used a knife to cut the rind into pieces. These pieces couldn’t be too large, as the fat wouldn’t render out easily, and they couldn’t be too finely cut, or the fat might burn. After cutting the rind, she poured it into a hot iron pot; since there was quite a lot of rind, she had to render it in batches. The fire for rendering also had to be carefully managed: not too low, as that would slow the rendering, yet not too high, to prevent the fat from burning and losing its fragrance.
Wu Lang was in charge of tending the fire, while Lian Manman and Lian Zhizhi were responsible for rendering the fat.
Lian Manman had prepared two clean clay jars, scooping the rendered fat into the jars with a spoon. The fat was a clear liquid at that ti, but once it cooled down, it would solidify into white lard.
The cracklings were the at residue left after rendering the pork rind. Still containing a small amount of fat, they were fragrant and crunchy, making for a tasty treat. Lian Manman had Xiao Qi fetch a rice bowl and scooped a bowlful of cracklings, then she mixed in a spoonful of sugar left from today’s wine making.
"Big Sister, can you eat cracklings this way?" Xiao Qi asked.
"Yes, you can." Lian Manman picked up a piece of sugar-coated crackling with her chopsticks and tasted it, "It’s delicious."
After having one herself, she picked up a bigger piece drenched with more sugar for Xiao Qi. Cracklings and sugar were both rare treats in a country household; combining the two was sothing Xiao Qi had not yet tried, so he chewed slowly and treasured the flavor.
"It’s really good!" The dual pleasure of cracklings and sugar made Xiao Qi’s eyes squint with happiness.
With Lian Zhizhi and Wu Lang occupied with their tasks, Lian Manman also picked cracklings for them to taste.
"Delicious." Wu Lang said.
"Eating them this way is really delicious, but it’s just too exquisite," Lian Zhizhi said.
User Comments
0 comments from readers