In the morning, Juhua had selected three heads of Big Cabbage, cut each into quarters, and rubbed crushed salt between the layers. She then placed them in a wooden basin with a stone slab on top to press them down. By now, nearly two two-hour periods had passed, and they should have softened and released their water.
She took out the Big Cabbage, rinsed it clean with well water, and placed it in a small bamboo basket to drain. Then, she began to prepare the seasoning paste.
She peeled and julienned a large white radish, and finely minced so ginger and garlic. She put everything into a large earthenware pot and poured in a generous amount of chili paste, chili powder, and fine white sugar. She’d had to ask Yang Family to buy the sugar specially, as they didn’t have any at ho. After stirring it all vigorously with chopsticks, the pot’s contents turned a brilliant red, its spicy, fragrant aroma instantly assailing the senses!
’This is still missing several ingredients, like apple or pear, and so others that were impossible to make by hand, but there was nothing to be done about it. Fortunately, the chili paste already had ground dried shrimp in it, which gave it a wonderfully savory flavor and made up for the lack of proper shrimp paste.’
Once the seasoning paste was ready, Juhua fetched the drained Big Cabbage. She lifted the softened leaves one by one, spreading the paste between each layer. The red paste sandwiched between the white leaves was exceptionally vibrant and dazzling. This, combined with the drifting aroma of garlic and chili paste, was enough to stimulate the taste buds and make one desperate for a bite.
As she finished coating each quarter, she rolled the Big Cabbage, now enveloped in the brilliant red paste, into a bundle and placed it into an earthenware jar she had prepared earlier.
She worked until all three heads of Big Cabbage were finished, filling the earthenware jar to the brim. She used a wooden spoon to press the contents down firmly, then covered the mouth of the jar with a sheet of coarse paper before putting on the lid. Finally, she moved it onto the long chopping board. It would be ready to eat in two or three days!
When Yang Family returned with the cleaned pig offal, Juhua poured it directly into a pot of already boiling water to blanch it. Yang Family, anwhile, got busy cleaning the pig’s head.
The three of them were busy all afternoon until their backs ached. They finally finished preparing the pig’s head and trotters; all that remained was to simr them over a low fire until they were tender.
’But they couldn’t cook them now. The large pot is busy with the pig offal, and the small pot is still needed for dinner. If both pots were in use, where would they make dinner? The pig’s head and the rest will have to wait until after they eat.’
Yang Family suddenly rembered sothing and said to Juhua, "Juhua, your cousin Laixi is bringing a jar over for us tonight. Should we cook so of the pig trotters for dinner? Would that be too much trouble? If it is, we can skip it. We can just give him a portion tomorrow when we take everything to the market, it’s all the sa."
Juhua thought for a mont and replied, "It’s not too much trouble. I want to eat so too! How about we toss two of the trotters and the pig’s tail into the big pot? We can pull them out later and braise them!"
Just as the mother and daughter were discussing dinner plans, Zhao San and Shi Tou’s mother arrived.
Zhao San strode into the courtyard and burst out laughing. "Brother Changhe, Sister-in-law! I’ve co for dinner—and I’m hoping for so of that pig offal."
Yang Family hurried out to greet them with a smile. "If you want to eat, you eat! What’s there to even ask about?"
Zheng Changhe’s voice bood from inside the house. "Third Brother! Why haven’t you co to see after all this ti? I’m going stir-crazy being stuck at ho."
Zhao San laughed back. "You’re eating well every day and you’re still not happy? If I want a taste, I have to be shaless enough to invite myself over!"
As he spoke, he held up the fish basket in his hand and said to Yang Family, "Sister-in-law, fish are hard to catch in the winter. It took half the day just to get this many. No need to pay for them, just let have dinner here and we’ll call it even."
Yang Family laughed. "How silly of ! It’s fine if it’s a small catch, but I still must pay you. From now on, I’ll pay you by the pound for whatever you catch. But please don’t bring any really big ones; you should keep those for yourselves. It’s not profitable for to cook and sell the large fish."
Shi Tou’s mother sighed. "It’s only a few pounds of small fish, how could we take your money for it? Earning every single coin is such hard work for you."
Yang Family laughed. "What work isn’t hard? We farming folk have always had tough lives."
"That’s true enough," Shi Tou’s mother said. "The fact that you’re able to earn a little sothing is already not bad!"
With that, they entered the house and exchanged so pleasantries with Zheng Changhe.
Zhao San suddenly scratched the back of his head and looked sheepishly at Yang Family. "So, uh, I’m afraid it won’t be just my family for dinner tonight. Earlier, I went to the village school and told Little Shitou to co ho for dinner with his big brother Qingmu. Well, Gou Dan overheard and said he wanted to co too, and then asked if Zhang Huai was coming. Qingmu must have felt awkward, so he just went ahead and invited Huai Zi to join, and he accepted. Then his brother, Yangzi, heard about it and imdiately said he wanted to co as well. The mont I heard that, I freaked out and rushed right over to warn you!"
Shi Tou’s mother shot him an exasperated look. "I told you we should call Shi Tou out to talk, but no, you just couldn’t wait!"
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