Chapter 35: Moving, Dividing Rooms, and Preparing to Cook Goose in an Iron Pot

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“I mentioned to Mother that you might need a cooking pot, so she finished making supper early and had me bring one over. That way, you wouldn’t have to make another trip.”

“She also asked me to bring you these incense sticks and candles.”

Jiang Li looked at Zhao Qingzhu. Her dear friend truly had arrived like rain after a long drought. Smiling, she said, “Thank you—and thank your mother for me. She knows I’m busy and has been so thoughtful.”

“I was going to come find you after I finished washing up. I’ll bring the pot back tomorrow at noon once I’m done with it.”

Zhao Qingzhu smiled. “No need. After everyone finishes eating tomorrow night, Mother will bring it back herself.”

“Then you should all come eat lunch here tomorrow.”

“How could we? Mother has already prepared tomorrow’s midday meal. We only need to steam it in the steamer before eating, so we won’t need the iron pot.”

After hearing this, Jiang Li took the things from her. She carried the incense and candles into the house, ladled some water into the iron pot and rinsed it, then brought it over and put the washed meat inside. She also added two pieces of the bones left over from when she had cut up the meat earlier.

Zhao Qingzhu watched Jiang Li put the entire half slab of pork neck into the pot. That piece of meat weighed at least six or seven pounds. Even during the New Year, her own family would never be willing to cook so much meat at once, despite having so many people to feed.

But after spending these days together, she had come to understand Jiang Li. She worked hard, cared deeply about earning money, and was generous with food.

Her mother often worried about what would happen if Jiang Li kept living this way without storing up grain, yet at the same time she felt that Jiang Li truly lived up to her origins in a wealthy household—she was exceedingly generous.

In these times, there were countless families who fought because someone had eaten one extra bite of meat.

It was even worse when eating at someone else’s home.

On the first day of building the house, Jiang Li had prepared good meat, but no one had eaten with complete ease.

They had secretly watched her for several days, until they became convinced that she was not a stingy person, but genuinely generous.

She was not the sort who merely put on a show—urging people to eat while making a sour face the moment they actually did.

Everyone could eat without restraint and work with equal enthusiasm.

Knowing that Jiang Li was eager to move in, and that the Ghost Festival was only a few days away, after which there would be no auspicious day for moving, everyone had done their utmost to hurry the work along. Yet haste had not led to carelessness. Of all the new houses in the village that she had seen, Jiang Li’s was the finest-looking.

A mud house could not exactly be made beautiful enough to astonish anyone, but some new houses were built from yellow clay mixed with black earth, giving them a dark, muddy appearance that was simply ugly.

Jiang Li’s house was different. Clean yellow clay had been mixed with straw, giving the walls a pale hue. Everything looked neat and pleasing to the eye.

Perhaps this was what it meant for sincerity to be repaid with sincerity.

Jiang Li left the pot uncovered as the meat boiled. Once the scum rose to the surface, she skimmed it off and discarded it. After the water came to a boil, she poured in a little wine, then covered the pot.

“Oh, Mother cleared out three tables for you. She can bring them over tomorrow.”

Jiang Li estimated the number of guests. “Three tables probably won’t be enough. I’ll have to ask around and borrow a few more.”

“Not enough? Three people from each household, with about ten people squeezed around each table—that should be plenty.”

Jiang Li was puzzled. She had seen many families in the village with three or four children.

“Why three people from each household? Didn’t you say everyone was invited?”

Zhao Qingzhu smiled.

“You don’t know the custom in our village. Every household is poor, and every household has many people. When someone hosts a feast, the whole family doesn’t go, because no one could afford that. Usually, the husband and wife attend together, and if they have children, they bring only the youngest.”

“That’s why we say three people.”

“Think about the dozen or so households you invited. You haven’t carefully counted how many people that actually comes to. Take my family alone: my brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, and parents—twenty-four people in all.”

“If my entire family went to the feast, the whole village would probably keep its distance from us afterward.”

Jiang Li thought for a moment before asking, “So not everyone will come tomorrow night?”

“Of course not.”

Jiang Li glanced at Xue Man and A Ning. If she went to the feast, she could only bring one of them. Wouldn’t the other be terribly hurt?

After pondering for a while, she asked Zhao Qingzhu to tell her how many children lived in each of the households that would be helping her.

When she had finished listening, Jiang Li drew in a sharp breath. Only two or three households had three children; all the others had four.

She thought it over and formed a plan.

As darkness fell, Jiang Li escorted Zhao Qingzhu home, then returned to continue working.

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Since she had to keep watch over the boiling meat, she would have to stay up late anyway. Jiang Li decided she might as well cook and season the intestines too. She could simply heat them tomorrow, leaving only the goose to prepare as the main dish.

She had Xue Man build a fire beside her and began boiling the large intestines.

Xue Man and A Ning were so excited about moving into their new home the next morning that they could not sleep.

They stayed beside Jiang Li, watching the fire and the meat boil, and remained energetic throughout the entire night.

The three of them stayed up until midnight. Jiang Li poked the meat with chopsticks. When the chopsticks passed easily through the thick piece, she knew it was finally cooked.

She removed the firewood and banked the embers, and only then did the mother and her two children go to sleep.

They had barely slept when the rooster crowed for the second time. Jiang Li was still drowsy. She rubbed her eyes to wake herself, then climbed out of bed.

From the corner behind the bed, she took out all the money she had hidden earlier and concealed it inside a clean garment. She planned to carry it over first when they moved.

Once that was done, she checked the meat in the pot. It was still warm.

She poured the braised intestines from the iron pot into an earthenware jar.

She took out another earthenware jar, kneaded some dough, and set it aside.

From the pot, she fished out a piece of meat streaked with fat, cut off a portion, and minced it. She crushed a little Sichuan peppercorn and fried it into pepper oil, then poured it into the minced meat and mixed everything thoroughly.

She kneaded the dough, then used a clean bamboo tube to roll it thin. She spread the freshly fried meat filling over it, covered it with another sheet of dough of roughly the same size, and pinched the edges closed.

She brushed oil over the iron pan and placed the filled dough inside to fry.

The dough was fairly thin, so it cooked easily. Before long, both sides had turned golden brown.

Just as the first flatbread came out of the pan, Xue Man and A Ning woke up.

“Mother, what are you making?”

“A few flatbreads.”

“Are we eating them tonight?” A Ning asked, rubbing her eyes.

“No. I have other plans for these. Are you two hungry?”

The siblings shook their heads together.

Xue Man leaned over to look at the flatbread and exclaimed, “Mother, you even know how to make these! What are you preparing them for?”

Jiang Li said, “Aren’t we inviting people to dinner tonight? In my mother’s hometown, guests who come to bless a new home are given gifts to take back.”

“These flatbreads are the gifts I prepared for them.”

“After breakfast, go pick some holly leaves for me.”

“We’ll go now.”

Seeing how eager they were, Jiang Li did not stop them. It was good for them to get outside and run around after waking up. She merely called after them, “What would you like for breakfast? I’ll make it first.”

The two little ones had already run far away without answering.

Jiang Li paid them no mind. There would be plenty of good food today, and she had to finish the work in front of her first.

She repeated the process from before.

The flatbreads on the fire were frying, while she prepared more on the wooden board. The work went quickly enough.

By the time Xue Man and A Ning returned with the holly leaves, she had finished twelve flatbreads.

There was still a tiny bit of dough left. She casually gathered it together, wrapped a little meat filling inside, and fried one more flatbread.

It was smaller than the ones meant as gifts, so she called Xue Man and A Ning over and tore off a piece for each of them. There was not much, but it would serve to fill their stomachs.

Jiang Li took a bite. The crust was crisp, while the meat filling was tender and soft, with a faint numbing fragrance from the pepper. It suited her taste perfectly.

After taking a bite, Xue Man and A Ning stared at her with delighted surprise.

“Mother, this flatbread is delicious!”

As they spoke, they looked toward the twelve flatbreads. Jiang Li smiled. “Really? This is my first time making them.”

The two little ones nodded vigorously, their eyes fixed on the stack of flatbreads. Jiang Li laughed. “If you like them, I’ll make more for you later. These ones must not be touched.”

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After finishing the flatbread, A Ning asked Jiang Li, “Mother, are you going to wrap the flatbreads in those holly leaves?”

Jiang Li nodded.

“Then I’ll wash them and lay them out to dry.”

After A Ning went outside, Xue Man stuffed the last bite of flatbread into his mouth.

“I’ll help my sister.”

With that, he dashed out after her.

Jiang Li watched as the sun slowly rose and its light began to reach the ground in front of the house. She placed the prepared grains and rice ears to one side. As for the four chicks, she planned to have the siblings carry two each.

She would carry a bundle of firewood herself.

Once everything was ready, a faint excitement rose within her, though she could not quite explain where it came from.

She dusted off her hands and went to find the two little ones.

“Are they nearly washed?”

“Almost.”

Jiang Li helped them. Before long, all the leaves were clean, and she placed them in a winnowing basket to dry.

She watched the sunlight shift inch by inch, slowly reaching the stone in front of the house.

Suddenly, Jiang Li smiled.

“Xue Man, A Ning, we’re ready to enter our new home. Come in—I’ll give each of you something to carry. Everyone has to bring something.”

The two little ones bounced inside.

“You two carry the chicks in the basket. Two each.”

“I’ll carry the grains, firewood, and incense.”

They quickly took hold of their things, and Jiang Li led them toward the new house.

Before entering, she tucked the rice ears into a crack above the main gate and murmured, “Today, Jiang Li moves into her new home. Heaven’s Lord, Earth’s Lord, and God of Wealth, please look kindly upon us.”

She pushed open the door and had Xue Man and A Ning put the chicks in the courtyard, where they were free to wander.

Then she led the two children into the main room, placed the grains in the center of the table, lit the incense and candles, and kowtowed three times.

Afterward, she rose and carried the incense and candles to the kitchen, where she bowed again.

As she bowed, she said, “Kitchen God, Jiang Li offers you these bows. Please bless the three of us with abundant wealth, plentiful harvests, prosperity year after year, peace and smooth fortune, and success in all that we undertake.”

She then added the firewood and lit a flame in the stove.

With that, the simple ceremony was complete.

She had spoken the auspicious words, and she had paid her respects. She remembered that when her parents had taken her into a new home as a child, the ceremony had been much more complicated, and many more things had been prepared. But resources were limited now. This would do.

At least she had stated her name while making her offerings.

The God of Wealth and the Kitchen God would certainly remember the name Jiang Li.

Grinning happily, she led Xue Man and A Ning back to fetch the rest of their belongings.

First, she brought over the garment containing their money and placed it beneath the bed in her bedroom.

It took the three of them several trips to carry over the pots, bowls, ladles, winnowing baskets, bamboo sieves, meat-filled flatbreads, grain, and meat.

Once everything had been moved, Jiang Li assigned the rooms.

“There are three rooms. I’ll take the one on the right. You two can decide between the other two.”

The middle room was the main room.

Jiang Li did not care which of them slept in which room. She wanted the one on the right because she had many things to hide, and the main room might see visitors coming and going, which would be inconvenient.

A Ning glanced at her brother. “I want to sleep next to Mother.”

Xue Man did not argue. “Then I’ll take the room on the far left.”

If Jiang Li had been the one assigning the rooms, she would certainly have sent A Ning to the far left, where it seemed there would be more privacy. But this arrangement was fine too. In any case, she did not know many people in the village, and not many neighbors would come calling.