Chapter 40 – 37: The Aroma of Rich Meat
In the kitchen, a rich aroma of meat was filling the air.
Little Yan, who was squatting in front of the stove to help tend to the fire, couldn’t help but salivate uncontrollably when she smelled the meat.
“Brother, when can we eat?” the little one couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Just a little longer,” he replied.
Lu Qing also felt somewhat unsteady on his feet.
In his previous life as a carnivore, he had only eaten fish since coming to this world, not any proper meat.
Now, smelling the rich meaty scent, he almost let his cravings get the better of him.
Lu Qing was cooking braised pork.
Of course, due to the lack of seasoning, he was cooking a simplified version of braised pork, or perhaps it was more fitting to call it stewed meat.
He decided to make braised pork because, at the big market, he had seen someone selling bean paste.
It was sold by a farmwoman, initially placed in a jar, which he almost missed noticing.
After tasting a bit, he found the flavor surprisingly similar to soy sauce, only lacking a bit in saltiness, which was a pleasant surprise.
He immediately bought quite a lot, making the farmwoman very grateful.
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Lu Qing took the opportunity to inquire about the origins of the sauce and learned that the recipe had been left by the farmwoman’s grandfather.
Her grandfather had originally been a chef in the back kitchen of a restaurant in a distant city but had drifted here due to certain changes.
After she got married, her in-laws were poor, so she thought of making some bean paste to supplement the household income.
Since beans were cheap, even if the sauce was ruined, the loss wouldn’t be too great.
However, the local people didn’t seem to have a high acceptance of bean paste.
She had been selling at the big market for a long time, and Lu Qing was still her biggest customer.
After hearing her story, Lu Qing, moved by sympathy, bought another jar of the sauce, leading to another round of heartfelt gratitude from the farmwoman.
With the unexpected gain of the bean paste, Lu Qing then thoroughly browsed through the big market.
Unfortunately, there were no more surprises like the bean paste.
He did see an old man selling sugar, which he bought some of.
The sugar was much more expensive than the bean paste, but when it came to food, Lu Qing was always willing to spend.
With these gains, Lu Qing decided to make a meal of braised pork.
He cut the half-fat-and-half-lean pork belly into pieces, blanched them first, and then fried them until golden brown.
Then he removed the meat and started to fry the sauce.
After bringing out the scent of the sauce, he added the slightly fried meat pieces and stir-fried them together.
Then he added sugar, salt, water, and simmered everything.
This was certainly not the authentic version of braised pork, but given the limited conditions, this was the best Lu Qing could do.
Fortunately, even though the method was simple, meat was still meat.
After simmering for a while, the scent of the meat wafted out, still making the siblings salivate.
When Lu Qing felt it was about time, he opened the pot lid, ready to start reducing the sauce.
The moment the lid was opened, steam rose, and the intense meat aroma filled the entire kitchen at once.
The smell of meat even drifted outside, enticing passing villagers to stop in their tracks.
After sniffing for a while, they realized the scent of meat was coming from Lu Qing’s house, and were immediately astonished.
“With such a strong scent of meat, how much meat is Lu Qing cooking at home?”
They thought about going in to have a look but felt it might be impolite.
Eventually, as their stomachs grew hungrier, they quickly headed home.
If they stayed any longer, they feared they might not be able to resist going in to beg for a meal.
The scent of the meat drifted further, reaching several nearby households.
Confirming the fragrance came from the Lu family’s home, they couldn’t help but exclaim,
“The Lu family’s days are getting better. What kind of meat are they cooking that smells so delicious!”
“After Lu Ming and his wife passed away, I thought Lu Qing and Little Yan would have a very hard time being orphans, but now there’s no need to worry.”
“I heard that Lu Qing and Da An went to the big market this morning and bought a lot of things back. Lu Qing even returned the grain and condiments he had borrowed from everyone.”
“Old Doctor Chen is really good to his disciples.”
“It’s a shame my boy isn’t competitive; otherwise, I’d also want the elder doctor to take him as a disciple.”
“Drop it, your boy can’t even recognize a single character, let alone understand a medical book.”
“Don’t just talk about my family, your kid is just the same, can’t even count past ten, let’s not scold my kid by comparing him to yours.”
…
Lu Qing was unaware of the villagers’ discussions.
At the moment, he was concentrating on thickening the meat sauce and beginning to serve the meat.
The perfectly stewed meat was trembling as it sat in the bowl, looking extremely tempting.
Watching the color of this braised pork, Lu Qing could hardly resist.
He quickly stir-fried some greens and then announced that it was time to eat.
“Little Yan, this is for you, eat slowly, be careful, it’s hot.”
At the dinner table, Lu Qing first picked up a piece of meat for Little Yan and placed it on her rice.
“I got it, brother.”
Little Yan obediently responded and then started blowing on the meat in her bowl, trying to cool it down.
After serving Little Yan, Lu Qing also picked up a piece of braised pork for himself.
He slightly cooled it before taking a bite, and his eyes lit up immediately.
The meat, having been stewed for a long time, was thoroughly infused with flavor.
It was tender yet slightly chewy, an excellent texture.
Swallowing a piece of braised pork, Lu Qing showed a satisfied expression.
It was worth the time he had spent cooking it.
Although due to a lack of seasonings, this braised pork was not as layered in flavor compared to what he had made in his previous life,
being able to enjoy such meat under current conditions was satisfying enough for him.
“Brother, this meat is delicious!”
At that moment, Little Yan, her mouth greasy, cheerfully told Lu Qing.
“Haha, of course, your brother put a lot of effort into making this,” Lu Qing said proudly.
“Brother cooks so deliciously, Little Yan wants to learn cooking from you, then I can make lots and lots of yummy food!”
The little foodie expressed her grand ambitions.
“Then Little Yan needs to eat well, and when you grow a bit older, Brother will teach you how to cook.”
“Okay!”
The siblings then enjoyed a lovely dinner.
After dinner, after cleaning up, Lu Qing, holding a piece of fabric, went next door to Grandpa Zhang’s house.
“Grandpa Zhang, Grandpa Zhang!”
“What is it, Ah Qing?” Grandpa Zhang came out of the house.
“Is Aunt Zhang at home?”
Aunt Zhang, who was Grandpa Zhang’s daughter-in-law, was well-known in the village for her sewing skills.
“She’s inside, you looking for her?” Grandpa Zhang shouted into the house, “Wife of my second son, come out, Ah Qing is looking for you.”
“What do you need, Ah Qing?” a woman came out of the house.
“It’s like this, I bought a piece of fabric at the market this morning, I’d like to make two pieces of clothing for Little Yan, but I can’t sew, so I thought of asking Aunt Zhang for help, and I will pay for the work.”
Lu Qing showed the fabric he held.
“You child, what are you talking about paying? We’re neighbors; helping each other is natural. Give me the fabric, I’ll think it over, and have Little Yan come over tomorrow. I’ll take her measurements and have it done in a couple of days,” Aunt Zhang took the fabric.
“That’s right, bringing over such a large piece of meat at noon was already too polite,” Grandpa Zhang added.
“I can’t let Aunt Zhang work for nothing,” Lu Qing laughed, “Well, that’s settled then, I need to go back and read.”
“Of course, of course, studying is important, you better head back.”
Upon returning home, Lu Qing looked at Little Yan playing in the yard and smiled.
The little one’s clothes were made from his old ones and were now full of patches.
These days, while washing clothes, he noticed some seams were coming apart.
Today, at the market, he saw fabric for sale. Although the quality was average and the price high,
Lu Qing still bought some, intending to have someone help make a couple of new garments.
He didn’t tell Little Yan about the new clothes yet, planning to surprise her tomorrow.
That night, Little Yan, as usual, fell asleep without the black little beast’s visit.
The next morning, she woke up feeling gloomy,
but her gloom soon vanished when she learned about the new clothes.
Two days later, when the new clothes were finished and the little one put them on, she was overjoyed and showed them off for several days.
Because he had stocked up at the market, they had plenty of supplies.
In the following days, Lu Qing stayed in the village and didn’t go out.
Every day, he went to Old Doctor Chen’s to study and then did some farm work, like planting vegetables in the yard, and in the afternoon, he thought about how to make tasty meals under limited conditions.
Sometimes, he would go fishing to feed the Black Night Spiritual Fox.
Life was exceedingly regular.
Finally, one morning when he and Little Yan were at Half Mountain Small Courtyard again,
the elder doctor told him that he no longer needed to read the “Hundred Herbs Scripture.”