Chapter 21: Making Mushroom and Minced Pork Noodles for the Family! Delicious!

Xie Youzhen stood up and brushed the cigarette ash off his clothes.

“A lot of those things were made by my own hands. The eldest brother can’t take them! I’m going to keep an eye on things!”

…

Six o’clock.

With a loud bang, the household division was over.

There had been a gate in the courtyard connecting them to the eldest brother’s side, but Xie Tian had now blocked it off with broken wooden boards.

The young girl was furious, pushing the boards hard.

“Even bandits aren’t this bad! My dad made those tables and stools! How can they just refuse to give them to us? This is too much!”

Xie Tian was so angry that she scooped a ladle of water from the water vat and gulped it down, finally calming down a bit.

Xie Cheng and Xie Youzhen did not look pleased either.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to fight for their share.

It was just that Wang Jinhua was too shrewish.

She had prepared for the household division long ago, locking all the valuables in her own room and even hiding the enamel mugs!

When Xie Tian tried to go in and look, she simply lay down at the doorway, crying, screaming, threatening to hang herself, and rolling on the ground shouting that she was being murdered.

How could they divide anything like this?

They had hoped Xie Changtian and Zheng Guie would step up to speak some sense, but unfortunately, both of them were completely biased and had simply hidden themselves away!

So, this was how it ended.

The household division left them all fuming, and Xie Tian was so angry she cried.

Xie Cheng also kept quiet, his face dark.

He clenched his fists, looking around, his thoughts unknown.

Until a rich aroma drifted into his nose on the cold wind.

Huh?

What was that smell?

It smelled so good!

The snow in the courtyard had not fully melted yet. Beneath the temporary stove, the ground had been baked by the fire into a patch of wet, mushy mud.

They were two clay stoves that Xie Tian had managed to snatch back.

They were set up now, with a glowing red fire burning underneath.

Two clay pots sat on top of them.

One was bubbling with steam, and at a glance, one could see white flour noodles rolling and floating in the boiling water.

The other pot contained lard.

That was right.

A thick layer of lard, with lean meat frying inside. Right now, a handful of diced shiitake mushrooms had just been tossed in. As soon as the mushrooms hit the heat, they released a rich, intense aroma.

Once the mushrooms were mostly cooked, Xie Zhao added seasonings.

Salt, soy sauce, and a handful of freshly chopped green onions from outside.

Mmm!

The aroma suddenly grew even more intense!

Xie Tian forgot to speak.

Xie Cheng and Xie Youzhen could not help but look over as well.

It smelled incredible!

In the countryside of 1983, going hungry was the norm.

Especially for those who made a living from the soil. Even though the fields had finally been allocated to individual households the year before last, the villagers still depended on the weather for their food.

If the harvest was good, after paying the Public Grain, they could barely scrape by with enough food and clothing for the year.

If times were bad, then after paying the Public Grain, the remaining grain had to be mixed with beans, wheat bran, sweet potatoes, and potatoes just to make it last.

These foods had no grease or oil, so even after eating a few bowls, one would still feel hungry.

Even during the holidays, families would at most buy a jin of meat and half a jin of oil to render down and stretch out. The rest was saved, and they would not dare eat it themselves. It had to last through the entire first lunar month to serve guests who came for New Year visits.

Because of this, a famous joke had gone around.

They said that in old Zhu’s family at the edge of the village, a piece of fatty meat was placed on top of pickled cabbage and served. Every time a new group of guests arrived, it would be brought out again. By the time the New Year was over, it had gone bad before anyone noticed.

It was not that the guests did not want to eat it.

It was that they could not bear to.

They knew their hosts were using the best food in the house to save face. If they ate it now, there might be nothing left for the next meal.

So, everyone understood the unspoken rule, and no one touched that piece of meat.

But now, such a thick layer of rich oil was bubbling in the pot, along with the diced mushrooms, minced lean meat, and that handful of bright green scallions!

The smell was simply heavenly!

When had they ever seen such a luxurious way of eating?

Xie Zhao glanced at the white noodles; they had floated to the top, fully cooked.

Moving quickly, he grabbed a large sea bowl, scooped out a portion of noodles, and then used an aluminum spoon to ladle a generous scoop of minced meat from the other clay pot, layering it on top.

The minced meat and mushroom sauce, heavy on oil and salt, was mixed into a glistening red sauce. The aroma practically pierced straight to the brain!

“Dad! Eat some noodles!”

Xie Zhao smiled as he carried it over.

Xie Youzhen was stunned.

Huh?

Was… was this bowl of noodles for him?

Xie Youzhen took the bowl in a daze. Staring at the glistening meat sauce and the handful of green scallions, he felt a sense of unreality.

It was not until the heat of the large bowl stung his hands that he finally snapped out of it.

“I… this… you… Second Son, you should eat it! Dad’s not hungry…”

Xie Zhao ignored him.

He moved quickly, bringing over two more large bowls.

He stuffed them into the hands of Xie Cheng and Xie Tian.

“There’s still more in the pot. You can scoop more when you’re done. There’s plenty!”

Xie Zhao said.

As he spoke, the smile at the corners of his mouth could not be hidden.

Many times.

This very scene.

Had appeared in his dreams.

He thought, what was the point of making money?

To fill one’s stomach, to live a better life.

But in his past life, he had achieved all of that, yet he had still been unhappy.

It was like a thorn lodged in his body. Whenever he woke from a dream in the dead of night, he would toss and turn, unable to sleep until the early hours of the morning.

Later, he finally understood.

What he had lacked was spiritual fulfillment.

He had failed his wife and daughter, failed his family, and failed the sincere, heartfelt devotion they had given him.

Fortunately.

He had been reborn.

He had returned.

These steaming bowls of noodles, this rich, oily meat sauce, were only the beginning.

He would have them eat this every day, at every meal, until they were sick of it!

Xie Cheng and Xie Tian were currently staring at their noodles in a daze.

It smelled too good.

So much meat, and such a thick layer of oil. They wouldn’t have dared to dream of this!

“Eat, Big Brother, Little Sister.”

Xie Zhao also held a bowl and squatted down in front of them.

He smiled brightly, his white teeth flashing, drawing everyone’s gaze.

“Only when we’ve eaten our fill will we have the strength to make money and eat meat at every meal!”

Meat at every meal?

The two of them shuddered!

They wouldn’t have dared to dream of such a thing!

*

Meanwhile, at that very moment.

In the neighboring courtyard.

Wang Jinhua was moving the good things she had hidden out of the house, piece by piece.

There were camphorwood cabinets, cupboards, and completely intact large bowls.

They piled up, filling the courtyard.

She was grinning from ear to ear.

Hmph.

Ever since she first got the idea to move out, she had been quietly hoarding things.

In the past, she knew the second brother’s family contributed more to the communal family fund, allowing her own family to take advantage of them, so she had never thought about a household division. But ever since Xie Zhao returned, Wang Jinhua could no longer hold back.

He was far, far too much of a spendthrift!

If the whole family kept living together, she would eventually die of heartache!

It was better to split up as soon as possible!

At least this way, she could make her preparations early!

Fortunately, too!

She had expected the household division to take some effort, but she never imagined it would happen so quickly. If they were cutting ties, then so be it. With a spendthrift like Xie Zhao in the second brother’s family, they were bound to lose everything sooner or later!

She had finally escaped that misery!

She was thinking happily to herself when a rich, savory aroma drifted into her nose.