Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 29

Chapter 29

Unwilling to spend money on lunch in town, they bought four steamed buns at the city gate to fill their stomachs. Lin Jiangshan, doting on his husband, bought two pork and scallion buns for Ye Xi and two cabbage buns for himself.

Ye Xi, naturally unwilling to eat meat alone, snatched the oilpaper from Lin Jiangshan’s hand and exchanged a cabbage bun for a pork and scallion bun.

“Neither of us should deprive ourselves.”

Lin Jiangshan knew his husband cared about him, so he took the bun and ate it. They walked home, eating their buns.

Shanxiu Village was further away than other villages, and after walking for over an hour, Ye Xi and Lin Jiangshan finally returned to their courtyard halfway up the mountain.

Upon arriving home, Ye Xi quickly took the chicks and ducklings from the basket and scattered some rice from the kitchen for them.

After being jostled around all morning, the chicks and ducklings were a bit listless. After eating, they perked up a bit. Ye Xi took a chipped earthenware bowl and filled it with water for them to drink.

After they drank, he let them roam freely in the courtyard, pecking at the weeds and wild vegetables by the wall.

“Where do you think we should build the chicken coop?” Lin Jiangshan asked.

Ye Xi thought for a moment. It was better to build it in the backyard. If it was in the courtyard, it would smell, and if it was outside the courtyard, he was afraid wild animals from the forest would steal the poultry.

Lin Jiangshan went to the backyard. There was a small door in the woodshed that led to the back of the courtyard. The courtyard was built against the mountainside, only five or six meters away from the mountain wall. This was the perfect spot for a chicken coop. Building brick walls and fences on both sides would make it sturdy and secure.

Ye Xi also thought the location was good. The left side of the woodshed could be used to build a pigsty.

They decided to start building immediately. Lin Jiangshan took his machete and went to the bamboo grove to cut bamboo. He estimated that four bamboo poles would be enough, so he cut down four mature bamboo poles and brought them back.

He sat in the courtyard, splitting the bamboo with a machete and weaving thin bamboo strips, which would be used to make the fence gate.

Ye Xi wasn’t idle either. He had to prepare the pork fat he bought today, cutting it into even pieces on the chopping board. He filled the wok with half a pot of water, added the pork fat, and brought it to a boil over high heat. Then, he quickly took out the pork fat, this was to remove impurities and couldn’t be boiled for too long, otherwise, more fat would be lost.

Farmers were always frugal.

After washing the pork fat twice more, the impurities were removed, and Ye Xi added another half pot of hot water to the wok, adding the pork fat pieces, just enough to cover them with water. He added a few large pieces of firewood to the stove and rendered the lard over high heat.

Gradually, the water in the wok turned milky white, and the aroma of lard wafted out. When the water started to boil, he removed some firewood from the stove and reduced the heat.

After simmering for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Lin Jiangshan, sitting in the courtyard, smelled the fragrant lard.

Ye Xi stirred the pork fat in the wok with a spatula to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. The milky white water had become clear and shiny, the lard rendered, but it needed to be cooked further.

By the time Lin Jiangshan finished weaving a section of the fence gate, Ye Xi added half a bowl of white wine to the wok, to preserve and enhance the flavor. Estimating it was almost done, he scooped the lard out with a spatula. He added a few soybeans and two spoonfuls of salt to the earthenware jar and poured the clear lard into it, leaving it uncovered to cool and solidify.

The remaining pork fat pieces weren’t completely rendered yet and needed to be cooked further over low heat. Gradually, a yellowish oil would ooze out from the bottom of the wok. When the pork fat pieces were dry and crispy, and the oil in the wok started bubbling vigorously, he picked up a piece with chopsticks. The dry and crispy texture indicated that the lard was ready.

This bowl of oil would be stored separately for stir-frying.

“Husband, come and try the freshly fried pork skin,” Ye Xi said, coming out of the kitchen with a piece of golden-brown pork skin on his chopsticks.

Lin Jiangshan’s legs and body were covered in bamboo shavings, his palms dirty and black. He looked up and smiled. “My hands are dirty, please feed me, husband.”

Ye Xi smiled and brought the pork skin to his mouth. The freshly fried and cooled pork skin was crispy and fragrant, and Lin Jiangshan nodded repeatedly.

“Husband, your skills are amazing, even better than the pork skin sold in the shops!”

Ye Xi smiled. “I added some salt and ground Sichuan peppercorns, it’s more flavorful. Is the fence gate ready?”

Lin Jiangshan said, “Almost done. After I finish weaving it, I’ll go dig some yellow mud to make mud bricks.”

“Alright, you go ahead. The lard is ready, perfect for making noodles. I’ll make two bowls of noodles, the steamed buns we had for lunch weren’t filling, we might not last until dinner.”

Lin Jiangshan was also hungry after working for half a day and nodded. “Yes, we need to eat something more substantial.”

Ye Xi left him in the courtyard and went back to the kitchen to make noodles. After the water boiled, he added two handfuls of noodles, then, thinking about Lin Jiangshan’s appetite, added half a handful more, fearing it wouldn’t be enough.

The noodles were alkaline noodles he bought from the market today. Although not as good as freshly made noodles, they were fine for a quick meal, faster than making steamed buns.

Ye Xi liked these thin noodles, soft, smooth, and easy to absorb flavor.

After the noodles were cooked, he prepared the soup base in a bowl: a spoonful of clear noodle soup, a spoonful of the newly bought soy sauce brewed from soybeans, a pinch of salt, some chopped green onions, and finally, a piece of white lard. The lard melted into the soup, creating a layer of glistening oil on the surface.

After the noodles were cooked through, he added two portions of noodles to the bowl, then two stalks of blanched vegetables, creating a simple yet delicious bowl of noodles with lard.

He sprinkled some freshly fried pork skin on top, adding a crispy and fragrant touch.

The only thing missing were two fried eggs, golden yellow. Ye Xi carried a bowl of noodles in each hand and came out of the kitchen.

Lin Jiangshan, smelling the aroma of food, went to wash his hands and returned to take the bowl of noodles. They sat facing each other on low stools, eating their noodles under the blue sky.

Ye Xi had a small appetite and used a medium-sized bowl with blue porcelain patterns. Lin Jiangshan used an earthenware bowl, bigger than Ye Xi’s face.

“We can’t do without eggs at home, it’s the easiest and most convenient source of meat. It’ll take a few months for our chicks to grow up and lay eggs. During this time, we still have to buy them. The ones at the market are a bit expensive. I’m thinking of asking my parents if they can spare some for us when we visit them. I raised a dozen hens at home, and we always had more eggs than we could eat.” Ye Xi discussed with Lin Jiangshan.

Lin Jiangshan agreed and added, “But we still have to pay for the eggs. Now that you’ve married me, we’re a new family, we can’t keep taking advantage of your parents. A few eggs don’t cost much, and it’s not easy for your mother to manage the household and raise the chickens.”

Ye Xi nodded. He just thought that getting eggs from his parents’ home would be cheaper than buying them at the market, and it would save his mother the trouble of carrying them to town to sell. He didn’t expect Lin Jiangshan to be so considerate, and he was happy that this could also provide some income for his mother, so others wouldn’t take advantage of her.

“My brother isn’t married yet, and my parents are anxious, wanting to save more money for his betrothal gifts. This way, we can have eggs to eat and also provide them with some income.”

Lin Jiangshan added, “Don’t offer too low a price.”

Ye Xi agreed. After they finished their noodles, Ye Xi went to the kitchen to wash the dishes and clean the stove. When he came out, Lin Jiangshan had already finished making the fence gate for the chicken coop.

He picked up a basket and said to Ye Xi, “I’m going to the stream to dig some yellow mud to make mud bricks. I should be able to make them today and dry them, ready for building the chicken coop walls.”

Ye Xi put their dirty clothes from the past two days into a basin and took a wooden mallet and soap pods. “I’ll go with you, I can wash clothes there, it saves water washing them at home.”

Lin Jiangshan took the wooden basin from Ye Xi’s hands, and they locked the courtyard gate and went to the mountain stream.

The mountain stream flowed down from the mountaintop, forming a small pond, then continued down the mountain, flowing all year round, not even freezing in winter.

Ye Xi found a spot and was about to squat down to wash clothes when Lin Jiangshan called out, “Wait.”

Ye Xi stopped and looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”

It had rained the night before last, and the ground by the stream was muddy and slippery. He was afraid Ye Xi would slip and fall.

“It’s slippery here, easy to fall. I’ll find some stone slabs for you to stand on.”

He went into the woods and returned with a few bluestone slabs. He dug away the soft mud with a hoe and placed the stones there.

After tamping down the stones with the hoe and testing them with his foot, he said, “Alright, you can wash clothes here.”

Ye Xi carried the wooden basin over. The spring water flowing down from the mountain wasn’t icy cold, and it even felt slightly warm to the touch.

Lin Jiangshan explained, “There’s a hot spring on the mountaintop, it mixes with the spring water and neutralizes the coldness.”

Ye Xi said happily, “If we could divert it to our house, we wouldn’t need to boil hot water for washing, we could use it anytime.”

His casual remark gave Lin Jiangshan an idea. He measured the distance between the stream and their courtyard, it wasn’t far, only about twenty meters. If they could divert the water to their courtyard, Ye Xi wouldn’t have to be so frugal with water for washing clothes and cooking.

Moreover, the stream was slippery, and during the rainy season, he was worried about Ye Xi coming here alone.

“I think it’s feasible. We can dig a channel from the stream to our courtyard, line it with pebbles, and dig a reservoir in the courtyard. This way, the spring water can flow into the reservoir continuously and also flow out, very convenient.”

Ye Xi asked, “Wouldn’t that be very troublesome and require a lot of effort?”

Lin Jiangshan didn’t think so. He was willing to put in any amount of effort to improve their small courtyard.

“Just wait, your husband will build it for you.”