The cleaned pig intestines were all placed in a large foot basin, and she said, âSecond brother, put the water jar in the backyard first. In the next few days, Iâll be buying pig offal to bring back. Just carry the large foot basin to the kitchen. Thereâs a water bucket in the kitchen for cooking water.â
He nodded and picked up the large foot basin instead.
She took the now empty basket, which previously held the unwashed offal. The offal had now been transferred to the big foot basin.
After rinsing the basket with water, she took it back to the storage room in the front yard and then went to Aunt Zhangâs house to buy ten jin of garlic.
When she entered the Xiao familyâs kitchen, she saw a big bowl of vegetables, three bowls of fried minced meat, and a large bowl of pig bone soup on the table. Even the rice was already prepared.
âQingyue, itâs time for dinner,â Xiao Qinghe said to her with a gentle and pure smile.
She was momentarily captivated by his smile.
He looked at the bundle of garlic she had brought, âThis isâ¦â
âFrom the hundred jin, there were twenty jin of pig bones and eighty jin of pig intestines,â she said. âI plan to get up early tomorrow and fry all eighty jin of pig intestines, using the ten jin of garlic as a condiment. Then Iâll sell them at the town.â
âOh.â
She walked to the stove, âTonight, letâs have a plate of fried pig intestines for ourselves.â
Xiao Yuchuan, who was sitting in a chair by the table, said, âWife, just because the pig offal has been washed and cleaned doesnât necessarily mean itâll taste good. Thereâs already so much fried pork tonightâ¦â
âIf I fry the pig intestines, you donât have to eat them,â she said, picking up a cleaned piece of pigâs large intestine and starting to cut it on the cutting board.
âIâll eat it even if it doesnât taste good,â Xiao Yuchuan chuckled.
âYou better not eat it,â she snorted. âWho cares if you eat it or not.â
âA good man doesnât argue with a woman,â he said cheerfully, then glanced at the three big bowls of fried minced meat on the table and asked, âWife, is all of this minced meat scraped off the pig bones?â
âYes,â she nodded as she continued cutting the pig intestines. âThese three bowls of meat add up to more than two jin, which is worth twenty-seven or eight cents. With the bones costing twenty cents, and getting a big pot of bone soup as well, itâs a good deal.â
Xiao Yuchuan was amazed, âSo many scraps of meat can come off those bones after theyâre boiled⦠Wife, you really know how to live frugally.â
âNowhere near as thrifty as Third Brother,â she said casually. âTrying to extort even my five cents.â
âThatâs because the money has your warmth on it, so I want it,â he said playfully. âOne day, Iâll even âeatâ you alive without frying you first!â
She glared at him, âFourth Brother is here, donât talk nonsense.â
With his wifeâs attitude, it seemed like Fourth Brother was of purer thoughts. Xiao Yuchuan saw Fourth Brotherâs eyes glued to his wife, and he felt uncomfortable, âFourth Brother isnât necessarily a saint either.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âHeâs much better than you.â
âDonât keep saying Fourth Brother is better than me,â Xiao Yuchuan said irritably, âIâm getting angry even without any fire.â
She agreed, âThatâs what petty men are like.â
He immediately snapped, âWife, who are you calling petty?â
âYou!â
âHmph, Iâm not talking to you anymore!â He wanted to strangle her, to hug her tightly, but he had no strength in his arms and legs, so he just sat there glowering at her.
âYou wish.â She cut the pig intestines into roughly 1.5 cm wide pieces and sliced some ginger.
Xiao Qinghe took the initiative to pull a few stalks of garlic from the bundle she had placed in the kitchen, washed them, and handed them to her.
After cutting the garlic as well, her ingredients were ready.