70s Delicate Girl: A Guide to Being a Rich Woman-Chapter 182: Smoked Cured Meat

When Xu Mumu was testing Xu Minghui, the aroma from the fourth room had already drifted over; it was the smell of braised food.

It seemed that Fourth Aunt had already started braising the offal. Xu Mumu swallowed her saliva, wanting to eat it right away, thinking of the braised intestines, braised pig liver, braised pig ears, and braised pig tails in later times...

She glanced in the direction of the fourth room, then looked at Xu Minghui; the test was almost done, and by now, Xu Minghui’s mind was probably already captivated by the aroma of the braised dishes.

"Alright, that’s it for a few days. I’ve marked the areas you need to study for next week; I’ll check again then," Xu Mumu said helplessly.

"Don’t worry, I’ll definitely look," Xu Minghui immediately replied. He understood his sister’s intentions; truth be told, he was also a bit curious to try. This period of being pushed to learn so much by his sister made him feel like he was becoming cultured.

"Sis, let’s go and see what delicious things Fourth Aunt is cooking," Xu Minghui said excitedly. The aroma was too tempting, making him a bit hungry. He’d eaten two big buns in the morning, and it was only around nine.

"Let’s go, I want to see too," Xu Mumu said, speechless. When did her brother become such a foodie? He’s really in a rush.

Upon reaching the fourth room and seeing the siblings coming, Sun Huiping smiled warmly at them.

"It’s not ready yet, it’s only been down for a while. I’ll send some over to you at noon," Sun Huiping chuckled softly.

"We know, Fourth Aunt. We just came because we could smell the aroma," Xu Minghui said shamelessly.

"I’ll help Fourth Aunt tend the fire," Xu Minghui said, noticing the fire in the stove was about to burn out, he sat on the small stool in front of the stove and added some wood inside.

"Minghui has grown up," Sun Huiping sighed. In her memory, Xu Minghui was always lazy and unmotivated.

Xu Mumu’s mouth twitched; all her brother did was tend the fire, yet Fourth Aunt was so sentimental, which showed how hated his lazy old self must’ve been.

After watching for a while without being able to taste anything, Xu Mumu got bored of staying there. She decided to go back to her revision materials; she was counting on these materials to earn some serious money.

Xu Minglei and a few kids returned soon, and as soon as they came back, they smelled the braised dishes from the fourth room and all went to the fourth room’s kitchen to wait.

Fourth Aunt’s cooking skills seemed pretty good, making Xu Mumu even more eager for those braised dishes.

Immersed in those formulas and chemical equations, time passed peacefully. Xu Mumu hadn’t finished her work yet when the smoke rose from the family’s chimney.

Madam Chen was already in the kitchen cooking soy milk and tofu pudding, but this faint aroma was immediately overpowered by the dominant scent of braised food from the fourth room.

Once the soy milk was boiled, Madam Chen ladled a good amount into a big bowl, added some sugar, and called the kids over to drink the soy milk.

This bowl of soy milk was brought to Xu Mumu’s room by Xu Jiaojiao, "Big sis, my mom said the braised dishes will be ready to eat at noon." Xu Jiaojiao said, holding a small bowl and sipping the soy milk.

The soy milk ladled out by Madam Chen wasn’t much. Each child only got a small bowl, though Xu Mumu’s bowl had slightly more.

Such pure soy milk, with its sweet taste bursting in her mouth, made Xu Mumu squint a little, savoring how delicious it was. If she’d known it was this good earlier, she would’ve coaxed her grandmother into making it more often.

At noon, Sun Huiping sent over a large bowl of sliced braised dishes via Xu Jiaojiao.

Without hesitation, Xu Mumu went straight for her beloved braised intestines. They were perfectly tender and slightly chewy, with a rather authentic flavor, quite impressive indeed.

"The flavor from the fourth house is not bad," even Madam Chen was satisfied. At the dining table, they each had a bowl of tofu pudding, some coarse grain pancakes, and a couple of side dishes. That was today’s lunch, but with the braised food sent from the fourth room, Xu Mumu was immensely satisfied.

"Oh, I’m so full I don’t even want to go to work," Xu Minghui said after lunch, sitting on a small stool, leaning against the courtyard wall, and basking in the sun with utmost contentment.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Xu Hai gave Xu Minghui a slap on the head.

In the afternoon, Xu Hai and his brothers continued working on the foundation, while Xu Mumu and Madam Chen started smoking the meat.

In the small courtyard, smoke rose, and the villagers, who had some spare time, came by to watch the commotion.

Seeing Old Xu Family suddenly smoking so much meat left many shocked. Upon learning that they had hunted a wild boar in the mountains, many felt an irresistible urge.

A lot of people planned to team up and look around the mountains, hoping to encounter a wild boar too. After all, there was no work these days, and even finding just one boar could ensure the making of cured meat for the New Year.

The sausages were hung under the eaves, and the meat smoked in the courtyard made people’s mouths water with envy.

"Mrs. Xu, where did you see the wild boar? Please show us the way," someone couldn’t help but inquire. Since the Old Xu Family managed to hunt a boar there, perhaps there are more in that area. With the right tools and a group of people, they might also secure a boar.

The location, which Xu Mumu had told Madam Chen directly, was not kept secret. Madam Chen went on to share the location, so they wouldn’t keep focusing on her family’s matter.

Xu Mumu fully agreed with Madam Chen’s approach. Their family had already gotten enough attention, and there was surely more than one wild boar up in those mountains. People living in the village naturally knew the strength of wild boars, so they should go hunting themselves if they have the capability. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Seeing several people getting ready to leave, Madam Chen still reminded them of the dangers of wild boar hunting, to avoid people impulsively going with just a couple of unprepared men and getting themselves into trouble, while blaming the Xu Family.

Plenty of people heeded Madam Chen’s advice. Previously, several in the brigade had been killed by wild boar tusks, and everyone was well aware of how formidable they can be.

Once the meat was smoked, they hung it on the beam to dry, again making many envies with its sheer volume.

By evening, Old Xu Family had no more visitors, and Yin Yang had arrived.

"Here, it’s yours," Xu Mumu said with a smile, handing over the pre-prepared meat to Yin Yang.

"So much!" Yin Yang’s mood lifted upon seeing the basket full of meat.

"It’s not even half of what my family has. Are you really that happy?" Xu Mumu said with a laugh.

"It’s more than enough. This will last my grandpa and me until the New Year," Yin Yang said with a smile. Cured meat wasn’t meant to be eaten daily; just occasionally buying some meat dishes from the state-owned restaurant and occasionally cooking some cured meat would make his life much more comfortable than anyone else at the educated youth point.