In truth, there were people in Yunliang Country who made cured pork as well, but they simply cured it with a bit of salt; then they hung it in a ventilated place to air-dry, and that was that.
Uh... it was somewhat similar to the air-dried meat modern people made, unlike Li Menglan’s method—she also had to fry the salt, and inside it there was Sichuan pepper powder, fennel powder, clove powder, star anise powder... several kinds of spices mixed together and fried.
Li Menglan walked out carrying the fried spiced salt. “Lan girl, what is that slightly yellowish powder in your hands?” Old Master Zhao had a keen nose and had long since smelled the rich fragrance wafting through the air; he came crowding around her.
“Grandpa Zhao, are you asking about this?” Li Menglan raised the wooden basin in her hands and said with a smile, “What is it? It’s just spiced salt for curing wild boar meat! Grandpa Zhao, isn’t it fragrant?”
“Spiced salt?” Although Old Master Zhao didn’t understand what this “spiced salt” that Li Menglan spoke of was, he also knew that even if he pressed further, Li Menglan might not be willing to tell him. That... perhaps it was some kind of secret recipe as well!
“Mm... it is very fragrant. It looks delicious at a glance.” Old Master Zhao was a shrewd man; the moment he heard Li Menglan’s words, he knew what she was plotting. “Very well! Once the cured pork is finished, aside from what your own family wants to keep, Grandpa Zhao will buy all the rest.”
Li Menglan was very happy. Talking to smart people meant there was no need to beat around the bush; the conversation was direct and refreshing.
“Really?” Li Menglan said happily. “However... Grandpa Zhao, you also see that making this cured pork is quite troublesome. Naturally, the price will be much higher than ordinary cured pork.”
As the old saying goes—even blood brothers must settle accounts clearly. Naturally, Li Menglan spoke openly. Matters involving interests had always been thorny. She didn’t want to end up in conflict with Old Master Zhao or Zhao Qingyun over the price of this cured pork in the future, ruining the goodwill between the two families over this.
“No problem. Of course you set the price, Lan’er; just tell your Brother Zhao when the time comes.” Old Master Zhao nimbly rolled up his sleeves and said to Li Menglan, “Lan’er, tell Grandpa Zhao how it’s done. This old man will help too, so we can finish faster.”
Li Menglan smiled mischievously. “Hehe... Grandpa Zhao, could it be you’re afraid Lan’er will delay dinner time?”
Old Master Zhao, whose thoughts had been seen through by Li Menglan, wasn’t annoyed; he merely laughed heartily twice. “Speak! How is this done?”
Seeing Old Master Zhao’s eager appearance, Li Menglan stopped dampening his enthusiasm. “Grandpa Zhao, go wash your hands first; then just like me, rub spiced salt onto every piece of wild boar meat, then arrange them neatly in this large wooden basin.” As Li Menglan spoke, she demonstrated.
Old Master Zhao got it after watching from the side for a moment. “Hehe... Lan’er, making cured pork is actually quite simple!” He took over the task from Li Menglan and said somewhat smugly.
“Grandpa Zhao, you don’t think the cured pork is finished after this, do you?” Li Menglan couldn’t help laughing. Hehe... he really was an old master!
“Isn’t it?” Old Master Zhao asked, somewhat dumbfounded.
“Of course not. This is only one step in the process; to wait until the cured pork is truly cured takes at least ten days to half a month.” Li Menglan said with a solemn expression, “Actually, the longer this cured pork is smoked, the more delicious the flavor, but it can’t be too long. If it’s too long... the lean meat on that cured pork will become dry and tough. Not only will it not taste good, it will taste terrible.”
Li Menglan’s words left Old Master Zhao deeply moved. “I truly hadn’t expected that this small cured pork would have so many particulars! It really isn’t easy...”
“Isn’t that right?”
“Little sister, we’ve washed all the pork offal.” The two brothers, Li Zhiming and Li Zhihao, each walked in carrying a basket of pork offal.
“Oh... Eldest Brother, set the pork offal aside to drain first; Second Brother, come help me cure the wild boar meat. With more people, this work is easier to finish.” Though Li Menglan spoke, her hands never stopped moving.
After Li Zhiming hung up the pork offal, he came over to help too. With the addition of the two brothers, Li Zhiming and Li Zhihao, Li Menglan planned to go prepare the chestnuts first, so that when evening came, she only had to roast them.
“Grandpa Zhao, Eldest Brother, Second Brother, I’ll leave this wild boar meat to you. I’ll go handle the chestnuts first; we still have to make sugar-roasted chestnuts tonight.” Li Menglan said as she washed her hands.
They had picked too many chestnuts yesterday. Only Zhang Yuniang, Lin Sanniang, and Wang Shi were working; Li Menglan worried that her maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother were too old and their hands weren’t very nimble... they wouldn’t manage.
“Lan girl, why did you come?” Her maternal grandmother, Wang Shi, sat at the doorway. Looking at Li Menglan approaching, her face was full of surprise. “If you’ve come here, what about that wild boar meat?”
“That’s right! Daughter, did something happen?” Zhang Yuniang also hurriedly put down the small knife and chestnuts in her hands, looking somewhat worriedly at her daughter.
Although Lin Sanniang didn’t speak, her gaze at Li Menglan was equally nervous.
“Grandma, Mother, Grandma...” Li Menglan felt warmth in her heart. Hehe... it felt so good to have someone care about her. “I’m fine. Eldest Brother, Second Brother, and Grandpa Zhao are curing the wild boar meat; I saw there was nothing to do, so I came to help you with the chestnuts. These have to be sent to Qingshui Town tomorrow and can’t be delayed.”
“That’s right!”
When Li Menglan said this, Lin Sanniang, Wang Shi, and Zhang Yuniang remembered; uh... more than half of these chestnuts still hadn’t been scored with a cross.
“Daughter is right. Mother, Mother-in-law, we must speed up; these all have to be processed and roasted tonight and can’t be delayed.”
Because her parents and younger brother from her maiden family also lived together, whenever Lin Sanniang and Wang Shi appeared before her together, Zhang Yuniang always used “Mother-in-law” to distinguish her own mother from Lin Sanniang.
Just as the grandmother-granddaughter group was talking, the sound of Zhang Wenli speaking drifted faintly in from the courtyard.
Li Menglan said happily, “Mother, Little Uncle is back.”
People always say that the relationship between a nephew and his maternal uncle is the closest; this saying was best proven in Li Menglan and Zhang Wenli.
“Mother, Grandma, Grandma, I’m going to see Little Uncle.” Li Menglan hadn’t seen her little uncle the entire day, and now she couldn’t sit still; quickly greeting her mother and grandmothers, she ran out in a few steps.
“Little Uncle, you’re back.” Li Menglan’s voice, joyful at first, turned into an exclamation the instant she saw the people and carriage in the courtyard... “Eh... Brother Zhao, how do you have time to come over today?”
Today’s Zhao Qingyun was dressed differently from usual. The youth before her made Li Menglan feel he was very unfamiliar. She was dazed for an instant. For the first time... Li Menglan looked squarely at the youth before her.
An ink-black robe, collar and cuffs woven with golden thread; his figure was tall and straight, his entire body exuding a noble and dignified air; his brows arched with a rebellious slant, his phoenix eyes cold and clear; a straight nose bridge, lips pressed into a firm line, handsome and heroic.
Usually accustomed to seeing Zhao Qingyun in all white with a somewhat sickly appearance, Li Menglan truly hadn’t known... that there was still a side to him she didn’t know. Merely changing his clothes had brought Li Menglan no small shock.
“Lan’er, is Grandpa here?” The cold expression on Zhao Qingyun’s face finally softened when he saw Li Menglan.
“Grandpa Zhao is curing meat with my brothers in the room over there.” At a glance, Li Menglan could tell that Zhao Qingyun had come to find Old Master Zhao for something proper; she casually pointed to the adjacent room.