The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book)- 26

 

| TBBOTOF | 26

Tang Yang held a dog in his left hand and a chicken in his right hand, each with a sugar painting, and ran out of the yard in a flurry.

He didn't even stop at the gate to think about where to go. He ran straight to the river ditch.

Not only were there boys and girls from the front village on the other side of the river ditch, but there were also many from the back village. 

As the weather warmed up, these children who couldn't help in the fields gathered together and ran out of their homes. Some of them were a bit older and would carry bamboo baskets on their backs, cutting pig grass and picking firewood on the road. Sometimes they would catch snails and clams by the river, and it would be even better if they were lucky enough to catch fish and shrimp.

A group of children swarmed by the river ditch, some poking the water with sticks, some throwing stones to skip on the water, and some squatting there to dig mud and catch crabs. The girls and boys liked to keep clean, gathering together holding a fishing net woven with hemp rope, diligently scooping something out of the water. But judging by their serious expressions, they probably didn't catch anything.

Tang Yang ran over without saying hello, and when they saw him holding something, they swarmed around.

"Tang Yang, what are you holding!"

"It's so pretty, is that a dog!"

"What's this, a chicken?"

"It's a bird! A big bird!" Tang Yang huffed and shoved the bald phoenix in front of everyone, "Take a good look, this is a big bird my big brother made. It's a sugar painting, haven't you seen one before!"

This sugar painting, to put it simply, is simple, but it's also difficult. If the sugar syrup is boiled too vigorously or for too long, the color of the syrup will darken and the taste will become bitter. If it's not boiled enough, the sugar will cool and become sticky and chewy, not crispy, and the color won't be translucent.

Tang Xu had practiced the skill of boiling sugar syrup. At that time, the hawthorn trees in the village were ripe in large patches, too many to sell, and the villagers were worried. So they went to his house for ideas.

He looked at the hawthorn fruits, big and red, with a sweet and sour taste that was just right. If he were to take them to the city and sell them in supermarkets, they would probably be snatched up.

That's what he thought. He wanted to send them to the supermarket, but he didn't have any connections. So, he figured he might as well sell candied haws. A few young people in his village would go together, and when it was time for the market, they pushed a cart out to sell. Tang Xu was responsible for making them on the spot. Because he looked good, many people came to him to buy. During that time, he boiled sugar every day, and he was sweet inside and out.

Going back to the present, Tang Yang had already explained what his big brother had taught him. But words alone weren't enough. He bit down gently on the head of the big bird, and with a crisp sound, the head came off. It was sweet and fragrant, satisfyingly delicious. He stood there eating, and the children around him started to drool.

"Tang Yang, give me a bite! I'll give you the big clamshell I dug up."

"Give me a little bit too, just a little bit."

"I'll lick it, just a lick."

"It smells so good, isn't it a sugar painting? Why does sugar smell so fragrant?"

"Your big brother is amazing. I've seen sugar paintings sold in town, they're expensive! They cost five cents each, and my mother won't buy them."

Tang Yang's eyes lit up as he held up the intact little dog and asked, "Do you want to eat?"

A group of wide-eyed children stared at the little dog sugar painting and nodded vigorously.

"My big brother made a lot of them. If you want to eat, go to my house and buy them from him. It's only three cents each." Tang Yang waved his hand again, and the sweet aroma of caramel wafted into their nostrils.

This group of children, not to mention fifteen, there were twenty-five of them.

When the boys heard this, they dispersed in a hurry, running home to ask for money. But the girls and the gers could only envy, it was impossible for their families to spend three cents to buy sugar paintings. Not only was it impossible, but they would also get scolded.

Why spend money on sweets? It's a waste to eat them.

Tang Xu cooked some bean sauce with meat in the pot. The homemade sauce was strong in flavor, and it smelled delicious when it boiled.

After the meat was cooked, he took it all out and put it in a basin to cool. He didn't throw away the meat broth in the pot; he scooped some out for lunch, adding some vegetable leaves.

He went out to feed the chickens, cleaned the chicken coop, and collected four eggs.

Outside the courtyard, there was a wailing sound, and many dirty boys came running over.

They didn't rush into the courtyard directly but leaned against the courtyard gate and looked inside.

They looked and sniffed hard. It was quite amusing.

There were tears left on their cheeks from crying, and their runny noses almost reached their mouths without being wiped.

Dirty as they were, the main issue was that they were too conspicuous.

Tang Xu didn't even think about calling them into the courtyard. Instead, he took out all the sugar paintings and asked gently in their eager eyes, "Are you here to buy these?"

The group of boys nodded.

"Three cents each, two for five cents." Tang Xu smiled and glanced at a few boys whose faces were slightly cleaner, "I only make these sugar paintings occasionally. I don't know when I'll make them again, so you better get them while you can."

As soon as he finished speaking, he was surrounded.

In less than half an incense stick's time, all fifteen sugar paintings were sold out, and Tang Xu had an extra handful of copper coins.

Because he told Tang Yang that they were three cents each, these children only asked for three cents from their families. Three cents might not seem like much, but candy only cost thirty cents, and if they were careful, a family could eat it for a month. 

These sugar paintings were really expensive, but if their sons wanted to eat them, they had to buy them. Otherwise, they would throw tantrums and cry. Three cents didn't seem like much to those who could afford it, but to spend three cents on a palm-sized sugar painting, which they all saw later, made them feel regretful and think it was too expensive!

However, being expensive didn't matter. Tang Xu made forty-five cents selling one-third of a sugar cube as a sugar painting, while a whole cube only cost fifty cents. He made back the money he spent on sugar.

When Tang Li came back from cutting pig grass and heard that the sugar paintings were sold out, she felt a bit regretful that she didn't get to try one.

Tang Xu tapped his forehead and said, "Ah Li, big brother forgot to save one for you. I'll cook some sugar water eggs for you later, and how about I make you a sugar painting tomorrow?"

Tang Li waved her hand, "No need to make it specially for me, big brother. Just save me one next time you sell them." She thought that a sugar painting was just sugar and wasn't as appealing as sugar water eggs.

Tang Xu nodded and went to the kitchen to cook sugar water eggs. He didn't explain much. Hunger marketing worked well even in front of a group of children.

After the meat cooled down, Tang Xu washed his hands clean and started tearing the meat into shreds along the grain of the lean meat. He tore it into small pieces and put it in a basin.

Since it was cooked with sauce, the meat shreds had a hint of sauce fragrance. He tore off a piece of meat and handed it over. "Try it."

The fragrant smell of the meat had already tempted Tang Li to keep sniffing, but she felt embarrassed to ask for some while her brother was busy. Now that the meat shreds were right in front of her, she quickly opened her mouth, "Hmm, it's fragrant indeed, but a bit dry and tough."

Tang Xu took a bite of the meat himself. The texture was quite chewy, but the flavor was good, with just the right amount of saltiness.

"It's okay. I'll perform a little magic for you later. You go rest for a bit, and I'll cook the pig feed." Tang Xu continued tearing the meat. He tore it into small pieces, and a piece of lean meat was soon shredded.

Tang Li washed her hands and then sat beside him to help tear the meat. She wasn't tired; she just wanted to help. She knew that if she worked more, her brother would surely give her more meat to eat.

"Then you shred all of these and make them small. I'll go cook the pig feed." Tang Xu wiped his hands and stood up, picking through the pig grass Tang Li had cut. He also took some potatoes and a few soybeans to boil together.

Feeding pigs some beans would help them gain weight. There was still a bag of soybeans at home, probably kept for making oil. Soybean residue cake was also a good thing, suitable for feeding pigs and making fertilizer. He just didn't know if the soybean residue from oil pressing would be left at the oil mill or brought back home.

There was only one pig in their house, and originally, it was Liu Xiangxiang's responsibility to feed and clean the pigsty. But since she didn't come out of her room and they couldn't let the pig go hungry, Tang Xu helped out.

During the New Year, they sold a whole pig to the butcher. The pig they currently had was brought back by Liu Xiangxiang to raise again after the weather warmed up. It was fed twice a day, but because they fed it grass from the mountain, it was still skinny despite being three months old.

There was a family in the village specialized in selling piglets. Their old sow was around five or six years old and weighed around three hundred catties. It was the fattest pig in the village, while other households' pigs typically weighed around two hundred catties.

Tang Xu calculated that when he had his own household in the future, he would raise two pigs, one male and one female, feed them well every day, and then breed them. If he could have ten or eight piglets, fattened up, their meat would be delicious.

He cleaned the pigsty and shoveled the pig feces into a pit on one side. This pit was a compost pit, covered with a wooden board. When the board was lifted, the smell was enough to make one dizzy.

Tang Xu held his breath and stirred the pit with a long stick, quickly covering it up afterward.

After shoveling the feces, he had to cover the muddy ground in the pigsty with clean soil; otherwise, the ground would be too dirty.

Normally, Liu Xiangxiang didn't do it this way. She just did a rough cleaning. Tang Xu couldn't bear to see it like this and thought he should mention it to her. It needed to be cleaner, and the smell wouldn't be as strong.

After finishing the pigsty, he went straight to the vegetable plot to weed and water. Looking at the lush green vegetable seedlings, he whistled happily.

"Brother, I've finished tearing the meat," Tang Li called out to him.

Tang Xu scraped off the mud from the soles of his shoes with a stick and entered the kitchen.

A basin of shredded meat was placed on the table. The meat shreds were dark red in color, and because they had cooled down, the aroma wasn't as strong as before.

He heated up a large pot, and when the water vapor inside evaporated, he turned to Tang Li and said, "Watch it for me. Keep the heat low, and I'll stir-fry the meat shreds until they're dry."

Tang Li sat on a small wooden stool and watched the fire. She saw him using several pairs of chopsticks to toss the meat shreds in the pot. In no time, the aroma of the meat spread out. She sniffed, "Brother, why don't you use a spatula?"

"Using chopsticks makes the meat shreds loose, and it helps to stir-fry out the moisture. After the meat shreds are stir-fried, they'll turn into shredded meat." He continued to stir and fry the meat shreds, slowly drying out the moisture over low heat. The meat shreds became fluffier and fluffier, filling up most of the pot.

Tang Li couldn't help but swallow several times. She leaned over to look into the pot, seeing the loose and fluffy orange-yellow shredded meat, looking particularly soft and tender.

"Brother, there's so much," she exclaimed. This pot could hold two basins of meat.

Tang Xu nodded and picked up a pair of chopsticks to taste. Although the taste wasn't as fragrant as the ones sold in the future, it was still very good.

"Let it cool and put it in jars. When eating, use clean chopsticks to pick it up. It can last for a while. The jars must be cleaned thoroughly and should not have any water," Tang Xu instructed.

Tang Li nodded and got up to wash the jars.

Meanwhile, Tang Xu kneaded dough, rolled it out, and cut it into noodles. He glanced at the sky; it was time to prepare lunch.

"Brother! I'm back!" Tang Yang ran in from outside, his face dirty.

He rushed excitedly to Tang Xu and looked up at him, "Brother, did they buy all the sugar paintings?"

Tang Xu nodded, "Yes, what's up?"

"Can you make some more for me tomorrow?" Tang Yang licked his lips, "I haven't had enough."

"I won't make sugar paintings tomorrow. Instead, I'll make some peanut sticks. They're sweet too," Tang Xu replied, instructing him to wash his hands before eating and ensuring he himself was clean before having his meal.

When Tang Erhu came back, lunch was ready. Smelling the delicious aroma, he headed straight to the kitchen.

Tang Xu scooped out the noodles, each bowl containing a bit of shredded meat, golden yellow in color. The noodles were creamy white, and the sauce was a deep red color. Paired with the fresh green vegetable leaves, the bowl of noodles was a feast for the senses.

"Dad, try it," he said, carrying a bowl of noodles over, "This is called 'Golden Silk Shredded Meat Noodles.'"

The shredded meat was made in such large quantities. When he had time, he could explore other ways to eat it and earn a few more cents. 

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