The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 101

 

| TBBOTOF | 101

Tang Xu frowned as he looked at Tang Erhu. When he heard his father repeatedly inquire about going into the mountains, he realized that something was amiss.

"Dad, are you planning to go into the mountains with Ah Dong?" 

Tang Erhu felt a bit guilty as he touched his face and patted his tightly wrapped injured leg. "I know in my heart that even if I recover well, I will still be in pain.  I will definitely not be able to farm all the land in our family."

Tang Xu pursed his lips upon hearing this.

What he said was true, but watching his father in his forties become a hunter and face danger in the mountains every day was something he couldn't accept.

His own husband was brave and adventurous; if he wasn't allowed to go, he'd feel uncomfortable all over. But his father was different. His father was looking for a way to support himself.

Either way, their family had suddenly lost a lot of their money, and the pressure was too great.

"I see Dongzi makes good money as a hunter." Tang Erhu had visited many times. He understood very well how his child and son-in-law were living.

"He does make good money, but it's dangerous too. Besides, he's been going into the mountains for many years now. He could find his way out with his eyes closed. But what about you dad? Let me be blunt, with that leg of yours, you might not even run fast. When you encounter jackals, wolves, or leopards, will you be the one catching them to sell, or will they catch you for dinner?"

That's why they say one's own son knows exactly how to hit where it hurts.

Tang Xu's two sentences extinguished Tang Erhu's enthusiasm.

"Dad, don't worry about not earning money. If you want to farm, keep a few acres, and rent out the rest. There are many people in the village looking for land to farm. If you don't have the strength to farm, just rent it all out. 

Next spring, Ah Li will definitely continue her food business, and Ah Yang will be studying with his teacher. So, you can help Ah Li with her food stall. If you're worried about not making enough money in the village, then go to the town. Anyway, you have a cart, so going back and forth won't be a problem."

He thought for a moment and added, "Ah Dong and I also bought a shop in town. If that doesn’t work out, you can rent my shop, and you and Ah Li won't have to go back and forth everyday."

Tang Erhu was shocked.

He bought a shop in town? 

His son was so capable!

"Where did you get the money?" Although he didn't know the specific cost of shops in town, he knew they wouldn't be cheap.

"From the money we made selling cold noodles and skewers. We also went into the mountains with Ah Dong once and caught a tiger, which brought in a lot of money," Tang Xu said. Seeing his father widen his eyes in shock, he quickly added, "But the tiger was caught by Ah Dong and several others together. It was just good luck that they managed to catch it."

Tang Erhu's mouth dropped open, and it took him a while to catch his breath. "A tiger? A man-eating tiger?"

Tang Xu nodded and poured water for his father. "Yes, I didn't ask much about it. Don't be fooled by how easy I make it sound; it was really tough to catch."

"Dongzi is really capable!" Tang Erhu patted his son's shoulder. "Xu, you married well!"

A tiger! He couldn't even imagine how much money that would bring in!

“Dad, can we not talk about this? Did you hear what I just said?” Tang Xu patted his father's arm.

Tang Erhu nodded, he had heard it all. How could he not?

But he shook his head. "We can't keep taking advantage of you two. You paid for building the house and buying the land. Your money didn’t come easily, and even if Dongzi doesn't say anything, we can't do that. I'll write you an IOU, and I'll pay you back."

Tang Xu initially wanted to say it wasn't necessary, but seeing the serious expression on the middle-aged man's face, he nodded. "Alright, Dad, if you write it, I'll take it. but you can't be estranged from me because of this, or I won't accept it."

Tang Erhu laughed heartily and put his arm around Tang Xu's shoulder. "What are you talking about? Do you think your dad is that kind of person?"

Tang Xu smiled and nodded. True, his father wasn't bad at all. Compared to many men in the village, he was much better.

He might have his flaws, but he was also working hard for his children. That was pretty good.

Tang Xu thought highly of Tang Erhu as a father. He wouldn't give him a perfect ten, but a solid nine at least.

They chatted for a while longer, then Tang Xu said he would go to the kitchen to prepare food and told Tang Erhu to take a nap.

After Tang Xu left, Tang Erhu shook his head with a smile and sighed. How much good fortune had he accumulated in his past life to have such a filial son, far better than any other child in the village.

In the kitchen, Tang Xu started preparing the ingredients.

Tang Li brought a small basin with cleaned onions, mountain pears, and red peppers.

"Brother, what should I do with these?"

"Chop everything finely, and then get some dried tomatoes and soak them in hot water."

Tang Li didn’t understand what he was up to, but obediently went to get the dried tomatoes.

The dried tomatoes were hung in the storeroom, kept in a well-ventilated place. Whenever they needed some, they would just pull a few down, which was very convenient.

The plump orange cat was sleeping soundly in a big nest of straw in the storeroom, snoring away. Tang Li couldn’t resist giving it a gentle pat.

“Meow~” The cat stretched its body without even opening its eyes.

Tang Li smiled and poked its soft belly, making the cat meow again.

She stood up and looked around the storeroom, noticing that there were no mouse holes.

Back in the kitchen, she soaked the dried tomatoes in hot water and chatted with Tang Xu. “Brother, why aren’t there any mice in the storeroom?”

“The cat lives there, doesn’t it?” Tang Xu turned to look at her, smiling. “Once the cat has kittens, we’ll have even more cats around, and there’ll be even fewer mice. Our big geese also catch mice sometimes, so it’s rare to see any in the granary.”

Tang Li was full of envy. When she was at home, they had to check the grain room every day for mouse holes, or else the grain would be ruined.

“Brother, how do you get the cat to catch mice?”

“It is the nature of cats to catch  mice. Once it catches a few, it knows they’re tasty.” Tang Xu didn’t let the plump cat on the kang anymore, mainly because it wasn’t picky and ate both meat and vegetables.

 Besides the cat food Tang Xu made, it also liked eating mice. It often cleared out entire nests.

It had once brought Tang Xu five mice, arranged by size, and lined them up at the door.

Fortunately, Tang Xu had stayed in bed late that day. Wei Dong almost stepped on them on his way out.

A row of dead mice, it was quite a sight.

Wei Dong’s expression at that moment was priceless.

Later, when Tang Xu heard about this, he laughed heartily and scolded the plump cat. From that day on, he didn’t let the cat on the kang anymore.

"When will it have kittens? Brother, save one for me. I want to raise one too," Tang Li said, eager to have a cat that could catch mice.

Tang Xu shrugged. "I don't know when. Once it's pregnant, it will have kittens eventually."

While they were busy in the kitchen, Tang Yang and Wei Xi, the two young boys, were sent back to their room to sleep by Wei Dong. Tang Rui’s face was red, he was exhausted and sweaty, chopping wood was a workout.

Wei Dong told him to rest and took over chopping the remaining firewood himself. He then carried a large wooden basin back to the kitchen.

Tang Xu had just finished chopping the onions and red peppers. Tang Li stood nearby, tearing up and coughing from the fumes. Watching Tang Xu chop steadily without any reaction, she stepped back and covered her mouth. "Brother, don't you find it spicy?" she asked, rubbing her stinging eyes.

Tang Xu sniffed, "It's spicy, but it'll pass soon."

At that moment, Wei Dong entered and immediately sneezed twice.

Tang Xu turned to him, smiling. "Can you bring me that small stone mortar? I need to grind some Sichuan peppercorns. Also, help mash the mountain pears and dried tomatoes."

After setting down the basin, Wei Dong went to fetch the stone mortar.

Tang Xu put the chopped onions and peppers into a basin, then began adding salt and soy sauce. "Ah Li, bring over the lamb chops."

Tang Li went to get the lamb chops.

Wei Dong moved quickly and soon had everything Tang Xu needed prepared. Tang Xu dumped all the ingredients into the basin and began to mix them.

He then placed the lamb chops into the basin, coating them with the sauce he made. The ribs, which had turned pale from soaking in water, instantly transformed into a deep red color.

As Tang Xu applied the sauce to each rib, he sniffed. The combination of onions and peppers smelled quite fragrant, and the addition of mountain pears and dried tomatoes gave it a sweet and sour aroma.

Once all the ribs were coated in the sauce, he left them to marinate in the basin for an hour.

Tang Xu then told Wei Dong to go back to sleep and put the beef ribs on to stew. He also shooed Tang Li back to her room.

Having napped earlier, Tang Xu was now full of energy and ready to work.

With the beef ribs stewing in a large pot, he added the lamb ribs as well, planning to use the rib broth to cook rice later. The rice would be infused with the flavor of the meat, making it delicious.

Just thinking about it made Tang Xu's mouth water. He pulled up a chair and began peeling potatoes.

Next, he needed to dig up a couple of carrots to add to the beef stew.

The beef broth was set aside in a basin to cool, ready to use for noodle soup the next day. He planned to retrieve a few pieces of beef ribs, strip the meat off, and make beef noodles.

The pig trotters also needed to be stewed. These tasks were time-consuming, but with no one to disturb him, he could work quickly and efficiently.

Tang Xu put two large logs in the stove and then ran to the cellar to fetch some fresh corn, tossing them directly into the stove to roast. The aroma of roasted corn was irresistible and could be smelled from afar.

Outside, the wind howled, while inside, the large pot simmered and steam rose from it, filling the room with a delicious smell.

Tang Xu prepared the rest of the vegetables, chopping them and placing them on plates. After an hour of busy work in the kitchen, the lamb ribs went into the oven.

He was particularly excited about the roast lamb ribs. It was his first time making this barbecue sauce, and if his family liked it, he could add this dish to his food stall menu.

"Brother!" Tang Yang's voice called from outside. He pushed aside the heavy curtain and entered, his hair tousled by the wind. "It's so cold outside! The wind is so strong!"

Tang Xu turned to look at him and tossed the sunflower seed shells into the stove. "Why are you here? Did you wake up?"

"Yeah!" Tang Yang nodded, sniffing hard. "It smells so good!"

Tang Yang nodded eagerly, stuck a chopstick into an ear of corn, and blew on it. Despite being charred, it smelled particularly enticing.

Tang Xu stood behind him, combing his hair. Tang Yang's hair was stiff, and Tang Xu grabbed a handful, running his fingers through it like a comb, then tying it with a hairband to secure it.

"Next time, we should save some beef tendons to make hair ties," Tang Xu muttered.

Tang Yang's mouth was black from chewing corn, and he glanced at the pots from time to time. "Brother, it smells so good. Is the meat ready yet?"

"Want some?" Tang Xu pinched his cheek. "I'll get you a few pieces of beef ribs to munch on with Xiao Xi later."

"Brother Xiao Xi was still sleeping when I came out," Tang Yang said, wiping his mouth after finishing the corn. He looked up at Tang Xu with hopeful eyes. "Brother, can I have a piece now? I'll help you taste it!"

Tang Xu was amused by his dirty mouth and agreed.

Tang Yang closed his eyes in satisfaction as he chewed on the braised beef ribs. "It could use a bit more time to stew; the meat will be even softer."

"Okay," Tang Xu said, tasting a piece himself before adding more salt to the pot and throwing in some carrots to stew together. 

He sat at the table, watching Tang Yang eat with his head down, and after thinking for a moment, asked, "Once Dad's leg heals, Ah Li and Dad are planning to open a small food stall in town. What do you think?"

Tang Yang paused and looked up at Tang Xu. "What about me?"

Tang Xu smiled. "You'll stay home and study!"

Tang Yang was silent for a moment. "...” Why does he suddenly feel so pitiful?

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This chapter was once again provided by Moo! Thank you!