The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 240

 

| TBBOTOF | 240

It was bustling and lively.

When the Tang family arrived, the children were the most excited.

Luo Pingping looked at her grandchildren and said, "Make sure to behave and don’t bump into each other."

“Mom, you and Dad can sit over there and rest. I’ll go help Xu Ge’er,” she added.

Wu Guizhi waved her hand, “I’ll go with you.”

“What do you need to go for? If Xu Ge’er sees you, he’ll definitely bring you back,” Luo Pingping said, rolling up her sleeves but not stopping her.

Wu Guizhi was even faster than her, directly heading towards Tang Xu.

“Xu Ge’er, what can Grandma help you with?” 

Tang Xu was just putting big bones into a large pot. Hearing this, he looked up and smiled, “Grandma, you should go inside and rest. We got it handled.”

“Rest? We just rode over in the carriage; I’m not tired at all.” Wu Guizhi walked over and took the large basin from his hands. “Go, go, go, I’ll handle the big bones with sauerkraut.”

With a smile, Tang Xu stepped aside and didn’t argue with her. He turned to Luo Pingping, “Auntie, you and my aunt quickly start stuffing those pig blood into the sausage casings; otherwise, they’ll all congeal.”

“If it congeals, we can just eat blood tofu; it’s the same.” Luo Pingping looked at the large bucket covered with two layers of gauze to keep out the dust. Inside was fresh pig’s blood. “How did you collect so much? Did you slaughter a pig?”

“Three pigs. When you go back later, I’ll give you half,” Tang Xu said generously to his family. “You all should eat more meat to put on some weight.”

Luo Pingping didn't bother to be polite with him. While she was busy stuffing the sausage casings, she said, “The pigs you raise taste better because they eat meat. I’m raising mine the same way you taught me; why aren’t my pigs growing as fat as yours?”

If someone could raise a pig to over 200 jin (about 110 kg), they would be considered an expert in pig farming in the village. For someone like Tang Xu, who could raise pigs over 300 jin, that was truly impressive.

“They eat three meals a day; how could they not gain weight?” Wu Guizhi, overhearing their conversation, snorted lightly. “If you fed your pigs like Xu Ge’er does, yours would also be plump.”

Luo Pingping pouted, “Well, even our pig weighs over 200 jin; that’s not too bad. We’re not relying on selling pigs to save money now, anyway.”

In the past, the pigs raised at home were basically taken away in their entirety by the butcher. 

Each pig would only sell for about two and a half taels of silver. Now that the family’s conditions have improved and they have more money, the pigs they raise are mostly kept for their own consumption.

“I say, you really shouldn’t raise pigs; it’s too much trouble. You’d be better off following my lead and raising ducks and chickens,” the old lady suggested. 

Ever since Tang Xu and Wei Dong started the business of making air-dried marinated ducks, she had also been busy at home, raising over twenty ducks and some chickens herself.

Not only could she collect quite a few eggs each day, but when they grew big enough, she could also butcher them to make marinated duck for Luo Pingping.

However, both the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were good at keeping accounts, and raising chickens and ducks didn’t come for free.

With the money received from filial piety from the children and the money earned from selling chickens and ducks, the old lady had saved up quite a bit.

Luo Pingping actually had the same idea. Not to mention, raising chickens and ducks at home meant more eggs, which they could sell for a good price later on.

“I’ve heard that many people in the village are planning to start raising ducks in the spring. In the future, we won’t even need to go to other villages to collect ducks,” Wang Cuicui said as she scooped pig’s blood with a ladle, working alongside Luo Pingping to stuff the sausage casings.

Luo Pingping spoke proudly to her, “Isn’t that thanks to our Dongzi?”

Wang Cuicui laughed in agreement, “Exactly! If in the future, every household makes money by raising ducks and chickens, they’ll be praising our Dongzi every day.”

“That’s true; they should praise Xu Ge’er. If it weren’t for his great skills, how could we earn money?” Wu Guizhi interjected from the side.

“Mom is right; Xu Ge’er is the best!” Wang Cuicui laughed and echoed her sentiment.

Hearing the topic of their conversation shift to him, Tang Xu quickly ran away. He really didn’t have the thick skin to listen to people bragging about how amazing he was; he felt shy.

In the courtyard, the large pot began to steam, and the aroma of meat soon spread throughout the yard.

Xiao Bao, unable to resist the tempting smell, kept swallowing hard. Even though they usually had enough meat to eat, who wouldn’t feel hungry when smelling such deliciousness?

“Brother, let’s eat meat!” Er Bao’s bright eyes sparkled as he faced his older brother and couldn’t help but swallow repeatedly.

Seeing his younger siblings, the chubby boy nodded, “Let’s go, let’s eat meat!”

With a whoosh, the children ran off to find Tang Xu like a flock of hungry sparrows.

Tang Xu had just placed the marinated ribs in the roasting oven when he turned around and saw his second child running towards him.

“What are you running for?” He steadied Er Bao, who was rushing towards his legs, and asked.

“Dad, I want to eat meat! I want to eat meat!” Er Bao grabbed Tang Xu’s hand, slurping and pleading, “Just one piece~~~”

Tang Xu looked at him helplessly, then glanced at the other children. “Do you all want to eat too?”

All three of them nodded.

The chubby boy shook Tang Xu’s pants, “Dad, it smells so good! So good, so good!”

Tang Xu couldn’t help but laugh, reaching out to pat each of their heads. “Alright, go get a small bowl. I’ll give each of you a piece of meat bone first.”

The three of them cheered, and the chubby boy ran off to get wooden bowls, handing one to each of his brothers.

Tang Xu lifted the pot lid, revealing chunks of ribs and spine simmering inside. “One piece for each of you, no more.”

The children nodded in unison, “Okay!”

Each child received a small piece of rib in their wooden bowl and went to sit on the small benches in the yard to eat.

Tang Li came out and, seeing their well-behaved appearance, turned to Tang Xu in the kitchen and smiled, “Brother, come see; they look really adorable.”

Tang Xu was peeling a white radish when he heard her. He leaned his head out of the window and saw Er Bao finishing his piece of rib and trying hard to gnaw on the bone.

“Dad, I’m done eating!” Er Bao lifted the small bone he had gnawed on, looking pitifully at Tang Xu. “Give me another piece!”

Tang Xu glared at him, “No way, wait until mealtime.” 

His second son had a good appetite, and eating a piece of meat before lunch didn’t affect how much he could eat at the meal. 

However, the other kids couldn’t handle it, especially his Xiao Bao and Tang family’s granddaughter, who had very small appetites. It would be a miracle if they were able to even finish half a bowl of rice at mealtime.

So, even though his son was pressing his hands together in a pleading gesture, Tang Xu resolutely refused.

After denying him, he still comforted him, “Later, Dad will give you a big bowl of meat bones for you to gnaw on.”

Er Bao let out a reluctant “Oh,” pouting a bit unhappily.

Xiao Bao glanced at the small piece of meat left in his bowl and lifted it up to his second brother’s mouth, saying, “Brother, eat.”

Er Bao sniffled, turned to look at his little brother, and shook his head, “No, you eat it. I’ll eat later.”

Xiao Bao didn’t listen to him and, while he was talking, directly stuffed the piece of meat into his mouth. Er Bao almost choked on the bone.

He quickly stepped back and took the bone out of his mouth.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” He bit off the remaining piece of meat.

Xiao Bao grinned at him, “You eat, I’ll eat later.”

The chubby boy brought his empty bowl close to Xiao Bao and asked, “Why didn’t you share a piece with your big brother?”

Xiao Bao smiled and gave him a kiss, “Kiss~”

The chubby boy immediately beamed with joy and kissed him back.

However, Xiao Bao dodged and raised his small hand to push his face away.

His mouth was all greasy; he wouldn’t let him kiss him.

“Ah Yang! Set up the table,” Tang Xu shouted outside.

Tang Yang quickly went to move the large tabletop, while Wei Xi and Zhao Ming set up the legs.

Once the three large tables were set up, Wei Zhonghong wiped the table surface with a cloth, and then Tang Xu and the others began to prepare the dishes.

Since they were family, there wasn’t much fuss about it. There were large bowls of food: sauerkraut stew with big bones, sauced bones, braised pork with potatoes, braised pork with taro, a big bowl of steamed buns, and a large bucket of white rice.

The steamed blood sausage was cut into pieces and arranged on a plate, along with spicy stir-fried pig offal, a large plate of roasted ribs, and sliced pig knuckles.

The dishes were brought to the table one after another: the elders at one table, the younger folks at two tables, and the children sitting at a small table.

“These are enough; stop cooking,” Luo Pingping said, seeing another plate of cold pig ears being placed on the table. She stood up and went to the kitchen, where she saw Tang Xu still busy and quickly stopped him. “If you make so much, we won’t finish it, and it’ll be a waste.”

“How could we not finish? There are so many people, can they all sit down?” Tang Xu turned to look at her and tossed the meat slices he was holding into the oil pan to fry. “And there’s sweet and sour pork; once it’s done, it’ll be gone.”

“They can sit, even my daughters-in-law are sitting with the kids,” Luo Pingping said, watching him drop the battered meat slices into the oil pan. She couldn’t help but remark, “You’re using way too much oil for this sweet and sour pork; how much soybean oil will it take to fry a whole pot?”

“It’s not like we eat this every day. The kids like this sweet and sour flavor,” Tang Xu replied with a laugh.

“Brother, let me fry it. You go eat first,” Liu Yao said as he came in from outside.

“No, you go eat. Bring the wine jar over; let anyone who wants to drink serve themselves,” Tang Xu waved his hand at him. “I’m good here.”

Luo Pingping didn’t want to make things difficult for Tang Xu in the kitchen either. After reminding him not to cook any other dishes, she went outside.

At the table where the children were, Luo Pingping’s two daughters-in-law had originally planned to take turns feeding the kids. 

However, when they came over, they were surprised to see that the two picky eaters from their family were actually eating heartily with their little spoons.

The chubby boy looked up at them and asked, “Aunties, aren’t you going to eat?”

“Uh…”

“I’ll watch them eat. You all go eat; it’ll taste bad when it gets cold.” The chubby boy scooped a piece of tender braised pork into each bowl with his small spoon and sweetly said, “The meat my dad makes is so delicious! After you finish eating, I’ll serve you more!”

When Luo Pingping came over and saw this, she smiled, “You two go eat as well; I think it’s good for them to feed themselves.”

As soon as Tang Xu brought the sweet and sour pork to the table, the kids couldn’t help but reach for it with their chopsticks, drawn in by the sweet and sour aroma.

“Be careful not to burn yourself; blow on it before you eat,” Tang Xu hurriedly reminded them as he saw they were eager to take a bite.

Even though it had cooled for a while, he was still worried about them burning their mouths.

The little ones nodded obediently, pouting their lips to blow on the food.

Tang Xu chuckled lightly, then looked at Xiao Bao's bowl of rice and tapped his forehead. “Did you give some of your rice to your second brother?”

Xiao Bao smiled at him, pouted his lips shyly as if he had been caught.

Tang Xu gently sighed, “Eat all of this, or later you won’t be allowed to play with them.”

Xiao Bao quickly nodded, “I know, Dad. I’ll eat it all!”

Tang Xu was satisfied with this and went over to eat with Wei Dong.

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