Reborn in a small mountain village in 1991

Chapter 36 Celebrating with Meat!

The Xu family's reaction made Li Da feel uneasy, so he quickly called his younger brother, carried the Ophiopogon japonicus on his back, and left.

After Li Da left, the whole family, except for Xu Chunsheng, finally came to their senses.

"Did it really sell?"

"Is Ophiopogon japonicus really worth that much money?"

"What if he doesn't give me the rest of the money?"

They had never seen so much money in their lives. If they hadn't witnessed Xu Chunsheng and Li Da's transaction with their own eyes, they wouldn't have believed it was real and truly belonged to their family.

"Of course it's true."

Xu Chunsheng smiled and told his mother to hide the money first, planning to deposit it at a later time.

Then, Xu Chunsheng looked at his father and said, "Dad, let's reconsider my sister's marriage."

"Okay!"

"Our Xu family doesn't need to 'sell our daughters' to save money for our son's wedding."

With tears in his eyes, Xu's father agreed.

The eldest sister smiled faintly, tears streaming down her face, "Dad, why say all this? This was all my own choice."

"That's ultimately my incompetence as a father."

"Fortunately, you have a good younger brother who is a good son to you."

Mr. Xu waved his hand, then glanced outside.

If it weren't for the fact that it was getting late, he would have wanted to rush to the Qian family and inform them.

Upon hearing Xu's father's words, the eldest sister looked at Xu Chunsheng and burst into laughter through her tears: "Yes, I have a good younger brother, and not just one good younger brother, but also a good father and a good mother."

"And I have a lovely younger sister!"

The eldest sister reached out and pulled Xu Yaomei into her arms, resting her chin on her younger sister's head and rubbing it against her. Then she straightened up and pinched her rosy little face.

Xu Yaomei smiled and hugged her sister's waist with both hands:

"Sister, I want to know, will our family be able to eat meat more often in the future?"

After Xu's eldest sister, Xu's father, and Xu's mother who came out from the inner room all looked at Xu Chunsheng after Xu's youngest sister said this.

They don't know when it started, but the family began to rely on Xu Chunsheng as their pillar of support. No matter what the big or small matter was, they felt at ease with him around.

Even when it came to questions like whether or not it was okay to eat meat regularly, they subconsciously looked at the seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy.

Xu Chunsheng was both amused and exasperated by the way his family was looking at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that? We're family. You should treat yourself better now that you've made money."

Xu Chunsheng reached out and touched Xu Yaomei's braid, twirling it between his fingertips, and said with a smile, "Of course you can!"

"Yay! That means we can eat meat every day!"

"Little Sister Xu wants to eat meat! Little Sister Xu wants to eat meat! She wants to eat it right now!"

The whole family was amused by Xu Yaomei's words and laughed. The laughter came out of the house and startled the birds in the persimmon tree in the yard.

However, while Xu Chunsheng deserves the main credit for the significant improvement in the Xu family's economic situation, it is also inseparable from the trust and support of his family.

That year, starting from the moment Xu Chunsheng returned home with the first money he earned from selling Ophiopogon japonicus, things began to gradually change at home:

First, they raised a pig, then they could eat meat every few days, they bought new clothes, and even Xu San Di's living expenses increased...

Therefore, the Xu family trusted Xu Chunsheng more and more, and he gradually became the pillar of the family.

Xu Chunsheng then opened his palm and placed it on Xu Yaomei's head, causing Yaomei to keep pulling at his hand. She turned to the others and said:

"How about we stew the cured pork ribs today? We can also stew two old sunflowers (cucumbers) in it."

Mrs. Xu also felt that today was a good day, and she nodded with a smile:

"Yes, I'll soak some glass noodles and stew them with it."

The eldest sister smiled and nodded, then playfully pinched the youngest sister's nose.

"You're the most greedy one!"

Even Xu's father, standing to the side, grinned so wide his eyes were practically slits.

Xu Chunsheng had already rolled up his sleeves and volunteered to do something: "Then I'll go and butcher the ribs first."

Xu Yaomei also popped out of her sister's arms and jumped up and down excitedly:

"Great! Time to eat cured pork ribs!"

The cured pork at home is the "remains" of Xiaofen Tiao.

Before the Lunar New Year, Xu Chunsheng went to the brigade to obtain a "self-raised and self-eaten" certificate, and also invited a veterinarian from a neighboring village to check on the health of Xiao Fentiao. He made it clear to the butcher that the pig was healthy before the butcher dared to slaughter it.

Because without a "slaughtering license," a butcher dares not slaughter pigs. If he is treated as an illegal butcher, he will be fined and have his tools confiscated, or even detained.

To obtain a "slaughter permit," one must "buy and keep half," which means:

If a farmer raises two pigs, he usually sells one to a food station first to obtain a slaughtering license; if he raises only one, he sells half to the food station and keeps the other half for himself. Only pork from this type of pig can be sold.

Xu Chunsheng's family didn't need to sell pork, so they simply got a certificate to hire someone to slaughter the pig.

That day, we also asked my uncle's family and several close neighbors to help slaughter the pig. Everyone was very willing to help with this.

On this day, the host family would prepare a "pig-slaughtering feast," with plenty of meat and rice wine. If a family was stingy with their "pig-slaughtering feast," they would be gossiped about in the village for being dishonest.

Xu Chunsheng turned around and went to the kitchen, stood on the stove, and took down a piece of cured pork rib.

The spare ribs have gone from being "golden and shiny" to a dark, grimy mess. Every day, firewood and cigarette ash are spread on them, and when you remove your hand, you can see the black ash and grease on your fingers.

Xu Chunsheng hummed an off-key song, scooped some hot water from the thermos, rinsed off the cigarette ash on the surface, then grabbed a handful of laundry detergent and rubbed it on the ribs to clean them as thoroughly as possible.

If it's not washed properly, the soup will turn black, have a smoky taste, and won't taste good.

As Xu Chunsheng washed, he thought to himself:

"Ophiopogon japonicus from the 'three-yuan pack' is also harvested. Even if we sell it to Li Da at the same price, the Ophiopogon japonicus from our own family will be enough to sell for over ten thousand yuan. Only then will we truly have hope for the future."

"Slap! Slap!"

Xu Chunsheng used the back of a knife to tap the ribs, breaking the bones. Then he used the knife to cut them into small pieces along the seams. He put the cut bones into a basin, rinsed off the bone fragments, and then soaked them in some water.

Sister Xu carried a bamboo basket into the kitchen and saw Xu Chunsheng already washing the knife and cutting board. She asked:

"You've started soaking it?"

Upon hearing his elder sister's voice, Xu Chunsheng answered without turning his head:

"Yeah, it's soaking. Is the sunflower peeled? And is the seaweed ready?"

The eldest sister walked to Xu Chunsheng's side and put down the bamboo basket:

"It's soaking in warm water. It'll be ready to cook soon after the ribs are stewed."

"Yes, I'll go pick some more rapeseed shoots and save some broth to cook in the broth later."

……

"Time to eat!"

As Xu's mother called out, the whole family gathered around, some getting bowls and chopsticks, others serving food, all sitting down to prepare for the dinner.

"Ahem." Mr. Xu cleared his throat:

"Let me say this before we eat: no one can tell anyone that we're making so much money!"

Seeing that the whole family nodded seriously, Mr. Xu finally breathed a sigh of relief. His sudden wealth made him feel that the money was not safe to keep at home at all.

After his father finished speaking, Xu Chunsheng also shared his concerns and plans:

"Let's continue digging for Ophiopogon japonicus tomorrow. Prices have gone up sharply outside, and the villagers should start to hear about it soon. There will definitely be people eyeing our family then. We can't wait until the peak, we have to act quickly."

"Okay!"