A rich aroma of meat is filling the kitchen.
Xiao Yan, who was squatting in front of the stove helping to watch the fire, couldn't help but drool when she smelled the meat.
"Brother, when can we eat?" the little guy couldn't wait any longer.
"Let it simmer for a little while longer."
Lu Qing also felt somewhat unsteady on his feet.
Having been a carnivore in his previous life, he has never eaten any decent meat in this world, except for fish.
The rich aroma of meat was making his mouth water.
Lu Qing made braised pork.
Of course, due to the lack of seasonings, what he made was a simplified version of braised pork, or perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it stewed pork.
The reason he made braised pork was because he actually saw someone selling bean paste at the market.
It was sold by a peasant woman; she was initially in a jar, and he almost didn't notice it.
He later tasted a little and found that the flavor was quite similar to soy sauce, only it wasn't salty enough, which greatly surprised him.
He immediately bought quite a lot, which made the farmer woman very grateful.
Lu Qing took the opportunity to inquire about the origin of the sauce and learned that the recipe was left by the farmer's grandfather.
His grandfather was originally a kitchen worker in a restaurant in a distant city, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, he ended up here.
After she got married, her husband's family was poor, so she thought of making some soy sauce to supplement their income.
Since beans are cheap, even if the food turns out badly, the loss won't be significant.
However, the people here don't seem to be very accepting of fermented soybean paste.
She's been selling at the market for so long, but Lu Qing is still the biggest customer she's ever met.
After hearing this, Lu Qing felt sympathy and bought another jar of sauce, which earned the farmer's wife another round of gratitude.
After the unexpected discovery of the soybean paste, Lu Qing then thoroughly explored the market.
Unfortunately, there will never be another surprise like soybean paste.
He did see an old man selling candy, and he bought some.
Sugar is much more expensive than soybean paste, but Lu Qing has never been stingy when it comes to food.
With these gains in mind, Lu Qing decided to cook a braised pork dish.
Cut half-fat and half-lean pork belly into chunks, blanch them first, then pan-fry them until the surface is slightly golden brown.
Then set the meat aside and start making the sauce.
After frying until the sauce was fragrant, he added the slightly fried meat pieces and stir-fried them together.
Then add sugar, salt, and water and simmer together.
This is definitely not the authentic braised pork, but given the limited resources, this is all Lu Qing could manage.
Fortunately, even though the method is simple, meat is still meat.
After simmering for a while, the aroma of the meat wafted out, still making the brother and sister swallow their saliva.
After estimating that the time was about right, Lu Qing opened the pot lid and prepared to reduce the sauce.
The moment the pot lid was opened, steam rose and a rich aroma of meat wafted out, instantly filling the entire kitchen.
The aroma of the meat even wafted outside, attracting passing villagers who couldn't help but stop in their tracks.
After smelling it for a while, they realized that the aroma of meat was coming from Lu Qing's house, and they were immediately speechless.
"The aroma of meat is so strong, how much meat did Lu Qing cook at home?"
I wanted to go in and take a look, but I felt it would be impolite.
After standing there for a while, I felt my stomach getting hungrier and hungrier, so I hurried home.
If he stayed any longer, he was afraid he would be tempted to go in and freeload a meal.
The aroma of meat wafted further and further, reaching several nearby households.
After confirming that the fragrance was coming from the Lu family, they couldn't help but sigh in amazement.
"The Lu family's life is getting better and better. What kind of meat is this? It smells so good!"
"I thought that after Lu Ming and his wife passed away, Lu Qing and Xiao Yan would be all alone and have a hard time, but now I don't have to worry about that."
"I heard that Lu Qing and Da An went to the market this morning and bought a lot of things. Lu Qing also returned the grain, oil and salt that he had borrowed from everyone before."
"This old doctor Chen is really good to his disciple."
"It's a pity my son is so disappointing, otherwise I would have asked the old doctor to take him as his disciple."
"Come on, your man can't even read a single word. He wouldn't understand a medical book even if you gave him one."
"You're always talking about my family. Your kid is the same. He can't even count to ten. Let's not talk about the second brother, since we're the eldest brother."
...
Lu Qing was unaware of the villagers' gossip.
At this moment, he was reducing the gravy until it thickened and began serving the meat.
The fully stewed meat chunks, when served, trembled slightly as they landed in the bowl, looking extremely tempting.
Looking at the color of the braised pork, Lu Qing couldn't resist.
He quickly stir-fried a vegetable over high heat and then announced that dinner was ready.
"Xiaoyan, this is yours. Eat slowly, be careful it's hot."
At the dinner table, Lu Qing first picked up a piece of meat for Xiao Yan and placed it on her rice.
"Okay, brother."
Xiaoyan obediently replied, and then started blowing on the meat in her bowl, trying to cool it down quickly.
After serving Xiaoyan a piece of braised pork, Lu Qing also served himself a piece of braised pork.
I blew on it to cool it down a bit, then took a bite, and my eyes lit up immediately.
The meat had been braised for a long time and was now fully infused with flavor.
It's soft and chewy with a slight elasticity, making for an excellent texture.
After finishing a piece of braised pork, Lu Qing showed a satisfied expression.
It was worth all the time he spent cooking.
Although the braised pork was not as flavorful as the one he made in his previous life due to the lack of seasonings.
But being able to eat a bite of this meat under the current conditions is enough to satisfy him.
"Brother, this meat is delicious!"
Xiao Yan, her mouth greasy from eating, happily said to Lu Qing.
"Haha, of course, it took my brother a lot of effort to make this," Lu Qing said proudly.
"Brother's cooking is so delicious! I want to learn to cook from him so I can make lots and lots of delicious food myself!"
The little foodie revealed his grand ambitions.
"Then Xiaoyan, you must eat well. When you grow a little older, your brother will teach you how to cook."
"good!"
The brother and sister enjoyed another delicious dinner.
After finishing his meal and tidying up, Lu Qing took a piece of cloth and went to Grandpa Zhang's house next door.
"Grandpa Zhang, Grandpa Zhang!"
"What's wrong, Aqing?" Grandpa Zhang came out of the house.
Is my second aunt home?
Second Aunt, who is also Uncle Zhang's second wife, is known throughout the village for her excellent needlework skills.
"She's inside. Are you looking for her?" Grandpa Zhang called into the house. "Second son's wife, come out quickly. Aqing needs to talk to you."
"What does Ah Qing want with me?" A woman came out of the house.
"It's like this, I bought a piece of cloth at the market this morning, and I want to make two clothes for Xiaoyan, but I don't know how to sew, so I'd like to ask my second aunt for help. I will pay her the wages."
Lu Qing showed the cloth in his hand.
“You silly child, what are you talking about wages for? We’re neighbors, it’s only right to help each other out. Give me the fabric, I’ll think about it, and I’ll have Xiaoyan come over tomorrow so I can take some measurements for her. I’ll finish it for her in the next couple of days,” Aunt Zhang said, taking the fabric.
“That’s right, you were already being too kind by bringing such a big piece of meat at lunchtime,” Grandpa Zhang added.
"We can't let Second Aunt work for nothing," Lu Qing said with a smile. "Then it's settled. I need to go back and study."
"Alright, alright, studying is the most important thing. You should go back now."
When Lu Qing got home, he looked at Xiao °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Yan playing in the yard and smiled.
The little guy's clothes were originally altered from his old ones, and now they're covered in patches.
These past two days, while he was washing clothes, he noticed that some of the seams had cracked.
I happened to see someone selling fabric at the market today. Although the quality was so-so, the price was also high.
But Lu Qing still bought some back, wanting to ask someone to make two new outfits.
Without telling Xiaoyan about the new clothes she was about to receive, Lu Qing planned to surprise her again tomorrow.
That night, Xiaoyan still didn't see the black beast arrive, and fell asleep.
I still felt down when I woke up the next morning.
However, her gloom soon disappeared when she learned about the new clothes.
Two days later, the new clothes were finished. The little guy was so happy when he put them on and showed them off for several days.
Because I bought some supplies at the market, I have plenty of daily necessities.
In the days that followed, Lu Qing stayed in the village and did not go out.
Every day, I would go to Dr. Chen's place to learn, and then come back to do some farm work, such as planting vegetables in the yard. In the afternoon, I would think about how to make the food delicious with limited resources.
Occasionally, I'll go fishing to feed the Black Night Civet.
Life was so regular.
Finally, on this morning, when he and Xiaoyan returned to the courtyard halfway up the mountain.
The old doctor told him that he no longer needed to read the "Compendium of Materia Medica".
