Chapter 175: Chapter 175: Kiln
An Guoqing’s words made everyone at the breeding farm roar with laughter.
The men bought the pig and sheep, tied them up, and lifted them onto the tractor.
Jiang Xia looked at the oinking pig and baaing sheep crammed into the truck bed.
"An Ning, you drive."
"Okay."
An Ning didn’t sense anything was off, simply thinking Jiang Xia didn’t feel like driving anymore.
She sat up front while the four large men, one pig, and four sheep were squeezed into the back.
Li Chengze’s spot was closest to the pig. With every bump and jolt, he felt like he was about to get up close and personal with it.
But the Li Chengze of today wasn’t thinking about how dirty the pig was, but about how fragrant the pork would be.
After the baptism of the pig-butchering feast, Li Chengze’s tastes had changed considerably.
The main thing was that this pork was just so incredibly fragrant.
"It’d be great if we had an oven. Roasted meat is delicious too."
Li Chengze’s words drifted on the wind to An Ning’s ears.
"How do you roast it?"
At An Ning’s question, Jiang Xia, who had had his eyes closed, opened them.
Li Chengze, however, thought for a moment, looking a bit troubled.
"I don’t really know how. I’ve only seen it done. They used an earthen oven."
"I can draw it!"
Hearing this, An Ning shook her head and said, "We’ll see."
The tractor went CHUGGA-CHUGGA-CHUG back the way it came, only this time accompanied by a chorus of baas and oinks.
The tractor drove all the way into the village. An Ning unloaded all three sheep at the brigade headquarters, then got out to find Sun Dazhuang.
When Sun Dazhuang came over, he looked at the three sheep and said to An Ning, "An Ning, I’ll have someone butcher the sheep in a bit, but we can’t use this much meat."
"We’ll cook a big pot, and each family can take a bowl home. It’s just a gesture. You take the rest home to eat."
"Let me tell you, the weather’s cold enough that it won’t spoil. Just put the meat in a large vat outside, and you can eat it all winter long."
Sun Dazhuang gave An Ning no chance to refuse, so she readily agreed.
"Alright. You head home and drop off the pig first. Guoqing and Guoping, you two stay here."
Sun Dazhuang started making arrangements. An Ning drove the tractor and headed back to the An family’s home first.
After arriving at the An family’s home, the pig was carried off and put in the pigsty.
"We’ll butcher it in a couple of days. Let it empty its stomach first."
An Sancheng gazed at the big, fat pig, happy. Truly happy.
’This pig belongs to our family!’
’Now this is what I call living the good life. We never would have dared to dream of this before.’
After dropping off the pig, An Ning told An Sancheng about the sheep butchering. An Sancheng went to get Uncle An, and they headed over together.
Jiang Xia called Li Chengze away, so An Ning decided to go watch the fun at the sheep butchering site.
An Ning felt that she was integrating better and better into village life.
Meanwhile, after taking Li Chengze home, Jiang Xia immediately got to work, with Li Chengze standing by and following his orders.
"Hand me the bricks."
Utterly confused, Li Chengze acted like an emotionless machine, handing bricks to Jiang Xia one by one.
Jiang Xia moved deftly, mixing mud mortar and starting to build.
The more they worked, the more familiar the structure in front of him seemed to Li Chengze.
’Isn’t this the earthen oven I was talking about?’
A sudden flush of heat rose to Li Chengze’s face, and he looked at Jiang Xia sheepishly.
"Jiang Xia, are you really building an oven for me? I... I—"
Jiang Xia paused his work, repulsed.
"In your dreams!" Jiang Xia shot Li Chengze an irritated glare.
"I just happened to overhear and wanted to eat some myself. Build one especially for you? You couldn’t even dream up something that nice!"
Jiang Xia’s words made Li Chengze think, and he realized it was true.
’My brain must be rusty. For Young Master Jiang, the world revolves around him and him alone.’
"Heh, I guess I got carried away."
Jiang Xia went back to work, asking nonchalantly, "Li Chengze, are you just planning to keep living at Anning’s house?"
"Huh? Where else would I stay? I came here to learn from An Ning."
The moment the topic was brought up, Li Chengze couldn’t stop talking.
"Jiang Xia, you have no idea how incredible An Ning is. She designed so many blueprints all by herself, and every single one can be perfectly built."
"She..."
Li Chengze praised An Ning endlessly. Jiang Xia wasn’t annoyed in the slightest; in fact, he listened with great interest.
After he had said his piece, Li Chengze continued, "I was just hoping I could learn a trick or two from her. That’s why I came here to become her apprentice. I—"
"Li Chengze, you haven’t even formally become her apprentice, yet you’re already living at your master’s house, eating and drinking for free. Do you think that’s right?"
Jiang Xia had no interest in hearing about Li Chengze’s personal affairs. He was completely unaware of the massive double standard he was applying.
Jiang Xia’s question sent Li Chengze into deep thought.
"It’s not great, you’re right. What should I do, then?"
"How about this: you can stay at my place. You’ll have to pay for food every month. Anning’s house is right next door, so it won’t interfere with your studies. Just tell everyone you’re my cousin. Don’t say anything more than that."
"And as for the past few days, you’ll say you’ve been staying at my place. Got it? You never stayed at Anning’s house at all."
Seeing the dumbstruck Li Chengze just standing there silently, Jiang Xia gave him a light kick on the butt.
"Say something!"
"Ah—Jiang Xia, were you a good guy all along?"
Li Chengze’s sincere question earned him another kick from Jiang Xia.
"Of course I am! Since when have I ever not been a good guy!"
Li Chengze gave a sheepish smile and didn’t dare to say another word.
’Could he really say that Jiang Xia had never been a good person a day in his life? The term "good guy" and Jiang Xia simply didn’t belong in the same sentence.’
Regardless, Jiang Xia had solved Li Chengze’s housing problem.
Jiang Xia continued building the earthen oven, his pace swift.
After finishing, Jiang Xia used some wood to fire it and dry it out.
While the oven was curing, Jiang Xia took a knife and, all by himself, butchered a sheep.
Standing to the side, Li Chengze watched the "good guy" Jiang Xia and shivered in fear.
Such practiced movements, such precise technique.
’What a "good guy" indeed!’
After butchering the sheep, Jiang Xia sliced up many of the most tender cuts of lamb, a whole rack of lamb ribs, and three strips of pork belly. He then took his homemade seasoning mix and let it all marinate for several hours.
By the time the meat had finished marinating, An Ning had already arrived to bring him some lamb stew.
An Ning, carrying a large basin, looked at Jiang Xia, who was standing in the yard wearing only a light jacket, and the newly built earthen oven.
"What’s going on here?"
With his back to An Ning, Jiang Xia said in a casual tone, "Just changing things up a bit. Going to roast some meat."
"Really?"
An Ning made no effort to hide her delight. Facing away from her, the corners of Jiang Xia’s lips curved upward.
Li Chengze, who had witnessed this entire scene, felt like he had just stumbled upon a massive secret.
But he didn’t dare say it out loud.
"Is the lamb stew ready?"
"Yes. I brought a basin for you. I made sure to give you a generous portion with plenty of good stuff in it."
"An Ning is here! Quick, come inside. It’s cold out. Let Jiang Xia putter around by himself."
Grandpa Jiang called out to An Ning from the doorway. An Ning obediently called back, "Grandpa Jiang."
She carried the lamb stew inside, placed it in the kitchen, and happened to see the meat Jiang Xia was marinating.
"What’s this meat for?"
"Heh, Jiang Xia has a craving. He insisted on having roasted meat, and he prepared so much."
Grandpa Jiang finished with a look of disdain, then turned to An Ning with a kind smile.
"An Ning, why don’t you stay and have some? How about it?"
