Chapter 114: Chapter 67: Let Go When You Should (Part 2)

Meizi smiled and said to Juhua, “When it’s time to butcher the New Year’s pigs this year, I bet every family is going to keep the offal. Usually, people just boil it carelessly, and some families even throw it away. This year, they’re all going to come asking you how to prepare it!”

Juhua was surprised for a moment, then she smiled. “What’s the big deal? I’ll teach you how to clean it. If you save it to eat for the New Year, won’t that add a few more dishes to the table?”

’This secret probably can’t be kept for long anyway,’ she thought. ’Keeping it to myself would just offend people. Once all the fields are cultivated and everyone starts raising pigs, my family probably won’t have the time for this little business anymore. We only started it to earn some emergency money in the first place. Now that we have a bit of capital, life isn’t as hard, so I can’t let money blind me. What’s that saying again? Oh, is it “know when to let go”?’

’This village is so poor. It’s no fun for my family to be rich all by ourselves. Isn’t it better, and more interesting, if everyone’s life improves a little? Little Qing Mountain is so beautiful, and I don’t want to move into town. So of course I can’t become too distant from the other villagers. We’re all neighbors, after all.’

Lanzi and the others grew even happier. They had thought Juhua would be reluctant to teach them her method. After all, Juhua’s family was running a business based on it. If she told them, wouldn’t everyone know?

Lanzi glanced at the pool where Juhua’s family was soaking acorns, then turned back and said to Juhua with sincerity, “Juhua, it’s so good of your family to be so kind to everyone. Anyone else would never have shared that. My mom said that only truly honest people like Uncle Zheng and Aunt Zheng would have explained how to process acorns in such detail!”

Li Jinxiang also smiled. “Isn’t that the truth? My uncle, the village chief, said the same thing. People like Uncle Zheng have been a huge help to the whole village. Forgetting about making money for a moment, it’ll be much easier to raise an extra pig for our own families to eat. I bet we’ll never have to worry about a shortage of meat again!”

Juhua listened quietly, thinking, ’It’s not that simple. If pig farming really takes off and we can’t find a way to sell the surplus, the impact on meat prices in a small town like Xiatang Market will be huge. When that happens, some people will be celebrating, and others will be worrying.’

’It will all depend on the village chief’s foresight. But my brother has already considered this, so he must have a plan to deal with it.’ A smile touched her lips as she thought about what Qingmu had gone to Qinghui County to look into.

After chatting and laughing for a while, they finally settled down to their needlework.

Lanzi pulled her thread with a SWISH, SWISH sound, finishing several rows of stitches in no time at all.

Juhua said with envy, “Lanzi, you’re so fast at stitching soles. I’m not nearly as quick. My needle keeps getting stuck. If I make the sole too thin, it’s uncomfortable to wear, but if I make it too thick, I can’t push the needle through at all.”

Li Jinxiang looked at her slender fingers and laughed. “You’re still young and don’t have enough strength, so of course you can’t push it through. You should be like Meizi and practice on some insoles first to get the hang of it.”

But Lanzi took her hand to have a look, then picked up her thimble. “Your fingers are slender, so this thimble is too loose,” she said. “It keeps shifting, so you can’t get any leverage. Have your dad hammer it a bit tighter for you; that should help a lot. For now, just stitch some thinner soles and make a few pairs of single-layered shoes for spring and autumn. Once you get more practice, you can move on to thicker soles.”

Juhua had indeed found that the thimble kept twisting every time she pushed, which was exhausting. She made a mental note to ask Zheng Changhe to hammer it for her.

Lanzi thought for a moment, then added, “You just focus on the single-layered shoes. I’ll make you a pair of cotton-padded winter shoes. It’ll only take me a few days.”

Juhua quickly protested, “Oh, how could I let you do that? You have a whole big family to make shoes for; you must be swamped. I already have a pair of winter shoes.”

Meizi laughed. “Don’t be so polite with her. Her family may be large, but it’s all women, and every one of them can sew. It’s not like they’re short on shoes. Besides, if you accept the shoes she gives you, she’ll have a good excuse to come back for more of your offal, right?”

Everyone burst out laughing at this, and Lanzi could only look at Meizi and shake her head.

Liu Xiaomei saw that everyone had something to give Juhua. Li Jinxiang’s family certainly wasn’t short on things to give as gifts, but her own family was poor. ’What on earth can I give Juhua?’

She looked at the small fire pot at Juhua’s feet and suddenly remembered the corn cakes she had baked over the fire the last time it snowed. Her brothers had all said they were delicious. ’Even though it’s humble food, it’s quite tasty,’ she thought. ’It would be nice to make some for Juhua as a snack.’

So, she said to Juhua, “Tomorrow, I’ll bake some corn cakes for you. I’ll stuff them with a pickled vegetable filling. They’re fragrant and flavorful!”

Meizi’s eyes lit up when she heard this, and she eagerly asked how to make them.

The others also stopped their needlework to look at her.

Liu Xiaomei said shyly, “It’s nothing special. You just make cakes from corn flour, stuff them with a pickled vegetable filling, and bake them over the fire here. I was just messing around at first, but then my Third Brother tried one and said it was delicious. So I made a big batch in the wok. They’re great to eat with congee, much tastier than steamed corn buns.”

It dawned on Juhua. “Oh!” she exclaimed. Seeing everyone looking at her, she quickly added, “I know what she’s talking about! They’re not hard to make.”

’Aren’t those just ’guozi’ cakes?’ she thought. ’My brain must be getting rusty. There are so many things I can’t seem to remember.’

Meizi said eagerly, “Why don’t we try making them right now?”

Li Jinxiang also looked at Juhua expectantly. Only Lanzi chided them, “Look how busy Aunt Zheng is! Are you trying to make more trouble for them? This sounds simple, but it’s not easy to make. You have to start a fire, knead the dough, and stir-fry the filling. Besides, making one just for fun on Juhua’s little fire pot is fine, but if you make a lot, how long would that take? Could you even bake them all without a wok? And Aunt Zheng is busy cooking the offal, so where would you find a spare wok for you to use?”

Liu Xiaomei stuck out her tongue and smiled. “Alright, I’ll make a big batch tomorrow and bring them for all of you to eat. Let’s not bother Juhua today.”

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep