Chapter 118: Chapter 70: A Pig’s Black December

Qingmu rushed back before lunch, bringing a large piece of pork liver, a strip of pork belly, and a jar of pig’s blood. He exchanged a few words with Juhua, telling her that Mother had returned early but had been pulled over to Aunt Zhang’s house. He told her not to wait and to eat as soon as the food was ready, then left again.

’That’s fine,’ Juhua thought. ’I’ll cook a proper meal today and treat myself.’

And so, she happily started making braised pork. She kept it simple, adding only a bit of ginger and some soy sauce for color. As it simmered in the pot, a rich, tantalizing aroma filled the entire house. Just as it was nearly done, she chopped up a handful of green garlic shoots and tossed them in. This was the very braised pork with garlic that Laicai had craved but never got to eat.

’It really all comes down to the ingredients,’ she mused. It was just a simple braised pork dish, yet the flavor was unbelievably rich and fragrant. The scent drove Black Dog to circle her feet relentlessly. A few times, when she turned to grab something, she accidentally kicked him, sending him tumbling. Juhua was so exasperated she called him pathetic.

Once it was ready, she dished the meat into a large bowl and set it on the wok lid, letting the rising heat keep it warm.

Next, she sliced the pork liver thinly. Once the water in the pot was boiling, she tossed in a few slices of ginger, then tipped in the liver and gave it a quick stir with her chopsticks to separate the pieces. As soon as the liver turned from a dark red to a light pink in the boiling water, she added the washed spinach. She let it come to a boil again, sprinkled in some chopped scallions and salt, and then ladled it all out.

Breathing in the long-missed aroma, she closed her eyes and sniffed. ’This is it!’ she thought. ’This is the taste!’

In her past life, after she’d moved to the city, she had craved pork liver and bought it several times. But whether she soaked it in wine and water, stir-fried it with ginger and vinegar, or mixed it with sauce before cooking—no matter what trick she pulled from her sleeve, the liver always came out with a gamy, metallic taste. And yet, she distinctly remembered the pork liver soup from her childhood being wonderfully fragrant. ’Have times changed, or have I?’ she wondered.

Today, she finally smelled that aroma again. There was no need for all those fussy additions. The liver, simply blanched in boiling water, was tender, pink, and fragrant. The pale pink of the liver against the vibrant green of the spinach and scallions looked absolutely appetizing, and it tasted just as good as it looked.

She didn’t bother making fresh rice. Instead, she broke off some of the crispy scorched rice from the bottom of the wok, soaked it in a bowl of the pork liver soup, and added a couple of pieces of the braised pork. Then she sat down on a small stool and began to eat with relish.

Black Dog was having none of it. He pressed against her leg, cocking his head to gaze at her with pleading eyes, whimpering nonstop. He looked utterly pitiful!

Juhua sighed. She had no other food for him, so she could only put some crispy rice into his bowl and pour a little of the pork liver soup over it. She had considered giving him a piece of the braised pork, but then she had a second thought. ’We’ve only been living well for a few days. If I start feeding the dog braised pork, I’ll be struck by lightning for being so wasteful.’

’Oh well, he’ll just have to make do. I’ll feed him a bigger portion tonight.’

’Other people’s dogs eat shit, don’t they? I’ve always fed him leftover rice and congee, which is far more civilized. I even frequently soak his rice in broth from pig innards. Isn’t his life a hundred times better than other dogs? He has no right to be greedy for braised pork. After all, in the several months I’ve been here, this is only the second time I’ve eaten it myself, today included.’

’A dog has to learn contentment!’

Black Dog started eating his crispy rice and soup, but he seemed to feel it wasn’t as fragrant as what was in Juhua’s bowl, because he trotted right back over to stare at her food. After her sharp scolding, he tucked his tail between his legs and ran back to his own bowl.

Seeing him slink away dejectedly, Juhua found it both funny and a little pitiful. Still, she was afraid that if she gave him the good stuff, she would spoil his palate and he’d become a picky eater in the future.

’This little Black Dog is quite intelligent.’

In her past life, her family had also raised a dog when she was a child. Every day after school, the dog would run a long way down the road to greet her, and in the morning, it would escort her just as far. It even understood when she scolded it.

Among farm animals, she mused, besides dogs, only cows possess that kind of intelligence. Chickens and pigs are hopeless.

A well-trained ox, if you tell it to “turn left” or “turn right” while giving the rope on its nose a little tug, will obey immediately. It’s more responsive than a car’s steering wheel—after all, a steering wheel can sometimes fail. If you tell it to lower its head, the ox will lower its head, allowing the cowherd to grab its horns and climb onto its back. If the ox is too busy grazing and doesn’t lower its head in time, the cowherd will give it a sharp scolding, maybe even a lash with a willow switch. At times like that, the ox won’t dare to keep eating. Even if it doesn’t understand the words, it knows its master is angry, so it will obediently lower its head and wait for him to climb on.

One time, there was an old ox that had grown too old to work, so the village decided to slaughter it.

When the ox was led over, it saw the crowd of people armed with knives and basins. The scene alone seemed to make it realize its time had come. Large tears actually began to roll from its huge eyes, causing the hearts of the onlookers to ache with sorrow. But country folk have to make a living, and there was no way they would pass up the temptation of several hundred pounds of beef just for the feelings of a single ox.

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