Chapter 52: Chapter 50 Bar-Headed Cake
Chapter 52: Chapter 50 Bar-Headed Cake
The pig’s head had to be thoroughly washed and first boiled in a large tal barrel to remove the gaminess, and that water had to be discarded, followed by a second wash with hot water.
Eating this thing was just a hassle.
The cow’s head had to be prepared separately, it couldn’t be put with the pig’s head, as they didn’t share the sa flavor and would mix.
Only once the pig’s head was completely clean did the braising begin, using the large tal barrel, adding so pigskin to stew with it. After stewing for an hour, it was left to soak overnight, then taken out, the skin was peeled, bones removed, with the pigskin on the outside, then the at was layered with alternating strips of lean and fat. A layer of lean at followed by a layer of fat, all nicely arranged, then wrapped up in the outer pigskin and tightly enveloped in cheesecloth into a brick shape.
Two chopping boards were used to sandwich the wrapped at block, with a bucket full of water on top and a stone to press it down, while underneath, a grease can was placed.
Pressed like this for a day and night, it took shape, becoming a pig head cake with alternating layers of fat and lean at. It was very tasty, especially when eaten with sauce.
Three pig heads made three book-sized pig head cakes. The cow’s head was bigger, so it was simply turned into a similarly shaped cake, with just a bit more at than the pig head cakes.
Though the cow and pig heads looked large, once they were made into these cakes, there was not much left; they would significantly shrink in size.
Braised ats, pig’s trotters, cow’s trotters, cow’s stomach, pig’s stomach, pig’s lung, and such were also made—a bunch of stuff to satisfy everyone’s cravings.
They originally planned to braise so beef shank at, but everyone objected, saying that beef would drastically shrink when braised, making it too wasteful; it was much more delicious stewed.
“There’s actually quite a lot of this stuff. Should we save so for the Base Commander? He always takes good care of us.”
Li Pan asked for everyone’s opinion.
“Yeah, give him so, butter him up a bit; we’ll still need his help to trade for good stuff at the beginning of the year.”
Liu Qian joked, winking.
“Just see to it.”
Everyone had been looked after by the Base Commander; they were practically children he dragged up by half force, treating him almost like family.
“I’ll give him a call. The sorghum liquor I brewed should be ready by now; he must be thinking about it.”
Xue Dong said with a grin, stroking his chin.
Winter days were not too busy, so Jianzhong and a few others had the leisure to brew sorghum and sweet potato wines, which turned out tasting quite good.
“Boss, it’s .”
“Xue Dong, eh? How’s everything going over there? Do you still have lotus roots? They’re selling well here.”
“Got so left, but it’ll all be done by January. I’ve slaughtered the pigs and cows, and next month I’m doing the sheep. I made so braised ats and at cakes, saved so for you. Brother Quan will bring them back tomorrow.”
“Don’t forget my liquor; you’ve promised long enough, from sumr to winter.”
The Base Commander complained on the other end of the phone.
“Hehe! Can’t forget that. This month you can enjoy the pork and beef, next month it’ll be all about sheep.”
“Alright, you still want the young animals?”
“If you’ve got them, I’ll take them. Six pairs of each kind, twelve animals in total, and how about thirty sheep, right? My field’s growing plenty of wheat straw, enough to feed them.”
“I’ll get that arranged for you.”
After hanging up, the Base Commander called over Gao Wenbin.
“Binzi, tomorrow you drive, take Zhou Xiao and Zhao Quan along. Xue Dong butchered pigs and cows and also made braised ats. Let’s have a good al for once. Next month, he’s slaughtering sheep too. While you’re at it, fetch six pairs of pig, cow, and sheep younglings for him, thirty sheep in total. Make sure to pick the non-slly ones, good breeds.”
“Got it. His liquor’s ready too, did you ask for so?”
“I did, can’t forget that. And if he’s got smoked ats, grab so of those too.”
The Base Commander laughed heartily, rubbing his head and showing a content smile. After a tough year, he could finally relax for a few days, sitting down to enjoy so at and drink.
That evening, everyone gathered around a table. The two farms had their animals watched, so there were no major concerns. The cold weather discouraged the mutant animals from coming out of hibernation, and the heavy snow covered the farms, hiding any slls.
“Co, everyone has worked hard this year, and I thank you for enduring the hardships with . Our farm’s bountiful harvest and good days are all thanks to your efforts. We can finally eat our fill.”
Li Pan, holding her wine glass, excitedly clinked glasses with everyone.
“We can finally live the good life, full and satisfied. Next year will be even better.”
“What’s there to fear? It’s not tougher than going out to kill mutant animals, nor is it worse than those days when we were so hungry we felt dizzy and blacked out. If there are difficulties, we will persevere together.”
Shi Lei puffed out his chest, a fearless look on his face.
“As long as we can live our days together, no hardship can scare us.”
“Right, cheers.”
Everyone said in unison, smiling and nodding as they raised their glasses in celebration.
“Sister, this pig head cake is really delicious. I’ve never tasted anything so good before.”
“If life gets better, we can eat it more often. We still have a pig at ho. We’ll slaughter it before the year ends, and then we can make more.”
Li Pan stroked Xie Ling’s head with a look of affection.
“Thank you, sister.”
The snow grew heavier. Apart from the daily care of the crops in the fields, the remaining tasks like pickling sauerkraut were light and could be done at ho.
Zhang Qi was making hemp ropes at ho; these were twisted from ramie and could also be used to make straw hats. During the winter, when idle, it was good to find sothing to do.
Jianzhong and the others went to the breeding area every day, and Shi Lei’s group was also busy moving between the two farms to find work; it wasn’t like they stopped interacting.
Li Pan’s dicinal materials were growing particularly well and could be harvested next year. She wondered how much they would be worth.
The ho fireplace burned warmly. At night, they used coal, which lasted a long ti and didn’t require frequent tending. They had made ti to press so coal bricks previously.
The remaining thin coal dust, which couldn’t be scooped up, was mixed with loess to make bricks. After drying, they piled them in the corner of the wall for use at night to keep the fire going. It was excellent for heating the kang and fireplace because it lasted long, kept the temperature, and didn’t burn too quickly.
At night, they burned these coal bricks and added a couple of larger coal chunks, so they didn’t need to get up in the middle of the night to tend the fire, and the room stayed warm.
With nothing else to do inside the house, Li Pan took out the wool yarn she had rolled previously to knit sweaters and trousers. Having ti on her hands, she worked on these tasks, following a pattern she had found.
Xue Dong sat on the sofa looking at his phone and said to Pan’er, “There’s a private marketplace in a couple of days, not far from our ho. It’s organized by a few farms themselves. Do you want to go check it out, maybe buy sothing?”
“Sure.”
“Who else wants to go?”
Zhang Qi shook her head, not interested. With everything well provided for—food, clothes, and schoolbooks—they wanted to save money for the orphanage.
“You guys go ahead, I’m not keen on moving around in the heavy snow.”
Qin Jianzhong shook his head as he worked on a basket.
Li Pan called Liu Qian, but she also opted out, not wanting to venture out in the cold.
“Alright, if they’re not going, I’ll go for a walk and get so fresh air.”
“Let’s go tomorrow; we just harvested so lotus roots yesterday.”
The weather turned colder, and there weren’t many lotus roots left in the lake. After gathering the last bits, there was just enough for self-consumption.
After breakfast the next day, Xue Dong took Li Pan out for a trip.
The place they were visiting was at the convergence of several farms. There were stalls where people from the farms ca to sell their own goods.
“I heard the boss say they’re planning to build a transfer station nearby next year. They’ll patrol the farms regularly to ensure safety, and they’ll be in charge of rescues too. They’re also going to construct an indoor small marketplace where people can co to set up stalls regularly.”
“Oh, that’s great news! If we don’t have any big items, we really don’t need to go to the base. We can just send them with the Patrol Team and give them a tip. It’s much more economical.”
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