RPAGF Chapter 32 Cutting Flesh to Spare Bones
Chapter 32 Cutting Flesh to Spare Bones
Liu was capable; she could weed all the grass in four acres of fields in two days. Her eldest daughter cooked for the family, and her youngest daughter fed the chickens.
Such leisurely and happy days feel like a dream.
Shen Xiaotang prepared breakfast and, together with her sister, brought the food to the new table that their father had just made. The family ate happily.
As she ate the warm, soft cornbread in her hand, Shen Xiaotang exclaimed, "Mom, we'll never have to eat hard cornbread again, or drink the leftover soup, and we won't have to worry about Grandma's attitude when picking food for us."
Xiaoyu sat on the new stool, her feet not yet touching the ground, and she swung her legs while nodding vigorously.
"Yes, yes, from now on we...we will never have to go hungry again, and we will never have to be afraid of step-grandmother again."
Shen Xiaotang felt a little worried when she heard her younger sister stutter.
“Xiaoyu, now that we’ve moved to the new house, it’ll just be our family living here. Grandma won’t be able to hit or scold us anymore. Don’t be afraid of her. Let’s speak slowly and calmly from now on. It’s okay if we say a few words at a time, but we can’t repeat ourselves, understand?”
"Sister, I...I understand, I'll...speak more slowly in the future, and I won't stutter anymore."
"Yes, that's good. Let's take it slow, it will get better."
Upon hearing her two daughters' conversation, Liu's eyes immediately welled up with tears. She turned away and silently wiped them away.
Their miserable days of living under someone else's roof are finally over!
No matter how tough life gets in the future, as long as the family works together, it will be better than before.
Shen Qingchuan lowered his head in shame and remained silent.
It's all his fault for being so stupid and foolish before, blindly listening to his elders. He regrets not standing up for himself earlier and protecting his wife and daughter, causing them to suffer so much because of him.
……
After breakfast, Liu took one tael of silver, led her two daughters, and left the village for the town.
Since it was Liu's first time going to town, her eldest daughter pointed out the way, and she carried her youngest daughter on her back. The three of them finally made it to town, and their feet were almost blistered.
The mother and her two children went to the butcher shop to buy meat. The butcher was a burly, middle-aged man with a face full of scars. He had a knife on his waist and another in his hand, which made Liu feel a little scared.
"Tang'er, why is this butcher so fierce?"
Shen Xiaotang immediately tiptoed and covered her mother's mouth with her hand, so that if anyone heard it, they might be so angry that they wouldn't sell it to them.
"Mom, let's talk on the way. Remember, no matter what you see or hear, don't say it to her face. It's impolite."
Sigh, her mother is a true country girl who came to the city. She's too honest. At home, she's timid and weak-willed, and when she goes out, she can't even speak properly.
Madam Liu nodded. "Okay, Mother understands."
Shen Xiaoyu was young and timid. When she saw the middle-aged, strong man selling meat, she immediately hid behind her mother.
Helpless, Shen Xiaotang stepped forward and asked the price, "Uncle, how much is this meat?"
The burly butcher grinned and said, "Lean meat is twenty coins, fatty meat is eighteen coins, and pork belly is twenty-two coins. Which one do you want, little girl? How many pounds are you planning to get?"
Shen Xiaotang nodded and said calmly, "Give me three catties of pork belly, one catty each of lean and fatty meat."
The burly butcher didn't have much hope of selling the meat when he first saw it was a little girl. However, he looked fierce, so he had to be patient and kind when people asked about the price, otherwise he would scare them away and who would dare to buy his meat in the future? Unexpectedly, the little girl asked for five catties of meat as soon as she opened her mouth.
You know, even ordinary families in town would only get two jin (1 kg) of meat at most when they came to buy it, and wealthy families would only get four or five jin (2.5 kg). This little girl was dressed in patched clothes and looked extremely shabby, yet she still managed to get five jin (2.5 kg) of meat.
Hey, even that pig-headed Zhang can make a mistake.
This little girl is something else!
He teased her, "Little girl, our butcher shop is a small business, we don't offer credit. Did you bring any money?"
Shen Xiaotang smiled faintly, "I didn't bring any money, but my mother did. You just need to cut the meat, and my mother will pay."
She turned to her mother and asked for money, and Liu immediately handed the money to her daughter.
Liu was illiterate and had no savings of her own for many years. She was completely incapable of doing accounts. Although her daughter had not studied accounting either, her daughter was smart and had been good at everything since she was a child. Liu thought that her daughter must have heard about it from her father-in-law and several of her brothers-in-law, so she didn't think about it in detail.
Zhang the butcher's knife was incredibly sharp; he cut three pieces of meat in just a few strokes. His hands were precise, and each piece was exactly the right size.
"Three catties of pork belly, one catty of lean and one catty of fat, that's a total of one hundred and four coins. I'll also give you a scrap piece. Little girl, remember to come again next time."
Shen Xiaotang grinned and immediately handed over the silver to take the meat.
"Thank you, Uncle. We'll listen to you and get our meat from you from now on."
She glanced around quickly and noticed several large bones lying on the ground next to the butcher's counter, the meat on them completely removed, as if they were discarded.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have let the bones be thrown haphazardly on the ground.
She immediately asked, "Uncle, are you throwing this bone on the ground because you don't want it anymore?"
Zhang the butcher nodded in confusion, "Yes, if all the meat has been removed, what's the point of keeping the bones?"
You can make soup from bones! Bone broth is not only nutritious and nourishing but also delicious. Isn't it better than boiled vegetable soup or corn porridge?
She and her sister were at the age when they were growing, but they were always thin and malnourished. Their mother was also so thin that a gust of wind could blow her away. They were perfect to take home and make soup.
Then her eyes gleamed, and she chuckled, "Uncle, since you don't want these bones anyway, and they'll just attract flies if you leave them here any longer, why don't you give them to me?"
With a wave of his hand, Zhang the Porkman said generously, "Take it if you want it... Here, take your half tael of silver and three hundred and ninety-six coins."
Shen Xiaotang handed the money to her mother to put away, while she carried the meat and four or five bones, leading her mother and sister forward.
After walking quite a distance, Liu couldn't help but ask, "Tang'er, you just told me not to ask you directly, and I haven't dared to ask yet. What do you need this bone for?"
"Mom, these are big bones. After washing them and blanching them, pour in half a pot of water and simmer them over low heat until they become thick and flavorful. They're delicious and nutritious. If you don't believe me, I'll make them when I get back, and you'll see."
Shen Xiaoyu immediately said excitedly, "Sister said...it tastes good, then...it must taste good, I can't wait any longer."
Liu said with a smile, "Good girl, Yu'er, after your older sister takes us to buy some cut cake, we'll go home."
Shen Xiaotang thought for a moment and said, “Mom, we have money now. Why don’t we buy a piece of cloth and go home so you can make a new dress for each of us? Before, when we didn’t have money, we always wore patched clothes. Now that we’ve separated the family and have money, we can’t let people look down on us, especially Grandpa, stepmother, second uncle, and third uncle.”
Liu thought about it and realized it made sense. In the past, when her mother-in-law was in charge of the household, all the money earned by the eldest branch of the family was handed over to her. They had no money to buy cloth, and even if her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law had cloth, they wouldn't share it with her. That's why the family dressed so poorly.
Now that I'm living independently, I can no longer be looked down upon, especially by my father-in-law and mother-in-law.
"Alright, let's buy some cut cakes first, then go get some cloth, and go home to make new clothes!"