Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 378: People Won’t Get Boiled?

"Save a pig stomach for me."

Liu the Fifth didn’t even lift his head, "I’ll save you a big one."

"Thanks, Uncle Wu."

"You’re welcome."

Yi Chichi left happily, and Wen’s mother saw her coming over from Liu the Fifth’s place and whispered, "What did you say to Uncle Wu?"

"I asked Uncle Wu for a pig stomach."

Wen’s mother instantly understood, this was for Old Mrs. Song.

"Can the old lady’s stomach still be nursed back to health?"

"Better than nothing."

This means treating it completely is out of the question, but it can be managed.

"How about when we divide the meat later, we ask for less wild boar meat and take all the innards?"

This idea works. Compared to wild boar meat, Yi Chichi prefers the innards.

Because of nothing else, wild boar meat is really not tasty.

The texture is coarse, there’s a strong gamey flavor, no matter how many ingredients you add, it remains the same.

In contrast, the innards are a bit better.

Although they also have a strong flavor, the texture of the innards is not as coarse.

Wash them thoroughly, make them into brined dishes, soak them to absorb flavor, and you can slice a piece each cold day for stir-fry or eat it directly.

That said, many in the village like innards.

"If no one wants it, take them all."

If someone wants them, take as much as possible.

Wen’s mother thought this was feasible.

And so, the topic ended here.

At around two in the afternoon, the team leader who went to the commune to hand over the pigs came back. They saw two small wild boars already divided on the chopping board, and the team leader waved a big hand, announcing we’d have a pig slaughter meal today.

The crowd cheered.

Qin Jiu and his group of kids were the most excited. While the adults were busy making the pig slaughter meal, they just stayed by the stove, smelling the aroma coming from the pot.

Food is more delicious when you have to fight for it. The pig slaughter meal was indeed abundant, but it couldn’t satisfy a whole brigade of young and old.

After cooking for over three hours, it took less than twenty minutes for the table to be cleared.

Yi Chichi held her bowl and focused on eating, and the dishes in her bowl were all snatched by Wen’s mother, using her eighteen skills from the fast-spinning chopsticks of other aunts and grandmas.

She not only fought for her but also for Qin Jiu while feeding herself. Now she was helping to clean up the dishes.

Yi Chichi sped up her eating upon seeing this. Aunt Ma advised, "Child, we’re not in a rush, eat slowly, be careful not to choke."

"...Okay."

She obediently replied and continued eating.

After she finished, Wen’s mother and the others had almost tidied up the tables and dishes.

Yi Chichi wanted to help, but they sent her off to watch the children.

When she got to the group of children, she realized these kids didn’t need her supervision at all; each was engrossed in playing with pig bladder or slap-jacks.

There were also those playing hopscotch and jump rope, including Zhou Qiuyu and the others.

Seeing her standing still, Zhou Qiuyu waved at her, "Chichi, come jump rope with us."

"Coming!"

She knew how to do this; she played it when she was little.

Then, she joined the jumping rope team, later helped Niu Niu win the slap-jack competition as an ally, played slap-jacks with Yezi and the others, and used her height advantage to snatch Qin Jiu and the others’ pig bladder, etc.

She played crazily, which led to complaints from the kids, accusing her of not playing fair.

To demonstrate fairness, this group of adults was ousted from the competition by the kids.

The kids were boisterous, the adults were laughing, and the older generations were gathered chatting leisurely.

Time ticked by second by second, and the sky gradually darkened.

The wild boars weren’t finished slaughtering, and the meat couldn’t be divided today.

They would have to wait until tomorrow to divide it.

The old folks also ate pig slaughter meals today; after eating, they left early. On the way back, Qin Jiu was bouncing between Yi Chichi on the left and Wen’s mother on the right, radiating happiness from every cell.

"Pig slaughter meals are really tasty."

Wen’s mother teased him, "Does my cooking taste better, or the pig slaughter meal?"

This kid knew how to balance things well and blurted out without needing to think, "Both are delicious."

Wen’s mother said to Yi Chichi, "He knows how not to offend anyone."

Yi Chichi’s mouth twitched slightly, "He’s not stupid, you know."

On the contrary, he’s quite smart.

Wen’s mother thought the same. A gust of wind blew, and the smell of smoke and fire drifted into her nose.

"Let’s go home to boil water for a big bath."

"Okay."

Yi Chichi nodded. As soon as the first snow fell, the temperature dropped, and the temperature difference between morning and evening got bigger. In the countryside, without heating, warmth depended entirely on using a heated kang and a fire wall. But now, a bath at home in this weather was still bearable.

Once it got into November, wanting a bath meant going to the communal stove room. Bathing at home might easily lead to a cold.

However, going to the commune was inconvenient, especially on snowy days. Without a sled, walking or biking meant running without a trace.

We needed to find a solution to this winter bathing difficulty.

"Mom, how about we modify the stove?"

"How to modify it?"

Yi Chichi described the Jiangnan farm’s pot bath tradition, and Wen’s mother looked confused, "Lighting a fire under the stove, and someone sitting in the pot to bathe?"

"Yes."

She had experienced it once, and well, it felt a bit novel and nerve-wracking.

Throughout the bathing process, she was worried about being cooked.

But it really wasn’t cold to bathe in winter.

Wen’s mother pondered, "Are you sure people won’t be cooked bathing like this?"

"No, they won’t." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Then, shall we give it a try?"

She seemed very hesitant.

Hearing this entire plan with ears pricked, Qin Jiu immediately chimed in, "Let’s try it. I haven’t experienced this kind of bathing before and want to feel it."

Yi Chichi also felt it was worth a try.

With all three of them in agreement, what were they waiting for? Time to take action.

However, this action was forcibly stopped.

Because there were no such large pots for sale, and orders were not being taken. Even with money and vouchers, suitable pots were unavailable. Instead, Yi Chichi brought back a small iron pot.

Wen’s mother looked at the pot she brought back, stayed silent for a while, and then sighed, "It’s unlikely even to fit a baby, let alone an adult."

Yi Chichi smiled awkwardly and explained, "This is for placing on the stove to cook noodles, boil dumplings, or reheat dishes."

Wen’s mother, "...Not for bathing?"

"There’s no pot big enough for bathing."

She had a pained expression, and Wen’s mother paused before realizing her meaning, letting out a chuckle, "Good thing I didn’t rush to find someone to modify the stove."

Otherwise, with no pot brought back, if they modified the stove first, they’d have to change it back, which would be quite troublesome.

Now it’s much better, less hassle.

Yi Chichi sighed, "I didn’t expect iron pots to be in short supply. Large iron pots are even more unavailable."

Going to the commune to bathe in the dead of winter is indeed very inconvenient.

Just thinking about having to stumble step by step in the freezing snow to the commune for a bath made her feel despair.

"So what do we do in winter?"

Wen’s mother thought the problem wasn’t much, "Since iron pots are out, let’s modify the bathroom then. Make a fire wall, and then when we need a bath, turn on the fire wall directly. Use iron pipes or bamboo to make a water system, directly connecting from the stove to the bathroom to use hot water directly. What do you think?"

This might work, but, "Iron pipes are probably hard to find, as for bamboo..."

Does the Northeast have bamboo?

Never paid attention to it.

Never seen it either.

"Mom, does Baoshan have bamboo?"