Chapter 32 - Braised Wild Hare
The butcher thought for a while and said firmly, "Yes!"
That day, Guan Chibei brought a pork trotter back to the Guan family…
Mother Rong was overjoyed. When she received the pork trotter, she looked at Chibei as if she was looking at something incredible. Why did Liu'er suddenly become so successful? He could get everything she wanted?!
Mother Rong was even more surprised after Guan Chibei told her about exchanging the goat for three months worth of pork trotters. She was stunned for a moment before coming back to her senses.
After a momentary daze, Mother Rong carried the pig trotter into the kitchen…
Of course, the stewed pork trotter soup had to be accompanied by soybeans. First, she soaked the soybeans in advance. Then, she cut the pork trotter open and washed it. She blanched the fishy smell and washed away the froth before fishing it out to wash it clean again.
Then, she poured cold water over the pork trotter in the pot and added ginger and onions into the pot.. After the fire boiled, she changed it into a small fire and slowly stewed it for two hours.
When the time was right, she would add the soybeans and add a little salt as seasoning. The taste would be rich but light.
The pork trotter was stewed and the Guan family even made braised wild hare today. Mother Rong went to the chicken pen in the backyard and brought over a wild hare that Chibei had caught two days ago.
It was Guan Chibei who had asked Mother Rong to cook a hare today. He hunted for food at home, so it shouldn't be left around. Besides, this kind of wild hare had a strong personality and was not easy to raise. It was not very willing to give in and become a domesticated hare. It was very easy for it to be in a poor mental state and become exhausted. After raising it for two days, the wild hare had lost a lot of weight.
She might as well cook it.
Mother Rong originally felt a little pained to eat so much every day. She wanted to keep the hare, but seeing how listless it was, she endured the pain and cooked it.
After the rabbit was skinned and cleaned, more ingredients were prepared. There were scallions, ginger, garlic, wild pepper, dried chili, green chili, and red fresh chili. Condiments included bean paste, soy sauce, seasoning wine, white sugar, salt, and fragrant vinegar. With all of these ingredients, it was enough to start cooking the hare.
The Guan family had fragrant and spicy braised wild hare for dinner that night. Everyone, whether adults or children, had their mouths full of red oil. It was so spicy that they broke out in a sweat, but they still wanted to eat the meat. Their mouths were swollen and their lips were red. Even though their entire faces were red, they still ate in an incomparably delightful manner.
The hare meat was also filled with fried vegetables and radishes from the ground. They were soaked in thick red gravy and were absolutely delicious when eaten.
The Guan family was so full that they held their stomachs.
Ye Lulu drank the pig trotter soup which had the oil layer removed in her house. It was light, yet fragrant. The soybean trotter soup was sprinkled with green onions. The soup was thick and white, but it wasn't oily or fishy. It was very delicious.
The next day, Guan Chibei went to the only river in the east of the village to fish.
Many villagers saw him. Guan Chibei took a fishing net and walked to the river. He took off his shoes and rolled up his pants. He looked calm as he walked down the river. His handsome face was unusually focused as he held the fishing net and fished in the river.
Although it wasn't late autumn or winter, it was already October. Moreover, Yunwu Village was in the mountains and the river water was very cold. When the men in the village saw this, their expressions cracked. They didn't dare to go into the river.
They were on the mountain!
However, Guan Chibei had a calm expression on his face. No one knew that by soaking in the cold river water, his yin energy was interacting with the water such that it nourished his body. He was feeling very comfortable.
Moreover, the fish in the river were all very agile and swam very quickly. Otherwise, they would have long been scooped up by others. Sometimes, the villagers would come to fish if they wanted to eat some meat, but it depended on luck. Basically, it was very difficult to fish.
Everyone looked at Guan Chibei.