37 – Fragrant Meat

A rich aroma of meat was spreading through the kitchen.

Xiao Yan, who was squatting by the stove to help with the fire, couldn’t help but drool at the smell of the meat.

“Brother, when can we eat?” The little one was getting impatient.

“Just need to simmer a bit longer…”

Lu Qing also felt a bit restless.

In his past life as a meat-eater, after coming to this world, he hadn’t had proper meat except for fish.

Now, smelling the rich aroma of meat, his appetite was nearly awakened.

Lu Qing was making braised pork.

Of course, due to the lack of seasonings, he was making a simplified version of braised pork, or it might be more appropriate to call it stewed meat.

The reason he made braised pork was because he saw someone selling bean paste at the market.

It was being sold by a farmer’s wife, initially packed in a jar that he almost overlooked.

After tasting a bit, he found that the flavor was somewhat similar to soy sauce, though less salty, and he was immediately delighted.

He bought quite a bit, much to the farmer’s wife’s gratitude.

Taking the opportunity, he inquired about the origin of the paste and learned that the recipe was left by the farmer’s wife’s grandfather.

Her grandfather was once in the kitchen of a restaurant in a distant city, but due to some misfortune, he ended up here.

After she got married, her husband’s family was poor, so she thought of making some bean paste to help out.

Beans were cheap; even if it went wrong, the loss wouldn’t be significant.

However, the locals didn’t seem to have much of a taste for bean paste.

She had been selling at the market for a while, and Lu Qing was her biggest customer.

After hearing her story, Lu Qing felt sympathy and bought another jar of the paste, making the farmer’s wife even more grateful.

After the unexpected find of the bean paste, Lu Qing took another careful stroll around the market.

Unfortunately, there were no more surprises like the bean paste.

However, he did find an old man selling sugar, and he bought some.

Sugar was much more expensive than bean paste, but Lu Qing was never stingy when it came to food.

With these ingredients, Lu Qing decided to make braised pork.

He sliced half-fat, half-lean pork belly into chunks, blanched them, and then pan-fried them until golden.

He then took out the meat and started frying the paste.

Once the paste was fragrant, he added the slightly pan-fried pork chunks back in.

Then he added sugar, salt, and water to stew everything together.

This certainly wasn’t authentic braised pork, but with limited resources, it was the best Lu Qing could do.

Fortunately, even with a simple method, meat was still meat.

After simmering for a while, the aroma of the meat filled the kitchen, making both siblings drool.

Once he estimated enough time had passed, Lu Qing opened the pot lid to start reducing the sauce.

As soon as the lid was lifted, steam rose and the rich aroma of meat rushed out, filling the entire kitchen.

The fragrance even drifted outside, causing passing villagers to stop in their tracks.

After a moment, they realized the aroma was coming from Lu Qing’s house and were astonished.

“Such a rich aroma of meat… how much meat is Lu Qing cooking at home?”

Some wanted to take a look inside but felt it would be impolite.

After standing for a while, feeling their stomachs grow hungrier, they quickly hurried home.

If they stayed any longer, they feared they might not resist going in to ask for a bite.

The fragrance wafted farther and farther, reaching neighboring households.

Upon confirming it was from the Lu family, they couldn’t help but exclaim.

“The Lu family’s days are getting better and better… what meat are they cooking? It smells so good!”

“I thought that after Lu Ming and his wife passed away, Lu Qing and Xiao Yan, those two kids, would be living a tough life… looks like we don’t have to worry anymore.”

“I heard Lu Qing and Da An went to the market this morning and bought a lot of stuff. Lu Qing even returned all the grain and salt he had borrowed from everyone.”

“Old Doctor Chen is really good to his disciple…”

“It’s a pity my own kid isn’t as promising, or I’d have asked Old Doctor Chen to take him as a disciple too.”

“Give it a rest… your kid can’t even read a single word, how could he understand a single medical book.”

“You talk about my kid, but doesn’t your kid have the same problem? Can’t even count past ten… we both aren’t much better than the other…”

…

Lu Qing didn’t know about the villagers’ discussions.

At this moment, he was thickening the sauce and starting to serve the meat.

The fully cooked meat was placed into a bowl, trembling as it landed, looking extremely enticing.

Seeing the quality of the braised pork, Lu Qing could hardly resist.

He quickly stir-fried a vegetable on high heat and then announced that it was time to eat.

“Xiao Yan, this is for you. Eat slowly and watch out for the heat.”

At the dining table, Lu Qing first picked up a piece of meat and placed it on Xiao Yan’s rice bowl.

“Got it, brother…”

Xiao Yan obediently responded, then started blowing on the meat in her bowl, trying to cool it down quickly.

After serving Xiao Yan, Lu Qing also helped himself to a piece of braised pork.

He blew on it slightly to cool it down, then took a bite, his eyes lighting up instantly.

He had simmered the meat for a long time, and it was completely flavorful.

It was soft and sticky with a hint of elasticity, providing an excellent taste.

After devouring one piece of braised pork, Lu Qing showed a satisfied expression.

It was worth the time he spent cooking it.

Although the shortage of seasonings made it less layered in taste compared to what he used to make in his previous life…

But given the current conditions, being able to enjoy such meat was already enough to satisfy him.

“Brother, the meat is delicious!”

Xiao Yan, with her mouth full of grease, joyfully exclaimed to Lu Qing.

“Haha, of course, Brother put a lot of effort into making this.” Lu Qing said proudly.

“Brother’s cooking is so good. In the future, I want to learn to cook from Brother and make lots and lots of delicious food myself!”

The little foodie voiced her ambitions.

“Then Xiao Yan needs to eat well first. When you grow up a bit more, Brother will teach you how to cook.”

“Okay!”

The siblings enjoyed a delightful dinner.

After dinner, after tidying up, Lu Qing took a piece of cloth and went next door to Grandpa Zhang’s house.

“Grandpa Zhang, Grandpa Zhang!”

“What’s up, Ah Qing?” Grandpa Zhang came out of the house.

“Is my second aunt at home?”

The second aunt, Grandpa Zhang’s second daughter-in-law, was famous in the village for her sewing skills.

“She is inside. Are you looking for her?” Grandpa Zhang called out to the house, “Second daughter-in-law, come out, Ah Qing needs you for something.”

“What does Ah Qing need me for?” A woman came out from the house.

“It’s like this, I bought a piece of cloth at the market this morning and wanted to make two outfits for Xiao Yan. But I am not good at sewing, so I was hoping you could help me. I will pay you for the work.”

Lu Qing showed the cloth in his hand.

“This child, talking about money, we are neighbors, helping each other is the right thing to do. Give me the cloth, I’ll figure it out and let Xiao Yan come over for measurements tomorrow. I’ll get it done in a couple of days.” Second Aunt Zhang accepted the fabric.

“Exactly, you brought such a big piece of meat at noon, you were already too polite.” Grandpa Zhang also said.

“I can’t ask Second Aunt to work for free.” Lu Qing laughed, “Then it’s settled. I need to go back and study.”

“Okay, studying is important. You go back quickly.”

Returning home, Lu Qing saw Xiao Yan playing in the yard and smiled.

The little girl’s clothes were originally altered from his old ones and now covered with patches.

He had noticed during the past few days of laundry that some seams were starting to come apart.

It was fortunate that he found someone selling cloth at the market today. Although the quality wasn’t great and the price was high…

Lu Qing still bought some back, intending to have someone make new clothes.

Lu Qing didn’t tell Xiao Yan about the new clothes, planning to give her a surprise tomorrow.

That night, Xiao Yan fell asleep without waiting for the black little beast to show up.

The next morning, she woke up feeling a bit glum.

But her mood quickly lightened upon learning about the new clothes.

Two days later, the new clothes were ready, and the little girl wore them happily, showing off for several days.

Having stocked up on supplies at the market, Lu Qing stayed in the village for the upcoming days without going out.

Each day consisted of studying at Old Doctor Chen’s place, doing some farm work like planting vegetables in the yard, and thinking about how to make the best dishes with limited resources in the afternoon.

Occasionally, he’d fish to feed the Night Spirit Fox.

Life fell into a routine.

Finally, one morning, when he and Xiao Yan went back to the small courtyard on the mountain, the old doctor told him that he no longer needed to read the Herbal Scripture.