Chapter 29: Crispy Fried Pork

Chapter 29: Crispy Fried Pork

"N-no, no," Lin Jinrui said hesitantly. "But if my mom has a baby, she won't want me anymore." As she spoke, her big eyes welled up, and it looked like they were about to spill over any second.

Cheng Miao hurried to comfort her. "It's okay, it's okay. My mom likes girls. You can come to our house."

Lin Jinrui sniffled and held back her tears. "I don't want to."

"Fine, fine, if you don't want to, then don't. Just don't cry," Cheng Miao quickly changed the subject. "So, are you heading home for lunch?"

Lin Jinrui kept her head down and said nothing. Last night, she'd cautiously asked if she could come home at noon, and her mom had blown up.

Cheng Miao gave Lu Yu a knowing look. "You should have lunch at my place! My mom told me last night to have you stay. She's making something good today."

Lin Jinrui looked up, surprised and happy, then nodded a little shyly. "After I eat, I'll help clean up your house."

Cheng Miao smiled and pointed at Lu Yu. "Then you'll have to fight him for it. He's Ms. Ma Lianhua's right-hand man."

Lin Jinrui looked at Lu Yu and gave herself a little mental pep talk. She was sure she could beat him.

But after lunch, Lu Yu didn't help Mother Cheng clean up like he usually did. Instead, Lin Jinrui was the one trailing after her. Cheng Miao watched Lu Yu with a grin and said, "Why aren't you working today? Figured out that fast that you're losing your spot?"

Lu Yu glanced at him, then turned over to take a nap. Father Cheng hadn't come home at noon, so four people were stretched out on the big kang. Lu Yu was at the edge, followed by Cheng Miao, Mother Cheng, and then Lin Jinrui.

Lin Jinrui leaned against Mother Cheng, who gently stroked her little face. "Ruirui is such a good girl. How about you be Auntie's daughter?"

Lin Jinrui really liked Mother Cheng, but she already had a mom—Ding Cuicui. Even though she wasn't her real mom, she felt torn. "I..."

"Then how about being my daughter-in-law? Look at these two boys—which one do you like?" Mother Cheng pulled Lin Jinrui into her arms and went on, "If you become my daughter-in-law, you'll live with us, and Auntie will make you yummy food every day."

Lin Jinrui was a little tempted. Being someone's daughter-in-law sounded pretty good. If she had to choose one, who would it be? Cheng Miao was a bit of a troublemaker and told lies. Lu Yu didn't talk much and looked scary.

Cheng Miao pretended to be asleep nearby, but he was actually listening closely. Who would Lin Jinrui pick? It had to be him. He was so nice, outgoing, and brave, while Lu Yu was just a big iceberg. Who'd like him?

He waited forever but didn't hear Lin Jinrui's answer. Just as he was about to lift his head to look, he got a kick in the butt. Cheng Miao glared at the culprit.

Lu Yu looked totally unapologetic and whispered, "Go to sleep!"

Cheng Miao glanced at Mother Cheng, who was already snoring softly, and could only hold back his frustration. He grumbled, turned his head, and went to sleep.

By three in the afternoon, everyone was up one by one. Mother Cheng brought out a big piece of meat and told Cheng Miao to start the fire, getting ready to cook.

Cheng Miao was super eager and carried back a big armful of firewood.

Mother Cheng first picked out a big piece of pork belly with nice layers of fat and lean, cut it into fist-sized chunks, and put them in the pot to boil. After blanching them, she added Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and bay leaves, then put it on the fire to braise.

Meanwhile, Lu Yu and Lin Jinrui cracked over a dozen eggs into a bowl and slowly whisked them. Cheng Miao added flour bit by bit, asking every so often, "Is that enough yet?"

After a while, when the whisking left trails that didn't disappear right away, Mother Cheng finally said it was enough.

Lu Yu carried the big bowl of egg mixture to the edge of the kang. Mother Cheng had already cut the lean meat on the cutting board into thin palm-sized slices.

She added a little salt to the egg mixture and put some of the meat slices in, stirring to make sure every slice was coated.

Once the oil in the pot was hot, she put the meat slices in. The egg-coated meat fried up golden brown in no time. After taking them out, while they were still warm, she cut them into strips and neatly arranged them in small bowls. Between the two layers of golden egg coating was the slightly pink lean meat.

Over forty ceramic bowls were brought out every New Year, each filled to the brim with meat—a sight that made you feel satisfied just looking at it.

Lu Yu was assigned to use the long chopsticks to flip the meat in the oil pot.

Cheng Miao, on the other hand, was sent off to the side to mince the meat filling. His small hands gripped the cleaver tightly as he chopped slowly, one stroke at a time.

Lin Jinrui peeled scallions beside him and placed them by the cutting board. Cheng Miao would then chop the scallions into the meat filling. The chopped scallions were quite irritating to the eyes, and Cheng Miao chopped while tears streamed down his face. He comforted himself by thinking that the more it stung now, the more fragrant it would be when eaten later.

Mother Cheng worked quickly. Before long, the fried meat was cut and neatly arranged in ten small bowls, each filled with rows of crispy fried pork strips. On top of each bowl was a slice of ginger, a few bits of chopped red chili, and a little white scallion.

Cheng Miao reached out to grab a piece to taste, but Mother Cheng patted his hand. "It's not cooked yet! It still needs to be steamed."

Cheng Miao sighed. They'd been at it for two hours already, and he still hadn't gotten a single bite.

He took a ladle, scooped up the broth from the braised meat, and poured it over the crispy fried pork in each bowl, filling it until the liquid covered the meat. Then he placed them in the big steamer to steam.

Mother Cheng looked at the sky—it was already getting dark. She quickly boiled some noodles, cooked them, and put them in the braised meat broth. She then sliced the meat into thin pieces, placed them on top of the noodles, and sprinkled a bit of chopped scallion.

"Have a little something to tide you over tonight. Tomorrow evening the meat will be ready, so come to Auntie's house to eat," Mother Cheng said as she served Lin Jinrui a bowl. She added, "After you finish, have Cheng Miao and Lu Yu walk you home. It's getting late."

After working hard all afternoon, the four of them were hungry and quickly slurped down their noodles. After eating, Mother Cheng went back to fiddling with her meatballs.

Cheng Miao and Lu Yu walked Lin Jinrui home. It was getting dark, and under the dim streetlights, the three walked slowly.

Lin Jinrui felt an inexplicable sense of loss. She really enjoyed the lively scene of everyone cooking together that afternoon, but her own home had never been like that. She didn't really want to go back to that cold, empty house.

Soon, they arrived at her doorstep. Lin Jinrui weakly said goodbye to the two and was about to push the door open.

She pushed, but the door didn't budge. She pushed harder, and it still wouldn't move.

Lin Jinrui peered through the crack in the door. It was locked from the inside. She looked at the window of the main room—it was pitch black.

"The lights are off. My mom doesn't seem to be home," Lin Jinrui said, turning back to look at the two.

"Can you get in?" Cheng Miao asked.

"The door is locked from the inside. I can't get in," Lin Jinrui said anxiously.

"If it's locked from the inside, then someone must be home. Call your mom to open the door," Cheng Miao said, finding it a bit strange.

So Lin Jinrui shouted loudly outside the door, "Mom, open the door!"

She called several times, but there was still no response.

"There's no one there, is there? They wouldn't abandon me, would they?" Lin Jinrui sat down in front of the door, feeling dejected.