Chapter 69: Jarred Pork
After returning to the educated youth compound, Ning Xiyue finished the dinner Chen Yechu had left for her and immediately began preparing the meat with salt, Sichuan peppercorns, and various spices. Since she had fresh meat stored in her system backpack, she planned to process every last bit of the wild boar into preserved forms—cured meat, air-dried meat, soy-marinated meat, and jarred pork—so it could be stored for a long time.
She would send some to her parents, some to her eldest brother, keep a bit for her second brother, and still have plenty left for herself. With a whole boar’s worth of meat, no one would dare question her if she decided to cook meat every day from now on.
The wooden basin she had was far too small to hold an entire boar, so Ning Xiyue hurried over to Old Master Chen’s place and exchanged for two extra-large wooden basins—the kind that could fit a whole boar’s worth of meat in one—and also got two medium-sized ones and a half-new large clay jar he generously gave her.
Looking at the basins brimming with pork, Ning Xiyue felt a surge of satisfaction. Rolling up her sleeves, she set to work, sorting the meat according to how she would prepare it.
When Chen Yechu came out after hanging the laundry, he saw Ning Xiyue busy handling the meat in the courtyard and walked over. “Xiyue, let me help you. It’ll take forever if you do this alone.”
“I’ll help too. We’ll finish faster together,” Liu Yao said, rolling up her sleeves and mimicking Ning Xiyue as she rubbed salt and pepper into the meat.
Ning Xiyue smiled at them. “Alright, thank you both.”
Soon, Wu Guifang and Wang Fenglan also came over to lend a hand. After all, they were benefiting from Ning Xiyue today; it wouldn’t look good if they didn’t help.
Meanwhile, ever since Chen Yechu had called him out for having bad breath, Xia Zhipeng had gone unusually quiet and was sulking in his room, questioning his life choices.
Wang Mengmeng saw their hands covered in grease and had no desire to get involved. She turned around and went back to her room, pretending not to see anything.
Helping was a favor, not helping was one’s right. Ning Xiyue didn’t care either way—this way, it was one less person to thank.
Zhao Jianshe, being the eldest brother figure, of course understood the dynamics well and stayed to assist wherever he could.
As for Ning Xiaoxiao and Wu Zhigang, they were nowhere to be seen after returning.
What surprised Ning Xiyue was that the only outsider in this “real-fake story,” the male comrade Wang Jiandong, actually came over to help as well.
He and Liu Yao, both chatterboxes, instantly livened up the atmosphere. Wang Jiandong’s sense of humor had everyone laughing, and even Chen Yechu pursed his lips into a smile several times. They chatted happily about all sorts of interesting topics while working, making the whole thing surprisingly enjoyable.
Seeing everyone pitching in, Ning Xiyue decided to chop the lard and fatty parts meant for rendering oil into large chunks.
“I’m going to the big kitchen to render the oil. Later, I’ll treat you all to some spicy pork cracklings.”
Wang Fenglan laughed heartily. “Sounds great! Today we’re not only getting meat thanks to you, but we also get to enjoy cracklings too.”
Yu Zhiyu, who came back a little late from a shower, had been worried about not being useful and leaving a bad impression on Chen Yechu. Upon hearing Ning Xiyue mention rendering oil, he hurried over.
“Comrade Ning, let me tend the fire for you.”
Ning Xiyue’s heart skipped a beat at that. Internally, she was screaming: Oh come on, male lead! Why are you coming over here instead of sticking close to the female lead? Are you trying to kill me and inherit my pork?!
Not wanting to get herself dragged into the male and female leads’ love drama, Ning Xiyue refused with a “death-smile”:
“No need. Tending the fire can get you dirty, and you just showered. It’s not suitable. Go and take Liu Yao’s place and salt the meat instead.”
After rejecting him, she turned to Liu Yao, who was sitting next to Chen Yechu, and asked, “Yao Yao, I see you’re pretty good at tending the fire. Can you help me with it?”
Liu Yao clapped the salt off her hands, delighted by Ning Xiyue’s words. “Sure, I’ll do it. I’m great at tending fires.”
Happily, she followed Ning Xiyue into the kitchen. Ning Xiyue left the kitchen door wide open—she didn’t want to miss the show outside.
Yu Zhiyu, seeing the now-vacant spot beside Chen Yechu, felt pleased. Close to the water, you get the moon first, as the saying goes.
“Comrade Chen Yechu, could you teach me how to rub the seasoning properly?” Yu Zhiyu asked earnestly.
Ning Xiyue, watching the scene unfold: Very nice, very nice. My effort to place Yu Zhiyu in that spot wasn’t wasted.
“I’ll teach you…”
Wang Jiandong, who was sitting beside Yu Zhiyu, was just about to say he’d teach him instead when Wu Guifang, noticing the situation, quickly cut in.
“Jiandong, didn’t you have some other funny stories? Tell us more.”
Wang Jiandong’s attention was instantly diverted, and he began entertaining them with more stories.
Yu Zhiyu successfully received Chen Yechu’s patient instructions.
While Liu Yao tended the fire, Ning Xiyue peeked out from the kitchen door, very satisfied with the scene in the courtyard.
Liu Yao got the fire going and was about to ask for some praise when she looked up and saw Ning Xiyue crouched by the door.
“Xiyue, what are you doing over there? The fire’s ready—you can come and wash the wok and start rendering the oil.”
“Coming.”
Ning Xiyue dropped her amused expression and began working seriously. As the oil rendered out, the aroma filled the air.
The rich smell was too tempting for Liu Yao—her appetite was fully awakened.
“It smells amazing, Xiyue. I didn’t expect wild boar fat to be this fragrant. Fried vegetables with these cracklings will definitely be delicious.”
“Once the oil’s done, we can eat the cracklings.”
Even Ning Xiyue was starting to feel hungry.
When the oil was fully rendered, she scooped out all the crispy cracklings—there was a whole basin full of them.
The wok was now filled with rendered lard. Taking advantage of the moment, Ning Xiyue put the prepared pork belly into the hot oil to cook.
Liu Yao watched curiously, puzzled, “Xiyue, what are you doing now?”
Ning Xiyue stirred the meat in the oil with a spatula and replied, “I’m making jarred pork. You fry the pork belly until the surface is golden and all the moisture is gone, then store it in a jar together with the lard. It keeps for a long time, and the flavor is wonderful. It’s delicious for stir-frying pickled vegetables or anything else.”
Liu Yao was full of admiration. “Wow, you’re amazing. You even know how to make jarred pork. Can you teach me?”
“I learned it from my mom. Her jarred pork is delicious. I was craving it, so I figured I’d try making some myself while I have the meat.”
Ning Xiyue said proudly, “If you want to learn, watch me carefully. If you can’t remember everything, you can copy my notes later. My mom even organized a recipe book with detailed steps.”
It was her mother’s love, and she wasn’t shy about sharing it with everyone.
Ning Xiyue continued turning the meat in the wok while explaining the process to Liu Yao, who listened attentively and even fetched a notebook from the house to take notes.
Once the meat was done, Ning Xiyue lifted it out with a bamboo sieve to cool and poured the hot oil into a ceramic basin.
“All done. We’ll pack it once it cools down. Remember—never pack the jar while the meat and oil are still hot, or the jar could crack. Put the meat in first, then pour in the oil.”
“Got it.” Liu Yao nodded and quickly jotted down the instructions.
Ning Xiyue covered the meat with a piece of white gauze. “Come on, let’s go handle the other things for now. The meat and oil are too hot. We’ll pack them once they cool.”
The two left the kitchen and went back to work in the courtyard.
Not long after, Ning Xiaoxiao, who had been missing all this time, finally appeared—sneaking toward the communal kitchen.
Ning Xiyue, who had been keeping an eye on the kitchen, stood up as soon as she saw her and followed quietly.
She wanted to see exactly what Ning Xiaoxiao was up to.
