Chapter 12: The Neighboring Village Cooks Meat with Soy Sauce, and I Can Smell the Fragrance Even After Walking Ten Miles
In the kitchen, Deng Shirong was preparing the soy sauce mixture. He dissolved the soy sauce with an appropriate amount of clean water and then added a pinch of salt.
After preparing the mixture, Deng Shirong said to his eldest daughter, "Ah Zhen, you can light the fire now!"
Deng Yunzhen responded and sat in front of the stove to start the fire.
When the pot was heated, Deng Shirong put a little lard into the pot. After the lard melted, he added the cooked pork and began stir-frying.
This was half-fat, half-lean pork, so it had a lot of fat. Deng Shirong asked his eldest daughter to control the heat and then stir-fried it calmly.
Soon, the lard in the fat was slowly rendered out. Deng Shirong saw that it was almost done and ordered, "Ah Zhen, increase the heat."
Deng Yunzhen responded and stuffed a handful of dry weeds into the stove. They were highly flammable, and a big fire started instantly.
In the kitchen, Deng Yuntai and his siblings all knew that the most critical step of frying the pork until golden brown was coming, so they all craned their necks to watch their father work.
Deng Shirong held the spatula in his right hand and the prepared soy sauce mixture in his left. Seeing that the oil temperature in the pot was high enough, he poured the soy sauce mixture along the edge of the pot.
Hiss…
The moment the soy sauce mixture hit the hot oil, a strong aroma filled the air.
To understand how strong this aroma was, one could get a glimpse from a local folk song. There's a line in the song: "In the next village, people cook meat with soy sauce. I can smell the fragrance even if I walk ten miles. Now I am here, and I am intoxicated by the soy sauce fragrance again."
This soy sauce mixture is the key to the dish.
Using lard to stir-fry pork is a perfect match. Although it's not as exaggerated as the folk song suggests—that the fragrance can be smelled ten miles away—when the soy sauce mixture is poured in and mixed with the pork and lard, the aroma can indeed drift far.
After pouring the soy sauce mixture in, Deng Shirong quickly stir-fried it a few times and then took it out of the pan and placed it on a plate.
If you want the fried pork to taste good, timing is crucial. When pouring the soy sauce mixture, the oil temperature must be high to fully release the aroma.
Additionally, after pouring the mixture, stir-fry quickly for a few seconds and then remove from the pan immediately. If you stir-fry for too long, the soy sauce will stick to the pan, and the taste won't be as good.
After plating the pork, Deng Shirong scooped a ladle of water from the water tank into the pot, then smiled at his children, whose noses were twitching, "Okay, don't just stand there. It's time to eat!"
Deng Yunzhen said with admiration, "Dad, your cooking skills are amazing. I've made fried pork several times before, but none of them were as delicious as yours this time."
Deng Shirong walked toward the dining table and said with a smile, "The most critical step in making fried pork is the last step of pouring the soy sauce mixture. First, the oil temperature must be high, and second, stir-fry the mixture evenly before removing it from the pan immediately. As long as these two points are done well, the taste will generally be good."
Deng Yuntai asked, "Dad, would you like something to drink?"
Deng Shirong shook his head and said, "No, I have to go to Deepwater Village to do some work, so I won't drink."
At this time, Yunsong, Yunhua, and Yunheng were so hungry that they wanted to eat the meat right away, but families in this era weren't as unruly as in later generations. Especially when eating meat, the number of pieces per person was set, and you couldn't eat as much as you wanted.
Of course, this rule was also related to the poor living conditions of that era. For example, most families in later generations had no shortage of meat, so they could eat it however they wanted.
"Okay, stop looking and eat!"
After getting their father's permission, the six siblings picked up their chopsticks and reached for the plate of pork in unison.
After that, no one spoke, including Deng Yuntai, who was busy eating. The aroma of the pork made them almost swallow their tongues. Who had time to talk?
Deng Shirong also tasted a piece of pork. It must be said that the taste was truly amazing. It's very difficult to eat such delicious pork in the future.
On the one hand, most pork in later generations was raised on feed, and the quality of the meat definitely wasn't as good as that of today's farm-raised pigs.
On the other hand, it's related to the soy sauce. The soy sauce made nowadays uses the best materials, and the craftsmanship is also excellent. When the person who sells the soy sauce passes away, it'll be their son's turn to take over, and the soy sauce he makes won't be as good as his father's.
Soon, the large plate of pork was finished by the father and his seven children. The last person drank a bowl of pork and loofah soup. After putting down their bowls, everyone touched their stomachs with great satisfaction.
Deng Shirong wasn't as full as his children. He went to the front hall, smoked two cigarettes, and then slowly walked toward Deepwater Village.
Originally, the production teams had endless work to do all year round. At this time of year in previous years, members of each production team had to do this and that and would never stop.
However, this year was different. Most people had already heard that they would divide the fields and work on their own after harvesting the rice. The team leader no longer organized the members to do this or that, so the members of each production team had a rare few days of rest.
Because Deng Shirong was walking in a leisurely manner to digest his food, it took him more than half an hour to arrive at Deepwater Village.
Guan Dewei and his family knew that Deng Shirong would come in the morning, so they waited at home.
After the two sides met and greeted each other, Guan Yongying handed over the hookah and matches and said, "Uncle Jiu, have a smoke first."
Deng Shirong smiled and said yes, then he took the tobacco and smoked two pipes.
After finishing his smoke, Deng Shirong started talking business: "Cousin, the man's family not only agreed to the conditions your family proposed but also increased the bride price by an additional 400 yuan."
Guan Dewei's family was shocked when they heard this!
Actively increasing the bride price completely refreshed their perspectives.
This was 400 yuan. Even Guan Dewu, who worked at the supply and marketing cooperative, would have to work for almost a year and a half without eating or drinking to earn that much money.
After the initial shock, Guan Dewei, who knew there was no such thing as a free lunch, quickly calmed down and asked, "Uncle Jiu, I wonder what the conditions are for the man's family to do this?"
Deng Shirong explained, "Everyone has already heard that our Help and Correct Brigade is going to divide the land and work on their own after the harvest. The man's family's purpose is simple: they want to marry your Yongying back as soon as possible so that their family can get an extra piece of land.
Of course, if you do this, your family will get one less piece of land, so the man's family took the initiative to increase the bride price by 400 yuan as a little compensation to your family."
After hearing this, the Guan family suddenly understood.
Guan Dewei and his wife looked at each other and saw the hesitation in each other's eyes.
400 yuan was indeed a huge sum of money in this era, but rural people valued land above all else. Unless absolutely necessary, no one was willing to exchange land for money.
Now, with the division of land and individual work imminent, letting their daughter marry at this critical juncture would mean a significant loss.
(End of Chapter)