Chapter 78: Red Braised Pork

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Red Braised Pork

Liu refused. "You heartless man! I haven’t had a single bite myself, and now you won’t even let me have the last piece of meat?"

Bai Dazhu glanced at Bai Erzhu’s bowl. It was still filled with meat. "Erzhu," he said, "why did you take so much? Hurry and share some with your sister-in-law."

Bai Erzhu couldn’t be bothered to answer. He simply picked up his bowl and returned to his room. Seeing his father leave, Bai Fugui quickly grabbed his own bowl and scurried away from the table.

Bai Dabao and Bai Xiaofeng had been too busy stuffing their faces to hoard any meat in their bowls. Now that the serving dish was empty, they turned to Old Mrs. Bai with pleading eyes.

Bai Xiaofeng said, "Grandma, I’m not full yet."

Bai Dabao chimed in, "Yeah, Grandma! Buy more meat next time. This isn’t nearly enough for all of us."

Bai Dabao was the Bai family’s eldest grandson, and Bai Xiaofeng was the family’s hope for the future. Old Mrs. Bai doted on both grandsons, but Bai Xiaofeng, in particular, was the apple of her eye.

As soon as her grandsons spoke up, Old Mrs. Bai didn’t hesitate. She immediately divided half the meat from her own bowl between them, giving three pieces to Bai Xiaofeng and two to Bai Dabao.

But Liu, who was watching with pleading eyes, didn’t get so much as a single scrap.

Just then, Bai Zhi and Zhao Lan returned. Bai Zhi first helped Zhao Lan back to their wooden hut, then came to the main house carrying a half-full basket of wild vegetables from Uncle Hu to show for her work.

She smelled the braised pork before she even stepped through the door. A cold sneer formed in her heart. ’They’re eating meat while Mom and I are out. They probably haven’t left us so much as a drop of the broth.’

She strode into the house, set down her basket, and walked briskly toward the table with a smile. "Something smells delicious! What’s for dinner?"

Seeing her approach the table, Liu hurriedly poured every last drop of the oily broth from the serving dish into her own bowl.

Bai Zhi stared at the serving dish, which was as clean as if a dog had licked it. She frowned. "It’s all gone? My mother and I haven’t eaten yet."

Old Mrs. Bai quickly stuffed the last piece of braised pork from her bowl into her mouth. With a cold glare, she said, "Who told you to come back so late? If you’d returned earlier, there would have been food for you. Look how late it is!"

’If we had come back earlier, you would’ve shared the braised pork with us? Ha!’

Bai Zhi retorted, "My mother and I are covered in injuries. It’s a wonder we made it back at all. You people are going too far. Forgetting to save us breakfast is one thing, but you didn’t leave us a single bite of lunch either. It seems like you’re intentionally trying to starve us to death."

Liu pointed to the basket and snapped, "Didn’t you bring back some wild vegetables? Go cook them yourself. Who did you expect to wait on you?"

Bai Zhi wanted nothing more than to kick the basket over and leave. But then she remembered that the wild vegetables were a gift from Uncle Hu, and that she and her mother’s dinner likely depended on them. So, she said no more. With a look of displeasure, she picked up the basket and headed to the rear kitchen.

On the stove sat half a bowl of lard, rendered just moments before when Liu had cooked the braised pork. Lard was a rarity for the Bai family; they usually hid it away, only occasionally mixing a little into Bai Xiaofeng’s rice. But today, Liu had been so preoccupied with getting more meat for herself that she hadn’t cleaned the kitchen, allowing Bai Zhi to stumble upon this little treasure.

While stir-frying the vegetables, she dumped the entire bowl of lard into the wok, not leaving a single drop behind for the others.

Wild vegetables boiled in water and wild vegetables stir-fried in lard were two completely different things. Glee-filled, she spooned the vegetables into a bowl, grabbed the last bowl of plain congee from the small pot, and hurried out of the kitchen. She practically flew through the main hall, terrified that if any of the other Bai family members saw her glistening, oily dish, they would snatch it away.