Chapter 367: Affection and the Mule

Xu Laifu’s eyes went red at the sight of the dark sauce splattered all over the ground.

He clenched his fists and, for the first time, roared at Xu Laisheng.

“Who’s really forcing whose hand here?”

How could Xu Laisheng tolerate his younger brother’s defiance? He grabbed him by the collar.

Xu Laifu didn’t back down this time. The two of them quickly fell into a scuffle and were only separated when the clan elders arrived.

The clan elders naturally sided with Mr. and Mrs. Xu, but as the saying goes, it’s hard to judge family matters. The older son and his wife were notoriously difficult people, and if this fabricated debt wasn’t settled for good, they would keep stirring up trouble without end.

In the end, to spare his parents the difficulty, Xu Laifu agreed to pay, but only after he sold the contents of these vats.

However, Xu Laisheng’s wife was already convinced he’d never be able to sell it all. She insisted on taking something else as collateral.

What could they take? After some thought, the most valuable things the family owned were the house and the mule.

‘If I take my in-laws’ house, I’ll be completely ostracized in the village. So, the mule it is. It’s a bit old, but it can still work for a few more years.’

The clan elders, cunning with age, said they could have the mule, but they had to sign an agreement and press their thumbprints to it. The document would state that the debt was cleared, and if the elder son’s family ever dared to cause trouble over this again, they would be exiled from Xu Village.

Watching her eldest son press his thumbprint so readily, Mrs. Xu’s heart went from cold to completely dead.

All this time, no matter how much her eldest son had hurt her, she could never bring herself to completely cut ties. She always held on to a sliver of hope that things could be mended, that her son would have a change of heart.

But today, her eldest son knew full well that pressing his thumbprint was tantamount to completely severing ties between the two families, yet he did it anyway.

‘All for a mule…’

Ji Huan was also surprised that a good family like the Xus, with such a warm atmosphere, could produce such a rotten apple.

Xu Laisheng’s transformation was likely not just due to his wife’s pillow talk. Judging by his behavior before his marriage, he had always been a selfish and self-centered person.

It probably had something to do with him leaving his parents in his teens to become an apprentice in the county seat. Without his parents around to guide and discipline him, it was easy to fall in with a bad crowd and go astray.

The fact that he was so brazenly in the wrong could only mean one thing: the favored truly have nothing to fear.

But even the deepest favoritism has its limits, and judging by the look on Mr. and Mrs. Xu, that limit had clearly been reached.

Seeing the oppressive atmosphere in the main room, Ji Huan deliberately tried to joke with Mrs. Xu.

“Auntie, don’t be sad. It’s just one mule, isn’t it? When your younger son makes his fortune, he can buy you eight or ten of them if you want.”

Mrs. Xu actually cracked a smile. “I was worried he’d been tricked, but after meeting you, I can finally rest easy. From now on, I’ll leave Laifu to work hard under your guidance. He’s never done anything big before, so I’ll have to ask you to be patient with him.”

She then turned to Xu Laifu. “The way we supported your older brother back then is how we’ll support you now. Don’t feel pressured. Your father can go back to the pottery yard for another couple of years. His work is skilled labor, not firing the kiln, so the physical toll isn’t as great…”

Although Mr. Xu knew pottery, he had worked in the pottery yard for most of his life. The constant inhalation of dust had left him with a chronic cough and wheeze. Mrs. Xu had long forbidden him from going back, but now…

“Mom…” Xu Laifu’s heart felt heavy. He wanted to speak, but no words came.

He had always believed that it was his own stubborn insistence that had made his older brother turn against the family.

How could he not feel immense pressure with such guilt weighing on his conscience?

But the harder he tried to succeed, the more crushing the blows from reality became.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have told Ji Huan that he would give up after selling off his current stock. He was just so afraid of dragging his family down any further…

Thankfully, Ji Huan had stopped him. Thankfully, his parents were still willing to support him… Otherwise, he probably would have spent his whole life as someone else’s employee, never, ever able to do what he truly wanted.

Xu Laifu nodded firmly. “I will definitely cherish this opportunity and do better.”

This promise was for his parents, and for Ji Huan as well.

As they spoke, it became noon. The Xu family insisted on leaving, but they hadn’t even discussed the details yet. How could Ji Huan let them go? She insisted they stay for a meal.

The ingredients were the same ones she had asked someone to buy in town yesterday to entertain guests. The guests hadn’t shown up, so the food was finally being put to use today.

When Widow Xie and Ji Xuelan heard that Ji Huan had company, they came over to see what was happening during their lunch break.

Ji Huan had Widow Xie keep Mr. and Mrs. Xu company. As for the Xu brothers, she originally planned to have Guan Shan entertain them, but seeing how restrained they were in his presence, she gave up on that idea. Instead, she had Ji Xuelan go and fetch Hu Liang and Ji Mingfang.

She pulled Guan Shan into the kitchen, unwrapped the gauze from her right hand, and waved it in front of him a few times.

“See? The swelling’s almost gone. You tend the stove. I’ll make lunch. We can’t very well have our guests eat pickled vegetable congee, can we?”

Guan Shan said nothing. He asked Ji Huan what dishes she planned to make, and preemptively did all the prep work like washing and chopping the vegetables. Only then did he return to the front of the stove to light the fire.

Ji Huan thought for a moment and decided to make sparerib rice for the main course.

She coated the washed and chopped spareribs evenly with salt, minced garlic, ginger, Xu Laifu’s soy sauce, and her own homemade five-spice powder, then set them aside to marinate.

While they marinated, she started stir-frying dishes in the adjacent wok.

The first dish was braised pork belly, a favorite of all ages and genders.

She had made this dish before, but because the soy sauce wasn’t good, the results were always a bit dissatisfying. Now that she had an upgraded version, she naturally wanted to try it again.

She cut the cleaned pork belly into mahjong-tile-sized pieces. Then, she placed the pork, scallion segments, and ginger slices into a pot of cold water and brought it to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water boiled, she strained the pork, removed it, and rinsed it clean with cold water.

She heated a dry wok and added the blanched pork, stir-frying it over low heat until lightly browned. This rendered the excess fat from the meat, making it less greasy and more fragrant.

Next was caramelizing the sugar. She poured a suitable amount of oil into the wok, added some rock sugar, and stir-fried it slowly over low heat. When the sugar gradually melted and its color changed from white to reddish-brown, the caramel was ready.

She poured the browned pork back in and stir-fried it quickly, making sure the caramel coated each piece evenly.

Now it was the soy sauce’s turn to make its entrance, followed immediately by half a spoonful of five-spice powder.

Finally, she added enough boiling water to cover the pork, brought it to a boil over high heat, then reduced the heat to low and let it simmer for an hour.

When the sauce gradually thickened, she seasoned it with salt, stirred it well, and let it continue to simmer.

Only with enough time could the fat completely dissolve into the sauce, leaving behind a sticky, gelatinous texture that was rich but not greasy.

When the pork belly was simmered until meltingly tender and the sauce was almost completely reduced, it was ready to be plated.

Because the weather was getting colder, Ji Huan had made an insulated warmer in the kitchen. It was actually just an ordinary steamer basket lined with a thick, sewn cotton cover. When she put a dish inside and covered it with the similarly padded lid, it wouldn’t cool down too quickly.

Before putting it away, Ji Huan picked up a piece, leaned over the stove, and offered it to Guan Shan. “Have a taste.”

Guan Shan paused, then opened his mouth as requested.

“How is it? With the new soy sauce, it tastes better than before, right? It’s as tender as soft tofu, but it holds its shape and every fiber is infused with flavor, isn’t it?”

Guan Shan wasn’t a man who cared much for the pleasures of food; he wore the same expression no matter what he ate. But Ji Huan was particularly pleased with her creation at that moment and wanted to share her excitement. She hadn’t really expected any feedback from him and ended up praising her own work.

Sure enough, after eating the piece, Guan Shan just nodded calmly and said, “It’s all delicious.”

Ji Huan was confused. She’d only made one dish. ‘What does he mean, “it’s all delicious”?’

“The ones you made before were also delicious.”

Ji Huan: “…”

That was just like a man telling a woman she looks good in everything she wears.

It was a perfunctory compliment, to be sure, but that didn’t stop her from being happy to hear it.

Humming a little tune, she placed the braised pork into the warmer. The spareribs she had set aside earlier were now perfectly marinated.