Reborn in 80: Starting with hunting in the mountains to get rich

Chapter 216 Authentic Blood Sausage, One of Life's Greatest Pleasures

The Lu family had just slaughtered a pig for the New Year.

However, the pig intestines and blood were given away by the Lu family patriarch to villagers who had helped out, as a token of goodwill. So the Lu family didn't keep any for themselves. The Lu family's second aunt nagged about this for a long time, saying that the old man was getting senile and shouldn't have given away such good things. The Lu family patriarch didn't like hearing this and argued with his daughter, getting very angry – an unpleasant situation during the New Year.

Later, the two daughters-in-law spoke up, telling the Lu brothers to ask the hunters in the village if they had any blood sausage made. They could trade eggs for some, just a small portion. They could stew the blood sausage and fry it in oil. This would also give the old man and his second aunt a way to save face during the New Year.

Now that the Lu brothers and Li Ju'an have returned to the village, bringing three wild boars on a sled, the Lu family's aunts and sisters-in-law are overjoyed. They are busy and warmly welcoming Li Ju'an, bringing him canned fruit and biscuits.

Seeing how polite the Lu family sisters-in-law were, Li Ju'an felt a little embarrassed. He put the biscuits away, intending to give them to Li Xiao to take back. However, Lu's mother thought he didn't like biscuits, so she loudly called over Lu Zhiqiang, asking him to hand Li Ju'an a can of unopened malted milk powder.

Lu Zhiqiang immediately felt like he was going to explode. Malted milk powder was his precious treasure; even his future wife couldn't compare to it.

"Mom, I also helped with this big sow, so shouldn't I get a share?"

Lu Jinyang laughed and said, "You did the work, the pistol bullets blew the sow's fur off, and after shooting for so long the sow was still alive and kicking. You almost got your finger bitten off when you reached out."

Lu Zhiqiang scolded him to stop babbling and to shut his mouth.

Li Ju'an laughed and said, "Auntie, no need. We might build a house after the New Year, and then we'll have to move all the things from the old house to the new one. It's not easy to carry so many things."

Of course, Lu's mother knew that this was just her child being sensible and making things up on the spot. No one would complain about having too much malted milk powder, especially since Li Ju'an's younger sister was growing up and loved drinking this sweet, chocolate-flavored malted milk powder mixed with water.

She quickly said, “Building a house requires all kinds of workers. We don’t know the background of workers from other villages, so we have to find workers from our own village. Here, I’ll ask Lu Zhiqiang and Lu Jinyang to lend you a hand. You need to build a house after the New Year, so you can use these two as you please. Use them to recruit men. The more people you have, the sooner the house will be finished.”

Li Ju'an gave a big thumbs up and didn't refuse anymore: "Auntie, when I drag down another wild boar, I'll come to your house first."

"This child has such a sweet tongue, he's so endearing. Unlike our Lu Zhiqiang, who's impervious to both soft and hard approaches and is just annoying to look at."

Mrs. Lu was overjoyed, her laughter ringing out. She slipped Li Ju'an a can of unopened malted milk powder and a handful of preserved plum candies from the drawer, much to Lu Zhiqiang's envy. He had long coveted the preserved plum candies, but Mrs. Lu ate them herself and wouldn't give them to him; now she had given them all to Li Ju'an.

After collecting the pig's blood, Aunt Lu began making blood sausage. Only pig small intestines could produce the authentic flavor of the village's blood sausage. If the thicker section of the large intestine was used, buckwheat flour had to be mixed into the blood. It seemed simple, but it actually required skill. Especially the ratio of buckwheat flour to pig's blood and the added seasonings; if these weren't handled well, the blood sausage wouldn't be palatable. The ratio of buckwheat flour to pig's blood was about 1:15.

The Lu family women first took out the small intestines and slowly scraped off the oil with chopsticks, leaving a translucent casing, which was the filling. They tied one end of the casing with string, and then stuffed the filling into the casing. They stuffed it to about 50 centimeters, leaving about 5 centimeters of space, and then tied it up.

They stir the filling every time they make sausages to prevent the dough from settling. They also test if it floats; if it does, it means the sausage is too thin and will break easily.

The women in the Lu family kitchen began cooking the intestines. They put the intestines in water at 80 degrees Celsius, but they couldn't let the water boil. They had to let the intestines cook through. After the water boiled, they poured in cold water to keep the temperature around 90 degrees Celsius and cooked for about 20 minutes.

Pickled cabbage was added to the pot to stew together, and the minced meat and other ingredients in the soup were freshly chopped and scooped out. The aroma wafted throughout the Lu family courtyard. The cooked pig blood sausage and the stewed aroma of pickled cabbage mixed together, making the villagers who passed by extremely hungry.

Grandpa Zhang, who was playing cards in the snow shelter, didn't even look at his cards. He craned his neck and said to his card-playing friends, "What's that smell? It smells so good. Who's making blood sausage?"

Li Ju'an warmed himself by the fire on the kang (a heated brick bed), his hands tucked inside, inhaling the aroma of blood sausage. A short while later, Aunt Lu brought over a large pot of sauerkraut stewed with blood sausage; the aroma was incredibly enticing. The cooked blood sausage, sliced, could be eaten directly, allowing one to savor its original flavor. It was soft and chewy, with the fragrance of buckwheat and the savory taste of pig's blood.

Li Ju'an, breathing out hot air, picked up a slice of blood sausage with chopsticks and tore off a piece with his teeth. The piping hot blood sausage, like tofu pudding, trembled slightly in his mouth. It was so delicious that he didn't want to swallow it, and rolled it around in his mouth.

Oh my god, it smells so good!

Some people don't like blood sausage because they can't stand its tofu-like texture. But Li Ju'an loves it. Looking at the bright red pig's blood, biting into it and tasting its soft and chewy texture, enjoying its delicious flavor, is truly one of life's great pleasures.

“Ju’an, take this pot back for your mom to try. The lard she sent last time was really fragrant, but we didn’t have anything good to send over. This is perfect, since you can take this pot back, we still have some here.”

A large pot of blood sausage was filled, and a small pot was scooped out. The original flavor of the blood sausage is delicious when it is freshly made, and even after a few days, it can still be fried in lard or cooked in oil.

The blood sausage that has been deep-fried is then slowly pan-fried over low heat until the skin curls slightly and the color darkens. Compared to the original blood sausage, it has a crispier texture and a richer aroma.

Li Ju'an let out a soft "Ah." That's how the interpersonal relationships in the village are. You remember me, and I remember you. If someone cooks something delicious, we share it with everyone—it's all about human kindness.

After Li Ju'an returned, the Lu siblings exchanged a glance, both seeing shrewdness in each other's eyes.

Just now, Lu's mother got Li Ju'an some malted milk powder and preserved plum candy, and opened the locked drawer. Once the lock is open, the entire drawer can be taken out.

Lu Wenqian had long coveted the treasures her mother had hidden in the drawer. Lu Zhiqiang, on the other hand, had been struggling to find the key and didn't dare to pick the lock for fear of being beaten by his grandfather, so he had waited until today. Now, with guests coming and going, and Lu's mother actually opening the lock to take out good things to entertain them, the opportunity had finally arrived.

Lu Zhiqiang rushed into the room first and indeed saw that the lock had been opened. His craving was aroused, and he kept pulling on the drawer. The old drawer was very tight, but he finally managed to pull it open a large gap. He quickly reached inside and felt around.

His eyes lit up. There was also a packet of instant noodles?

Instant noodles are good stuff too. He must be hiding something from his dad. Lu Wenqian rushed in at this moment, her eyes darting towards Lu Zhiqiang. She opened her mouth to shout, which startled Lu Zhiqiang so much that he broke out in a cold sweat. He covered Lu Wenqian's mouth and whispered, "You know, I know, nobody else knows. You can have all the candy, the rest is mine."

Lu Wenqian wasn't easily fooled. She widened her bright eyes, swayed her braids, and said, "Brother, I want a pound of sugar."