Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

Xu Li smiled proudly, "That's right, your sister is the most capable."

Zhu Wenliang chuckled and said, "Brother, I'm so lucky to have married such a capable wife as your sister. It's a blessing from my past life."

Xu Bei smiled knowingly, "Then brother-in-law, you'd better cherish this hard-won marriage. If you dare to treat my sister badly, I, as your younger brother, will be the first to object!"

Zhu Wenliang thought his brother-in-law was joking, so he immediately raised his hand and said, "How could I dare to treat your sister badly? If you tell me to go east, I wouldn't dare to go west; if you tell me to chase a dog, I wouldn't dare to chase a chicken."

Xu Li grinned, "Don't give me that! When did I ever let you chase dogs?"

Xu Bei felt he had been used as a tool in their flirting, so he immediately interrupted them and urged, "Hurry up and take the stools inside!"

While the three of them were busy working together, Xu Juan quickly ran out to help.

As soon as Xu Bei opened the door, he felt a wave of heat mixed with an even stronger aroma of oil rushing towards him.

He saw his mother standing in front of the stove on the east side, holding a spatula in her hand, the oil residue in the pot sizzling.

"Mom, this smells so good! My mouth is watering! When can we eat something so delicious?"

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Zhao Fengying's forehead. She wiped them away with the back of her hand before smiling and saying, "Even if your mouth is watering, just bear with it a little longer. Rendering lard requires slow cooking over low heat. It tastes best when it turns golden and crispy."

"Then I'll wait patiently a little longer."

After Xu Bei finished speaking, he quickly carried the stool to the west room and returned to the kitchen to stand by the stove.

Almost everyone else did the same thing.

However, the outer room has limited space, so it's not good to have so many people crammed in. Zhu Wenliang, for example, stood at the door of the east room.

At this moment, Xu Li took out the money she had collected for the stools yesterday from her pocket and handed it to Xu Bei.

Xu Bei quickly settled his sister's commission, then casually asked, "How much does this pork fat cost per pound?"

Xu Limei happily put the money in her pocket and replied with a smile, "One yuan and thirty cents."

Xu Bei sighed, "It's not cheap."

Zhao Fengying chimed in, "It's indeed not cheap, but no matter how expensive it is, people still scramble to buy it. Otherwise, what would be the point of the limited monthly supply of soybean oil?"

Xu Bei naturally knew that in the 1980s, the most precious things were not lean meat or ribs, but fatty meat and pork fat.

Especially pork fat, which is the layer of white fat on a pig's belly.

After being boiled at high temperatures to extract the oil, it is stored in canning jars or small containers that every household has, and it will quickly solidify into white lard.

Adding some lard to stir-fries, stews, or fillings makes them especially fragrant.

Unlike some of the overwhelming, brainwashing propaganda in the future, such as "lard is full of saturated fatty acids, eating it will clog blood vessels and animal oil is unhealthy" and "high cholesterol, easy to get heart disease", which makes many people shy away from lard.

The remaining solid residue has a down-to-earth name in Northeast China: "oil splatter".

It can be eaten plain or used as a filling.

The most amazing thing is using pickled cabbage and lard to make dumplings and steamed buns. The refreshing pickled cabbage cuts through the greasiness of the lard, and the aroma is so enticing that it makes you dizzy.

Watched by her children, Zhao Fengying kept stirring the pot with a spatula, her movements skillful and powerful.

The oil in the pot was getting thicker and thicker, clear like amber, sloshing around in the pot.

The oil residue had changed from a light yellow to a golden color, becoming firm like fried dough twists, floating and sinking in the oil.

According to Xu Bei's experience, if you touch it with a spatula and it feels light and airy, and the sizzling sound in the pot becomes quieter, then you can take it out. If you wait until it turns dark brown before taking it out, it will be bitter and won't taste good.

Zhao Fengying picked up a piece with her chopsticks, gently crushed it, and said, "It's done."

Then, use a slotted spoon to quickly scoop out the oil residue and sprinkle some salt on top.

"Eat them while they're hot, they won't taste as good when they get cold."

Xu Juan, who had been waiting anxiously for half a day, didn't even care that it was hot. She picked up a piece, took a bite, and made a crunching sound. She kept saying how delicious it was, and her eyes squinted with satisfaction, her little face full of happiness.

Xu Bei smiled as he watched his younger sister's greedy expression, and he quickly picked up a piece as well, slowly chewing it.

The crispy fried pork cracklings burst open in your mouth, filling it with aroma and a hint of saltiness.

Xu Li and Zhu Wenliang also joined in and started eating.

Zhao Fengying ate two pieces and then stopped.

She carefully poured the rendered lard into a small jar for storing animal fat and placed it on the kitchen windowsill, letting the cold air help it cool quickly.

"I'll make you sauerkraut and oil-fried dumplings for lunch tomorrow."

As soon as she finished speaking, she received an enthusiastic response from Xu Juan and Xu Li: "Okay!" "Then we'll leave work early and come help out."

Xu Bei looked at the small jar and suggested, "Mom, how about making us rice with lard tomorrow morning?"

Zhao Fengying was a parent who spoiled her child, and now that she was making a lot of money selling stools, she wanted to give her son credit for the success. There was no reason for her to disagree.

"Sure, if you're willing to eat, I'll start cooking the rice early tomorrow. We can eat our fill and then pick you up from the train station."

Xu Li also felt a bit tempted to eat it after hearing that.

But for some reason, the thought of lard and rice mixed together in a greasy way suddenly makes me feel nauseous.

Just then, they heard noises coming from the courtyard.

Xu Bei and the others quickly opened the door to see what was happening and found that Song Guodong had arrived on his bicycle.

Because she was busy entertaining guests, Xu Li immediately forgot about the nausea that had just arisen within her.

Xu Bei led Song Guodong to sit in the west room.

In addition to tea, my family also brought me a bowl of still-warm fried dough sticks.

Song Guodong didn't treat himself as an outsider, taking a few bites and praising them highly.

"Auntie's cooking is so much better than my mom's. You have no idea how hard my mom works to make it, it's all a waste."

Xu Bei had also tasted Song's mother's cooking, and could only say that he wasn't lying. "If you think it's delicious, eat more. There's plenty more at home."

After chatting amiably for a few minutes, Xu Bei collected the money for 20 more stools.

After installing 18 stools for the other party and seeing them off, he calculated his earnings for the day and found he had made over 100 yuan.

If we can maintain this pace, I believe it won't be long before we sell over a thousand stools and accumulate the 10 reputation points required by the system.

Then, the second production line can be started.

According to the system instructions, the more complex second production line should be for tables.

As for what form the table takes, that remains to be seen once it's opened.

Xu Bei was still looking forward to the day when all the production lines in the workshop, which were still covered in dust, would be lit up.

Knowing he would have to get up early the next day, Xu Bei went to bed earlier than usual that night.

The next day.

Before dawn, he was awakened by a fragrant aroma...