Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

"Hey, Mom's here." Wei Chen responded, stretching his limbs and feeling warm all over, the chill gone. He went back inside, wiped his sweat, and changed into an old, casual cotton-padded jacket.

Inside the main room, the dining table was already set. A large bowl of steaming cornmeal porridge, golden in color, exuded the unique aroma of grain. A dish of homemade pickled radish, finely chopped and drizzled with sesame oil—this was peanut oil Wei Chen had brought back; Wang Xiulan couldn't bear to eat too much, so she just added a few drops when mixing the pickled radish, instantly making it fragrant. There were also several steamed buns made from a mixture of wheat and water, freshly steamed, soft and delicious.

"Ranran, get up! Time to eat!" Wang Xiulan called out to the inner room.

"Mmm... I'll sleep a little longer..." Wei Ran's muffled voice came through the covers, filled with a deep longing for her warm bed. Children love to sleep, especially in the cold winter.

"Get up! The sun's already high in the sky! We have a lot to do today. We need to steam buns, and your brother needs to prepare the meat. You need to help with the fire!" Wang Xiulan raised her voice.

Upon hearing that they were going to steam buns and prepare meat, Wei Ran's sleepiness vanished almost instantly. She sat bolt upright in bed, rubbing her eyes, and exclaimed, "Coming, coming!" She quickly dressed, slipped on her cotton shoes, and ran out, sniffing the air, "It smells so good! Mom, we have pickled vegetables with sesame oil today!"

"You have such a keen sense of smell!" Wang Xiulan smiled and tapped her daughter's forehead. "Hurry up and wash your face and hands before you eat, it's getting cold."

The family of three sat around the table, enjoying a simple yet warm breakfast of hot porridge, pickled vegetables, and steamed buns. Wei Chen had a good appetite; his training had been very demanding, and he drank three bowls of porridge and ate two steamed buns. Wei Ran also ate with relish, occasionally asking, "Mom, are you steaming white flour buns today?" "Brother, is there a lot of meat? I want braised pork!"

"Steam two baskets of white flour, for ourselves. And one basket of mixed flour, to show off to outsiders." Wang Xiulan placed a piece of pickled vegetable on her daughter's plate, then said to Wei Chen, "I saw the meat, there's a lot! That pork belly is really good, two or three fingers thick! The beef and lamb are fresh too. Chen'er, what do you suggest we do?"

Wei Chen swallowed the steamed bun in his mouth, thought for a moment, and said, "Mom, let's wash all the meat today. Cut the pork into pieces, render the fat, and keep the cracklings for stir-frying or making buns. Let's braise the pork belly today, making pork cubes, and eat them slowly."

"Wash the beef and mutton and set them aside. We'll make soup tomorrow or the day after. I'm craving beef and mutton soup, with some cabbage and glass noodles—it'll be so warm and delicious." Thinking of that rich broth, he couldn't help but feel a little excited.

"Okay, I'll do as you say." Wang Xiulan nodded. "It's just that there's a lot of meat, so it'll take a lot of time to wash. I'll make the dough and steam the buns later, and Ranran can help by tending the fire. You wash the meat carefully and soak it thoroughly to remove all the blood."

"Mm." Wei Chen nodded.

After finishing her meal, Wang Xiulan got busy. First, she scooped out the pure white flour from the flour jar, then mixed in some cornmeal, preparing to steam two kinds of buns. White flour is precious, so she couldn't steam only white ones; she had to mix them in—this was the wisdom of a thrifty person.

Warm water was added to a large earthenware basin, a little starter was dissolved, flour was poured in, and she began to knead vigorously. Wang Xiulan was used to making noodles and had strong arms. She quickly kneaded the dough into a smooth ball, covered it with a damp cloth and a thick quilt, and placed it in the warmest place on the kang (heated brick bed) to ferment.

Meanwhile, Wei Chen also began to work. He brought out all the meat he had brought back yesterday. There was a large piece of high-quality pork belly weighing seven or eight pounds, with thick, white fat and bright red, firm lean meat; a piece of beef brisket weighing four or five pounds, with some tendons and marbling, perfect for stewing; and a piece of lamb leg weighing four or five pounds, with tender meat. These three pieces of meat together, in this day and age, were enough to make any housewife's heart race.

Wei Chen brought over a large wooden basin, scooped cold water from a vat, and soaked the meat pieces one by one. The cold water slowly forced out the blood and impurities from the meat. He carefully examined each piece of meat, using a sharp knife to scrape off any remaining hair roots from the pigskin and remove excess tendons and lymph nodes from the beef and mutton. His movements were skilled and focused, as if he were handling works of art.

Wei Ran sat obediently on a small stool in front of the stove, in charge of tending the fire. She added firewood to the stove, controlling the heat, her little face flushed red in the firelight, but her eyes kept glancing at her brother, secretly swallowing as she looked at the big pieces of meat.

"Brother, there's so much meat, when are we going to finish it all?" the little girl couldn't help but ask.

"Take your time, it's Chinese New Year." Wei Chen said with a smile as he washed the meat. "Let's have braised pork today to satisfy our cravings. Mom will make the rest into cured pork and braised pork, which will keep for a long time. We can just cut off a little bit whenever we want to eat it later."

"Braised pork!" Wei Ran's eyes lit up even more. "Mom's braised pork is the best!"

Wang Xiulan, who was kneading the second bowl of dough, laughed and said, "You little glutton! You have a lot of work to do today. Have a simple lunch, and I'll make you braised pork for dinner, okay?"

"Yes!" Wei Ran nodded vigorously and worked even harder at the fire.

The dough had risen, puffing up and emitting a faint sour aroma. Wang Xiulan lifted the damp cloth, sprinkled dry flour on the work surface, and began kneading the dough to release the air. She kneaded the risen dough repeatedly until the surface was smooth and delicate, then rolled it into a long strip and cut it into evenly sized pieces.

Wei Ran was also called over to help, imitating her mother by kneading the dough into round buns. Although they weren't perfectly round, she was very enthusiastic.

The first batch consisted of pure white steamed buns, with larger dough balls that were kneaded smoother. Wang Xiulan neatly arranged the bun dough balls on a steamer lined with a damp cloth, leaving space between them. Wei Ran had already boiled the water in the large pot, and steam was billowing out.

"Time to put it in the steamer!" Wang Xiulan picked up the steamer basket, placed it steadily on the pot, and covered it with the tall steamer cap. White steam instantly enveloped the steamer cap, and the unique sweet aroma of noodles began to permeate the air.

"Boil on high heat for fifteen minutes, then reduce to medium heat," Wang Xiulan instructed her daughter, while she began kneading the second batch of mixed flour dough. Mixed flour is a blend of wheat flour and cornmeal, slightly yellow in color, and not as chewy as wheat flour, but it was a rare treat for ordinary families.

Time flies when you're busy. Two steamers of white flour buns were ready. Wang Xiulan lifted the lid of the steamer, and an even richer, purer aroma of wheat wafted out, filling the entire kitchen and even drifting into the yard through the cracks in the doors and windows. On the steamer, each bun was plump and white, with a smooth surface, like a smiling little fat boy, and the tops were slightly blooming due to the thorough fermentation.

"Wow! So white! So fragrant!" Wei Ran leaned closer, took a deep breath, and looked completely intoxicated.

Wang Xiulan picked up a steamed bun with her chopsticks; it was springy and soft to the touch. "Done!" A satisfied smile spread across her face. She placed the bun on the bamboo mat to cool. "Here, Ranran, have one while it's hot! Chen'er, you try some too!"

Wei Chen washed his hands and came over. Wang Xiulan broke a large white steamed bun in half, giving one half to her son and the other half to her daughter. She herself couldn't bear to eat any, and only took a steamed bun made from two different types of dough from the side.

The freshly steamed buns were piping hot, their skins slightly wrinkled, and they exuded an unparalleled aroma of wheat. Wei Chen took a bite; the texture was soft and fluffy, with a natural sweetness. The more he chewed, the more fragrant it became. This was the true, authentic taste of grain. Wei Ran, on the other hand, ate with a beaming smile, taking small bites as if savoring some exquisite delicacy.

"Mom, you can eat the white stuff too!" Wei Chen handed over the other half of his drink.

"Mom doesn't like plain food, she only likes this kind of mixed flour bun, it's chewy." Wang Xiulan smiled and declined, but took a bite of the mixed flour bun in her hand and ate it with relish. It wasn't that she didn't like it, she just couldn't bear to part with it. Good things should always be given to the children first.

After steaming the buns, it was nearly noon. Looking at the plump, white buns and slightly yellowed two-component buns on the steamer, Wang Xiulan felt a great sense of accomplishment. With these buns, she felt much more at ease about the upcoming New Year.

"Mom, take a rest." Wei Chen said, looking at the fine beads of sweat on his mother's forehead.

"Not tired." Wang Xiulan waved her hand, looking at the meat soaking in the basin. "The meat is almost soaked, take it out and drain the water. I'll stew the braised pork this afternoon. By the way, Chen'er, didn't you say you wanted to fry dough sticks? The dough is ready, shall we fry them now?" At the mention of frying dough sticks, a hint of pain flashed across Wang Xiulan's face.

Frying dough sticks is such a waste of oil! Pouring precious peanut oil into a pot to fry things seems like a complete waste of money to her. But her son wanted to eat them, and they did have some oil at home, so she reluctantly agreed.

"Fry! Now's the perfect time. After frying the dough sticks, we can use the leftover oil to stir-fry vegetables." Wei Chen laughed, knowing his mother was worried about wasting oil, he added, "Mom, we can always make more oil. The point of the New Year is to have fun. Let's fry some dough sticks for ourselves, and also send some to Grandpa, Grandma, and Grandpa Zhao."

Hearing her son mention his parents and Zhao Gensheng, Wang Xiulan's expression softened. Master Zhao had taught Wei Chen his craft and had helped him a lot, so sending some fried food over was only right. She nodded, "Alright, I'll go knead the dough now. Ranran, don't let the fire go out, keep it burning bright."

The dough for fried dough sticks was prepared in advance, with salt, alkali and a little alum added (a traditional method at the time). It was kneaded repeatedly, stretched into long strips, cut into small pieces, stacked two pieces together, pressed down in the middle with chopsticks, stretched, and then ready to be fried.

Wang Xiulan poured about half a pot of oil into the large iron wok. The clear peanut oil rippled slightly in the wok, releasing a rich aroma. The "bold" way she poured the oil made her heart skip a beat, but her hands didn't stop. When the oil was about 50-60% hot, she picked up a pair of long wooden chopsticks, picked up a stretched youtiao (Chinese fried dough stick) dough, and gently slid it into the oil along the edge of the wok.

"Sizzle—" With a pleasant soft sound, tiny bubbles instantly appeared around the white dough, which quickly expanded and turned from white to yellow. It rolled in the hot oil, emitting the irresistible aroma unique to fried food.

This aroma is far more potent than the wheat fragrance of steamed buns! It carries the richness of oil and the crispness catalyzed by high temperature, like invisible tentacles that quickly emerge from the kitchen, cross the low wall of the east courtyard, and drift into the air above the entire courtyard.