Siheyuan: Breaking up with Shazhu at the beginning

Thinking about the slaughter, Yang Anguo ate a few mouthfuls hastily, then carried two steamed buns to the adjacent courtyard. But Ma Juzi was not in a hurry, like a master, he kept picking up dishes for Zhou Miaomiao, serving her very attentively, as if he was serving his own wife.

Ma Xiangxiu noticed something and frowned slightly, but said nothing. Deep down, she sympathized with Zhou Miaomiao, but she absolutely could not accept the fact that her brother was developing a relationship with a married woman.

After finishing his meal, Yang Jun said hello to Yi Qiu Shui and went to watch Yang Anguo and his men slaughtering a pig. Although he felt that the scene might not be very elegant, he still watched from a certain distance, leisurely lit a cigarette, and waited for the next scene to develop.

Ma Juzi's father, Master Paoye Ma, is a famous chef in the neighborhood. All weddings and funerals in the neighboring villages would ask him for help. He has rich experience in cooking and preparing live animals. The Ma brothers and sisters often help their father with chores, and are especially good at butchering.

"How are you going to cook this pig?" Yang Jun didn't want to get close, so he asked while smoking on the side.

These words instantly filled Ma Juzi with enthusiasm.

"I originally planned to roast and stew the pork, stuff it into sausage casings, and keep some of the meat for stir-frying, bone stew, etc..."

At this point, his fingers quickly drew out the plan like plucking a string. On the side, Yang Anguo smiled bitterly, and kept cleaning the pig hair with the scraper in his hand.

"You can talk, but can you take it easy with your hands?"

"Ah..." An awkward smile slipped across Ma Juzi's mouth, and then he picked up the ladle and repeatedly poured water for the pigs, trying to reduce the difficulty of subsequent processing.

For Yang Jun, he prefers to watch the two of them compete. It is obvious that Yang Anguo does not attach much importance to the existence of his brother-in-law Ma Juzi, and a conflict between the two is probably inevitable. But Ma Juzi does not care, and while working, he introduces cooking techniques to Yang Jun:

"There are some tricks to making sausage, and the season is crucial. Although the weather is getting warmer now, wild boar meat is relatively tender, but it still has its wildness and a chewy texture. As long as it is stewed for two hours, it will definitely be more delicious than domestic pork."

"Don't go through so much trouble. Enema is a waste of time. Can you accommodate a large stew pot here to stew so much meat?" Yang Jun walked into the house and brought back a small stool. He chatted with them at a distance. He knew that the mellow aroma of wild boar meat came from the meat's high activity and compact fascia. The texture of the meat was no less than that of beef, but for large-scale cooking, a deep and large pot must be enough.

He recalled that Sha Zhu's house also had a big tripod, which seemed to have as many as eighteen cauldrons. He was not very clear about the size of the tripod, but he knew it was very large, big enough to accommodate a person.

"Brother, if you find it troublesome, you don't have to clean the intestines. You can just clean them and marinate them. Add a little cooking wine and stir-fry them with onions for the best taste."

"Can we braise it? I like the taste." Yang Jun suggested.

"Yes, stewing pork is the most suitable. Salt is a must for seasoning. I just can't find any spices at the moment. I might be able to find them at the market, but I'm afraid I won't be able to buy all of them and it will affect the taste."

After hearing this, Yang Jun frowned and thought for a while before saying, "No problem, I'll take care of the spices. You don't have to go to work tomorrow, just stay at home and help me make the pork stew."

"Deal!" Ma Junzi was very happy to hear that he didn't have to work.

"Brother, do you know what ingredients to buy?" Ma Junzi asked worriedly. He seemed to think that Yang Jun was a young master who couldn't do housework.

Yang Jun raised his eyebrows slightly, feeling that his prestige was somewhat frustrated, so he began to make a list: "The main ingredients are star anise, pepper, tangerine peel, bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, angelica, fragrant sticks, water chestnuts, licorice..."

"Brother... stop... stop!" Ma Junzi stopped what he was doing, looked up and asked in surprise: "Why does it sound like Chinese medicinal herbs?"

"What do you know! I'm talking about medicinal food." Yang Jiaguo couldn't help but interrupt and correct him, as if he was maintaining his brother's authority.

Seeing his two relatives arguing again, Yang Jun was happy to watch from the side, crossing his legs.

Yang Anguo glanced at Ma Junzi with dissatisfaction: "Talk is one thing, but don't stop moving your hands. I have repeated this many times."

Ma Junzi rolled his eyes and returned to work. Yang Jun found it quite interesting to watch the competition between his sister-in-law and brother-in-law.

"Junzi, do you think there is anything wrong with what I said?" Yang Jun asked tentatively.

"Yes, but you don't necessarily need all the ingredients you listed. The first six are enough."

"I'll deliver it tomorrow morning."

At this moment, Ma Xiangxiu and her sisters finished their meal and gathered around to watch the pig slaughtering process. As the wild boar had been dead for a day, the blood had coagulated and the pig hair was not easy to remove.

Ma Xiangxiu heated all the pots together and prepared to boil water to remove impurities from the pig skin. Then Yang Anguo and Ma Junzi exchanged roles.

Yang Anguo slowly poured hot water on the pig's head with a ladle, and Ma Junzi observed that when the pig skin became hot, he immediately peeled off the pig hair with a knife. His skillful technique won praise from everyone.

"The hot water will keep coming in. Pour it wherever I cut." Ma Junzi bent down and gave orders.

Yang Anguo questioned: "Really? Aren't you afraid of burning your hands?"

Ma Junzi was angry: "You are just picking faults on purpose, right? Wasn't what I said clear enough?" He took the tool to scoop water and handed it to Ma Xiangxiu: "Xiu Xiu, do this."

Ma Xiangxiu pouted helplessly and looked at the two of them. Their personalities were equally noisy in the countryside and in the city.

The two siblings worked in perfect harmony. The boiling water did not splash onto Ma Junzi's hands. When they encountered difficult parts to peel, they used flames to heat them.

In less than half an hour, Ma Junzi had cleaned the skin on the pig's back, leaving only the belly. The seemingly simple hair removal work is actually a physical and technical job, and it cannot be done with brute force alone. The hair must be combed and scraped in accordance with the texture of the pig's growth.

With nothing to do, Yang Jun picked up the child from Zhou Miaomiao's arms and played with him. The baby had just finished feeding and was full of energy. He was curious about everything around him. He was at ease in Yang Jun's arms, grabbing his clothes and laughing.

"Girl, what's the little girl's name?" Yang Jun turned around and asked Zhou Miaomiao who was busy.

"Zhou Zhiruo, nicknamed Ruoruo." Zhou Miaomiao replied casually while helping Ma Xiangxiu carry water.

"Zhou Zhiruo?" Yang Jun was stunned for a moment, as if some memories were touched, and then he smiled bitterly.

"Remember, don't fall in love with Zhang Wuji."

"What?" Zhou Miaomiao put down the wooden bucket she was using to draw water, frowned, and asked, "Who is Zhang Wuji?"

Hearing this, Yang Jun smiled slightly.

He waved his hand and said, "I suddenly remembered an old song and was touched."

"Hey, what song is that? Sing it for me." Yi Qiu Shui's eyes lit up when she heard that. She held Yang Jun's arm and urged him to speak.

“Okay, but you must not spread this song—after all, my singing might be misunderstood as decadent.”

You know, any song that comes out of Yang Jun's throat will always be misunderstood as "debauched music". However, his interest in singing is not out of love, but a way to clarify where he is at the moment.

Traveling through time and space is very different from reality, especially when mixed with characters from books, it often confuses people and makes them unable to distinguish which world they are in. He hopes to use the familiar melody to evoke the imprint of the time he is in.

Yang Jun threw away the cigarette butt that was not yet finished, rubbed his toes, coughed, slowly closed his eyes, and brewed his emotions.

"One hand on the cheek,

Smiling without saying anything,

Seeing him worried about love,

When can I escape from the dust and just express my love... "

……

Yang's song, which is full of love and hate, interprets the fluctuations in his heart. Every word of the lyrics accompanies his ups and downs in emotions, and he is deeply immersed in the song. Soon, he searches for past memories in the song, and tears gradually appear in the depths of his eyes.

The singing gradually came, accompanied by a low humming:

"Let him draw your eyebrows for you in his lifetime,

First understand the pain, then understand the love.

Feel the joy of love and hate,

There are people who deal with the troubles of this world... "

...

Holding Zhou Zhiruo tightly in his arms, he closed his eyes and sang:

"Let him spend his whole life beside you drawing eyebrows,

May his heart for you be as wide as the sea,

Forget the words that hurt him deeply,

I just hope that there won’t be anyone else around me…”

As the high note came to an end, tears welled up in Yang Jun's eyes.

In the quiet courtyard, everyone was immersed in the charm of the song. They stopped what they were doing and let the beautiful melody echo in their ears.

"Let my life be your eyebrow-painting,

So that there won't be any other girls around..."

Yi Qiu Shui looked at Yang Jun with tears in his eyes, and ripples appeared in her eyes. Her heart returned to the day when they first met, in the red plum garden, in the heavy snow.

Meeting in the afternoon, Yang Jun affectionately interpreted the soul of the song - a lingering yet resolute emotional world, which contains the woman's desire for love, and her infatuation and firm persistence.

Ma Xiangxiu and Yang Anguo were also confused. Yi Qiushui took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears and quietly followed Yang Jun back into the house.

After returning home, seeing Yang Jun burying his face in the quilt, Yi Qiushui did not disturb him, but gently took off his clothes, covered him with the quilt, and hugged him tightly. She did not ask any questions,

Because she knew that what Yang Jun needed at this moment was nothing more than resonance, not comfort. Recalling the time they had spent together, from their initial chance encounter in the park to their current relationship,

Yi Qiushui's mind strung together every detail: every heartbeat, every tacit understanding, every promise and commitment...

Everything was still fresh in her memory. Yang Jun not only left her with an impression of being knowledgeable, but also often uttered some strange words, such as "middle school atmosphere", "brain hole", "let me be quiet for a while", "involution" and other new words. She had never heard of them before, but when he said them, it didn't feel abrupt at all, but rather appropriate.

He would casually hum a few melodious tunes, and although she had never heard them before, every note made her feel comfortable. In particular, the ancient poem he recited that day at the People's Hospital, she still hasn't been able to find its source. The line "The green tiles recall the old rain, and there are no old friends at the entrance of the red umbrella alley", every word seemed to express a deep longing, which particularly attracted her interest in ancient poetry.

Yi Qiushui is deeply attached to the man in her hands. Since they met, Yang Jun has been like a barrier to protect her from wind and rain, providing her with a safe and warm shelter, which is exactly the dream that has been lingering in her heart since she was a child. Now that her dream has come true, she is satisfied and feels that this scene in her life is extremely perfect.

The next morning, the sun was shining brightly.

Yang Jun got up early, stared at the sleeping Yi Qiushui, and gently kissed her forehead. "Are you awake?" Yi Qiushui smiled and closed her eyes.

"I'm going to go for a short run. You can sleep a little longer." Yang Jun said softly, pinching her fair, round cheek lightly.

After returning from running, Yang Jun took out the seasonings needed for stewing meat from his dimensional space, wrapped them up carefully, and walked towards the neighboring yard.

Until late at night, Ma Juzi and Yang Anguo still did not rest, and they worked together to finish the processing of the wild boar. In the spacious courtyard, there was a long table, on which were spread neatly cut pig parts, including pig heads, offal and pig bones, and even the broken 834 bullet - which made Ma Juzi say with disgust that these were all rotten and inedible.

Hearing the complaint, Yang Jun frowned and checked. He saw that the bucket of offal was indeed in a mess. The bullets had penetrated the intestines, and the strong impact had completely scattered the internal organs. Even so, he took a glance and saw that part was still edible. "These are actually quite useful. Let's cook and stew them."

Ma Juzi took the spices and checked them with satisfaction. He was relieved after confirming that the ingredients were complete. Yang Jun thought for a moment: "Maybe they really can't be cleaned. Don't ruin the whole pot of meat." He knew that it was not easy to clean the fragments of sausage casings. If you are not careful, it may cause the stench to be difficult to remove. If you put it directly in the pot, it will affect other pieces of meat.

Yang Jun carefully selected a piece of good meat beside the counter, cut it accurately with a knife, and harvested a piece of delicacy weighing more than two kilograms: "I will take it to my mother to taste."

Seeing this, Ma Juzi suggested: "Brother, you have a lot of people, so just cut more." Then he hurried forward and cut more, adding nearly five or six pounds.

Faced with his enthusiasm, Yang Jun did not shirk his responsibility, nodded with satisfaction, took the wild boar pork and left. On the way, he glanced around to see that there was no one around, and quietly put this precious food into his dimensional world.

When Yang Jun first stepped into the factory, he was keenly aware of the strange atmosphere. The front of the factory was hung with brightly colored banners with congratulatory messages and slogans: "Warm congratulations on the successful trial production of the new product."

This scene deeply touched his heart, and he immediately ordered a pause and ordered people to tear down the notices. He knew the success of the new product development, but from the perspective of confidentiality, such news must be blocked.

The person in charge of today's duty was the security chief Zhao Haifeng. After learning his superior's instructions, he ran over, saluted, and asked, "Director Yang, what instructions do you have?"