Chapter 102: Simmering Meat Sauce (Bonus Chapter 1)

But An Yinan never asked about these things. What was used? How much was used? How many days would it last?

Ne! Ver! Asked!

But it also put them under immense pressure; how could they live up to her trust?

After An Yinan finished settling things, she returned to her own storage room and set out twenty canning jars; she would need them for the meat sauce tomorrow.

Early the next morning, the Educated Youth Courtyard in front smelled of meat; that rich, meaty aroma was hard to dissipate, making it a torture for everyone.

Everyone remained silent, gnawing on the cornmeal buns in their hands while savoring the scent of the meat.

Ever since Li Xiue and Zhao Qiuhua moved out, the food quality at the entire Educated Youth Station had declined. Wang Chunmei could only ensure things were cooked through, and while Sun Xiaoqin's cooking was passable, with the grain supply dwindling day by day, no one felt comfortable letting her cook alone.

In this atmosphere, everyone struggled to swallow the fragrance in the air.

An Yinan used a large pot to simmer the meat sauce, simmering two full pots; the first was pork sauce, and the second was venison sauce.

Nowadays, cattle weren't easy to buy, and there wasn't a single village that would slaughter a cow to sell for money; only when an old ox died of old age would it be everyone's turn to share in the meat.

"I just went to Xiue's side and smelled the braised pig head, but the scent of your meat sauce is too overbearing; it completely covered up the smell of the braised meat." Xie Yuanyuan rested her chin on her hands, sitting honestly by the stove, adding firewood whenever it was needed.

Zhang Qian shook his head speechlessly, "Xie Yuanyuan, can you add some firewood for me?"

Xie Yuanyuan looked at him and shook her head with a playful pout, "Yours doesn't smell good."

Zhang Qian looked at the rice in his own pot; he would have to be a divine being to smell better than the meat sauce, right?

What kind of logic was this for Xie Yuanyuan? He hadn't noticed it before.

An Yinan smiled, "Don't be silly, go add the firewood."

"Understood." Xie Yuanyuan stood up immediately, showing none of the listlessness from just a moment ago.

She added two pieces of wood to the stove, her large, round eyes staring longingly at the meat sauce.

"Stop looking; even if you keep looking, you'll still have to wait a while." Zhang Qian mercilessly exposed her.

Xie Yuanyuan glared at him, "Boring man, I really worry for your future wife."

"I thank you for that." Zhang Qian surrendered.

The few of them worked happily, and the braised pig head over there was almost ready; in this cold weather, they all wanted to eat from the hot braised pot.

Zhang Qian resignedly finished scooping the rice, set it in the pot to keep warm, and went out to light the stove.

Two hours later, An Yinan ladled the meat sauce into water-free and oil-free ceramic basins, then brought over the canning jars she had washed and dried yesterday, filling half with pork sauce and half with venison sauce.

She filled four more jars with the remainder.

An Yinan put the ceramic basins and two jars in the back room, and the other two jars would be sent to Xiue later so they wouldn't have to run back and forth during the meal.

"Hurry over to eat; Zhang Qian's braised meat pot is already set up." Zhao Qiuhua came over to call them.

Originally, they wanted to eat in An Yinan's room, but they found it troublesome to move the hot pot back and forth, so they decided to just eat at their courtyard.

An Yinan hugged a jar of meat sauce in one arm, Xie Yuanyuan carried the rice, and little Beibei brought the washed vegetables; the three of them went to the courtyard next door together.

As soon as the room was opened, the rich smell of braised meat wafted out. Li Xiue placed the sliced pig head meat on the table, "Take a look and see if this stir-fried pork intestine is done right?"

While speaking, she picked up a piece and fed it directly into An Yinan's mouth.

An Yinan didn't stand on ceremony and opened her mouth to accept it; the rich fragrance was definitely a testament to her own teachings, "Delicious, delicious."

Hearing this, Li Xiue covered her mouth and laughed; this was the sense of accomplishment in cooking—being able to gain everyone's love seemed quite nice.

The six of them gathered around the table, and An Yinan scooped out a small plate of each meat sauce, "Try these."

"This is too good with rice." Zhao Qiuhua's eyes widened; the savory fragrance upon entering the mouth had both the saltiness of the yellow bean paste and the freshness of the meat, mixed together with the rendered fat.

As for the venison sauce, she had specifically added some chili peppers, making the whole flavor even more captivating. Why say that? Because you just want to keep eating it after the first bite; if that isn't captivating, what is?

"I really don't know what's in your little head; the food you make is extremely delicious, things I couldn't even imagine." Zhao Qiuhua gave a thumbs up, truly impressed.

Before, she couldn't say she disliked them, but she didn't like them much either; she felt they formed a small clique and were always not very sociable.

Later, after the incident where Sun Xiaoqin was fiercely beaten, Zhao Qiuhua's opinion of An Yinan changed.

She could do things she wanted to do but couldn't; from then on, her attitude was better than neutral.

Moreover, her good friend liked An Yinan very much and was always talking about her; listening to it, she became curious about this girl.

Only after moving out of the Educated Youth Courtyard did she truly get to know these few people.

Her joining was an accident, but she didn't receive isolation or bad attitudes; instead, they were very friendly.

Zhang Qian's personality was somewhat indifferent, but deep down, he silently protected a group of people. Was he really short of money for not building a courtyard?

Xie Yuanyuan loved to eat and was well-protected by her family, but she was kind-hearted, not delicate, and didn't cause trouble.

Beibei was rarely seen on weekdays; every time they met, he was holding a book, a bit like a scholar from ancient times. The way he frowned seriously didn't look like a ten-year-old child at all, but rather like a scholar.

An Yinan—she didn't know how to evaluate her. She seemed like a mysterious girl; it was as if no problem was a problem in front of her. She often said one thing: anything that can be solved with money is not a problem. She was tolerant and generous, she trusted her friends, and she seemed to be busy all the time, but no one knew what she was busy with.

And she didn't want to pry into her friend's secrets.

Just like this, it was quite good.

Three years after coming to the countryside, this was the first time she felt so comfortable, living a life she couldn't have imagined.

"Qiu Hua, don't space out; if you don't eat, Zhang Qian will finish it all." Xie Yuanyuan shouted.

Zhao Qiuhua came back to her senses and smiled at everyone. Meeting An Yinan's eyes, which seemed to see through her heart, she blinked.

An Yinan curled her lips; neither of them said anything, and neither asked.

The hot pot was bubbling, and they felt satisfied in their hearts.

After everything was cleaned up, An Yinan went to the Daduibu.

"Oh my, who is this? Do you know what 'hibernating' means?" The Captain tapped his Tobacco Pouch, looking at An Yinan, completely speechless.

Everyone else was hiding at home, and it was over ten degrees below zero outside, yet this girl was still running back and forth.

"Hibernating? Is that what it's called?" An Yinan widened her eyes, pretending to be very confused.

She didn't know why, but her aura and the Captain's were a bit off; why did they start bickering as soon as they met?

"Haha~" The Accountant couldn't help it and patted the Captain's shoulder, "You have days like this too?"

The Captain gave a cold snort, "Slippery-tongued, what is it?"

An Yinan shrugged her shoulders and sat down beside the stove; it was surprisingly warm.