He didn’t have time to cook right away. First, he went back to the room and warmed his hands on the heated bed platform before heading to the kitchen.
Li Feng would be coming home for lunch, and they had already agreed that he’d bring back two buckets of rice-rinsing water—Lu Liu needed it to wash the pig stomach again.
After cleaning it with the rice water and rinsing it once or twice with clean water, the pig stomach would be ready for cooking.
The new village was busy pounding rice cakes, soaking glutinous rice daily, and the water from that was perfect for cleaning pig stomach.
Technically, it would’ve been easier for Li Feng to just bring the pig stomach over and have Brother Shun handle it.
But Li Feng was adamant that Lu Liu should be the one to prepare it. He wanted Lu Liu to make it into a stew for his mother to enjoy. That way, it would help win his mother’s favor.
When Lu Liu entered the kitchen, he hung the pig stomach from a beam, then began prepping lunch.
There weren’t too many chores today—the pig stomach cleaning had just taken up most of the morning.
Now it was a bit late to start cooking, so Lu Liu kept it simple.
He sliced off a portion of fresh meat—deliberately picking a fattier piece with less lean—used it to stir-fry some greens, then scooped the meat back out, chopped it up, and used it again to fry pickled vegetables.
No soup for now. Li Feng had bought fish and had been craving fish soup—he was coming home specifically for it.
They had thirteen fish at home, and Lu Liu planned to stretch them out—one fish per meal.
Just like with his precise use of seasonings, he also knew exactly how much water to dilute into a soup without compromising its flavor.
For today’s lunch, he thinned the fish soup with water and added radish, then poured it all into a big soup bowl—he filled it to the brim.
The fish was too small to make an impressive sight in a full soup pot, but it still did the trick.
When Li Feng got home with the two buckets of rice water, he washed his hands and face, then sat down to eat.
Lunch had fish and meat, greens and pickled vegetables, both light soup and savory dishes—it was just right.
Seeing only one bowl of fish soup, Li Feng grabbed another big bowl and split it in half, passing one to Lu Liu.
“Let’s eat together.”
Lu Liu’s heart felt both sweet and sour. He’d gone to such lengths to scrimp and save, and Li Feng just casually gave away half of the soup. So much for all that careful planning.
Li Feng complimented the stir-fried greens and said the pickled veggies were delicious.
He wasn’t picky at all—he didn’t notice the diluted fish soup or that the meat had already been cooked once before. He ate it all with a relaxed, content expression.
Lu Liu looked at him with focused, delighted eyes.
Da Feng hadn’t noticed the meat was reused—and he even praised him!
“Da Feng, you’re such a good man. You even compliment me during meals. I really like you!”
Li Feng’s lips curled into a smile.
Who was complimenting who now? Ha!
He told Lu Liu, “The pig stomach needs to taste this good too. If my mother enjoys it, she’ll like you.”
Lu Liu reassured him, “I’ll make sure she’s happy with it!”
Da Feng’s mother was his mother now. If she liked him, the family would live in harmony.
When it came to meat, the biggest risk was gaminess. If it wasn’t properly handled, the whole dish would be ruined.
Getting the pig stomach thoroughly cleaned was already half the battle.
Li Feng casually said, “Pig stomachs are hard to clean. We’ve got plenty of firewood at home, so use hot water to wash it—don’t worry about burning too much wood. If we run low, I’ll chop more.”
Lu Liu replied, “I rubbed it several times with ashes, then with snow, and washed it down by the river until it was almost clean. I’ll use the rice water to wash it again soon, then it’ll be ready to cook.”
Li Feng froze for a moment, then looked at Lu Liu’s hands. It had been a while since Lu Liu scrubbed the pig stomach. Now, sitting by the stove warming his hands after cooking, Lu Liu’s hands had returned to their normal color, no longer red from the cold.
Li Feng glanced at Lu Liu’s goofy, smiling face and felt a mix of tenderness and pain in his heart. He was too good, too honest—he wouldn’t slack off, but he also didn’t take care of himself.
Putting on a serious face, Li Feng said, “From now on, just use hot water. There aren’t many people going to the river these days, and it’s cold and dangerous. Don’t go next time.”
Lu Liu obediently replied, “Okay, okay.”
After all, the pig stomach was already clean, so haha.
He even asked Li Feng, “Are you sure I don’t need to go help in the new village?”
If his mother saw how hardworking he was, she’d like him more.
Li Feng didn’t want him to go and tire himself out.
“You’re too honest. Wouldn’t you be exhausted if you went? The Ertian couple can work for free—I’ll just send them. Others will help too. By the way, I talked to my mother and arranged for Brother Shun to come help you make the cured meat. He’ll lend a hand and come over tomorrow. With someone around, I’ll take Erhuang to the new village. There are no silly dogs there, so he can play for a bit.”
Lu Liu nodded along until he heard about Erhuang, then froze.
Li Feng was really protective of Erhuang, as if their Erhuang was some prized female dog, but the truth was Erhuang was the one eyeing other people’s silly dogs.
Lu Liu said, “I want to go see the dogs at Yao Fulang’s house.”
Li Feng: “…?”
Alright, fine.
If you want to look, go ahead.
After eating, they didn’t clean the dishes right away. The two husbands went together to visit Yao Fulang’s house.
Yao Fulang invited them inside to sit. Li Qiang was also home, and that guy really had a mouth that deserved a smack. Seeing Li Feng leading his husband out, he mocked him, “Without your husband, you wouldn’t even dare come to my door.”
Li Feng shot back, “Without my husband, I wouldn’t even come to your place.”
Not wanting to argue, Li Feng said plainly, “We’re here to see the dogs.”
Li Qiang laughed even louder, “What’s up? Haven’t you locked up your Erhuang yet? Let me tell you, my Huaniu’s price just went up! One big bone isn’t enough now. Dogs aren’t free to keep, you know. When it’s mealtime, you gotta bring some dog food, right?”
Lu Liu wanted to punch him just listening to that.
How could someone talk like that? The pure friendship between two dogs sounded like some leverage to mess with Li Feng the old dog dad.
Yao Fulang couldn’t stand it and told Lu Liu, “Don’t mind him, Lu Fulang. If you want to see Huaniu, come with me.”
Guard dogs were usually kept near the front gate, but here in Li Village, the dog kennels were mostly in the back yard because their hunting dogs had big kennels that would block the main house if placed out front.
Huaniu was also locked up.
Yao Fulang told Lu Liu, “Your Da Feng knows my Huaniu is very lively—she runs all over the place, especially loves to roll in the mud pits. It’s a pain to clean her up after she goes out. You probably haven’t raised dogs before, right? Big dogs like this are really tiring to wash. I can barely handle it. My Da Qiang gives her a bath sometimes, and he’s exhausted afterwards. She’s strong and pulls so hard on the leash that she can almost fling me. You see my Da Qiang? He’s free now—not going up the mountain or doing anything else—he just runs around all day. Why? Just to walk the dog! It’s a real hassle.”
Yao Fulang shifted his tone and looked at Li Feng, “Da Feng, when are you going up the mountain again? Take Da Qiang along so Huaniu can burn off some energy. She’s eating you out of house and home every day, especially with Da Qiang there.”
One of the reasons Li Feng didn’t bring Li Qiang up the mountain was because of Huaniu.
Personality was one thing, but Erhuang liked her.
The back yard was close by—a short walk around.
Huaniu wasn’t shy and wagged her big tail wildly whenever someone came.
Her fur was a mix of yellow and white. Despite her over-the-top enthusiasm, she was actually quite beautiful. From Lu Liu’s aesthetic perspective, he really liked her.
It was just that she was way too excited—when Yao Fulang opened the dog kennel door, Huaniu nearly knocked him over.
As the door swung open, Huaniu bolted a few steps out. Though she was tethered, so she didn’t run far, her whole body was out where Lu Liu could see clearly.
Despite her clean and pretty face, Huaniu was filthy all over—probably rolled around in the snow. There were still wet patches, and her fur was matted in clumps, looking anything but soft or smooth. She looked like a stray dog no one cared for.
But she had a strong build. When her fur got wet, it stuck to her skin, showing off solid muscles beneath. This dog was very well taken care of.
Lu Liu thought of how clean Erhuang was, then said to Li Feng, “Erhuang is still better.”
Li Feng raised his chin slightly, “That’s true.”
He told Lu Liu, “Huaniu lacks any self-control. Every day she just goofs around and frolics. Giving her a bath is a real pain. She eats a lot and poops a lot. Ask Yao Fulang—he’s exhausted from cleaning up after her every day.”
Yao Fulang: “…”
What he said was true, but maybe a little too blunt.
Besides, even though she was a hunting dog, she was still just a dog! What kind of self-control do you expect?
Yao Fulang really wanted to make this match happen. Their homes were close, he got along well with Lu Liu, Erhuang liked Huaniu, and Li Feng was capable. If the two dogs paired up, Da Qiang would become more valuable by association and could go up the mountain with Li Feng.
