Buying Groceries (Part 2)

Liang Hongyu and Huo Tianzhou continued to the butcher's shop.

By the time they arrived, the meat had been picked over and wasn't very fresh.

With the hot weather, keeping meat from spoiling was difficult, so Liang Hongyu only bought a pound and a half, costing thirty coins.

On the way back, they saw a street vendor selling eggs.

Remembering that their hens at home weren't laying consistently and that Huo Tianzhou needed an egg every day for his health, Liang Hongyu bought all fifteen eggs from the vendor.

Having nothing to carry them in, she bought the basket as well, spending an extra two coins.

After paying, Liang Hongyu headed back.

Huo Tianzhou followed her while holding a basket of eggs, several times seeming like he wanted to say something but stopping himself.

He had noticed by now that Liang Hongyu had no particular plan when shopping, buying things on a whim.

Now, as they passed a clothing shop, she decided on the spot to go in.

Tomorrow, they needed to sow the rice seeds.

Unlike early rice, late rice didn't require covering with plastic film after sowing.

The intense June sun and frequent showers made Liang Hongyu think about buying some coarse cloth to create a breathable shelter for protection.

However, the roughest cloth in the clothing shop cost over two hundred coins per bolt.

Huo Tianzhou's field was five acres, and they had prepared over twenty pounds of rice seeds.

In order to cover all the sown seeds, they would need at least two or three bolts of cloth.

Liang Hongyu touched her money pouch and dismissed the idea; she couldn't afford it.

...

When they returned home, it was not yet evening.

Riding the ox cart was quite uncomfortable.

Liang Hongyu entered the house, put down the basket, stretched her neck, and moved her body.

Then she took the money pouch from her waist and placed it on the high wooden table against the wall in the main room.

Huo Tianzhou followed her in, and seeing her casually leave the money there, he made sure the door was locked.

He then picked up the basket and went to the kitchen to store the rice and flour.

After putting away the empty basket and bamboo basket, Huo Tianzhou went to tend to the chickens.

When he finished feeding the chickens and came back out, Liang Hongyu was already in the kitchen, washing the rice and setting up the cooking pot on a separate stove by the window.

"You've fed the chickens. Perfect timing, you can start the fire and cook," Liang Hongyu said while looking up at him and adjusting the pot's position before stepping aside.

Cooking rice over a wood fire was quick.

A few pieces of firewood started the fire, and it would be done once they burned out.

Huo Tianzhou didn't need to watch the fire constantly.

Liang Hongyu, with her back to him, was cutting meat.

Hearing him stand up and looking idle, she spoke without turning around, "Check the vegetable garden for any fresh vegetables. Pick some to stir-fry, and don't forget to pull a few more scallions."

Huo Tianzhou watched Liang Hongyu's slightly bent back, listening to the rhythmic sound of the knife hitting the cutting board.

The sight of someone busy in the kitchen brought back distant memories for him.

He stood there, slightly dazed, before turning around to go outside.

There weren't many vegetables ready to be picked in the garden, but he managed to gather enough for two people.

He also pulled a few scallions and washed them.

When he returned to the kitchen, Liang Hongyu had already finished cutting the pork, separating the lean meat from the fat, and placing them on plates by the stove.

There were also prepared ginger slices on the cutting board.

Liang Hongyu was half-squatting by the stove, getting ready to light the fire.

Previously, Liang Hongyu had been too busy with work to spend much time in the kitchen, so Huo Tianzhou wasn't sure how she planned to use the scallions and vegetables.

The rice pot's lid was crackling and steaming, filling the kitchen with the fragrant aroma of cooking rice.

He put down the vegetables and scallions and walked over to check the fire.

The wood under the stove was still burning, so Huo Tianzhou decided not to add more wood.

The pork they had bought was half lean, half fat.

Liang Hongyu first rendered the fat to get oil.

There were no bowls on the stove to hold the oil, so Huo Tianzhou fetched one.

Once enough oil had been rendered, Liang Hongyu poured it into the bowl, scooping out the crispy, fried pork fat and setting it aside.

She left some oil in the pan to stir-fry the vegetables.

After finishing the vegetables, Liang Hongyu heated more oil in the pan.

Seeing her use a large amount of oil with one scoop, more than he would typically use in several cooking sessions, Huo Tianzhou, who was sitting by the stove, was so startled that he stopped adding wood to the fire.

Liang Hongyu glanced at him briefly and said, "Keep an eye on the fire, don't let it die down."

Then Liang Hongyu added ginger to the pan, broke the scallions into sections with a few swift motions, and tossed them in to stir-fry with the pork.

The rich aroma of the cooking meat filled the air, causing Huo Tianzhou to add a handful of dry grass to the fire and swallow involuntarily.

The dish, a generous portion of pork mixed with scallion sections, filled the plate.

Liang Hongyu had originally planned to fry an egg as well, but seeing the full plate, she decided against it and brought the food to the dining table in the front room.

When Liang Hongyu had cooked the meat, she used the seasonings bought earlier that day.

In the village, no one else bothered with such things, and Huo Tianzhou had thought they were unnecessary when Liang Hongyu bought them.