Huo Family Coming For Trouble (Part 1)

After washing the green onions and garlic, Huo Tianzhou brought them to the kitchen.

He saw the pork, now cut into strips, placed in a large clay pot.

Liang Hongyu stood at the counter slicing ginger, which she then added to the pot.

"They're washed. Give them to me," Liang Hongyu said, turning to extend her hand.

Huo Tianzhou handed over the green onions and garlic.

Liang Hongyu quickly chopped the green onions into sections and the garlic into pieces before throwing them into the clay pot.

She then picked up the salt container and sprinkled a generous amount of salt inside.

After adding the salt, she poured in the five-spice powder she had bought last time, emptying the entire bottle.

From her expression, it seemed she still felt it wasn't enough and continued by adding fine sugar.

The sugar was something Liang Hongyu had bought in town the day before, wrapped in oil paper, amounting to several ounces, and she poured in most of it.

Although Huo Tianzhou knew Liang Hongyu was always generous with seasonings, he still couldn't help but twitch at the sight.

In the village, people rarely had the opportunity to eat meat throughout the year.

In the hot summer, no household would have leftover meat to cure.

Even in winter, when preserving cured meat, no family would use as much salt as Liang Hongyu did.

Huo Tianzhou was simultaneously curious, as he had never seen meat being cured with anything other than salt.

He stopped and stood by without hurrying to leave.

It was a deep clay pot, and after filling it with pork, there was still some space left.

Liang Hongyu mixed the pork with the seasonings until it was well-coated.

Once she was satisfied with the mixing, she turned her head to Huo Tianzhou and asked, "Do we have any oil paper at home?"

Curing food requires an airtight seal.

Huo Tianzhou went to find the leftover oil paper at home and also brought a clean cloth and some string.

When he returned to the kitchen, Liang Hongyu had just washed her hands and was drying them with a cloth.

She took the oil paper and cloth, sealed the mouth of the clay pot, tied it securely with the string, and covered it with a ceramic lid.

To ensure the meat absorbed the flavors, it needed to sit for several hours.

The pot had to be completely sealed, so the outside of the lid also required a layer of mud.

While Liang Hongyu tied the string, Huo Tianzhou went outside to get some mud.

After they finished sealing the lid with wet mud, Liang Hongyu carried the clay pot and placed it in the kitchen.

Seeing that the water trough in the chicken coop was empty, Huo Tianzhou fetched a ladle of water and went inside to refill it.

The chicken coop had a straw-covered roof that provided partial shade.

This area was where the two hens moved around, while the cage for the wild rabbit was kept outside.

After a while, the sun would shift and shine on the cage.

Huo Tianzhou placed the ladle aside, picked up the cage, and moved it inside.

As soon as he set it down, the two hens surrounded it, protectively pecking at the cage.

The wild rabbit, terrified, trembled and huddled inside.

Huo Tianzhou waved his hand to shoo the hens away and added some chicken feed to the trough.

The hens finally left the "intruders" alone for the moment.

Liang Hongyu came out of the kitchen and saw Huo Tianzhou fretting over the two wild rabbits in the coop.

She walked over to him.

The wild rabbits, having not eaten for more than a day, looked lethargic, their bodies trembling and huddled together, warily watching the outside.

Huo Tianzhou's brows furrowed involuntarily as he looked at the rabbits.

Liang Hongyu glanced at him and said, "I'll go to Uncle Wu's house."

Huo Tianzhou was taken aback and turned his head to look at her.

"I'll ask if he can take them. If he can, we'll give them to him."

When she came back today, she saw that the rabbits were nearly starved.

It was obvious that Huo Tianzhou wanted to give them to Uncle Wu.

Liang Hongyu had been waiting to see when he would bring it up himself, but she did not expect that he would hold back for so long.

After she spoke, Liang Hongyu left.

She returned shortly, but Zhihao arrived before her.

Zhihao ran into the yard, heading straight for the backyard.

Seeing Huo Tianzhou from a distance, he called out.

"Tianzhou!"

After shouting, Zhihao rushed into the backyard.

Huo Tianzhou looked behind him but didn't see anyone else following.

"Grandma and Aunt Liang are behind. They walked too slowly, so I came ahead. Tianzhou, let's go see the rabbits first."

Zhihao was still catching his breath after running all the way.

Huo Tianzhou raised his hand to wipe the light sweat from Zhihao's forehead.

"Are those the ones?" Zhihao turned his head and saw the wild rabbits in the chicken coop.

He took a few small steps to the fence gate, pointing, "They're so small! They don't even look as big as my hand."

Zhihao had been pecked by the hens before, so he hesitated to go inside.

When Aunt Wu came in, she saw him peering in from outside, holding onto Huo Tianzhou's hand and urging him to bring the rabbits out.

She walked over and said with a helpless smile, "As soon as he heard about the rabbits, he dashed out, and I couldn't stop him. I can't keep up with him anymore."

"Grandma, you all walk too slowly. If I didn't come early, Tianzhou would think we weren't coming."

"You and your excuses."

Aunt Wu was holding her granddaughter's hand and carrying a basket in the other that was filled with fresh fruits and vegetables.

The vegetables were from their own garden, looking lush and green.

The dried jujubes and bayberries were partly homemade and partly bought from town for entertaining guests.