Old Man Tu saw how generous Chen Yang was and had nothing more to argue about. Besides Chen Yang's family, everyone else was either his son or his disciple, so there was no reason for Chen Yang to be stingy with the meat while he was being petty.
Several people carried the wild goat down the mountain. Along the way, they encountered a foolish pheasant that Tu Er Wazi shot down with an arrow, sending it to its demise. [SUDAN NOVEL NET]
One pheasant and one wild rabbit were enough for him to take to the black market today and exchange for new clothes for the children at home.
When they reached the village, Old Man Tu personally took charge and expertly skinned the goat, preserving the hide perfectly.
Every hunter was an accomplished butcher.
It was just that normally, the village elder handled the butchering, and Old Man Tu was too lazy to do it himself.
Although no one was watching them or reporting them for hunting in the mountains now, they weren't so bored as to advertise it. They secretly put the meat in bags and brought it home.
Since it was inconvenient to ask the elder, Old Man Tu took charge himself. Chen Yang's family received a hind leg, a rack of ribs, and some mutton fat.
This mutton fat was a treasure, sizzling and fragrant, and excellent for stimulating milk production when stewed.
It was a pity that Shen Xue had only just become pregnant, otherwise, the mutton fat would have been invaluable.
Originally, Old Man Tu intended to give Chen Yang the goat's treasure and testicles for nourishment, but Chen Yang dared not accept.
He was afraid of being too impulsive with his wife at night, and eating more of such things would only lead to frustration without an outlet, purely self-inflicted suffering.
Carrying the large goat legs home, the two fathers were overjoyed, as if they had hunted the goat themselves, walking with their heads held high.
They pulled out a few radishes from the field and chopped up the ribs, stewing a pot of delicious lamb soup.
For the hind leg meat, Chen Yang directly found some red willow branches, trimmed them, and prepared to make lamb skewers with mutton fat to roast.
To eat a skewer of fragrant roasted lamb in 1978 was definitely an experience that could dazzle countless people.
It was a shame they couldn't buy cumin, so they had to make do with chili powder. Fortunately, the family had dried some chili peppers, which they ground and mixed with salt. They could only make do with this.
There was no charcoal for sale back then, and burning charcoal was a skill. Chen Yang wasn't capable of it, but luckily, his father-in-law was adept.
He burned some firewood into simple charcoal, propped up two frames with sticks over the embers, and tied two pieces of wire, which they had searched for half the day to find, in the middle.
Thus, a rudimentary, extremely simple barbecue rack was made.
While roasting, they had to remain vigilant, lest the charcoal burn through the frame. To be honest, the wild goat meat was truly divine. The lamb ribs stewed with radishes had no gamey smell at all.
It was exceptionally delicious!
The two little ones, with their chubby hands, gnawed on the ribs, their mouths dripping with oil. After eating the meat, they would occasionally lift their bowls and slurp down some soup, eating with great satisfaction.
Chen Yang didn't plan to give them any of the roasted lamb skewers. Roasted food was too "fiery," and without chili powder and such, it lacked flavor.
Moreover, the roasted meat was tough. It might damage the little ones' teeth, which would be a disaster.
His father-in-law poured the wine, and a small fire was set up in the yard. Chen Yang, after sprinkling the last of the chili powder and salt, served the freshly made lamb skewers to his father-in-law and father.
"Lamb skewers are here!"
After handing them to his father-in-law and father, Chen Yang also served skewers to his mother-in-law and mother. Shen Xue couldn't stand the smell of smoke and only ate some lamb ribs and the stewed lamb rib soup.
Finally, as he placed the remaining skewers on the rack, Chen Yang picked up a skewer himself and took a bite.
It didn't have the expected gamey taste. It was a little overcooked, but the texture, mixed with the lamb fat and the crispy charred bits, and the explosion of lamb fat in his mouth, made Chen Yang's scalp tingle.
A thousand words could be condensed into two: delicious!
His mother-in-law washed a basket of lettuce, and peeled some garlic cloves. His father-in-law ate the meat with a clove of garlic, then a piece of lettuce leaf, eating with great relish.
In this area of northern Anhui, like in Henan Province, people loved garlic. In his father-in-law's words, "Eating meat without garlic halves the flavor."
Chen Yang couldn't get used to it; the raw garlic was too spicy and overwhelming!
He and his father could only eat it wrapped in lettuce, which was also quite tasty. The lettuce helped to cut through the greasiness.
If only they had a couple of bottles of ice-cold beer now, it would be perfect!
But unfortunately, beer wasn't available back then, nor were refrigerators.
However, his father-in-law and father were quite happy drinking rice wine.
Chen Yang didn't drink alcohol but opened a bottle of Beibingyang. He had brought back several cases of this beverage last time he drove the donkey cart to the county town.
People who hadn't tasted Beibingyang couldn't possibly know what a truly fantastic soda was.
Just ask anyone in the 1970s or 1980s; who wouldn't have longed for a bottle of ice-cold Beibingyang in the summer?
Of course, if one insisted on comparing it to later brands like Rebbi, there were indeed differences in taste, as technology and craftsmanship had improved. But in that era, Beibingyang was synonymous with soda.
As soon as the meat started roasting, Chen Yang had placed several bottles of Beibingyang in a net bag and submerged them in the well to chill.
Even without ice-cold beer, the taste of sipping soda while enjoying skewers was wonderful.
After a burp, the whole world felt refreshed.
Full and satisfied, Chen Yang lay in the yard, his happiness beyond words.
They had only eaten half of the large goat leg; the rest had been salted. Although it wasn't as hot as summer anymore,
it would be a pity if it went bad. Mutton was hard to come by in those days.
Chen Liming and Shen Futang were nearly drunk again.
That's how rice wine is; you take a sip at a time, and you don't feel much at first.
By the time you feel it, you've already passed out.
It had to be said that in just a few days, the relationship between his father-in-law and his father had rapidly warmed up, to the point where they were almost sworn brothers.
Of course, Chen Yang was happy to see this.
In the future, perhaps the entire family would live together. It was reassuring for Chen Yang and Shen Xue that the elders had common interests and got along well.
After eating and resting for a while, Chen Yang cleaned up the yard, helped the two drunken fathers with their baths, and escorted them back to their rooms.
Then he helped Shen Xue heat water and carry it. His wife was still shy and didn't want him to help her bathe, but as her belly grew larger, Chen Yang would have to help, or he wouldn't be at ease.
While Shen Xue bathed indoors, Chen Yang took a bucket and showered himself in the yard. He had come to love cold showers during this period.
The two little ones had already been bathed by their grandmother and maternal grandmother. Shen Xue was clean and, even though it wasn't summer, insisted on bathing every day, taking the two children with her.
After Chen Yang finished showering and changed his clothes, Shen Xue also finished bathing. He helped her pour out the bathwater, which was not wasted but poured into the yard to water the vegetables.