The food-loving children were very active. Li Muwu had just cut off the antlers, and Mingbei had already found a deep and narrow brazier that could just fit the iron plate on top. Zhenzhen suddenly became interested and directed Mingbei to chop firewood, and asked Mingnan to build a small rack in the yard with firewood, and cut dozens of wooden sticks. Li Muwu bled and skinned the deer, and seeing how impatient the children were, he cut a piece of tender meat and threw it to them, letting them do whatever they wanted.
Zhenzhen didn't mind the blood. She took the venison to the kitchen to wash it. When she picked up the kitchen knife to cut the meat, Wang Sufen happened to come back to the house to drink water. As soon as she entered the kitchen, she saw her little ancestor picking up the kitchen knife. She was so scared that her soul flew away. She hurriedly went up to take the kitchen knife away and coaxed her softly: "Baoer, this thing is not something you can play with. It's very heavy. What if it falls to the ground and chops off your feet? Tell me how you want to cut it, and I'll cut it for you."
Old Lady Li came out after hearing the noise, and she used her pipe to beat Mingnan and Mingbei who were watching nearby: "Your sister doesn't know the severity of the situation, and neither do you? How old is she, and you let her use a knife to serve you? Do you guys deserve a beating?"
Mingnan and Mingbei were so tall that they ran away with their heads in their hands after being hit by the short and thin old lady Li. Old lady Li stood at the door of the kitchen, pinching her waist and scolding them angrily: "It's a good thing your mother saw it early. If she had come out late and let Zhenzhen cut her hands, I would have cut you to death!"
Mingnan hid in the west room and stuck his head out with a wry smile on his face: "Grandma, we were wrong. I really didn't react. Seeing Zhenzhen hurriedly picking up the meat, washing the meat and cutting the meat, it looked like she was doing that. We all forgot that she was still young."
"What? You're washing the meat?" Grandma Li was shocked and pulled Zhenzhen over. She held her little hand in her palm and it was indeed icy cold: "Don't stand there like a wooden stake!" Grandma Li didn't bother to argue with her grandson and directed them around: "Mingnan, pour a basin of hot water for your sister to soak her hands. Mingbei, go make some honey water for your sister to drink to warm her body."
Zhen Zhen didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so she hugged Grandma Li's arm and said, "Grandma, I'm really fine. I'll be warm in a while. Besides, I have to go out and grill the meat after it's cut."
"You are really good at cooking." Old Mrs. Li grumbled in dissatisfaction: "Let your brother bake it for you, and you wait in the house to eat it."
"They finished roasting it before they could share it with me." Zhenzhen wrinkled her nose at Mingnan who came over with hot water. "Besides, roasting it yourself is fun. The last time my brother and I roasted a rabbit in the mountains, it was really fun."
"You love to eat and play. I can't do anything about you." Mrs. Li looked at Zhenzhen lovingly. After testing the water temperature, she put her little hand in the slightly hot water. Her little hand felt a little stinging, and then a warm and comfortable feeling spread. Zhenzhen soaked her hand in the hot water and said to Mrs. Li excitedly, "I haven't eaten roasted venison yet. I read in a book that it's very delicious."
Old Li's family doesn't eat venison very often. The last time they ate venison was seven or eight years ago. At that time, Li Muwu caught a deer and the family ate it for more than half a month. That winter, Old Mrs. Li didn't feel the cold, and her hands and feet were always warm.
"Deer meat is a good thing. Let your mother stew a pot of it tonight. You can eat two more pieces, and your sister-in-law should also eat more. It is very nourishing for a woman who has just given birth, and it will also improve her milk supply." Glancing at Mingnan and Mingbei who were drooling at what she heard, Mrs. Li sneered, "Silly boys are strong, you two should not eat too much, or you will feel uncomfortable at night."
Mingnan was a young man of about 17 or 18 years old. He understood the reason immediately and hid out with a red face and a hat on. Mingxi was lighting a fire in the yard. Seeing Mingnan running out as if his butt was on fire, he asked him in confusion: "Didn't you say to go inside to warm up? Why are you running out at this time? I haven't even lit the fire yet."
Mingnan squatted on the ground in embarrassment and snatched the matches and oilcloth from Mingxi's hands: "Well, second brother, you go into the house and warm up. I'll light the fire."
Mingdong heard his two younger brothers talking, and when he saw this, he turned around and looked at Mingnan and laughed: "Needless to say, this must be due to the milkman's punishment."
In the kitchen, Wang Sufen quickly cut out a plate of meat for the grilled skewers according to Zhenzhen's request. Zhenzhen was afraid that it would be even colder outside after the sun went down, and she didn't have time to marinate the meat, so she just put some salt and pepper in the meat, poured a little wine, added some oil, and stirred it evenly. Then she called the family over, and in about ten minutes, she had skewered more than a hundred pieces of meat.
The men in the family are experts in barbecue. Without Zhenzhen saying anything, Mingxi took the skewers and put them on the rack. Although it was cold outside, Mingnan had lit several fires, so the family didn't feel cold sitting around the fires. Zhenzhen ran into the house, took out a small porcelain bottle and a small cloth bag from the cabinet, and ran out to hand them to Mingxi: "This is the seasoning I asked my mother to make for me in the fall. I roasted and dried mushrooms and ground them into powder. This is cumin. Sprinkle some on top. It will definitely taste fresh."
In the past, there were a lot of Russians coming to Heilongjiang Province, and cumin became very popular in Heilongjiang Province. Now, it is also sold in the supply and marketing cooperatives. Although the price is a bit expensive, no tickets are required. However, in this era, every household is mainly concerned with filling their stomachs. This kind of cumin is not a necessary seasoning for daily life, because not many people are willing to buy it, and the supply and marketing cooperatives usually don’t put it outside. These at home were the last time Zhenzhen went to the hydrolysis plant to play. She heard Yu Wanqiu talking about cumin, and hurried to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some back.
Mingxi unscrewed the lid and smelled it, then quickly sprinkled mushroom powder and cumin evenly on the meat. The meat flavor immediately became richer, and soon the skewers were grilled. Mingxi quickly took the skewers into the house.
Each person was given about ten skewers of roasted venison, and they all started eating before the meal started. Zhenzhen first took three skewers off for Li Mingzhong and put them in his small bowl, then took a skewer and bit off a piece of meat. The scalding venison made Zhenzhen stick out her tongue, but the tender and fresh taste made her not care about the heat on her tongue, and she couldn't wait to take a second bite.
The family members quickly finished the barbecue in their hands while standing, sitting or squatting. Except for Roubao who burped, the others touched their stomachs and felt even hungrier than before.
Wang Sufen went to the kitchen and brought back a small bowl of thinly sliced venison that she had cut and handed it to Mingbei: "Your sister asked me to cut this. Go and roast it."
Mingxi and Mingnan quickly went outside to load the burning firewood into the brazier and carried it to the west room. Mingbei put the cleaned subway plate on the brazier and looked at Zhenzhen expectantly: "What should we do next?"
Zhenzhen poured some lard on the iron plate and handed a piece of oily gauze to Mingbei: "Wipe the oil evenly." The boys in the family are very familiar with this kind of work. In the past, when there was not so much oil at home, when stir-frying vegetables, they would dip some oily gauze in it and wipe the bottom of the pan, as if it was adding oil.
After the oil was evenly spread and the thick iron plate was heated, Zhenzhen took the chopsticks and put the thin slices of venison on the iron plate, and sprinkled some salt and pepper on it evenly. The iron plate made a sizzling sound of oil, and soon a smell of meat came out. Zhenzhen handed the chopsticks in her hand to Mingbei to turn the meat, and went to the kitchen to bring back some clean and tender yellow cabbage hearts.
Wang Sufen stewed the venison in the pot and came to watch the fun. Old Mrs. Li sat on the kang and looked at the pot of cabbage hearts and shook her head: "It took four or five cabbages to get so many tender cabbage hearts. We will eat cabbage every day in the next two days. When we finish eating those five cabbages, we will be done."
Mingbei stared at the barbecue on the plate and said without turning his head, "It's okay. My dad will kill a pig tomorrow. The pork, cabbage and vermicelli stew is so delicious. I won't get tired of it even if I eat it for a month."
As they were talking, the first batch of venison was ready. Zhenzhen took a pair of clean chopsticks and put the venison slices on the plate and placed it on the small table next to her. She took out a piece of cabbage heart, put a piece of venison on it, and quickly rolled up a piece of venison and handed it to Mrs. Li.
Mrs. Li had just eaten three skewers of venison and was feeling a little tired in her cheeks. Seeing Zhenzhen handing over another cabbage leaf roll with meat, she quickly waved her hand and said, "You guys eat it. My teeth are sore from exhaustion."
Zhenzhen passed the meat to Old Lady Li: "Grandma, please try it. This is easy to chew and won't tire your teeth."
Old Lady Li couldn't stand her granddaughter's coaxing. Seeing that Zhenzhen insisted on giving her some, she lowered her head and took a bite. This time, unlike the venison skewers just now, the fresh venison was only sprinkled with salt and pepper during the roasting process. The hot iron plate quickly cooked the meat, which not only allowed the venison to retain the most delicious original taste, but also retained the juice and nutrition of the venison itself. The crispness of the cabbage mixed with the deliciousness of the venison, the taste was very delicious, and it was tender and not greasy. After taking a bite, Old Lady Li actually felt that it was not very satisfying. She took the half-eaten barbecue from Zhenzhen's hand and stuffed it directly into her mouth, nodding repeatedly while chewing: "It's delicious, more fragrant than the roasted venison skewers."
Old Mrs. Li didn't care much about her appetite. She would only eat three pieces of braised pork at most. Even she said it was delicious, and the whole family couldn't help it. They stared at the venison on the plate with shining eyes. Wang Sufen hurried to the kitchen and grabbed a pair of chopsticks and put them on the table. Everyone took a pair and grabbed all the pieces of meat in a moment.
Zhenzhen came a step late and the meat was snatched away. She saw that the meat in the iron plate was a little burnt, so she quickly turned the meat over. Seeing that it was almost cooked, she quickly put it on the plate.
After three plates were roasted, everyone in the family, young and old, tasted it and said it was delicious. After eating two pieces, Mrs. Li dared not eat any more, fearing that she would have stomach upset at night due to indigestion. She sat on the kang, took a puff of her pipe and asked Zhenzhen, "Is this how you eat venison? It's a bit more complicated, but it's really delicious."
Zhenzhen chuckled: "I heard from my classmates that this is the way of eating that his father learned from the Russians." The family had no doubt about this statement. In the 1950s, there were many Russians living in Heilongjiang Province, and what they loved most was to eat big chunks of meat and drink big gulps of wine.
Wang Sufen rolled three pieces of meat in a row before reluctantly putting down her chopsticks and wiping her mouth: "You guys eat, I have to go heat up the pancakes." Seeing the children eating without even looking up, she couldn't help but smile and shook her head: "I don't think we need to heat up so much dry food, just cook some cornmeal porridge, you will all be full after eating the meat in a while."
Zhenzhen was slow in eating. When she ate one, Mingbei could finish three. Zhenzhen was so angry that she didn't even want the cabbage heart and directly picked up a piece of roasted meat with chopsticks and put it into her mouth.
Mingbei slapped his head and said with a chagrined smile, "I was led astray by Zhenzhen just now. I followed her and learned to wrap venison with cabbage. It would be better to eat the meat directly. What's the point of using these vegetable leaves? It's just a waste of time."
Zhenzhen's cheeks were bulging from eating, and she kept chewing like a little hamster. She swallowed the meat in her mouth, and then replied to Mingbei calmly: "Aren't you afraid of eating too much barbecue and getting greasy? It's so refreshing and delicious to have this cabbage heart."
Mingnan, Mingbei and the others were all delighted when they heard this. Mingxi put an arm around Zhenzhen's neck and said earnestly, "Sister, how come you don't understand us brothers in all these years? Let alone barbecue, even if we had a pot of braised pork, we wouldn't feel sick of it."
Except for Mingdong who was still smiling politely and didn't say anything, Mingnan and Mingbei were nodding their heads desperately. Zhenzhen was amused by their expressions. She threw the two pieces of meat that had been cooled down to Li Mingzhong and immediately started a new round of barbecue.
The four young men devoured the large plate of meat, and with the help of Li Muwu and Zhenzhen, they soon finished it. Mingbei stuffed the last piece of meat into his mouth reluctantly, and after tasting the last piece of meat solemnly, Mingbei licked the oil on his fingers and looked at Li Muwu pitifully: "Dad, give us another piece of meat tomorrow."
Li Muwu rolled a cigarette with paper and held it between his fingers without lighting it. He looked at his silly and greedy fourth son with a funny face and said with a slightly teasing smile: "If you don't have a nosebleed tonight and don't get up to sleep, I will give you another piece of fresh venison tomorrow."
The silly boy Mingbei immediately patted his chest and assured: "Don't worry, Dad, I always fall asleep as soon as I touch the pillow."
Mingdong and the others burst into laughter immediately. Zhenzhen pretended not to understand and pulled Grandma Li to ask for water. Grandma Li didn't care about making fun of her grandson, and took her granddaughter's soft and white little hand to make her some honey water.
After eating so much barbecue, the family was not very hungry, and Mingbei was even burping from eating so much. Li Muwu went to the yard and picked up a piece of venison and handed it to Mingbei: "If you are full, go out and digest the food. By the way, send the meat to your third uncle's house and ask your third uncle to come to our house for dinner tonight."
Mingbei wore a fur coat and fur hat, and went to Li Musen's house on a sled. Li Musen looked surprised when he saw his nephew: "Didn't you say you would come to your house tomorrow? Why are you here at this time? Your face is red from the wind. Xiulan, quickly cook Mingbei a fried egg in sugar water."
"No, Uncle. I just ate a lot of roasted venison and I'm burping. Aunt, just give me some hot water to drink." Mingbei took down the small basket on his back and handed it to Li Musen: "My family's Hongzhong has brought a red deer. My father asked me to bring you a piece of venison and invite you to my house for dinner."
Looking at the frozen venison in the basket, Li Musen was envious: "Your Hongzhong is finally well-raised. He is an expert at hunting and guarding the house. There is no dog more capable than Hongzhong in our area."
Liu Xiulan handed Mingbei a bowl of hot sugar water. Mingbei thanked her, took it, blew on it and drank several big gulps.
"You said they are all dogs from the same litter, but why is my Dashazi so different from Hongzhong?" Li Musen sat on the kang and wondered, "Dashazi was never scared by anything when he was a child, so why is he so stupid? You said I took him to the mountains to catch rabbits, and he ran pretty fast, but he didn't know how to catch rabbits, and he chased a grasshopper for two miles."
Mingbei laughed until tears came out. He drank up the sugar water and put the bowl on the kang. He rubbed the head of the silly dog that was circling around his thighs, sticking out its tongue and wagging its tail. "Uncle San, I think it's mainly because you didn't name it well. You could have named it Big Black and Big Yellow, but you insisted on calling it Big Idiot. How can it not be silly?"
Li Musen looked annoyed: "I think those black dogs and beggars are too common. In our street, if you shout "Big Black", ten dogs will come out. I was thinking of calling a different one from others."
Li Mingguang, the eldest son of Li Musen's family, looked at the big fool and sighed. He couldn't help but retorted to his father: "There are many different names. Why did you think for so long to come up with this name for it? I said at the beginning that this name was not good, but you refused to let me change it. Look at my second uncle's dog. His full name is Li Mingzhong and his nickname is Hongzhong. No matter which name you call, it will be loud and clear. But when it comes to our dog, if you call the big fool, it will run away happily. What's the point of catching rabbits? It's good enough if it can go home without getting lost."
"Then what do you think we should name it?" Li Musen looked at his dog whose IQ was a little off and felt a little worried. He decided to give it a more auspicious name: "If not, we'll change its name today. Otherwise, we'll just call it Hongzhong. What do you think of making a fortune?" Without waiting for others to say anything, he rejected it himself: "Oh, no, we're not allowed to say that now, but Baiban doesn't sound very auspicious either. Why not just call it Pihu?"
Mingbei was almost in awe of Li Musen's ability to come up with names. He looked at Li Mingguang, who looked desperate, and laughed. He kindly suggested to Li Musen, "Uncle San, Pihu doesn't sound very nice. How about Tianhu?"
"Tianhu is great! Tianhu is great!" Li Musen praised repeatedly: "Let's call it that." He patted his thigh, and the silly dog immediately stood up and put his front paws on his knees. Li Musen rubbed its head: "Remember, from now on you will call it Tianhu, do you hear me?"
The silly dog stuck out his tongue, looking silly and cute, which made Mingbei laugh.
Patting the silly dog's head, Li Musen stood up and said, "It's getting late, Mingbei, let's go to your house now. Your father is waiting for me to drink." Liu Xiulan hurriedly took out a brand new flashlight from the cabinet and handed it to Li Musen, "It's hard to walk on the dark road at night. Use the flashlight to shine."
Li Musen put on his fur coat and took the flashlight. Just as he was about to go out, Liu Xiulan called him again: "Take our big fool with you. If you come back late, I can show you the way or something."
"Forget it, it's a good thing that it didn't lead me astray with its stupid behavior." Having said that, Li Musen still called out to the stupid dog: "Tianhu, come out with me."
The silly dog lay on the ground, looking at Li Musen happily.
Li Musen shouted, "Tianhu, hurry up and get out of here."
The silly dog stood up, yawned, walked around the stove, and then lay down again.
Mingbei laughed so hard that his stomach hurt. Li Musen thought about the brave Hongzhong, then looked at his stupid dog who was out of his mind, and became very angry: "Come here, you big fool." The stupid dog immediately jumped up, ran to Li Musen's side, and looked at him expectantly.
Li Musen covered his forehead helplessly. He really had no idea what to do with his own dog: "I think we should not change the name, so as not to waste the name Tianhu."
The uncle and nephew brought the dog back home. A pot of steaming carrot stewed with venison was already on the table. The boys were basically full after eating the barbecue. Except for Mingdong and Mingxi who sat at the table to drink with Li Musen, Zhenzhen, Mingnan and Mingbei did not sit at the table to eat. The three brothers and sisters sat on the kang in the east room and chatted.
Mingbei excitedly told Mingnan about how he took Zhenzhen to the hydrolysis plant, and mentioned Yu Wanqiu's name several times. Mingnan looked at him with a teasing look on his face: "I haven't watched a movie this year. How about we go to the hydrolysis plant to watch a movie tomorrow? I'll pay for it."
Mingbei was troubled when he heard this. Actually, there was nothing good to watch. They were the same movies over and over again. There were no new movies. But if he went to the hydrolysis plant, he might run into Yu Wanqiu. It had been three or four months since they last met. Mingbei sometimes dreamed of her at night. But now the snow was so thick that it would take at least five or six hours to go back and forth. If he went to the hydrolysis plant, he would basically miss the pig slaughtering meal at noon.
Seeing that it was really hard for Mingbei to choose between late autumn and eating the pig-killing dish, after thinking for a long time, Mingbei said hesitantly: "My family is killing a pig tomorrow, why don't we go to the movies the day after tomorrow."
Mingnan was clearly trying to tease him, and shook his head firmly: "I don't want to go the day after tomorrow. If you want to see a movie, let's go tomorrow. If not, forget it."
Zhenzhen looked at Mingbei, who was so troubled that he almost scratched his head bald. She was so happy that she laughed out loud. Mingbei glanced at her unhappily and muttered, "What's so funny? I just want to watch a movie and eat pig-killing dishes at the same time!"
Zhen Zhen blinked mischievously: "Fourth brother, you are going to take the high school entrance examination. After so many years of studying, haven't you heard the saying that you can't have your cake and eat it too? There are not so many good things in the world that can be done with the best of both worlds."
"That's right." Mingnan tapped Zhenzhen on the head: "It's worth buying this radio at home. It can even say such difficult words."
Seeing Mingnan and Zhenzhen squeezing him in unison, Mingbei finally made up his mind: "Let's go to the hydrolysis plant to watch a movie tomorrow."
Mingnan was immediately happy: "Oh, my silly brother finally got it."
The author has something to say: I updated a little earlier today because I was slacking off during the day, hehe~~~~