Chapter 54: What Wine

Chapter 54: What Wine

They hadn't gone far when Gu Heng returned on his 28-inch bicycle with his son and daughter.

As they approached the house, Gu Heng rang the bell twice.

"Ding! Ding!"

Before Su Zhaozhao could get up to open the door, Gu Xiang had already pushed it open, carrying a duck with its legs tied.

Gu Nian followed closely behind, holding a bag of mountain pears in her hand.

"Where did you get these?"

"Bought... or rather, traded for them in the countryside." Gu Xiang held up the duck, "Dad said we should cook it, Mom, can we keep it?"

"No." Su Zhaozhao refused without hesitation; she didn't want to step on duck droppings.

"Oh." Gu Xiang was disappointed.

Gu Nian brought the pears inside, washed one, and offered it to Su Zhaozhao, "Mom, have some. They're sour but sweet, really delicious."

Su Zhaozhao took a bite, "… Mm, delicious."

They were too sour, not sweet enough, a bit astringent, and the skin was thick—hardly what you'd call delicious.

Su Zhaozhao took the pear from her daughter, went into the kitchen, and used a knife to peel it. The texture improved after peeling.

Gu Heng went to return the bicycle and came back shortly, "Someone will deliver the stone slabs this afternoon. I've already arranged it; they'll lay them down for us directly."

Su Zhaozhao looked at the duck, "Will there be dinner tonight?"

"No, it won't take long. Should we cook the duck for lunch? If so, I'll start preparing it now."

The duck, with its legs tied, trembled pitifully on the ground.

Talking about killing the duck in front of it was too cruel.

"Go ahead." Early death, early rebirth.

The duck: … Shivering!

It was an old duck, and in this era without electric rice cookers, it needed to be simmered over a low flame. It wouldn't be ready for lunch, but it would be perfect for dinner after simmering all afternoon.

The duck giblets were also good, and no one wanted to waste them. After Gu Heng cleaned them, Su Zhaozhao stir-fried them with chili peppers, ginger, and garlic sprouts, making them incredibly fragrant.

There wasn't much duck blood, but she didn't want to waste it either, so she made a duck blood vermicelli soup.

She stir-fried some vegetables as well, and it was another perfect meal!

After dinner, Su Zhaozhao started stewing the duck.

The blood had been drained, but it still needed to be blanched. After blanching, she rinsed it with clean water.

She heated oil in a pan, added the duck meat, and stir-fried until the moisture was gone, then added scallions, ginger, and spices.

Suddenly, Su Zhaozhao remembered she didn't have wine.

"Who can bring me some wine?"

A moment later, Gu Heng came over with a bottle of wine.

"What do you need the wine for?"

"To stew the duck." Su Zhaozhao took the bottle and poured it into the pot with a 'glug glug glug.'

She poured about half a bowl, then added water.

Gu Heng looked at the wine bottle, "This wine…"

Su Zhaozhao slammed the lid on the pot, "What's wrong with this wine? Is it expired?"

Gu Heng looked at her helplessly, "Baijiu doesn't expire."

She laughed at herself; she didn't drink, so how would she know?

"Is there any other problem with this wine?"

"No, it's fine for cooking." He pointed to the remaining wine in the bottle, "Do you need more?"

"No."

Gu Heng took the bottle and left.

Something felt off. Was this wine expensive? Or hard to find?

Su Zhaozhao scratched her head, "… It's not Maotai."

She recognized Maotai and had even tried Maotai milk tea.

Phoenix brand, she had never heard of it.

She only knew about Phoenix bicycles from period dramas.

At two in the afternoon, the men delivering the stone slabs arrived. Two young men, who seemed like brothers, pushed a tricycle loaded with evenly thick stone slabs. They started unloading the slabs, and Gu Heng went to help.

Su Zhaozhao prepared water and placed it on a stool under the eaves.

The two men worked efficiently, leveling the uneven ground with their tools.

Before long, a path of bluestone slabs was laid from the main gate to the hall, and a slab was also placed beside the kitchen faucet, so there would be no more splashing water.

Inside the toilet, which previously had only two stone slabs on either side of the pit, the entire floor was now covered with slabs, making it safe from wetness even when flushing.

After finishing the work, Gu Heng saw the workers off.

With the bluestone slabs in place, the courtyard looked much better. If they could plant some flowers... Yes, her flowers.

When Gu Heng returned, Su Zhaozhao asked him, "Do you know where I can buy flower seedlings?"

Gu Heng was washing his hands by the pond. "There's nowhere around here; you'd have to go to the city for that. In a couple of days, I'll ask someone to bring some back for you."

Su Zhaozhao nodded. "Alright."

After washing his hands, Gu Heng continued weaving the straw curtain. With nothing to do, Su Zhaozhao took a book and sat under the eaves to read. She didn't like hunching over; she preferred to sit upright against the wall and read at eye level.

Gu Heng glanced at her. "The chairs should be delivered in a few days."

Su Zhaozhao: "...Oh." She shifted her stool to make herself more comfortable.

The aroma of stewed duck filled the house all afternoon, distracting Gu Nian and Gu Xiang from their homework.

They were practicing calligraphy, though formal lessons hadn't started at school yet. The teacher had them practice at home over the weekend, with official classes beginning on Monday.

Gu Heng brought back a stack of old newspapers, and after finishing their homework, the two boys began scribbling on them.

Su Zhaozhao sat below the west room's window, occasionally glancing up... It was a mess, pure scribbles.

Just as she was about to go in and give them some pointers, Gu Heng stood up, went inside to correct their grip, then came out to continue weaving the straw curtain.

Even after the correction, it was still a mess...

Su Zhaozhao wasn't in a hurry; she let them practice slowly, knowing that with time, they would improve.

Every so often, she put down her book and went to the kitchen to turn the duck or check the fire. When the duck was tender and the broth reduced, she replaced the coal briquette in the stove and closed the air vent, allowing the duck to simmer further.

Time flew by, and before she knew it, it was time to prepare dinner again.

Gu Heng finally finished the straw curtain for the west room. As usual, he borrowed a ladder from the neighbors. Before leaving, he asked Su Zhaozhao to ladle a bowl of duck meat and take it to the Zhou family.

He returned with the ladder on his shoulder and a bowl of steaming three-ingredient egg pancakes from the Zhou family, piled high with eight pancakes.

Su Zhaozhao took the bowl. "I was just about to get the rice. Now we don't need to cook anything else."

Gu Heng said, "When I went over, Sister-in-law was making the pancakes. She said she had been smelling our duck all afternoon and wanted something special, so she made these pancakes."

The pancakes were made with white flour and cooked in a pan brushed with fragrant oil, turning golden brown and looking rich and delicious. They smelled wonderful too.