Chapter 100: Braised Pork Belly

Chapter 100: Braised Pork Belly

Jiang Chengxiao was taken aback: "I don't feel wronged. Doing what I want to do, how could that be considered wronging myself?"

"Jiang Chengxiao," Song Xilan called him.

"Yes, what is it?" Jiang Chengxiao replied, feeling a bit nervous. It seemed like the first time she had called his name so formally, which made him uneasy.

"I said before that I'm willing to give us a chance to try things out, but I won't do anything I don't want to do just to please you or your family. For example, forcing myself to eat foods I don't like or wear clothes I don't like..."

Jiang Chengxiao quickly responded, "No need, of course, you don't need to do anything you don't want to do. Just be who you are."

"So I hope you feel the same way. I don't want to hear you say during future arguments that you did this or that for me. Do you understand what I mean?"

Jiang Chengxiao was silent for a moment: "I get it. I admit, I did have the intention to please you and your parents, but what I'm doing now is all by my own choice, or what I want to do in my heart. You can't stop me from doing what I want, right?"

Song Xilan snorted lightly: "Just don't come blaming me if you regret it later."

"I won't regret it," Jiang Chengxiao said, though in his heart, he thought, I'm definitely sticking with you for life.

"What are your plans for the Lunar New Year?" Song Xilan asked, "Are you going home?"

"No!" Jiang Chengxiao answered without hesitation.

"Why not? The holiday break should be enough, or you could take a few days off. There's not much happening at the end of the year anyway."

Although Beijing is a bit far, and the travel time is longer than the time you can spend at home, if it were me, I would definitely go home to see my parents no matter what.

Ah, no, if it were me, I wouldn't have gone to work so far from home in the first place.

But as soon as she spoke, she realized she had overstepped.

Because she thought of Zheng Qiaoling, who would rather spend the Lunar New Year alone in a distant place than stay in this city.

Everyone has a different life, and she couldn't impose her own thoughts on others and find their actions incomprehensible.

"Uh, well, not going back is actually fine. Many young workers at our factory don't go home for the Lunar New Year. The factory leaders will even throw a New Year's party in the canteen, with extra food!"

Jiang Chengxiao found her slightly clumsy attempt to comfort him amusing. She really is a kind and warm-hearted girl!

"Well, I just got here and don't know much. I thought I could use the holiday to study a bit."

"Then... would you like to come to my house for New Year's Eve dinner?" Song Xilan still felt that it was pitiful not to have a New Year's Eve dinner at home.

"That might not be appropriate! Let's not do that!" Of course, he wanted to, but he wasn't that shameless.

They walked a few laps around the dormitory area to walk off their meal. Luckily, it was cold, and not many people were out, so they didn't run into any acquaintances.

Jiang Chengxiao walked Song Xilan back to her door.

"Well, I'll head back now. See you!"

Jiang Chengxiao looked at her rosy cheeks and really wanted to kiss them. They must be soft and bouncy, with a nice texture.

But he could only imagine it: "Yes, see you. Get some sleep early."

The year-end bonuses were finally handed out, and the welfare wasn't replaced with low-sugar cookies. Everyone received a box of apples, a basket of oranges, a piece of cured meat, a salted fish, a bag of mushrooms, and a basket of charcoal. It was quite a generous spread.

Although Jiang Chengxiao was new, because he had made significant contributions to the factory, no one dared to overlook him, so he also received his share.

He lived in the dormitory and didn't cook for himself, so he had no use for these items.

He thought about giving them all to the Song family, but since they already had three of each, and the items weren't particularly special, he felt too embarrassed to offer them. Instead, he distributed them among his colleagues from the warehouse and the machine repair shop.

Some families were struggling, so they really appreciated these items and were thrilled to get them.

Jiang Chengxiao kept some apples and oranges for himself, to enjoy over the New Year.

The factory fell quiet all of a sudden.

Many employees who lived far away had already taken time off and gone home early. The workshop had no production tasks, just some cleaning and fixing up the machines. The office staff had already checked out mentally.

On Lunar New Year's Eve eve, they decided to let everyone off early so they could happily go home to prepare for the New Year.

The house had been cleaned over the past few days. On Lunar New Year's Eve, it was a rare sunny day. Song Xilan slept in and woke up to find her parents already busy in the kitchen.

Song Baili grabbed the chicken's feet and wings, dangling it upside down. Tan Aizhi held the chicken's neck with one hand, bent it back, and with the other, plucked the feathers from the spot where she'd make the cut. Then she picked up a shiny kitchen knife and made a clean, swift cut. The chicken's blood gushed out, landing neatly in a plate of lightly salted water below.

The chicken thrashed and convulsed, but Song Baili held it firmly until the last drop of blood drained away. It was then tossed into a large basin filled with boiling water.

Song Xilan woke up and was immediately faced with this gruesome scene. She pinched her nose as she walked over, the air thick with the smell of scalded chicken feathers. "Mom, is there any hot water left? I need to wash my face."

"Yes, I saved some for you. It's in the pot over there; you can scoop it yourself."

After cutting the chicken's neck, Tan Aizhi started preparing to fry the stewed pork.

Large pieces of skin-on pork belly were boiled in cold water until thoroughly cooked, then the surface was dried and fried in oil until golden brown, with the skin becoming crispy and bubbly.

Taro was also cut into thick rectangular slices and fried thoroughly.

Steamed between the pork slices, it turned soft and sticky, soaking up the meat juices, making it even tastier than the meat.

Finally, Tan Aizhi fried a large basin of crispy pork. She cut the pork, which had a mix of fat and lean meat, into small pieces, added some diced sweet potato, mixed it with flour, water, and seasonings to form a batter of the right consistency. She then scooped spoonfuls of the batter into the oil, frying them until golden and crispy, piling them up like a small mountain in a basin nearby.

Song Xilan came over and picked one up to eat. It was crispy with a bit of softness from the sweet potato, savory with a hint of sweetness: "Mmm, so delicious."

Tan Aizhi slapped her hand away as she reached for another piece of crispy pork: "It's hot; don't eat too much."

Song Xilan never got why adults acted so scared of food fresh out of the fryer, yet they kept frying it year after year. Did they want her to eat it or not?