# c10: braised pork

Wang Lingling didn't understand.

She just took a nap, but when she woke up, her home had been turned upside down.

When she opened her eyes and saw broken tiles piled up in the corner, Wang Lingling was still confused.

Isn't this Sanya's room? How did I end up sleeping here?

Before she could figure it out, Li Chunjuan opened the door and came in.

The hinges of the door were squeaking, and Li Chunjuan had two bruises on her face. She looked like she had aged four or five years.

"Erya[^1], are you awake? Are you still feeling faint?"

"I'm not dizzy...Mom, why did I sleep here?"

Li Chunjuan's face was sad and her eyes were filled with anger.

"It's Sanya's fault! You don't know, yesterday..."

Wang Lingling was shocked. Her mother thought Sanya hurt her and caused her to faint. Sanya smashed all the things in the house. The captain came and supported Sanya and made them return her belongings. Yes, Sanya is holding onto money and food now\...

Wang Lingling was so shocked that she almost fell down again.

Li Chunjuan wiped away her tears, her voice laced with bitterness: "This wretched girl, a bastard who gave birth to a defective child..."

Wang Lingling's head was spinning, and she suddenly grabbed Li Chunjuan's arm tightly and asked hurriedly: "Did Sanya do this on purpose to get the Brigade leader here yesterday?"

Li Chunjuan sniffed and said in a low voice: "That's not true...I don't know why the Brigade leader came, but it shouldn't be because of Sanya's scream."

When the captain came, Sanya had just come back carrying Wang Lingling, but she didn't go out either.

"It must have been those chatty ladies around [Wu Guihua](#user-content-fn-2)[^2] who shouted it!"

Wang Lingling breathed a sigh of relief, but Li Chunjuan started scolding again. She kept saying obscene words one after another. Wang Lingling was tired of hearing her rant.

"...Mom! I told you to lock the door! Look what you caused!"

She was still thinking about marrying Wang Ying off instead of herself! If the brigade has a bad relationship with Wang Ying, what good will it do?

Li Chunjuan felt aggrieved: "I wasn't... thinking about you two siblings."

If she didn't pressure Sanya, how could she serve her so smoothly and obediently?

What a pity, why didn’t that bitchy girl die?

Now she has all the money and a house in her hands. Does someone like her, with no lineage, have the right to spend that money? Does this cheap girl deserve to eat well?

Wang Lingling didn't feel guilty at all. At the moment, all she was thinking about was how she was going to marry Zhao Jun. Her heart flew to the Zhao family's nest. When she heard her mother act like this, she only worried about whether she could still influence Wang Ying.

"Okay, stop talking!"

Wang Lingling lay down on her bed and said, "Get me something to eat."

She had to think carefully about what to do next.

"Get me a poached egg."

Wang Lingling calmed down and realized that her head was still dizzy. She had been thinking very hard since she was reborn. Yesterday, she was indeed feeling light-headed without eating for so long, so she fainted after being hit by a small candy bar.

Li Chunjuan said miserably: "Where are the eggs? They are all given to Sanya."

The three chickens at home, one male and two females, were divided between families, and a male and a female were given to Sanya. The dozen eggs that they had saved up were also sent away. My last chicken still hasn't laid eggs yet today.

Li Chunjuan brought a bowl of cornmeal porridge, which was so thin that you could see your reflection.

"The only things left at home are cornmeal and sorghum flour, as well as some potatoes and corn."

Life has been difficult for everyone these days, but fortunately, their brigade was situated in a good place and had some fruit trees planted against the mountain. There were some people in the brigade who were hungry, but no one had died of starvation.

Even if I can't save a few yuan in a year, the income from the fields alone is enough. Grow some vegetables in your private plot, which will be enough to keep your belly full for a year.

What's deplorable is that Wang Ying took away all the valuable things this time, leaving her with only a few coarse grains and some vegetables from her own land.

Li Chunjuan calculated in her mind that the whole family would tighten their belts and survive until the end of the year. The brigade distributes staple food at the end of the year, and by then the pigs at home can be handed in, and some money can be made.

Wang Lingling glanced at the unappetizing cornmeal porridge with disgust, thinking about Zhao Jun even more.

Zhao Jun served as a soldier and did not spend much money for a year. All the money was sent home.

If I were to become a householder in the past, it might not be worse than marrying Xu Shuang!

When Wang Lingling finished drinking the porridge, Li Chunjuan had to go to work, so she asked her to feed the pigs in the yard.

Wang Lingling agreed casually, turned around and immediately put aside the matter of feeding the pigs.

Feed the pigs? It's so dirty and smelly, she can just coax Sanya for a little while instead.

It must be said that Wang Lingling's impression of her previous life was so profound that she couldn't bend it now.

In my previous life, I was used to seeing Wang Ying with her head buried in work. Wang Ying acted like a frustrated little daughter-in-law. No matter how you look at it, she is weak and can be bullied.

What is the "weak and easy to bully" Wang Ying doing at this moment?

Wang Ying stood at the door of the state-owned hotel with 18.65 yuan and 10 kilograms of food stamps obtained from the family split.

The autumn wind was bleak, and Wang Ying only felt two leaves swirling and floating behind her.

...It’s not that she spends money lavishly.

It was really difficult for her to rely on her own craft.

Wang Ying did enough psychological preparations for herself before entering the store.

The waiter leaning against the counter didn't even bat an eyelid. It was like this back then. When you entered the store to buy something, you have to find the waiter yourself. It's impossible to expect the waiter to shout "Welcome" to you.

Wang Ying stared at the food labels in the store for a long time.

Yesterday's meat buns were so fragrant that she could still smell them in her dreams.

But just eating it makes her feel a little tired. The feeling of tiredness is not the one where I get tired of it after the second meal, but from eating it several meals in a row.

Wang Ying felt that the store wouldn't be able to up and run anyway, and the worst she could do was come back and eat meat buns again.

She came here with a purpose.

Wang Ying did the math, and found that the dishes in the store were about the same. The meat ones were braised pork, ribs, pig's trotters, and roast chicken, and the vegetarian ones were just a few common dishes nowadays, which can be paired with noodles or rice. The ones with the largest writing on the top are meat buns, white steamed buns and dumplings.

In general, there are not many varieties, and there are more meat dishes than vegetarian ones.

This is normal. We all come to a state-owned restaurant, so who can come here just for the vegetarian food?

Wang Ying ordered braised pork and white steamed buns for herself, spent two yuan and gave five food stamps.

Wang Ying endured her heartache and asked the waiter: "It doesn't need a lot of braised pork, but have more of the broth."

The waiter glanced at Wang Ying in surprise. Who comes to a state-owned restaurant and doesn't focus on the amount of meat?

Some people who are careless will even weigh the plate and ask, "Did you not give enough meat in the store?" Such temptations are simply helpless. That’s why there is a fair scale placed behind the counter, just to be afraid of those who might come up to stir up trouble.

As a result, this little girl actually said that the meat could be less, but more braised soup?

The waiter entered the kitchen with curiosity.

In the back kitchen, Xu Shuang was kneading dough. The white dough was kneaded left and right in his hands, and soon it turned into a round ball. The sauce-colored filling was placed on the corner of the chopping board, and with quick movements of Xu Shuang's hands, small ingot-like dumplings were formed.

Xu Shuang stopped as soon as the waiter poked his head in.

Even though the waiter is married, he still can't help but feel a little nervous when he sees Xu Shuang's appearance.

"...I want a portion of braised pork, more soup and less meat, and two steamed buns."

Xu Shuang nodded and turned around to fill the meat with the steamed buns.

The waiter was also used to Xu Shuang's reticence and said to himself: "It's strange enough. I've seen people asking for meat and asking for a bigger steamed bun, but this is the first time I've seen someone asking for soup..."

Xu Shuang's hand holding the soup paused, then he scooped a large spoonful from the stew pot.

The braised pork is usually served on a plate, but Xu Shuang changed it directly to a bowl this time.

A large spoonful of stewed soup was reddish brown, with a few stars of Sichuan peppercorns and star anise floating on it.

The waiter took it and dropped his hand from the weight: "Hey, this is enough."

Xu Shuang: "I removed one piece of meat."

Waiter: "It's such a loss to exchange a piece of meat for soup."

Anyone who trades a large piece of meat for half a big bowl of soup should be called a fool.

"Idiot" Wang Ying sat in the store and looked forward to it. She watched the waiter bring the meat and quickly stepped forward to take it.

The aroma of this big bowl of braised pork hits you straight away.

Wang Ying swallowed unconsciously and saw several large pieces of braised pork in the big bowl that were like icebergs in the sea.

The crystal-clear gelatinous pork skin is a finger-width thick, with traces of reddish lean meat, stacked up piece by piece, making it look tempting.

Wang Ying unceremoniously broke open the steamed bun, put two pieces of braised pork dripping with gravy inside, closed it and took a big bite.

The smell of meat instantly takes over all the senses!

This pure meaty aroma doesn’t even have an inch of the usual vegetable flavor!

Wang Ying was almost crying after eating, this is how it should be!

Soft white-flour steamed buns with generous portions of meat. She wouldn't change for anything else right now!

The waiter stared dumbfounded as Wang Ying savoured the meat and felt hungry just by looking at it.

Hiss, he was tired of seeing this braised pork every day and was used to the smell of meat. Why do I feel so hungry now?

Am I hungry because I haven't eaten in a while?

Why don't I wait until I get off work in the evening and buy one for one yuan and take it home to try?

He was still struggling, but Wang Ying had already cleaned up the battlefield.

Wang Ying didn't like to talk when she was eating. She was completely immersed in the delicious food. She ate neither too fast nor too slowly. There was nothing left on the table, and just looking at her made people work up their appetite.

Wang Ying burped, feeling really comfortable after today's meal.

The nine meat buns that she ate yesterday were interrupted by Wang Lingling in the middle, so it was not a happy occasion at all.

Then at night, there were so many people eating the bacon noodles, she only had five or six pieces in total. The aunt who helped cook had a steady hand, so she could taste the aroma of the oil in such a large pot.

It’s still a fun meal today!

Big chunks of braised pork paired with big, soft and snow-white steamed buns, and there are no annoying people around. It's a fun trip all the way down to your stomach.

Wang Ying relaxed with satisfaction, and the waiter was waiting behind the counter to clear the table.

It was noon at this time, and everyone in the town was at work. Only a few people came over to buy braised pork and pig's trotters to improve their meals. Wang Ying was the only one sitting in the store.

When the waiter saw Wang Ying standing up, he was naturally ready to step out and clear the tables.

Wang Ying did not leave as the waiter expected.

But...

The waiter was frozen in place.

He watched Wang Ying pull out an aluminum lunch box from her arms, pick up the remaining stewed soup on the table and pour it into the lunch box.

[^1]: Second daughter.

[^2]: This character is introduced in c12: marriage. She is Li Chunjuan's enemy.


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