I Got Rich in Period Fiction
Chapter 460 Braised Pig’s Trotters in Brown Sauce

Chapter 460: Chapter 460 Braised Pig’s Trotters in Brown Sauce

Qiao Qingyu hadn’t called He Xiuyu to tell him when she was going back.

But He Xiuyu, figuring out the time, drove over to pick up Qiao Qingyu and arrived just as she had packed up her things, ready to catch a ride back to base.

At the school gate, Qiao Qingyu, carrying a handbag, spotted the tall figure standing by the jeep at a glance.

The sky was somewhat overcast, but just a single exchange of glances seemed to brighten the weather instantly.

He Xiuyu hurried forward, took the handbag from Qiao Qingyu’s hand, and placed it in the jeep’s trunk, then he looked down at Qiao Qingyu, who was watching him, gently pinched her face, and said tenderly, "You’ve lost some more weight."

Qiao Qingyu felt it was fine, but she was used to it by now—every time they met, He Xiuyu would always say she had lost weight, and moreover, he was not just saying it to be polite but very seriously.

He Xiuyu opened the car door, Qiao Qingyu sat in the passenger seat, and He Xiuyu started the jeep and took the tree-lined road in front of the campus before asking Qiao Qingyu, "Do you want to go to the store?"

"Of course," Qiao Qingyu pointed ahead, "I heard Xichuan has opened a large private store; let’s go take a look there..."

He Xiuyu didn’t know where it was, but Qiao Qingyu directed him, and he drove the jeep down the road she pointed to—it turned out to be quite fast, arriving in about ten minutes.

At that time, there were very few people with cars, so most of those parked in front of the store were bicycles. They parked the jeep on an open space to the left and got out of the car.

It seemed like just in the blink of an eye, these market stalls and pushcarts popped up like mushrooms after rain.

There were those selling soda, scarves, yarn, socks, and insoles—truly, there was a vendor for everything.

Even though it was September, there was still an ice cream machine set up by the roadside.

Then, the power cord was pulled all the way from a neighbor’s house.

Today being Sunday, many adults and children gathered around the ice cream machine.

Qiao Qingyu said regretfully, "It would be good to buy some ice cream to keep if we had a fridge at home."

He Xiuyu glanced at the ice cream vendor’s fingernails and didn’t buy any for Qiao Qingyu, but he explained, "It’s not very hygienic, and it has too much essence."

That was certainly true, but the children were enjoying it with relish.

Qiao Qingyu, of course, wasn’t tempted—soda these days liked to add too much colorant.

The two entered the store, somewhat similar to future supermarkets but not as standardized, though it was much better than the traditional counter model in shops.

They went straight to the food section.

Qiao Qingyu looked at the pork on the counter, which appeared to have just been delivered, very fresh. She bought four pig’s feet, one pig’s heart, a rib rack, and more than ten pounds of lean meat along with a large piece of fatback.

As for cabbage and radishes, they had plenty at home, and they definitely didn’t lack potatoes.

Seeing dried fish for sale on the side, Qiao Qingyu bought several pounds of those.

He Xiuyu went back and forth twice to put these items in the trunk.

By this time, the sky had become more overcast, and Qiao Qingyu urged He Xiuyu, "Let’s hurry up; it looks like it might rain."

But as the car started up, Qiao Qingyu thought she saw Li Bo, and then inadvertently caught sight of the man standing next to her. Why did he look so much like Mr. Zhao?

However, before she could take a closer look, those two had disappeared from view.

They had vanished near a clothing store. Qiao Qingyu asked He Xiuyu, "Did you see Li Bo?"

He Xiuyu naturally knew the few female classmates from Qiao Qingyu’s dorm.

He shook his head. "I didn’t see her, what’s up?"

Qiao Qingyu spoke in a low voice, "I think I saw Li Bo with Mr. Zhao. Weird, right?"

Mr. Zhao was already forty years old and had been in two relationships. The organization even tried to set him up with someone, but for some reason, it never worked out. His family was a heavy burden, especially since his mother was paralyzed and bedridden, unable to do anything and needing care. Also, Zhao’s salary wasn’t high, and with his brother and sister-in-law coming over to attend to the old lady, that added another person’s expenses to consider.

So, even though Mr. Zhao held the title of engineer and was also the workshop director, unless he was embezzling, his life was really not easy.

But how could Li Bo be with Mr. Zhao? That seemed unlikely. Qiao Qingyu thought maybe she had seen wrong.

After returning home, Qiao Qingyu started to get busy.

First, she rendered some lard and, after it was done, poured it into a basin to cool a bit before storing it in a jar.

Next, she dealt with pig’s trotters and pig’s heart.

Qiao Qingyu and He Xiuyu discussed inviting Sister-in-law Li’s family over for a meal.

During her absence, Sister-in-law Li had always helped to look after the house.

Although He Juanjuan was supposedly living in Xichuan, the girl was not very consistent, rarely staying in Xichuan and spending most of her time in Nangang City. But the base now had nearly everything except for the variety of groceries found in Xichuan, and in fact, it excelled in every other type of merchandise.

Some people even traveled from far away just to buy some trendy and beautiful items.

So, even Qiao Qingyu wouldn’t go to Xichuan for these items anymore. This time she had brought back meats and some dried goods.

The cabbages in the field were still growing, and they would probably be cut when it got a bit colder or after the snowfall. The radishes were already edible, and whenever there was time, Sister-in-law Li, Fang Xiaomei, and even Li Bo would dry out the green beans and eggplants from the garden, turning them into dried string beans and dried eggplants.

The sea buckthorn had already fruited, but Professor Feng had taken all the berries.

In the next two to three years, sea buckthorn was expected to create a significant industry.

Inside the house, Qiao Qingyu was noisily chopping meat, while He Xiuyu started a small stove outside, skewering meat with an iron rod, roasting the skin of pig’s trotters. After the skin was roasted, it still needed to be soaked to remove the hair before it could be used.

Rongrong loved braised pig’s trotters in brown sauce, and Qiao Qingyu planned to cook all four trotters in that style.

For dinner, she cooked brown rice. When Rongrong got home from school, Qiao Qingyu asked her to invite Xiao Hu and his aunt along with Brother Li and Sister-in-law Li over.

By the time the family of four arrived with a large bowl and two plates of dishes, Qiao Qingyu had already prepared the meal. There was a pot of pig’s trotters in brown sauce, sautéed pork belly with cabbage, water-cooked pork slices, stir-fried chili with pig’s heart, shredded radish salad, and a bowl of mashed potato balls.

This was the kids’ favorite, and with the addition of pig’s trotters, Rongrong, Xiao Hu, and his aunt all got stuffed.

Sister-in-law Li didn’t say anything when there were many people around, but while washing dishes in the kitchen, she quietly said to Qiao Qingyu, "Your classmate Li Bo seems to have gotten close to Old Zhao. Did you know?"