I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 78: Impure Thoughts

The thin, transparent sausage casing was carefully lifted by a pair of hands and passed through the bamboo joint, then turned over from the other end and put on the bamboo joint.

Yuan Xiu began making sausages.

Jiang Zhou found it interesting and wanted to try it out.

"Let me try."

Yuan Xiu glanced at his large hands, "Let me do it."

"Let me try it." Jiang Zhou was genuinely interested; he had never seen anyone give an enema before.

Yuan Xiu hesitated for a moment, then said, "Alright, go wash your hands first."

After Jiang Zhou finished washing his hands, Yuan Xiu began to teach him, "Push it in gently, slowly, don't use too much force... if you use too much force, it will break."

"Don't worry, I'll take it slowly. Is that okay? Is it too heavy...?"

"No, this is fine, yes, slowly..."

Outside.

Chunmei and Li Shan looked at each other, and then their faces flushed red.

Li Shan coughed twice, withdrawing his hand that was about to push the door open. "What's Xiao Jiang doing in broad daylight?"

Chunmei's face flushed, but she couldn't help but smile: "What they do is none of your business. It's not a problem if the young couple has a good relationship."

"Oh dear, look, it's torn! I told you not to come."

The couple exchanged a glance. "What's broken?"

My heart was filled with a mix of curiosity and a sense of unease, like a cat's claws, yet I also felt I shouldn't be eavesdropping at someone's doorstep.

In broad daylight...

The voice from inside continued: "Never mind, don't move. Go get the scissors, I'll cut off this torn section of sausage casing..."

Li Shan opened his eyes and asked his wife, "What should I cut?"

Chunmei's sister-in-law stammered, "Intestine casings..."

When she realized what was happening, her face stopped blushing, and she glared at her husband, saying, "What nonsense are you thinking? Xiao Yuan and the others are making sausages."

She came today because she knew Xiao Yuan was making sausages from his hometown, and she came to check on him.

Li Shan coughed twice: "...Making sausages? Why make such a fuss about making sausages?"

I firmly refuse to believe that my thoughts are impure or that I'm overthinking things.

The couple stood at the door for a long time before finally knocking.

The door wasn't latched, and when they knocked, they heard someone inside say "Come in," and the two pushed the door open and entered.

As soon as Li Shan entered, he laughed it off: "Xiao Jiang, what are you all doing?"

Jiang Zhou was still holding the cut sausage casings in his hand, his hands were greasy, and he clicked his tongue, "You're a grown man, why are you doing kitchen work?"

Jiang Zhou glanced at him sideways. "What is it?"

"Come on, let's chat for a bit." Li Shan pulled Jiang Zhou into the house.

Chunmei sat down next to Yuan Xiu, and couldn't help but laugh as she thought about what had happened outside.

Yuan Xiu: "...Sister-in-law, what are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing." Sister Chunmei didn't dare to tell the truth. "It's just that I think you and Xiao Jiang have a really good relationship. He even helps you with chores at home. My husband wouldn't even pick up a fallen oil bottle at home."

Yuan Xiu agreed with this; these days, almost every man is like that.

Jiang Zhou now makes breakfast every day and does the housework. If outsiders knew this, Jiang Zhou would become famous in the compound.

As for helping with chores, we're all family, and it's a family matter, so it's not really a matter of who helps whom.

Yuan Xiu smiled and said, "He thought it was fun and insisted on doing it himself. Now, the casing has torn in one section."

Chunmei's attention shifted to the sausages. She sniffed them, "This smells so spicy and delicious! Back in my hometown, they also make sausages, but they make blood sausages, which are made by stuffing pig's blood into intestines. They're cooked with sauerkraut, and they taste great too. There are also rice sausages..."

"The sausage stuffer here is just stuffed with flour and a bunch of seasonings. It's fried in oil when you eat it. I think what's delicious isn't the flour sausage itself, but the oil. Frying it in oil makes even a shoe sole taste good..."

This was the first time Yuan Xiu had heard of this, and the two chatted about the New Year's goods that people in different places prepare for the New Year.

"There's also a dish called 'jar meat,' where the meat is soaked in lard in a jar, and you just scoop out a piece to eat. The taste..."

The military dependents in the family compound came from all over the country, and each place had its own customs and snacks. Even though Yuan Xiu had lived a long life, many of them were things she had never even heard of.

"Are you going to smoke these sausages? Are you going to put them in a barrel to smoke them right after they're done?" Chunmei's sister-in-law asked. "You're quite clever. How did you come up with this method of smoking meat in a tin barrel?"

"It wasn't fumigated today. It needs to hang for about ten days to dry out the moisture inside before it can be fumigated, otherwise it will disintegrate when you eat it later."

We have an earthen stove at home, so we can hang these ten or so sausages on the stove and slowly smoke them while cooking.

"Seeing how well you made it, I'd like to make some to try. I can't make blood sausage here, so I'll have to have my family send it to me."

Yuan Xiu smiled and said, "Then you do it, I'll help you with the seasoning."

Sister Chunmei thought for a moment and nodded, "I'll come find you after I've prepared the meat."

The cured meat in the tin bucket had been smoking for a whole day. In the evening, Yuan Xiu cut off a small piece and steamed it with rice, letting Jiang Zhou try it for the first time.

"How is it?"

Jiang Zhou nodded as he ate, "It was worth it!"

Finding cypress branches, marinating them, drying them, and then smoking them all day—the aroma is worth all that effort.

Meat was a rare commodity these days, and the family only had about ten catties of it. Yuan Xiu wasn't generous enough to let everyone try it, but she had to show respect to her master.

Before going to work the next day, Yuan Xiu delivered a piece of meat, about a pound, to Doctor Liu.

Dr. Liu's eyes lit up when he saw the cured meat.

"Back when I was working at the hospital, the doctors in my department were from your area. I was eating cured meat from your area back then."

"I also made sausages. Once they're smoked, I'll bring some over for you to try, Master."

Dr. Liu stroked the goatee he had grown on his chin and said, "I'm in for a treat."

Sister-in-law Guiying took the meat and hung it on the chimney of the stove, saying, "I'll cook it for you tonight."

"How do you cook this meat to make it taste good?" she asked Yuan Xiu.

"If you want to eat the original flavor, then steam it. It's most convenient to slice a few pieces and put them on rice. You can also stir-fry it with chili peppers or other vegetables, such as garlic leaves, potatoes, celery, and garlic scapes. Stir-frying it with dried vegetables is also delicious."

"It's steamed," Dr. Liu said. "That's what you get from the original flavor."

"Okay, whatever you say."