The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 174: Everything Can Be Grilled on a Stone Slab

Shen Lie and the others finished their meal quickly. After some brief preparations, they were ready to leave the valley. The group was the same as in the morning, except Shen Jin was missing.

As they were about to depart, Sang Luo saw him off. Shen Lie said softly, “This morning we set traps and gathered wild vegetables while traveling for an hour. This time, we’re heading straight to our destination, so we should be faster. However, since it’s a hunting trip, the wild boars’ activity time is unpredictable. If we’re delayed and it gets dark, it might expose our valley when we return with torches, or we might have to spend the night outside. Don’t wait or worry about us. We used to spend nights in the deep mountains, so we can manage.”

He added with a smile, “If that’s the case, we’ll just have to enjoy your grilled stone slab meat another day.”

Sang Luo looked up and met his smiling eyes, and her heart felt inexplicably touched.

It was a light feeling, but it lingered. Even after Shen Lie and his team had reached the high cave and left the valley, Sang Luo pressed her chest, where there was an unusual, soft ache.

This feeling was unfamiliar, but Sang Luo understood its meaning.

She realized she had been struck by the tenderness and affection in Shen Lie’s expression.

Was it affection?

She belatedly understood that Shen Lie had always been so detailed in explaining his plans and return times whenever he went out. Was this how he looked at her in the past as well?

Shen Lie and the others finished their meal quickly and prepared to leave the valley. The group was the same as in the morning, except Shen Jin was missing.

As they were about to leave, Sang Luo saw Shen Lie off. He said softly, “This morning, we set traps and gathered wild vegetables while traveling for an hour. This time, we’re heading straight to our destination, so we should be faster. However, since it’s a hunting trip, the wild boars’ activity time is unpredictable. If we’re delayed and it gets dark, it might expose our valley when we return with torches, or we might have to spend the night outside. Don’t wait or worry about us. We used to spend nights in the deep mountains, so we can manage.”

He added with a smile, “If that’s the case, we’ll just have to enjoy your grilled stone slab meat another day.”

Sang Luo looked up and met his smiling eyes, and her heart felt inexplicably touched.

It was a light feeling, but it lingered. Even after Shen Lie and his team had reached the high cave and left the valley, Sang Luo pressed her chest, where there was an unusual, soft ache.

This feeling was unfamiliar, but Sang Luo understood its meaning.

She realized she had been touched by the tenderness and affection in Shen Lie’s expression.

Was it affection?

She belatedly understood that Shen Lie had always been so detailed in explaining his plans and return times whenever he went out. Was this how he looked at her in the past as well?

—

Back in their cave, Sang Luo collected her thoughts as she returned. Shen Ning emerged from the kitchen, holding a piece of freshly washed ginger.

“Elder Sister-in-law, is this piece of ginger enough?”

“Enough. Wash some garlic and grind some Sichuan peppercorns for later,” Sang Luo said, refocusing on preparing the evening meal.

The stone slabs she had retrieved were intended for grilling meat or pan-frying various cuts. Tonight’s chicken was more suited for making chicken steaks.

She didn’t keep the process a secret and taught Shen Ning how to bone the meat, tenderize it, and marinate it.

Living in the valley, every ingredient was precious, so they didn’t completely remove all the meat from the bones, leaving some attached.

“For pan-frying chicken steaks, the meat needs to be marinated for one or two hours for better flavor. Also, since the little ones can’t eat too much greasy food, we can cook the chicken steaks later. For now, let’s make a pot of chicken soup with the meaty bones, chicken head, wings, and feet. It will be a great stew,” Sang Luo explained.

As usual, Shen Family’s evening meal was served at the third watch. The chicken bones and trimmings, along with fresh mushrooms picked by Shen Jin and Shen Lie in the morning, were stewed into a fragrant chicken soup. Sang Luo also added some red dates given by the Xu Family. The aroma drifted over to the Xu Family next door, who were eating wild vegetables and tofu, making them salivate.

The Chen Family, Lu Family, and Shi Family also had mountain chickens. Sang Luo set aside two bowls of soup for the Xu Family and Zhou Family, while waiting for her siblings to return before starting their own meal.

For dinner, they enjoyed the chicken soup, which was fresh and sweet. The combination of meat and vegetables made it a nourishing and light meal.

“Let’s have this for now. Later, when your elder brother returns, we’ll make the grilled meat,” Sang Luo said.

The children were all pleased. With the promise of a grilled meat meal, and having chicken soup for dinner—even if just a portion—filled everyone up, including Shen Tie, who usually felt he could never eat enough.

No one was dissatisfied.

—

After dinner, the valley was already in the shade, and families began to store their food. The children, eagerly waiting for the evening, ran towards Shen’s house, having heard about the stone slab cooking, especially the meat!

They had often used stones to start fires for cooking leaves, but this was their first time seeing meat cooked this way. They arrived early to watch.

Mrs. Chen and Qin Fangniang, seeing the commotion, also came over to join the excitement. Mrs. Chen was curious about the makeshift stove and stone slabs and asked Sang Luo, “Is this better than using a clay pot? Doesn’t everything leak out?”

Sang Luo smiled, “It works. Auntie and Grandma can come over tonight and see for yourselves. If you like it, that stone slab I chose for you. Just move it if you need it.”

Mrs. Chen was delighted and said, “I have to say, our kids are craving your cooking. I’ll definitely come over tonight to take a look. If it works, I’ll take it with me.”

As they chatted, Shen Lie and his team returned to the valley.

Everyone was waiting for them, frequently glancing towards the entrance. The children were the first to spot them. They didn’t cheer but hurried back to their homes to tell their families.

The six baskets were lowered one by one. Zhou Cunzheng and his team were stunned: “So many?”

Lu Sanlang, who had come down first, laughed, “Three wild boars—one large and two small. But they were all shot by Ah Lie and Dashan.”

Originally, there had been five wild boars, but their hiding spot was a bit far, and their shooting range was insufficient. Their aim was off, and even his older brother missed. The wild boars were startled and ran away when they shot into the air.

So today, they were really just doing the heavy lifting.

When Sang Luo arrived, Shen Lie had just come down from above. Seeing her, he smiled and wanted to talk to Sang Luo but noticed he smelled strongly of the wild boar and decided not to come closer. He said, “I’ll split the meat and then head back.”

Splitting meat was a customary practice, done according to labor contributed. So Shen Lie and Chen Dashan received the most meat. Out of the three wild boars, the large one was shared between the two of them, and each of the smaller ones was hunted by one person. They divided some of it among their brothers and gave a few pounds each to the Zhou Family and Xu Family as a gesture of thanks for the grain they had sent earlier. The remaining meat was split equally between the Chen and Shen families.

Since they were familiar with each other, they didn’t need to weigh the meat; they just measured it by hand.

Shen Lie brought home enough meat to fill two large baskets. After discussing with Sang Luo, he sent over twenty pounds of meat to each family and over forty pounds to the Xu Family, as a thank-you gift for the grain they had previously sent to Shen Jin and his brothers.

After distributing the meat, there was not much left at home.

Sang Luo thought it was quite good. The remaining basket of meat would keep her busy in the evening. She thought about preparing the grilled meat and knew the children watching would be quite a crowd. She asked Shen Lie to help select a piece of meat with a good mix of fat and lean, and then let him go wash and change clothes so he could relax and have a meal later.

The children, seeing that Sang Luo had set aside a special piece of meat, were already salivating.

“Elder Sister-in-law, are you making pork tonight too?”

To the children, Sang Luo’s preparations seemed endless: chicken legs, chicken breasts, chicken giblets, tofu, chives, mushrooms, cabbage, and several bowls of chopped ginger, garlic, chives, scallions, ground Sichuan peppercorns, and dried bayberry, along with various sauces. And now, more meat was being added.

Even though they didn’t yet know what the grilled meat would taste like, and despite having just eaten at the third watch, the children couldn’t help but salivate, especially Shen Jin and his brothers, who had been starving badly in the past few months.

Sang Luo smiled, “Prepare a bit more; I’m sure there’ll be more than just our family eating later.”

Indeed, Sang Luo had just finished slicing and marinating the pork belly when a group of kids, who had been helping their elders carry meat back home, arrived at the Shen house.

Especially when Shen An and Shen Ning started the fire, with the large trees overhead, the firelight wasn’t visible from above the valley, but the families living in the valley could see it and came over to join the fun.

Sang Luo was in good spirits and cheerfully invited some of the older children inside to help move the tables and chairs out.

Since they didn’t have enough chairs, Chen Ershan, Xu Wenbo, and their group of friends went back to their own homes to bring out their chairs. By the time it was getting dark, the lively scene in the valley seemed to just begin.

With plenty of stools available, Sang Luo set a few around the stone slabs specifically for placing ingredients and took a seat herself. Even though the grilling hadn’t started yet, the setup was impressive and drew the attention of the adults from the Chen and Xu families, who came out to watch.

When Shen Lie and Chen Dashan came out, refreshed after washing up, the tables and chairs were set up, and the aroma of meat filled the air. A circle of kids surrounded Sang Luo, eagerly sniffing the delicious smell.

When Xiaoya saw her older brother, she beamed and said, “Big Brother, hurry up, sit here!”

She had known in the afternoon that her brother would be dining at An Ning’s house tonight. With the table and chairs arranged, there was a spot just for him. Xiaoya was both envious and excited.

This was far more fun than their usual pretend games.

Chen Dashan exclaimed, “Wow, this isn’t just fragrant; this setup looks lively!”

“Ah Lie, your wife really knows how to do things right!”

Shen Lie was momentarily stunned but quickly smiled. Instead of sitting down, he went over to Sang Luo and saw that one of the stone slabs was piled high with chicken and chicken giblets, sprinkled with various white, green, and red seasonings. It was also brushed with sauce and garnished with scallions, making it incredibly appetizing.

“Can I help?”

Sang Luo waved her hand, “Learn how to do it first. For today, just eat; you’ve been busy all day. Have a meal with Dashan. This is food you grill and eat as you go.”

As she spoke, the grilled chicken was ready. Without knives, the chicken had been cut into appropriately sized pieces. Sang Luo called for Shen Ning to bring over some plates, and one by one, she placed pieces of chicken onto the plates. The first plate was filled with a dozen or so pieces of chicken, which Shen Ning took to the children to try, before serving the second batch.

With so many people, Sang Luo had marinated the meat from three chickens together. Shen Lie helped by receiving and passing the plates. In a short while, one plate of fried chicken and another of chicken giblets were placed on the table.

Chen Dashan was eating enthusiastically and praising the food profusely. As for Shen Lie, while Sang Luo was still busy, he was not focused on eating. He kept coming over to Sang Luo’s side.

Shen Ning came back again and started grilling slices of pork belly and vegetables with Sang Luo.

Mrs. Chen, Qin Fangniang, Mrs. Xu, and Wei Lingzhen watched with amazement, exclaiming, “This cooking method is new and so fragrant!”

Mrs. Chen was already eager to try. Seeing that Sang Luo had set aside a clean stone slab for them, she immediately called Old Man Chen and Chen Youtian, saying, “Go fetch some stones. Let’s set up one here too. Fangniang, follow Sang Luo’s example and prepare some meat and vegetables.”

The vegetables were freshly picked from the garden right at their doorstep.

As soon as Mrs. Chen gave the order, the Chen family sprang into action. Even Chen Dashan and Chen Xiaoya, who were still enjoying the fried chicken, excitedly went to find stones, followed by a swarm of kids eager to help.

Soon, the single barbecue setup turned into two. After Sang Luo had grilled a few batches, Shen Ning took over, allowing Sang Luo to finally sit down and sample the food.

It tasted pretty good. The spiciness was replaced by the dried orange peel, but the texture was still somewhat different. Moreover, without pepper or cumin, it was missing that final touch of flavor.

However, Sang Luo knew that pepper and cumin were likely from the Hu people and may not have even existed during the Daqian Dynasty. Even if they did, they would be extremely expensive, likely only affordable to wealthy families.

As for chili peppers, they hadn’t even been introduced yet; they were absent from the original memories.

Nevertheless, in the eyes of everyone in the valley, the barbecue and various grilled dishes, though missing some flavors, were still amazing. The long table gradually filled with plates of various grilled dishes, and the Xu family members joined in, eagerly sharing the food. Mrs. Xu, the tavern owner, was especially impressed, saying, “Sang Luo, this is fantastic! The method is new and fresh. If you added more variety to the ingredients, you could open a food stall and make it big!”

Sang Luo laughed, “Mrs. Xu, you truly are a businessman.”

If there were chili peppers, pepper, or cumin, she would really consider expanding into barbecue, hotpot, and Western cuisine. But without these essential seasonings, it was more about the fun and excitement, something to enjoy while peace and stability prevailed.

When Shen Lie saw that Sang Luo finally had time to eat, he quickly swapped the dishes he thought were tasty for hers. He was about to pick up a plate when Sang Luo stopped him, “I had my dinner earlier, and I’m not used to eating too much at night. Tonight is just for fun. Have some, and I’ll go help Aunt Youtian.”

Knowing that Sang Luo didn’t usually eat much at night, Shen Lie gave up, while Chen Dashan, still enthusiastic, shouted, “Sister-in-law, besides the family skills that can earn silver, teach me some ordinary techniques too. I really like this flavor!”

Mrs. Chen laughed and scolded, “Is there any food from Ah Lie’s family that you don’t like?”

Everyone burst into laughter.