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Soon, the courtyard was filled with a rhythmic "chacha—" sound of fur being scraped.
Then, the large wild boar's black-brown fur began to fall off in clumps, revealing its white skin, occasionally mixed with a few black spots.
After about an hour, the hefty wild boar was completely disassembled by Zi Lao Er and Gu Yuxuan.
When Gu Yuxuan stopped, Ziyan directed her to use some unused earth bricks temporarily placed by the courtyard wall to build a circular Earthen Stove about half a meter high.
She also called Ziying over to help ignite the Earthen Stove with dry branches until enough charcoal remained inside before extinguishing the fire. They then broke off many fresh tender branches from the fragrant Pine Tree outside and laid them directly on top of the charcoal in the Earthen Stove.
Suddenly, thick smoke billowed out, filling the air with a rich pine fragrance. Ziyan placed three thick wet tree trunks on the Earthen Stove and then set a bamboo sieve of similar size over it.
She instructed Gu Yuxuan to help her place one-third of the boneless pure pork, seasoned lightly with salt, into the large sieve, spreading it evenly. Then they found another sieve of the same size to cover it upside down, allowing it to naturally smoke.
As the moisture from the pork evaporated and dripped into the charcoal below, a series of sizzling sounds echoed.
When most of the moisture had evaporated, a unique meaty aroma began to waft through the air, blending with the scent of pine.
As time passed, this special meaty fragrance grew stronger, gradually permeating the entire courtyard and surrounding area.
Naturally, everyone inside the house was drawn by the aroma and gathered around the Earthen Stove outside.
Ziying felt an irresistible itch in her heart and couldn't help but stretch her neck and gently lift the top sieve.
Ziyan did not stop her; instead, she stepped forward and instructed her sister to help turn over the pieces of meat. They saw that the side facing the stove was glistening with a golden sheen, making it incredibly appetizing.
Both Zi Lao Er and Zhou occasionally swallowed hard, while Ziyan herself had lost count of how many times she had swallowed since the aroma of meat wafted in.
Only Gu Yuxuan remained calm, forcibly controlling himself. Growing up in a wealthy family until the age of seven or eight, he had early exposure to upper-class education, which had taken root in his heart. Therefore, no matter how great the temptation, he could appear indifferent.
Ziyan stole a glance at Gu Yuxuan and thought to herself: He really knows how to put on a show. I wonder if he can still act like this when the dishes are served.
Unbeknownst to her, Gu Yuxuan was unaware of Ziyan's inner thoughts and slight disdain for him.
Noticing that Ziyan was secretly glancing at him, a hint of pride flashed through his mind as he secretly thought: I don’t believe this young master can’t win over your heart at the fastest speed.
With this in mind, when Gu Yuxuan saw Ziyan looking over again, he immediately concealed his small sense of pride and instead met her gaze with an air of arrogance.
Seeing that it was getting late, the group gathered around the simple Earthen Stove, driven by curiosity, finally returned to the courtyard to continue cleaning various parts removed from the wild boar.
Ziying followed the method Ziyan had taught her last time and repeatedly washed the Pig Intestines along with the small intestines.
Zi Lao Er used straw to burn and roast the pig head, trying to remove the stubborn bristles until it was charred beyond recognition and appeared blackened. After burning it thoroughly, he soaked it in warm water for a short while before starting to scrape off the outer layer of blackened skin and hard bristles with a knife.
Ziyan went into the kitchen to take out Star Anise and Sichuan Pepper, along with a certain amount of salt, and stir-fried some pepper salt powder. She then marinated some salted meat with it and stuffed it into a pickling jar, finally placing a heavier stone on top to let Gu Yuxuan help her move it into a corner of the kitchen.
After finishing these tasks, the two returned to the courtyard again. Ziyan instructed Gu Yuxuan to split the large wild boar head in half and remove the skull. Ziyan carefully extracted the pig brain and cut off its two large ears. The fatty pig head meat was naturally waiting to be smoked into cured meat, while the pig ears were reserved for making braised dishes.
Thus, Ziyan kept busy preparing her homemade braising liquid. She had already planned ahead: first braising the pig ears and some liver. When the aroma of the braising liquid began to fade, she would add more spices before braising a portion of Pig Intestines.
Once decided, Ziyan prepared some self-harvested Star Anise and Cinnamon Bark, along with Sichuan Pepper and ginger. First, she simmered a small amount of Rock Candy to create a syrup, then added some Soy Sauce for color. She tossed in all the spices to sauté, added water, and brought it to a boil before adding the meats in the predetermined order for braising.
During the braising process, Ziyan had her sister watch over the Braised Pot while she stepped out of the kitchen and into the yard to check on the simple Earthen Stove. She lifted the lid of the winnowing basket to observe the cured meat but noticed it needed more cooking time, so she returned to the courtyard.
After rubbing most of the ribs with some pepper salt, she directed the tall Gu Yuxuan to hang them on the beams of the courtyard to air dry in the wind.
Once everything was done, Ziyan approached the Pig Trotters, took a look, and sniffed them. The wild boar trotters from the mountains had a stronger odor compared to those from Domestic Pigs.
Thus, Ziyan instructed Zi Lao Er to soak them in a Wooden Basin with Well Water for a few days. Since the water was cold, it only needed to be changed every three to five hours, which would help eliminate any foul smell and prevent spoilage.
Moreover, they wouldn't be able to eat that much fresh meat in these few days, so saving the Pig Trotters for later was just right. Cleaning Pig Lungs was a tedious task; if not done properly, it could leave harmful bacteria or foreign substances.
Therefore, Ziyan decided not to delegate this task and asked a certain man for help in twisting it while she used the fine end of an Oil Strainer to insert into the trachea. She forcefully filled the Oil Strainer with water until both lobes of the lungs expanded as much as possible and water overflowed from the Oil Strainer. After draining out all the water from the lung lobes, she refilled them again.
This process was repeated nearly ten times before she stopped. After draining all the water from the lung lobes, they turned pale white, indicating that the Pig Lung was clean.
Of course, this was just the cleaning process.
After cleaning, Ziyan sent the Pig Lung along with all other bones including the skull into the kitchen for blanching. Then she added appropriate amounts of pig intestines, lean meat, radish, kelp, fresh bamboo shoots, ginger, and a small amount of Cinnamon and Star Anise into the pot for simmering.
This became a typical Pig Offal Soup served during Spring Festival celebrations in many southern farming families in the Twenty-First Century.
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