Chapter 1328
Roasted Wild Boar ; Li Juan's Opinion
There was already stewed meat in the pot, and the barbecue grill was being used. Li Long looked at the wild boar he had brought back and began to think.
How to do it? Or not?
Mingming and Haohao came closer. Haohao poked the wild boar meat with his finger and looked up to ask, "Dad, is this a wild boar? It doesn't look like one."
"You're silly," Mingming teased her younger brother. "It doesn't have a head or hooves, so it definitely doesn't look like one. Dad even skinned the wild boar so it would be easier for us to eat it."
After saying that, Mingming looked up and asked Li Long, "Dad, how do we eat this wild boar?"
Li Long looked at the stove, then at the barbecue grill, and thought for a moment before saying, "Let's grill it. I originally wanted to braise the mutton stewing in the pot, but there's no room now, so let's grill some wild boar instead."
Li Qiang was somewhat surprised and asked, "Uncle, can you roast wild boar?"
Li Long remembered the charcoal-grilled pork belly he had eaten in his previous life, smiled and said, "Sure, why not? As long as it's meat, it can be grilled."
As he spoke, he drew his knife and began picking at the wild boar.
Sister Yang and Gu Xiaoxia were busy with their own affairs, one stewing mutton and the other grilling mutton skewers.
Although Li Long had washed the wild boar meat in water, it still had an unpleasant smell.
Fortunately, the flavor was relatively mild, so Li Long decided to use barbecue seasoning to enhance it later and suppressed the odor.
Li Long cut off a large piece from the wild boar's ribs, took it to the cutting board, and sliced it into pieces about half a centimeter thick and 10 centimeters long.
The skewers he brought this time were flat skewers with pointed tips, which are easy to use.
While he was cutting the meat and marinating it with some cooking wine, Gu Xiaoxia was already calling Li Qiang, Mingming, and Haohao to eat barbecue.
Mingming and Haohao eagerly offered Li Long skewers of grilled meat. Li Long took one skewer from each of them and told them to eat it themselves. He quickly shoved the two skewers of meat into his mouth and began to stir the pork belly.
After marinating for a while, I started skewering the meat with skewers. Because the pieces were cut a little wider, I used two skewers for each piece of meat.
While skewering the meat, Li Long was thinking about whether he should ask someone to make a kind of barbecue tong like the ones used in later generations, so that he wouldn't have to use skewers to grill pork belly and vegetables anymore.
When the next batch of meat was cooked, Li Long ate two more skewers and noticed that the grill was empty. So he took the pork belly and laid it out on the grill.
Gu Xiaoxia was a little skeptical. While skewering lamb, she asked Li Long, "Will wild boar meat taste good when grilled like this?"
Li Long said with a smile as he sprinkled seasoning on top, "Give it a try! We should be bold in innovation!"
Gu Xiaoxia pursed her lips at Sister Yang, who was helping out, clearly not looking up to the grilled pork belly.
The Li family was used to eating wild game, so Gu Xiaoxia had long since lost interest in it; she never thought wild game tasted better than domesticated beef and mutton.
The fat on the pork belly melted and dripped onto the charcoal fire, sizzling and emitting black smoke, filling the yard with the aroma of burnt meat.
Li Long sprinkled chili powder, cumin powder, and salt on the meat by feel, turning it over from time to time.
It was his first time grilling like this, and he lacked experience, so he didn't control the heat well. As a result, the pork belly was already slightly burnt when he thought it was almost done.
Li Long glanced at them and, deciding it wouldn't affect eating, said to Li Qiang, Mingming, and Haohao who had gathered around, "Come on, one skewer each, have a taste first. Mingming, get one for your mom, Haohao, get one for your aunt."
The two children enthusiastically acted as errand runners, taking the meat skewers and running over to deliver them.
Li Long also took a skewer. When he brought it to his mouth, the aroma was very enticing. It was different from the usual roasted mutton, with a slight hint of wild boar meat, but the aroma was mostly masked by the spices. He took a bite and it was charred and fragrant. It didn't have the chewy texture of beef or mutton. He chewed it in a few bites and thought, "Hmm, it's pretty good."
Sister Yang started eating as well, praising, "Hey, I really didn't expect wild boar meat to taste like this, it's really good."
Mingming and Haohao took the skewer from Li Long and started eating it themselves. Neither of them nor Li Qiang refused any meat, and when Li Long asked them how it tasted, they said it was delicious.
Since everyone liked it, Li Long finished the skewer he had and ate another one, then cut off a piece and continued preparing to grill.
The second time, the stewed meat was already cooked before they finished eating the roasted meat, so the two kids ran off to eat the boiled meat. Only Li Qiang, a loyal follower of Li Long, stayed in front of the stove to continue waiting to eat the roasted pork belly.
Gu Xiaoxia was a little worried that they would have indigestion, but Li Long said with a smile while grilling, "Don't worry, let them eat. We've given them plenty of that burnt chicken gizzard powder lately, so this little bit of meat won't cause indigestion."
Rural people, or the older generation, are used to being self-reliant. When they slaughter a chicken, they peel off the gizzard and place it on the windowsill to dry.
In winter, when pheasants are hunted in the wild, the gizzard lining is kept. Some people even keep the yellow skin of pigeons.
When we have children at home, we dry chicken gizzard lining, grind it into powder, and feed it to the kids. This stuff is good for the spleen and stomach, much better than those chicken gizzard lining oral liquids sold in pharmacies.
There might not even be one chicken gizzard lining sheet in those 10 large boxes, and it's not as effective as this.
Of course, these rural people weren't doctors; they were just following the advice of the older generation. They had no idea how to combine or mix the ingredients.
After hearing Li Long's words, Gu Xiaoxia felt slightly relieved.
The two children weren't particularly greedy; they just wanted to try all kinds of meat. Each of them would eat a lamb neck or a lamb rib and then stop. After drinking half a bowl of cooled lamb soup, they sat against the wall and basked in the sun.
Li Qiang was older now, and after finishing his meal, he helped Sister Yang and Gu Xiaoxia tidy up the yard. Gu Xiaoxia tried to stop him from doing it, but she couldn't.
Li Long leisurely carried a large enamel basin, gnawing on a lamb neck while taking a bite of naan bread, humming a little tune that no one else had heard before, looking incredibly content.
After eating, they digested for half an hour, and then went to soak in the hot spring. Li Qiang, Mingming, and Haohao soaked for a while before running off to play. The two children seemed to have inexhaustible energy. Gu Xiaoxia thought it was quite good, at least she wasn't worried about indigestion.
After soaking in the hot springs, we packed up, locked the door, and headed back. By the time we reached the county town, the sun was already low in the west. Everyone had a great time and was very happy. Even after returning home, Sister Yang didn't stop; she butchered the remaining wild boar meat and froze it.
This trip to the hot spring resort was just a small interlude in his life. Afterwards, Li Long continued to devote himself to preparing for the on-site meeting.
But in reality, he didn't participate much; he mainly did the presentations. Li Long himself wasn't worried about this, and Professor Yang and Principal Yang were also relieved after listening to Li Long's live demonstrations twice.
Li Long's on-site introduction wasn't in a broadcasting tone; there was no grandiloquent or dramatic delivery. It was more like an old farmer chatting with you in the fields, discussing agricultural techniques.
This way of sharing experiences is unconventional, but both Professor Yang and Principal Yang felt comfortable listening to it, so this was the best approach.
Li Long also saw Halim off once. Halim was about to move his herds to the depths of the Tianshan Mountains. He told Li Long that he would be in charge of this area, including the pastures along the Yushan River. Halim said this with great pride. He said that after arriving at the summer pastures, he planned to have his wife take charge of herding, while he would travel around the various summer pastures, buy more cattle and sheep, and increase his livestock numbers so that he could make a big deal when he returned from the winter migration.
Li Long was very supportive of his idea and told him that if he didn't have enough money, he could help him out.
Halim said he didn't need the money for the time being, but would come back to get it if needed. The road to the summer pasture was so good now, and he had his own car, making it very convenient to travel back and forth.
Hearing this, Li Long felt very gratified. Wasn't this exactly why he helped repair the road leading to the summer pasture?
That's great.
On the university campus, Li Juan, carrying her books, walked and discussed the current situation with her classmates.
One girl said confidently, "I think that although the Soviet Union is facing some difficulties now, it will definitely get through it. Such a big country with such a glorious history. It survived the difficult times of World War II, so this is nothing."
Another girl was pessimistic: "I think this time it will be very difficult. Several republics of the Soviet Union have issued declarations of sovereignty. They have already experienced serious internal problems, but we haven't seen any effective countermeasures from their leadership."
Another student, however, had a different concern: "If things go wrong in the Soviet Union, will it affect us? Our two countries share so much land; will there be refugees or other insurgents?"
The three girls shared their thoughts and then looked at Li Juan.
As Li Juan walked, she said, "Why are you looking at me? It's not like my face has the fate of the Soviet Union written on it."
The girl next to him, hooking her arm around his, said, "Just tell me. Your hometown is near the border, right? Shouldn't you know more?"
As Li Juan walked, she nodded and said, "Indeed, there are some reports that some republics have announced their intention to secede from the Soviet Union. While major chaos is unlikely, minor disturbances are certainly inevitable."
The people are the ones most affected. There have been disasters there in recent years, grain prices have remained high, and inflation has been ongoing. Many things cannot be produced there, so life is quite difficult.
"So how long do you think it can last?" a girl asked.
Li Juan thought for a moment and said, "Maybe the news will come out completely by the end of this year. In fact, judging from the current situation, the Soviet Union may really not be able to hold on any longer."
Actually, Li Juan had overheard Li Long and Li Jianguo talking about this at home.
However, as a modern college student, she has her own thoughts.
Of course, based on the information available at the moment, Li Juan was certain that her uncle was right; this once-powerful empire could no longer hold on.
So many countries have issued declarations of sovereignty, and several others have already declared secession, yet the current leaders of the Soviet Union are still clinging to natural remedies and letting things unfold unchecked.
The final outcome was quite obvious.
After returning to her dormitory, Li Juan put the book in her desk, casually pulled out two letters tucked inside, and sat down on her bed.
This was sent by a high school classmate. She found a small paper cutter under her bed, carefully cut open the envelope, and pulled out the letter inside.
The photo tucked inside the letter fell out, and another classmate caught it quickly. After glancing at it, he smiled and said, "Wow, your classmate is quite handsome. Where is this?"
Li Juan took the photo, waved the envelope, and said, "Yili, that Yili, the Jiangnan region beyond the Great Wall."
Another classmate peeked at the photo and said with a disdainful look, "How is that possible? How could there be such scenery in northern Xinjiang? Absolutely impossible!"
This classmate came from Qishan. From the moment Li Juan entered the school, she discovered that this classmate had an extraordinary misunderstanding of northern Xinjiang.
It is believed that most of the people in northern Xinjiang are ethnic minorities, and the land is full of barren beaches and deserts. People walk to school, and there are no bustling buildings or cities. The area is mainly in tents.
Li Juan's classmates sent her a lot of photos over the past two semesters, and she also brought some old photos in her album.
Even after seeing the photos with his own eyes, this student still insisted that the woods and gardens in the photos were fake.
At first, Li Juan would try to explain, but later she got too lazy to. Some people's prejudices are like a mountain, and Li Juan had no intention of being a foolish old man who moved mountains.
This student attends Yili Normal College. The photo was taken by the flowerbed at the entrance of the college. In April, the roses in the flowerbed had not yet bloomed, but they were already lush and vibrant.
Li Juan didn't reply to what the classmate had said. She just smiled and then opened the letter to read it.
Receiving a letter from a classmate is always a pleasant thing, and Li Juan didn't want to let some irrelevant emotions spoil that joy.
The others tactfully refrained from disturbing them and went about their own business.
Another letter came from the No. 1 Middle School in Ma County, sent by a student in the repeat class.
During the Spring Festival, Li Juan not only met with classmates who had been admitted to university, but also with several classmates who were preparing to retake the exam, exchanging her contact information. She would write to them in her spare time, offering them words of encouragement.
Li Juan is generous with her enthusiasm for students who still have hope and are working hard, and she will also share her past study methods in her letters.
Li Juan generally doesn't mention things about northern Xinjiang that are misunderstood by outsiders in her letters. After coming to Yanjing, her horizons broadened, and she discovered that life is full of all sorts of misunderstandings.
If you constantly expend your emotions and energy on this, you will waste a lot of time, which is unnecessary.
Youth is precious; we should use our limited youth on meaningful and important things.
Just as she finished reading the letter and was thinking about how to reply, someone called out in the hallway, "Li Juan, someone's looking for you downstairs!"
Li Juan shook her head helplessly. What many people considered a meaningful event was about to happen.
But this is not what he or she wanted.
P.S.: Today I'll try using voice to scan a code and see how it goes.
Thank you all for your support and concern since I fell ill. Thank you Crocodile Tears, Spring Warmth Eleven Continents, and another reader with a rather complicated name for your generous donations. Thank you all for your donations, monthly tickets, comments, and subscriptions.
Thank you all for your understanding. Right now, I'm mainly resting. I'm still mostly on liquids, as my surgery removed several sections of my intestines, so recovery will be slower. I'm currently lying in bed typing by voice, and it's feeling alright.
I'll write as much as I can, and please forgive me if I can't. Everything is getting better, thank you all. (End of Chapter)