Chapter 9

Since that day, the old lady stopped selling fried meat pies.

Instead, she started selling braised delicacies.

My mom worked as her helper, Granny Zhang gave orders from the side, and when curious neighbors asked, she would cheerfully say, “I can’t let my cooking skills go to waste, can I? An Rui’s mom is hardworking and tough-we’re teaming up to make a fortune!”

Indeed, Granny Zhang was a master at braising.

She said the key to making the meat tender and flavorful, without being overly heavy or cloying, was controlling the heat and skimming off the oil.

“If the heat’s too high, the meat gets tough. If it’s too low, the sweetness from the sugar won’t infuse into the meat.”

Before dawn, my mom would ride her cart to the wholesale market and haul back thirty pounds of frozen meat. There were pig heads, pig trotters, pig intestines, chicken hearts, duck hearts-more than a dozen different cuts. My mom was so nervous she kept wringing her hands.

“Will people be able to tell it’s…”

Granny Zhang immediately shot her a glare. “Who doesn’t use frozen meat? Just add more seasoning, and no one will notice. Oh, and don’t slack off when cleaning the pig head-there’s ear hair and nose hair in there. You have to get rid of all the grime.”

You could say that during those days, my mom barely slept and never dared leave the braising pot unattended for even a moment.

Hard work pays off. When the lid was lifted, the overwhelming aroma of the meat instantly filled the entire room. My mom couldn’t help but take a deep breath. “It smells amazing.”

It wasn’t just the smell-we were generous with the portions, too. Most people living in this area weren’t well-off, so Granny Zhang had my mom bake flatbread, chop up the braised meat, and stuff it into the bread until it was full.

One bite, and the bread was crispy while the meat was tender and sweet. How could business not be good?

Even the loan sharks came by-and ate quite a lot.

After Dad went missing, they were the most anxious. One day, on my way home from school, I was cornered by a group of vicious-looking loan sharks.

“Tell us, where did your dad go?”

A knife was pressed against my neck, but I stayed silent.

The leader grabbed my hair fiercely.

“Stop pretending. You might fool others, but not me. I know he came to see you the night he disappeared!”