Preparing to Eat Something Hard

Zhuang Zhuang was still young. Having worked in the fields with Xiaoguo all afternoon, he was so tired that he had closed his eyes. Xiaoguo talked to Zhuang Zhuang while looking up at the moon in the sky. By now, the moon had appeared and the sun had already set. The moon in ancient times was really big and bright. Xiaoguo, who came from the modern times, had never seen such a beautiful moon before. The moon had long been covered by skyscrapers, and after the apocalypse, there was no moon that could be seen anymore. The sky was always gray and heavy, and it was impossible to tell day from night.

Thinking of the apocalypse, Xiaoguo’s eyes dimmed. It was good to leave that place. At least by coming here, it proved that she was still alive and could do many things. She had to live well here. At this moment, Xiaoguo felt a weight on her shoulders. She turned her head and saw that Zhuang Zhuang’s little head was resting on her. His little mouth was making smacking sounds and his eyes were closed. Xiaoguo turned to look at the main door of her house in the distance, smiling in amusement. She still had Zhuang Zhuang to live for.

When they reached the house, Xiaoguo put Zhuang Zhuang down, covered him with a blanket, and lit a candle. She brought another candle to the kitchen to prepare dinner. She was tired, and her stomach was already rumbling. Xiaoguo was ready to eat something hard. After working for the whole day, she wanted to have a good meal.

Xiaoguo traveled to the ‘other space’ to look for pork bones in the fridge. She managed to find a bag of big bones after searching. Xiaoguo happily took them out from the other space to prepare stewed big bones. She also cooked steamed rice and a creamy cabbage soup.

First, she blanched the big bones and kept aside two pieces for the cabbage broth. She stir-fried the rest of the bones in caramelized sugar. After the bones had taken the color of the caramel, she added the spice mix that she had packed. Then, a spoonful of dark sauce was added into the pot. The lid was placed over the pot and the stew was left to simmer on the stove. The other two pieces of bones set aside earlier were added into a claypot with hot water and put to boil.

The smell of the stew wafted out. Due to the addition of spices, the smell was very strong. Zhuang Zhuang was woken by the rich aroma even though he was fast asleep. Xiaoguo was not concerned that the food smells would attract people. Her house was far away from the main village. Even the nearest neighbor, Mrs. Yang, was quite a distance away from her house.

Zhuang Zhuang followed the smells of food and entered the kitchen in a daze. He stood at the door and looked in, still calling out for his mother. Xiaoguo carried Zhuang Zhuang to the stove and the boy leaned comfortably in her arms.

“We’ll start eating in a while. Zhuang Zhuang, wake up.” Xiaoguo rubbed Zhuang Zhuang’s face and said gently.

Zhuang Zhuang nodded. He rubbed his eyes and asked sleepily, “Mom, what are we eating?”

“We are eating big bones and rice.”

When Zhuang Zhuang heard this, he was instantly awake.

We are having big bones rice.

Mother and son sat in front of the stove and chatted. After a while, the meal was ready. Zhuang Zhuang was already wide awake. He carried the bowl of rice and walked into the house. Xiaoguo walked behind with the big bone stew and reminded the boy not to fall.

Xiaoguo picked up a large bone for Zhuang Zhuang, and he started blowing on it, trying to cool it down. When the pork bone had cooled down, he took a tentative bite. The meat was drenched with gravy and had separated from the bone. As Zhuang Zhuang sank his teeth into the meat, he felt a rush of gravy and juices enter his mouth. Zhuang Zhuang dug into his meal heartily. “Mother, you cook so well,” Zhuang Zhuang mumbled in between mouthfuls of food.

Xiaoguo was both amused and happy. Her heart was bursting with joy. She scooped a bowl of soup with a spoon and placed it beside Zhuang Zhuang. “Eat more if it’s delicious.”

Mother and son finished up every drop of the meat stew. After which, they each had a bowl of cabbage soup to end off the meal. Taking in the last mouthful of soup, they could not help but sigh in satisfaction.

The hot soup warmed their bodies. Feeling energized, the two of them washed up the dishes and fed the cows. After feeding, they played with the calves for a while until Zhuang Zhuang began yawning. Xiaoguo then brought him back to the house. Zhuang Zhuang had requested a bedtime story at first but Xiaoguo was halfway through when he fell asleep. Xiaoguo tucked him in and laid beside him for a while. Very soon, she was also fast asleep.