Chapter 17: Braised Spare Ribs

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"Little Bao, your big brother will make sure you have this at every meal from now on, until you’re sick of it," Xiao Weiguo said, his heart heavy at the thought of the next three years.

In those three years, countless children would perish, all from hunger.

It was said that in some places, things happened reminiscent of ancient times during war—children were exchanged to be eaten.

It was nothing short of terrifying.

In ancient times, famine was often described simply: "In years of hunger, people eat each other."

Xiao Weiguo was determined to do everything in his power to prevent such horrors from happening to those around him.

These adorable twins deserved to be raised plump and healthy.

"Do you still have room in your stomachs? This afternoon, I plan to cook a pot of pork ribs. We'll eat here, probably around mid-afternoon," Xiao Weiguo said, remembering the meat stored in his secret space.

He had to cook it soon; otherwise, it would spoil, and that would be a waste.

"Wow, ribs! Meat! I could eat a whole pig," Xiao Weijun cried out first.

Then Xiao Zhaodi spoke up, "Big brother, we've already had such delicious fried cakes today. We probably won't be able to eat anything else this afternoon. Maybe we should wait until tomorrow?"

Xiao Hongmei chimed in, "Yes, big brother, don't listen to Weijun. We can't eat any more. Let's save it for later."

"The main thing is, I have to go to work tomorrow. If we don’t eat it today, it’ll go bad in this heat," Xiao Weiguo said, wiping sweat from his brow.

The cave base was stuffy and lacked ventilation, making it unbearably hot inside.

"Alright then, let’s help you cook, big brother. We’ll start the fire here. I’ll go find some firewood," Xiao Hongmei said hesitantly.

No one could resist the thought of eating meat, especially the children.

Growing boys could eat their fathers out of house and home; it was no exaggeration, each one a bottomless pit.

The girls were no different.

Only the twin babies, being so young, might not be able to eat much.

"You get the firewood and set up the stove. I’ll fetch the pot from grandpa's house and cook the meal. Let's see if you like your big brother's cooking," Xiao Weiguo said.

With that, he went home to gather what he'd prepared, carrying a large bag. Anything he needed could be transferred from his secret space to the bag.

This also provided a cover; if he forgot something, he could simply reach into the bag and retrieve it from the space.

The only thing to watch out for was not letting Xiao Weijun rummage through the bag—otherwise, his secret would be exposed.

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In the future, whenever he went out, he could use the same method. With a cover, there was much more room for error.

He remembered he needed to make caramelized sugar, but the brown sugar he had wasn’t suitable. If he used brown sugar, it would taste bitter and burnt.

At grandpa’s house, he took a few pieces of rock sugar from grandma’s carefully guarded drawer, then set off for the base.

He would repay grandma with several times more rock sugar later.

When he arrived, his sisters and Xiao Weijun were already waiting, a tall pile of firewood nearby, and the stove—really just a stack of stones—already assembled.

Xiao Weiguo took the pot from his bag, then laid out the ribs, green beans, and all the other ingredients.

He filled the pot with cold water and blanched the ribs, adding slices of ginger to dispel any gaminess. There was no cooking wine here, otherwise he would have added some.

The ribs had already been cut into mahjong-sized pieces in his space, using his mind.

When the water boiled, he cooked them for a few more minutes, skimmed off the foam, then took out the ribs and drained them.

He poured in oil, caramelized the rock sugar, then added the ribs to coat them and stir-fry.

He added all sorts of seasonings—star anise, Sichuan pepper, bay leaves, salt, soy sauce, and more.

He tossed everything thoroughly, ensuring each rib soaked up the warmth of the pot.

Then he poured in plenty of water, and once it boiled, he adjusted the flavor.

He added the green beans and simmered on high heat for a while.

He had Weijun, who was tending the fire, pull out a few sticks to reduce the heat to medium-low, and continued simmering for thirty minutes.

Next, he pressed patties made from cornmeal onto the inside wall of the pot.

This cornmeal had no added corn cobs, so it was guaranteed delicious.

When time was up, he lifted the lid to reduce the sauce.

At this point, the aroma of braised ribs and green beans wafted through the steam, reaching everyone’s nose.

Everyone’s mouth watered.

Even during New Year’s, the meals at home never smelled as good as big brother’s cooking.

Who used so much oil, rock sugar, and all these seasonings?

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So many ingredients, all for a single meal.

If any wife cooked like this, her mother-in-law would smack her with a cane.

Of course, the Xiao Weiguo family was an exception; their grandmother was too soft to control her two daughters-in-law.

"Don’t stand around, Hongmei, help everyone dish up. Eat here," Xiao Weiguo said, pointing to the stack of porcelain bowls nearby.

Fortunately, he’d bought a stack of bowls. Otherwise, they’d have had to eat straight from the pot.

As for forgetting to buy chopsticks, he quickly made a pile from some wild twigs outside.

Xiao Weiguo squatted on the ground, leaning against a stone in the cave, watching Xiao Hongmei dish out ribs for all the little ones, his lips curved in a fatherly smile.

How wonderful.

Just then, his second uncle’s second child, Xiao Pandie, brought over a large bowl and handed it to Xiao Weiguo, saying, "Big brother, you eat first."

"Pandie is so sweet. I’ll rest for a bit, you eat first," Xiao Weiguo said, standing up and patting Xiao Pandie's head.

In the family, Pandie—being a middle child—was the easiest to overlook, stuck between older and younger siblings, always fading into the background.

Xiao Weijun had already started eating, grabbing a huge rib and stuffing it whole into his mouth, cheeks bulging as he slowly chewed, eyes even closing in bliss.

The twin sisters, still unsteady with chopsticks, stared at the ribs in their bowls with uncertainty. They took a bite of cornmeal cake soaked in broth. Instantly, the sweet aroma of corn exploded on their tongues, mingling with the flavor of the rib broth. The twins thought this was the best cake they'd ever tasted—even better than the fried cakes at lunch.

Xiao Zhaodi, forgetting herself, hurried to help the two little sisters by stripping the meat from the ribs for them, making it easier to eat.

"Hongmei, dish up a bowl for grandpa and grandma. I’ll take it back later. The rest, we can eat," Xiao Weiguo said to Xiao Hongmei.

He noticed that Hongmei had served him mostly green beans and only a few pieces of meat.

"Why so many beans? Eat more meat." He scooped a few more pieces of meat from the pot into Hongmei’s bowl.

Squatting on the ground, Xiao Weiguo tasted his first bite of green beans and felt their soft sweetness fill his mouth. He realized he’d misunderstood Hongmei.

When the last drop of broth ended up in Xiao Weijun’s stomach, the meal finally concluded.

"That was incredible!" Xiao Weijun shouted into the collapsed hole in the center of the cave.