Chapter 6: Cold Rabbit (Part One)
“Sister-in-law?”
Xu Guoguo’s face turned bright red with embarrassment. Just then, the original body’s memory came rushing back to her.
Xu Dehai did, in fact, have a wife. She was from Shenshan Town; her full name was Wang Shushu. Last year, she’d returned to her parents’ home after a big fight, and the two of them nearly divorced.
In the end, they hadn’t gone through with the separation, but Wang Shushu refused to return to the Xu household. She stayed in her parents’ home, who just so happened to run a shop in town. As for what kind of shop…
Well, the answer was now obvious.
Xu Dehai was furious. Xu Guoguo coughed awkwardly. “You blocked my view earlier! I didn’t get a good look at her! And I don’t go out much… How was I supposed to know Second Sister-in-law’s family runs the snack shop?”
Xu Dehai gave her a suspicious look but seemed to accept the excuse for now.
Xu Guoguo now fully understood the situation. No wonder that woman had looked at Xu Dehai the way she did. No wonder he could walk out of the store with two bags of snacks without paying. And no wonder he kept going to town despite having no real work there. Their mother and grandmother didn’t stop him, probably hoping he’d win his wife back.
The misunderstanding was definitely awkward. Thankfully, she hadn’t blurted out “old flame.” She quickly changed the subject. “Second Brother! Look, they’re serving lunch over there. Let’s go take a look!”
Since the dock was where the laborers worked, it was also where they ate. As expected, the so-called “government-provided meal” was just a makeshift tent with a simple stove. Xu Guoguo scouted the area while sending Xu Dehai to sneak a closer look.
As she’d guessed, the laborers, after a whole morning of hauling cargo, got two dry steamed cornbread buns, a bowl of thin porridge, and a plate of salty pickles. That was it.
And even that was rationed based on performance. Top earners got buns made with white flour. Those who slacked off got coarse, grainy ones.
How could that possibly be enough? Even a man not working would be left hungry after such a meal.
Xu Guoguo still had faith in this market. But, as Shan San had warned, doing business here came with risks. After checking the area one more time, she and Xu Dehai left for now.
On the way back, Xu Dehai was still trying to talk her out of it. Xu Guoguo ignored him. As she walked, she suddenly remembered the rabbit in her basket; it was heavy!
She immediately shifted her small basket into her brother’s larger one. “I can’t carry it anymore!” she declared cheerfully, then skipped along ahead.
Xu Dehai: “…”
*****
“Grandmother! Mother! I’m back!”
Xu Guoguo had learned a lot on her trip today and was in a good mood. Mother Xu was doing laundry in the courtyard and rushed to the gate at the sound of her voice. “Nannan’s home! You didn’t get hurt, did you?”
Xu Guoguo gave a helpless smile. “Mother, what are you saying? I only went to town. How would I get hurt?”
Only then did her mother relax. As for her son trailing behind? She didn’t even spare him a glance.
Xu Dehai silently put the basket down. Old Madam Xu also came out and quickly spotted something.
“What’s in the basket?”
Xu Guoguo eagerly pulled it out. “I ran into Brother Shan San in town today! He gave it to me!”
“Shan San? He was in Shenshan Town too?” her mother asked.
Xu Guoguo nodded excitedly. “He’s amazing! He carried half a wild boar into the butcher shop all by himself. But the butcher tried to lowball him, so I acted out a little scene with him and helped get a better price. In return he gave me this as thanks!”
She then told them all about the pork-selling scene. Mother Xu was stunned.
“Nannan… I didn’t know you were so clever!”
Before Xu Guoguo could respond, Xu Dehai chimed in with a sarcastic tone. “Yeah, our little sister is so capable now; she’s even thinking of opening a food stall!”
“What?! A stall?!” Her mother gasped.
Xu Guoguo scratched her head. “I was going to wait until mealtime to bring it up… but Second Brother spilled the beans.”
Her mother was too shocked to speak. But Old Madam Xu simply asked, “How do you plan to do it?”
Xu Guoguo glanced at everyone in the household and laid out everything she’d observed in town today, including her plan.
Everyone fell silent after hearing it.
She continued, “Running a stall isn’t as complicated as you think. A cart and a stove—that’s all you need to make a kitchen. If we don’t have that yet, I’ll just make something simple to start. No cart needed! Either way, I’ve already decided. I’m going to the kitchen now to prep the rabbit.”
She marched off toward the kitchen. Xu Dehai followed her to the water basin, leaving the mother and grandmother staring at each other.
“…Mother,” said Mother Xu at last, hesitating, “don’t you think Nannan’s changed?”
Old Madam Xu paused and then gave her a deep look. “I do think she’s changed after waking up… But…”
Her daughter-in-law waited for her to finish.
“But I don’t think it’s a bad thing. She used to be too timid. This is like a second lease on life.”
She emphasized those last words, second lease on life, but Mother Xu didn’t catch the deeper meaning.
“Maybe you’re right… If it’s like that, then it’s a good thing.”
Old Madam Xu hummed in agreement and slowly went back to her room. Mother Xu hesitated, then headed to the kitchen to help her daughter.
Xu Guoguo was prepping the wild rabbit, plump and gray. Skinning a rabbit wasn’t easy. Just as she picked up the knife to start, Xu Dehai walked in.
“Let me do it. How can you manage something like this?”
She hesitated, then handed him the knife. “Thank you, Second Brother.”
He froze for a second and turned away awkwardly.
“You’re really going to the market tomorrow?”
“Yep.”
“What are you going to sell? this rabbit?” He sounded like he was joking.
But Xu Guoguo nodded seriously. “Yes. This rabbit.”
He looked at the meat in his hands. Wait, what? Does that mean I don’t get to eat it?
Making Cold Rabbit was Xu Guoguo’s task today.
Xu Guoguo had traveled far and wide. While Sichuan cuisine wasn’t her specialty, the local climate here was similar to that region. Chilies were everywhere. With that kind of environment, how could she not make a spicy cold rabbit dish?
Xu Dehai had the strength. Under her direction, he quickly skinned and butchered the rabbit into small pieces.
“You chopped it this small? How do you even eat this?” he asked, baffled. In his mind, meat should be in big chunks such that you could sink your teeth into it. These tiny bits didn’t even look like they’d stay on a chopstick.
Xu Guoguo ignored him and carried the bowl of chopped meat into the kitchen.
Her mother asked with a smile, “Nannan, how are you going to cook it?”
She glanced at her and smiled. “I actually saw someone else make this dish before. It’s my first time trying it myself. Could you help me chop the chilies? Just cut them into short sections.”
“How many?”
“As many as possible!”
For Cold Rabbit, the more chilies, the better. She marinated the fresh rabbit meat in cooking wine and salt. Then it went into hot oil for the first fry; keep the gas at high heat to sear and shrink the surface while locking in the juices. Because the meat was already diced small, it fried fast. Once it turned a light golden brown, she scooped it out.
The second fry was important, as she added heaps of dried chili, Sichuan peppercorn, and every bit of spice in the kitchen, plus some celery. This was what gave the dish its depth of flavor.
Her mother finished prepping a huge basin of bright red chilies. She dumped them all in at once. The aroma burst out of the kitchen like an explosion—a reminder of yesterday’s boiled fish!
Little Huniu and Hudan were already leaning over the stove, drooling. Xu Guoguo began tossing the pan quickly. One key trick with this dish was not to dry-fry it too much. She added small amounts of master stock throughout the stir-frying process. This made the meat tender, springy, and full of flavor.
The chili-laced scent drifted through the courtyard, drawing the attention of neighbors.
“What are they making? It smells amazing!”
“Yesterday it was fish, today it’s meat. Is the Xu family getting rich or what?”
Xu Guoguo was already calculating in her head. The fish and rabbit both came from Shan San. She figured she’d save a portion to give back to him if they crossed paths at the market tomorrow. One advantage of this dish was that in winter, cold rabbit could last several days without spoiling, hence the name.
Finally, the dish was ready.
The Xu family’s mouths were practically watering onto the floor. They all gathered around the same table from yesterday. When they saw the plate of rabbit, their eyes turned red just like the dish itself.
Xu Guoguo smiled. “Let’s eat. It’s actually better after it cools, but we can have it hot for now. Be careful; it’s spicy.”
No one was about to wait. They immediately reached out with their chopsticks.
Half the dish was just chili. Each little piece of rabbit was coated in red oil and smelled incredible.
“Hot! Ahhh!” Xu Dehai burned his mouth from eating too fast.
Xu Guoguo blew on some pieces before feeding the kids. “Eat slower. Don’t be like your dad.”
“If only we had sesame,” she muttered. “A sprinkle of white sesame seeds at the end would make it perfect.”
But no one else seemed to care. They were too busy being blown away by how good the rabbit was.
The spicy oil and the chewy diced meat—every bite was rich and full of flavor. Absolutely addictive.
“Amazing! This is amazing!” Xu Dehai gave her a big thumbs-up. “Never knew my little sister could cook like this!”
“I just picked it up from watching,” she said casually.
Old Madam Xu nodded. “Nannan has a talent for cooking. And another reason is this dish uses a lot of oil, doesn’t it?”
“Yep.”
The family all nodded in realization. No wonder it was so good. With that much oil, you could probably make even shoe soles taste delicious!
Xu Guoguo just smiled.
“But,” she added, “this plate is all we’re eating tonight. The rest I’m cooling it down to sell in town tomorrow.”
“To sell?” they asked.
“Yup. I’ll pack it in oil-paper bags. I saw someone selling food like that today. I’ll charge twenty wen per bag.”
“Twenty?!” the entire family exclaimed.
They knew those oil-paper bags were usually used for things like pancakes. A full scoop of rabbit with chilies in one bag? At that price?
Xu Guoguo was confident. “I’ll offer free samples. Once they taste it, people will pay twenty wen.”
Xu Dehai sucked in a sharp breath. The whole family face-palmed themselves.
Their little daughter… was starting to sound a lot like a cunning merchant.
Author’s Note:
Big opening day tomorrow! More red packets! I even have a stockpile of chapters now; it feels good to be ahead for once.
Translator’s Notes:
- Cold Rabbit: A famous Sichuan-style spicy rabbit dish, typically stir-fried in chili oil and eaten cold. Meant for long shelf life and deep flavor.
- Master Stock: A seasoned broth used repeatedly in Chinese cooking to poach or braise meats enhances flavor and tenderness.
- Sesame seeds: A finishing touch in many Chinese dishes for texture and aroma. Often sprinkled on spicy dishes.
- Oil Paper Bag: A grease-resistant paper bag used for wrapping oily street snacks. Common in traditional markets.
(Cold Rabbit)
https://youtube.com/shorts/Fn6xTvxrshs?si=SJixbEZRr_vYuJ14
