Chapter 24 Rivals

Chen Mei disposed of the chicken carcasses, washing them repeatedly. After washing them thoroughly, she cut them into small pieces. Soon, they were served in a large bowl.

Shen Qingyue sprinkled seasoning on it and marinated it.

The chopped chicken bones were a bit sharp, so Shen Qingyue used a rice spatula to turn them over.

After marinating for a while, Shen Qingyue heated up the oil in a wok and put the chicken bones in one by one to fry.

Chen Mei couldn't help but say, "If our grandma saw this, she would faint." The oil used to fry a pot of chicken bones is enough for her to cook for a year!

Shen Qingyue said, "Why don't you dig her to death?" Thinking about the tasteless meals she had in the past and how she often felt hungry, it was really not a life for a human being.

Shen Qingyue took out the fried chicken bones and put the unfried ones back in. The chicken bones that had just been fried once already had an enticing aroma!

After the oil pan was heated, the frying speed was even faster. Shen Qingyue said: "Our grandma has no money now, and she is probably even more stingy. Fortunately, we divided it out, otherwise we would have starved."

Shen Qingyue scooped up all the fried chicken bones. They were only fried for the first time, to absorb the moisture and sauce from the chicken bones. To achieve a truly crispy and delicious chicken, they needed a second round of frying.

When fried for the second time, the color becomes golden and crispy.

Shen Qingyue placed the fried chicken in a clean dustpan to dry. Fried things can stand up well, and now they have a base flavor. Tomorrow, she will smear a layer of sweet and sour sauce on them. This sweet and sour chicken skeleton is even more delicious.

Shen Qingyue took two, ate one for herself and gave one to her elder sister, and they both tasted it.

As girls of the Shen family, they used to work in the front and eat in the back, not to mention fried food, which was never their turn!

There isn't a lot of meat on the chicken bones, but the meat on the bones is more flavorful. And you can use your teeth to carefully remove the meat from the bones. It's quite a treat for your teeth.

Chen Mei loved it like nothing else: "It's so delicious." She couldn't help but look at Shen Qingyue and said: "How did you come up with this?"

Chicken bones are so cheap, yet they can be cooked so deliciously. The meat around the collarbone is especially thick and delicious.

Shen Qingyue smiled and said, "That's nothing." Fortunately, she made it herself, otherwise she would not have used so much oil.

Open the kitchen window and the smoke will quickly disperse.

The two sisters began to prepare the vegetables. Shen Qingyue began to pickle the white radish, first blanching it with salt to remove the water. Then, she boiled it in a mixture of sweet, sour, and chili sauce, letting it air dry before soaking it. It was crisp, sweet, and spicy, and incredibly delicious.

Chen Mei couldn't help but sigh, "When did you learn all this?" In the past, her grandmother was afraid of wasting oil, so she was the only one allowed to cook. No one else was allowed to even touch the stove.

At that time, I didn't realize Shen Qingyue had these skills. Now she is the one cooking, and Shen Mei is helping her.

Shen Qingyue said: "I already knew how to do it. But I don't want to cook it for them."

Chen Mei said: "It's a good thing you did this, otherwise with your skills, grandma would have raised the bride price again."

Speaking of this, Shen Qingyue fell silent and said, "Where will grandma and the others make money after we leave?"

Chen Mei was startled, then said, "It must be the girls from Third Aunt's family." Shen Zhaodi, Shen Yindi and so on.

Although they had a bad relationship with Third Aunt and had always fought with her in the past, they still felt a little bit uncomfortable when they saw their younger sister was about to step into the fire pit.

Chen Mei felt a little uncomfortable, but quickly said, "Not necessarily. At least she has parents. If her parents don't agree, she can still escape." It's better than those of them who have no parents.

Shen Qingyue said: “It’s terrible, I think Third Aunt is only concerned about Shen Tianci.”

Just from the names, you can tell that the children of the third aunt's family are, in order of age, Shen Zhaodi, Shen Laidi, Shen Pandi, Shen Yindi, Shen Nüting and Shen Tianci.

What else do the two have to say?

Aunt Dahua came back and asked, "How is it?"

Shen Qingyue said: "It's okay, there are only a few steamed buns left. I will make braised pork tonight and eat it with steamed buns."

Aunt Dahua, who hadn't eaten enough of the braised pork last time, said, "That's fine." Thinking of having something delicious to eat in the evening gave her more energy during the day.

Help Shen Qingyue with work.

The village chief had some wine for dinner, and the meal was delicious. He even turned down a dinner party to go home for dinner that night. How could other people's home-cooked dishes compare to his family's meals?

After dinner, the village chief was still sitting with his legs crossed, humming a few tuneless lines of Peking opera. Before going to bed, he sighed, "Thank goodness I brought Shen Qingyue and Shen Mei home. We had several good meals. You're so kind."

Aunt Dahua said, "It's these two children who are loved."

In the evening, Shen Qingyue found a piece of paper and a pencil and kept writing on it.

Chen Mei asked, "What did you write?"

Shen Qingyue said, "Let's make mixed grain rice tomorrow instead of steamed buns. It's more troublesome and sells less. Let's cook more vegetables. Tomorrow, besides buying vegetables, we also need to buy salt and soybean oil."

After she pickled the vegetables, there wasn't enough salt left.

Shen Mei said, "I understand."

The two of them had to get up early tomorrow, so they packed up quickly and went to bed early. They were truly tired, and the moment their heads hit the pillow, they fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, Shen Qingyue got up early. Without a watch, she had no idea what time it was outside. Only the occasional crowing of roosters could be heard.

As soon as Shen Qingyue moved, Shen Mei also got up.

After the previous adjustment, it is now faster.

I kept the stir-fried liver tips, potato wraps, and spicy tofu. The eggplant sauce was even better with minced meat, and there were also sweet and sour fried chicken racks. There were also scrambled eggs with tomatoes, minced meat with celery, and scallion oil braised noodles.

Today's batch is twice as large as before. The big iron pot is busy, one pot after another.

Shen Qingyue had been sitting around the stove all morning and her clothes were soaked with sweat.

She changed into a new set of clothes before leaving. She washed the clothes she took off and hung them up. She only had these two sets of clothes, and if they didn't dry, she wouldn't know what to wear next.

After everything was done, Shen Qingyue took out another lunch box. She put some mixed grain rice, minced meat and eggplant, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and spicy tofu in it and put it aside. "This, I'll send to Shen Xiu later."

Shen Xiu was a careful child who was not willing to spend money to buy something. In addition, she also got her some sweet and sour chicken legs as a snack!

Uncle Zhuangzi appeared at her door early in the morning.

Shen Qingyue packed her things and set off.

Sitting on the ox cart, they soon arrived at Shen Xiu's school, and Shen Qingyue went to deliver food.

When Shen Xiu saw Shen Qingyue, there was some surprise in her eyes: "Second sister, why are you here?"

Shen Qingyue said: "I'm bringing you food. My elder sister and I have been setting up a stall in the county these days. These are all homemade. I'll bring them to you every day from now on."

Shen Xiu nodded heavily. After taking the lunch box, she could smell the fragrance inside without even opening it.

Shen Qingyue said: "Hurry up and go to class. If you get into high school, you will be the first female high school student in our village."

Shen Xiu nodded heavily.

After Shen Qingyue delivered the lunch box to Shen Xiu, she hurried back. The ox cart was still waiting for her, and she went all the way to the gate of the state-owned steel plant.

The noodle stall from yesterday was gone, replaced by a new lunch box stall. The owner was still the older sister from the noodle stall. When she saw Shen Qingyue, her face was almost covered with arrogance.