Chapter 7 Braised Fish

The village chief took a bite of the fish and was so overwhelmed by the sweetness in his mouth that he was speechless.

Aunt Dahua called out to the two sisters: "Eat, eat, eat!"

Shen Qingyue and Chen Mei also ate.

Aunt Dahua picked up a piece of fish. She thought it must taste good when she smelled the fragrance, but when she ate it, there was really no fishy smell at all. She wanted to take a second bite after just one bite.

The village chief suddenly stood up and said, "I'll go get some wine."

It’s so rare to come across such delicious food. It would be a waste if I don’t drink some wine!

The village chief poured half a jar of white wine, took a bite of fish, took a sip of wine, and felt that the day was leisurely.

Chen Mei had never known that Shen Qingyue was such a good cook, and she was quite shocked when she ate it.

I quickly took a bite of the big steamed bun. The tender braised fish was the best with the steamed bun.

Aunt Dahua was a kind-hearted person. Knowing that the two sisters were reluctant to let go, she specially picked up a large piece of fish and put it in the sisters' bowls.

They are all the tenderest fish belly meat, which can make people fall over when dipped in the soup.

The village chief was very satisfied with the braised fish.

The village chief used to think that he didn’t like fish, until he ate the fish made by Shen Qingyue and realized that fish could be so delicious.

The big reservoir fish, after taking apart the fish head, the fish brain, fish bone marrow and fish eyes inside, as well as the tender meat attached to the bones, are all delicious.

The village chief couldn't let go of the fish head while drinking a little wine. He even bit into the fish bones, revealing transparent fish marrow in each piece.

It was a big fish, but there was nothing left. The village chief’s hands were covered in grease after eating it all.

Aunt Dahua was also enjoying delicious fish for the first time. Normally, a fish this size would have been enough for two more people. But the village chief and Aunt Dahua both loved the taste and ate a bit too much.

At the end, there was a little soup left, but the village chief refused to let us pour it out, saying that we could heat it up tomorrow and dip it in steamed buns.

Then he discovered that there were peanuts on the table that he had ignored for a long time, and the village chief smiled awkwardly.

My favorite snacks before drinking seemed to pale in comparison to the fish. I didn't eat a single bite, my eyes were fixed on the fish.

Just before clearing the table, the village chief grabbed a few peanuts and put them in his mouth. He chewed them and they were crispy and fragrant, with a little bit of salt sprinkled on top to help with the greasiness. He wanted more after just one bite.

It’s a pity that I ate too much just now, so I can only eat these dream peanuts tomorrow.

After clearing away the food, Aunt Dahua went to spread out the mattresses and quilts for the two sisters in the west room so that they could have a good sleep.

When Aunt Dahua returned to her room, her mother's heart was filled with tenderness.

Aunt Dahua has only two sons and no daughters. Now she returns to her husband's room and sighs, "These two girls are so well-behaved and sensible. I don't know how the Shen family could have the heart to do that to them."

The more we get along, the more we can feel how hardworking and sensible the two sisters are.

You can't find a girl like this even with a lantern. She was born into the Shen family with great difficulty. It was all fate, so why is she being tortured?

She didn't understand this.

The village chief said, "Oh. That's too much." As the village chief, he didn't take care of many family affairs, but he took action this time because he really couldn't stand it!

Aunt Dahua had never known that they lived this kind of life at home. She had always felt sorry for them, and now that she had gotten to know them, she loved them even more.

When I thought about the Shen family marrying Shen Qingyue off in exchange for a thousand yuan dowry to build a house, I felt even more disgusted with the Shen family.

It's simply doing something unscrupulous under the banner of being an elder.

Marriage is a major event in life, especially for women, if they make the wrong choice, the consequences can be disastrous.

Aunt Dahua had just laid down, but the restlessness in her heart made her unable to lie still. As a result, she rolled over and sat up again: "Hey, I say, we can't let them be sucked dry by the Shen family."

What a good child! He is handsome, has a good temper, and can cook such delicious meals.

The village chief didn't say anything!

Aunt Dahua knew her husband didn't like to meddle in these matters. After all, women are rough but delicate. She said, "If you don't care, I will."

The village chief was somewhat helpless: "How can you manage it?"

Aunt Dahua said, "I adopt them as my goddaughters." Now that they are of higher generation, she can have a say.

The village chief was silent for a while, then said, "I think Shen Qingyue is a person with her own ideas. A girl who can talk about dividing the family is definitely not an ordinary person."

Aunt Dahua was so full from eating fish tonight that she was shocked to hear her husband say, "Let's split up the family. We still have a piece of land behind our house. I wanted to give it to our two sons when they got married. But I see that they all work outside the family, so they might leave the family outside the family in the future. There's no need to keep it!"

The village chief knew that his daughter-in-law was careless but kind-hearted, so he laughed and said, "What kind of magic potion have these two girls poured on you? They even planned to give away the homestead reserved for their son."

Aunt Dahua said, "Hey, isn't this pitiful!"

Life in the countryside is not as sunny and bright as the literati wrote. The villagers have their own malicious intentions.

It is said that boys are favored over girls in the countryside, but in fact, if there is no man in the family, it will be bullied.

Like Chen Mei, Shen Qingyue also has a younger sister, Shen Xiu, who is still in school. She is young and beautiful, and is the most unsafe.

So even if Village Chief Shen wanted to divide the property among them, he didn't dare to make the decision because there were more than one or two old bachelors in the village.

If something really bad happened, the village chief would also feel condemned in his heart.

Aunt Dahua has been married to the village chief for so many years, and she took the initiative to suggest that they live closer to him just to relieve the village chief of his worries!

The village chief said, "Let them stay for a while, and we'll talk about this later."

Strong intervention in the separation of the family business was no small matter. He had to consider many aspects.

When Aunt Dahua heard what the village chief said, she knew that his attitude had softened.

Only then did he say with satisfaction: "Hey, tell me, why is Shen Qingyue's cooking so delicious? This fish is absolutely amazing."

The village chief didn't want to argue at first, but he still gave full affirmation on this point: "It's delicious."

…

The west room where Shen Qingyue and Chen Mei slept was separated from the village chief's house by a large living room and a corridor.

The mattress was soft and the quilt was comfortable, but they couldn't fall asleep.

Shen Mei was obviously the eldest, but she had no idea what to do after such a big incident. She said to Shen Qingyue, "What should we do at home?"

My grandparents and several uncles and aunts are as fierce as wolves and tigers. They will hate me even more after this incident.

Shen Qingyue said: "Now that we are out, we won't go back!"

"It's just that I'm afraid..." Chen Mei was extremely anxious.

Shen Qingyue said: "I am here."

There was no light in Chen Mei's room. She looked at her sister in the moonlight and said, "That's right." She felt that her sister was different, but she didn't think about it elsewhere.

Anyone who encounters such a major change is likely to change.

Seeing Shen Qingyue so determined, Chen Mei felt more at ease.