Remove the soil from the mushroom stalks and wash the whole mushrooms clean.

Song Lian'er carried a bowl of matsutake mushrooms to the kitchen.

The cap was torn into pieces, and the stem was cut into thin strips.

Then Song Lian'er closed the doors and windows tightly, lit a fire, heated the pot, and added a ladle of oil.

This ladleful was enough for the Qiao family to eat for several days, so they scooped out half of what was left in the jar.

She put some of the termite mushrooms into the pot, added salt, and slowly simmered them over low heat. As the termite mushrooms cooked, they were gradually dried out, releasing a fragrant aroma that kept wafting into her nose.

It smells absolutely divine; this is truly the finest treasure in the world.

Song Lian'er tasted a little; it was just right, neither too salty nor too bland.

The previous batch was fried, then taken out and placed on a plate, and then the next batch was fried.

There really wasn't much oil in the house, otherwise she would have used a lot of oil, poured the whole pot in, and done it all at once, without having to go through so much trouble.

Squeeze it little by little, and fry it seven or eight times. Finally, half a basin of chicken mushrooms was all fried and filled a plate.

Once all the termite mushrooms were used up, it would be tantamount to destroying the evidence, so Song Lian'er opened all the windows and doors.

In this way, a large amount of fragrance will spread in all directions.

"Wow, what smells so good? It smells even better than chicken or lamb."

"Yes, I wonder which family is making something delicious. I've never smelled this aroma before."

"What kind of wild game did they hunt?"

Whether it was passersby or neighbors, the sound of discussion could be heard.

Qiao Xier put the handkerchief down in the room.

She could smell a faint fragrance wafting into her nose from the front, and she was wondering what it was.

The aroma suddenly became stronger, as if it were right beside her, tantalizing her taste buds and making her unable to resist going outside.

"Sister Lian'er, can you smell it?"

Song Lian'er pulled Qiao Xi'er into the kitchen, and as soon as they entered, the aroma hit them right in the gut.

Qiao Xi'er saw a plate of brownish, dry stuff on the stove. She sniffed and confirmed that the aroma was coming from this stuff.

"This is--"

Song Lian'er picked up a piece of matsutake mushroom and brought it to Qiao Xi'er's lips.

As Qiao Xi'er chewed, her eyes suddenly lit up, a light even brighter than when she ate the puffball mushrooms and broom mushrooms at noon, as if the whole world had been illuminated.

"It's so delicious, little sister Lian'er. Where did you get this? And what is it?"

"It's something from the mountains. It's very fragrant when it's pressed. I went up the mountain to find some today."

Anyway, it's been deep-fried so badly that it's unrecognizable, so Song Lian'er isn't worried about her family recognizing her.

Qiao Xi'er saw the oil in the pot, then glanced at the oil jar and was shocked to see so much oil gone. She stammered, "Sister Lian'er, how could you put in so much oil? We don't even have enough oil at home. Didn't you see Grandma's face at noon? She thought we put in too much oil. This family is struggling so much, how can you be so willful?"

As she spoke, she was about to cry. She thought about how she embroidered handkerchiefs and made shoes, earning only three hundred coins a month, enough to buy ten catties of oil. With a family of more than ten mouths to feed, it wouldn't last long at all.

Qiao Xi'er covered her mouth, trying to hold back her tears.

"The Song family lives a good life and may be more generous in their daily lives, but the Qiao family is different. They are already doing their best to have enough to eat."

"Look how much oil and salt we have left at home. I can't finish my chores in time, and we haven't been able to hunt anything in the mountains. Everyone's very anxious. Oh, you—"

Qiao Xier turned her back as she spoke.

Song Lian'er had mixed feelings. She placed her hand on Qiao Xi'er's shoulder and looked at her intently.