Chapter 39 039 Crispy Pork with Golden Sand, Sweet and Sour Fish with Pine Nuts, Spicy Stir-fried Fatty Pork...

The dishes that Wen's mother brought out were large enough; the pure white plates contained a generous amount of food.

The angler sniffed and said decisively, "It's fried with salted egg yolks."

This dish is not commonly seen.

Fishing buddy two picked up his chopsticks early and rolled his eyes: "You still have the mind to study?"

This golden plate looks so appetizing, it makes his mouth water just looking at it.

Mr. Qu couldn't wait any longer and was the first to reach out with his chopsticks to pick up a piece. The dish was still piping hot from the pot, so he could only eat it in small bites.

"Wow... how did you fry this? It's so crispy!"

I've had crispy pork before, but this one was exceptionally good. Taking a bite of the crispy shell, I could almost hear the resonant crunch in my head. It wasn't the kind of crispy that crumbles, but a gentle, soft crackling sound. The dry, sandy texture of the salted duck egg coated the entire piece, seemingly muffled by the creamy, sandy yolk. Only after biting through the crispy shell did the rich, meaty aroma burst forth in a powerful surge…

The most amazing thing is that no matter how crispy the outer layer is, the meat strips inside still retain their own juices, making them crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, which is actually the most fitting description.

The angler exclaimed as he ate, "This tastes amazing! Old Qu, you really know how to find good food!"

Who would have thought that this tiny street-side shop would be hiding such a hidden gem?

This dish of crispy fried pork with golden sand was so delicious that the three grown men were completely captivated by it.

"Hey, are you just eating this on its own? Want some wine?"

Although this dish is made with salted duck eggs, it is not excessively salty at all.

The angler, engrossed in his second bite, looked down on his friend's taste upon hearing this: "You're drinking alcohol? You're ruining this dish by drinking alcohol."

People of this age often have dulled tongues, and it's rare to find food that suits their taste. If they drink alcohol, wouldn't that just mask the flavor of the food?

"Then tell me, what should this dish go with?"

"Would you like some drinks?"

"Then give me three bottles of iced cola."

"OK!"

Surprisingly, the chilled cola from the refrigerator paired quite well with the crispy pork. A bite of crispy pork, followed by a sip of cola—the three grown men ignored the surprised looks from the young people beside them, their faces filled with bliss.

While they were eating, Mr. Qu suddenly remembered something and hurriedly looked for his phone.

"I told you to stop bothering me, but I had completely forgotten about this."

At the very top of his family's food chain, his classmate Qu Qingqing had reminded him before he learned about the gathering.

"Dad, remember to take a picture of me when you go out for dinner tonight."

Mr. Qu was puzzled: "Why are you taking pictures of me?"

Qu Qingqing said with a look of disgust, "I want to eat there too. Show me the menu so I can plan my order in a few days. Um, my college roommates are coming to visit in a few days, and I'd like to invite them to eat there."

Mr. Qu: "Why bother? I'll pack some up for you to try..."

Qu Qingqing: "No way, I won't eat your leftovers."

Qu Qingqing harbored a deep prejudice against her father's circle of friends. Her father had explained himself many times, but his daughter still brought up his old almanac from years ago.

While taking photos, Mr. Qu complained about his daughter: "I used to play cards and drink a lot in my younger years, but I stopped a long time ago. This girl only called me once in high school, and that's it, she's been nagging about it ever since."

Mr. Qu still regrets it to this day. In those years, his house was demolished and his clinic made money. When people suddenly become rich, they like to show off. Over time, he became close to a few card-playing friends and liked to drink and chat together whenever they had nothing to do.

Who knew that Qu Qingqing would be furious when she saw this, insisting that he was gambling. She even stopped going to school, saying she would stay home to watch over him.

Mr. Qu stopped going after that. Now his biggest hobby is fishing, and he doesn't dare turn off his phone while fishing, for fear that his daughter will check up on him.

The second angler, holding his chopsticks and waiting for Mr. Qu to finish taking pictures so he could continue eating, spoke up in a fair way: "Your daughter is right, playing cards is not a good thing."

The angler echoed, "At our age, which gambler around us didn't gamble from childhood to adulthood?"

When people reach middle age, the elderly have retired, the children have graduated, and the wives can still dance in the square. What this group of old men fears most is running into friends who indulge in drinking, gambling, and prostitution.

Some say gambling is harmless fun, others say singing is a pastime, but some still end up losing their entire fortunes.

"Old Qu, you'd better watch out."

Mr. Qu: "...Fine, I have nothing to say to you two."

These two, besides fishing, are both obsessed with health and wellness. They either raise turtles or grow orchids, and all they do is eat.

There wasn't a single restaurant in the entire city they hadn't eaten at.

The three of us almost finished the plate of crispy fried pork with golden sand before the second dish arrived.

Mother Wen put down the plate, still somewhat surprised. She thought to herself, "The crispy pork was freshly fried, and the egg yolk was freshly coated. Once coated with egg yolk, the heat from the meat can't escape. It must be so hot to eat!"

How come these three people ate it all?

"...Sweet and sour pine nut fish".

Once the fish was served, the three of them didn't use their chopsticks as frequently.

After all, he's a seasoned angler. Even if he doesn't catch anything, he'll occasionally have a big catch. Over the years, his family has gone from eating the fish to throwing them away. Now, they only have one rule: you're not allowed to bring any fish home after you catch them.

So the three of them got into the habit of throwing half of the small fish they caught back into the river, feeding the other half to the stray cats on the riverbank, and keeping the biggest fish. They would then gather their numbers and go to a restaurant to have it prepared and cooked.

They all knew exactly which restaurants served the best fish.

"The fish wasn't very big."

"It's not big, not even as big as the one Old Qu caught a while ago."

Mr. Qu said smugly, "How can that compare? My fish was a ten-pound silver carp!"

His best fishing trip to date resulted in him hanging the fish on his car for three hours before finally getting home. He took hundreds of photos from different angles, and his WeChat Moments were flooded with pictures of it that day.

The three people were talking about fish while eating it.

"This fish..."

The three of them swallowed it, each with a strange look on their face.

"No, isn't this a grass carp?"

"It doesn't smell earthy at all, how did you make it?"

Although everyone admitted that the fish looked good, they had eaten sweet and sour fish many times before.

Isn't it just grass carp with diagonal cuts, fried until golden brown and fluffy, and then drizzled with sweet and sour sauce?

But this fish is exceptional in terms of taste.

The fish was fried to perfection; the flesh inside wasn't fishy at all, and the outer coating of batter, after frying, formed a firm and crispy crust. The crust wasn't thick, but it held the fish in place. A perfectly thick sweet and sour sauce was poured over it, and most of the sauce was held in place by the crisp crust.

Sweet and sour, rich and flavorful, fresh, fragrant and crispy.

The three of them ate most of the strip without realizing it.

"The chef at this restaurant is really good."

"The heat control when frying things is excellent."

Whether it's fried pork or fried fish, it's fried to perfection.

"I just don't know how the stir-fries will be."

Soon, the three of them no longer needed to guess.

Wen's mother brought out the third dish.

"Spicy stir-fried pork intestines... Would you like rice?"

Wen's mother hesitated and asked, "Pork intestines go perfectly with rice, but looking at the fish that's only half left, I'm afraid these people won't be able to finish it."

You should know that Wen Fan gives quite a lot of portions for each dish, and the plates are heavy. The first two dishes are fried, which are very filling.

But when Wen's mother asked, the three of them answered in unison.

"Give me three bowls of rice."

Spicy stir-fried pork intestines smell amazing! The aroma is different from the previous two dishes; the aroma itself has a unique flavor, either salty or sweet and sour.

But the aroma of fatty intestines... is just so overwhelming.

While people could only secretly observe the first two dishes prepared by Wen's mother, this one drew crowds of people on the street who immediately asked if there were any left.

Mr. Qu's nose twitched slightly: "...I remember you two had a bit of high blood pressure?"

"Your blood pressure isn't high. If your blood pressure isn't high, why were you taking blood pressure medication a few days ago?!"

"Let's not talk about who's right or wrong, okay?"

Mr. Qu swallowed hard: "So, are we still going to eat or not?"

Just kidding, there's no need to even consider this question.

When the rice was served, the three of them each took a couple of bites from their own bowls.

The bell peppers are simply chopped into pieces, and the large intestines are cleaned thoroughly without any odor. You can tell that the large intestines were first braised. After stir-frying, some of the fat from the large intestines is rendered out. The fat rendered out under high temperature then sears the outer skin of the large intestines, giving the outer skin a slightly chewy texture. The soft and glutinous fat inside is then neutralized by the spiciness of the bell peppers.

Salty, spicy, and savory, it makes rice especially delicious.

None of the three expected that they could finish a bowl of rice after eating two plates of fried food.

After finishing the rice, the three of them looked at each other, all feeling a little regretful.

"My wife went back to her parents' house today, and I had instant noodles for lunch."

He's crazy! Why is he eating instant noodles? If he had known he had a dinner party tonight, he should have just starved!

"My mother-in-law cooks at home. She made braised noodles for lunch today."

Waaah, my mother-in-law put so much oil in her braised noodles, he shouldn't have ordered another bowl!

Only Mr. Qu knew the Wen family's cooking style and ate only one bowl at noon.

but--

"I really regret it!"

Those two could say they didn't know, but he clearly knew and still underestimated his opponent.

Skipping a meal is perfectly fine!

He should have waited for this meal on an empty stomach!

Now my stomach is about to burst, but there's still one more dish to go!

Wen's mother appeared carrying a large bowl, and the three people had mixed feelings.

I both look forward to the final dish being amazing and fear that it might be another nasty surprise.

Wen's mother was also a little puzzled. Why wasn't she eating well?

They were cheering and jumping for joy just a moment ago, but now that this is the last dish, they're all so listless!

"...Salted meat dumplings".

All three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Mother Wen was even more confused and asked cautiously, "Should I divide it among the three of you?"

Wen Fan also counted the number of people for this last dish: she only made six glutinous rice balls the size of a child's fist.

Two for each person, divided into small bowls, no more and no less.

Mr. Qu, supporting his belly, said, "No need...we can do it ourselves."

Two pieces each were too much for one person, so we each took one to try, and packed the rest to take home.

After eating, the three of them forced themselves to squint their eyes despite feeling like they were about to vomit.

The outer skin of the glutinous rice balls is soft and chewy, while the salted meat inside is delicate and tender. Locals rarely get to taste this flavor.

"Hey, this soup is pretty good too."

I don't know if it was the chef's clever idea, but the soup tasted incredibly delicious. Especially after the glutinous rice balls were cooked, the glutinous rice flour on the outer skin melted into the soup, making the originally clear soup thicker and richer, but it did not detract from the soup's deliciousness at all. Instead, it added another layer of flavor.

"I want to pack this soup to take home."

"Of course, I want one too."

"This soup tastes even better when it's heated up."

"Old Qu, what are you doing!"

Qu's father boldly asked Wen's mother for four lunchboxes, even scraping the soup left over from the previous dishes into them.

Angler One and Angler Two exchanged a glance and immediately began their battle.

"Hey, hey, hey, give me the base of this spicy stir-fried pork intestines!"

"Old Qu, that's not fair! How could you take all the glutinous rice balls by yourself?"

"There's still half a sweet and sour pine nut fish left, why do you want it all by yourself?"

After finishing cooking, Wen Fan leaned against the door, munching on a yellow peach.

"See, Mom? I told you I could do it."

Mother Wen:......

What else can I say?

She watched Wen Fan prepare these four dishes, and it took her less than two hours from start to finish. She was quite good at directing people, making full use of her father's excellent knife skills.

The filling for the glutinous rice balls was chopped by Wen's father, and the crispy pork was cut and marinated by Wen's father as well.

Wen Fan would do her homework at home until around 5 PM, then easily prepare several dishes at the restaurant. As soon as customers arrived, she would fry what needed to be fried and put what needed to be put into the pot. Wen Fan even made sure to serve the dishes at the exact time to ensure proper time management.

"Mom, even if we have two more tables, it'll still be pretty much the same process."

She didn't specifically change the dishes for each table; there were four to six dishes per table. Wen Fan thought to herself, she still had sauces and fruit wine to bring out. If she included those, it wouldn't take much effort each night.

"Alright, it's a deal. From now on, we'll only have a maximum of three tables on weekend nights."