Chapter 50 Lychee Chicken Soup.

Children's Day falls on a Saturday, and Gu Qingqiu thought that many parents would bring their children out to play and eat on that day.

According to her observation, the meat dishes at her restaurant are quite popular with children, and many customers bring their children along. For example, the little boy who loved freshly squeezed orange juice was a frequent visitor when the restaurant first opened.

Last night, after settling Zhou Jie's wages and waiting for her to leave, Gu Qingqiu went upstairs to take a shower and returned to her room. She was thinking that on Children's Day, she could cook more meat dishes that children like to eat, and also join in the festive atmosphere at the shop.

After waking up in the morning, she first called Mr. Chen to order twenty chickens, planning to make chicken soup today.

After breakfast, Gu Qingqiu carried a shopping cart in each hand and went to the market, too lazy to even open an umbrella.

Anyway, she had already done her skincare and applied sunscreen after washing up in the morning, and it was still early, so she wasn't afraid of the sun before nine o'clock.

When they arrived at the market, Gu Qingqiu realized that the restaurant hadn't served fish dishes in a long time, so she went over to the fish stall first.

When I got to the fish stall, I saw various kinds of fish swimming in large, square, deep plates, with tubes hanging down into the water and pumping oxygen into them.

After glancing at them all and waiting for the previous customer to finish buying and leave, Gu Qingqiu asked, "Boss, how much are these yellow croakers?"

The shopkeeper recognized this shopkeeper and said happily, "It's twelve and a half yuan a pound. The yellow croakers are plump and fresh today. If you buy a lot, I'll charge you twelve yuan a pound."

"Okay, thank you, boss."

Gu Qingqiu pointed to the fish she wanted across the water, and the owner took a basket and scooped it out.

She selected twenty-two fish, each weighing between one and a half and two pounds.

The shop owner's eyes were practically slits from smiling. After weighing the fish and quoting the price, he asked with a smile, "Young Master Gu, how should we prepare this fish?"

After Gu Qingqiu scanned the code to pay, she said, "I'm going to use these fish to make sweet and sour yellow croaker. I won't gut them. Could you remove the innards for me?"

The fish stall owner nodded and replied, "Okay, that's easy."

"Do you need help with the trailer?" the boss asked, remembering something.

Gu Qingqiu shook her head: "No need, I'll film it myself when we get back."

"Okay."

The owner first killed all twenty-two yellow croakers, then bent down and took out a pair of chopsticks from where he kept his things under the stall, and rinsed them with clean water.

With his left hand, he scooped a yellow croaker from the fish basket and placed it on the cutting board. With his right hand, he held a chopstick and poked it straight into the fish's mouth. After feeling the familiar sensation, he kept turning the chopstick to stir the inside of the fish. When he felt it was about right, he forcefully pulled the chopstick out.

A large clump of red internal organs was still attached to the chopsticks, which the owner simply tossed into the nearby trash can.

The cleaned fish are placed in another fish basket, and the owner skillfully repeats the same set of actions, processing one fish after another.

Gu Qingqiu stood in front of the fish stall watching the owner prepare the fish, marveling at the variety of methods available for preparing fish.

Yesterday, while watching a video online about how to make sweet and sour fish, the blogger used a different method to remove the fish's internal organs without opening the belly. Now it seems that the fishmonger's method is more convenient and faster.

During this time, when customers came to buy fish, the owner would stop to serve them and sell them fish. After seeing the customers off, he would continue to process the fish that Gu Qingqiu had bought.

"Alright, all done." The fishmonger said, putting the last fish into the fish basket after cleaning it.

He glanced at the two shopping carts Gu Qingqiu was carrying. "I see you just entered the market and haven't bought anything yet. These twenty-two fish weigh a lot and will take up most of the space. How about this, you can leave these fish here with me, and when you're done buying other things, just let me know and I'll take them over for you."

The fish stall owner remembered that Ms. Gu had mentioned her restaurant was located on Suli Street, which was quite close. He naturally wanted to cultivate a good relationship with such a big customer, but he also noticed that with so many yellow croakers today, it would be difficult for Ms. Gu to carry them all home.

Gu Qingqiu was delighted to hear this: "Boss, it would be great if you could help deliver it. Wouldn't that interfere with your business?"

"It's nothing, just a quick trip. I'll ask Old Wu next door to watch this stall for a bit later," the fish stall owner waved his hand dismissively.

"Okay, thank you, boss."

Gu Qingqiu pulled her shopping cart to the next stall, as the seafood stall here was also one she often bought from.

The shop owner greeted her with a smile: "The shrimp, clams, and scallops are all quite fresh and large today. Just tell me what you'd like to buy."

Gu Qingqiu smiled and agreed. This batch of seafood was indeed very fresh, and it contained less black mist than the ones she had bought before.

She thought for a moment and said, "Boss, please get me twenty pounds of shrimp, and pick the fresh ones."

"Don't worry, I guarantee I'll pick out the freshest and biggest shrimp for you. They'll still be jumping around when you take them home," the owner said with a smile. He picked up a fishing net and scooped shrimp from the large basins of water in front of his stall, roughly picking through them and throwing the bad ones back into the basins.

The shrimp were placed in small, perforated plastic baskets. Twenty pounds were packed into three baskets. The owner picked them up and shook them in a basin of water to remove any water that had gotten into the shrimp while they were being caught, so as not to weigh them out later.

Once the shrimp stopped dripping water from being shaken so much, the owner started weighing them.

Gu Qingqiu stood in front of the stall, looking around, and seemed fairly satisfied with everything the owner had done.

The shopkeeper looked at the weight on the scale and asked, "Miss, is 21 jin (1.5 kg) okay? If you don't want it, I'll take less."

Gu Qingqiu nodded: "Let's leave it at that."

"Okay." The shopkeeper quickly tore off thick black plastic bags and packed the shrimp into four bags, handing them to Gu Qingqiu while announcing the price.

Gu Qingqiu put four bags of shrimp into the shopping cart, paid for them, and then went to buy other ingredients.

Passing by the vegetable stall run by the old lady I often buy from, she bought twenty round-headed cabbages, divided them into four bags, and hung them on both sides of the two cart handles to avoid taking up space inside the carts.

She then bought tomatoes, green peppers, dried chili peppers, small red chili peppers, scallions, ginger, and garlic, followed by some potatoes and rice cakes.

I originally went to the general store to buy some sugar and vinegar, but when I saw they were selling almonds and the quality seemed pretty good, I remembered a recipe I'd seen in a book and asked, "Boss, how much are these southern and northern almonds?"

The shop owner smiled and said, "We sell apricot kernels from both the north and south varieties together. Half a pound of each would cost 35.8 yuan for a pound. If you buy them separately, a pound of north apricot kernels would cost 40 yuan, and a pound of south apricot kernels would cost 48 yuan. We only sell peeled apricot kernels here, so the price is a bit higher, but the quality is exceptionally good."

Gu Qingqiu looked at the baskets of southern and northern apricots displayed, and they were indeed of good quality.

Southern apricots are large and plump, with white flesh after peeling, while northern apricots are small and flat, with milky white flesh after peeling.

She reached out and picked up a southern apricot, smelling its faint sweetness, while the northern apricot had a slightly bitter taste; both were very dry and refreshing.

Buying them together would be much cheaper, and since the apricot kernels from both the north and south would definitely be packaged separately, it wouldn't make much difference to her as if she bought them separately.

Gu Qingqiu said, "Boss, could you please mix and match ten portions of apricot kernels from both the north and south?"

The boss was pleased to hear this and smiled in agreement. He went to get a ladle and a bag to fill with the apricots from both the north and south, then weighed them. If there were too few, he would add some; if there were too many, he would scoop them out.

Gu Qingqiu noticed that she also sold osmanthus honey, so she bought a jar, which weighed about a pound.

After finishing her shopping and leaving the grocery store, she was still thinking about what kind of chicken soup she should make with the chicken she had ordered earlier, so she decided to take a stroll around the market.

At the far end of the market, near another exit, Gu Qingqiu happened to see a fruit stall open. Looking over, she was surprised to find that lychees were already being sold on the first day of June.

However, June is indeed the season for eating lychees, so it's not surprising that early-ripening ones are on the market ahead of schedule.

People passing by obviously noticed it, and many stopped to ask how much the lychees cost.

Seeing so many customers so soon after opening, the fruit stall owner smiled and quoted prices: "Black Leaf is 3.5 yuan per jin, Osmanthus is 6 yuan per jin, and Concubine Smile is 21 yuan per jin."

"Why is it so expensive? It's five yuan more expensive than last year!"

"That's right, boss, you can't raise the price just because you're the only one selling lychees!"

"We're all genuinely interested in buying, so please offer us a reasonable price!"

The fruit stall owner smiled helplessly: "It's not that I'm heartless. The prices I quoted were all honest ones. Lychees are just more expensive in the early morning market right now, so I'm just making a meager living. The price will only drop when most of the lychees are ripe in mid-to-late June and more people are selling them. There's nothing I can do about it."

"That makes some sense."

"Now that you mention it, the price is acceptable, considering it's an early morning market."

"Alright, give me a pound of Concubine's Smile liquor to try."

Gu Qingqiu listened and went to join the queue. She had just suddenly thought of making lychee chicken soup, and it would be a good time to eat fresh lychees while they were still in season.

Even though Fei Zi Xiao is quite expensive, many customers buy one or two pounds of Fei Zi Xiao to try, and quite a few people also buy Guiwei, Heiye and other varieties to try something new.

When it was Gu Qingqiu's turn, she said, "Boss, I want fifteen catties of Guiwei."

The Guiwei variety is very sweet with a strong fruity aroma, making it good for bringing out the sweetness of soups. It's considered one of the better soup varieties among the lychee varieties sold today. [Note]

The boss was pleased to hear this, agreed, and started bagging and weighing the lychees.

The customers queuing behind her didn't object to her buying so much; besides Fei Zi Xiao and some rare varieties, Gui Wei and Hei Ye were the most common.

After Gu Qingqiu scanned the code to pay, she reluctantly put the two bags of lychees into the shopping cart, leaving the two lighter bags hanging on the cart handle.

Having bought everything she needed, Gu Qingqiu walked straight back. When she reached the fish stall, there were no customers at the moment, so she greeted, "Boss, I can go back now that I've finished shopping."

The fish stall owner stood up and readily agreed, "Okay, we'll be going now."

He pulled a wheeled cart commonly used by deliverymen from the pile of things behind him: "Unload some of your stuff here, so it won't fall off on the way."

"Okay, thank you, boss." Gu Qingqiu replied. After the boss put the processed bags of yellow croaker on the cart, she also put the shrimp and lychees hanging on her own cart over there.

She led the way, with the fish stall owner beside her, escorting them all the way to the entrance of the restaurant on Suli Street.

The fish stall owner even kindly helped carry the ingredients to the kitchen and put them away: "Okay, I'll head back now."

"Okay, thank you, boss." Gu Qingqiu said with a smile, saw the fish stall owner to the restaurant entrance and watched him walk away before returning to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients.

She first divided the various ingredients in half, putting those that should be put in the freezer for later use in the evening, and then started processing the yellow croaker in the kitchen.

Gu Qingqiu first took out a large basin, put in enough scallions, ginger and garlic, and then added water to soak them. Then she picked up a cleaver and started to make cuts on the fish on the cutting board.

One characteristic of sweet and sour yellow croaker is that the fish is served with its head raised and tail curled up. She holds the fish body with her left hand and takes a knife with her right hand, starting from below the fish head, first making a vertical cut into the skin and flesh and then making a diagonal, deep cut, so that the fish meat is sliced ​​open but still connected to the fish body.

After evenly slicing one side of the fish, flip the fish over and then make vertical cuts into the skin and flesh, followed by diagonal cuts to a deeper depth.

Gu Qingqiu kept repeating the process of slicing the fish, trying to make each fish look beautiful. She quickly finished processing the yellow croaker needed for the morning session and put them in a plate of water with scallions and ginger to soak.

She had just put down the cleaver and washed her hands when she heard a knock on the wooden door outside, someone calling out that chicken was being delivered. She quickly went out of the kitchen and through the dining area to open the door.

"Hello, here are the twenty chickens you ordered," said the young man delivering the chickens.

Gu Qingqiu nodded her thanks, first carrying the five bags of chicken into the kitchen, then coming out to scan the code and pay with him.

After the young man left, she checked the time and it was exactly 9:30, which was quite punctual.

Gu Qingqiu simply wrote today's menu on the wall first, and then went to the kitchen to get busy.

Children's Day is a sacred day for children. Although they feel that every day is a good day, this day is the best. They can beg their parents to buy them the toys they want most, have the opportunity to ask for a specific gift, or go to an amusement park or zoo, and eat things that they are not allowed to eat at other times.

If Children's Day falls on a school day, that would be wonderful, as I get a half-day off. If it falls on a weekend, although I don't get a day off, my parents are free to take me out to play.

Last night, Zhu Shuangyi asked Lele how she wanted to spend Children's Day, and the child replied without hesitation, "Mom, let's go eat at Gu's Private Kitchen."

The whole family loves Gu's Private Kitchen, and they go there to eat whenever they have free time.

Every time I went there, it was like opening a blind box; I almost never encountered a dish I didn't like. Every dish was visually appealing and incredibly tempting. I'd go in on an empty stomach and leave with a full belly.

Lele even named Gu's Private Kitchen his favorite restaurant, surpassing his previous favorites like McDonald's, KFC, and pizza shops.

Of course, this child would also pester others to order takeout, such as hamburgers, cola, and pizza.

Zhu Shuangyi had originally planned to go to Gu's Private Kitchen this weekend to satisfy her cravings. Lately, she found the takeout food near her company increasingly unpalatable, and even the food she made at home was barely edible. She felt she needed to treat herself to something better.

After hearing her son's answer, she smiled and asked, "Is it that simple? Gu's Private Kitchen is something our whole family wants to eat. It's not a Children's Day gift for you. Think about what else you want to eat or play."

Lele's face lit up with a bright smile: "Really? Mom, I think you look especially beautiful today, really!"

"Haha, you think you'll be beautiful if I grant your wish?" Zhu Shuangyi was amused by him.

Lele nodded solemnly: "You're pretty normally, but you're prettiest when you asked me what else you wanted to eat or play."

Zhu Shuangyi shook her head with amusement: "Alright, alright, you learned that mouth of yours from your dad."

Lele puffed out his little chest: "Of course." He thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to the aquarium. Xu Minghao went last week and kept saying in class that it's really beautiful there, with lots of sea creatures."

Zhu Shuangyi nodded and said, "Okay, so should we visit the aquarium in the morning and then go to Gu's Private Kitchen for dinner this weekend, or should we go to the aquarium in the afternoon after dinner?"

Her son is in fourth grade, and she often lets him make decisions about small things, allowing him to try making his own choices. Besides, Children's Day is his holiday, so let him decide.

"Let's have lunch at Gu's Private Kitchen and then go to the aquarium," Lele said, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "That way, after we're at the aquarium, we can go to the nearby McDonald's for hamburgers."

"Xu Minghao ate at McDonald's across from the aquarium that day!"

After he finished speaking, he nodded repeatedly to increase the credibility of his words.

It was Children's Day after all, so Zhu Shuangyi smiled and nodded in agreement: "Okay, I'll grant your wish."

"Yay!" Lele clapped his hands with joy. He has always been a child who knows how to express love, and he immediately rushed over to hug his mother to express his gratitude.

The mother and son decided on their itinerary for Children's Day, Sunday, without even asking Zhang Hua's opinion; he would just come along anyway.

That morning, the family left home around 10:20 a.m., took the elevator down to the parking lot to get their car, and drove towards Surrey Street.

Actually, Surrey Street is quite close to home, but no one wants to walk or bike there on such a hot day. Driving is a bit more troublesome, but it's more comfortable.

On the way, Zhang Hua gripped the steering wheel, keeping an eye on the road ahead, and complained, "You two are rushing me like crazy, it's more terrifying than Tang Sanzang chanting the Tightening-Headband Mantra."

Zhu Shuangyi silently rolled her eyes: "Who told you to dawdle like that?"

Lele nodded in agreement: "Exactly! If we go late, we'll have to wait in line at the door, which is so uncomfortable in this heat. It's better to go to the restaurant, enjoy the air conditioning, and eat delicious meat and vegetables than to dawdle at home. Dad, you can't even do this simple math!"

Zhang Hua is a good-natured person who usually speaks his mind at home. He smiled and nodded in acknowledgment: "Okay, okay, it's my fault for being slow. Today is your holiday, so you're the most important person. I can't delay your meal."

"Hehe, it's good that you understand, Dad," Lele said, seizing the opportunity.

The family chatted leisurely on the way and soon arrived near Suli Street. After parking the car, they walked to Gu's Private Kitchen.

Zhang Hua looked at the two tables of customers sitting in the store and smiled, "It wasn't for nothing that you urged us, thankfully we don't have to queue."

If he arrives late and has to wait in line, he'll probably be nagged by the mother and son all day.

Zhu Shuangyi walked straight in, found a small table and sat down, followed closely by Zhang Hua and Lele. The family looked at the menu on the wall and discussed what to eat.

Lele was immediately drawn to the desserts: "I'll go first, I want mochi pudding!"

Zhu Shuangyi nodded: "Sure, is there anything else you'd like to eat? I think sweet and sour yellow croaker and dry pot shrimp are pretty good."

Zhang Hua suggested, "We must order the lychee chicken soup! We haven't had any lychees this year, and I didn't expect that Gu's Private Kitchen already has lychee-related dishes."

"You've caught the lychee market early, haven't you?" Zhu Shuangyi said.

After thinking it over and over, Lele asked hesitantly, "Can't we choose both sweet and sour yellow croaker and dry pot shrimp?"

Zhu Shuangyi and Zhang Hua exchanged a smile and nodded: "Of course."

Zhu Shuangyi: "Let's just order everything. We should have some festive spirit for the holiday. We were going to order the green peppers, cabbage, and tomatoes anyway. The almond tofu looks pretty good, we can try it."

Lele struck a pose as if raising her hand in class: "Agreed!"

Zhang Hua followed suit: "I agree too!"

So they waved to the waiter to order food and also asked for a pot of barley tea.

Zhang Hua and Lele poured a pot of hot tea into the bowls and chopsticks to rinse them, while Zhu Shuangyi poured barley tea into their rinsed cups.

She picked up her glass and took a sip. The barley tea smelled quite nice. The tea brewed by Gu's Private Kitchen wasn't too strong, maintaining a refreshing and moderate level with a hint of sweetness, which she quite liked. She would order this tea every time she came, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

After washing the dishes, Zhang Hua and Lele leisurely drank barley tea. After finishing, they each swayed their heads and sighed in enjoyment.

Lele looked around and whispered, "There are so many kids in the store today."

Zhu Shuangyi also noticed that almost every table had children. One large table looked like a family gathering, with several adults and five children chattering away. The restaurant was noisier than usual today.

She said, "Maybe everyone is out celebrating Children's Day today. Just like you chose to come to Gu's Private Kitchen, other children also think that the meat dishes at this restaurant taste especially delicious and really want to come and eat here."

Lele nodded: "Oh, that's true. If I could only choose one, I would definitely give up McDonald's and choose Gu's Private Kitchen."

As he spoke, a look of reluctance and heartache appeared on his face at the right moment. "Hehe, but Mom, if you're willing to grant me three wishes at the same time, I'll be the happiest child in the world."

Zhang Hua listened from the side, amused, and shook his head. His wife insisted that their son inherited his sharp tongue, but she herself wasn't this eloquent when she was in elementary school. His mother-in-law, however, often said that Shuangyi was known throughout the neighborhood for her sweet talk when she was little.

Zhu Shuangyi smiled happily after hearing her son's words, even though she knew he was flattering her: "It's good that you know you're happy. When you write about 'my mother' in your Chinese composition again, you have to praise her well."

Lele saluted: "Yes, sir!"

Amidst the laughter and conversation, the staff brought out a pot of lychee chicken soup. The steaming aroma carried the sweet scent of lychee, instantly transporting everyone to the lychee season.

"Come on, let's have some soup first. It smells so sweet and delicious," Zhang Hua said, picking up a ladle to serve soup to the mother and son, and then serving himself a bowl as well.

They've eaten at Gu's Private Kitchen so many times, and the soup is always exceptionally delicious, with fresh and abundant ingredients and a rich, mellow broth. They've never been disappointed with the taste.

Zhu Shuangyi smelled the lychee chicken soup in the bowl. Two translucent white lychee pieces and a red date floated in the pale yellow soup, while two pieces of chicken, one large and one small, sank to the bottom of the bowl.

She didn't even have the patience to scoop the water slowly with a spoon; she just picked up the bowl and drank it in big gulps.

The soup has a sweeter lychee aroma than it smelled at first, along with the savory chicken and the sweetness of red dates. As always, it is rich and flavorful with a complex and layered taste.

She took several sips in a row, feeling that her mouth was filled with the sweet taste of lychee and the savory aroma of chicken.

Lele, like a water dispenser, gulped down the whole bowl of soup, exclaiming, "Ah! This soup is so sweet! I think drinking this soup is even better than eating lychees directly, and you don't even have to peel them!"

After saying that, he picked up a lychee from the bowl with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth to bite.

The lychee flesh is tender and still sweet, while also absorbing the broth and even having a hint of chicken flavor, making it taste different from the lychees peeled in the live broadcast.

Lele still remembers that when he used to eat lychees in the summer, he liked to take the frozen lychees out of the freezer. After peeling them, they were so cool and refreshing, like eating ice cream, which was great!

The lychees soaked in the soup are warm, and the sweetness tastes different, like drinking brown sugar water made with hot water, which is refreshing and sweet.

Zhang Hua silently sipped his soup, smacking his lips in satisfaction. Indeed, coming to Gu's Private Kitchen was a true pleasure.

Zhu Shuangyi was a little surprised after tasting the lychees in the soup. She hadn't expected that the lychees would retain their sweetness after being cooked in the soup, and it wasn't as bland as she had imagined. The flesh was tender and juicy, and it even released some soup juice. It had a unique flavor when eaten warm.

After eating two lychees, eat a red date. The red date is also soaked in the broth and has a smooth and sweet taste.

She picked up another piece of chicken to eat. The chicken was tender and juicy, and you could tear off the meat along the grain when you bit into it. It was very flavorful and had a sweet broth.

This chicken has an authentic, original flavor, infused with the sweetness of lychee. It's juicy and meaty, just as good as those slightly more heavily seasoned salt-baked or savory chickens.

The family of three happily drank the lychee chicken soup, savoring the tender lychee and chicken meat, finding the soup exceptionally delicious.