Bai Lu glanced around casually, then her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Stir-fried snails! St ...!"
Delicious food deserves to be said three times!
"Stir-fried snails?" Xiao Wei frowned, puzzled by the name of the little creature; it didn't sound very appealing.
"It's called a field snail, or a snail. The kind with pointed tails that you find in rivers can also be called a stone snail depending on the region. Stir-fried snails is a particularly delicious way to cook them."
Bai Lu stared intently at the little creatures in the river with bright eyes. She didn't even bother washing the remaining garlic sprouts, afraid that splashing the water would create too many ripples and muddy the riverbed, hiding the little creatures and making them harder to pick up.
However, you can also use touch.
The water in the stream flows down from the mountain; it's very clear, clean, and transparent, with very little mud.
The riverbed is mostly covered with small pebbles, and snails crawl along the crevices of the pebbles or on the muddy banks of the river.
The water isn't very deep; you can reach in and touch it, but you have to roll up your sleeves, otherwise your clothes will get wet.
"What are you going to do?" Xiao Wei frowned as he watched Bai Lu roll up the thick sleeves of her cotton-padded coat.
"Gathering snails!"
Bai Lu, while rolling up her sleeves and drooling... oops! She then proceeded to explain, "Xiao Wei, let me tell you, these snails are incredibly delicious, absolutely delicious, unbelievably delicious!"
"How delicious can it be?" Xiao Wei asked casually, without even a question.
He had never seen or eaten snails in the town before, so he had no taste experience with them.
Just by looking at the shell, you can tell it's very hard; if you bite into it, your teeth will crack loudly.
It definitely won't taste good.
"It's so delicious you can't even imagine!"
Bai Lu reached out to the riverbank, picked up a handful of snails, and explained with a smile, "Snails are eaten for their meat, not their shells. Before frying, cut off the snail's tail, and when you eat them, just suck out the snail meat."
"So many snails! How come I didn't notice them earlier..." Bai Lu exclaimed as she touched them, her eyes fixed on the riverbed in front of her: "Oh~ there were big rocks blocking the way, and these delicious little things almost got away."
"Xiaowei, let me tell you, stir-fried snails are absolutely delicious! When you're stir-frying them, add some chili peppers, garlic, ginger... and before they're done, add some mint and a splash of soy sauce to enhance the flavor. The fragrant, spicy, and juicy stir-fried snails are simply the most delicious thing in the world!"
Upon hearing the word "chili," Xiao Wei's lips twitched involuntarily, and he couldn't hear anything else he said afterward.
All I could hear in my head was a sizzling, burning sound.
Remembering the task his older brother had assigned him, he decisively rolled up his sleeves and took over Bailu's snail-collecting work.
My older brother likes stir-fried chili peppers with the White Dew solar term, so maybe he'll like these snails too.
"I'll pick it up."
Bai Lu made way for her while continuing to touch the other side: "Your hands can't reach the bottom of the river, so touch the sides. There are lots of snails crawling on the sides too. I'll touch the bottom of the river."
Two figures, one tall and one short, squatted by the river, reaching their hands down, each time pulling up several small creatures.
A figure approached stealthily.
A blurry black shadow was reflected on the river surface.
Bai Lu narrowed her eyes, waited for the right moment, and quickly dodged to the side.
"Thump!"
Huge splashes of water rose from the river surface.
Xiao Wei subconsciously looked to the side and saw that Bai Lu was still safe and sound before slowly looking at the river.
After the water splashed, the fat figure thrashed around in the water a few times, then raised two chubby hands and slapped the surface of the water haphazardly. A big, wet black head popped out, and the floral overcoat under the big black head was soaked with water, swelling up like a round balloon. Two fierce eyes, after being shocked, stared straight at Bailu through the gaps in the messy wet hair.
"White Dew!"
The obese figure trembled uncontrollably, his whole body shaking, his lips turning purple from the cold.
Bai Lu's lips curled slightly: "If you can't buy chestnuts, you resort to underhanded tricks. You'd better stay put."
After saying that, he beckoned Xiao Wei to go upstream.
"The water here has been polluted, and the snails probably couldn't stand it and committed suicide."
"Let's go ahead and feel around."
Xiao Wei carried a small basket of snails toward Bailu. As he passed a pile of garlic sprout roots, he accidentally kicked it, and an even sharper curse rang out from the river.
"Are you blind?! Didn't you see someone in the river?!"
"Oh my god! Who fell into the river?"
Li Shuixian's voice was drowned out by the shocked exclamations of the aunties who returned carrying bok choy, and then doubts arose again.
"Li Shuixian? What are you doing here? Didn't you go up the mountain to pay respects to your ancestors?"
"The river water is so cold, why did you go into the river?"
"Wasn't Bailu just washing garlic sprouts here? Why did she suddenly go upstairs? Xiao Wei went too, and they even rolled up their sleeves and started groping in the river, were they looking for snails?"
The auntie suddenly realized she had discovered the truth and turned to ask Li Shuixian in the river, "Are you also collecting snails?"
Li Shuixian was furious that her sneak attack had backfired, but she had to force a smile onto her stiff face.
To capitalize on this perfect excuse that fell from the sky: "Yes, I saw Bailu and Xiaowei picking snails, and it reminded me of the snails that Zhihai brought back from his ancestral worship trip to the countryside last Qingming Festival. They tasted really good when stir-fried. So I thought I'd pick some to take back this year too. But I squatted down too fast and got too close to the riverbank, and before I knew it, I had fallen into the river."
"Since I'm already in the water and my clothes are wet, I might as well collect some snails before getting ashore."
Looking at Li Shuixian's shivering body and her lips that were purple from the cold, the aunt nodded seriously.
"That's true. Our clothes are soaked anyway, so it'll be a waste if we don't pick up some snails. Do you want a small basket to put the snails in? I'll throw one down for you."
The aunt was so kind; as she spoke, she threw a vegetable basket down, which landed vertically in front of Li Shuixian.
A splash of water rose up, wetting her face.
Li Hongying, carrying a basket full of bok choy, exchanged glances with her aunts and sisters-in-law, silently suppressing their laughter.
They're not stupid. The river water is so cold; only a fool would jump into the river fully clothed to pick up snails.
Li Shuixian probably lost more than she gained by trying to steal a chicken.
If they hadn't returned early, they wouldn't have realized how much hostility Li Shuixian harbored towards Bailu.
Li Hongying was thankful that she hadn't cooperated with Li Shuixian yet; otherwise, if she had angered the other party, she wouldn't even know how she died.
“Since you’ve gone down into the river, you’ll definitely be able to collect a lot of snails, so we won’t help you. Bai Lu has twisted her ankle, and Xiao Wei is still too young to go down into the river, so they won’t be able to collect many snails. We’ll go over and help them collect some.”
The auntie said very politely, "We've already washed the vegetables, and everyone can carry them back. You don't need to help. Just pick up the snails and go back."
"Yes, yes! The river water is so cold, you should come up here as soon as you finish collecting the snails."
"Soaking in the water for too long can cause a cold, which is not a pleasant experience."
The aunts and sisters-in-law of the Xiao family looked at each other with concern and gave instructions.
Standing in the water, Li Shuixian tried hard to stop trembling and forced a smile as she replied, "It's okay, I'm healthy and won't catch a cold. I'll come ashore after I finish picking up the snails. If you want to help Bailu pick up snails, go ahead."
99mk.info99mk.info
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
