"Snap, snap..."
Lu Fangfang ate the remaining half of the small fish in one bite, but still felt unsatisfied. She picked up her chopsticks and immediately went back to get another one.
She didn't even care about craving Yang Yufeng next door, and started eating inside the house.
The small, miscellaneous fish she caught, I don't know what kind they were, tasted especially delicious when deep-fried, much better than the fish in the river back home.
Perhaps because of the water flowing down from the snow-capped mountains, even the fish in it tasted better.
After eating five or six small fish, Lu Fangfang forced herself to stop eating; good things shouldn't be eaten all at once.
She took a plate out of the cupboard and used chopsticks to pick up small fish from it.
She only stopped when she had picked up half of the food and filled the plate.
She placed the steamer on the stove and put the freshly kneaded cornbread on top.
While the steamed buns were being made, Lu Fangfang took a flashlight and some small fish and went to the house of Political Commissar Xiao in the back.
...
Xiao Aiguo's family was sitting together eating.
On the table were a bowl of pickled vegetables, a bowl of shredded potatoes, a basket of cornbread, and leftover beef bone soup from breakfast.
Seeing Lu Fangfang arrive, Wang Shufen quickly stood up. "Sister, what are you doing? Take it back quickly, my family doesn't like to eat fish."
"Shufen's house only serves small, ordinary dishes, nothing rare. It's just to let you taste my cooking."
Lu Fangfang took the plate and placed it directly on the dining table.
Daya and Tiedan's eyes lit up. They each picked up a chopstick, grabbed one, and put it in their mouths.
"It's delicious. My aunt's fish is also delicious, even more fragrant than beef."
Tie Dan couldn't say anything, he could only nod in agreement.
He finished his food in a few bites and was about to pick up another piece when Wang Shufen slapped his hand.
Wang Shufen was a little embarrassed. "You two little gluttons, put it down right now. You ate the beef from your aunt's house this morning, why are you still so greedy?"
"Sister Shufen, please let the child eat it."
Lu Fangfang smiled and pulled Wang Shufen over.
"Shufen, keep it. It's all from Comrade Fangfang."
Xiao Aiguo sat at the table and also spoke.
Not to mention Tie Dan and Daya, even he was drooling as he looked at the golden little fish on the plate; they smelled so delicious.
Unable to resist, Xiao Aiguo picked up his chopsticks and tasted one.
"Mmm, smells good, really smells good, Comrade Fangfang, your cooking is really good."
Xiao Aiguo gave a thumbs up and continued, "Are you getting used to living in the family compound? If anything happens, just tell Shufen. When Xiao Zhuang left, he asked Lao Gao and me to take extra care of you."
"Everything is fine, thank you for your concern, Political Commissar Xiao."
Wang Shufen held Lu Fangfang's hand and said reproachfully, "Why are you still calling me political commissar? From now on, just call me brother-in-law. Lao Xiao, you can call me Fangfang sister."
"Okay, from now on you'll call me 'little sister'."
Xiao Aiguo smiled and agreed.
Lu Fangfang is a bit shy, and always felt like she was trying to curry favor.
She quickly asked Sister Shufen to lead her to the inner room.
She's going to raise quails in the future, so she'll have to learn how to incubate the eggs herself. She has some free time tonight, so she can take a look at how Sister Shufen incubates the eggs.
"My husband and I just went to Zhao Guilan's house and exchanged some duck eggs and goose eggs. We've just started incubating them."
As Wang Shufen spoke, she lifted the quilt at the head of the kang (a heated brick bed), revealing neatly arranged hatching eggs underneath.
"So many!"
Lu Fangfang looked somewhat surprised.
Chicken eggs, duck eggs, and goose eggs—nearly thirty kinds of eggs were laid out on the kang (heated brick bed), which looked quite impressive.
"I'm just worried about bad eggs, so I hatch more. If I can't feed them all, I'll give them to the neighbors in the family compound."
Lu Fangfang nodded, that makes sense.
It takes about a month to incubate a single batch of eggs, so it's better to incubate more than one batch.
She reached out and tested the temperature of the mattress; it felt warm to the touch.
She touched the hatching egg again; it was warm.
"Incubating eggs is quite simple, it just takes time. If it's hot in the summer, you can put them in the chicken coop and they'll hatch on their own without having to do anything."
Wang Shufen squatted down and stuffed a handful of dry grass into the kang (heated brick bed) hole.
There were still sparks in the stove hole, and the dry grass caught fire in no time.
Lu Fangfang recalled news stories that frequently appeared in the summer of later years, where trucks carrying eggs hatched into chicks because of the hot weather.
She smiled and shook her head, then observed it more carefully.
Underneath the kang (heated brick bed) in Sister Shufen's house was a mattress, and then a layer of tattered cloth. She touched it and found it was slightly damp.
"It's too dry, so I sprinkled some water on it. It needs to be kept a bit damp for the next few days."
Lu Fangfang silently kept it in mind.
She understood that as long as the temperature and humidity were kept in place, there wouldn't be any major problems.
After watching for a while, she prepared to go back.
There was a steamer still on the stove at home; she couldn't let it linger any longer.
"Hey girl, here's your plate."
Wang Shufen poured out the small fish, emptying the plate.
"Sister Shufen, please eat quickly, don't bother coming back."
Lu Fangfang took the plate and returned home.
Steam rose from the pot on the coal stove, and after steaming for a while, she took it down.
She took out the steamed cornbread and ate it while it was still hot, along with some small fish.
Steamed cornbread tastes alright when eaten hot, but eating too much can cause heartburn and is bad for the stomach.
She enjoyed her meal with the crispy little fish.
She put down her chopsticks only after her belly swelled up and she let out a burp.
Lu Fangfang felt happiest when she was eating.
There were still a few small fish left in the enamel basin that hadn't been fried, so she brought out an iron pan and fried two more plates of them.
She didn't finish her work until almost nine o'clock.
After soaking her feet for a while, she quickly took off her clothes and climbed into bed.
After a day of turning over the soil, Lu Fangfang was sore all over. She tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep.
The next day, she woke up just as dawn was breaking.
After getting up and washing up, she was thinking of heating up some steamed buns when she heard the sound of the courtyard gate.
When I went outside and opened the door, I saw the commander's wife standing outside.
Lu Fangfang was a little surprised. She welcomed the person into the house and then asked in confusion, "Sister-in-law Shuhua, is there something you need from me so early?"
Chen Shuhua did not reply immediately.
She glanced around the room before raising the basket in her hand. "I heard you wanted quail eggs, so when Lao Gao saw that the division commander had some, he just grabbed some for you."
She lifted the cloth covering the basket, revealing half a basket of quail eggs.
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