Chapter 318: Braised Stinky Mandarin Fish, the Stink Can Be Storked Ten Miles Away
"I've always loved eating. It's not like I've developed this liking for it suddenly. I couldn't get any of it in the Northwest even though I wanted to. Now that I'm back, I have to eat as much as I can."
Luo Xinxin didn't think it was unusual. She had always eaten stinky tofu and stinky amaranth, but she just didn't have the chance to eat them on the Northwest Farm.
"So what else do you want to eat?"
Li Rong thought about it and it made sense. These exotic foods were indeed not available in the Northwest.
"I want to eat stinky amaranth now. It would be even better if I could stew it with stinky tofu in the marinade."
Luo Xinxin couldn't help swallowing.
Mrs. Liu smiled and said, "You probably won't be able to buy stinky amaranth in the market, but you can buy amaranth stalks and make it yourself. It will be ready in a few days."
"Grandma, can you do it?"
Luo Xinxin's eyes lit up. She wanted to learn how to make it so that she could cook it herself when she was craving it.
"My hometown is Shaocheng, so of course I can make it. It's very simple. I can teach you how to make it. I just don't know if there are any amaranth stalks for sale in the vegetable market."
Mrs. Liu smiled so hard that her eyebrows curved. She glanced at Luo Xinxin's belly, then went out with a basket to buy groceries.
Luo Xinxin was tired, so she lay down in the rocking chair to rest, and fell asleep while lying there.
Li Rong moved a chair and sat next to her, fanning her with a palm-leaf fan, while also having to pay close attention to the mung bean soup to make sure it didn't burn.
Professor Liu came back from get off work. School was about to start and there was a lot to do at school, so he had to go there every day.
"Where's your grandma?"
Professor Liu was very happy to see them and asked in a low voice.
"I went to buy groceries, Grandpa. How about going back to school to work? Has anyone bullied you?" Li Rong asked.
"No, my colleagues are all very nice. How long will you stay this time?"
Professor Liu also moved a chair and sat next to Li Rong, and the grandfather and grandson chatted in a low voice.
"Stay for a week, and if anyone is blind, you must tell them."
"Don't worry, your grandma and I are doing fine. You should be careful outside and don't try too hard. A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. A person who stands out from the crowd will be criticized. I taught you that when you were little."
Professor Liu taught earnestly, because Li Rong had been very smart since childhood, that was why he taught like this.
"I know."
Li Rong nodded, so he and Xinxin carried out the mission slowly, which would only delay but never advance.
Professor Liu nodded with satisfaction, as long as the child understood the situation.
When Mrs. Liu came back, it was already getting dark. She bought a lot of vegetables, including meat, fish, and a chicken.
"There are no amaranth stalks. I'll go to other vegetable markets tomorrow."
"I'll go to the country and cut some."
Li Rong volunteered. This kind of amaranth is used to feed pigs, and the farm must have grown a lot of it.
So he never understood how the people of Shaocheng came up with the idea of using these old vegetable stalks used to feed pigs to make such a stinky delicacy?
The first person who figured out this way of eating is a genius!
"Pick the older ones to chop. The older they are, the more fragrant they will be," Mrs. Liu advised.
"knew."
Li Rong agreed.
Luo Xinxin didn't feel too bad that there was no stinky amaranth in the evening, because Li Rong went out to buy her some stinky tofu, which was coated with a thick layer of chili sauce and smelled amazing.
The next morning, Li Rong went out to look for amaranth. He rode his bike to the farm and found that there were indeed a lot of amaranth planted, all of which were used to feed pigs.
He only gave one dollar, and the farm workers let him cut as much as he wanted, taking as much as he could, and no one watched him cut.
Li Rong cut down about a hundred of them and stored a lot of them in his space. After returning to the northwest, if his wife was craving them again, he could make them anytime and anywhere.
After leaving about twenty of them outside, he rode his bike home.
He had chopped off the leaves on the amaranth stalks on the farm, leaving only the bare stalks. With Mrs. Liu instructing him, Li Rong started cutting them into inch-long pieces, soaking them all in clean water, and then placing them in a cool place.
"Soak it for two or three days and it will be almost done," said Mrs. Liu.
Three days later, Mrs. Liu looked at the swollen amaranth stalks, nodded with satisfaction, and instructed Li Rong to take them out, drain the water, and then put them in a jar to ferment.
It takes two or three days to ferment. During this period, Mrs. Liu bought some stinky mandarin fish to satisfy Luo Xinxin's craving.
Because the weather is hot, Mrs. Liu basically cooks dinner in the patio, which can both dissipate the smoke and keep it cool.
So, when she made stinky mandarin fish, the neighbors were so disgusted by the smell that they looked everywhere for the source of the stench.
"Whose toilet isn't empty? It's so hot, why is the manure fermenting?"
"You're so wicked and lazy!"
Outside, I heard the neighbors cursing. They all thought someone had forgotten to empty the toilet and the weather was too hot, causing the toilet to stink.
Li Rong and Professor Liu couldn't stand the stench either. They blocked their nostrils with toilet paper, but it didn't work. In the end, they had no choice but to hide away.
"Professor Liu, do you smell the stench too? You're so devoid of virtue! You don't even empty the toilet in the morning! Lazy people poop and pee!"
Some people complained to them.
Professor Liu smiled awkwardly and whispered, "My family is making stinky mandarin fish, not because the toilet is not flushed."
Li Rong raised his head and looked at the sky with a cold face, so that no one would come to ask him.
"It turns out to be stinky mandarin fish. It smells stinky but tastes really delicious. It's also so expensive that I can't bear to buy it."
Everyone immediately changed their tone and started to flatter him.
"My family usually doesn't want to eat it, so we buy it when the children come back," Professor Liu said modestly.
"The children must eat well when they come home. My children always weigh some meat when they come home."
"My family's hairtail fish tickets are hidden away by the old lady. She is reluctant to use them. She is just waiting for the children to come home and eat them!"
The neighbors all started chatting enthusiastically, and Professor Liu said a few words from time to time. Although his cultural level was much higher than these neighbors, he usually chatted with his neighbors and did not act superior.
While people were chatting animatedly outside, Luo Xinxin in the courtyard was squatting by the stove, drooling. The stinky smell of the stinky mandarin fish seemed to her to be a unique fragrance, and just the smell made her drool.
"I want to eat three bowls of rice today."
Luo Xinxin made a bold statement.
"I bought three and I can eat them after I finish eating the fish and the amaranth."
Mrs. Liu smiled and put the stinky mandarin fish with the juice collected on a plate, then washed the pot and stir-fried red amaranth with garlic.
Amaranth comes in green and red varieties. Luo Xinxin and Li Rong both like the red ones, so she buys red amaranth these days.
"I'll make you some fried amaranth pancakes tomorrow morning. You and A-Rong both like them."
Mrs. Liu kept stir-frying the amaranth with her hands. After a few stir-fries, the amaranth released a lot of water. No water was needed to be added. Just cover the pot and let it simmer for a while before serving.
“It’s time to eat!”
Luo Xinxin called out to someone outside and asked them to help bring the dishes in.
Professor Liu and Li Rong came back with toilet paper stuffed in their nostrils.
"It's not that smelly. It smells very good." Mrs. Liu said angrily.
Professor Liu took off the toilet paper. After the stinky mandarin fish was cooked, the smell was indeed much lighter and within his tolerance range.
The dinner was very sumptuous, with braised stinky mandarin fish, red amaranth with garlic sauce, steamed egg with meat patties, pork ribs and winter melon soup, and steamed bean curd sheets with meat. Mrs. Liu is a good cook and every dish was delicious.
The stinky mandarin fish was placed in front of Luo Xinxin. Professor Liu and Li Rong didn't even touch it with their chopsticks. Mrs. Liu only picked up one piece with chopsticks. The rest was eaten by Luo Xinxin, and she even ate the soup with her rice.
"It's delicious. Grandma, your cooking is the best."
Luo Xinxin burped while eating. Although Northwestern cuisine is also delicious, she still prefers Shanghai cuisine. Maybe it’s because this body has a Shanghai stomach?
"If you like it, eat more. I'll make it for you tomorrow."
Mrs. Liu smiled very kindly, and her eyes always glanced at her belly.
After dinner, Li Rong rushed to wash the dishes, Professor Liu wiped the table, and Mrs. Liu pulled Luo Xinxin to chat aside.
"Xinxin, is your period delayed?"
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