Chapter 72 Cooking Dry Pot Seafood Stew
The windows of the west room were wide open, and the flame of the candle kept jumping because of the wind, and the shadows of the three people sitting around the table jumped with it.
"The quarry has been approved and the personnel will be completely under the control of the armed forces department." Zhou Yuesheng stated the result succinctly.
The province quickly sent people to investigate and select a site, and the final location was on the other side of the mountain behind Huaxi Village, near a farm.
Ning Tan sent Jinzi and Xiaoba to the quarry, and the other guards were provided by the farm.
"The one who did it was Lao Li?" Yu Haiguang grumbled in dissatisfaction, "It's really easy for them."
Zhou Yuesheng responded: "Only the first two."
Lao Li is a middle-aged man who was rescued by several people before. His family has been pig butchers for generations. Later, he learned some medical skills and worked as a barefoot doctor for more than ten years.
After He Youan came up with the idea, Ning Tan sent him a telegram overnight, and he and his apprentice took two or three days by train to come.
Hearing this, Yu Haiguang muttered a few words in a low voice. The other two people didn't hear clearly, but Zhou Yuesheng knew he was cursing.
Then he talked about his future plans for Huaxi Village.
After returning to Haidong Town from the provincial capital for the second time, Liu Ying moved to Huaxi Village and personally selected the team of village cadres.
"I heard from Ning Tan that the announcement will be made at a meeting in two days," Zhou Yuesheng said.
Yu Haiguang nodded. This result was not perfect, but it was the best choice at the moment.
"What about Zhang Yaozong?" Yu Yue suddenly spoke up.
Yu Haiguang rubbed Yu Yue's head and said, "Children should not meddle in adult affairs."
He had his own ways to deal with Zhang Yaozong and Old Lady Yu and her son, but he didn't want to tell Yu Yue.
Yu Yue dodged his hand by moving sideways, blew out the candle and went to get on the kang.
In the darkness, Yu Haiguang smiled helplessly.
The west room fell silent, while Zhang Wenxin in the east room continued to complain about Aunt Huang and her husband.
After a long time, she stopped to drink water and asked, "Le Le, do you have any way to make Hai Mei and the others break off their relationship?"
"Send them in." Yu Zhile narrowed his eyes slightly.
Zhang Wenxin's mind was confused and she asked, "Ah? Where should I send it to?"
After a few seconds, she asked tentatively: "Prison?"
"Just kidding." Yu Zhile smiled.
What she didn’t say was that this was her ultimate solution if the plan didn’t go well.
"I think parents who beat and scold their children should go to jail," Zhang Wenxin said angrily, "for ten or twenty years."
Before coming to Yu's house, she looked at the wound on Zhang Haimei's head. There was an area of her scalp that was bloody and it was painful to look at.
"Let Haimei talk to the branch secretary about dividing the household registration tomorrow." Yu Zhile outlined the first step of the plan.
Zhang Wenxin was a little surprised, as she had never heard of her daughter asking for a division of the family property.
On second thought, she realized that there were many sons who separated from their families before getting married in the surrounding villages, so she didn't find it strange anymore. She just thought Yu Zhile's idea was very novel.
So she continued to ask: "And then? And then?"
"What do you think will happen to them?" Yu Zhile asked back.
Zhang Wenxin thought for a while and said, "Auntie Huang will definitely not agree. I think she will make a scene."
"Just make a fuss, let her make a fuss, it's best if she goes to the commune." Yu Zhile said.
She had heard that Secretary Liu of the commune was very intolerant and wanted to use this knife to sever the relationship between Zhang Haimei and her two sisters.
If the commune tried to smooth things over, she would just set up a trap for the Zhang family and put an end to it once and for all.
Zhang Wenxin was the type of person who would not stop until she got to the bottom of things. She asked for all the details and looked at Yu Zhile in amazement.
She held Yu Zhile's face, shook it left and right, and sighed: "What on earth is your brain made of?"
"Go to sleep. I'm going to the state-owned restaurant tomorrow." Yu Zhile shook his head in cooperation.
"Okay, let's go to bed." Zhang Wen happily ran to the table and blew out the candle.
The two of them lay side by side on the bed.
Zhang Wenxin stared at the dark roof and whispered, "It would be great if they could successfully separate the family."
In this way, other oppressed girls can follow suit and escape the clutches of their vicious parents.
"One day you will succeed." Yu Zhile understood the hidden meaning of her words.
Zhang Wenxin turned over and faced her. A sense of security surged in his heart and his breathing gradually became steady.
The next morning, Yu Zhile woke up early and his arms felt sore.
"My arms are heavier than rocks." Zhang Wenxin could hardly lift his hands.
The two of them lay there for a while before going out.
At this time, Yu Haiguang had been busy in the kitchen for a long time, and a faint aroma of wheat wafted in the air.
"Sister, good morning." Yu Chi stepped forward again to ask for a hug.
Zhang Wenxin hammered his arm and joked, "Xiaobao, Lele can't hold you now. He can only hold cotton."
Yu Chi didn't understand and looked at her with his head tilted.
At that time, Zhou Yuesheng walked out of the kitchen and handed over two bamboo tubes filled with hot water.
Yu Zhile glanced at him, and he immediately picked up Yu Chi and explained to him why both of their arms were sore.
"Comfortable." Zhang Wenxin sighed with contentment.
Yu Zhile only applied the massage for a while, then he and Chen Zhao each took a bamboo tube to apply the massage to her.
The rolling bamboo tube evenly penetrates the heat into the skin, effectively relieving soreness.
Suddenly, a strong aroma of garlic came from the kitchen, immediately awakening everyone's taste buds.
Chen Zhao's stomach growled and he looked towards the kitchen expectantly.
After a while, Yu Haiguang brought out a large bowl of steamed buns and a bowl of sauce, saying, "Steamed buns and eggplant sauce, and multi-grain porridge."
The sticky eggplant sauce gave off an enticing aroma. Chen Zhao skillfully scooped a spoonful of it, spread it on the steamed bun, and took a big bite.
The soft steamed buns paired with the soft, glutinous, salty and fragrant eggplant made his eyes light up.
"Uncle, how do you make this sauce? It's delicious!" he asked excitedly and took out a small notebook.
Yu Haiguang was stunned by his action. He looked around and found that everyone was used to it, so he couldn't help laughing.
“Crack the eggplant into pieces and steam them in a pot.”
“Chop the green and red peppers and garlic, and fry them in a hot pan with cold oil until fragrant.”
"Put the steamed eggplant into the pan, break it up with a spatula, then add soy sauce, salt, and oyster sauce for seasoning and stir-fry evenly."
In order to match his writing speed, Yu Haiguang deliberately slowed down his speaking speed.
Chen Zhao wrote down every word and exclaimed: "It's so simple, but so delicious."
"If you have preserved eggs, you can mash them and add them in." Yu Haiguang remembered what the chef in the army canteen said.
Chen Zhao immediately lowered his head, picked up the pen, and murmured, "Songhua eggs, mash them."
Yu Zhile really liked the taste and texture of the eggplant jam. He ate three steamed buns in a row before riding his bike out.
When we arrived at the state-owned restaurant, the morning market had already passed and Hu Lan was waving a fly swatter intermittently at the counter.
Seeing Yu Zhile, Hu Lan's eyes lit up: "Xiao Yu, you're here."
"Sister Lan, is Brother Hu San here?" Yu Zhile greeted with a smile.
"He's not here. He went to buy seafood." Hu Lan enthusiastically took her hand and praised her, "Your cooking skills are really amazing. The pickled pepper powder yesterday was so delicious that the customers wanted to return the third brother's dish."
As soon as she finished speaking, a female voice rang out: "Auntie Hu, I just love to tell the truth."
Their eyes shifted to the gate at the same time, where Hu Shuang and Lan Yuanyuan were standing, and behind them was the burly Hu Laosan.
"Do you remember me? I was the second person to order the takeaway." Hu Shuang walked forward quickly.
She ate pickled peppers yesterday and showed off to me when she got home in the evening.
Unexpectedly, my dad had already tasted it and even boasted that he would have a great feast the next day and that the noodle maker would teach him how to cook seafood.
When she arrived at the factory this morning, she thought about it and decided to take half a day off. On the way to the state-owned restaurant, she happened to run into her father, and they went back together.
"Textile factory, Hu Shuang." Yu Zhile replied.
She was deeply impressed by Hu Shuang, who had deep facial features and a heroic look.
Hu Shuang was very happy. He pulled Lan Yuanyuan over and introduced her, "This is my sister, Lan Yuanyuan."
Lan Yuanyuan lives up to her name, with a round face and round eyes, and she looks very cute when she smiles.
"Yu Zhile." Yu Zhile introduced himself.
Hu Shuang raised his eyebrows and acted as if he was going to say something, but was interrupted by Hu Lao San.
Hu Laosan said in a rough voice: "Go drink your ice sweet water, don't block the way."
Hu Shuang turned around and made a face at him, then pulled Lan Yuanyuan into the kitchen.
Her mother worked in the provincial military art troupe and had no time to take care of her, so she grew up with Lan Yuanyuan in the kitchen of a state-owned restaurant.
After the town built a popsicle factory, Hu Laosan would prepare bags of ice for them in the summer.
"I forgot to ask the supply and marketing cooperative to keep some, so I only bought a bag of miscellaneous seafood today." Hu Laosan showed the wooden basin to Yu Zhile.
Two dishes immediately popped into Yu Zhile’s mind.
"Then let's make dry pot seafood stew today." It only took her a few seconds to make the decision.
Hu Laosan had never heard of this dish, but she agreed immediately, after all, she was a master in this area.
After entering the kitchen, Hu Shuang handed Yu Zhile bags of ice that had been frozen into ice bricks.
“Thank you.” Yu Zhile took it and thought about going to the popsicle factory in the summer to discuss cooperation.
There were prawns, crabs, octopuses and abalone in the wooden basin, some of which were already lifeless.
“Pick out the unfresh ones, otherwise it will affect the taste of the whole dish.” Yu Zhile got started right away.
Then, she taught Hu Laosan how to judge which ones had been dead for a long time and which ones were no longer moving but were still edible.
The second step is to process the seafood. She guides on the side, emphasizing the small details that will affect the taste.
After all, Hu Laosan had worked in the kitchen for so many years, so he quickly got the hang of it.
Open the back of the shrimp, cut the crab in half, cut the octopus into long pieces, and cut the abalone meat into small pieces.
"There are no strict requirements for side dishes, just use whatever you have," said Yu Zhile.
As she spoke, she picked out potatoes and corn, cutting the former into strips and the latter into sections.
Heat the pan and add a lot of oil. Add the seafood in batches and fry for more than a minute. Remove from the pan and add the side dishes.
Next, Yu Zhile started to stir-fry the spices and bean paste to make red oil, then poured all the vegetables into it, added soy sauce and MSG for seasoning, and stir-fried evenly.
For a moment, a variety of smells such as numbness, spiciness, freshness, and fragrance collide in the air, exuding an intoxicating complex fragrance.
Hu Shuang and Lan Yuanyuan forgot about the bags of ice in their hands and stared at the stove.
"Third brother, this smell is really overpowering." Yesterday's guest and Hu Lan walked into the kitchen together.
The dry pot seafood stew is served and sprinkled with a handful of white sesame seeds, making the whole dish colorful, fragrant and delicious.
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