Chapter 89: Pickled Fish (Second Update)...
In order to get enough energy to cope with the subsequent competitions and to relieve the fatigue caused by the warm-up activities, the Linzhi family simply closed the business and planned to take a good five-day rest during the New Year.
Since they didn't have to get up early to work these days, the family slept until dawn every day. After waking up, Linzhi was too lazy to cook. Instead, she set up a copper pot in the main room, boiled some water, added some lamb and pork, and then tossed in homemade meatballs and stored vegetables, making a warm hot pot.
Occasionally they would invite Madam Yu and Shopkeeper Wu over, and they would sit around the hot pot, eating hot food and chatting about neighborhood gossip. Their days were particularly pleasant.
Every time Mrs. Yu came, she would bring some things, such as winter bamboo shoots freshly dug by the villagers, homemade rice cakes, freshly caught wild rabbits and various pickled vegetables.
Today was no exception. As soon as she walked in, she showed the big black fish in her hand to the three people: "Look, look at what good stuff I brought!"
"Oh, what a big snakehead fish!"
"Brother Wu caught this this morning in the river outside the city. Impressive, isn't it?" Madam Yu boasted. The way she held her head high and chest puffed out her chest, it didn't look like Shopkeeper Wu had caught it, but rather like she had. "How about making it into sashimi later? I just have the latest gossip to share with you!"
Nowadays, people in Bian Jing love to eat fish sashimi the most, especially carp sashimi, which is even praised as the best by scholars. The meat is cut into very thin and fine pieces, and then paired with a special sauce made mainly from mustard seeds. It is said to be sweet and fresh in the mouth, with a long aftertaste.
Although the fish sashimi made from black fish is slightly inferior to carp sashimi, it is also fresh and tender, and is a dish that can often be seen in shops.
Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang were both tempted after hearing this, but Lin Zhi frowned secretly. In later generations, people ate sashimi or pickled raw fish, and if they got infected with parasites, they could take medicine to treat it. But in this era, there is no such condition, and eating raw fish is really risky.
So when she heard what Madam Yu said, she hurried forward and stretched out her hand to measure the size of the snakehead fish. "It's cold now, and eating fish sashimi cold would hurt your spleen and stomach. I think it would be better to cut the fish into slices and make fish soup with pickled vegetables. Eating it hot will also warm your body."
Since the chef had spoken, naturally no one would raise any objections. What's more, Madam Yu thought that fish sashimi was common, while the fish soup made by Sister Zhi was rare.
Lin Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to shout, "Dad, bring the chopping board and kitchen knife to the main room. I'll show everyone how to fillet the fish right now!"
Just as she was sharpening her knife, Shopkeeper Wu pushed the door open and walked in, holding a pot of wine in his hand: "Brother Lin, I've got the wine. Let's drink until we get drunk... No... Uh?"
Shopkeeper Wu paused and his voice became softer and softer. Right in front of him, Lin Zhi was sharpening a knife with her head down. The knife in her hand was gleaming with cold light, and the cold light reflected on her face, coupled with her focused eyes, made Shopkeeper Wu inexplicably feel a sense of 'murderous intent'.
Shopkeeper Wu's Adam's apple rolled, and he swallowed subconsciously, saying carefully, "Well, Sister Zhi, I was just saying it casually. I'll just have a couple of drinks. How could I get drunk and not leave? Haha."
Linzhi holding a knife to check its sharpness:?
Shopkeeper Wu didn't dare say anything more. He sat obediently next to Madam Yu, staring at the tips of his shoes. He even pushed the wine jug in his hand away, leaving Lin Sen, who was trying to grab the jug, confused.
No one knew what Manager Wu saw when he first entered the room. They just thought he was having a seizure or suddenly became ill.
Linzhi didn't think much about it. He reached out and picked up the big black fish from the wooden barrel. He raised his wrist and hit the black fish's head hard with the back of the knife.
Taking advantage of the moment when the black fish stopped twisting, she quickly and efficiently removed the tail and head of the fish. Then she slowed down her movements, gently stroked the fish body with her fingertips, and in the blink of an eye, she scraped off all the scales without even a trace of residue.
Then, she turned her wrist and gently cut the black fish's back with the kitchen knife. The blade pushed along the fish bones, and the pink and white fish meat was instantly revealed.
The whole process is so fast that you could miss a step even if you blink.
When she touched the fish bones, her movements slowed down a bit, but she was still agile. With a flick of her knife, she easily cut through the fish bones and turned to deal with the belly.
Linzhi dug and pushed with her fingers, and all the internal organs of the black fish were taken out and thrown into the porcelain basin next to it.
With the last cut, the fish body was firmly split in two, revealing the tender fish meat inside.
Madam Yu was so stunned that she didn't realize she had forgotten to breathe until Lin Zhi put down the knife. She quickly exhaled a long breath and couldn't help but exclaimed, "Wow... That's amazing!"
This is too amazing, too incredible, isn't it? But Madam Yu found that she was the only one who exclaimed in amazement.
But after she shouted, she realized that except for her husband, Manager Wu, who was still sitting stiffly, Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang both had indifferent expressions, as if they were already accustomed to this scene.
Madam Yu was depressed for a while, but then she felt it was normal. Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang must have gotten used to it!
She shifted her gaze back to Lin Zhi and was stunned. It turned out that in the short time when Madam Yu was distracted, Lin Zhi had easily sliced all the fish and placed it on the chopping board.
Madam Yu leaned over to take a look. Each piece was of uniform size, with neat edges, and looked like a blooming flower, which made people marvel at it.
Linzhi turned and went into the kitchen. She first put the fish head and bones into clean water and rinsed them repeatedly to remove the blood. Then she soaked the cut fish meat in light salt water for a while, then changed to clean water to wash it clean. Finally, she coated it with a layer of egg white paste and set it aside for later use.
After preparing the fish, Linzhi began to prepare the soup base. She first heated a pot, poured a little oil into the pot, and then added the fish head, fish bones, scallions, ginger, and garlic, and pan-fried them until both sides were golden brown.
At this time, pour in hot water, and in just a few moments you can cook a pot of delicious milky white fish soup.
When the fish soup was ready, Linzhi chopped and diced the sauerkraut, pickled ginger, and pickled radish that Yu Niangzi had sent. She put a little oil in the pot, added peppercorns and other spices, stir-fried them until fragrant, and then poured in the chopped sauerkraut and stir-fried them.
Once the sourness and spices are fully released, pour in the cooked fish bone soup. Bring to a boil over high heat and then simmer over low heat to allow the flavor of the sauerkraut to fully blend into the soup.
Finally, Linzhi puts the fish fillets coated with egg white paste into the pot one by one. When the fish fillets float up and the edges curl slightly, the dish is placed in a large bowl, sprinkled with a handful of Sichuan peppercorns, and poured with a spoonful of hot oil.
When it was served on the table, the peppercorns that had been poured with hot oil were still sizzling, and the spicy and sour aroma went straight into everyone's nose, making people salivate.
Madam Yu looked at the ingredients in the fish soup and suddenly her eyes widened. "Wait? These pickled cabbage and pickled radish... could it be that I brought them too?"
Mrs. Yu and her husband's hometown is in the countryside. In winter, apart from the cabbage and radishes stored in the cellar, there are only various pickled vegetables left. Every year, the villagers will send her some.
At first, she found it fresh and she missed home, but she had been eating it from early winter to spring every year, and she had long been tired of it. This year, she gave most of it directly to Song Jiaoniang.
She never thought that these pickled vegetables that she despised would become so tempting in Linzhi's hands.
Madam Yu was amazed and couldn't help but pick up a piece of sauerkraut with chopsticks to taste it. After being stewed in fish soup, the sourness of the sauerkraut was much lighter, becoming mellow and palatable. The salty and vegetable aroma that was originally covered by the strong sour taste also gradually emerged, and the taste was crispy, tender and chewy.
Although it was something she had already gotten tired of, Madam Yu couldn't help but pick up two more chopsticks to taste it.
After trying the pickled cabbage, her eyes fell on the fish fillet. She took a bite, and the snow-white fish flesh was so tender it practically melted in her mouth, without a trace of fishy smell. As the sourness faded, the freshness and sweetness of the fish flesh became even more intense.
Madam Yu finished one slice, then took three or four more before finally stopping. She quickly scooped up a spoonful of soup, which was rich in the sourness of the pickled cabbage and the freshness of the fish. A sip was refreshing and warming, and even in the cold of winter, it made her feel comfortable all over.
The most important thing is the perfect sour taste, which really whets your appetite!
Madam Yu ate with great relish, and Shopkeeper Wu even forgot to drink and indulged himself in the delicious pickled fish.
As the sauerkraut and fish soup in the pot was almost finished, the few of them put down their chopsticks with their round bellies, leaned back in their chairs to catch their breath, and finally had the mood to chat.
Song Jiaoniang remembered that Madam Yu had said she wanted to share some gossip when she came in, so she quickly asked, "You said you had something to talk about, what was it?"
"Look at my memory! I almost forgot!" Madam Yu hurriedly sat up straight and blurted out a big news: "I heard from Aunt Xue that Manager Zheng went to the government office and said he wanted to divorce his wife!"
The so-called divorce means divorcing a wife.
As soon as these two words were spoken, not only did Song Jiaoniang's eyes widen, but the expressions of Lin Zhi, Lin Sen, and Shopkeeper Wu also changed. Lin Zhi couldn't help but say, "I saw them arguing in the shop a few days ago, but, how did it get to the point of wanting to divorce my wife?"
Nowadays, divorce is a very serious matter that can even change a person's life, especially for women.
Although men will also damage their own and their family's reputation, and officials are more likely to be impeached, compared with the experiences of women, it seems insignificant.
You have to know that most women at that time had no fixed source of income. Once they were divorced, if their parents were unwilling to accept them, they might fall into a lonely and helpless situation. It was normal for them to live on the streets or become nuns.
Therefore, the government also conducts very strict review on this matter and will not approve it unless there is solid evidence and sufficient reasons.
Facing the doubts of several people, Madam Yu nodded and said, "I doubt it too, but Aunt Xue said she saw Manager Zheng enter the government office with her own eyes!"
Song Jiaoniang's fingers trembled, and Madam Yu also talked about the discord between Manager Zheng and Madam Hua. It turned out that after the couple had been married for many years without having children, Manager Zheng often gave money to his parents-in-law and his younger brother's family, which Madam Hua was extremely dissatisfied with.
After that, she often moved things from the shop back to her parents' home, and secretly cursed her in-laws and Zheng's brother's family as leeches sucking blood from people.
Madam Yu frowned and lowered her voice, "Aunt Xue also told me that Madam Hua's family always wanted to do business, but they failed over and over again, and they lost a lot of money. And to fill the holes in her family's pocket, Madam Hua often took money from the bakery's account. Manager Zheng found out about this several times, and every time they found out, there would be a big fight, and twice the noise even reached their home."
“…This is too much.”
"More than that!" Madam Yu sighed, "I heard that the dowry that Madam Hua brought with her has long been taken back to her parents' home bit by bit."
"I've heard of some women being coaxed into using their dowry by their in-laws after getting married, but I've never seen anyone take the initiative to send their dowry back to her parents' home like she did."
"I used to think Madam Hua was quite clever, never letting anyone take advantage of her. How come she's so clueless about her own affairs?"
When Lin Sen and Manager Wu heard this, they exchanged glances and fell silent.
This kind of family affairs is the most sensitive, especially when it comes to the words "husband's family" and "wife's family". If the two men interrupt and get dragged into it, not only will they lose their peace of mind, but they may also be dragged into it.
Madam Yu didn't notice the silence and continued, "In the past, Manager Zheng turned a blind eye, but this time he's really turned against us."
"It's said that Shopkeeper Zheng has compiled all the evidence, alleging that Madam Hua is childless and unfilial, and that she also stole public funds and even took her dowry back to her parents' home. He's already filed a complaint with the authorities. The evidence is out in the open, and unless Shopkeeper Zheng withdraws the complaint, the marriage is definitely over."
Even though Song Jiaoniang looked down on Hua Niangzi and thought she was no good, she was so shocked that she was speechless. After a long while, she murmured, "This matter, this matter...how did it come to this?"
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