If you braise small fish directly, you won't be able to eat a single bite. You have to dry them before eating them so the fish meat won't fall apart.
Wang Xiaoju and Sun Mei watched Wen Xi and the other two busy at work, and curled their lips in disdain. These city people just love to show off.
But this is the countryside, and there are no good men here. No matter how much they try to impress, they can't attract any good men, unless they try to seduce a fellow educated youth. Even if they do, it won't help, since they can't go back to the city anyway, and they can only stay in the countryside.
Wenxi had no idea what the two old ladies were thinking. She asked Jiang Yue to boil the mint water while she and Shen Jiaojiao went to the cool river bend to process the fish.
First, scrape off the scales and remove the gills from the domestic fish. Then, gut the fish, remove the internal organs, and keep the edible fish swim bladder. Wenxi put the other fish internal organs into a bamboo basket and then put the bamboo basket in the water to catch fish. Wenxi let Shen Jiaojiao catch small fish while she focused on processing the fish.
After processing all twenty large fish, Wenxi took them to the river and washed each one thoroughly. She left Shen Jiaojiao there to catch small fish, while Wenxi carried the fish back to the canteen in two trips.
In the production team, where people could see him at any time, Wenxi dared not cheat.
Back in the cafeteria, Wenxi took out a cutting board and a knife, chopped off the fish head and tail, put them in a separate bowl, and then began to slice the fish.
Wenxi has excellent knife skills; the fish is sliced into thin slices that look crystal clear.
Wang Xiaoju and Sun Mei stood by the stove where the cooking was taking place, watching from afar. They were surprised that Wen Xi's knife skills were so good that she could slice the fish into such thin slices.
The harvest season is in full swing, and everyone from the commune to the villagers in the brigade is taking it very seriously. So today, Secretary Li and Deputy Secretary Gu from the commune, along with several cadres and staff from the grain station, have all come to the countryside to guide the work.
Unexpectedly, they didn't come in the cool morning, but in the hot afternoon. The leader's emphasis on harvesting wheat moved everyone deeply, and they worked even harder, seemingly oblivious to the heat.
The staff at the grain depot even went down into the wheat field to help bundle the wheat, because if the grain was delivered on time, they could also report back to the authorities.
Captain Qian led a group of people around the fields. It was June, the time for wheat harvesting, and soon in July, the double harvest would begin, with the early rice to be harvested and the late rice to be planted. This period was crucial, as bad weather could have a significant impact on the grain harvest.
During this time, Captain Qian secretly sent a note to Wenxi, saying that the commune secretary and some cadres had come and asked them to cook more food so that there wouldn't be enough to eat.
After all, there are about ten grown men here, so they must need at least twenty kilograms of grain, right?
After reading the note, Wen Xi asked the person to give it to Wang Xiaoju. She and Wang Xiaoju were no longer on good terms, so she wanted Wang Xiaoju to see the note herself to avoid her thinking that Wen Xi was fooling her!
If you can't read, you can ask the person who helped Captain Qian deliver the note.
Wenxi asked Shen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue to go out and deliver mint water to everyone, while she started cooking. She heated oil in a wok, and after the oil was hot, she added chopped scallions, ginger and garlic and stir-fried them until fragrant. Then she added half a bowl of chopped pickled vegetables and stir-fried them. After stir-frying for a while, she added half a pot of water. Once the water boiled, she added the fish slices little by little.
The fish slices in Wenxi are very thin. They are ready to eat after being put into the pot for a short time and they will set and change color. Wenxi puts the lid on the pot and simmers it. Then he goes to the iron pot next to him and repeats the process.
The fish meat from twenty large fish was used to make a pot of salted vegetable fish soup, a pot of boiled fish slices, and the remaining fish heads, tails, bones, and swim bladders were used to make a separate pot of spicy stew.
Fearing there wouldn't be enough food, Wenxi asked Shen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue to watch the pot after they returned with the mint water. Then she took two bamboo baskets and went to the river bend to pick some celery.
Although there was no meat today, the celery stir-fried with lard was still quite delicious.
Wenxi picked two full baskets of celery, washed them clean in the river bend, and then carried them back to the canteen in two separate trips.
Before the first mealtime, Wenxi heard a lot of voices outside the canteen, including the faint voice of Captain Qian. Wenxi realized that Captain Qian had brought a group of officers to the canteen for a meal.
So Wenxi quickly went over and combined several tables together to form one large table. For people like them, every minute and every second is important, and they probably have to discuss things even while eating, so they can't be separated.
"Comrade Wen, how is your work here?" Secretary Li still remembered Wen Xi, this great contributor, and greeted him warmly as soon as he saw him.
"Thank you for your concern, Secretary Li. I am very happy to work here. I may not be good at farm work and may hold everyone back, but I am very happy to be able to shine in a suitable place and contribute to everyone," Wen Xi said with a smile.
Just try to say things in a nicer way, so that everyone will feel more comfortable listening to you.
Captain Qian nodded with satisfaction as he saw that Wen Xi had already arranged the dining table. He liked smart and perceptive people like her; everything was arranged so that he didn't have to worry about it.
Wen Xi gave Chen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue a wink, and the two immediately brought over the refreshing mint water. Wen Xi secretly added some ice cubes, making the mint water even more refreshing and thirst-quenching today.
Everyone drank it down like cattle, gulping it down. After finishing, they realized their rudeness and showed a hint of embarrassment on their faces.
Seeing that everyone had finished drinking the water, Wenxi immediately served the dishes. Plates of colorful, fragrant and delicious dishes were placed on the table: salted fish slices, boiled fish slices, stewed fish head, stir-fried celery, garlic water spinach, green pepper and pumpkin vine, cold wild vegetable salad, and spicy dried small fish.
The spicy small fish dish was specially cooked for the leaders because she hadn't collected enough small fish yet, not enough for the entire harvest team. So she gave it to the leaders first, and would cook it for everyone else once she had collected enough.
"This..." Secretary Li was somewhat surprised as he looked at the sumptuous meal.
Are living conditions in Fengshou Brigade this good now?
"Secretary Li, Deputy Secretary Gu, everyone, please try Comrade Wen's cooking. Since Comrade Wen joined the kitchen, he has tried every means to improve everyone's meals and supplement their nutrition. Today's fish was caught by Comrade Wen himself, disregarding his own safety, just so that everyone could eat better during the busy farming season and have more energy to work. Even the cicada nymphs that children catch and roast can be turned into something special by Comrade Wen. And the snake, Comrade Wen's snake meat soup is no worse than that of the chefs in state-run restaurants. Tomorrow should be our turn to eat snake meat soup. If you are free to come over tomorrow, you can have a good taste of the snake meat soup..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
