When Su Qingluan was leading her younger brother and sister home, she happened to meet Su Guangfu and Yang.
Now the weather is getting hotter, so everyone gets up at dawn at the hour of Yin and goes to the fields to work. When it is bright at noon and the heat is steaming, those who are not too busy hide in the shade of trees to avoid the heat, while more people go to other people's homes to work as servants.
Su Guangfu was a carpenter, while Yang was a needleworker.
Yang immediately spotted the giant fish Su Qingluan was holding in her arms, nearly dead from the blow of the "rock crushing the head." She smiled and said, "Hey, this fish is quite big! We'll have this fish stew tonight!" Then she noticed Su Qingluan's clothes and said, "Oh, how did you get all wet? Go change and be careful with the wind!"
Yang naturally knew that fish had a fishy smell, but unlike the children, for her, as long as she could fill her stomach, it didn't matter if it tasted bad.
Su Qingluan quickly replied, "Mother, let me help you make this fish stew today. I have something I want to try!"
Yang was no longer surprised by her eldest daughter's new and novel ideas every now and then. She just said, "Whatever you like," and went to the kitchen to light a fire; while Su Guangfu went to the backyard to chop wood.
By the time Su Qingluan changed into a clean narrow-sleeved skirt and wrung out her hair, Yang had already lit a fire, gutted and rinsed the several fish she had brought back, and was about to stew them in a clay pot.
"Mom!" Su Qingluan hurried over, "Let me do it!"
Yang turned around and looked at Su Qingluan holding a bowl of orange-yellow "suangou'er" and asked curiously, "What are you doing with this wild fruit?"
Su Qingluan blinked: "Mother, this is the secret recipe that makes the fish soup more delicious."
"Why are you beating around the bush again?" Yang smiled and shook her head, but she also knew that her eldest daughter's seemingly wild ideas often had unexpected surprises, and for some time, Su Qingluan was indeed more capable than she had imagined, so she handed the task of stewing the fish to her daughter and prepared other meals herself.
Su Qingluan took the carp and looked behind the gills. Sure enough, there were no white fishy threads. So, while Yang was busy with other things and didn't notice her, she quickly removed all the fishy threads.
If Yang had turned around at this moment, she would have seen the narrow-bladed kitchen knife in her daughter's hand, as if it had come to life, flying up and down the fish. Su Qingluan's movements were neat, precise, and swift, even more skillful than those of Yang, who had spent half her life around the stove.
After removing the fishy lines, Su Qingluan began to cut the fish body. After cutting two, she came to her senses - the intervals between the cuts were so deep and shallow that they seemed to be replicated, and the symmetrical and beautiful appearance was not possible for a "cooking novice".
So I had to put aside my obsessive-compulsive disorder in cooking and cut the remaining fish left and right, deep and shallow, making them look horrible. I couldn't help smacking my lips at the sight. I could only quickly mix the onion, ginger, garlic and "sour hook" in a stone mortar, mash them into a paste, and marinate the fish, so as to pretend that out of sight, out of mind.
After Su Qingluan helped Yang prepare other dishes and saw that the sorghum rice would be ready in about a quarter of an hour, Su Qingluan simply rinsed the fish that had been pickled for a long time and put it into a ceramic pot to stew.
After about half a quarter of an hour, sprinkle in the powder made from ground pepper, salt, dogwood and several other spices to season it, then immediately serve the fish and sprinkle it with the fresh young sprouts of wild vegetables.
"The fish soup is here~!" Su Qingluan brought out today's "heavyweight" dish, the fish soup, under everyone's expectant gaze. "Dad, Mom, and Xueyan Xuanhe, try this fish soup and see how it tastes!"
For people like Su Guangfu and Yang, who had eaten tree bark and grass roots in their early years or even during famine, fish soup was a good meal no matter how fishy it was - it was just that children didn't like to eat it before, and the family tried not to make it unless they had no other choice.
Moreover, this was the eldest daughter's craftsmanship, and the couple could not refuse her kindness no matter what.
Originally, the couple both thought that even if the fish soup still had a fishy taste, they would have to drink a few more sips to show their support for their eldest daughter.
As soon as I sipped the fish soup, the salty, fragrant, and slightly spicy broth blossomed on my tongue. Another bite of the fish revealed a delicate and refreshing flavor, completely purging the earthy, fishy aroma. The wild vegetables, soaking up the savory flavor of the broth and blending with its original fragrance, were even more crisp and fresh, creating a truly unique flavor!
Su Guangfu and Yang looked at each other: This river fish that seemed insignificant in the past turned out to be so delicious!
Seeing that her son and daughter were still hesitating about whether to try the fish soup they usually avoided, Yang quickly called out, "Erzhuang and Sanya, try this fish soup quickly, it's very delicious!"
Su Xuanhe muttered softly: "Mother, you said the coarse flour pancakes were delicious..." But he and his sister had a hard time even swallowing the pancakes.
Although his voice was low, Su Xuanhe was sitting close to Yang today, so he heard every word. Yang slapped him on the back: "What are you mumbling about? You can't even stop eating!"
The slap didn't involve much force. Su Xuanhe was always a troublemaker, and getting beaten was commonplace. This level of beating didn't hurt him at all.
However, he glanced at his parents' expressions, picked up the bowl obediently, looked at the fish soup carefully, and then raised his head to take a big gulp as if it was some kind of unpalatable medicinal soup.
Then he opened his eyes, came to his senses, smacked his lips, and grinned: "It's delicious!"
Su Xueyan completely trusted her eldest sister and drank with gusto without waiting for her parents to greet her. Seeing her brother drink the fish soup, she puffed out her chest and said proudly, "Brother, see? Everything my sister cooks tastes good!"
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