Chapter 102 Duck Blood Soup
The next morning, Fan Xiaoxiao started working on the duck blood from the previous day early. The pain in her shoulder had actually lessened after using the medicine the old man had given her.
However, just thinking about what happened last night made Fan Xiaoxiao furious. She stirred the duck blood fiercely, as if that would release the pent-up emotions in her heart.
"Oh dear, little girl, what are you doing!"
The fat old man must have just woken up. He yawned and came over, smacking his lips as he stood aside watching Fan Xiaoxiao fiddling with the duck blood.
"Duck! Blood!" Fan Xiaoxiao spat out the two words through gritted teeth, stirring the duck blood even more vigorously, almost spilling it out.
"Duck blood! You can eat that? Tsk, I'm still too ignorant! These seven days will be tough for you! Oh, I'm really looking forward to it, hahahahahaha!" The old man walked away with a hopeful smile, leaving Fan Xiaoxiao behind him, gritting her teeth in hatred.
She still gets furious when she recalls what happened last night; they were nearly scared to death by that old man. And all he wanted was to eat their food for seven days!
This request was actually a small matter, but the way this guy made a scene yesterday scared everyone so much that they thought they were going to be kidnapped by this old man! If he had just said it earlier, there wouldn't have been so many misunderstandings!
The duck blood under her hand slowly swirled into a small vortex. Fan Xiaoxiao sighed, pulled out the wooden stick, and waited for the duck blood to slowly solidify.
Taking advantage of this time, Fan Xiaoxiao started to boil water.
"Sister, the peppercorns have all been picked. Should we wash them all?" Madam Fan carried over a basket, which was about half full of peppercorns. Fan Xiaoxiao had specifically instructed Madam Fan to pick them, because they wouldn't have this spice when they went to the north.
So if you come across any, you should collect as many as possible.
"No need to wash it, sister, you spread it out to dry first. After we have breakfast, we'll go help the old lady find someone. Once we find them, we'll come back and collect them."
Fan responded and went to the side to dry the Sichuan peppercorns.
By this time, the water in the pot had boiled, and the duck blood had almost solidified. Fan Xiaoxiao took a bamboo sliver and carefully cut the duck blood into small pieces, pouring them into the pot little by little.
After adding salt and pepper to taste, cover the pot and simmer.
"Sister, I'll go look in the back for some scallions!"
"Hey! I'll go with you!"
Upon hearing that Fan Xiaoxiao was going to pick scallions, Fan immediately put down the peppercorns and went to follow her. This was another consequence of what happened last night—she didn't dare let Fan Xiaoxiao be alone for too long.
"Uh, it's okay, it's just in the backyard, and I'll be back soon!"
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the group sat down in the thatched hut. Each person held a bowl of duck blood soup with a few pitiful scallions floating on top.
The old man picked up the duck blood soup, smelled it from left to right, smacked his lips, and looked at Xiao Bao beside him: "Hey! Little guy, you eat first."
Xiao Bao frowned slightly, a rare occurrence, while Uncle Wang silently picked up his duck blood soup and began to drink it.
"How is it! Is it good??" The old man looked at Uncle Wang curiously, but the other man ignored him and just sipped the soup in big mouthfuls.
"Hiss! You little brother!" The old man was not angry when he saw that Uncle Wang ignored him. Instead, he picked up his bowl and started shoveling duck blood into it.
The small, reddish-brown cubes slid smoothly into his mouth with the broth, melting in his mouth with a slight bite. The taste was even better than the konjac tofu from the previous day.
As the duck blood spread, a strong peppery aroma filled his mouth.
The old man's eyes lit up, and he immediately gave Fan Xiaoxiao a thumbs up.
"Kid! You're really good at cooking!" After saying that, he didn't wait for Fan Xiaoxiao to speak and slurped down a bowl of duck blood soup. Then he reached into the pot and ladled himself another bowl of duck blood soup.
After finishing two bowls of duck blood soup, the old man started burping.
Xiao Bao looked at him curiously: "Grandpa Fatty, are you full?"
"You're full! What's wrong? Can't you eat anymore? Little baby, let me tell you! You can't waste food!"
Xiao Bao pouted and muttered unhappily, "I can finish it, so I won't waste food!"
"Then why are you asking me if I'm full? Don't you want me to help you finish your food?" The old man looked at Xiaobao with a puzzled expression.
"You ate a lot last night, but you're only eating this little bit today?" Fan Xiaoxiao asked, catching Xiaobao's question. This old man had eaten the whole duck yesterday!
"Oh dear, I was starving yesterday. I... I have a child at home, and he locked me up and wouldn't let me eat."
Everyone paused slightly as they drank their soup. Fan Xiaoxiao looked at him in surprise and asked, "Aren't you very good at kung fu?! Why are you locked up?!"
The old man blushed, whether from anger or shame at remembering his imprisonment, he said, "I... I can't beat him! I escaped yesterday when he wasn't around."
After hearing the old man's words, the expressions on everyone's faces became quite varied. Xiao Bao walked over to the old man and patted him sympathetically, saying, "Grandpa Fatty, you're so pitiful..."
"Huh? Oh, I'm not pitiful! Now that I think about it, it's all thanks to that kid who locked me up, that's how I smelled the food you guys made! And got to eat such delicious duck!" The old man didn't seem to care about being locked up at all, and even showed a smile that didn't look very smart.
Smell? Fan Xiaoxiao felt her lips twitch. This old man's nose was probably even more sensitive than a dog's!
"Sigh!" Little Bao sighed like a little adult, then continued patting the old man: "But Grandpa Fatty, you shouldn't scare us like that!"
"What...what?" The old man wasn't angry that Xiao Bao patted him. Instead, he squatted down and faced the little guy to continue asking him, his face full of confusion.
Everyone stopped eating and looked at the old man and the child.
Xiao Bao clasped his hands together in a serious manner, his little face full of solemnity: "Just yesterday, he was grinning at Auntie without saying a word! He looked like a big bad guy! If you want to eat, Auntie will make you some! And also, he scared Grandpa by saying he was going to poison him! He was so naughty!"
"Hiss!" Everyone gasped, staring in disbelief at the little dumpling. Why was this child jumping out at everything? Uncle Wang tensed up as he looked at the old man, fearing that the man might suddenly fly into a rage and hurt the child.
But the old man didn't seem to be affected. Instead, he frowned seriously and said, "But I used to be like this too!"
"No! You have to apologize to Grandpa and the others! Otherwise... otherwise I'll make Auntie not make you any more dumplings and vermicelli soup!"
"Hiss..." Everyone gasped again. How come they never realized this little dumpling was so bold?! She even knew how to use threats and bribes!?
"Wanwan and vermicelli soup... what are those? Are they tasty?" The old man's attention was clearly not on the same point as Fan Xiaoxiao's; he was more concerned about the two foods in Xiaobao's mouth.
"It's delicious! Go apologize quickly, and if you apologize, we'll eat dumplings tonight!"
The little boy pointed at everyone very seriously, and the old man stroked his chin. He stood up, walked to the front of the group, and gave a strange bow: "I was very rude last night, please forgive me!"
Everyone was so shocked that they stood up. Xiao Bao ran over and tugged at Uncle Wang's hand: "Grandpa! Fatty Grandpa knows he was wrong. Can we forgive him? He was just hungry yesterday."
The old man glanced at the little bundle of joy and was deeply moved. This baby was such a good baby!
Uncle Wang's lips twitched as he looked at the two people in front of him. After exchanging glances with the others, they all felt both annoyed and amused. After hesitating for a moment, he sighed and said, "Ah... old man, please don't be so polite. We forgive you."
The old man was delighted and looked at Xiao Bao, while Xiao Bao looked at Fan Xiaoxiao.
Fan Xiaoxiao: ...I think Xiaobao, you definitely want to eat fish balls, so you've brought along a companion.
"Alright then! We'll have fish balls for dinner."
"Yay!" The old man and Xiao Bao cheered, and the two of them immediately went to the side and whispered to each other.
Everyone shook their heads as they looked at the two of them, now fully understanding that the old man was just a child at heart and not inherently a bad person.
Just as everyone finished eating and was about to leave, Xiao Bao came running over again, shouting, "Auntie! Grandpa Fatty said he knows where everyone here has gone!"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
