Chapter 216 Pregnant women cannot eat snails
Before we knew it, it was evening.
Cheng Wanwan began preparing to make snails.
Chunhua helped cut off the hard shell at the tail of the snail.
San Niu was making bamboo skewers with great care. These things required a lot of fine work and tested his patience and endurance. A Fu, who had just entered, couldn't bear to watch and helped him split the bamboo skewers. Then, he slowly sharpened the bamboo skewers with a small machete. In no time, he had made more than twenty bamboo skewers.
At this moment, the fire in the stove was lit. Cheng Wanwan poured all five catties of snails into the pot. Fortunately, the pot was large enough to cook five catties without any problem. After cooking, she immediately rinsed them with cold water to make the meat tender and crisp. Then she heated the pot, added oil, and threw in all the ingredients to stir-fry until fragrant. In particular, she added a lot of Sichuan peppercorns and dogwood. The spiciness of dogwood and chili peppers is different. Cheng Wanwan secretly added some chopped chili pepper pieces to stir-fry together.
The step of stir-frying the ingredients in oil was the one that Cheng Wanwan had the least control over, so she directly handed it over to Chunhua.
Despite her young age, Chunhua is very diligent. She started cooking when she was eight or nine years old and her stir-frying skills are quite impressive. After stir-frying for a while, a rich aroma filled the air. Cheng Wanwan poured in a large ladle of water, covered the pot, and simmered it.
A group of children squeezed into the kitchen.
Zhao Sidan savored the aroma in the air, sucking in his saliva: "It smells so good, it's just too good!"
Wu Huiniang said sincerely, "Mother, you are amazing."
She had tried making this before, but no matter what she tried, she couldn't make it taste good. She was determined to learn more from her mother-in-law.
Zhao Sanniu swallowed hard: "I didn't know this stuff could be made so delicious. I'll go to the river and fish for some more tonight."
Shen Zheng raised his hand: "San Niu, take me with you."
He had never gone down into the river to catch fish or shrimp before, and he seemed to think it would be a lot of fun.
Cheng Wanwan said helplessly, "It's already autumn, the river water is cool at night, be careful not to get sick. You can try going when the sun is shining brightly."
The children happily agreed.
In no time, a large pot of snails was ready.
Cheng Wanwan took out three bowls. She sent one to the Wang family, one to Master Yu, and kept one for Chunhua to take back to Old Zhao's family later. As for He Xiao, his wounds had not yet healed, so he could only drink porridge and eat vegetables every day.
Zhao Sidan took two bowls and quickly delivered them to Aunt Wang and Master Yu, then immediately turned back to wait for his meal.
Dinner was relatively plentiful, with each person having a bowl of rice, and they could ask for more if they weren't full. There were all sorts of dishes on the table, the most eye-catching of which was the snail dish. A large bowl of snails glistened with red oil, and the rich, spicy aroma wafted out, stimulating everyone's appetite. The sound of people swallowing their saliva could be heard constantly around the table.
Cheng Wanwan handed out a bamboo skewer to everyone and said gently, "Hold the snail in your hand, and skewer it to bring out the meat..."
The children couldn't wait to grab bamboo skewers and imitate them. When they put the first bite of snail meat into their mouths, countless gasps immediately rose from around the table.
This snail dish is made with dogwood and dried chili peppers, giving it a spicy and numbing flavor, but not so spicy as to be unbearable.
"Ouch, so spicy!" Zhao Ergou gulped down water. "Delicious, so incredibly delicious!"
Zhao Dashan helped Wu Huiniang pry out the snail meat, then rinsed it with water before feeding it to his wife: "You're pregnant, you can't eat anything too spicy."
Wu Huiniang really wanted to try some spicy snail meat, but she was afraid of upsetting the baby in her belly, so she had to hold back.
Zhao Sidan gasped for breath, "I can't take it anymore, it's so spicy, ouch..."
"If you can't handle spice, then don't eat!" Shen Zheng said, inhaling sharply. "There are so many empty shells piled up around the edge of your bowl. Can you please eat a little slower?"
Zhao Sidan stuck out his tongue: "Who told you to pretend to be so refined!"
After saying that, he immediately ate two snails.
Cheng Wanwan was so spicy she couldn't speak, and she didn't have time to talk either, because these boys were eating too fast. If she had been any slower, she probably wouldn't have been able to eat more than a few bites.
Even the usually refined Cheng Zhao and Cao Yingying lowered their heads and silently ate the snail meat, leaving a pile of empty shells around the edge of their bowls.
The sounds of people taking deep breaths and drinking water could be heard continuously around the dining table.
The same was true for the Wang family. A bowl of snails was gone in no time, and each member of the family ate four or five, still wanting more.
On Master Yu's side, he enjoyed a bowl of snails all by himself. At first, he didn't think much of it, but after finishing his meal, he picked up a snail with the idea of giving it a try. He elegantly picked it out with a bamboo skewer and put the snail meat into his mouth. He was instantly captivated by the taste... Before he knew it, he had eaten a whole bowl and drunk up the pot of water that had just been boiled.
After dinner, Chunhua returned to Lao Zhao's house with a large bowl of snails.
Sun smelled the aroma from afar and immediately came to greet her, her face beaming with a smile: "You're a kind girl, you even know to bring food back for me. Perfect for me to eat tonight."
These past few days, Chunhua has been bringing back snacks for Donghua from time to time, making her crave them too, but she's too embarrassed to compete with her daughter for food. Unexpectedly, Chunhua brought home a big bowl of snacks today. This girl has finally made progress.
Chunhua quickly said, "My aunt asked me to bring this back for my grandparents."
Sun's face immediately fell, and she grabbed Chunhua's shoulder, saying, "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."
Hearing footsteps behind her, she immediately turned around with a smile. "Mother, this is what my sister-in-law asked Chunhua to bring back for you and Father. The snails we caught in the river all have a muddy smell, but this is made by my sister-in-law, so it's definitely different from usual. Mother, try it quickly."
There were at least thirty or forty snails in this bowl. Of course, Grandma Zhao couldn't eat them all by herself, so she had the whole family sit down and each person eat three or four.
In the past, snails were definitely not popular.
But since it was brought back from Aunt's house, it must be delicious. This became a consensus among all the children in the Zhao family at some point.
Chunhua only brought back three bamboo skewers, and the family took turns eating them.
"Wow, my god, snail meat can be so delicious!" Zhao Dawang exclaimed. "I want to be my aunt's son!"
Zhao Erwang took a deep breath: "Big brother, take me with you!"
"You two brats, you've gotten too bold, haven't you!" Madam Wen grabbed the two boys by the ears. "You don't even recognize your own parents, all your education has gone to waste."
Zhao Dawang quickly begged for forgiveness: "Mom, I was just joking. You should try this snail meat, it's so delicious!"
He picked out a piece of meat and stuffed it into Wen's mouth.
Ms. Wen's eyes widened immediately; the taste was absolutely amazing!
Zhao Erwang followed suit, picking up a piece of meat and stuffing it into Old Mrs. Zhao's mouth: "Grandma, is it delicious?"
Grandma Zhao gasped, "My goodness, this is so spicy it's killing me! Water, quick, get me some water! I'm not eating anymore, you guys eat it, don't let this spiciness kill me!"
Qiu Hua quickly brought over a bowl of water, and Old Mrs. Zhao drank it from the little girl's hand, feeling much better afterward.
The old lady quickly said, "Third daughter-in-law, please don't eat anymore. You're pregnant, don't make things worse with spicy food!"
Donghua immediately snatched the bamboo skewer from Sun's hand: "Mom, give me this one. I like spicy food, it's so delicious!"
Sun: "..."
She had only licked the food her own daughter brought back; she hadn't even had a chance to eat it yet.
For the first time, I realized that pregnancy isn't necessarily a good thing.
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