Wu Qiaoqiao didn't say anything about Lin Yuwei sitting there tending the fire, while Feng Mingyue and Xiang Jun were taking care of the children, and Xiang Qin was washing things. She knew it was the children's own responsibility. It had always been like this. She only hoped that as they spent more time together, the children would relax a bit, stop trying to please her like this, and truly treat her like their mother.
Thinking of this, Wu Qiaoqiao didn't say anything more and stepped into the kitchen to Zhao Xiuxiang's side.
"Auntie, what are you cooking for dinner? I can smell the delicious aroma from the doorway. And how much fish did you buy today?"
When Zhao Xiuxiang saw Wu Qiaoqiao enter, she smiled and said to Wu Qiaoqiao...
"You're awake. We were just saying we'd wake you up when it's time to eat. Tonight we're having stewed fish and cornbread. We bought a few fish and they're buried in the snow under the window."
As she spoke, she lifted the lid of the pot, and a fresh fish aroma immediately wafted out. Wu Qiaoqiao looked down and saw a milky white fish soup simmering in the pot, with a ring of golden cornbreads stuck around the edge. The cornbreads were neatly stuck to the side of the pot, with about a third of them submerged in the soup, looking incredibly delicious.
Just as Wu Qiaoqiao couldn't help but swallow, Zhao Xiuxiang sprinkled some salt into the pot, took a handful of chopped scallions from the vegetables the two children had just washed, chopped them up, and sprinkled them on the soup, saying to Wu Qiaoqiao.
"Alright, stop drooling. Get me a bowl, let's start preparing dinner."
Wu Qiaoqiao happily agreed and took two basins from the cupboard, handing them to Zhao Xiuxiang. Zhao Xiuxiang took the basins, using one to hold the flatbread stuck to the side of the pot and the other to hold the fish soup from the pot. After doing this, she casually scrubbed the pot clean. She then added some water, preparing to use it for washing her face and feet later.
After seeing Zhao Xiuxiang fill the soup bowls, Wu Qiaoqiao was about to place them on the dining table when Feng Mingran and his sister, who were standing next to her, each took a bowl from her. Since the weather turned cold, they usually ate in the kitchen, only occasionally bringing their food to the kang (heated brick bed). Tonight, they decided to eat in the kitchen.
Wu Qiaoqiao first took two bowls, each filled with a little less than half a bowl of fish soup. Then she broke off a small piece of cornbread and let it soak in the soup. While waiting for the cornbread to soften, Wu Qiaoqiao moved the two children to the dining table, preparing to feed them while she ate her own meal.
Seeing this, Lin Yuwei moved one of the children to her side and took a bowl of fish soup with flatbread from Wu Qiaoqiao, placing it in front of her. At this time, Zhao Xiuxiang tidied up the stove a little and sat down at the table. Each person had a bowl in front of them, containing fish soup and fish. As Zhao Xiuxiang started eating, everyone began to eat. Wu Qiaoqiao first took a flatbread from the bowl, took a bite, and found the side that had been touching the pan crisp and fragrant, making a crisp sound. With her other hand, she used a spoon to scoop a soft piece of flatbread from the bowl of fish soup and put it into the mouth of her eldest son.
Lin Yuwei did the same thing, except she first picked up the bowl and took a sip of the hot soup, while feeding Wu Qiaoqiao's youngest son with her other hand. The two little ones ate the fragrant fish soup with flatbread while making loud noises.
Everyone ate their hot meal in the warm kitchen. Soon, the five adults and four children finished the pot of fish soup, fish and all, along with a pot of flatbread. After eating, they patted their full bellies and couldn't help but let out a long, comfortable sigh.
As for the fish buried in the snow under the window, Wu Qiaoqiao said she planned to clean them up tomorrow. Now that she's eaten something warm and cozy, she'll comfortably wash her hands, soak her feet, and then go to bed. You might ask how she could still sleep after sleeping for so long this afternoon? Wu Qiaoqiao said that as long as she can get the child to sleep, she has plenty of activities planned for the evening. She's not worried about whether the child will fall asleep or not. Anyway, in this freezing weather, it's okay if she gets up a little later this morning.
After resting for a while, Feng Mingran got up and went back to Zhao Xiuxiang's house next door to sleep with his two friends. Of course, they weren't really sleeping at this time; they just lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) together reading and studying.
Meanwhile, Zhao Xiuxiang and Feng Mingyue helped Xiang Jun and Xiang Qin wash up and go to bed. They hadn't slept during the day, so of course they fell asleep early.
After tidying up the two little ones, Wu Qiaoqiao and Lin Yuwei put them on the kang (a heated brick bed) to play. Each of them took out a book and watched the two children fall asleep. Lin Yuwei also wanted to sleep, so Wu Qiaoqiao didn't take out her tablet anymore, but instead read her book until she felt sleepy and lay down to sleep.
The next day, before everyone else was awake, Wu Qiaoqiao woke up very early. If you asked her why she woke up so early, she would tell you that she was drooling over the fish. Last night, she dreamt of all sorts of ways to eat fish.
After Wu Qiaoqiao woke up, she first added some more firewood to the two kang beds to keep them burning, so that everyone would wake up cold if the fire went out. After she finished doing this, she washed herself with water from the pot, then took a shovel and cleared away the snow that had fallen the night before. After clearing a path in the yard, she went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
After everyone got up and finished breakfast, they started cleaning up the fish buried in the snow under the window. It was then that Wu Qiaoqiao realized Zhao Xiuxiang must have bought all those big fish yesterday. However, it wasn't that she thought Zhao Xiuxiang had bought too many; after all, when they were sorting the fish by the lake yesterday, she had been drooling over them. She had even thought that if no one else bought them, she would have taken them all.
Seeing these large fish, Wu Qiaoqiao was overjoyed. She, along with Feng Mingyue and Zhao Xiuxiang, spent most of the day cleaning these large fish and the three fish weighing over a pound each, which were all allocated to them according to their length. Wu Qiaoqiao didn't waste a single thing; everything edible was cleaned and set aside.
Zhao Xiuxiang looked at the fish scales, intestines, swim bladders, and roe that Wu Qiaoqiao had washed and placed aside, and shook her head with a smile. She then asked Wu Qiaoqiao, "What are you going to do with these?"
Wu Qiaoqiao said that the fish scales can be made into fish scale jelly, and the fish intestines, fish maw, and fish roe can be lightly fried and then made into a fish offal hot pot. As for the large fish that has been cleaned, Wu Qiaoqiao plans to make some fish balls, which will be frozen and can be taken out to cook whenever she wants to eat them. Whether it's for hot pot, stew, or just a simple vegetable and fish ball soup, it will be very convenient.
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