Lu Qiqi watched as Old Lady Hao left the noodle shop, and then Liu Tong and Dunzi each carried a large bag of flour in.
"What smells so good, and it's also a little sour. My mouth is watering!" Liu Tong said, and Zhu Zi quickly took the flour bag from Liu Tong's shoulder.
As Lu Qiqi walked toward the counter, she said, "I made sour soup to cook sour soup noodles with shredded pork."
Upon hearing that Lu Qiqi was up to something new, Liu Tong rubbed his hands together and laughed heartily, "Hahaha, I'm in for a treat today, Qiqi, make me a bowl of noodles too."
Lu Qiqi smiled and said, "Okay, I'll make you all a bowl. Wait until it's ready."
Lu Qiqi returned to the table and made three bowls of noodles, which she then served to Liu Tong and his apprentice on a wooden tray.
Three bowls of noodles were placed on the table. Liu Tong glanced back and saw that there was no fourth bowl. He asked, "Girl, aren't you going to eat?"
Before returning from Luzhou Prefecture, Lu Qiqi ate something to fill her stomach. Since the local ruffians hadn't been dealt with, she didn't have much of an appetite. She said, "I'm not hungry. I need to go back early to cook fish for them."
Liu Tong then remembered that Lu Qiqi had promised the Zhou brothers yesterday to make spicy and sour fish today, and he couldn't deny feeling envious.
But after Liu Tong tasted the sour soup noodles with shredded pork, he felt that his own bowl wasn't bad either, so he wasn't so envious of the Zhou brothers being able to eat sour and spicy fish tonight.
Lu Qiqi went to Nanshi in advance to buy two fish. When she got to the corner, she put the fish into the stream in her space and put them in a fish basket so that they wouldn't die when she got back. Fresh fish tastes better.
After buying the fish, Lu Qiqi went out of the city gate and found a corner to let the horse out.
The horse was still chewing on the tender grass in the space, and was about to take another bite a second ago, but the next second it saw the bare muddy road and was so upset that it wanted to kick someone.
Lu Qiqi mounted the horse, gripped the reins tightly, and pulled hard. The horse turned around and quickly started running on the road.
Back in the veterans' village, Lu Qiqi carried two lively fish home.
Lu Dahai and the others hadn't returned from working in the fields yet. Lu Shi and Li Shi each took a fish and happily went to the stream to clean it.
When Lu Yao saw her sister return, she pulled Xi Bao to Lu Qiqi's side and said, "Sister, the purse is finished. Do you like it?"
Lu Qiqi had just come out of the kitchen after washing her hands and wiping the water stains on a dry cloth on a shelf before taking the purse from Lu Yao.
Lu Qiqi examined the sky-blue purse, embroidered with lifelike lotus flowers and leaves. She could feel the delicate stitching when she touched it. Lu Qiqi exclaimed in surprise, "Ayao, you are so skillful! Your embroidery skills are so amazing. You have learned all of my skills."
Keep in mind that Lu Yao is only nine years old this year!
Lu Yao was a little embarrassed by Lu Qiqi's praise. Seeing that Lu Qiqi was about to put it in her pouch, she hurriedly said, "Sister, open it up and take a look inside."
Lu Qiqi looked up at Lu Yao and did as she was told, turning the purse over. The other side was dark blue with two red persimmons embroidered on it, making it look as if there were really two small persimmons stuck to it.
Lu Qiqi was completely impressed by Lu Yao's embroidery skills. It turned out to be double-sided embroidery. Lu Qiqi carefully touched it and found it was indeed a piece of cloth. She asked, "How did you do that?"
Lu Yao said, "Mother taught me, and my sister learned it too. Have you forgotten?"
Lu Qiqi chuckled dryly, "I bumped my head, I can't remember."
Lu Yao didn't dwell on Lu Qiqi forgetting about the embroidery; she only cared that her sister was alive. "The cyan side is embroidered with lotus flowers, hoping my sister will be prosperous and peaceful. The blue side has two persimmons embroidered on it; Mother said persimmons represent good luck, and I hope my sister has persimmons every day." May she have good luck every day.
Clutching her purse, Lu Qiqi pulled Lu Yao into her arms. For the past two days, she had been having trouble breathing. She was angry at herself for being too impulsive in doing business and attracting attention, angry at herself for being unable to change the autocratic social system, and angry at herself for actually thinking of asking for help and experiencing the predicament of having nowhere to turn for help.
"Sis, I can't breathe," Lu Yao whispered. "Sis, what's wrong?"
Lu Qiqi took a breath and released Lu Yao, saying, "It's nothing, it's just that I feel Yao has grown up and become more sensible."
Lu Yao didn't dodge Lu Qiqi's hand that was patting her head, and said, "Yes, I've grown up, I'm a little adult now, and I'll be more sensible in the future."
Lu Qiqi ruffled Lu Yao's hair, then smiled through her tears, "Thank you for the purse, Yao. I really like it. Take Xibao out to play. I'll make you spicy and sour fish tonight."
Seeing that Lu Qiqi was alright, Lu Yao didn't think much of it and took Xibao out to play.
When Li and Lu returned after cleaning the fish, Lu Qiqi had already prepared all the ingredients.
The cabbage had only been pickled for a few days and couldn't be eaten yet, so Lu Qiqi used pickled radishes to make hot and sour soup.
Lu helped start the fire, while Li went out to find Lu Dahai to go home. Lu Dahai had just recovered from his injury, and Li originally didn't want him to go back to work in the fields so soon, but she couldn't stop him.
It was Lu Qiqi who spoke up, suggesting that Lu Dahai do one hour of light work each in the morning and afternoon, and Li Shi and Lu Dahai reached a consensus by each taking a step back.
Lu laughed at Lu Dahai and Li for being so affectionate, but Lu Qiqi found their way of getting along particularly heartwarming.
Madam Lu added a handful of firewood to the stove and said, "Seventh girl, slice the fish into thin slices, otherwise they'll fall apart when you cook them."
"Auntie, just you wait and see," Lu Qiqi said with a smile.
Lu Qiqi put oil in the pan, and once the oil was hot, she fried the fish bones until golden brown on both sides, then took them out and set them aside.
Next, it was time to make the sour soup. Lu Qiqi poured the pickled radish cubes into the pot, added the spiritual spring water diluted with stream water, and sprinkled in fine salt.
Once the sour soup boiled, Lu Qiqi added the fish slices marinated with ginger and the prepared fish bones to the pot to cook.
Once the fish slices curled slightly, Lu Qiqi scooped out the fish slices and bones and placed them in a large bowl, then poured the sour soup over the fish.
The last and most crucial step was for Lu Qiqi to sprinkle minced garlic, dried chili peppers, and Sichuan peppercorns on the fish, and then drizzle hot oil over it.
With a swishing sound, the aroma of dried chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns was instantly released. Lu Qiqi smiled and said, "Auntie, please try the dish with your chopsticks."
"Oh," Lu Shi kept swallowing her saliva when she smelled Lu Qiqi cooking sour soup. Now that Lu Qiqi asked her to use chopsticks to taste the dishes, she was overjoyed and hurriedly went to get the chopsticks.
Seeing Madam Lu's hurried steps, Lu Qiqi couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Auntie, slow down, no one's going to take it from you, don't fall."
Madam Lu picked up chopsticks and came over, looking somewhat embarrassed. She said, "Seventh girl, don't blame your aunt for being unsophisticated. This sour and spicy fish you made smells sour, and my mouth was watering the whole time I was tending the fire."
"Then try this sour and spicy fish and see how it tastes," Lu Qiqi said, tapping the large bowl containing the fish lightly with her index finger.
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