Chapter 115: Chef Yan goes to the kitchen (Catching Bugs) Chen Yin protested: "Still...
Chapter 115: Chef Yan goes to the kitchen (Catching Bugs)
The children in the village, anxious for the New Year, had already started setting off small firecrackers, which occasionally made crackling and popping sounds.
Zhuangzhuang was extremely envious, but he still followed in his parents' footsteps.
The three little ones were warmly welcomed at their grandma's house.
One reason is that there are too few children in the family, and the other grandchildren are not in the village, so they are rarely seen.
Chen Yin took Zhuangzhuang by the hand and taught him one by one: "This is great-grandmother."
Zhuangzhuang shouted loudly: "Hello, great-grandmother!"
"Hey, great!" The old lady smiled, squinting her eyes, and pulled out a big red envelope, stuffing it into Zhuangzhuang's hand. "Use this to buy some candy."
Zhuangzhuang turned his head to look at his mother.
This is a welcome gift from the old man. It would be bad if I didn't accept it.
Chen Yin nodded: "Why don't you thank great-grandmother?"
Zhuangzhuang thanked him loudly and cheerfully, then put the red envelope in his pocket. "No need to buy candy, we have some at home. But you can buy some firecrackers."
Grandma and grandpa called out to them along the way, and the three little ones received a handful of big red envelopes.
But the two little cubs didn’t know anything yet, so their mother put all the money away. Only Zhuangzhuang kept it tightly in his pocket to buy things for himself.
Chen Yin let him do what he wanted, just enjoy the beauty first, and then she would take it off when she got back.
***
The son-in-law was an honored guest, so the old lady also sat cross-legged on the kang in the main room to receive the guest.
Chen Yin took out a pair of special-looking shoes from her bag.
"Grandma, these are the shoes I bought for you. Try them on and see if they fit you."
Grandma Chen was nearly seventy years old, with graying hair, combed into a neat bun and pinned with a wooden hairpin with a root polished to a smooth consistency.
Grandma Chen picked up the shoes and looked closer. "Wow, these shoes are still available?"
Grandma Chen used to have her feet bound. Although she later unbound them, her feet could never return to normal.
People with feet like this can't wear ordinary shoes unless they are handmade.
Chen Yin heard from her neighbor that many people of the older generation had to bind their feet and then unbind them, which made it very difficult for them to put on shoes.
Yancheng is a big city after all, and there are stores that specialize in making this kind of shoes. Chen Yin went there specifically and bought a pair for her grandmother according to her own impression.
"Grandma, there's a place in Yancheng that specializes in making these kinds of shoes. I'll buy them for you when they're suitable."
The old lady touched her shoes with tears in her eyes.
She is old and her eyesight has not improved, so she can no longer make shoes.
Besides, not many people know how to make this kind of shoes now. My daughter-in-law is an anti-feudal revolutionary, so she is even less capable of making this kind of shoes. She can only save them for herself.
I didn’t expect that my granddaughter took it to heart and came all the way here to get it. She asked if I could wear it or not. This thoughtfulness is so precious.
***
Chen Yin also bought suede shoes for her father, which are warm and practical to wear this winter. She also bought cotton-leather shoes for her mother, with cowhide soles and fur lining, which are durable and decent.
Her mother has been reluctant to buy a pair of good shoes for years, and has always given everything to the elderly and children.
After handing out the gifts, Chen Yin looked around and asked, "Where's my little brother?"
She bought a pen and a new cotton jacket for her little brother.
Tian Xiaolian said, "I went to your uncle's house early this morning to bring some fried sanzi to your grandma. Your grandma loves it, but your aunt would definitely not be willing to fry it."
I live with my son and daughter-in-law, so as a daughter, I can't say much.
Every family has its own problems.
Chen Yin said: "We don't have time to go to my uncle's house before the New Year, let's go to pay New Year's greetings after the New Year." The gifts will also be given during the New Year's greetings.
Tian Xiaolian didn't want her daughter to be upset, so she changed the subject and talked about Chen Yin's older brother.
"Your eldest brother wrote to me before the New Year saying he had just been promoted to platoon leader and it was difficult for him to ask for leave, so he won't be able to come back for the New Year this year."
Chen Yin's older brother is her twin, but was born a little later. The year she got married, her older brother went to join the army.
New recruits rarely have the opportunity to go home. Later, I became a squad leader. I thought that since it was my third year this year, I should be able to take a leave. Unexpectedly, I was promoted because of my good performance and now I can't go home.
"Do you have a boyfriend in the army?" Chen Yin was concerned about this.
Tian Xiaolian sighed, "Your brother said he won't date anyone until he becomes battalion commander, otherwise he won't be able to join the army. There's no point in being apart."
"That's true. He's not that old, so we can wait."
There is no way to not wait.
Because of the revolution, her parents got married late and had three children. Now, except for her, she is married, and no one knows when her younger brothers will be married.
She also went to Yancheng.
Fortunately, there is a naughty little brother at home, which makes the life a little more lively.
***
It's a rare occasion for my daughter and son-in-law to come home, so of course I have to leave dinner for them.
We have two meals around the New Year, late in the morning and early in the afternoon. Especially today, since we are entertaining my daughter and son-in-law, we eat even earlier.
Tian Xiaolian specially stewed pork elbows and trotters, made pork skin jelly, braised large intestines, and sprinkled them with oily sugar. She also stewed sauerkraut, blood sausage and pork.
Every family kills a pig during the Chinese New Year, and this dish is indispensable.
Zhuangzhuang has good teeth. When he chews pig's trotters, the oil makes a greasy sound, and his little mouth is full of oil.
Secretary Chen rarely sat down to drink with his son-in-law, so he took out his hidden collection of fine wine and filled a glass for both Grandma Chen and her husband.
He also said to his daughter apologetically: "You are still feeding. If you can't drink it, Daddy will leave a bottle for you next time."
Most women in the northern province can drink some liquor, and it's usually strong liquor. It's mainly because it's cold here and they need some to ward off the cold... right?
Anyway, without being modest, if you don't need a wine ticket to buy wine and just drink as much as you want, most men may not be able to drink more than women in the Northern Province, including men in the Northern Province.
Women in the northern province don't drink alcohol easily, mainly because they can't work after drinking and have to take care of the whole family.
A woman who is drunk and behaves like that will be laughed at and thought to be shallow.
The exceptions are during Chinese New Year and other holidays.
***
After Yan Jiuru was forced to drink two cups of wine by his father-in-law, he talked about the story of Old Ge Tou.
"How did he get in touch with my grandfather? We weren't very familiar with each other before."
Secretary Chen must know that the public security is investigating Old Ge Tou.
He said to Yan Jiuru, "Our team headquarters' phone isn't used much, and there aren't many calls from outside. Your grandfather and his friends call more often."
"Weren't we fighting quite often those days? Occasionally, there were other people around, so word might have gotten out. Who knows how he got to know it? He'd been strolling around the brigade headquarters several times in a row, and one of those times, he happened to be on the phone with your grandfather."
Does this mean I'm waiting for you?!
"Who in his family wants to eat big, ...
"It must be the eldest son of his family. He was already in poor health when he fled the famine, and he's been like that all these years. He only gets four or five work points for working, which isn't even as much as the female members."
Yan Jiuru thought about it and seemed to have some impression. He couldn't help but say, "Haven't you planned to go out and have a look in these years? Why did you suddenly think of eating this?"
"Just a while ago, he said he had an unbearable stomachache and headache, so he went to the county hospital and was diagnosed with hepatitis, which is difficult to treat."
It is said that someone outside the hospital secretly told him this folk remedy, and it works well for relieving pain.
In fact, it is not a folk remedy. Many elderly people know it, but few people mention it after the new society. After all, it is not a serious medicine, and everyone has gradually forgotten it.
***
On the way home, Yan Jiuru muttered to Chen Yin, "Do you think it's a coincidence, or did someone specifically say it?"
Chen Yin pondered and said, "That depends on the police investigating the situation at the hospital. We'll know if they can find the person who said this folk remedy."
"What? Do you suspect someone did it on purpose?"
Yan Jiuru exhaled a puff of white mist, "Drug-related matters are no small matter, so it is necessary to be cautious."
He needs to figure out whether the spearhead is directed at him or something else...
Let’s celebrate the New Year.
After the New Year, if the police couldn't find anyone, he could just search Old Ge's memory.
***
Your house cannot be empty during the Chinese New Year.
On the 29th, Uncle Yan's family and Ruchun's family all went back to their own homes, and only came together to eat the New Year's Eve dinner in the middle of the night.
Yan Jiuru specifically asked Rushan to call his second uncle and Wen Weidong to go to the river to catch ice fish together.
People in northern Taiwan eat fresh fish during the Chinese New Year to bring good luck and abundance every year.
The adults were walking out of the village with their tools. The little kids, who had been setting off firecrackers sporadically, heard the news and followed to watch the fun.
Zhuangzhuang and the other children in the village were having a lot of fun, so of course they wanted to go and see wherever the fun was.
He acted like a spoiled brat and clung to his uncle Rushong, and finally went to the river with the older kids.
With his father around, his family feels relieved.
There were many people who came to the ice of the river to fish, so they walked a distance forward.
"Right here. The water's deep, so there must be big fish."
Yan Jiuru plunged Tiechuanzi onto the ice surface, and his spiritual sense patrolled the river water under the ice. After a while, he found more than a dozen big fish.
"How many fingers does the hook take?"
"Four-fingered."
"Three-fingered."
"Okay, we'll catch some fast-water fish, that's enough."
***
Yan Jiuru circled out a few places and asked everyone to dig holes. Before the water came out, they quickly enlarged the hole, poked the hook down with a pole, and let it float downstream with the water.
He used his spiritual sense to drive the fish, and within ten minutes, a fish was caught.
After waiting for another ten minutes or so, when everyone was stamping their feet with cold, he finally shouted, "Get up, there are enough fish."
His family cast two four-finger hooks and caught more than twenty big fish, the small ones weighing four or five kilograms, and the big ones weighing more than twenty kilograms, including pike, catfish, and yarrow.
As soon as the fish was pulled up, it flapped its wings.
Zhuangzhuang was so excited that he stamped his feet and shouted, "Dad, what a big fish!"
His father threw one over: "Catch it!"
Zhuangzhuang rushed forward to catch the fish, but he failed to catch the fish and was slapped by the fish's tail.
The child pouted his lips, looking at his father with tears in his eyes, as if he was about to cry.
Yan Jiuru laughed at his son and ignored him, busy picking fish from the hook.
***
After everyone has picked the fish, the hooks are thrown down again and they can be picked up again when they have time.
"There's an ice cave over here. You can't come this way. You'll fall in!"
The adults gave a warning, and the children, knowing the danger, all agreed. Then the group carried the fish back to the village in a mighty procession.
Zhuangzhuang couldn't walk anymore, so his father carried him on his shoulders.
"Are you cold?" Yan Jiuru asked his son.
"It's not cold!" The child was dressed warmly, wearing a cotton hat and cotton gloves, and his whole body was warm.
"Are you coming down? It's windy up there."
Zhuangzhuang shook his head, "No, I'm not going down. I can see far away."
Yan Jiuru laughed angrily. How could he not see far while sitting on his neck?
Okay, it’s fine as long as you don’t mind the wind being too strong since you sit that high up.
***
"Fish with sauce, stewed chicken, braised pork elbow, braised pig's trotter, pork with garlic paste, pork skin jelly, black sausage with pickled cabbage, fried egg shreds with sugar, shredded pork with cabbage, and roast duck."
This includes chicken, duck, fish and meat.
"Can you put ten dishes on the table?"
Yan Niang looked at the table and felt a little unsure. She still had to cook dumplings, and if they were all served, there would be no room left.
Grandma Yan looked around and decided, "If there's no room, just stack them on top. It'll be perfect for the New Year."
The kitchen was steaming hot and people were busy frying and deep-frying.
Yan Jiuru and others were also busy: killing fish, scraping the skin, roasting pig hair, breaking pig trotters, chopping chickens...
In short, there is no saying that men in the northern province do not go into the kitchen. On the contrary, they are the main force, especially when it comes to preparing big dishes during the Chinese New Year.
The fish with sauce must be made by Yan Jiuru.
It's not that he is particularly good at it, but he is the only one in the family who is willing to pour tons and tons of oil into half a pot. When frying fish, especially big fish, if there is not enough oil, the fish body will not be covered, and it will be too troublesome to fry.
Yan Jiuru, wearing an apron, placed the fish in a curved shape and put it into the wok. She called out to Chen Yin, "Give me that big bowl of fish roe. I'll stew it with the sauce later."
Chen Yin put her hands on her hips and said, "That's exactly ten dishes. What are you stewing? How about eating it tomorrow?"
"Then make two more!"
"I see there's some roe deer meat. I'll make some meatball soup with it."
I have to eat caviar today!
Chen Yin: Okay, you are the chef and you have the final say.
"Where's the garlic? Give me some minced garlic."
"chopped green onion!"
"Ginger, slice it!"
"Pass me the wine..."
Chen Yin protested, "I'd rather cook it myself. You need someone to help you cook! Others don't have to work as hard as you even when they cook eight dishes."
Yan Jiuru grinned, "It's because our chef is so skilled. Just wait and see, this is what Chef Yan cooks, it's so delicious."
***
Grandma Yan and Yan Niang were making dumplings in the main room.
There were two pots of fillings on the table, one with beef, green onions and carrots, and the other with celery and pork. There were also candies, peanuts, and coins on the table, all of which were auspicious words to be wrapped in the dumplings.
Zhuangzhuang stood on a stool and lay beside to watch, eager to try and pack two.
Grandma coaxed, "Let's not do it, or your mother will beat you if your new clothes get dirty."
The main thing is that children don’t know how to wrap it, and the elders can’t stand seeing them wasting food.
Zhuangzhuang looked at the new clothes he was wearing and could only sigh: "Next time I won't listen to my uncle and wear them so early."
Chen Yin, her mother-in-law and her great-grandmother all laughed.
Rusong was anxious to wear the new clothes to show off but was afraid of being scolded, so he instigated the little brat to wear them with him, and the little fool was fooled.
Adults don’t get involved in these things. How can you grow up without suffering a little?
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