"Hey, there are not only grass carp and silver carp in here, but also two snakeheads? They got into my basket and they still want to run away? No way! Big White, Little Black, quickly go and hold down that one over there..."
The crisp, clear voice pulled him back from his memories.
Looking up, one sees a girl leaning lazily on the grass, with two large bamboo baskets full of fish beside her. The fish are jumping and shaking their heads. Two small figures, one black and one white, raise their tiny paws and hold them down. The afterglow of the setting sun falls, covering the girl and the two beasts with a golden robe, making them look so beautiful that it seems otherworldly.
Yes, Hua'er was different from them from birth; she was born with a noble destiny.
Ever since she endured the ordeal before her coming-of-age ceremony, her growth has been alarmingly rapid.
In just half a month, he led his family from Shanghe Village to Cangwu Town, and then from Cangwu Town to Qingshui County. Life was getting better and better every day.
But as she said before, wealth is easy to acquire but hard to maintain. It's time for the Su family to change its ways; otherwise, even if they earn mountains of gold and silver, they may not be able to keep it.
As the eldest brother, it's time for him to gradually build a protective barrier for Hua'er and the family.
Su Hua took the black fish from the small black and big white claws, and suddenly felt a burning gaze on her body.
Turning her head, she saw Su Dahu looking at her, his obsidian eyes sparkling with a rosy light, and his gaze more resolute than she had ever seen before. Her heart stirred slightly, and she handed the fish in her hand to the man, "Brother, quickly help me take these two blackfish. After they've been kept for a day, we'll make blackfish soup for my sister!"
Snakehead fish has few bones and is rich in nutrients. Most importantly, it has excellent effects in removing blood stasis, promoting tissue regeneration, and nourishing and regulating the body.
In modern China, many women eat blackfish soup after childbirth. In fact, it is not only suitable to eat more blackfish after childbirth, but also for women like Su Sui who have lost too much blood and have large wounds, it is even more important to eat more blackfish to promote wound healing, muscle regeneration and blood replenishment.
She had planned to go to the market in Qingshui County tomorrow to see if she could buy a few.
Now that there are blackfish in the river, it couldn't be more convenient.
"Alright, Hua'er, wait here for a while. When your brother comes back, he can carry the fish on the ground back in a basket. Don't try to catch them yourself." Su Dahu took the black fish and strode towards the courtyard.
Su Hua readily agreed.
Although she was strong, it wasn't realistic for her to carry those two large bamboo baskets of fish back home.
In the blink of an eye, Su Dahu came running back with a basket on his back, followed by Su Erhu, whose head was covered in chicken and duck feathers, as well as Su Baishi, Zhaoshi, Qianshi, and the three little radish heads, Dalang, Erlang, and Chunhua.
Upon seeing the two bamboo baskets of fish on the riverbank, each person was even more surprised than Su Dahu and Su Sanhu had been earlier.
"My goodness, these are probably fish nests that have been in the river for over ten years that have come up here."
"The grass carp on this basket must weigh thirteen or fourteen pounds."
"And the silver carp, they're all so fat!"
"The crucian carp seeds inside are all bigger than our palms. If you make soup with them, the taste will be incredibly delicious!"
"With so much fish, does this mean what my aunt said earlier—that we can eat as much fish as we want, whether it's steamed, boiled, fried, or grilled?"
"You glutton! Your aunt said these are for making spicy hot pot at home. What are you making fish balls for? All you ever do is eat..."
As everyone got more and more excited, it was Su Bai who was the first to come to her senses and waved her hand.
“Sanhu, you’re strong, so put five or six in a basket and carry them back. Dahu and Erhu, you two each put five or six in the basket. As for the rest, eldest daughter-in-law, second daughter-in-law, and I will each carry two back. As for the crucian carp, Dalang, Erlang, and Chunhua, you three will be responsible for them.”
"Yes," the Su family members replied in unison.
They carried baskets, bamboo baskets, or simply held the fish in their hands.
As for whether it's dirty or fishy, that's completely irrelevant!
Only Su Hua, Da Bai, and Xiao Hei remained, heading home empty-handed.
After returning home, it was already completely dark. The Su family quickly ate dinner and then began to learn how to make fish balls with Su Hua in the kitchen.
Su Hua stood by the stove and demonstrated, with a large grass carp that had been cleaned. "First, we'll start from the tail end, along the central bone, and move the knife horizontally to the tail end to remove the fish meat. Next, we'll remove the fish skin. First, remove the belly bone from the fish, and then cut from the middle to the skin without cutting all the way through. You should be able to see the red color of the fish like this."
Then tilt the knife and gradually flatten it. Pull the hand holding the fish back and push the knife forward to easily remove the fish skin.
After removing the fish skin, the next step is to remove the fish bones from the fish meat, which is a crucial step in making fish balls.
Fearing the Su family wouldn't be able to see clearly, Su Hua deliberately moved the oil lamp closer and then explained patiently, "The bones of this grass carp are mainly distributed in the subcutaneous layer, which is the red part of the fish. We'll make an angled cut from the area with the white bar, and when the blade touches the bone, we'll gently push it, and the fish meat that comes off will be boneless."
She muttered to herself, but her hands didn't falter at all.
With a cleaver twirling in his hand, in just a few breaths, a grass carp weighing over ten pounds was sliced into a large bowl of fish fillets, with the fish head, bones, and skin clearly separated.
The Su family was shocked. Madam Qian exclaimed in surprise and waved her hands repeatedly, "Hua'er, how did you grow your hands like that? Your second sister-in-law would never be able to do this!"
Su Hua raised an eyebrow and glanced at her, her smile unchanged.
"It's alright. If you can't get the fish meat, you can chop the fish into minced meat later."
Having immersed herself in medical practice for many years, she is extremely familiar with all kinds of bones, and removing bones and skinning them is a piece of cake for her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to cut off the hands and peel the skin off the Wang family members so easily today.
Extracting fish meat requires a bit of skill; once you're proficient, it doesn't take much effort.
On the contrary, mincing fish is the most labor-intensive task.
Upon hearing this, Madam Qian was taken aback. She had never made this kind of fish paste before.
Zhao, standing beside her, stepped forward and smiled gently at Su Hua. "Hua'er, before I got married, I would sometimes kill fish in Zhao Family Village. Why don't you let me try to extract the fish meat?"
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