"Little sister, little sister, what are you laughing at?"
The second son stared blankly at the ugly fish in the wooden basin, too afraid to touch it.
The third brother, being the bolder one, asked Ruan Meng:
"Little sister, is this fish poisonous? Can we touch it?"
Those around looked at the third brother with admiring eyes.
The guards carried the flying fish and shrimp they had caught to the courtyard. Ruan Meng asked Xiao Kai and A Yuan:
"Could you get some scallions, garlic, perilla leaves, rapeseed oil, wild rice wine, and wild vegetables?"
"If I could, I'd make you a midnight snack!"
Xiao Kai and A Yuan opened their eyes wide and turned to look at Sun Chengen.
As long as the young master agrees, what's so difficult about it?
Sun Chengen nodded in agreement. Xiao Kai and A Yuan, unable to hide their excitement, pointed at the ugly fish and asked Ruan Meng curiously:
"Girl, can you eat this?"
"Is this ugly fish delicious?"
Ruan Meng nodded, but unfortunately there was only one. She had agreed to Madam Xu's request, but it wasn't completely immobile.
A Yuan and Xiao Kai were even more motivated to run.
A Yuan was left with Sun Chengen, while Xiao Kai took two guards and drove away in a carriage.
"Little sister, you still haven't told me what this fish is called?"
The second child couldn't hide his curiosity.
Ruan Meng asked him to hold the oil lamp closer and explained, "This is called a frogfish. Its fins have degenerated into legs, allowing it to walk on the seabed." (Frogfish, image from the internet) "It looks ugly, but its flesh is elastic, and it has a unique flavor whether steamed or braised."
The second and third brothers were both greatly surprised, and Ruan Meng's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Second brother, you can pick it up and take a look. It doesn't bite."
The second brother's face once again revealed a foolish innocence. The third brother chuckled, but the second brother, trusting his sister, still went ahead and did it.
Although this frogfish is really ugly, just looking at it once makes one's mental fortitude improve.
But the second brother, despite his poor appetite, resisted his disgust and caught the frogfish.
To everyone's surprise, the originally slimy frogfish suddenly swelled up like a pufferfish, startling the old man so much that he scrambled to drop it on the ground.
With that fall, the frogfish puffed up even more!
"Oh dear! Second brother, look, this fish is so delicious, what if you fall and die?"
The third brother said regretfully, but actually he was secretly laughing.
The second brother looked at Ruan Meng and felt truly ashamed. He carefully picked up the frogfish again.
Ruan Meng suppressed a smile and comforted him, "Second brother, don't be afraid. When it encounters danger, it will breathe in air or seawater, and its body will swell up."
The second brother was relieved, and Ruan Meng asked again, "Second brother, pat its belly?"
The second brother did as instructed, and a muffled sound, like the beating of a drum, came from behind him.
The second child's eyes widened in surprise, his expression becoming even more innocent and naive...
Ruan Meng turned her face away and chuckled.
After walking a few steps, the group returned to the courtyard.
Ruan Meng was afraid that the fishy smell on her body would offend Madam Xu, so she only asked Xu Zhen about the situation from outside the door.
Upon learning that Madam Xu was feeling much better and was still awake, Ruan Meng informed her from outside the door that the matter Madam Xu had requested could be taken care of shortly...
Madam Xu's voice trembled slightly with joy.
Xu Zhensui was unaware of this, but he could tell that his wife was happy, so he smiled as well.
Ruan Meng, along with the second and third brothers, went to the kitchen, where A Yuan volunteered to help.
Just as the second brother was about to touch the fish and shrimp, the third brother calmly took over and guessed, "Second brother, let me do it. They bite."
Second brother: Hmm?
Before he could react, A-Yuan was already chuckling to himself.
The second brother, belatedly realizing what was happening, walked over to the third brother and demanded, "What do you mean? What do you mean? Are you mocking me?!"
Ruan Meng spoke up, "Second brother, can you help start the fire? You control the heat perfectly, you can help steam the rice."
Upon hearing this, the second son's fur instantly became smooth, and he happily ran off to start a fire.
Several guards came in. A-Yuan knew that they wouldn't dare leave their posts to help without the young master's orders.
The guards helped carry water and clean the fish and shrimp, while A-Yuan and Xiao-Kai helped clean their internal organs...
Ruan Meng? Ruan Meng trains them.
"Yes! Third Brother, remove the tail fin, make a cut from behind the tail, peel off the skin, and yes, clean out the internal organs..."
"This is fish maw, put it in a separate bowl; this is fish belly, isn't it fatty? This is fish liver, put them all away."
"The fish is cut into chunks, the texture... remember the stone frog we had last time?"
The second child started swallowing, and the third child's eyes widened.
"The texture is similar to that of a stone frog..."
The third brother wielded his knife with incredible force, slaughtering the enemy with astonishing speed and efficiency!
After rinsing the knife, I followed Ruan Meng's instructions to cut the frogfish's internal organs into pieces and rinse them clean.
Xiao Kai brought back the ingredients and side dishes. Ruan Meng steamed half of the flying fish and braised the other half, made all the prawns into spicy shrimp, braised the frog carp meat with perilla leaves, and stir-fried the frog carp innards with millet peppers...
When the second and third sons heard this, Ruan Meng asked Song Shiyuan to help her bring the braised crucian carp and rice into Xu Zhen and his wife's room, leaving not a single piece for herself...
The second and third children are mentally broken...
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