"Aunt Ruan, I want to eat fish balls!"
Fan Hao, Fan Zili's cousin and two-year-old son, poked his head out from the side.
From the beginning of his exile, the once plump and white glutinous rice ball had become dark and thin from the sun.
Last time, Ruan Meng overheard her sister-in-law expressing concern for Fan Ersao, Duan Shi, as if she was worried about her son's nutrition due to insufficient breast milk...
Ruan Meng patted Fan Hao's small, egg-shaped head, seeking Fan Ze's opinion.
"Xiaoze, what would you like to eat? It's okay, if you want it braised or steamed, Aunt Ruan can make both..."
Fan Ze looked at his younger brother and answered sensibly:
"If that's the case, Auntie will be too tired!"
"Didn't Aunt just tell Father that we could make braised abalone?"
"Then I'll trouble Aunt Ruan to make it into fish ball soup! If it's all braised, it'll be too greasy!"
Ruan Meng patted Fan Ze's head, "If you want to eat anything in the future, just come to your aunt. Aunt Ruan will make it for you!"
Fan Hao was not very sensible and did not understand the result. He looked up at Ruan Meng for a while and then at his brother.
Upon receiving Ruan Meng's affirmative answer, he clapped his hands happily, "Great! We get to eat fish balls!"
The brothers Fan Zizhong and Fan Zili turned around and thanked Ruan Meng:
"Thank you for your hard work, little sister!"
Ruan Meng returned to the house and saw a somewhat familiar figure walking past in front of it.
His gaze was fixed on the room when Ruan Meng saw him, and an embarrassed expression flashed across his face.
He greeted Ruan Meng and left in a hurry.
Ruan Meng frowned slightly. Seeing that the person was just passing by, she didn't think much of it, but she felt a little strange.
Fan Zizhong brought over a bucket of abalone, and the tide gradually rose...
The villagers are about to finish their beachcombing and hand over the oysters to the village chief.
The Song and Fan families are preparing to clean and pry open the oysters.
Ruan Meng taught her third brother how to prepare abalone. Although the third brother was impulsive, he was exceptionally patient when it came to handling ingredients.
The abalone was handled without any damage.
After discussing it with Ruan Meng, the eldest sister-in-law had already cooked millet rice.
Ruan Meng prepared the scallions, ginger, and garlic, cleaned the eel and catfish, scraped out the meat, mixed it with a small amount of flour, and rolled it into small fish balls.
The eel catfish wasn't very big, so that everyone could taste the freshness of the fish, Ruan Meng rolled the meatballs into pieces only the size of half a finger, so that each person could eat two.
After the oysters were handed over and cleaned, Ruan Meng cut the abalone into decorative shapes, then sautéed it with soy sauce, ginger, and garlic until fragrant, whetting the appetites of those outside.
Song Shi asked his daughter, four-year-old Song Xincheng, who was lying obediently by the door, "..."
"Aunt Ruan, they told me to ask..."
"How much longer until dinner?"
Who they are is self-evident.
Ruan Meng and her sister-in-law smiled at each other, feeling that the families had become even closer after working together for the past few days than when they first arrived on the island.
Ruan Meng picked out a piece of abalone meat from the pot, cut it into four small pieces, put it in a small bowl, and instructed Song Xincheng:
"Is Xincheng hungry? How about a piece of abalone, one for each of you, brother and younger brother?"
"Auntie will finish cooking soon, and there will also be a fish soup. Then we can eat!"
Song Xincheng obediently held the small bowl, but didn't eat first. She asked in confusion:
"But Auntie, there are four pieces in total. If we, my brother, and my younger brother each take one, there will be one left over. What should we do?"
Ruan Meng pointed to her second brother, who was resting on a rock not far away, and said to Song Xincheng:
"Give one to Uncle Ruan, understand?"
Song Xincheng nodded and slowly walked away.
The older sister-in-law burst out laughing.
The second child was overjoyed to receive the food from Song Xincheng.
He still had some principles and didn't accept it, but the child was obedient, and Song Xincheng agreed to Ruan Meng's request, took out a piece, and insisted on giving it to Ruan Yi.
Worried about soiling Song Xincheng's clothes, Ruan Yi had no choice but to accept it with both hands.
As soon as Song Xincheng left, Ruan Yi held up the abalone piece in his hand and nodded his thanks to his sister Ruan Meng.
Just as I put it in my mouth, feeling an indescribable sense of satisfaction, I heard a chilly sound outside the door.
"You're fighting with a child for food, don't you know ashamed?"
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