Chapter 12 Fish Soup
Six-fingered Agen cut open the sheep's stomach, and Yue Ning and he worked together to deal with the internal organs. Yue Baohua turned around and saw Zhang Lifen looking at him, wondering what she was thinking.
Ignore her. Yue Baohua looked at a row of yellow adobe houses. The plastic sheets on the windows were all torn, probably because no one took care of them during the summer vacation. When the wind blew, the torn plastic sheets rustled. He walked under the eaves and looked at the classroom through the hole in the window. The desks in the classroom had spliced legs and the tabletops were mottled and full of scratches. The blackboard was also incomplete, with a lot of black paint falling off and a big hole in the middle. There was a big hole in the wall that connected to the classroom next door.
Is Ningning studying in such a school? How much can she read? I'm afraid she can't even read a few words? Yue Baohua looked back at Yue Ning who was washing sheep intestines. This child has a wild temper and it seems that she can't concentrate on studying. If her grandfather, who came to recognize her as a relative, forces her to study, she will be disgusted.
He originally didn't want his child to be a cook, firstly because he thought it was unnecessary for a girl to endure such hardships, and secondly because he thought a girl might not be able to endure the hardships of being a cook. But it was obvious that the child could endure hardships and had a talent for being a cook. When he learned that Zhirong was gone, his spirit was dispersed, and he only wanted to bring Ningning to Gangcheng. Whether Baohua Building was open or closed, it was not so important. With the wealth he had accumulated over the years, he wanted to find a good home for his child, so that when he went there in the future and saw Zhirong and his wife, he would have an explanation.
Now he had to rethink and keep Baohualou going. He was sixty this year and should be able to work until his early seventies. He could spend ten years teaching Ningning his skills and let Ningning take over Baohualou.
"Uncle Hua." Zhang Lifen walked to Yue Baohua.
Yue Baohua responded: "Yeah."
Zhang Lifen asked tentatively: "Uncle Hua, Ningning told you last night, right?"
"I said that you want her to marry Guoqiang and help her return to Yuecheng." Yue Baohua simply laid it out.
Zhang Lifen shook her head: "I just started it yesterday, don't get me wrong. Blind marriages are no longer popular in the mainland, and everyone says that marriage is free. No matter how foolish my husband and I are, we will not bring two children who live thousands of miles apart together. We understand that a forced melon is not sweet. If you want to take Ningning to Gangcheng, the most difficult part is not from Yuecheng to Gangcheng, but from here to Yuecheng. You don't know how many educated youths want to go back to the city and try their best. A child next door to our family went back to the city in the name of sick retirement in order to come back and eat match heads. He ate so much that he urinated blood. We know this step is too difficult, so we want Ningning to go back to Yuecheng in the name of a family member of the restaurant."
"You went through so much trouble, even letting your son and Ningning get married, just to help me?" Yue Baohua looked at his granddaughter who was chopping off a sheep's head.
Zhang Lifen smiled, "Of course we have something to ask for. Although Guoqiang's grandfather was your fellow apprentice and took care of Zhirong for so many years, Zhirong died after all, and so did his grandfather. We had some affection, but it has faded. So we would like to take advantage of this affection and ask you to bring Guoqiang to Gangcheng, let him stay with you, and learn the craft for another two years. We didn't expect that you had such a relationship with Boss Qiao. However, Guoqiang's craftsmanship is really good, and your restaurant still needs a chef, so one more won't make a difference, right?"
Yue Baohua looked at Luo Guoqiang. Luo Guoqiang was talking to Yue Ning. It was unknown what they were talking about, but Luo Guoqiang laughed out loud.
Regardless of his feelings after interacting with the Luo family, or what Ningning told him, Luo Guoqiang is actually a bit like his senior brother. He has some thoughts but not too many, and he is quite kind. Of the apprentices he accepted in Hong Kong City, not to mention Ding Shengqiang, even Lou Jiafu is more thoughtful than Luo Guoqiang. He never asks his apprentices to be loyal to him. "Teaching the apprentice will starve the master to death" is a famous saying that has been passed down through the ages.
Senior Brother also did his best for Zhirong and his daughter. After Lou Jiafu left, Baohualou was already short of chefs, and he had originally planned to make do with it. Now it is different. He wants to train Ningning, so he has to support Baohualou. It is said that Luo Guoqiang is the best chef of this generation, and his cooking skills are inherited from Fuyunlou. If Luo Guoqiang is really good, it is better to take him to Gangcheng and let him be a chef in Baohualou.
When Luo Guoqiang first arrived in Hong Kong, he had nowhere to go. Three to five years later, the guys behind Baohua Building had grown up, and Ningning had also learned something. He had also repaid his senior brother's kindness. However, he had to first see if Luo Guoqiang had real ability.
A hand tractor drove in, and the comrades from the county came to greet it. A man wearing a straw hat jumped out of the back of the tractor and said, "Director, a chicken, a carp, a few crucian carps, and a bag of rice. Is that enough?"
"Enough, enough!" said the county comrades.
Secretary Fugen went over to help carry the things down. The comrades from the county came over with Secretary Fugen, carrying the things: "You haven't eaten rice in the past few days, right? We also produce rice in the northwest, and it was tribute rice in ancient times! The carp in our northwest is also tender and delicious..."
Zhang Lifen wanted to send her son out, so when she heard there was fish, she immediately seized the opportunity and ran over and said, "Guoqiang, don't we have fish? Make our Fuyunlou's signature 'fish soup' for everyone!"
Luo Guoqiang didn't know what his mother was thinking. Not all fish can be used to make fish soup. He said, "Mom, the fish used for fish soup are silver carp or bighead carp. They have to be silver carp and bighead carp from large water bodies. They have less fishy smell. Carp has a strong earthy smell and can't be used at all."
Zhang Lifen winked at Luo Guoqiang. She finally told Yue Baohua, who said she wanted to see Luo Guoqiang's craftsmanship. Now it's different from before. Yue Baohua knows that they came to trick Yue Ning into getting married, and he already has a bad impression. It's not so easy to go to Gangcheng with him. Guoqiang, this kid, why doesn't he know how to seize the opportunity?
"Besides, I can barely handle the side dishes, but there is definitely no water chestnut powder here. Water chestnut powder is also the key to the sweetness and smoothness of Fu Yunlou's fish soup. I don't care what the fish soup in other places is like, but Fu Yunlou's fish soup requires real ingredients. I will never make it if the ingredients are not right." Luo Guoqiang said honestly.
Yue Baohua felt very comfortable listening to Luo Guoqiang's words. This kid knows how to do things and has a bottom line. He is a good kid. He smiled and nodded frequently.
Zhang Lifen observed his expression and felt relieved. It seemed that Yue Baohua was very satisfied with his son's words.
"We have crucian carp. We can make fish soup with crucian carp!" Yue Ning looked at the fish in the wicker basket and said, "I'll make it."
Yue Baohua smiled: "It is indeed possible, but Fuyunlou is particular about inheritance. Fuyunlou's fish soup has its own rules. Baohualou and Fuyunlou are of the same lineage. If we can't make it authentic, we'd rather not do it."
"I don't care. I'll just make fish soup." Yue Ning said confidently.
Zhang Lifen smiled and said, "Ningning can cook whatever she wants. We are not in a restaurant. It's just home cooking, so there's no need to be so particular."
The child told him last night that she could cook. She made him rice dumplings in rice water in the morning. Now she insisted on making fish soup. Did she want him to admit that she could cook? What a stubborn little girl. He admitted that she had talent, but to become a chef, she had to be able to do more than just cook home-cooked dishes, and she couldn't just cook traditional dishes randomly. The child's confidence couldn't be dampened. Yue Baohua said, "Okay, grandpa loves what you cook!"
Li Qiaomei's husband Yang Danian came in on a bicycle with a wicker basket hanging on the back seat. He stopped the bike.
"It's the New Year, we have sheep, chickens and fish, it all depends on your cooking skills." Secretary Fugen walked over and said.
"Got it." Yang Danian took the wicker basket off his bicycle. "I've already got the letter of introduction. I want those people from Zhao Jiaguai to bring out some vegetables. Why are they still dithering?"
Yue Ning went to take a look and saw carrots, loofahs, celery in the wicker basket...
Here in the northwest, there are places like Xiaoyanggou, which is in the hilly area and there is no river passing through the entire village; there are also places like Zhaojiaguai, where a river bends around and there is abundant water resources, so people can grow vegetables and crops.
Children from Xiaoyanggou often go to Zhaojiaguai's vegetable fields to pick up vegetable leaves. Some children would steal a few vegetables when people weren't paying attention. So, whether they went to pick up vegetable leaves or really stole vegetables, they would be chased if they were discovered. When Yue Ning was a child, he was chased so hard that he didn't care about his basket. He watched his basket being smashed and the vegetable leaves being trampled, and cried all the way home.
Dad held her in his arms and coaxed her, and when she fell asleep, he quietly went fishing more than ten miles away. The next morning, she woke up to the aroma of fish soup and drank a mouthful of the fish soup made by her father.
"Uncle Da Nian, I'm going to kill the fish. The carp is yours, and I'll take care of the crucian carp?" Yue Ning picked up the bucket.
"Okay, you take the crucian carp! I'll take care of the rest." Yang Danian turned around and said to Yang Fugen, "Secretary Fugen, we're having mutton and carp for lunch. Are you going to roast this chicken tonight?"
"You are the chef, you are the boss," said Yang Fugen.
Seeing Ah Fa wandering around with nothing to do, Yue Ning said, "Go to my house. There is a clay pot on the stove. Bring it to me. Also, go to the water tank in the house and get a bucket of water."
"Water?" Ah Fa pointed at two large vats. "Isn't there water here?"
"My house has mountain spring water, which is used to make fish soup." Yue Ning kicked him and said, "Go quickly."
Ah Fa ran out, and Yue Ning took a bucket to the side to kill the fish. She moved very quickly, and killed several fish in just a few minutes. She cleaned them, flushed the area with water, and brought the carp to the table: "Uncle Da Nian, put the fish foam of the crucian carp in the bowl of the carp, and you can cook them together later."
Yue Ning took a clean bowl and asked, "Where's the rice?"
"Here." Li Qiaomei responded.
Yue Ning scooped up a small half bowl and went to wash it.
Ah Fa held a clay pot in one hand and a bucket of water in the other, muttering, "What a fuss! You even want mountain spring water?"
"You are the only one who talks too much." Yue Ning took the casserole.
Yue Baohua came over and asked, "Ningning, are you cooking porridge?"
"If you don't have water chestnut powder, use porridge soup." Yue Ning put the casserole on the stove.
"Use porridge water?" Yue Baohua immediately became interested.
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