Chapter 60, Chapter 60: Mission in Progress
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In the kitchen, She Ning first processed the turtle and the chicken. The chicken that Aunt Guan brought over had been raised for more than two years, and its meat was firm and chewy, so it would take longer to stew.
After cleaning, put the turtle and chicken into a pot of cold water, add ginger slices and scallion segments to blanch them and remove blood and fishy smell. After skimming off the foam, take them out and rinse them with cold water for later use.
She Ning bought a large earthenware pot a few days ago, and it came in handy today. She took it out from the corner and cleaned it. She put all the ingredients into the pot, added water and brought it to a boil over high heat. Then, She Ning pulled out the firewood from the stove, leaving only one piece of wood in the stove, and let it simmer over low heat.
The chicken and turtle were quite old this time, so they would need to be stewed for about 2.5 hours. The ginseng, astragalus, and other medicinal herbs would be added in the last 30 minutes. During this time, she would go and prepare the other ingredients.
The system task requires at least eight dishes. Besides turtle stew with old hen soup, she needs to prepare at least seven more dishes. Vegetables are a must. For the rest, She Ning plans to make steamed sea bass, sweet and sour pork ribs, fish head stew with dried bean curd, stir-fried vermicelli, typhoon shelter loach, and braised pork. For the cold dish, she will make a cucumber salad. The time in the yard has been much longer now.
The vegetables in her yard grew exceptionally well thanks to the rice water mixed with spirit rice. They were lush and green, and She Ning picked the vegetables directly from the yard.
"Ah Ning, is there anything I can do?" Having returned early on purpose, She Hongmei walked into the kitchen from outside and glanced around.
Most of the dishes were prepared and set aside. The black casserole was kept warm in a separate stove. On one of the large stoves, sweet and sour pork ribs were reducing the sauce, and another was making braised pork.
She Ning was slicing ginger and scallions, which she would use to steam the sea bass later. She Ni knew that a big meal was going to be made today, so she rushed back after school without wasting a second to help with the work. At this moment, she was sitting on a small stool in front of the stove, helping to tend the fire.
"There's still sea bass that hasn't been steamed yet, Mom. Could you go and call Aunt Guan over for dinner? I'll be done soon." Hearing this, She Ning didn't even look up. Her hands didn't stop moving. She rolled up a long scallion about the length of her little finger, pressed the scallion segment down, and sliced it into strips. She said this as she worked.
"Hmm, where's your grandma?" She Hongmei asked.
The old lady usually comes out to help pick vegetables and get some exercise. Today, she's hosting a dinner party, so it would be strange if she didn't come and help out, given her personality.
"Grandma was called away by Second Aunt," She Ni said, lifting her small face, which was slightly red from the fire.
"Sister, should we add some charcoal?" She asked, glancing at the stove on the side. After receiving an affirmative reply from She Ning, She Ni leaned to the side, looked into the stove hole, and then used tongs to take out a piece of red-hot charcoal and put it into another small stove. On the small stove, a wide-mouthed earthenware pot was steaming.
Seeing that there was no one in the kitchen who needed her help, She Hongmei turned around and went out to call for help.
She arranged the sweet and sour pork ribs on a plate, washed the wok, added water and placed it in a steamer. After the water boiled, she put the sea bass on top.
Judging that they would be arriving soon, She Ning opened the lid of the clay pot that had just been heated with charcoal, and sprinkled in a handful of chopped garlic leaves. The aroma of soybeans and fresh fish from the tofu skin and fish head stew wafted out as the lid was removed.
As the dishes were served out one after another, the eight-person octagonal table in the main room was a bit cramped, so She Ning brought out the large round table that they used to use for New Year's meals. The weather was nice today, neither too hot nor too cold, with an occasional breeze.
She arranged for us to eat in the courtyard. After she finished reducing the sauce of the braised pork and brought it up, She Hongmei returned with her entourage.
"Wow, this is so lavish!" Guan Xiuli smelled the aroma of the food in the air. She took She Hongmei's hand and quickened her pace. When she saw the table full of dishes, her eyes lit up.
Her twin children followed behind her. She Liqun and She Yaohua exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with the same helplessness. When would their mother be able to control her love of food? This was someone else's home, after all.
She glanced resentfully at her father, She Weibing, who was happily following behind his wife. Seeing his expression of admiration for his wife, She Liqun and She Yaohua sighed silently. This family still had to rely on them.
"A-Ning, Nini, thank you for your hard work. Is there anything else we can help with? We'll help you." She Liqun and She Yaohua, eager to help, stepped forward to take over the task of moving stools from She Ni and then asked.
“Yes, yes, is there anything else to do? Aning, you can arrange it as you like.” Guan Xiuli nodded immediately in agreement, “They are both strong, just call them if you need anything.”
"Liqun, Yaohua, just sit down. Don't listen to your mother. We're guests, how can we let you do any work?" She Hongmei was bringing out the fish head and tofu skin stew from the kitchen when she overheard Guan Xiuli's words, and she quickly refused.
“Yes, Sister Qun, Brother Hua, you can just sit down. There’s nothing to do.” She Ning said as she followed She Hongmei out, carrying a bowl and chopsticks.
After placing the bowl and chopsticks on the table, She Ning asked in a low voice, "Mom, where's Grandma? When is she coming back?"
"I just called her, and she said she'd be back. Oh, she's back." After placing the braised fish head and tofu skin on the table, She Hongmei looked up at the courtyard gate. Before she could finish speaking, Chen Yuzhen appeared.
Eight people sat around a round table. Grandma She sat at the head of the table, with She Ning and She Hongmei next to her. Then She Ni sat next to She Ning, Guan Xiuli sat next to She Hongmei, and the other three sat between She Ni and Guan Xiuli.
"I won't say anything else, thank you Xiuli for making us so happy today," the old lady said with a smile. "And thank you to Aning and Nini for working so hard all day."
Before eating, we drank the soup. The turtle and old hen soup, which had been simmering for more than two hours, had a rich flavor with the freshness of the turtle, the mellowness of the old hen, and the medicinal aroma of the Chinese herbs.
After a long stewing process, the old hen's meat absorbs the essence of the broth, becoming elastic and chewy, while the turtle's meat becomes soft and tender, especially the skirt, which is full of collagen, fresh, tender, and elastic, falling apart with a gentle touch.
"Don't be shy, make yourselves at home, start eating." Seeing that everyone was a little reserved and knowing that they were waiting for her to start eating first, Chen Yuzhen immediately picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of vermicelli.
Heat the pan until it's dry and very hot, then add the soaked glass noodles to dry them out. Next, add the stir-fried shredded meat, chopped eggs, shredded carrots, and dried shrimp and stir-fry quickly.
The glass noodles are full of wok hei (wok aroma), and the ingredients have a rich and layered flavor. The sauce contains sugar, giving it a slightly sweet taste. When you chew, the glass noodles, which have absorbed the sauce, combined with the sweetness of the dried shrimp and the tenderness of the shredded meat, blend together in your mouth, creating a different sensation with every bite.
Chen Yuzhen has never been one to indulge in culinary delights, but today the flavor of these vermicelli dishes has truly touched her heart.
Compared to other stir-fried noodles I've had before, this one is not only less oily but also drier. It has the smooth and chewy texture of the noodles, the crispness of the vegetables, and the tender and juicy meat. The overall flavor is distinct and leaves a lasting impression.
Guan Xiuli had been craving that braised fish head with dried bean curd for a long time. After everyone started eating, she immediately picked up a piece of dried bean curd and a small piece of fish meat next to the fish eye.
The soaked dried bean curd fully absorbs the essence of the fish head, becoming soft and chewy. The handmade, additive-free bean curd is full of bean flavor. The fish head soup, which is pan-fried and then simmered in hot water, is both fresh and fragrant. The fish meat on the fish head is incredibly tender. Before you even have a chance to taste it, the meat has already slipped into your stomach.
After trying the fish head soup, she picked up a piece of braised pork belly. Its bright red color and appealing appearance were very tempting. The small square piece on her chopsticks was trembling slightly, each piece measuring 4 centimeters, just the right size to be eaten in one bite.
It's fatty but not greasy, melts in your mouth, has a perfect balance of sweet and savory, and a rich soy sauce flavor. Guan Xiuli couldn't help but eat a few mouthfuls of white rice with it; this meat is simply a rice-eating wonder.
She Yaohua and She Liqun had been listening to Guan Xiuli talk about how good She Ning's cooking skills were, and they thought it was an exaggeration. They had also tasted the braised food that Guan Xiuli brought back before and thought it was delicious, but they didn't think it could reach the level that Guan Xiuli couldn't forget until today.
No wonder Mom can't forget it. They will too in the future. After this meal, what will they do?
She Yaohua and She Liqun exchanged a knowing glance, then silently buried themselves in their food. They figured the next meal was just a matter of time; they would enjoy this one first.
For a moment, no one spoke at the dinner table.
When they started eating, it was still light outside. As they ate, it gradually got dark. She Ning went back inside and took out a kerosene lamp. She hung the kerosene lamp on a peach tree branch and lit a few candles on the dining table.
"I wonder if we'll be able to get electricity this year." On the peach tree branch, a kerosene lamp shone with a dim yellow light, and She Hongmei said, looking at it.
They have had hydroelectric power stations and power plants here for a long time, with many built around the 1960s and 70s. The town got electricity a few years ago, and there was news in the village at the end of last year that they would get electricity, but for some reason, it hasn't been successfully connected yet.
Meanwhile, Guijiang Village, located a few kilometers away from their village, had already been connected to electricity at the beginning of the year, even though their village received the news earlier than Guijiang Village.
When I asked the higher-ups, they just said it was being arranged and to wait for further notice.
"Guard, you work at the Water Resources Bureau, have you received any news?" Guan Xiuli nudged the person next to her with her elbow and asked.
Suddenly elbowed by his wife, She Weibing swallowed the Typhoon Shelter Loach in his mouth. The dish was a bit spicy. He ate a mouthful of white rice before speaking, "It's being arranged, it'll be ready soon."
With years of tacit understanding between husband and wife, Guan Xiuli understood as soon as he said that. She turned to her girlfriends and said, "The electricity should be available this month."
"That's wonderful," said She Hongmei.
The smell of kerosene lamps is too pungent, and sometimes when I'm too busy, I often forget to add kerosene. Adding kerosene in the dark is very inconvenient. With electricity, it's much more convenient to get up at night.
The town has had electricity for a long time, and the restaurant is always lit up. It feels a bit strange to come back and use candles or kerosene lamps.
After dinner, she cleared the table and served tea to everyone.
The night sky is beautiful tonight, with stars all out. Unlike the environmental pollution of later generations, the sky is full of stars. It's a rare opportunity to have such a quiet moment, and everyone is sitting and chatting.
Hiding in the kitchen, She Ning stared at the small print next to the task on the system interface, wishing she could carve out a five-bedroom, one-living-room apartment.
"System, is this really how it has to be done?" she tried to negotiate. "Can we try a different approach?"
"Please complete the task according to the task details," the system replied coldly.
Staring at the system's task interface, She Ning looked utterly hopeless. For an ordinary person, such a task was worse than death.
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