He licked his lips and said, "Dazhi's house hasn't been built yet. Your wife hasn't remarried. Are you still living with Xiaoniu in the eastern part of the local village?"
Gu Yuxin nodded, and Lu Wuyai said, "Okay, I understand."
The little Earl (dog) ran ahead, the skinny male dog wiggling its body seductively as it trotted all the way to the door of the house.
When it arrived at the door, it waited to go inside, only to find that its owner hadn't stopped and was still walking east.
Seeing this, it blinked in confusion and followed without hesitation.
Wangjia is located at the eastern end of the local small village, in the position of the village's king. Legend has it that the dragon god spits out immortal water, forming the Dragon Saliva Lake, which is located to the east of the local small village.
When Gong Huahao got married, his daughter-in-law Song Qiumin and her family were very easygoing and did not ask him to buy a house or a car in the city. The village committee selected a plot of land in the east of the village for him to build a new house.
This house was very grand back then, with six large, bright and spacious brick rooms. Now it is deserted and desolate. The widow and her children can no longer afford such a large house, making it seem rather sad.
He knocked on the door, and a hoarse voice rang out from inside: "Who is it? Cough cough, the door's open, come in."
Lu Wuyai pushed open the door, and a thin woman was holding a handful of rapeseed. She turned her head and looked at her. Her face was sallow, her lips pale, her cheeks thin, and wrinkles covered her eyes and forehead. She looked to be in her forties. Listen.
But Lu Wuyai knew that Qiu Min's sister-in-law was only in her early thirties. Although she was often ill when she first got married, she was the most beautiful girl in the surrounding villages. He felt envy, jealousy, and resentment.
As a result, in just a few years, this beautiful girl became an old woman in the village.
You can't say that beauties and famous generals are forbidden from seeing gray hair, can you? Lu Wuyai understood that Qiu Min's sister-in-law had ended up like this because there was no man in the family to lead; they had all been ruined by hardship.
The yard is made of smooth cement and kept clean. A few salted fish are drying on the windowsill, a few chickens are kept in the toilet, and a few tattered fishing nets are piled in the corner of the yard, which I can't bear to throw away.
Some windows were broken, but instead of replacing them with new glass, they were stapled shut with plastic sheeting. The auspicious couplets pasted on the doors and windows were gray and white. They didn't look like they were put up for last year's Spring Festival; they looked like they had been there for many years.
When Qiu Min's sister-in-law saw him, she frowned in confusion: "It's you. Cough, Little Sheep."
Lu Wuyai said, "Sister-in-law, it's me."
The little count (dog) poked its head out from behind, a long strand of white hair fluttering in the wind. It shook its head, looking like a flamboyant assassin.
Qiu Min's sister-in-law listened to his words, glanced at Little Earl (the dog), and suddenly looked surprised, saying, "Ah, Yang Zi is back. I heard you're going to try your luck in the capital. Cough, come in, come in, come in."
Once inside the house, the awkwardness of the family became even more apparent to him.
The house was bright outside, but almost empty inside. The only appliances were a lamp and a flashlight, and the only furniture was a bed and a dining table. It was empty and smelled of medicine.
Qiu Min's sister-in-law brought him a stool, coughed, and laughed, "My sister-in-law's house is a bit messy and smells of medicine, don't worry."
Lu Wuyai glanced at the kitchen next door. On the stove were two bowls of cold rice, and a pot of small, mixed fish was simmering. The fish soup was made with the fish, but there wasn't a trace of oil in it. Clearly, this was his mother and wife's dinner.
He picked up a stool but didn't sit down, saying, "Sister-in-law, I came to take a look first. Wait for me, I have something to do and will be back later."
Before Xiao Lejia could react, he led the little count (dog) out the door.
Xiao Lejia smiled as she watched his departing figure, her face filled with bitterness and helplessness.
A lady may have distant relatives in the deep mountains, while a poor man may have no relatives or friends in the bustling city.
Once outside, Lu Wuyai went straight to Yu Jiale's house, owned by Tang Congyang. At that moment, Xiao Le was tidying up the wolf army he had assigned. Seeing Lu Wuyai, he smiled and said, "What's wrong? What happened to you?"
Lu Wuyai said, "Do you have your own old hen? Don't give me feed, I want free-range chickens. Also, prepare a plate of conger eel slices for me."
Tang Congyang smiled and said, "Your requirements aren't too high, and you also have free-range chickens, thirty yuan a pound. I'll feed them small fish and dried shrimp, so the nutritional value is..."
"Stop talking nonsense, give me a big one."
The free-range chickens in the fishing village feed on fish and shrimp. Thirty yuan a pound is not expensive at all, but rather very cheap. The small fish, shrimp, conch, and shellfish they eat throughout the year can be sold for several hundred yuan.
Tang Congyang showed him an old hen, and Lu Wuyai nodded and gave him the money. He took the old hen and a plate of conger eel home.
The next step was to kill the chicken, which was simple for him: bleed it, pluck its feathers, and remove its internal organs.
He opened the pot, put the chicken pieces in to stew, and then put chicken livers, chicken heads, and other things into the pressure cooker.
As the pot bubbled, he poured out the water and repeatedly washed the chicken pieces, then tore off the chicken skin and threw it into the pressure cooker. He then rubbed the chicken pieces repeatedly with cooking wine and ginger powder.
After wiping it, he opened the pressure cooker, and there was a smell of chicken soup inside.
The chicken skin, head, tail, and internal organs are all kept in the broth.
Immediately, the little count (dog)'s thick tail wagged happily again.
He added water to the remaining broth, mixed it with chicken pieces, ginger slices, goji berries, and red dates, and then started simmering it over high heat. Soon, an even richer aroma of chicken soup filled the entire courtyard.
Gu Yuxin smelled the aroma of chicken soup, threw down her chopsticks, and ran over: "Why does it smell so good here?"
Lu Wuyai said, "I made chicken soup for my sister-in-law Qiu Min."
Gu Yuxin swallowed hard and said, "Could you give me a chicken head?"
Lu Wuyai pointed at the little count (dog) and said, "The chicken head, chicken tail, and chicken liver are all in its mouth."
The little count (dog) licked his lips contentedly, then let out a burp that smelled like chicken soup.
The chicken soup was simmering over a high flame. He sliced the conger eel and served it with a seafood sauce made from crayfish heads and a small bowl of wasabi sauce, creating a striking contrast between black and white.
The pressure cooker made a humming sound, and white steam billowed out, making Gu Yuxin's eyes widen at the aroma.
As the sun began to set, Lu Wuyai sniffed the air, then turned off the heat. Holding the pressure cooker in his left hand and a plate of eel meat in his right, he walked out the door.
Someone came out to cool off after finishing their meal, with a runny nose. When they bumped into him, they asked, "Yeah, what are you doing? What do you look like? Why does it smell so good?"
Lu Wuyai said with a smile, "I stewed a chicken. I'll send a bowl to Uncle next time."
They greeted each other along the way, the air filled with the aroma of chicken soup. Coincidentally, his house was at the western end of the village, while Lingyang's house was at the eastern end. The smell of chicken soup permeated almost the entire village.
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