Chapter 66 Chapter 66 Fried Fish Noodles.
"Hui Niang, you're really diligent in watering the plants."
In the vegetable garden, the women were busy with their own work, occasionally chatting with each other.
"There's nothing I can do. I just planted this crop of spinach. If I don't water it, it won't survive. And I don't know when it will rain."
Zhuang Hui Niang said that everyone should go to Lingshui River to fetch water for watering the fields and vegetables, and go to Ji Xu's or the public well that leaks a little water for cooking in the morning and evening.
It was a drought at the moment, and if everyone went there even for watering the fields, the well at Ji Xu's house would soon run dry. Therefore, everyone was sensible and was only hoping for rain so that they could draw water from the well in the fields even for watering the fields.
"Look at the sun, it's going to be sunny for several days." said the woman next to her.
That day, after Ji Xu finished selling tofu, he came back with a big grass carp that was as long as his arm.
When the villagers near Taojing saw this, they jokingly said:
"Miss Xu, how about some fish for dinner? Please invite me to have a meal with you!"
Some people were embarrassed and said, "How shameless! You drink other people's well water and even eat their fish."
The whole place burst into laughter, and Ji Xu couldn't help laughing too. He replied, "Just come and eat."
Sisters Feng and Zhu were also very excited to see such a huge fish and followed into the kitchen. Ji Feng asked:
"Sister, how do I prepare this fish?"
"Make some fried fish."
Ji Xu removed the scales, gills, gut, and black membrane from the internal organs all in one go.
The fish was chopped into thin slices about one finger thick, soaked in scallion and ginger water to remove the fishy smell, marinated in sauce for a while, put into the oil pan, and fried.
Hearing the sound of cooking oil outside, everyone said that the grass carp must be delicious.
If you are willing to use meat oil, it must be delicious.
The grass carp of this period is what is now commonly known as grass carp. Compendium of Materia Medica states: "Its nature is calm, hence the name grass carp. It is commonly known as grass carp because it feeds on grass. Those who raise fish in Jiangsu and Fujian feed them grass."
When the fish is fried until crispy and golden brown, it is taken out and dipped into the sauce. This sauce was prepared in advance by Ji Xu. First, fry the cinnamon, star anise and bay leaves until fragrant, then add clean water, add some malt malt and thick sauce to season, and then boil it.
Now the fish that has just been fried in hot oil is immersed in the sauce, which can't help but produce a crackling sound accompanied by an enticing meaty aroma.
"Sister, it smells so good."
Ji Zhu was swallowing her saliva while speaking.
The fish was becoming increasingly brown. Ji Xu picked up a piece and gave it to her, asking:
"Have you washed your hands?"
Ji Zhu nodded like pounding rice, "My second sister and I just washed it."
Feng and Zhu took a piece of fried fish and took a bite. It was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, soaked in the aroma of sauce and mixed with the taste of meat. It tasted delicious in their mouths.
"These are distributed to the uncles and aunts who come to fetch water from outside."
Ji Xu picked out a plate and handed it to Ji Feng. Seeing that she was reluctant to part with it, he consoled her:
"Look, there's still more than half of it left. The three of us can't finish it. It will go bad."
Ji Feng then did as she was told. Although she felt pain in her muscles, teeth, and heart, it was a lot of meat after all. But when it came time to divide it up, she still had to be generous on the surface. Otherwise, the food would be divided up, and the favor would be lost. This was what her sister taught her. She said cleverly:
"Auntie, try the fried fish my sister made. We have plenty more at home. Feel free to eat it."
"How can this be so embarrassing? It would be much better to keep it for you sisters to eat."
"A grass carp that big should cost fifty or sixty coins, right?"
"Look, this color is really beautiful."
"It's so delicious, I can even chew the bones."
Everyone was talking at once, each holding a piece in their hands, turning it over and over to look at it, filled with curiosity.
Some ate a mouthful, but were reluctant to eat any more. They fetched some water and went back, then called their children from outside the courtyard, saying happily:
"Come, mother will give you something good to eat."
Some even sent a bunch of winter mallow that they picked from home.
"Oh, it's raining!"
By the well, someone first noticed the cool raindrops on his face, followed by the second and third drops, and everyone was overjoyed.
"It's raining! It's finally raining!"
"Miss Xu, after eating your explosive fish, a torrential rain will come. Explosive fish and rainstorm, everything is good, everything is good! Wonderful!"
They picked up wooden buckets and carrying poles and ran home in a mess but with joy. In front of each house there were wooden barrels and water jars to collect the falling rain water.
As the saying goes, when the sun shines, it's as sharp as a knife, while when it rains, it's like ointment. Ji Xu was also happy. Although he had a well at home, after this rain, not only would the water level in the well rise, making it more convenient to draw water, but the vegetable patch behind the house would not need to be watered tomorrow.
"Let's have fried fish noodles for dinner!" said Ji Xu.
Ji Xu stretched the noodles into thin threads like raindrops. After cooking, they were slightly yellow and chewy, and immersed in the hot sauce soup. They were served in three large bowls, with fried fish and blanched vegetables on top.
The three of them sat in the main room eating, with hot smoke rising in front of them and the drizzle outside hitting the eaves.
Ji Zhu was a small girl. She looked up at the rain, lowered her head to eat noodles, and said:
"Sister, the rainstorm noodles are so delicious, I even ate them hot."
Ji Feng burst out laughing and said, "It's fried fish noodles!"
The rain fell heavily that night and did not stop until the second half of the night. Ji Xu was making tofu in the kitchen, thinking that there was not much bacon and ribs smoked before the New Year left. He would go to the county market today to have a look. If there were any suitable pork hind legs, he would buy a whole one and make ham to eat before the plum rain season came.
"Sister, listen! What's that sound?"
Ji Feng was making a fire to steam rice when she stopped and asked her to listen to the unusual noise outside. She dropped her firewood stick and was about to go check it out when Ji Xu called her back.
"Be careful."
After Ji Xu took the hatchet from under the wall and pulled out the torch stuck in the window pane, the two of them opened the door a crack.
I saw that the rain outside had stopped, and in the darkness, the smell of wet mud hit my face, mixed with the chill of spring.
At the end of the fire, a black shadow flashed and went towards the vegetable patch behind the house.
"Catch the thief! Catch the thief!" Ji Feng jumped up and shouted, her voice loud enough for the neighbors to hear.
Ji Xu shone the fire along the ground and saw a row of prints in front of the kitchen door, but they were not human prints, but hoof prints.
After a while, the Deng family father and son, the Liu family man, Wang Mazi, and the Chen family old man who was a little further away, and his grandson Chen Che'er, all came from behind, some holding door bolts, some holding hoes and hatchets, and they looked very aggressive.
"I think the wild boar has come down the mountain. From the sound it makes, it's still behind the house."
Ji Xu said that they, the sisters, were outnumbered and weak, and definitely could not subdue the wild boar. Just now, when they saw the hoof prints on the ground, they hid in the kitchen for the time being and did not come out.
"Wild boar?"
"Yes, look at all the hoof prints."
"There must be nothing to eat in the mountains during the winter, and since the vegetables in our fields have grown in the spring, they've come down the mountain to steal some."
"Damn wild boar! The cabbage in my house has just grown! And the spring chives I just planted! They're going to be destroyed by it!" Ji Feng said anxiously, wishing he could pick up a big stick and drive it away.
"Well, let's grab our weapons. If we can subdue him, that would be great. If not, we'll drive him back into the mountains! If he stays here, he'll ruin our vegetable fields and might even hurt someone," said Old Man Chen.
"We have seven or eight men, and we can't control a pig? We can't let it go back to the mountains. If we catch it, we'll have a feast!"
The man from the Deng family said excitedly. He was thin and dark. His family had always been short of oil and water, especially when the price of meat rose before the New Year, they could no longer afford it. When he heard that it was a wild boar, his eyes widened.
Wang Mazi's eyes also flashed. He heard that the thief was being caught, but the original offender was lazy and didn't want to do anything about it. It was his wife Cao who pulled him out of bed and rushed him out to help.
When he heard that it was not a thief but a wild boar, he immediately became alert and said:
"What are you still dawdling about? Where are you going to complain if this bastard gets away? Go catch him!"
The man from the Deng family and Wang Mazi were the first to rush to the back of the house. They saw the wild boar standing in the vegetable patch, eating turnip leaves with its head buried. The cabbages next to it were trampled all over the ground.
"Hey! Look at the stick!"
Wang Mazi rushed forward waving his gun.
As I got closer, I saw that the wild boar was huge, with a row of bristles on its back and a pair of fangs in its mouth. It was obvious that it was an old wild boar from the mountains.
Compared with it, Wang Mazi looked even thinner and thinner. It was frightened and rushed straight towards Wang Mazi, even knocking the wooden stick out of his hand.
Fortunately, Mr. Chen came and pulled him up, avoiding the behemoth, otherwise the momentum would have crippled his legs!
"You have lost your minds! You only think about the pork meat and don't know how powerful the wild boar is. Have you forgotten Asan from the Wu family? How did he get that lame leg?" Old Man Chen shouted.
Wu Jia's Ah San happened to be in the vegetable garden when wild boars came down the mountain to look for food in winter. He couldn't avoid them and was trampled by them.
Wang Mazi suddenly felt scared and broke out in a cold sweat. The man from the Deng family didn't dare to rush in, and the group followed Mr. Chen.
The wild boar jumped for a while and then stopped. After all, these people were not strong and the food at home was not good, so how much meat could they have?
No one dared to force the wild boar anymore, fearing that its sharp fangs would hurt them. They simply raised the weapons in their hands, pretending to be intimidating, and chased it into the mountains to prevent it from destroying the vegetable patches on the roadside.
"Wild boar! Folks! A wild boar has come down the mountain! Be careful, your vegetable plots may be dug up!"
Seeing this, Ji Xu told Ji Feng to use her voice and shout all the way.
Some were concerned about the vegetables in their own fields, while others wanted to catch wild boars to eat. In short, five or six people came along the way.
Jin, from the eldest house, and Ji Fu, covering themselves with clothes, heard the noise and went outside to see what was happening. They saw torches twinkling in the distance. Jin said,
"There are a lot of people this time, so you should go too. If we work together to catch him, our family can also get a share of the meat."
Ji Fu shuddered, shrank his neck and said, "Wild boars come down the mountain every winter, who can catch them?
I'm lucky if I'm not injured by it. I don't want to end up like Wu's Ah San, a cripple, letting them torment me and not even get a hair off my head!"
After saying that, he yawned and went to sleep. Jin looked at him twice more, then gathered her clothes and went back to the room.
"Our vegetable patch isn't in that direction. What are you going out for? You don't want people to think the Feng family is short of meat. Just stay home and be content."
Aunt Xu called out to Feng Er who was about to go out.
Bao Yu was about to retort, but Feng Er stopped him. He said, "Our Feng family has always had a good reputation for kindness in Bengu. Whether we send our son this time, whether it succeeds or not, the villagers should know that the Feng family has made a contribution."
Since Sanlang Feng Yun studied the books of sages, whether he could pass the imperial examination and become an official in the future was closely related to the reputation of the Feng family in the village.
Feng Er's advice hit the mark. Aunt Xu said:
"You just go out and show your face and come back. You don't have to put in any effort."
Here, the wild boar has been chased to the foot of Niupi Mountain.
"Xu Nu, you and your sister can only light the torches for us from behind. Don't come forward, or you will be hurt by this beast!" said Old Man Chen.
I saw a crowd of people forming a circle, spreading a fishing net, and catching them from all directions.
"Hold on tight!"
"Tiger God bless you! Press tight!"
Old man Chen was still strong and stab the pig's neck with a sharp stick in his hand.
Unexpectedly, due to its constant struggle, the thorn hit its front leg. The wild boar screamed continuously, and with its explosive force, it instantly tore a hole in the fishing net and escaped.
Everyone hurried to get out of the way, and the black shadow suddenly jumped into the dark mountain bushes.
If it were in the past, they would have just chased it into the mountains. But this time, because Ji Xu had gathered so many people along the way and they worked together to injure the pig, they were unwilling to let it escape.
They chased it relentlessly all the way to the edge of the mountains, where they watched helplessly as the beast went into the deep forests, where there were ferocious beasts like jackals, tigers and leopards roaming, so they didn't even dare to go deep into the forest to collect firewood.
Moreover, it was dark at night and deep in the mountains, so they could only stop here, feeling discouraged and disheartened.
"If I had known this, I would have slept peacefully at home."
"My fishing net is torn and needs to be mended when I get home. Some of the women at home are complaining. What can I say?"
"It's my fault. I missed the target with that spike."
Mr. Chen said,
"It's a good thing we chased the beast back into the mountains, and saved everyone's food. Otherwise, if we had left it out overnight, who knows how much it would have destroyed nearby."
Everyone felt better now. As they were heading down the mountain, they heard a sound coming from the dense forest behind them.
“Squeaky——”
There was a sharp whine, and in the darkness, the leaves rustled.
Just when everyone was alert, they saw a man as tall as a mountain, carrying a wild boar on his shoulder, with an extremely accurate arrow stuck in the pig's neck.
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