Du Yuhan thought that it would be nice if she could catch a female pheasant intact and raise it to lay eggs.
If you cut off the feathers from the pheasant's tail and wings, it won't be able to fly. Then she and Liu Gang will build a chicken coop in a corner of the yard and put a small enclosure around it to raise the chickens.
Even without pheasants, Du Yuhan plans to buy a few chicks to raise in a few days.
Spring has arrived, the weather will get warmer and warmer, and everything is coming back to life, making it the perfect time to raise chickens.
Besides, raising their own chickens and getting eggs is convenient. Han Yixian needs to maintain his nutrition every day, and eggs are essential. The small amount of eggs supplied by the government each month is simply not enough.
Du Yuhan thought that if she caught a few female pheasants, they could lay eggs quickly, thus making up for the gap before the chicks she bought grew up and started laying eggs.
She decided to try to catch some live pheasants in the next few days.
Ideally, one could buy a hen that is currently laying eggs. However, such opportunities are rare and hard to come by. Who would sell a hen that is currently laying eggs?
By the time Liu Gang finished cleaning one rabbit, Du Yuhan had also finished hers.
Du Yuhan boiled a pot of water and washed her face and head in the west room. Otherwise, it would be really uncomfortable to be covered in dust from crawling through the woods. She also changed out of her old clothes, which were already covered in dust.
She decided she absolutely had to take a shower in the space that night. Having her own room from now on made accessing the space much easier.
She also had Liu Gang wash his hair and face.
Du Yuhan knew that Han Yixian had a slight case of mysophobia, and she didn't want him to dislike her.
After Liu Gang finished cleaning the rabbit, Han Yixian taught Liu Gang how to tan the rabbit skin.
Just like Liu Gang said, these rabbit skins can be collected to make rabbit skin coats, rabbit skin hats, cotton shoes, rabbit skin rugs, and so on.
In times of cloth scarcity, it could be used to make many things instead of cloth, and it also saved cotton.
Although it's just one rabbit skin, every little bit counts, and today we'll use it as practice for Liu Gang.
Han Yixian saw that the rabbit Liu Gang had prepared was quite big. He didn't expect that Du Yuhan, this little girl, could also shoot arrows. You really can't judge a book by its cover.
Before it was time to cook dinner, Du Yuhan trimmed the feathers she had plucked from the pheasant and attached them to the arrow fletching. The colorful pheasant feathers looked quite nice.
Han Yixian could tell from Du Yuhan's skillful hands in the courtyard that this girl was an expert and must have been very skilled at making bows and arrows before.
Han Yixian was very curious about how Du Yuhan, such a young girl, had learned these skills.
According to her aunt's investigation, Du Yuhan was mistreated at home and bullied by the other branches of the Du family, making her somewhat timid. It's surprising that she possessed such abilities.
But he thought that the little girl's desperate act of separating her adoptive parents' family and living independently showed that Du Yuhan was not a coward.
He hadn't spent much time with Du Yuhan yet and didn't know what kind of person she was, but judging from some of the previous situations, Du Yuhan's personality seemed somewhat contradictory.
However, he didn't know the situation at the time and couldn't make a judgment, but he was just a little curious about Du Yuhan.
For dinner, Du Yuhan prepared to stew the pheasant that weighed only four or five pounds. She cut the pheasant into pieces, blanched it in boiling water, then put some oil in a pot to caramelize sugar, poured the blanched chicken pieces into the pot and stir-fried them, then added water and various seasonings to start stewing.
The only seasonings were simple scallions, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and soy sauce; nothing else. Luo Qingyan knew there was definitely no wine at home, so she would have to buy a cheap bottle of wine to use for cooking next time she went to the grocery store.
When the meat was almost cooked, Du Yuhan added some potato chunks to the pot to stew together.
While tending the fire, Liu Gang kept swallowing his saliva, drooling from the aroma emanating from the pot, eagerly awaiting the meat's arrival. He hadn't eaten meat in a long time. Even if he had meat, he wouldn't know how to cook it.
Du Yuhan planned to eat rice today. She boiled the rice, drained it, and then steamed it in a bowl. This way, there would be no burnt rice at the bottom and no food would be wasted. The rice water could also be drunk as porridge.
Du Yuhan made another hot and sour cabbage dish. Nowadays, people aren't so particular; a hearty meat dish plus cabbage is already a very good meal.
Now that the days are getting longer, Du Yuhan still cooks early, trying to finish cooking before dark so that she doesn't have to turn on the lights in the kitchen and saves electricity.
The rich aroma of meat filled the air above the courtyard. Fortunately, the courtyard was far from the other houses, so others could not easily smell the aroma. Otherwise, Du Yuhan would not have dared to stew meat so openly.
With the delicious lunch as a foundation, Han Yixian, smelling the aroma of meat, believed that this meal would also taste good.
It was a pleasant surprise that Du Yuhan improved their lives as soon as she arrived.
When the golden-red chicken stew with potatoes was served, the living room was filled with the aroma of stewed chicken, making one's mouth water.
After the food was served and everyone was seated, Du Yuhan used serving chopsticks to put two chicken legs and the egg yolks from inside the chickens into Han Yixian's bowl.
Du Yuhan deliberately stewed the chicken until it was very tender, making it easier to digest.
Han Yixian looked at the two large chicken drumsticks in the bowl, picked one up and put it in Du Yuhan's bowl, saying, "You are the hero today. We were able to eat chicken because of you, so you should be rewarded with a chicken drumstick."
Du Yuhan was flattered that Han Yixian would take the initiative to serve her food. She didn't refuse and generously said, "Thank you, Brother Han."
Han Yi nodded first, "Eat up." He then started eating on his own.
Rice served with stewed pheasant and potatoes is an unbeatable dish. Even in later times when conditions were better, it would still be considered a good meal.
With such excellent ingredients and Du Yuhan's superb culinary skills, this meal can be considered a luxury in this era.
Han Yi had anticipated that the dish would be delicious, but after tasting it, he realized that his aunt's assessment of Du Yuhan's excellent cooking skills was no exaggeration. The pheasant meat was stewed until tender and flavorful.
This pheasant truly lives up to its reputation as a wild animal that lives in the mountains; its taste is incredibly delicious.
Han Yixian unconsciously quickened his pace of eating.
Liu Gang stopped looking up; it was the first time he had ever eaten such delicious food.
At home, he rarely ate meat, and in the army, the meals were always communal, never as delicious as this. Du Yuhan's arrival has truly been a blessing; she improved their meals on their very first day. Director Han really had excellent judgment in finding Du Yuhan.
The three of them ate their dinner with gusto, and Han Yixian couldn't control his appetite and ate too much without realizing it.
Seeing that the regimental commander's appetite had increased, Liu Gang said happily, "Regimental Commander, Du Yuhan's cooking is really delicious. You can finally eat more now."
Han Yixian secretly regretted that he hadn't been able to resist eating his fill. Du Yuhan's cooking was just too delicious; he hadn't been careful and had eaten too much. He would definitely have to be more careful next time.
Du Yuhan chuckled to herself as she looked at Han Yixian, who seemed somewhat annoyed. "Hmph, my cooking will only get better and better. Let's see if you can still resist then."
She would make some soups and stews for Han Yixian to nourish his body, and she was determined to help him regain his lost weight.
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