"What are you exchanging for?" Li Daniu stared at Lin Chaosheng with his big eyes and said, "It's just exchanging for rice and flour, right? I'll give you a discount this time!"
Before the famine, Li Daniu was a connoisseur of food and drink, and he enjoyed eating all kinds of seafood.
When the famine struck, she couldn't even get meat, let alone seafood.
"Brother Lin, I know you've got it all! The wild boar meat you sent over the other day was so tender! It was really satisfying. Next time you have wild boar meat, send some more for me, so the brothers at this gambling den can have a taste too!"
Although Li Daniu ran a gambling den, he was a righteous man and never mistreated his men. He was the complete opposite of Li Erniu.
"Okay, next time we go hunting in the mountains and we encounter a wild boar, I'll definitely get you two more."
After hearing this, Li Daniu laughed twice and slapped Lin Chaosheng on the shoulder, saying, "I love your straightforwardness!"
Lin Chaosheng smiled and then quickly said, "I came here to exchange these seafood for some coal."
"Coal?" Li Daniu was surprised. He looked Lin Chaosheng up and down and asked in a low voice, "Brother Lin, it's only July. Why are you buying coal? It's not even the season yet! The only coal available now is on the black market, and it's very expensive!"
"I don't mind if it's a bit expensive, and I don't need much," Lin Chaosheng said with a smile. "I just want to get some charcoal for a barbecue, just a little is enough."
"Barbecue?" Li Daniu was also shocked. "What's barbecue?"
"It's about skewering seafood with sharpened wooden skewers, grilling it on a grill, and then sprinkling it with cumin powder and chili powder. The aroma just sizzles up."
"See these scallops and oysters? Open them up from the middle, wash them clean, then put some vermicelli on top, and add some minced garlic."
Li Daniu was practically drowning himself in his own saliva.
"No, no, brother..." Li Dani swallowed hard and grasped Lin Chaosheng's hands. "Could you teach us what you just said? We want to eat the way you do it!"
"Yes, yes, Brother Lin, it sounds so delicious! We've never heard of eating it this way before!"
"It made my mouth water..."
"If you teach us how to eat it, I, Li Daniu, will give you this whole bucket of coal!"
Li Daniu patted his chest, and the next second a bucket of coal was placed in front of Lin Chaosheng.
"Brother Da Niu, are you serious?" Lin Chaosheng may not be short of seafood, but that doesn't mean he's stupid. Anyone who doesn't want free coal is a fool!
"Of course it's true! Brother Lin, when have you ever seen your brother Da Niu break his promise!"
"Not only will I give you this coal for free, but I'll even pay for this seafood!"
Upon hearing this good news, Lin Chaosheng was overjoyed. He patted Li Daniu on the shoulder, thinking to himself, "This is truly... cough cough..."
That word was impolite, so he didn't say it.
"Alright! I'll teach you now!"
Lin Chaosheng rolled up his sleeves and immediately began teaching everyone how to prepare seafood.
The round trip took more than three hours. When Lin Chaosheng returned home with the coal, Liang Mei and the others had already cleaned the seafood.
Without any hesitation, Lin Chaosheng put his arm around Liang Mei's shoulder and kissed her on the cheek.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Liang Mei was startled and punched Lin Chaosheng. "Mom and Dad are watching here!"
Zhao Shufang smiled, her face saying "I didn't see it," while Lin Shanhai looked like he "couldn't bear to look."
This young couple is so lovey-dovey.
"How do we use this coal, brother?" Lin Shansheng asked, holding a lump of coal in his hand, completely bewildered. "We've never used this before!"
“I’ll teach you,” Lin Chaosheng said, walking over to demonstrate how to use the coal. “Watch closely, and it’s best if everyone knows how to use it. We won’t be using firewood this winter; that stuff gets damp easily. We’ll be using coal this year.”
"What the hell?" Zhao Shufang went up and slapped Lin Chaosheng. "You good-for-nothing, you think you're so great just because you have two bucks in your pocket? Using coal, you might as well twist your dad's head off and burn it!"
Lin Shanhai: "...If you're angry with the child, just be angry. Why are you making fun of me?"
Lin Chaosheng rubbed the back of his head, laughing and crying at the same time, and said, "Mom, your son is capable now, and the money he earns is for you to spend."
“That’s right, my older brother and I are young and can earn money!” Lin Shansheng added with a smile. “So you and Dad can just wait to enjoy your retirement. Spend money as you please. My older brother knows what he’s doing, right, brother?”
“My brother is right.” Lin Chaosheng continued to light the fire. “You guys should just relax and enjoy yourselves with my brother and me!”
Seeing Lin Chaosheng and Lin Shansheng singing in unison, Zhao Shufang stopped talking. She skewered the wild boar meat in her hand and sneered, "You two little brats have grown up and now you're ganging up on your old lady. You two ingrates."
The two ingrates exchanged a smile and fell silent.
As evening approached, the family officially began their barbecue.
Beneath the grill's wire mesh, the charcoal crackled and popped. The mesh was piled high with oysters, scallops, and prawns, each plump and juicy, along with a few sea bream.
Liang Fu held the sauce Lin Chaosheng had prepared in her hand, brushing it with a soft brush while humming a little tune, looking quite content.
As Lin Chaosheng placed the minced garlic on the oysters, the aroma of garlic mixed with chili rose with a "sizzle" and drifted out of the courtyard on the evening breeze.
This immediately startled the surrounding neighbors.
"What's that smell? It smells so good!"
"Damn it, I ate dinner for nothing again!"
"I need to find a place to move tomorrow. I'm never going to be Lin Chaosheng's neighbor again. I'm so fed up!"
The neighbor's child put down the mud in his hand, clung to the gate of Lin Chaosheng's yard, stretched his neck out, and stared intently at the barbecue grill set up in the yard.
"Oh my god, I've lived all these years and I've never smelled anything so delicious..."
Grandma Wei muttered to herself, watching everyone in the yard busy at work, and a touch of sadness welled up in her heart.
If her son and daughter-in-law were still alive, even if their family lived in poverty, they would probably still be happy like this...
"Grandma, the prawns are done grilling. The shells have all been washed clean, so you don't need to peel them!"
Wei He handed a string of prawns to Grandma Wei, interrupting her sad and guilty thoughts and telling her not to overthink it.
Lin Shansheng was grilling fish on the other side. The crispy fish skin cracked open, revealing snow-white, garlic-like flesh, which looked very tempting.
"Mom and Dad, stop what you're doing! The grilled fish is ready, come and eat!"
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