Chapter 22 Guilt. She was such a resilient and gentle wife and mother...
As it turns out, killing fish is a task that requires careful handling and relies on experience; it's not something you can succeed at just by watching others kill fish a million times.
Of course, the fish was dead, and the gallbladder had been accidentally ruptured due to excessive force with the knife, which meant it was a matter that urgently needed to be saved.
If the gallbladder is slightly punctured, it can be saved by rinsing with water; but if the gallbladder spurts out juice, the entire fish is beyond saving.
Comrade Li, a veteran of the navy for over a decade, stared blankly at the fish in his hand. He felt as if he had just scratched the gall bladder, but then again, he didn't seem to... So, was this fish still edible?
Even though he was feeling uneasy inside, Li Jianzhi maintained a cold and indifferent expression, showing no sign of panic, and rinsed the crucian carp under the tap water.
There's nothing wrong with pushing it a bit more!
Qin Xiangxiang glanced at him from the side. This guy was wasting even more water than her. How long had he been rinsing?
When the Xu family members passed by and heard the sound of rushing water, they immediately assumed that the troublesome Qin Xiangxiang was up to no good. "Qin Xiangxiang! Are you—" Don't you want to live a normal life anymore?
Xu's mother rushed into the communal kitchen, but her angry expression cooled down when she saw the tall man in the kitchen. The 1.88-meter-tall Li Jianzhi stood like a mountain in front of the water tap, holding a dead crucian carp with its eyes wide open, and a faint fishy smell filled the air.
"Think about... your man."
Qin Xiangxiang didn't really want to admit it: "Yes."
"It's rare for you to come back, so it's time for a proper family reunion and a good meal." Mrs. Xu came in angrily and left like a little toad, holding her breath.
After everyone left, Captain Li, who was still rinsing the crucian carp under the tap with a blank expression, asked in the novel, "What did she mean? She seemed very angry just now."
The little devil glanced at the fish in his hand, then at his strong physique, and felt a pang of envy.
Qin Xiangxiang: "The neighbor's mom came in to yell at me."
Li Jianzhi frowned: "Why did she curse at you?"
Is his wife treated so badly in this old apartment? Well, without a man, she's a widow and her child, and the people around her bully her and her child. Thinking of this, Li Jianzhi couldn't help but feel guilty.
If he and Xiangxiang divorce, wouldn't a divorced woman with a child suffer even more bullying and gossip living in such public housing?
Yesterday, he and Qin Xiangxiang discussed divorce, and this woman didn't even get angry and slap him... What a resilient and gentle wife and mother she is.
Qin Xiangxiang stared at the rushing water, while the man seemed oblivious, still looking at her and completely ignoring the fish in his hand.
How much longer are you going to rinse this fish?
"Oh, I forgot." Fortunately, Captain Li had honed his cold-face skills over the years, so outsiders couldn't detect his panic and embarrassment at all.
He turned the tap up and rinsed it again.
Qin Xiangxiang: "..."
“The water bill for this floor is per person, and Mrs. Xu just felt that I was wasting water.”
Li Jianzhi frowned, convinced that they were bullying him. "How much water could a woman like you possibly use?"
The little artist was stunned.
Although she was being difficult, she knew she was being both difficult and wasting water.
“There is no such thing as wasting water in daily life. It is only used for washing vegetables and cooking. It does not pollute the water source. The water that flows out evaporates and rises into the sky, and eventually falls back down as rain. This is the natural cycle.”
"For ordinary people, there's no such thing as wasting water; at worst, they just have to pay a little more."
Qin Xiangxiang remained silent; the little drama queen was already counting as two people.
In the comments section of that book, readers said that Qin Xiangxiang was an extremely annoying person, and now it seems that her husband is also quite annoying.
It's probably the author's arrangement—each pot has its own lid.
After thinking about it, Qin Xiangxiang understood why the other party's words and actions were strange. How could her extremely eccentric husband be a normal person? He must be an extremely eccentric person as well!
Her husband is probably a "phoenix man" (a man from a poor background who achieves success despite having an ordinary family background). He flew out of the mountains and became a naval officer, almost staying in Shanghai, and even has a chance to be transferred back to Shanghai in the future. If he's not a "phoenix man," then who is? Luckily, he's not from northern Jiangsu.
Because he's a "phoenix man" (a man from a poor background who achieves success), he's obsessed with saving face. Even though he's not very knowledgeable, he keeps saying "So cheap! So cheap!" Is he afraid that others will think of him as a country bumpkin?
After thinking about it this way, Qin Xiangxiang felt a bit more pity for her husband. Although he was a man from a poor background who had achieved success, at least he wasn't stingy and even promised to give her money after the divorce.
After rinsing the crucian carp, Li Jianzhi threw in two slices of ginger and a little Shaoxing wine to remove the fishy smell. He stood by the window and began to recall the recipes he had seen on the X Kitchen app. Crucian carp and tofu. Most crucian carp soups, in order to make a milky white broth, must be fried in oil first. Of course, he had also heard that some people would pour milk into them.
This is for children, so isn't frying it a bit too much? It's too difficult to prepare; it's better to just boil it.
According to Li Jianzhi's experience with healthy meals, everything can be boiled or steamed to retain its original flavor and nutritional value.
So Captain Li confidently lit the fire, added water, and didn't even add oil, since cooking with less oil is healthier.
With a pot of water almost full, Li Jianzhi threw in two crucian carp, a few slices of ginger, and some scallions. After thinking for a moment, he had a sudden inspiration and threw in a few peppercorns. He then covered the pot and waited for the water to boil.
After the water boiled, Li Jianzhi threw in the tofu, let it simmer for three minutes, sprinkled on some chopped green onions, and put it in a bowl. It looked quite appetizing... except that the broth looked very bland.
After thinking for a moment, Li Jianzhi prepared a sauce mixture: soy sauce, aged vinegar, shredded ginger, minced garlic, and white sugar. He steamed it in a pot, tasted it with chopsticks, and found it to be quite palatable, with a sour and sweet flavor that effectively removed any fishy smell, making it suitable for children.
"Son, come and try the crucian carp and tofu soup that Dad cooked for you!" Li Jianzhi's voice was full of excitement. He was essentially a rich young master who had never had the opportunity to cook since he was a child. Now that he had the chance to enter the kitchen, he felt a strong sense of novelty.
Li Jianzhi attended a private boarding school for junior high and a military academy for university. After graduation, he was assigned to a cooking unit. Even if he watched a lot of videos of Ziqi and other cooking videos online, he would hardly have the opportunity to cook.
He went home to visit his family. There was a nanny and a cook at home. His mother was a very particular person and would never eat the healthy meals that Li Jianzhi made. Li Jianzhi could only try it out himself. Sometimes it was a disaster, and sometimes it tasted pretty good. In the end, it was not bad.
He makes nutritious meals for his son himself, so he should be considered a good father.
"My dad made me crucian carp and tofu soup!"
"I'm my dad's only son, of course he cares about me!" The chubby boy was bragging to the other kids in his building and the neighborhood.
Even a four-year-old has his pride. Although he got a spanking from his dad in public yesterday, he's the only child! Dad loves him!
"Come and try it. It's a very fresh and beautiful crucian carp, and it's cooked especially well. Dad made it especially for you."
Little chubby boy: "Dad, you said you made it for me, so you can't give any to Mom!"
Li Jianzhi glanced at the bowl of fish, remained silent for three seconds, and then agreed, "Okay, this is fish for us two men to eat."
"Did you hear that? My dad only cooks fish for me, not for my mom!"
"Wow, your dad is so nice, he cooked fish especially for you."
"But it tastes fishy."
"No way! My dad says he's a veteran of the navy for over ten years and he's especially good at cooking fish!"
The chubby boy excitedly showed off to his friends, ignoring his sore bottom, because he thought he had a powerful military officer as his father!
His father would even cook fish for him, and he wouldn't allow his mother to eat any!
The chubby boy ran back into the house: "Dad, hide well in my room. If Mom comes to steal the fish, you must scold her!"
"Okay, if Mom sneaks a bite, I'll scold her tonight."
Comrade Li, a veteran of the Navy for over a decade, placed the fish on a small table and set out a bowl and chopsticks for his own son.
The chubby boy picked up his chopsticks and saw the green scallions in the bowl, as well as two dead fish with their eyes wide open. There was a strong fishy smell in the air, and the smugness on his little face turned into hesitation.
The tofu on the side was broken into pieces, with a raw, beany smell that combined with a fishy smell, but was temporarily masked by the aroma of scallions and ginger. It smelled incredibly enticing, yet inexplicably made people lose their appetite.
"Dad...it doesn't taste like anything." In Qin Xiangxiang's opinion, Li Qingfeng was not a picky eater. He even ate the pig feed made by his grandfather with relish.
But the fish in front of me—let's call it a fish for now—not only had a fishy smell, but also a bean-like smell.
Li Jianzhi said gently, without any expression, "If you think it's tasteless, dip it in the sauce here."
Little Li Qingfeng dipped his finger in the sauce, and it wasn't fishy anymore, so it was barely edible. He was very considerate and ate several bites.
Seeing this, Li Jianzhi began to admire his own cooking skills! As far as he knew, most children were picky eaters, but the fact that the four-year-old boy in front of him was willing to eat meant that the taste of his cooking was not bad.
Captain Li picked up his chopsticks and tasted it himself. It wasn't bad, the taste was alright... The fish was alright, the tofu... Hmm, don't force yourself too much, it's actually edible.
"Fish is a natural and healthy high-protein food. Eating more fish will make you smarter. Dad will cook fish for you often from now on."
The chubby boy looked a little confused. Should he continue to eat this kind of fish often in the future?
Qin Xiangxiang stood at the door and curiously glanced inside a few times, just in time to see the two dead crucian carp with their eyes wide open.
The chubby boy warned warily, "Mom! This fish was specially cooked for me by Dad. You're not allowed to eat it!"
Li Jianzhi looked guilty and explained, "I promised the child that this fish was specially made for him."
"...I didn't expect him to love eating so much."
"Think about it, if you like it too, I'll make it for you to try next time."
The quirky Qin Xiangxiang shook her head and walked away in rare silence. Li Jianzhi watched her silent departure and felt even more guilty.
He scratched his head. Qin Xiang thought about how a woman with a son, an orphan and a widow, was being bullied in an old apartment. Her son, spoiled by his elders, also bullied her. She was truly the best wife and mother in the world.
Yesterday he actually wanted to abandon his wife and children. Li Jianzhi, you are such a scumbag!
Qin Xiangxiang returned to the kitchen to roll out wonton wrappers, feeling a little scared.
...A veteran naval craftsmanship spanning over a decade.
What a scary guy.
Even the most dramatic person couldn't help but shudder.
Has he evolved to the point where he can no longer taste the fishy smell?
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