Chapter 49 Pig Knuckle That kid really knows how to scheme!
Qin Xiangxiang didn't take this kind of lace trim too seriously, because many people could make it. She was just a little more meticulous, but it didn't really serve any purpose. When she was little, many of the aunties around her could crochet.
These days, lace and frills are like playing the piano—they're not generally appreciated. In the south, they can be used as embellishments on clothes, but people in Shanghai care a lot about their image.
It's just something to pass the time, and it's very easy to make.
After delivering the goods, Qin Xiangxiang planned to make some delicate shrimp dumplings later. Before making them, she needed to go out and buy some braised tofu and fried yellow croaker. She originally wanted to send Xiao Pang to buy them, but she was afraid that the little fat boy would eat them all on the way. So she took Xiao Pang with her to buy them. On the way back, the mother and son ate quite a bit of them.
Besides braised tofu and fried small yellow croaker, I also bought some bean sprouts and fried dough sticks.
"Mom, is it like we're celebrating every day now?" The chubby boy ate to his heart's content, then lowered his head to lick the grease off his hands.
Qin Xiangxiang said, "And your dad's pork knuckle and stewed chicken, eat less of those, save them for later."
Despite saying that, Qin Xiangxiang didn't have high expectations for her husband's cooking, especially the braised pork knuckle. As long as he was happy, that was enough; if it didn't taste good, she wouldn't eat a single bite.
She doesn't cook elaborate dishes; she just makes some fresh shrimp dumplings and a few other miscellaneous things, which is enough for her.
"Sister-in-law, here are some dried lizardfish. You can cook them or eat them as a snack."
The dragonfish, also known as the tofu fish, is named for its tender flesh, which resembles tofu. Its body is entirely white and has only one main bone. It is delicious when eaten fresh, and when dried, it becomes a dried dragonfish, which is also a popular snack. It can be enjoyed with rice or as a side dish with alcohol. When prepared by a skilled chef, it has a texture similar to puffed snacks, crispy and crunchy.
This stuff is cheap; it's a low-cost fish on the island. Kids like to eat this dried lizardfish as a snack. Some are too salty, so in the morning, you can rinse them in rice porridge; it makes the rice very appetizing.
Li Qingfeng, this chubby little guy, is just like a little monkey. He picks at this and tries to eat a bite of that. He can't finish eating at all!
Li Jianzhi hadn't expected that so many dishes would be served in the end. In addition to the ones he had planned in advance, he also added the snail sauce and drunken crab that Li Yaowei had brought. The red roe pickled crab was nearing its end, and the roe was not as good as at the end of winter. It would be gone in a few days, and they would have to wait until the end of the year to have big, plump swimming crabs with lots of roe.
The newly added fermented fish is also easy to make. After steaming, add some sugar for seasoning, and it becomes a delicious dish that goes well with rice. Qin Xiangxiang thinks that the fermented fish from her sister-in-law's house is the best.
This kind of pickled fish doesn't use just one type of fish, but several kinds of fish that are pickled together with fermented rice wine lees, resulting in a pleasant surprise when you finally eat it.
Simple dishes like salted shrimp, salted yellow croaker, and other fresh seafood only require the simplest cooking methods. Qin Xiangxiang's shrimp dumplings were steamed and became a small snack on every table.
While the men cooked, she would use a small charcoal stove to freshly fry some peanuts. After frying them until fragrant and crispy, she would add salt, divide them into four or five bowls and plates, and place fried peanuts on each table.
Sister Gao arrived early and was amazed to see the well-prepared dishes. "Xiao Li, are you the head chef?"
Li Jianzhi was tall and had a calm expression. He proceeded according to his pre-set plan, saying, "Just make something simple, please don't mind it, elder sister."
"You're too modest," Sister Gao praised. "All the men in your Li family are excellent chefs."
Looking at everything before him, Li Jianzhi felt equally incredulous that he was actually able to prepare a "grand feast".
He also prepared a tomato broth that would later be commonly used in hot pot restaurants, similar to borscht, with added shredded red sausage, as well as other seafood and vegetables, which tasted surprisingly delicious.
Chen Ruifeng, Chief of Staff Zhang from next door, Zhou Lu and others came over for dinner and were stunned by the dishes in front of them.
The red of the pickled crab with red roe, the bright red of the tomato borscht, the red of the braised pork knuckle, the red of the chicken stewed with Jinhua ham, the bright red and yellow of the clams, the colorful clams like jade stones, the scallop sauce which some people don't like, but others love it to death, is a deep color like the sea.
Crispy fried yellow croaker, crispy fried peanuts, snow-white shrimp dumplings that look like gold ingots, steamed fish in fermented rice wine with a wine aroma, salted herring and eggs steamed together, the fishy and eggy smells collide and mask each other, resulting in a fresh and fragrant dish.
Spanish mackerel has a firm texture, which many people don't like. However, at this stage, the mackerel is covered in roe, with a slightly rough, granular texture. When you chew it, you can feel the burst of flavor from each bite, making it unforgettable.
Even with salted herring, Qin Xiangxiang prefers to eat it with fish roe. The fish roe inside is wrapped with steamed egg, which looks like a special kind of crab roe.
Cold seaweed salad and cold jellyfish salad are a collision of dark green and light white, with crisp red chili peppers mixed in, creating a spicy and crunchy taste that stimulates the taste buds and lips.
On the woman's table was some cherry-red bayberry wine. She tasted the wine, which was sweet with a hint of spiciness, and spicy with a hint of sweetness. The children ate a bayberry in the wine, and they all grinned.
"Xiao Qin, your man has prepared such a presentable meal!"
"Your husband is a good cook."
"Xiao Li is quite good at cooking."
...
Qin Xiangxiang ate her shrimp dumplings while listening to her sisters-in-law talking. She was almost numb. They were talking about the hard pork knuckle in front of her and asking if it was tasty.
This stuff is expensive, and given Li Jianzhi's terrible cooking skills, even if it tastes awful, everyone has to eat it with a tear in their eye, otherwise they'll feel like they're losing out.
The seafood was quite delicious, inexpensive, and tasty. It wasn't filling even when eaten plain. Zhou Lu's children no longer liked pork; they ate the cold jellyfish salad and the crispy fried yellow croaker instead.
The ham and chicken stew was pretty good; the ham was fragrant and the chicken wasn't dry.
The most popular and appetizing dish is actually tomato soup. Borscht is popular in Shanghai but hasn't spread here yet. This tomato soup base isn't exactly top-notch, but even picky eaters will love rice soaked in it, and there aren't any picky eaters around right now.
The bright red tomato soup with a slightly sour aroma is poured over white rice, and people eat bowl after bowl.
"Comrade Li, your future with Comrade Qin will definitely be bright and prosperous."
Lai Yiu-wai tried to eat a bite of braised pork knuckle next to him, and oh my god, it was so sour.
Li Jianzhi's city wife seems to be quite virtuous, beautiful, and skilled, but...
Thanks to his parents-in-law, Lai Yiu-wai often eats seafood dishes from local fishermen, which are much better than the communal meals prepared by the cooks. For example, they make dishes like red-roe pickled crab and snail sauce, which are not made in communal meals where all kinds of fish are cooked together in one pot.
Lai Yiu-wai wasn't craving delicious seafood, but he struggled to chew on the pork knuckle in front of him, still feeling it was too much for him. Why... was it so tough?
My sister-in-law's shrimp dumplings are beautifully made. Lai Yiu-wai said he'd take a few back for his wife and kids to try.
After the meal, surprisingly, there was a huge amount of pork knuckle left over; everything else was gone. This was quite unbelievable, because pork knuckle is expensive, and when people go out for a banquet, they usually try to eat pork. But today, there was a lot left over. Even though we were full from rice soaked in tomato soup, no one forced themselves to eat more than a few pieces of pork knuckle.
Upon seeing this, Qin Xiangxiang secretly thought: I'm impressed.
The others also commented: "What a waste! Xiao Li and his wife are so generous."
Only Li Jianzhi was unsurprised. In the future, when people went to banquets, this kind of braised pork knuckle was rarely eaten. When they could eat their fill of oily food, everyone preferred more delicious dishes.
Anyway, there's still a refrigerator at home, so there's no need to worry about having too much left. Li Jianzhi let Li Yaowei take a few pieces, and there was still a big bowl left. He divided it into portions and froze it in the freezer at the bottom of the refrigerator, and some was also in the refrigerator.
Li Yaowei returned home with meat and a few fake collars. His face was flushed from drinking some wine. His wife, Liu Xiaoyun, was in the family compound today, but she didn't want to go. She and her six-year-old daughter and three-year-old son ate a little something and left.
As it grew later, Liu Xiaoyun felt uneasy, fearing that her husband would come back and they would have another argument. She wondered what had happened to him over there, whether he was happy or not.
When Lai Yiu-wai came back, he told the children that they would have an extra meat meal. He cut the large piece of pork knuckle into smaller pieces, stir-fried it again with chili peppers, and the two children cheered happily. They decided to cook some rice for an extra meal.
"If you had gone there today, you would have had an even better meal. The chicken and ham were all eaten up, there wasn't a drop left..."
It's actually quite absurd that there's still pork knuckle left.
Lai Yiu-wai pondered for a moment and thought that his fellow townsman Lai Kin-chi was a real talent when it came to cooking! He had laid out so many pork knuckles, which was grand, extravagant, and impressive, but since everyone couldn't finish them and there were leftovers, they were stir-fried again, and the taste was surprisingly delicious.
This not only saves face but also gives you substance.
Moreover, the tomato soup was so sweet and sour that it was perfect with rice. It was a large portion and very delicious. I would rather eat rice with the tomato soup, which had an even more fragrant meaty flavor. I ended up leaving the pork knuckle uneaten.
—A miracle on earth.
In the past, no matter how badly the pork knuckle was cooked, everyone would scramble to put it in their mouths, afraid that it would end up in someone else's mouth.
"That kid's really good at scheming!"
Next time we have a family feast, why don't we ask Li Jianzhi to help with the arrangements? That's truly a cultured person; he knows how to win people's hearts.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Li Yaowei ran into the room and called out to Liu Xiaoyun. Liu Xiaoyun said she wasn't eating and told him to take the children to eat meat.
Liu Xiaoyun didn't expect that he was still thinking about the child and brought back a lot of pork knuckle. Pork is so precious now, especially such a big piece.
Didn't you check the things I brought home earlier?
Liu Xiaoyun knew he had brought back some things, probably return gifts like candy or cookies. After all, she hadn't gone there herself, and she couldn't very well go and look for them as soon as she got back.
"Your sister-in-law gave you some gifts, but I don't think they'll necessarily look good on you."
Liu Xiaoyun was stunned for a moment. What was that? She went over to take a look and saw a neatly folded, exquisite lace collar. "How could I accept something so valuable from someone else?"
“It was crocheted by my sister-in-law herself. She used to work in a textile factory and has been dealing with yarn and thread since she was a child. It’s her own handiwork, and it’s also a token of her goodwill. You can try it on. Although I don’t think it’s suitable for you, you can wear it at home.”
"I don't understand people in Shanghai. No matter how well-made this detachable collar is, what's the point? It's all just empty talk, flashy but impractical. It's not like you can actually wear it as clothing."
Liu Xiaoyun ignored him; she was overwhelmed with joy and couldn't help but stand in front of the mirror, trying to put on the detachable collar.
"My sister-in-law said this goes well with dark-colored round-neck clothes."
"This is worn under a wool sweater."
Liu Xiaoyun glared at him: "I don't need your nonsense, I know what to wear."
Some female teachers at their school also dress like this. Many people didn't realize it and actually thought she had so many clothes to wear. It turns out she had a detachable collar underneath, and it looked really good with the cardigan and coat.
A new collar is definitely different from a washed-out inner shirt. Wearing old clothes underneath with a new fabric collar around your neck is both economical and presentable, making you look like your whole demeanor has changed.
That collar really flatters the person.
"This sister-in-law's skills are really good!" Lai Yiu-wai is a discerning man. He suddenly noticed that his wife looked completely different just by changing her collar. "Damn, these cultured people really know how to be thrifty. Just this collar makes her look beautiful, presentable, and saves money."
"It looks pretty good."
Liu Xiaoyun glanced at him, feeling pleased. It was rare to hear a kind word from this man's lousy mouth. If a man said he was good-looking, then he must really be good-looking.
She looked closely at the detachable collar in her hand in the mirror. The craftsmanship was flawless, much better than what her school teachers wore.
Having received such an expensive gift, the man still needs to send something back.
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