The chicken feet were simmering in the pot. Lin Yan saw that Widow Liu had finished cooking the dishes, so he put the sea bass on the stove and started steaming it.
During this time, Lin Yan cut the bacon into thin slices, cracked the salted duck eggs, and separated the yolks and whites.
The sea bass cooks very quickly, and it will be almost done in less than half an hour. Turn off the heat and simmer for a while before taking it out. After steaming, take out the sea bass and pour out the soup in the plate. The soup is relatively fishy, so try to pour it out as much as possible.
Lin Yan shredded the ginger and scallions, then thought for a moment and chopped a red pepper. He then placed the shredded ginger, scallions, and red pepper on the sea bass. He drizzled soy sauce over the fish and added a suitable amount of oil to the wok. Once it started to smoke, he evenly poured the hot oil over the fish. With a sizzling sound, the hot oil released a fragrant aroma that instantly filled the entire shop.
Yu Ge'er helped to carry the prepared sea bass to the backyard. There was a small stone table in the backyard, but it was not big enough, so Zhao Shiyun moved a small table over to be level with the stone table, and also moved a bench from the shop over.
Next, fry the bacon. Heat the oil in a pan and put the bacon slices into the pan and stir-fry. With the sizzling sound, the fat of the bacon slowly seeps out and becomes golden and translucent. Then Lin Yan pours the chopped garlic sprouts into the pan and stir-fry with the bacon. In an instant, the fragrance of the garlic sprouts and the salty fragrance of the bacon are mixed together. Lin Yan stir-fried skillfully. The bacon is salty enough without adding salt or soy sauce, so Lin Yan did not add them. When he thought it was almost done, he added a handful of red peppers and continued to stir-fry for a few more times before serving. Before serving, Lin Yan tasted the saltiness and it was just right.
Finally, as he prepared to make salted duck egg and mustard greens soup, Lin Yan glanced at the shop entrance and asked, "Have the Yang brothers arrived?"
Zhao Shiyun went to the door of the shop and looked around, then shook his head. Lin Yan was worried that the food would get cold if he cooked it too early, so he was hesitating when he heard Zhao Shiyun shout, "Here they are, coming this way."
Lin Yan quickly added a suitable amount of water to the pot, added sliced ginger, brought to a boil, added mustard greens and cooked until cooked through. Next, he crushed the egg whites and poured them into the pot, stirring evenly. He then added the egg yolks and gently crushed them with a spatula. He simmered for a cup of tea, until the soup thickened. Finally, he added salt to taste and drizzled with sesame oil. Salted duck eggs are naturally salty, so there's no need to add too much salt.
The last dish was ready. Lin Yan took off his jacket and brought it to the table. The Yang brothers were already seated and chatting with Li Yuemei.
Yu Ge'er went to get a bowl of rice and brought over bowls and chopsticks. Lin Yan asked everyone to eat first and then talk after they were full.
Yang Tao was a little shy. It was his first time eating with so many strangers. Lin Yan smiled and put a piece of chicken wing into his bowl. "Don't be shy, eat more."
Yang Tao nodded, picked up the chicken wings and started eating. It tasted really good. He tried other dishes one after another, and they were all delicious.
Yang Xu was a cheerful young man. Seeing that the whole family was quite welcoming, he was a little shy, a rare sight. He lowered his head and ate voraciously. Li Yuemei poured him a bowl of soup and said, "Eat slowly, don't choke." Yang Xu nodded vigorously.
After eating for about a quarter of an hour, everyone finally slowed down. Lin Yan put down his bowl and chopsticks when he was full, went to the front and got a large bowl of sour plum soup, brought it over, and then got a few clean bowls.
"Have some sour plum soup to relieve the greasiness."
Yang Tao was also full, so he picked up a bowl and started drinking from it. Now everyone had time to chat.
Li Yuemei picked up the thank-you gift placed aside and handed it to Yang Tao, "Thanks to your help this time, this small gift is not a token of respect."
Yang Tao waved his hands in fear, "That's impossible." This gift looked expensive, and there were also two pieces of cloth. How could he dare to accept it? "You are too polite. This is what we should do."
Lin Yan smiled and said, "You guys have been a great help. If you hadn't reported it in time and followed the thieves, we wouldn't have been able to find Yu Ge'er so quickly. We'd feel bad if you didn't accept it, so please accept it."
Yang Xu also shook his head vigorously. Before leaving, his father and mother told him not to take other people's things, and that he should do good deeds without expecting anything in return.
The Zhao family members looked at each other, and finally Lin Yan spoke up, "You don't want to accept it, but we're still in debt to you. Don't you feel comfortable?"
"This..." Yang Xu was speechless. "No, no, we just think the gift is too expensive..."
"We will feel at ease only if you accept it. Otherwise, we will always be worried. Don't let aunt think about it every day, okay?" Li Yuemei used a conciliatory policy. The Yang brothers could not refuse and had to accept it.
Yang Tao put the gift aside and said with a smile: "Come to think of it, my brother has met Yu Ge'er. We only found out about it when we talked about it after we got back." Yang Xu pulled Yang Tao's sleeve hard, not wanting him to say anything.
"Oh? When have we seen him before?" Everyone was puzzled, and Yu Ge'er also looked over curiously.
"While rowing the dragon boat, he went to catch ducks and got Yu'er's clothes wet."
Yu Ge'er suddenly realized: "You are a member of the dragon boat team."
Yang Xu nodded with red ears.
Everyone was even more curious. "You look only about 15 or 16 years old. Why were you chosen to row the dragon boat?"
Dragon boat racers are usually the young and strong people in the village. Yang Tao explained, "No one in the village signed up. The village chief went to several families but couldn't get enough people. Then he found my family. Although my brother is only fifteen years old, he is very strong. The village chief also promised to give my family an extra bag of rice and flour if he won first place, so my little brother went."
"So that's how it is." Everyone suddenly realized it and chatted about family matters for a while. The atmosphere was very harmonious. At this time, Yu Ge'er suddenly pointed at Yang Tao's cuff and said, "Brother Yang Tao, there's a hole in your cuff." Yang Tao looked down and felt a little embarrassed. Yu Ge'er took out a needle and thread from his bag and said, "Let me help you mend it."
Yang Tao said that it was not necessary and that she could mend it herself when she got home. However, Yu Ge'er was unwilling to do so. He thought it would be a shame to let his benefactor go home with torn clothes, so he insisted on mending it for him. Yang Tao had no choice but to agree.
It was difficult to take it off with so many people around, so Yu Geer took Yang Tao to a small room and sat down. Yang Tao took off her coat, and Yu Geer was quick and sewed it in a few seconds. Yang Tao flipped through the pictures in surprise and said, "You have a really good hand."
Yu Ge'er smiled shyly and explained that he was learning embroidery from an embroiderer. Yang Tao was even more surprised, "Really?"
Seeing Yu Ge'er nodding, Yang Tao's smile widened. "I have a little sister at home who has always wanted to learn embroidery. She just said she wants to find a master. Yu Ge'er, where did you learn? Can you introduce us to someone?"
It was natural for Yu Ge'er to refuse to help his benefactor, so he naturally agreed: "Sure, then you bring her here tomorrow and I will take her to my master."
Having resolved a worry, Yang Tao felt a lot more relaxed. The two of them sat outside for a while, and then the Yang brothers stood up to say goodbye. Lin Yan and the others escorted them to the door of the shop. Watching their retreating figures, Li Yuemei smiled faintly. She looked at the Yang brothers, then at Yu Ge'er, who was puzzled.
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