Chapter 6 Chapter 6: The Noodle Master Before Xiao Xun was around, he could still fight...
Xiao Dashi: "Hey, I caught eight."
Lin Qiuran glanced down at his stomach. He hadn't caught fish for several days in a row. This kid might actually be lucky. At least he didn't have to worry about food every day.
Sun and Xiao Dashan went to clean the fish, and Lin Qiuran went to mix the batter and prepare to fry the fish.
She had used a lot of oil for cooking and frying these past two days, so she asked Sun to come back today to buy some.
Sun said, "Don't you still have some? I fried it two or three times. It's not dirty. Just use it."
Lin Qiuran said, "Mom, we can't be particular about the food we eat at home, but we can't sell it to others. We can only fry it two or three times at most, otherwise it will go bad if we use too much oil. We can keep the rest for ourselves. It's okay to finish the stir-fried food quickly. Otherwise, if the customers get sick, we'll lose all the money we made."
Now everything in the family was under Lin Qiuran's control, so Sun Shi had no choice but to obey. After all, they were making money, so they just bought some oil.
The fish should be fried first and then stewed. The fish meat should be cut into flowers and coated with batter twice. After coating, shake it and the fried fish will bloom. The shape is much better than the fried fish at home. The fried fish can still be shaped, and it will remain a whole piece after stewing, without falling apart at all. Not only that, the color is golden, the soup is light brown, and the fish is sprinkled with green onion and garlic segments, which is considered to be very delicious.
For fear of not being able to sell all the fish, Lin Qiuran didn’t dare to cook all the fish. He only cooked ten and kept the rest in a bucket.
Before the two of them left, Lin Qiuran instructed, "Mom, buy some food in the county town for lunch. Don't go hungry. I won't leave any food for you today. If you go hungry, you'll have to go hungry all day. Come back if you can't sell all the food."
It sold well yesterday, perhaps because it was the first time and it was new, so I’m not sure how well it will sell today.
Sun nodded. "Just rest at home. Don't worry about the weeds in the garden. Your father and I will get rid of them when we come back. We don't have much meat at home. Eat the remaining chicken. I'll buy some pork when you come back in the evening."
Lin Qiuran nodded and watched the two of them move the wooden barrel filled with stewed fish onto the cart, tie it up with a rope, and then push the cart away together.
She went back to the house and checked on the fish. There were still seven left, happily swimming in the bucket. Lin Qiuran felt relieved and went to wash some grapes to eat. They were sour and sweet and quite delicious.
After sitting for a while, she chilled the melon in well water so that she could eat it when Sun and Xiao Dashi returned. After finishing all this, Lin Qiuran went out. She couldn't rely on selling fish all the time. She wanted to ask if anyone needed a cook for their business. If that didn't work out, she could just work as a helper.
Everyone living in Xiaojia Village is related to each other. Xiao Dashi's brothers lost contact with each other because the old man was too partial to him more than ten years ago, and they did not even attend Xiao Xun's funeral.
Aunt Yu from the Li family has a good relationship with the Xiao family and lives next door to the Xiao family. Lin Qiuran plans to ask her.
Lin Qiuran went to the garden to pick two small pumpkins. She couldn't go to someone else's house empty-handed, so she brought something with her and knocked on the Li family's door.
Aunt Yu opened the door, "Qiuran is here."
Aunt Yu brought Lin Qiuran into the house and poured her a glass of water. "How are you?"
She already knew that Lin Qiuran had decided to give birth to the child, but she was afraid that Lin Qiuran could not bear the blow she had suffered recently.
Lin Qiuran nodded, "Very good."
Aunt Yu smiled and nodded, "Then I'm relieved. Your father-in-law and your mother are good-natured. It might not be worse for you to stay and remarry."
Lin Qiuran smiled and said, "Auntie, you're right. I want to live a good life in the future. I came here today to ask if anyone in the village needs a cook for a banquet. The day before yesterday, Xiao Xun's funeral took place, and Auntie tasted my cooking skills. If I can take on some work, it will make things easier at home."
Thinking back to that day, Aunt Yu still remembers it vividly. Not only was the food delicious, but the portions were also large. Everyone in the village said that the Xiao family was a good family.
Aunt Yu thought for a moment and said, "I'll ask for you, but I'm afraid a wedding banquet won't be possible. Your husband is gone, and it's taboo. But if it's a funeral or something, and you're pregnant..."
Aunt Yu was afraid that Lin Qiuran would be taboo. Lin Qiuran shook his head and said, "It's okay, I'm not afraid of this. If anyone needs it, please ask them."
Aunt Yu nodded and said, "Okay, I'll ask for you."
Lin Qiuran achieved her goal and left without further ado. Aunt Yu saw her off, feeling sorry for her, saying she had just married and her husband was gone, so she offered to help if she could.
After returning home, Lin Qiuran heated up some lunch, which consisted of rice and chicken, and ate a few bites.
After dinner, she returned to the house. Since her original owner had just married in, the house was relatively clean. It was just a mud house with wooden beams and no ceiling, so the house was pitch black.
Lin Qiuran had never lived in such a house before. The bed was hard and the weather was a little hot. She finally fell asleep and woke up covered in sweat.
After washing at the well, Lin Qiuran went to wait at the door. When the sun was setting, Sun and Xiao Dashi returned, pushing a cart.
A few aunts sitting at the village entrance asked the two what they had been doing outside for the past few days. Sun smiled and said, "I'm going out to look around. It's not harvest time yet, and I'm just sitting around doing nothing. I might as well see if I can find some work in the county town. It's hard work, and the pay isn't much."
After Sun finished speaking, everyone showed an understanding look, and reminded the two to take care of their health and not to overwork. "The family is counting on you two, you can't fall down."
The Xiao family was short of a strong laborer, and they had decided to give birth to the child. Xiao Dashi and Sun Shi had to think of many ways. When Xiao Xun was around, they could still hunt, but now it was difficult.
Sun responded with a few words and went home. She pushed the car into the house and Lin Qiuran quickly closed the door.
Lin Qiuran opened the wooden barrel; all the fish had been sold. The two of them even scrubbed the barrel's spoon clean. Next to it was a scale covered with a cloth and a small basket for weighing fish. The basket was woven from rattan, perfect for draining the juices from the fish. In those days, plastic bags didn't exist, so this was the way to go. Buyers brought their own bowls and basins, which made things easier.
Besides these, there was also a piece of pork belly, skewered on a branch, weighing about two or three pounds. Next to it was a large jar of the oil that Lin Qiuran had requested.
Sun smiled at Lin Qiuran, her voice low but unable to conceal the joy in her tone, "Qiuran, we've sold all the fish today. The fish made a total of 348 wen, I bought 10 jin of oil for 50 wen, and the meat for 20 wen, leaving me with 278 wen. Oh, and we've had our meal too, with steamed buns."
Sun took out the purse, and the pile of copper coins made a strange sound. "Qiu Ran, here's the money."
Lin Qiuran smiled, took the purse, and then carried the pork belly into the house. The meat had beautiful color and Sun had picked the best ones. If it was not braised, it would be unfair to the pig.
She went to the vegetable garden to pull up a few green onions, and also found some aniseed and Sichuan peppercorns from home. While she was chopping the meat, Lin Qiuran and Sun said, "We're almost out of peppercorns and aniseed at home. If we're going to cook fish again, we'll have to buy some tomorrow."
Sun nodded and said, "I'll buy it tomorrow."
Lin Qiuran said, "Mom, I went to Aunt Yu's house today and asked if anyone was having a banquet and needed a cook. If so, I'll go over."
Sun was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "That's fine. Fish like this aren't available every day. I'll go with you then."
Lin Qiuran said, "If anyone in the county asks about this, please keep an eye out for me."
As she spoke, her hands did not stop, frying the pork belly and then pouring the frying oil into the oil can.
The pork belly cooked in this way is fat but not greasy. However, in this era of meat shortage, some people might want to eat more, but Lin Qiuran is not like that.
After frying the sugar color, Lin Qiuran stir-fried the meat evenly. She didn't like food with strong spices, so she added a little pepper, star anise, and cinnamon. The seasoning was a little salt, sugar, soy sauce, and miso. She also put a few grapes in it, so that the stewed meat would be softer.
Pour hot water, cover the pot and simmer for more than half an hour.
Cook over low heat and in a large pot, the aroma will be more pronounced. As the cooking time gets longer, the fragrance will emerge.
In the evening, Lin Qiuran ate rice, while Sun and Xiao Dashi ate porridge. Two pounds of meat filled a small pot of braised pork, its golden red color resembling agate stones.
Sun placed the meat in front of Lin Qiuran. She and Xiao Dashi had a plate of mixed cucumber and a plate of pickles in front of them. Sun had said beforehand, "You eat it. Your father and I don't want to eat it. We just had chicken yesterday."
Lin Qiuchang picked up two pieces for each person and said, "Dad and Mom, how about you try this meat? If we can't catch any fish one day, I'll see if I can make some meat to sell."
The author has something to say:
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Please give me some nutrient solution! [scatter flowers][starry eyes]
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