I think I can hold on until 5 AM tomorrow! But I'll still be updating at 5 AM today! Thanks to Everything Fate~Dream for the reward!
Liu Aimin finally put down his chopsticks. He was truly full today; the food was so delicious. The two large fish left the old lady with a big bowl of fish balls, and she ate all the remaining fish skin, though she did leave some potatoes.
Liu Jingze did all the work of cleaning the tables and washing the dishes; Zhang Hongmei wasn't involved.
"Hongmei, shall we play a game of chess?" Liu Jingze asked as he came in, wiping his hands clean.
“Hongmei, you can play chess too. Don’t play with him. Come on, play a couple of games with me.”
Liu Jingze looked at his grandfather helplessly. Really, why did he get involved?
"You're playing chess in this room, I'd like to watch too," the old lady said, joining in.
Liu Changhe excitedly went to get the chessboard.
"Grandma, how good is my grandpa's chess?"
"Terrible chess player."
Zhang Hongmei sighed helplessly, hoping he wouldn't end up like Zhang Xingguo. She glared angrily at Liu Jingze, thinking it was all his fault.
Liu Jingze helplessly shrugged, realizing he had forgotten about his grandfather and just wanted to spend more time with Zhang Hongmei.
Liu Changhe excitedly brought over the chessboard, and Zhang Hongmei reluctantly sat down to play chess with him.
Fortunately, she was a bit better than Zhang Xingguo; Zhang Hongmei was checkmated after only a few steps.
"Why are you just like that brat? No way, let's play another round."
He has the same drive as Zhang Xingguo.
The old lady and Liu Jingze watched from the sidelines. They were both gentlemen and did not interfere.
The old lady was very surprised by Zhang Hongmei's chess skills. They were quite good, although she was not as good as Jingze, who had received professional training.
Judging from this girl's chess style, you can tell she's an unorthodox player, but she's quite good.
This time, Zhang Hongmei took only five steps to checkmate the enemy.
"Grandpa, I should take a nap now." Zhang Hongmei chickened out; she just couldn't feel a sense of accomplishment.
"No way, don't sleep tonight. How can we take the king in five steps?"
Liu Jingze sat down next to Zhang Hongmei. "Grandpa, let me do it. This girl has a habit of taking a nap in the afternoon. Let her go back and sleep for a while."
"Who wants to play with you? Honestly, you're all a bunch of disrespectful and bad kids."
Liu Changhe left with his chessboard. Zhang Hongmei helplessly shrugged.
"Grandma, I'm going back now. I'll come back tomorrow."
"Go."
As soon as Zhang Hongmei entered the yard, Liu Changhe's family came out carrying bundles of straw. "Hongmei, take the candied hawthorns and put them in the storeroom."
"Okay, I'll have another sour pear."
Liu Jingze took the bundle of straw and went back with Zhang Hongmei. He simply dropped Zhang Hongmei off and then went home.
In the afternoon, Shi Tou brought over half a bucket of goat milk. Zhang Hongmei told him to take some candied hawthorns back with him and also gave him some fried dough twists.
He poured out another basin and sent it to the old principal. After all, he had dedicated his life to education, and in just one day, he had gotten along exceptionally well with the villagers.
Zhang Hongmei was relieved.
The next morning, Zhang Hongmei took out the cotton and went to the old lady's house to bring it over. She made cotton quilts, mattresses, and cotton-padded jackets for herself. She couldn't let the old lady provide the cotton.
Liu Jingze came over to find Zhang Hongmei to go to the cafeteria for lunch. When he saw Mianhua, he shook his head and said, "How will you take it there and how will you bring it back?"
"But you have a lot of people in your family, so you're bound to run out of cotton. It's no use for me to leave it here; if I leave it for too long, it'll attract mice."
"Then go and explain to my great-grandmother, my grandmother, and my mother."
The breakfast in the cafeteria was always the same. Zhang Hongmei only ate sweet potatoes and pumpkin, and gave the porridge to Shi Tou.
Instead of going home, I went straight to the old lady's house. Her family hadn't finished eating yet and were still in the cafeteria.
"Hongmei, I found a book for you to look at."
"What book?"
"The Romance of the Western Chamber".
"It's alright. I've read it before. I don't like those whiny, old-fashioned love stories."
"I thought all young girls liked that. So, which ancient novel do you like?"
"I just love Dream of the Red Chamber."
"Oh? Who do you like in it?"
"I don't like either of the two Jade sisters. I like Wang Xifeng. She's shrewish and capable, but her ending is not good."
"I never knew you had dreams of becoming a powerful woman?"
"No, I just feel that Wang Xifeng's life was not as glamorous as it seemed, and that men were unreliable, which is terrifying."
At this time, everyone in the family returned, and Liu Changhe happily went to sharpen his knife.
We thawed the frozen fish yesterday. "Brother Jingze, we need to slice the fish and marinate it for a while first."
"I'll cut it."
"You just need to remove the fish meat; I'll slice it."
The same steps as yesterday. However, this time the blood-stained thread was removed by Liu Jingze.
Today's fish is grass carp again, which has fewer bones. Liu Jingze removed the meat, and Zhang Hongmei carefully pulled out the large bones one by one. Then, she sliced the fish diagonally and put ginger and scallions in a bowl, mixing them with the fish slices.
I poured in some white wine to remove the fishy smell, then added the egg whites from two eggs, a small spoonful of sugar, two spoonfuls of salt, and some flour water, and kept kneading until it felt elastic. I set it aside to rest, waiting to cook it later.
"Hongmei, how much pickled cabbage should I cut?"
"Give me three, and make sure they're finely chopped."
"Don't worry, go inside and stay with Grandma. You don't need to do anything here." Okay, now make the fish soup. Do you know how to make it?
"I know, we still have goat milk at home."
"Just put half a bowl of goat milk in this time. Once it's cooked, pour it out; don't leave it in the pot to steam."
Zhang Hongmei sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) with the old lady and chatted. The old lady told her some interesting stories from her youth.
It was an hour and a half later when Liu Jingze finished everything.
Since breakfast was at around 9 a.m., lunch was prepared at 12 p.m.
By 11:30, the pancakes were already stuck in the pan. This time, we didn't stir-fry any other dishes; just this one dish of pickled fish was enough.
Zhang Hongmei prepared all the ingredients: minced garlic, minced scallions, minced ginger, crushed dried chili peppers, and also prepared Sichuan peppercorns and star anise.
Heat oil in a pot and stir-fry the pickled cabbage until it's half-cooked, then pour in the fish soup.
"Brother Jingze, prepare the small pot; I'll heat the oil in a bit."
"Okay, I'll go right away." Once the soup in the pot boiled, Zhang Hongmei put the marinated fish fillets into the pot. After it boiled again, she ladled them out, making two large bowls, and sprinkled them with minced scallions, ginger, and garlic.
Heat oil in a small pot, add Sichuan peppercorns and star anise, then pour in chopped chili peppers and sprinkle it over minced scallions, ginger, and garlic. With a sizzling sound, an enticing aroma immediately wafts out.
Liu Changhe came over, took a basin, and went inside.
The meal was quite filling, and Liu Changhe and Liu Aimin were the most satisfied. The old lady only ate a few bites and then finished the fish balls left over from yesterday.
"Girl, you must teach your aunt and your grandma how to cook. After you leave, no one will know how to cook for you."
"Hehe, okay, actually this dish isn't difficult. Auntie and Grandma, have you figured it out yet?"
"I'll make it for your grandpa whenever he wants to eat it, so he can eat his fill."
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