Chapter 78 The Aroma of Grilled Fish
Yun Zhaoxue clutched her rumbling stomach. "I'm hungry. I want to eat fish."
The implication is that you should hurry up and cook.
Yang immediately said, "We'll go gather firewood right away. If you feel unwell, be sure to tell us. Don't be afraid to spend money."
"Okay, be careful, don't go too far, just pick them up nearby."
Yang took her eldest daughter-in-law to collect firewood, while Xiao Xuanwu was responsible for finding stones to build a simple stove and setting up the pot.
Xiao Xuance searched for a cutting board, cleaver, pots and pans in the car without saying a word, as if he was sulking.
Yun Zhaoxue reached out and poked his shoulder. "Hey, you're already angry? You've endured dozens of punishments from the Dali Temple. A slap is just a tickle to you. The person who hit you is your mother. You can't hit back, can you? That's enough. Get back to work. Your son is waiting for his meal."
Xiao Xuance's dark eyes fell on her face, and he said quietly, "I was beaten because I was cooperating with you."
"You think it's easy for me to pretend? If I don't pretend to be weak, the guards will beat me and your son. You're the one who got beaten because of your son."
Yun Zhaoxue picked up a pastry and took a bite; it was so sweet and greasy, it was awful.
Just as she was about to throw it away, she felt it was a waste and stuffed it into the man's mouth.
"I'll treat you to some snacks as compensation, and I'll have your son take good care of you from now on, okay?"
Xiao Xuance was about to open his mouth and spit it out.
Yun Zhaoxue pinched his chin to stop him from spitting out, "You can't spit it out. Food is precious and I can't bear to throw it away. Jun'er and the others don't have anything to eat."
The three little ones were already hungry. Seeing Yun Zhaoxue eating snacks, they swallowed hard. Hearing this, they silently lowered their heads. They would just have to endure it; they could eat fish later.
Xiao Xuance gave the hawthorns to his nephews and nieces, saying, "Eat these to fill your stomachs first."
Jun'er accepted the hawthorn and thanked him very politely, "Thank you, Third Uncle."
"Um."
Yun Zhaoxue suddenly craved something sour, so she snatched the hawthorn and stuffed the snack into Jun'er's hands, saying, "I'll trade with you."
The hawthorn skin was very clean; I just wiped it a couple of times before eating it.
Xiao Xuance grasped her wrist. "You can't eat hawthorn."
Unable to move her hands, Yun Zhaoxue bent down and ate a hawthorn. After chewing it a couple of times, she found it quite delicious and ate another one.
"Mmm, delicious."
I don't know which roadside stall Zhuiying bought the pastries from, but they were so sweet that even celebrities get tired of them after eating too many.
"It doesn't really hurt, eating one or two won't hurt. I want to eat something sour right now, and your son wants to eat something too, so hurry up and go kill the fish, don't try to dawdle or be lazy."
"Hmm, eat less, so two is enough." Xiao Xuance snatched the hawthorns away, tied them tightly around his waist with a rope, and carried a jar and a cutting board to a secluded spot to process them.
Yun Zhaoxue, "..."
This guy even used his position to settle personal scores.
After cleaning the fish, half of it remained, having rinsed it thoroughly with the water from the jar.
This water will be used for cooking rice and fish.
The makeshift stove was built, the firewood was gathered, and everything was ready.
Xiao Xuance used a tinderbox to light the firewood and start boiling water.
There wasn't enough water, so after cooking the rice, there was only a little left. Therefore, Yun Zhaoxue decided to make a grilled fish hot pot.
She can do it, but she's not responsible for doing it herself; she's only responsible for giving instructions.
Xiao Xuance initially didn't believe she could cook. She was a princess who had rarely even been to the kitchen, and probably couldn't even distinguish between rice and millet.
When he led troops into battle, water was scarce, so they mostly ate roasted food. It tasted bad, but at least it was cooked.
I was just about to suggest roasting it over the fire.
Hearing her explain it so logically, I unconsciously followed her method, adding seasonings and stir-frying.
Xiao Xuanwu started a fire.
Yang and her two daughters-in-law were picking wild vegetables. When the fish was half-cooked in the pot, they started adding perilla leaves, wild vegetables, and other side dishes.
The others had been walking all day and were exhausted. They didn't want to move, so no one went into the mountains to look for wild game or pick wild fruits. They just ate steamed buns, cornbread, or pancakes to fill their stomachs.
Seeing the family busy at work, they laughed at them, saying, "What are they doing? They're so bored, yet they still have the energy to make a fuss."
"You've been arguing and fighting with people and picking wild vegetables all the way. You don't look like you're about to miscarry at all. You were just faking it, weren't you?"
...
Amidst the surrounding whispers and the aroma of grilled fish wafting through the air, someone sniffed and exclaimed, "What's that smell? It smells so good! I'm hungry again. It tastes like the braised fish from Zuixianlou."
"My goodness, it smells so good! If I could have a bite right now, I'd die happy!"
The exiled group consisted of powerful and wealthy people who were used to eating delicacies. They had no appetite for the simple food of coarse grains and wild vegetables. They could barely eat a few cornbreads and steamed buns to fill their stomachs before they could eat no more.
The aroma of grilled fish wafted for miles around.
"Who is it? Who made braised fish? It smells so good! Did they invite the chef from Zuixianlou Restaurant?"
"With such patience, there's probably no one but the Third Prince."
“Even when a prince is exiled, he is still a prince. He has a carriage to ride in and grilled fish to eat, unlike us who are exiled and become criminals.”
"I want to eat the braised pork from Zuixianlou."
"Still Zuixianlou? I'm afraid we won't even be able to eat fish anymore."
...
The servants on the Third Prince's side also set up a pot to cook soup. The soup was so thin and watery that it was like heaven and earth compared to the aroma of the grilled fish.
He wanted to buy the fish from them with silver, but then he remembered that Yun Jiaoyue had sent people to steal the fish and caused animosity with the Xiao family. He knew better than to go and make a fool of himself.
I managed to eat a few bites.
The grilled fish is cooked, and so is the rice. Time to serve.
The two carp were roasted until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with taut skin that was slightly cracked open. Slices of ginger, wild scallions, wild mushrooms, perilla leaves, and wild vegetables were placed around them, and the steaming heat made one's mouth water.
Yun Zhaoxue asked Xiao Xuanwu to go into the woods and pick some large leaves to put the fish bones in, since they would be sleeping there tonight and carelessly discarding fish bones could poke people.
People nearby watched with longing, like starving wolves, their noses twitching at the aroma of the bones. It smelled so good; even just a bite would be worth it.
Wu kept swallowing, asking Xiao Xiuning to get her a bowl.
Xiao Xiuning told her, "Second Aunt, they will bring some to me when it's ripe, and I'll share some with you."
They were her family, and they never neglected her when she needed food.
Madam Wu smiled and held her hand, stroking it gently. "Good, good child, your second aunt is counting on you. You are a good child. It is their loss that they chose Yun Zhaoxue over you. From now on, you will stay with your second uncle and aunt."
Yun Zhaoxue picked up a bowl and added a piece of fish head, half a fish, and some side dishes, instantly piling the medium-sized bowl in her hand into a small mountain.
She asked, "Guess who I'm going to give it to?"
Xiao Xuance replied, "Give it to the escort."
"She's quite smart."
"Xiao Wu, take this to the head constable, address him as Master Liao, and give it to him as a snack with his drinks."
Xiao Xuanwu asked, puzzled, "Third Brother, that escort was so fierce. He even hit you and almost hit Third Sister-in-law. Why should we offer him fish heads to appease him?"
"When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. It'll be good for us to get along well with the head constable."
Wu Chuang has been picking on them, and they need someone to keep him in check.
"Go quickly and come back quickly."
"We understand, I'll go now." Xiao Xuanwu went to deliver the fish.
Uncle Xiao and the rest of the second branch of the family thought Xiao Xuanwu was going to bring them fish, so they reached out to take it. "Xiao Wu, you still have a conscience. Even when you have food, you still think of your second uncle..."
"It's not for you."
Wu nudged Xiao Xiuning, who was sitting still, "Is this for Xiuning? Xiuning, what are you standing there for? Go and get the fish."
Before she could even get up, Xiao Xuanwu had already walked far away.
Xiao Xiuning was dumbfounded.
A bowl of fish passed through most of the procession, and also through the Third Prince's camp.
Seeing this, Yun Jiaoyue said to the Third Prince, "Your Highness, the Xiao family sent us fish as an apology."
Did you think that a bowl of broken fish could make up for the suffering they endured, after they were thrown off the carriage and turned into mud?
Dream on!!!
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