Grandma Xie was very happy and went to the chicken coop to catch chickens. The Xie family was probably the only family in Tianshui Village that killed chickens because of the offspring of cats.
Now they have about 20 hens, a rooster, and a few ducks at home. Goudan and his gang often catch grasshoppers and insects for Cheng Yaoyao to feed the chickens, and Xie Zhao also brings some snails, river clams, and small fish after work every day, feeding the chickens and ducks until they are fat and energetic.
However, Grandma Xie said that the chickens and ducks raised at home had never been so delicious before. The meat was firm and tender, and the taste was good without any seasoning, and the eggs did not have any fishy smell. She did not know that the chickens, ducks and vegetables at home were all raised by Lingquan, so of course the taste was different.
There were only four people in the family, and Xie Fei only went home on weekends. They couldn't finish the chickens and ducks because the meat would become tough and not tasty. When Xie Zhao went to the city for work, he would bring a few chickens to give to others or some eggs.
Grandma Xie caught two young hens and killed and bled them very quickly. She made a small cut on the chicken's neck and put the chicken's blood in a bowl with a little salt to solidify it. She took out the chicken's dirty internal organs and a bunch of unformed egg cells, cleaned them out, and put them aside.
The hens were scalded with boiling water to remove their feathers, and the down was carefully plucked with tweezers. He ran over anxiously, put his paws on the edge of the basin and watched.
Grandma Xie said cheerfully, "Be good, I'll stew the chicken later and give it to you first, okay?"
It responded with whimpering sounds and wagging its tail happily.
Cheng Yaoyao added some nutritious and delicious cat rice to the cat's food bowl and filled it with Lingquan. After making a sound, the cat immediately buried itself in the bowl, licking the Lingquan with its little red tongue, and then eating the cat rice in big mouthfuls.
Nianniang is a little female cat who is less than one year old. This is her first litter and she has suffered a lot. After drinking the spiritual spring and eating cat food, her spirits have been lifted a lot. She changed her posture and continued to feed the kittens.
Cheng Yaoyao picked up the kittens one by one to look at them. The newborn kittens were just like Jianjian when he was a child, bald and looked like mice. The little mice stretched their claws in her hands and made loud whimpering sounds. They were much healthier than Jianjian when he was a child, and their bellies were round.
Nianniang looked up and stared at Cheng Yaoyao's actions. She saw that she had played with the kitten enough and returned it to her. The kitten lay on the old cotton cloth and whimpered. She lowered her head, picked up the kitten and put it back on her belly, and licked its little head.
Grandma Xie called out, "Yaoyao, come and cook. Let Niangniang take a break. Stop playing with the cat all the time."
The female cat who had just given birth was very cautious, and it was rare that Nian Nian was willing to let them get close. Cheng Yaoyao responded and ran over to help Grandma Xie cook.
Grandma Xie cleaned the chicken very well and chopped it in half. One half was made into chicken soup as usual, and the rest... Cheng Yaoyao glanced at the large barrel of oil that Xie Zhao brought back and had an idea.
Cheng Yaoyao chopped the whole chicken into medium-sized pieces and removed the large bones. After washing and draining, he added cooking wine, garlic juice, ginger juice, sugar, pepper, soy sauce and a little oil and marinated it. He scooped half a bowl of flour and sweet potato flour and mixed them evenly, then beat two eggs.
After the chicken is marinated, roll it evenly in flour, dip it in egg liquid, and finally roll it in flour again.
Pour half a pot of oil into the pot. When bubbles appear in the oil, put the chicken pieces into the pot one by one and fry them slowly over low heat.
The chicken coated in white flour gradually turned golden yellow. The aroma of fried meat was overbearing and rich, wafting through the chimney and throughout the alley.
Xun Xun was the first one to rush into the kitchen. She jumped around Cheng Yaoyao's feet like a spring, whimpering and drooling.
Cheng Yaoyao didn't have time to pay attention to it, and said with a smile: "This is very hot, a puppy can't eat it."
Xunxun was about to cry, grabbing the hem of Cheng Yaoyao's skirt and wagging her tail desperately.
Grandma Xie and Xie Fei also came into the kitchen after smelling the aroma: "Hey, what are you frying? It smells so good!"
"Fried chicken." Cheng Yaoyao said with a smile, holding a pair of long chopsticks and quickly flipping the fried chicken in the pot, scooping out the golden fried chicken and placing it in the colander. Under the colander was an enamel basin to catch the dripping oil.
Grandma Xie picked up a piece of chicken, blew on it, and fed it to Xie Fei. She also tasted a piece herself. Both of them showed surprised expressions: "Delicious! This tastes better than fried vinegar pork. I didn't expect fried chicken to be so fragrant!"
Traditional Chinese cuisine rarely has deep-fried chicken. In the countryside, chicken is usually stewed in clear chicken soup or, at best, braised. This deep-fried chicken completely locks in the gravy, is extremely tender, and shows the most original taste of chicken. The crispy skin on the outside is crispy and fragrant. The wonderful chain reaction produced by the two is simply irresistible.
Cheng Yaoyao smiled and said, "We need to fry it again. It will taste better if we dip it in some seasoning."
Grandma Xie tied on her apron and said, "Let me do it. Don't let your new clothes get stained with smell again."
Cheng Yaoyao handed the chopsticks to Grandma Xie, took a few large potatoes, cut them into long strips, rinsed them dry, and drained them.
Cheng Yaoyao told Grandma Xie a few tips on frying chicken and how to fry French fries. Grandma Xie had experience in frying vinegar pork and quickly mastered the trick.
Cheng Yaoyao stuck his head out and called out to Xie Zhao in the yard: "Xie Zhao, what are you doing?"
Xie Zhao was sawing a piece of wood, with sawdust all over the floor: "Make a new cat climbing frame."
The cat climbing frame has begun to take shape. It is made slightly shorter than the stubborn one, and five or six wooden boards are sawed to accommodate several kittens squatting together at the same time.
Cheng Yaoyao silently glanced at Xie Zhao's sweaty muscles. This guy didn't say a word. It turned out that he was making toys for the kittens.
Cheng Yaoyao felt a sour taste in his mouth and pushed Xie Zhao away in disgust: "You are all sweaty, go wash your face!"
Xie Zhao put down the saw, washed his face, and wiped the sweat off his body before approaching Cheng Yaoyao: "What delicious food did you make?"
Cheng Yaoyao immediately forgot about his jealousy and happily pulled Xie Zhao into the kitchen: "You've never eaten it before!"
The kitchen was filled with aromas, and a large plate of fragrant, golden fried chicken was placed on the plate. Grandma Xie was taking out the golden fried French fries and said happily, "Brother Zhao, come and try it, it's even more delicious than the vinegar meat!"
Cheng Yaoyao took three small plates and filled them with homemade tomato sauce, chili powder and pepper salt.
She picked up a piece of fried chicken, dipped it in ketchup and handed it to Xie Zhao: "Try this."
Dip the boiled fried chicken in the cold tomato sauce. The tip of your tongue first touches the sweet and sour thick sauce, then bites through the crispy and oily puff pastry, and finally the juicy boiled chicken. The three different tastes progress layer by layer, making you swallow the boiled chicken whole before you have time to savor it carefully, and you can't wait to reach out for the next piece.
Xie Zhao sighed and praised without hesitation: "It's delicious. It's the best chicken I've ever eaten."
"It's always the same sentence." Cheng Yaoyao curled his lips deliberately.
Xie Zhao was slightly embarrassed. He was tongue-tied and didn't know how to make his sister happy. Xie Fei was laughing on the side. Grandma Xie came to the rescue and said, "Zhao has never lied since he was a child. If he says it's delicious, then it's delicious!"
Xie Zhao nodded immediately, looking at Cheng Yaoyao seriously. Cheng Yaoyao had no resistance to his big dog-like gaze, so he handed him the chili powder and said, "Dip it in this."
Xie Zhao couldn't help but curl up the corners of his lips. Cheng Yaoyao knew that he liked spicy food, so he never forgot to prepare chili peppers when cooking any dish.
Grandma Xie and Xie Fei prefer to dip their fried chicken in ketchup. There were more tomatoes than they could eat in the garden, so Cheng Yaoyao made some ketchup himself. It was thick and creamy, sweet and sour, and just the right amount to counteract the greasiness of the fried chicken.
The fried French fries were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, making it hard to stop eating. Xie Fei simply couldn't believe that they were made from tasteless potatoes.
Grandma Xie smiled and said, "It's fried in half a pot, how can it not be delicious?"
Xie Zhao said: "I brought back a large bucket, it's enough."
Cheng Yaoyao proudly leaned towards Xie Zhao, like a little fox taking advantage of the power of the tiger.
Grandma Xie held back her laughter and shook her head. She peeled the skin off the fried chicken and fed the cooled chicken meat to the drooling guzzler, who swallowed it in one gulp and opened his mouth wide to wait.
Its small black bean-like eyes stared at Grandma Xie and it wagged its short tail whimperingly. Grandma Xie couldn't help but give it another piece of food.
To be honest, Grandma Xie is still the landlord's wife at heart, just like Cheng Yaoyao. There is no puppy or cat in this village that can eat meat every day.
Grandma Xie suddenly remembered: "Where is Jianjian? Normally he would have come here to grab the meat."
Cheng Yaoyao smiled and said, "It must be brewing there. I'll go take a look."
Xie Fei hurriedly said, "I'll go too!"
Cheng Yaoyao picked up a few pieces of fried chicken, peeled off the crispy skin and gave it to Xie Zhao to eat, then put the chicken in a small bowl and took it to the cat's nest.
Sure enough, the orange and white fat cat was squatting beside the cat's nest.
Normally, when he smells the fragrance, Jianjian is the first one to rush into the kitchen. But today, he didn't run over to compete for favors. Instead, he squatted beside the cat's nest, watching the brewing food in it.
The smell of food and the sound of cats begging for food from the kitchen kept coming. The stubborn little cat scratched its ears with its paws, looking towards the kitchen and then at the cat's nest. It was so anxious that it kept turning around in circles, but it was reluctant to leave.
Nianniang also smelled the fragrance and meowed. Jianjian came up and licked Nianniang's ear, but Nianniang raised his paw and slapped him, breathing fiercely at him.
Nianniang was so scared that he rolled on the ground and tumbled to Cheng Yaoyao's feet.
Cheng Yaoyao was immediately displeased, and muttered to Xie Fei: "This Niang Niang has been cuckolded by us, and we are still beating it. Isn't that too much?"
Xie Fei said in a tangled way: "But the kitten is very cute."
"You're right." Cheng Yaoyao immediately forgave it.
Cheng Yaoyao half squatted down and placed the small bowl in front of Jianjian: "Here, I'll give you some chicken."
Jianjian grabbed the chicken with one mouthful and was about to eat it, but the whole kitten suddenly paused, turned around, ran to the cat's nest, and put the chicken in front of Nianniang.
Nianniang sniffed and found the fried chicken very delicious, so he swallowed the chicken in two or three bites. Cheng Yaoyao put a whole bowl of chicken in front of the cat's den, and licked his lips stubbornly, but still squatted in front of Nianniang and watched him eat tenderly.
After waiting until Nian Nian was full, Jianjian came over and finished the last piece of chicken in one bite, licking the bowl desperately.
Cheng Yaoyao covered his eyes, unable to bear watching. Thinking back to when Jianjian used to be a boss at home, Rourou would only eat if his grandmother fed him personally. Now Ai is willing to be a licking cat, which really makes Cheng Yaoyao feel sad.
Finally, Xie Fei squatted beside the cat's den and watched the cats brewing. Only after being stubborn, she followed Cheng Yaoyao back to the kitchen to eat meat. After eating, she ran back to the cat's den and watched the cats brewing again, but she still disliked the kittens.
These little guys are ugly, hairless, smell of milk, and they are monopolizing the brewing business!
The kittens don't know they are being abandoned. Every day they lie in their mother's arms, eating milk and sleeping. With good food and a good place to live, and plenty of milk, the kittens grow up one by one.
When the little cubs grow fur and open their eyes, they are so adorable that you will die.
The five kittens are all different colors: the eldest is an orange and white kitten, with a signature orange fringe on his white head. The second is a pure white long-haired kitten, elegant and beautiful. The third is the pure black kitten, with a cool personality, who sleeps after eating and never plays with his brothers and sisters. The fourth is an orange and white long-haired kitten, with orange covering the back and cheeks, but pure white ears. The fifth is a pure orange kitten, who can't get milk and is smaller than the other kittens. Except for the second, the other four are male kittens.
The kittens whined all day long and would fight in a group at any time, with their whimpering little voices rising and falling. The little black cat was the strongest fighter, and it could beat the other kittens alone. Its temperament was completely different from its stubbornness.
Cheng Yaoyao used bamboo leaves to weave a small straw hat for Nong Nong, which almost made Grandma Xie laugh to death. She slapped her and said, "You mean little bastard! We are stubborn and don't want to be cuckolded!"
Before the kittens were one month old, the unruly and freedom-loving Niangniang ran away again.
Jianjian was depressed for several days. He had no interest in the little guys and stayed away from them.
Only the little fat dog was running around watching the kittens. Sometimes he would separate the kittens that were fighting together, sometimes he would carefully pick up the kittens that had crawled to the bottom of the stairs and bring them back to the nest, and sometimes he would howl to remind Xie Zhao to get up and make goat milk for the kittens.
The kittens also treated the fat dog Dongdong as their mother. The five kittens climbed all over the fat dog and chased after its butt.
One day, when Cheng Yaoyao saw Kunkun lying on his side and trying to feed the kittens with a loving face, he finally broke down.
"Xie Zhao! Go and bring Jianjian back to me! Let him take on the responsibility of being a father!"
Xie Zhao was also devastated. Sun Sun was already a two-month-old puppy, but he had not shown any of his mother's majesty and dignity. Instead, he had become a little babysitter.
Cheng Yaoyao gave the order, so Xie Zhao naturally had to obey. The stubborn boy who was hiding under the shade of a tree was caught and put on the mat.
A few kittens sniffed its scent and began to treat the chubby and furry Jianjian as a cat climbing frame, climbing up and down on it and biting its tail and ears.
They were stubborn and spread their four paws, showing an attitude of having nothing to do with life. They let them crawl around and used their paws to scrape food to their mouths, chewing a few mouthfuls casually. They ate half a bowl less than before. They were like a drunken uncle whose wife ran away.
It is already midsummer, cicadas are chirping, green shadows are covered with dust, and working in the fields all day can leave you shed a layer of skin.
The early-ripening watermelons from Tianshui Village were transported to the city and sold at a good price. The brigade had a rare short holiday, and the villagers stayed at home during the day to cool off except for going out in the morning and evening.
The afternoon was long and the whole village was silent except for the chirping of cicadas. The kittens were all fast asleep in Jianjian's arms, and the fat dog was also lying beside him.
The west room is quiet and cool. On the table, there are a few fresh peaches and a bunch of grapes soaked in spring water, exuding an alluring sweet and sour fruity aroma.
Cheng Yaoyao was wearing a light pink halter dress, with her satin black hair draped over her shoulders. She had an icy skin and was cool and sweat-free.
She leaned softly against the bed, drowsily looking at a red book in her hand, her slender white ankles swaying on the bed. Xie Zhao sat upright at the table, reading seriously.
Cheng Yaoyao wrinkled her nose and put the book down. She knew every word of these words when they were separated, but when they were put together, they were so boring that they made her want to sleep.
Not to mention her previous cultural foundation, she has been reviewing with Xie Zhao for so long this year, she is more than capable of coping with the college entrance examination. But Xie Zhao and Grandma Xie don't know how difficult this year's college entrance examination is, and Cheng Yaoyao's attitude is just coquettish and lazy in their eyes.
Cheng Yaoyao fell on the bed in grievance. Xie Zhao heard the noise and said without turning his head: "Sister, you only watched for ten minutes."
Cheng Yaoyao said cunningly: "I'm thirsty."
Xie Zhao closed the book, stood up, took a peach and handed it to her.
The peaches rinsed with spiritual spring water were icy and cool, and they cracked when bitten. They were the first crop of peaches grown in the mountains, and were picked by Xie Zhao this morning. The peaches were a little red on the rim, and the sweet and sour juice splashed on the tip of the tongue, freezing Cheng Yaoyao so much that he shivered, and then he sighed with enjoyment.
After eating a peach, the smooth peach pit fell into Xie Zhao's palm. He threw the peach pit away and went out to wash his hands.
Cheng Yaoyao quickly rolled up her blanket and lay down, turning her side to face the bed. Hearing footsteps coming in, she quickly closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.
Anyway, Xie Zhao saw that she was asleep and couldn't bear to wake her up.
The footsteps reached the bedside, Xie Zhao lifted her hair and put it on her ear and tickled it.
Cheng Yaoyao's eyelashes trembled and he tried hard to hold back his laughter.
Xie Zhao tickled her through the quilt again. Cheng Yaoyao couldn't help it this time. She turned over angrily and said, "Xie Zhao, you are a hooligan...! Why are you the one doing this?"
Cheng Yaoyao sat up suddenly, her cheeks flushed, and stared at Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng who were bending over the bed and looking at her.
Not far behind them, Xie Zhao looked at her helplessly, but couldn't help laughing in his eyes.
Cheng Yaoyao was ashamed and embarrassed, and angrily said to Xie Zhao: "Why didn't you call me when they came in?"
Xie Zhao touched his nose innocently, said "I'm going to cut some watermelon" and went out.
Han Yin pinched her throat and imitated Cheng Yaoyao's babyish voice to act coquettishly: "Xie Zhao, you are being a hooligan..."
Cheng Yaoyao lifted the quilt and rushed over to hug her. Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.
Cheng Yaoyao pushed Han Yin down, tickled her until she felt itchy, and then let her go. He then took them to see the kittens.
The kittens grew into a round ball, with fat bodies and short limbs, lying on their stomachs like cats and worms. The five cats and worms surrounded Jianjian and Xunxun, who were sleeping soundly and would not wake up no matter how they were teased.
Cheng Yaoyao pinched the little orange cat's tongue and pulled it out, and the little orange cat stuck out its little red tongue and continued to sleep soundly.
Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng were almost killed by cuteness and kept surrounding her to admire her.
In fact, the two of them saw that Cheng Yaoyao had not gone out for a while and thought she was in a bad mood, so they made an appointment to visit her.
Cheng Yaoyao was worrying about how to talk to them about reviewing for the college entrance exam, and they took the initiative to come to his house, which saved him a lot of trouble.
Cheng Yaoyao deliberately said, "It's hot, I'm too lazy to go out. But I'm not idle at home, my dad sent me a lot of books."
Zhang Xiaofeng noticed the books on the table as soon as he entered the room. His eyes lit up when he heard this: "Did your father send you books again? Is there any new news in Shanghai?"
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