Xiao’s father stared at his son’s face for a long moment before nodding. “Then mark my words: a man of the Xiao family marries only one wife in his lifetime. Since you’ve chosen Laidi, you mustn’t abandon her because of her physical imperfections.”
“I won’t,” Xiao Changhe raised his hand. “I’ll treat her well.”
Seeing this, Xiao Changhong chuckled. “Dad, the way you’re lecturing Big Brother, anyone who didn’t know better would think you were the eldest sister-in-law’s own father!”
Father Xiao turned his head, his expression grave. “And you too. Now that Lai Di has married into our family, as her younger sister-in-law, you mustn’t fall out with your elder sister-in-law; you must get along peacefully.”
“Father, you’re overthinking it. I’m quite fond of my elder sister-in-law. With a sister-in-law like her, I can’t wait to look out for her!” ” Xiao Changhe pouted. With such a beautiful sister-in-law, Big Brother had really hit the jackpot.
Xiao’s father turned to Xiao Changqing, but before he could speak, the latter raised his hand of his own accord. “Dad, rest assured, I’ll definitely get on well with my sister-in-law too.”
Only then did Xiao’s father nod in satisfaction. He patted Xiao Changhe’s shoulder solemnly. “I see the lunar calendar says tomorrow is an auspicious day. You and Laidi should go into town tomorrow to register your marriage. As for the wedding banquet, we’ll find a suitable date in a few days’ time. It’ll take a few days to sort out the preparations too.”
Xiao Changhe gave a noncommittal ‘mm-hmm’.
……
Meanwhile, in the Xiao family kitchen.
Mother Xiao sat by the stove, watching Jiang Fuseng prepare the ingredients.
To an outsider, it would surely seem as though this mother-in-law was two-faced—friendly on the surface but secretly making her daughter-in-law do all sorts of chores behind her back.
In reality, this was not the case; it was something Jiang Fuseng had insisted on doing.
Apart from the tedious chores like washing vegetables, scrubbing pots and lighting the fire, she was more than happy to do the cooking.
Aunt Xiao watched her bustling about and asked, “Lai Di, do you really know how to cook?”
“I do! I’m the one who always cooks at home!” Jiang Fusheng nodded; her previous family’s circumstances had actually provided her with a good opportunity to conceal her culinary skills. “By the way, Aunt Xiao, what would you like to eat today?”
“Anything will do. Just make whatever you like.”
“Aunt Xiao, the dishes I make might require quite a lot of seasoning, so…” Jiang Fuseng trailed off. She wanted to know if she could use the seasonings here freely.
She was worried that using a large amount at once might be a burden.
“Use as much as you like!” Aunt Xiao laughed. “If we run out, we’ll just buy more. We’re not short of money for seasonings at the moment.”
“Right.” Jiang Fuseng nodded, recalling the 500 yuan she’d given to Xiao Changhe—enough to buy plenty of seasoning.
“So, what are you planning to cook today?” Mrs Xiao asked curiously.
Jiang Fuseng: “Braised fish, sweet and sour pork tenderloin, and blanched Chinese broccoli.”
Having said that, she deftly scored the fish, marinated it with salt and cooking wine, then set about boiling water on the small stove beside her.
Once the fish was prepared, she moved on to marinating the pork tenderloin.
“Do you know how to cook all these dishes?” Mrs Xiao asked in surprise.
“I do. It’s quite simple. Auntie, could you start the fire for me first?”
“Right.” Mrs Xiao bent down to stoke the fire.
Once the pan was hot, Jiang Fuseng turned and poured the vegetable oil into it.
When the oil was heated to seven-tenths of its smoking point, she grasped the fish by the head and tail, dipped the tail into the oil to sear it briefly, then lowered the whole fish into the pan.
The oil sizzled and crackled.
Standing nearby, Mother Xiao winced at the sight of so much oil in the pan, but the moment she caught the aroma of the frying fish, she suddenly felt it was well worth it.
A few minutes later, Jiang Fusheng lifted the fish out of the pan once it had set, then used an enamel bowl to scoop out some of the oil, leaving just a little behind. She added spring onions, ginger, garlic and dried chillies to the pan and stir-fried them until fragrant.
“Ahem!” Jiang Fusheng turned her head and coughed. “Auntie, those dried chillies of yours are quite spicy!”
Aunt Xiao snapped out of her astonishment at Jiang Fusheng’s cooking skills. “We grow them ourselves. Everyone here likes spicy food… Oh, by the way, if you don’t like spicy food, you don’t have to add them. We can all handle it.”
“It’s fine, I can handle it,” Jiang Fuseng replied.
She then returned the fish to the pan, drizzled in a splash of cooking wine—which sizzled, adding a fragrant aroma whilst removing any fishy odour—before quickly adding soy sauce and other seasonings. Finally, she poured in boiling water until it covered the fish.
Once it came to the boil over a high heat, she covered the pan and simmered it over a medium-low heat.
Aunt Xiao asked curiously, “Lai Di, who taught you to cook all these dishes? Was it your mum?”
Jiang Fuseng wiped the sweat from her forehead and shook her head. “I learnt from a cookbook I read a while back.”
“Oh! You taught yourself?”
“Yes.”
“How clever!” Aunt Xiao gave her a thumbs-up. “Watching your technique just now, you’re quite something. You must have cooked a fair bit in the past to be so skilled.”
“Mm-hmm…” Jiang Fuseng nodded, lifted the lid, and kept spooning the sauce over the fish to ensure it was thoroughly coated.
Instantly, the aroma of braised fish filled the kitchen.
Mrs Xiao took two deep breaths. “It smells wonderful! Lai Di, your cooking is as good as what you’d find in a city restaurant!”
Just the smell alone was irresistible; I wonder how it tastes.
“Auntie, could you turn up the heat for me?”
“Right away!”
Reducing the sauce over a high heat, the liquid began to turn a deep, glossy red and thicken.
Jiang Fuseng waited until it looked just right before transferring it to a serving dish, sprinkling on the chopped spring onions she’d prepared, then setting it aside.
“I’ll wash the pan.” Mrs Xiao stood up, effortlessly lifting the heavy pot and heading over to the sink.
Jiang Fusheng took the opportunity to prepare the sweet and sour pork tenderloin.
The sweet and sour sauce is simple to make, but as there was no tomato paste, the final result might turn out slightly different.
This dish also uses oyster sauce; the marinated pork tenderloin strips need to be deep-fried first, then removed from the oil.
Leave some oil in the pan, add the spring onions, ginger and garlic to sauté until fragrant, then add the strips of pork tenderloin and pour in the sweet and sour sauce. Stir quickly until the sauce thickens, ensuring every strip of pork is coated in the sauce.
Finally, give it a quick stir-fry before serving.
If it weren’t for the large wok, she would have even tossed it in the air; without that toss, it just feels like something’s missing.
“The sweet and sour pork tenderloin is ready!” Jiang Fusheng set aside yet another dish, tangy and fragrant.
Last but not least is the blanched Chinese broccoli.
This is the simplest of the three dishes.
She blanched the prepared Chinese broccoli, then rinsed it under cold water. Next, she poured over the boiling blanching sauce, added shredded spring onions and ginger, and finally drizzled hot oil over the top with a sizzle to release the aroma.
“Done!” Jiang Fusheng clapped her hands.
“It smells wonderful! Absolutely delicious!” Mrs Xiao licked her lips, unable to help but swallow.
Jiang Fusheng: “Let’s tidy up the kitchen, then we’ll carry it over and have our meal!”
Mrs Xiao nodded and nimbly tidied the kitchen.
……
The living room.
Xiao Changhong was dusting the low cabinet with a feather duster when she suddenly caught a whiff of the aroma. “Dad, Changqing, can you smell that? It smells lovely!”
Xiao’s father and Xiao Changqing nodded in unison; sitting near the doorway, they could smell it clearly.
Xiao’s father: “I reckon your mum’s finished cooking.”
“I’ll go and help serve the food then!”
Just as Xiao Changhong put down the feather duster, Jiang Fusheng walked in carrying a dish of braised fish. “Everyone, come and eat!”
Xiao Changhong followed the scent over and her eyes lit up.
Steaming hot, the rich sauce enveloped the golden fish, the aroma filling the air and making one’s mouth water.
“Be careful, it’s hot,” said Xiao’s mother, setting down the sweet and sour pork tenderloin.
Xiao Changhong exclaimed in surprise, “Mum, when did your cooking get this good?”
Xiao’s mother chuckled softly, “It’s all your eldest sister-in-law’s doing.”