It turned out that when Liu Qingsong lifted the fish keepnet out of the river, the water all around had begun to "boil."
The water was boiling because dozens of pale, glistening Wild Diaozi Fish inside the Fish Keepnet were thrashing violently.
Their splashing drenched Liu Qingsong, Liu Hongxia, and Little Mochi, turning all three into drenched rats in an instant.
But Liu Qingsong paid it no mind, and instead struggled to haul the fish keepnet up onto the bank.
The Wild Diaozi Fish, Grass Carp, River Carp, and River Crucian Carp inside weighed at least fifty or sixty jin. Liu Qingsong glanced around and found an arm-thick piece of rough wood in a pile of weeds.
After testing it and finding it sturdy enough, he hung the fish from the keepnet onto one end of the wooden pole.
He hung the Worn Fishing Tackle Box from the other end, had Little Mochi sit inside it, and hoisted the pole to test the weight.
The end with Little Mochi was much lighter, so he found several large pebbles and put them in the Worn Fishing Tackle Box to "weigh it down." He then hoisted the pole and walked toward home, swaying as he went.
Little sister carried the Fishing Rod and trotted happily behind him on her Short Little Legs.
Liu Delei watched with a twitch at the corner of his mouth. As Liu Qingsong walked farther away, he called out with feigned kindness, "Qingsong, need a hand? With that skinny body of yours, you'll never carry all those fish home."
If Liu Qingsong asked him for help.
Then he could get to take a few plump wild Diaozi fish home to eat later.
Unfortunately, dreams were beautiful, but reality was not. Liu Qingsong gave him no good face at all: "Whether I make it home or not is none of your business, and I don't need your help."
"That's right, what are you even thinking!" little sister couldn't help but snap back.
"Hmph, if you want to eat the fish-fish we caught, Have None—you don't stand a chance." Little Mochi made a face at Liu Delei and, fiercely adorable, chimed in as well.
Liu Delei was so embarrassed that he wished he could crawl into an underground tunnel. To avoid becoming a laughingstock in front of the other children catching fish and shrimp by the river, he hurriedly packed up his Fishing Rod and other Fishing Gear, then slunk away.
After running some distance, Liu Delei stopped and looked toward Liu Qingsong's Home in Wild Boar Ridge. A flash of cold light crossed his cloudy eyes. "Don't get too pleased with yourselves, you little brats. Tonight, I'll make sure none of you can even cry."
……
After carrying the fish to the kitchen.
Liu Qingsong was so tired he plopped himself down on the long bench.
Many of the dozens of Diaozi Fish in the Fish Keepnet were close to death after being out of the water for so long. Liu Qingsong hurriedly stood up, opened the Fish Keepnet, and poured all the fish into the large water vat.
"Maternal Uncle, here." Little Mochi came over, straining to raise the Softshell Turtle in her small hands. "Cook it. It almost bit me just now."
"Good! Good!" Liu Qingsong said with a smile as he took the softshell turtle, but he didn't kill it right away.
Instead, he hung the turtle on the wall, brought over a Porcelain Basin, and picked out the few Wild Diaozi Fish that had died in the large water vat.
Wild Diaozi Fish were like that: they died soon after leaving the water, but their meat remained fresh.
Once he had picked them out, Liu Qingsong took up the kitchen knife and began cleaning the dead Wild Diaozi Fish on the Stove Platform.
Unexpectedly, these few Wild Diaozi Fish had fish oil in their bellies, and one had a great deal of it.
This delighted Liu Qingsong, because the fish oil meant he could pan-fry the Diaozi Fish instead of boiling them.
As everyone knew, Pan-Fried Diaozi Fish, cooked over well-controlled heat and seasoned with salt, Chili Powder, and Sichuan Pepper Powder, was a heavenly delicacy.
Decades later, even paying a hundred yuan a jin, you wouldn't necessarily be able to eat authentic pan-fried wild Diaozi fish.
Now that he had been reborn, he could eat it—something that counted as a pleasant surprise.
When five Wild Diaozi Fish filled a Porcelain Basin, Liu Qingsong wiped his hands and told little sister to add firewood and rinse the rice for lunch.
He took the Bamboo Brush and scrubbed the Large Iron Pot clean. Once it was hot, he rendered the fish oil from the bellies of the Wild Diaozi Fish.
More than ten minutes later, he had a small bowl of rendered fish oil.
This bowl of fish oil had a faint fishy smell, and its color was a deep yellow.
After smelling the fish oil, Liu Qingsong poured a little more than half of it into the Large Iron Pot and began pan-frying the Wild Diaozi Fish.
He did not use a small iron pot because his family had none; they cooked every meal in this Large Iron Pot.
Soon, the five Wild Diaozi Fish released a faint fragrance as they fried. Little Mochi and little sister bit their index fingers and swallowed hungrily at the sight.
Liu Qingsong looked at them and smiled, while at the same time speeding up his pan-frying of the wild Diaozi fish.
Once both sides were golden brown, Liu Qingsong scooped up Chili Powder and Sichuan Pepper Powder and sprinkled them evenly over the fish.
As for the salt, he had already sprinkled some in earlier to season it.
So there was no need to add more now.
"Third Brother, can we eat now?" Little sister could wait no longer. She ran to the Large Iron Pot with a large bowl in hand.
Little Mochi also bit her index finger, watching Liu Qingsong with longing eyes.
"You can now." Liu Qingsong used the wok spatula to scoop up a wild Diaozi fish and put it into the large bowl in little sister's hands. "Remember! Wait for it to cool a bit before eating, be careful not to burn your mouth."
"Mm, I know." Little sister said yes, but her chopsticks disobeyed her. She picked up a large piece of Wild Diaozi Fish, crisp outside and tender inside, and put it straight into her mouth.
After tasting the numbing, spicy, savory, melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness.
Her eyes lit up. "Third Brother, the Diaozi Fish you made is so delicious—much better than what second elder sister makes."
"Is that so?" Liu Qingsong shook his head, smiling.
"Maternal Aunt, give me a bite." Hearing this, Little Mochi grew anxious, dragged over the small stool, stood on it, and reached her small hand toward the pan-fried wild Diaozi fish in the large bowl.
Little sister hurriedly picked up a piece of Wild Diaozi Fish and stuffed it into Little Mochi's mouth.
"Watch out for fish bones!" Liu Qingsong warned.
Wild Diaozi Fish weighing half a jin or more had fewer bones, but some remained. If one lodged in her throat, he would have trouble on his hands.
However, he was surprised to see Little Mochi spit out the bones while eating the Wild Diaozi Fish.
Little sister was the same.
It seemed the two little foodies had this innate talent.
Liu Qingsong watched, relieved.
Seeing that it was getting late.
As it grew late, he took up the wok spatula, removed the other four fried Wild Diaozi Fish from the pot, and poured the rinsed rice into the Large Iron Pot.
After adding the right amount of water, Liu Qingsong covered the pot and began preparing the Large Yellow-Skinned Softshell Turtle.
By rights, the large yellow-skinned softshell turtle would taste best braised in soy sauce.
But their circumstances were limited.
So after Liu Qingsong finished preparing it.
After preparing it, he could only put it in the first bowl and steam it in the Large Iron Pot used to cook the rice.
Steaming the turtle this way would give it a faint rice fragrance. Sprinkled with the Chili Powder and Sichuan Pepper Powder at home, it would surely taste excellent.
After finishing all this,
Liu Qingsong picked up a rag with satisfaction and wiped his hands.
After resting for about ten minutes, he was about to process the other Wild Diaozi Fish beside the water vat when the kitchen's wooden door creaked open. Liu Lijuan walked in with mud-covered feet, carrying a small sack of Sweet Potatoes.
She saw little sister and Little Mochi eagerly eating Pan-Fried Diaozi Fish, while rice cooked in the Large Iron Pot. She froze on the spot.
Once she came back to her senses, she blurted out, "Qingsong, where did these wild Diaozi fish come from? And... didn't our family have none of any grain left? Where did you get rice to cook?"
If there had been grain.
She wouldn't have rushed back home in the middle of her busy day.
"The rice was..." Liu Qingsong began, but little sister interrupted him excitedly. "Second elder sister, guess what? I was amazing today! Third Brother and I caught so many fish by the river."
"Yeah, second aunt, I caught several too, and one was this big." Little Mochi gestured with her small hands as she told the story.
"Is that so?" Liu Lijuan looked at Liu Qingsong in astonishment.
She thought that
she could not trust what Little Mochi and little sister said,
because if fish by the river were that easy to catch, people would have packed the place long ago.
"It's true, second elder sister." Liu Qingsong confirmed. "If you don't believe me, look at the large water vat."
Liu Lijuan turned to look.
When she saw the dozens of Wild Diaozi Fish inside, along with two large Grass Carp and some River Carp and River Crucian Carp, Liu Lijuan stared in stunned disbelief, her eyes wide.
……