Zhou Yan paused, then his eyes lit up.
So that's it!
Grandma Qiu has decided to go to Hong Kong, which means the Qiu family's old house will be empty.
Sure enough, her worries have been resolved. The old lady still wants to go to Hong Kong to reunite with her children and grandchildren. After all, being surrounded by children and grandchildren in one's old age is a truly happy thing.
From his interactions with Duan Yuyan, it's clear the Duan family isn't poor.
The Duan family is well-off and has investment projects in Rongcheng.
Grandma Qiu can stay in Hong Kong for a while; if she doesn't like it, she can always come back.
According to Duan Yuyan, the larger and more luxuriously renovated Duan family's old house is still empty.
In this era, long journeys are only a concern for ordinary people. Rongcheng has an airport, so there's no need to take a long, arduous journey south on a green-skinned train.
"That's great. From now on, you can just drop your letters in the mailbox; you don't need to put them in the box anymore." Zhou Yan said with a smile, looking at Grandpa Wang. The old man was radiant today, his joy evident.
Grandpa Wang said emotionally, "Thank you so much this time. I never dreamed I'd be able to walk side by side with Qiu Qi across the stone bridge, chatting under the tree at the bridgehead. I have no regrets in this life."
"If I can't let you two meet again, that would be my regret." Zhou Yan smiled and said, "You're welcome."
Watching Grandpa Wang leave, Zhou Yan turned around. Zhou Momo, wearing a small straw hat, carrying a small fishing rod and a small fish basket, stood behind him, looking up at him and saying, "Guo Guo, let's go fishing!"
This set of equipment was made for her by Comrade Old Zhou in his spare time these two days.
There's no way around it; that's how a doting father is—he makes whatever his daughter wants.
"I made one for you too, do you want to go fishing?" Comrade Old Zhou followed him out, carrying two fishing rods and two folding stools, and asked Zhou Yan with a smile.
"Definitely!" Zhou Yan nodded with a smile and walked into the shop. "Dad, you go dig for worm first, I'll knead some dough."
"What are you going to do with the dough for fishing?" Comrade Old Zhou asked, puzzled.
"Make some food for the fish. My target fish today is hemiculter leucisculus, and I'll make fried fish if I catch any." Zhou Yan replied.
"Make some food for the fish?" Comrade Old Zhou scratched his head, a little confused.
"What delicious food are you going to make for the fish, Guo Guo?" Zhou Momo followed him eagerly into the kitchen.
Zhou Yan took an empty bowl, two spoonfuls of flour, a capful of white liquor, a spoonful of sugar, a small half-spoon of MSG, and a spoonful of sesame oil, and simply mixed it well.
Then add an appropriate amount of water, allowing the flour to fully absorb the water, and knead until the dough surface is smooth and fine.
A fist-sized dough ball was kneaded, with sesame oil added, giving it a slightly pale yellow color. If you got close, you could smell a faint aroma of liquor and sesame oil.
"Is Guo Guo going to make noodles for fish?" Zhou Momo asked curiously, leaning closer. "Let me smell it."
Zhou Yan held the dough in front of her nose for her to smell.
"It smells so good!" Zhou Momo instinctively opened her mouth.
"This is fish bait! You can't eat it." Zhou Yan quickly snatched the dough back.
Whether it works for fishing or not, it's definitely effective at catching little foodies.
"Let's go!" Zhou Yan wrapped the dough in brown paper, grabbed the fishing rod, and led Zhou Momo out.
"Fishing more fish will determine what we eat tonight; it all depends on how well the three of you catch fish." Aunt Zhao said with a smile as she prepared to go out to play mahjong.
"Okay!" Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.
"Let's catch a big fish!" Zhou Momo gestured with her hands.
On weekends when there are no group activities, the family members each do their own thing and don't force themselves to get together and stare at each other.
Zhou Yan brought Zhou Momo to the riverbank, just in time to see Comrade Old Zhou solemnly cast his first line, muttering, "Fish, fish, bite quickly, I'm here to feed you..."
Then he turned around and saw Zhou Yan and Zhou Momo standing behind him.
The worst thing is when the air suddenly goes quiet...
"Daddy, did you learn my spell?" Zhou Momo asked curiously as she leaned closer to Comrade Old Zhou.
"I...I just said it offhand." Comrade Old Zhou scratched his head awkwardly. "Well, sit down, I've already set up the fishing spot."
Zhou Yan almost burst out laughing; the little one was a bit clueless about social niceties.
He grabbed a small stool and sat down nearby, then took the fishing rod that Comrade Old Zhou had made by hand.
The fishing rod is made of dried spotted bamboo. The bamboo joints are polished very smoothly, and it feels quite good to hold and is very comfortable.
The rod is about two meters long, with a reinforced tip and the line already tied on.
Zhou Momo's little fish rod is about 1.2 meters long. A small bamboo pole was specially chosen for her, with pink yarn wrapped around the handle. It fits her perfectly, no longer requiring her to struggle to hold it with both hands like before.
Comrade Old Zhou's preference for girls over boys is evident here.
To be fair, although Comrade Old Zhou hasn't caught any fish, but his fishing rod is exceptionally well-made.
Zhou Yan removed the toothpaste tube from the top of the fishhook and pushed the float down to about fifteen centimeters from the hook.
This is the spot where Zhou Momo caught a 5.8 jin big carp last time. Comrade Old Zhou has been fishing here for the past few days, and although he's come back empty-handed four times in three days, but he remains confident that he'll catch a 5.8 jin big carp next time.
Comrade Old Zhou put some rapeseed cake into the spot. This stuff is the residue from pressing rapeseed oil; some farmers buy it and mix it into their pig feed, which is very effective for fattening pigs.
As the rapeseed cake dissolved in the water, bits of residue floated to the surface every now and then. In no time, swarms of hemiculter leucisculus appeared on the surface.
Hemiculter leucisculus have different names in different places; some call them white stripes, pointed beaks, or green scales.
This swarm of hundreds of fish was a disaster for the angler.
"So many fish!" Zhou Momo's eyes lit up, and she cast her small fishing rod into the water. "Little fish, come quick!"
Comrade Old Zhou had just taken a worm out of a glass jar to bait her hook, and chuckled, "You haven't baited your hook with a worm yet…"
The empty hook hit the water, and the float was immediately dragged away.
"Whoa!" Zhou Momo quickly pulled up the rod, revealing a large hemiculter leucisculus, about one span long (about 15 - 25 cm), hanging from it.
Comrade Old Zhou stopped laughing, looking at the large hemiculter leucisculus swaying on the hook, then looked up at Zhou Momo, and couldn't help but ask the crucial question: "Is this right?"
"May be the newbie gift pack hasn't been finished yet…" Zhou Yan couldn't help but laugh.
There must be just too many hemiculter leucisculus on the surface of the water, because even an empty hook is chased and bitten.
"Daddy, let's pick the fish." Zhou Momo handed the fish to Comrade Old Zhou.
"Okay." Comrade Old Zhou replied with a smile, reaching out to remove the fish and toss it into the fish basket.
Zhou Yan took out a piece of dough, pinched off a grain the size of rice with his fingernail, hooked it onto the hook tip, and cast it towards the area with the most fish. The float immediately lurched, and with a jerk of the rod, he caught a plump hemiculter leucisculus , about one span long.
"Wow, Guo Guo caught a fish too!" Zhou Momo's eyes lit up.
"How did you catch it?" Comrade Old Zhou was a little dumbfounded. He was the one who arrived first! How come he hadn't caught anything yet?
"I kneaded the dough myself. Do you want some?" Zhou Yan smiled and showed off the dough in his hand, then removed the hemiculter leucisculus and put it in the fish basket.
"Fish eat dough?" Comrade Old Zhou frowned, clearly indicating that this was outside his area of knowledge, and shook his head: "I'd rather use worm to catch big fish."
Zhou Yan smiled without saying a word, just continuing to reel in fish.
One, two… ten! Twenty!
The fish kept coming, one after another, it just wouldn't stop.
After catching two with an empty hook, Zhou Momo's float stopped moving. However, unlike the stubborn Comrade Old Zhou, she immediately switched to Zhou Yan's method.
Zhou Yan helped her modify her fishing rig, and gave a lump of dough to Comrade Old Zhou, who was bored out of his mind, so he could bait Zhou Momo's hook.
Then Zhou Momo started catching fish one after another.
"Wow!"
"Yay!"
"Another one!"
"I'm so amazing~"
Along with Zhou Momo's happy exclamations, hemiculter leucisculus were fished up one after another.
Comrade Old Zhou had to both pick the fish and hook them up, so he never rested.
Although he didn't catch a single fish himself, at least he was exhausted.
"Is fishing really that easy? How come they can catch one fish after another?" Comrade Old Zhou started to have some doubts about life.
They fished for about two hours, and Zhou Yan's hands were numb from holding the line. He glanced at the fish basket, which was almost overflowing with hemiculter leucisculus, and decisively put away his line.
Zhou Momo had already given up. She had caught dozens of fish herself and was now squatting by fish basket, playing with them.
"Dad, with so many fish, you could easily catch them all. How come you came back empty-handed?" Zhou Yan put down his rod and looked at Comrade Old Zhou with a puzzled expression.
Comrade Old Zhou pondered for a moment, "Um… it must be because the weather was good today, the air pressure was just right, and the water temperature was perfect."
"Let's go back and clean the fish. There are so many hemiculter leucisculus, it'll take a long time to clean them." Zhou Yan picked up the fish basket; the fish he caught alone weighed at least four or five jin.
"Okay." Comrade Old Zhou followed suit, reeling in his line. He picked up his fish basket, glanced at it, and laughed, "Quite a lot, I'm afraid we can't finish them all."
Another day of a bountiful catch.
Except for Comrade Old Zhou.
Carrying the fish back to the restaurant, Aunt Zhao sat at the entrance eating sunflower seeds.
"Weren't you going to play mahjong?" Comrade Old Zhou asked, somewhat surprised.
"Li Sanmei went to the city, we were one short for mahjong, so we couldn't play." Zhao Tieying stood up with a smile. "Back so early, did you catch anything?"
"Daddy didn't catch any, but Guo Guo and I caught so many fish!" Zhou Momo exclaimed happily.
"Really? Let me see." Zhao Tieying took the fish basket from Comrade Old Zhou and looked at it, surprised. "Wow! So many? Did Momo catch them all?"
"Yes, yes." Zhou Momo nodded, her little face was practically screaming, "Praise me!"
"Our youngest daughter is really amazing! Your dad has never caught so many fish before." Zhao Tieying said with a smile.
Comrade Old Zhou scratched his head awkwardly. What could he do? She could catch two fish even with an empty hook, while he hadn't caught a single one all afternoon.
"There's another expert here!" Zhao Tieying took the fish basket from Zhou Yan, and was even more surprised when she felt the weight of it: "This weighs four or five jin, how are we going to finish it? The four of us probably can't finish it."
"Pick two jin of the big ones to braise, two jin of the small ones to fry, and how about we give the rest away?" Zhou Yan said.
"Okay." Aunt Zhao nodded, looking at Comrade Old Zhou, "Our mother likes to eat fish. Go and call her and fifth brother over for dinner. Divide the extra hemiculter leucisculus into three portions, and send one portion to each of your brothers' families so they can handle it themselves. We'll clean and fry the fish, so you all can eat them when you all get back."
"Alright." Comrade Old Zhou nodded, first taking the fishing rods inside and put them away.
Zhou Yan poured out the hemiculter leucisculus and sorted them, picking out a plate of the large ones, a plate of the small ones, and dividing the remaining evenly sized ones into three portions. Each of the uncles would take a little over a jin home, enough to make a dish whether fried or braised.
Comrade Old Zhou rode off on his bicycle, while Aunt Zhao and Zhou Yan began cleaning the fish.
The hemiculter leucisculus in early winter are very plump. The large ones can weigh two liang each, almost as long as chopsticks; ten of them would weigh two jin.
The smaller ones are only a finger's length so two jin is quite a lot.
The fish scales of the hemiculter leucisculus were fine and soft; a gentle push with a fingernail against the direction of the tail would easily remove them.
Aunt Zhao worked quickly; the two of them cleaned the fish thoroughly in half an hour, rinsed it several times with well water, and spread it out on a bamboo winnowing basket to dry—not a drop of blood remained.
"It looks really good." Aunt Zhao said with a smile. "Want me to help you?"
"Help me light the fire. I'll steam a pot of rice in the pot first, and fry the fish to set their shape. Then I'll cook them again when they arrive." Zhou Yan said, picking up the winnowing basket and heading towards the kitchen.
He mixed starch and flour in a 2:1 ratio, added an egg, a suitable amount of salt, and water to make a batter. Then he poured the marinated small hemiculter leucisculus into the batter and stirred, ensuring each hemiculter leucisculus was evenly coated.
He heated the oil to 60% of its maximum temperature, then fried the hemiculter leucisculus until they were about 50% cooked and set them aside.
Fried hemiculter leucisculus are all about texture; a second frying is necessary to ensure they are thoroughly cooked and crispy.
The larger hemiculter leucisculus won't be fried today. He'll marinate them with scallions, ginger, and cooking wine first, planning to try making huo du large hemiculter leucisculus using the same method as for huo du crucian carp.
"Du" is a cooking method in Sichuan cuisine, where fish is slowly poached over low heat until cooked through, resulting in a tender and smooth texture.
The method was similar to the Tai'an fish he made last time, except this time he didn't coat it with a thick layer of starch or deep-fry it.
The ingredients for cooking fish are mostly the same. Open the pickle jar, take out a handful of pickled peppers, pickled ginger, and pickled radish, chop them into small pieces. Dried chili peppers, scallions, ginger, and garlic are essential, along with some chopped homemade pickled cabbage.
In the Sichuan and Chongqing region, the quality of a braised fish is judged by how many bowls of rice you can eat with the leftover fish broth.
If you get the comment, "Save this broth for noodles tomorrow morning!"
That means the fish is cooked to a very high standard.
"Grandma!"
"Little Uncle!"
Zhou Momo's cheerful voice came from the doorway; they had arrived. Zhou Yan immediately started stir-frying the ingredients.
Add a spoonful of rapeseed oil and a spoonful of lard. The aroma of the oil will be more intense. When the oil is hot, add the chopped pickled vegetables and stir-fry until the moisture evaporates and the sour and fragrant aroma is released. Add the fermented bean paste and stir-fry until the oil turns red. Then add the scallions, ginger and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. Pour in water and boil for five minutes to allow the flavors to fully infuse the broth.
Adjust the seasoning, then add the large fish strips, ensuring the water level just covers the fish. Add a handful of scallion segments and simmer over low heat.
In another wok, increase the heat to slowly raise the oil temperature, then add the previously fried small hemiculter leucisculus in two batches for a second fry.
The small hemiculter leucisculus floated on the surface, sizzling and releasing an irresistible aroma.
The old lady entered the kitchen, glanced at the stove, and smiled, saying, "A wok of fried fish and a wok of braised fish, quite a nice arrangement."
"Since I dared to invite Grandma over, I naturally had to prepare something special." Zhou Yan said with a smile, using a slotted spoon to scoop out the golden-brown, crispy small fish and arrange them on plates. The two jin small fish filled two plates.
The old lady took a pair of chopsticks, picked up a fish, shook it up and down, and handed it to Zhou Momo, who was watching eagerly from the side.
"Thank you, Grandma!" Zhou Momo's eyes lit up as she took the fish and took a big bite of the fish head.
Crunch!
So crisp!
The fish bones were all crispy, crunchy and delicious!
The little one's eyes lit up, and she looked up at the old lady with surprise: "Grandma, don't the fish have any bones?"
"Take small bites slowly, the bones are fried until crispy, then you can swallow them." the old lady said with a smile.
"Mmm-hmm." Zhou Momo nodded obediently, taking small bites, chewing each one carefully before swallowing.
The old lady herself picked up a small fish, half a bite at a time, chewing it slowly, and nodded: "They're really crispy. Your flour mixture is good, did you add an egg? The saltiness is just right, perfect with drinks."
"The ratio of starch to flour is two to one, I added an egg and mixed it well to make a batter, then added a little salt, and poured in the marinated small fish..." As Zhou Yan scooped up the cooked large hemiculter leucisculus, he shared his tips on frying small fish with the old lady.
The large hemiculter leucisculus meat is relatively thin, so cook it for about three minutes and then remove it from the heat. Reduce the sauce over high heat, thicken it slightly with cornstarch, and when the broth starts to thicken and bubble, drizzle in a little vinegar around the edge of the wok, sprinkle with chopped scallions, and pour the thick broth over the large hemiculter leucisculus.
The steam carrying the aroma of fish is irresistible. The colors of the pickled vegetables, chili peppers, and scallions clash, making this dish of freshly cooked huo du large hemiculter leucisculus look quite appealing.
"You all eat first, I'll stir-fry some pork cracklings with cabbage and be right there." Zhou Yan told Old Zhou to bring the fish out of the kitchen. He quickly rinsed the wok, scooped a spoonful of the rapeseed oil from frying the fish, and stir-fried a vegetable dish.
When Zhou Yan brought out the vegetable dish, everyone was already seated, but no one had touched their chopsticks.
Zhou Miao poured two liang of liquor for the old lady, and he and Zhou Weiguo each poured one liang.
The two brothers usually didn't drink, but today they were clearly keeping the old lady company.
"Sit down, we don't dare touch our chopsticks without the chef at the table." the old lady said, smiling at Zhou Yan. "Would you like two liang too?"
"I won't drink, I'll just eat a couple more bowls of rice." Zhou Yan said with a smile as he sat down. He could drink some beer, but he really couldn't get used to drinking liquor.
"Then let's eat! It's the first time in so many years that I've tasted fish caught by the fourth son." The old lady picked up her chopsticks and first placed a large strip of fish into her bowl.
Zhou Miao blushed and stammered, "This fish was caught by Momo and Zhou Yan today."
"You didn't catch any of the smaller fish?" The old lady shook her head with a smile, "You're about the same level as your eldest brother."
"Well, I'm a bit better than my eldest brother; I can catch fish now." Zhou Miao said, a little unconvinced.
"Eldest brother is about the same as second brother. This charlatan's duel is all just a show." the old lady waved her hand, having already seen through him.
Zhou Yan ate the fried fish with a grin. The small hemiculter leucisculus was indeed fried well; the fish head was crispy, the batter was fluffy, and it had a hint of egg flavor. No need to worry about fish bones; it was salty, flavorful, and very delicious.
The old lady picked up the large hemiculter leucisculus, took a bite, savored it carefully, and spat out the bones one by one. Looking at Zhou Yan, she said, "Hmm, your braised large hemiculter leucisculus were really spicy and fragrant! The fish is so tender, not fishy at all, and it's sour and spicy. The pickled vegetables are also very good. Tell me the recipe after you finish eating, and I'll use this method next time I braised fish."
Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Grandma, later you should take some of my pickled vegetables and pickled peppers home. I guarantee your fish will be sour and spicy, very flavorful."
"Okay." the old lady nodded.
Aunt Zhao picked up a large hemiculter leucisculus made a cut along the belly with her chopsticks, and a piece of fish meat came off easily. She fed it to her mouth along with the broth.
The sour and spicy flavor made the fish's freshness even more prominent. The fish meat was so tender that it melted in her mouth.
There were a lot of small bones, but with a flick of the tongue, all the small bones were spat out. She casually remarked, "The taste is indeed good. It's a bit different from the braised carp you made last time. It's just that this hemiculter leucisculus has too many bones, making it a bit inconvenient to eat."
Zhou Yan, also eating a large hemiculter leucisculus, noticed the same problem.
The meat was indeed exceptionally tender, but the many small bones made it less enjoyable to eat. He chuckled, "It seems this cooking method only works for larger fish with fewer bones."
The old lady suggested, "Next time, fry the fish first before braising (Du) it. Fry the small bones thoroughly, and if braising it properly, it will be crispy. Although it won't be as tender, the flavor will still be delicious."
Zhou Yan nodded, summarizing the experience, and prepared to try it next time.
Aunt Zhao smiled and said, "Eat slowly, even though there are many bones. It tastes delicious, so good with rice! This broth with rice would be absolutely wonderful."
"That's right, Zhou Yan is really good at cooking fish. The braised crucian carp with perilla leaves last time was also fantastic." Zhou Weiguo chimed in, already serving himself his second bowl of rice.
The family chatted and laughed, finishing off all four jin of hemiculter leucisculus, even mixing the broth with rice.
"Grandma, do you still remember Wang Yu and his fiancee, Miss Qiu?" After finishing their meal, the old lady sat on a bamboo chair by the door. Zhou Yan pulled up a small stool and sat down beside her, smiling as he spoke.
"Miss Qiu..." The old lady thought seriously for a moment, then nodded with a smile. "I remember now. Miss Qiu was so beautiful! She wore a black cheongsam, and had such a great figure. I saw her once in Suji. Later, I went to Jiazhou to deliver braised meat to Huang Silang, and it just so happened that she was getting married to that...that..."
"The young master of the Duan family." Zhou Yan replied with a smile.
"That's right." The old lady clapped her hands, a hint of reminiscence on her face. "Back then, when they got married, they rode in a convertible car, and half of Jiazhou City came to watch the spectacle. It was quite impressive."
Suddenly, as if realizing something, she turned to Zhou Yan. "The Qiu Qi and Duan Xingbang you asked me about the other day, could it be Miss Qiu and Young Master Duan?"
"That's right." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile. "And you mentioned that poor Fourth Young Master Wang Yu. He's now called Wang Ran. He's retired and works as a librarian in Suji Town. He's still in good health. He said he'd like to come to Zhou Village to see you sometime to thank you and Grandpa for saving his life back then."
"Oh, no need to thank me. He's protecting our country. I just did a little thing to prevent a hero from being wronged and disheartened. It's what I should do." The old lady waved her hand, leaned forward slightly, her face showing curiosity. She lowered her voice slightly and asked, "So, the one Old Mrs. Qiu was waiting for was Wang Yu? How are they now? Have they made contact? Have they rekindled their romance?"
There's no need for thanks.
But she couldn't wait a moment longer to enjoy the gossip.