The old woman turned to Yangzi and Little Shitou and said, "You two go gather some more. When you get back, wash the river snails clean and keep them in fresh water. Add a few drops of sesame oil and let them sit for a few days, changing the water frequently. When it's time to cook them, snip off the ends of the snails and boil them in their shells with chili peppers and fennel. Now *that's* fragrant. But you'll need a needle to pick out the meat, or you won't be able to get it out."
Yangzi and Little Shitou exchanged a look, and both said they would continue gathering snails in the afternoon. Just hearing the grandmother's description made them think it would be delicious.
Juhua felt that Shi Tou's grandmother's method for cooking the snails was better than her own. 'I'll definitely use this method from now on. My old way was to braise them in soy sauce, but that inevitably made the meat a bit tough.'
