Shocked by the old lady, Zhang Junping stopped admiring his masterpiece, washed his hands, and prepared to make lunch, vowing to regain his self-esteem in cooking.
Braised carp is a famous traditional dish. There are historical records of eating carp during the Spring and Autumn Period. Confucius' son was named after carp, his name was Li and his courtesy name was Boyu.
Zhang Junping took a knife and struck the fish's head twice, knocking the carp unconscious.
The movement was quite swift, and the carp was disembowelled with one stroke, then scales, gills, internal organs were removed, and the blood foam was washed away.
After the carp is washed clean and there is no blood foam, make five diagonal cuts on each side of the fish and put it in another small basin for later use.
Then take out the green onions, peel off the old skin on the outside, wash the tops, cut them into sections first, and then shred them.
Then take out the ginger, wash it, peel it, and cut it into slices.
"Hey, kid, I'm not bragging. Just by looking at this action, I know that I used to cook a lot at home!" The old lady sat on the leisure chair and did not move. She looked at Zhang Junping's quick movements and praised with a smile.
"Hey! A poor man's child will be a master early! I can also grill fish, and I will show you how to grill fish another day!
In the past, there was always grilled fish to eat in the village!
There are many people in the family, but few people earn centimeters. The food distributed every year is not enough to eat, and I feel hungry all day long!
Put everything you can eat into your mouth!
We caught all kinds of mice and snakes and roasted them for eating. There were also fish. We often sneaked to the river to catch fish and roasted them for eating!
No salt at all, just bake it and eat it!
At the beginning, the food was either undercooked or burnt, but slowly, we got better and better..." Zhang Junping recalled his childhood life while packing up the fish.
The old lady felt a little distressed as she listened to Zhang Junping's ramble, but she knew that Zhang Junping did not need her comfort.
While Zhang Junping was talking, the work he was doing did not stop.
Pour the oil into the pan, wait until the oil is hot, put the carp you just packed into the pan and fry until both sides of the carp are browned, then take the fish out and put it on a plate for later use.
After cleaning the pot, Zhang Junping changed the topic again, "Grandma Liu, let me tell you a secret. In fact, I didn't like painting at all before!"
"Since you don't like it, why are you still learning painting from Lao Yang?" the old lady asked with interest.
“Because I learn painting from Master Yang and I can eat delicious food!
As long as I draw hard, Master Yang will reward me with delicious food!
Sometimes it’s candy, sometimes it’s snacks, eggs and meat!”
"You kid!
Let Master Yang know that you are learning painting from him because you are coveting his delicious food. Be careful that he will expel you from the school!" the old lady said with a smile.
"Don't be afraid!
How could he give up such an excellent apprentice like me!"
Zhang Junping said narcissistically while adding oil to the pot again. When the oil is hot, add rice wine and black bean paste and stir-fry. When the black bean paste is browned, then add onions, ginger and garlic and stir-fry until the aroma comes out.
, then add water and put the carp in.
After finishing all this, Zhang Junping put down the shovel and clapped his hands, "Okay! Wait another ten minutes and you can eat it!"
There are many ways to cook braised carp, and the methods vary from province to province.
Zhang Junping used black bean sauce to cook braised carp in order to take care of the old lady's taste.
As people age, their sense of taste deteriorates, and their mouth is generally heavier.
"Okay, not bad!
After caring about your food for so many days, my old lady will also eat ready-made food today!" As the old lady said this, she got up, walked into the house, and took two food stamps.
"Go, run another errand, go to the alley entrance and buy one pound and two ounces of steamed buns and come back!"
"Okay!" Zhang Junping was not polite, took the food stamps and ran to buy steamed buns.
The steamed buns at Hutongkou cost two liang each, weighing a full catty.
You can buy six steamed buns at one pound and two ounces, mainly for Zhang Junping.
The old lady has a small appetite and cannot eat even one steamed bun in one meal.
Zhang Junping is different. He can make a pound of steamed buns in one meal.
By the time Zhang Junping came back from buying the steamed buns, the fish in the pot was almost ready.
When the braised carp was ready, Zhang Junping fried another cabbage with vinegar.
"Okay, boy, your skills are enough to become a cook!" After tasting Zhang Junping's cooking, the old lady was surprised and praised her.
It is really unbelievable that Zhang Junping, who was starving to death on the streets, could actually have good cooking skills.
The old lady decided simply: "Boy, the cooking from now on is yours!"
"Okay! Please do me a favor! I'll make sure I keep you fat and white!"
"You bastard, you're all big or small!" the old lady scolded with a smile and began to concentrate on eating.
This is a habit that the old lady has developed since she was a child. She eats and sleeps silently.
After finishing the meal, Zhang Junping rushed to wash the pots and dishes.
The old lady drank a cup of tea, then got up and went back to the house to take a nap.
Zhang Junping is so energetic that he naturally doesn’t need to take a nap.
Because I was worried that making furniture would disturb the old lady from her nap, I took a writing brush and practiced calligraphy in the yard.
Practicing calligraphy and painting requires not only talent, but also a good hand. If you don't practice for one day, you will become a scumbag, and if you don't practice for three days, you will deteriorate.
In my memory, I always used a brush dipped in water to practice calligraphy on a bluestone board.
After Zhang Junping traveled through time, he also inherited this method of practicing calligraphy.
There was no way, who made him as poor as his predecessor, unable to afford rice paper or ink.
I took a bowl of water from the faucet, dipped my brush in the water and practiced calligraphy on the stone table.
In Zhang Junping's previous life, his calligraphy and painting skills were not bad, and he really put in a lot of effort.
Although he is only a junior high school graduate, his calligraphy and painting skills are no worse than those of college students from art schools.
A good wood artist is not only a good wood carver and carpenter, but also has good calligraphy and painting skills.
As a wood artist, if you want to continue to improve your skills after reaching a certain stage, you must have painting and calligraphy skills.
This is not just an analogy, but a technical requirement.
Mortise and tenon structure, carving, inlay, calligraphy and painting are the basic skills of a wood artist. If any one of them is missing, it is equivalent to missing a skill.
It may not be obvious at ordinary times, but when you make a breakthrough, this short door will be like a short board on a bucket, blocking you and preventing you from breaking through the current level.
This situation applies not only to carpenters but also to craftsmen from all walks of life.
For example, when it comes to paper-cutting, if you don’t know how to draw, and if you don’t have deep painting skills, you will always be just trying to draw a gourd.
Someone taught you, this is how a chicken is cut, oh! You know, this is how a chicken is cut.
I will teach you how to cut like a phoenix. You know how to cut like a phoenix.
Teach you how the dragon cuts, and you know how the dragon cuts.
If I don't teach you, you will never know how to make a dragon and a phoenix.
You can never break through the boxes drawn by others.
This is why Yang Mingde said before that the people he taught in Jiahe Village were all carpenters, not carpenters.
Zhang Junping's eldest brother-in-law and other villagers can only draw pictures of gourds and gourds, but cannot use them flexibly.
The thirty-two mortise and tenon joints passed down by the ancestor Lu Ban are ever-changing.
It can be composed into a variety of furniture and houses of different styles, it all depends on how you combine them.