When the two came out of the bank, Yan Chen asked Xiang Jin, "Do you need to go to the vegetable market to buy some vegetables and take them back?"
Xiang Jin thought for a moment and then asked, "Do you want to eat fish? There are other meat ingredients at home. If you want to eat fish, we can take one back?"
Yan Chen smiled and asked her, "Do you want to eat fish?"
Xiang Jin said, "I want to eat boiled fish. We haven't had fish with this taste for a long time. Do you want to eat it? If you want to eat it, let's buy one?"
Seeing the expectant and yearning look on her face, Yan Chen said, "Then let's go!"
So the two of them walked towards the vegetable market together, and then found a place selling fish. They saw that there were several shops selling fish, and there were also several kinds of fish for sale, such as grass carp, crucian carp, carp, black fish, etc.
That eel and silver carp, and the other one also has that river shrimp.
Xiang Jin was immediately overjoyed, "Yan Chen, we can have a meal of fresh river vegetables tonight," then she reached out and patted her arm, and then stared at the water basins in front of the vendors with bright eyes.
The fish were introduced to him one by one in a low voice.
"Alas, let me tell you, that black fish, that is, the black stick fish, its meat is the most tender among all the fish here, we can use it to make a boiled fish dish, that eel
, we can use it to make a stir-fried eel segment, and the river shrimp, we can also make a stir-fried shrimp with green onions, or use it to cook a shrimp soup."
Seeing her talking, Yan Chen smiled helplessly, and said, "Then just sell them all."
"Okay, okay, I will cook it for you personally when the time comes," Xiang Jin nodded, followed her to a stall and asked the boss, "Boss, how do you sell that eel?"
Then the boss said how much it was, but when she didn't answer, the boss said, "Hey, little girl, I know the price of this eel is indeed a bit expensive, but it's not easy to eat eel this season."
ah.
You see, it's freezing cold here. Those who catch eels must first drain the water in the rice fields, and then almost turn the entire fields upside down in order to dig out so many eels.
Because this labor investment is large and time-consuming, when we harvest the eels, the harvest is also high."
Xiang Jin thought to herself: She didn't mind whether the price of this eel was high or not. In fact, she didn't know the usual price of this eel at all, and she didn't care about the money. She was thinking about this eel.
How many pounds should I buy?
So she asked, "Are all your eels alive?"
"Oh, this? They're alive, they're all alive," the boss breathed a sigh of relief, then reached out and grabbed two eels in the basin. Then Xiang Jin and the others saw that the two eels were not slippery.
Liu Qiudi was moving around in his hands.
Xiang Jin nodded, and then asked, "Then can you kill it for us? It's not convenient for us to kill these things at home. If you can kill them for me, we will buy them. Look at what you are doing here.
No one will come to buy your fish anyway."
The boss hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, then you come and choose. Once you have chosen, I will weigh you and kill you."
Xiang Jin nodded, and then she and Yan Chen squatted down and picked up a eel clip next to them and started choosing. They had bought eels before, but they also had some experience in selecting them.
Basically, the eels chosen are the ones that are most motivating to resist when picked up, weighing about two to three taels.
The boss picked up a clip and fished out a large eel that was about seven or eight taels in size and recommended it to them both, "This one, this one is big!"
Xiang Jin refused, "No, not all bigger things are more delicious. The meat of some large eels is harder to eat."
After a while, Xiang Jin and the others selected about ten items, and then gave them to the boss to weigh. The boss weighed them in his hand and said, "Little girl, won't we be able to handle this much by then?"
Xiang Jin said, "I know, you weigh it first, then take it for processing, and we can pick it up later."
The boss nodded, "Oh, oh, ok, ok, ok," so the boss hurriedly poured the eels into a plastic bag, weighed them, and then told Xiang Jin how heavy they were.
Xiang Jin nodded, and then Yan Chen said to Xiang Jin, "You go and watch him handle it. I will make the choice and let him handle it as cleanly as possible."
"Okay," Xiang Jin stood up and went directly to see the boss handling the eels.
After the boss had processed all the eels they bought, Xiang Jin asked him to put the clean meat on the scale and weigh it. They found that the consumption of the eels was almost 50%. They had originally chosen
I lost more than five kilograms of eel, but in the end I only lost more than two kilograms of meat.
The boss smiled and said, "That's right, the heaviest thing about the eel is the skeleton inside it."
Xiang Jin and the others nodded. Yan Chen handed over the money and casually took the plastic bag he handed over. After the boss gave them change, he went to the next vendor to buy black fish.
Follow that river shrimp.
"You stay here and watch him handle it while I go pick the shrimps?" After Xiang Jin and the others selected a black fish weighing about five kilograms, she said to Yan Chen.
"good!"
When the two returned home, Xiang Jin's grandparents were preparing lunch. Seeing the things they were carrying, the two old people were also surprised. Her grandmother said, "Oh, why did you even go to town and buy so much?"
Too many shrimps?”
Her grandfather then took out a basin and asked them to put all the pockets into the empty basin.
Xiang Jin said, "We went to the town to buy some things, and then Yan Chen asked me if I wanted to bring some ingredients back. I thought it had been a long time since I had boiled fish fillets, so we went to buy a fish.
When we came back, we didn’t expect that when we got there, we saw someone selling eels and river shrimps, and we bought these two things again.”
His grandfather flipped through the two plastic bags and asked, "Have the fish and eel been processed?"
Xiang Jin nodded, "Well, we saw that no one was buying these things there, and the fishmonger bosses were not busy, so we just asked them to help with it, and we didn't bother to take it back to get it, otherwise it would be all over the place.
They are all dirty.”
Her grandfather nodded, "Okay, I'll clean them out later. Why did you buy so many shrimps? They should weigh five or six pounds?"
Xiang Jin said, "It's a little over seven kilograms. I saw that these shrimps are pretty good and quite lively in the water, so I bought a little more. It's okay. I'll process them later."
In addition to leaving enough for dinner, we will chop it into diced meat and make dumplings."
"Okay," her grandma nodded, and then said, "Should we cook the fish and eel at noon or eat them in the evening?"
Xiang Jin glanced at the stove in the kitchen and saw that three dishes had been prepared on it. There seemed to be chopped dumplings in another bowl, and water was still boiling in the pot, so he said, "
Just eat it at night, and don’t make any more food at noon, otherwise you’ll be too full by then and won’t be able to eat at night.”
"Okay!" Her grandparents nodded, and then her grandfather said, "Then I will clean the eel and fish first. Should the eel be fried with green onions or boiled in soup?"
"Sear the onions, they will be delicious," Xiang Jin said, "Also, after the fish is cleaned, I'll fillet it."
"Okay!" Her grandfather responded.
Then Xiang Jin said that they should deal with the shrimp first. Yan Chen rolled up his sleeves and went to the living room to get two toothpicks. He gave one to Xiang Jin and then all four people in the family gathered in the kitchen.
inside.
"Hey, there are quite a lot of eel segments here?" Xiang Jin and her grandfather poured the eel segments into the basin and said immediately.
Xiang Jin said, "Oh, it's rare to be able to eat eels on this day, so we bought more to avoid overeating. Let's not cook too much tonight, just make these river delicacies."
vegetables, and then just stir-fry a green vegetable.”
Her grandfather nodded and said, "Okay, okay, I'll make this hot eel for you later!"
Xiang Jin joked, "It sounds like this is one of your specialty dishes, grandpa?"
Xiang Jin's grandfather said, "That's because when I was young, my family was poor and we couldn't afford meat. A group of us kids would pick up kerosene lamps and go to the fields to catch eels every night, so I grew up with this eel.
Make it big.”
Xiang Jin's grandma said with a smile as she put balls into the pot, "Among the dishes your grandpa made, the one I like the most is the hot eel he made."
Xiang Jin was surprised, "Oh? Then we'll have to wait then?!" The other dishes her grandfather cooked were also quite good, right?
Her grandfather smiled and said, "Okay, wait, wait!"
Then Yan Chen tilted his head and whispered to Xiang Jin, "It seems that your talent for cooking is inherited from the two of them."
Xiang Jin had a strange look on her face. Her ability to cook was not inherited from the two of them. She knew how to cook herself, okay? But of course she couldn't tell them this, so she nodded vaguely and said, "Maybe so.
?”
After a while, Xiang Jin and his grandfather cleaned out the eel segments and snakehead fish, and then asked Xiang Jin to fillet the fish while he processed the river shrimps.
Xiang Jin changed places with her grandfather. Maybe her grandfathers rarely ate shrimp at home, so he didn't know very well how to handle the shrimp, so he watched how Yan Chen handled it, and then imitated how he handled it.
.
When he saw Yan Chen skillfully twisting off the head of a shrimp, then peeling the shell, and then using a toothpick to pick out the shrimp threads on it, he was a little surprised and said, "Xiao Chen, I didn't expect you to be able to handle it."
What about this one?”
Then Yan Chen said, "I have dealt with it with her before."
Xiang Jin and her grandfather nodded, "Oh, did you still buy shrimps often before? We basically never cook shrimps at home, mainly because they are not sold in the market?"
Yan Chen said, "No, I have bought it two or three times. It's not easy to buy shrimps here."
Xiang Jin said, "Not three times, just twice. The first time I ate it was Aunt Xiaoping's son, his uncle's cousin, and a group of them squatted in Liyun Reservoir for two days in the winter and then brought back a few.
Buckets of fish and shrimps, and then brought some for us and your family, and then we made some shrimp dumplings with the shrimps. Grandpa Zeng and Grandma Mo both said that the dumplings were delicious, but you had already returned to the provincial capital by then.
.
Later, when you came back from the provincial capital, you and Uncle Tao made a special detour to Miyun Reservoir to buy some shrimps. That was the second time you made shrimp dumplings, and the third time you made shrimp dumplings was during our winter vacation last year.
Brother Haoze drove us to Miyun Reservoir to buy shrimps and pack them back."
Yan Chen smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to remember it so clearly."
Xiang Jin said, "Of course. This is one of the few times in my life when I have eaten freshwater shrimp that I can count with all my fingers. I will definitely remember it very deeply."
Her grandma laughed and said, "I didn't expect you to eat a shrimp and run so far?"
Xiang Jin said, "Oh, there's no other way. Our place is really poor in supplies. If you want to eat something with different tastes, you have to go farther away."
Her grandparents nodded, "That's true!"
"Hey, grandparents, do you like to eat preserved fish?" Xiang Jin suddenly asked.
"Preserved fish?!" The two old men were surprised.
Xiang Jin nodded, "Well, it's the kind of pickled cured fish, like bacon. That kind of fish is actually quite delicious, especially when fried with chili, it's very fragrant!"
Alas, it was a pity about the batch of cured fish she made last year. Xiang Jin couldn't help but feel a little regretful and regretful. She regretted that she didn't take a few of them with her when she left Yang Juyun's house. Otherwise, she could feel some comfort, right?
But now that she has been away from there for so long, she doesn't want to go back anymore, so she has no choice but to take advantage of Yang Juyun.
Her grandma said, "Our family has never made cured fish, so we have never eaten cured fish."
Xiang Jin suggested, "How many should we do this year?"
"Okay, but we can't do it?" Her grandma nodded.
Xiang Jin said, "I can! I'll tell you what to do when the time comes! Alas, Yan Chen, do you want to spend the New Year here before going back this year, or do you want to go back to the provincial capital to celebrate the New Year?"
Yan Chen said, "Let's go back after the New Year. After I go back next year, I won't be able to see my grandparents for a long time, so I plan to spend another New Year with them." Also, when the time comes,
I won’t be able to see you for a long time, he was thinking the same thing.
Xiang Jin nodded, "Will Uncle Tao come before the end of the year? Or will he come when he takes you back to the provincial capital?"
"It's not clear yet, but if you want to go to Miyun Reservoir to buy fish and shrimp again, I will accompany you then. We can charter a bus then."
Her grandparents were surprised, "Why do you go so far away to buy fish?"
Xiang Jin said, "That's not necessarily true. It's just that the fish and shrimp there are more delicious because they are raised in living water, unlike here where fish are raised in stagnant water."
Xiang Jin and her grandparents thought to themselves that their granddaughter really has high standards for quality. She is so picky about everything she eats. She will definitely have a high vision when she grows up.
However, the two old men looked back and thought about it again. Their granddaughter was smart, capable, and outstanding in appearance, so it was nothing to be picky about, so they quickly felt relieved.
What they don't know is that Xiang Jin's biggest goal in life is to enjoy life, especially when it comes to eating. She must not lose her stomach and belly. When she has the ability to enjoy it, she must try her best to enjoy it.
Only in this way can she feel worthy of herself.
After lunch, Yan Chen went back to wash clothes, while Xiang Jin and her grandparents started making shrimp dumplings.
Since there were no winter bamboo shoots at home, Xiang Jin said that she would go to the proprietress of the small restaurant to see if there were any leeks for sale. If there were any, she would buy some and then mix them into the stuffing to taste delicious. Then she asked
Her grandmothers took out a piece of pork belly and chopped it.
Her grandfather told him to go, and he happened to go down and throw away the garbage, and then bought a bottle of soy sauce from the canteen.
"I'll just go down and throw it away, and then I'll bring the soy sauce back when the time comes," Xiang Jin said.
Her grandfather said, "Oh, no, no, the smell of shrimp heads and shells is too fishy, be careful it gets stained on your clothes."
Xiang Jin felt that what her grandfather said was a bit confusing. They mentioned it all the way back. If you want to dye it, you have already contracted it. Why should you be afraid of contracting it again now? Besides, if you do, she can just change into another one.
, it’s not like she has no clothes.
Her grandma said, "Just let him go down. Your grandpa, if he doesn't go down for three meals a day for a while, he will feel uncomfortable and suffocated. He has to go down and walk around twice to feel comfortable."
"Oh, that's okay!" Xiang Jin understood immediately. It seemed that her grandfather was really a restless person.
About half an hour later, Xiang Jin's grandfather came back, carrying only a bottle of soy sauce and a few green onions.
Xiang Jin's grandmother said in a somewhat resentful tone, "I asked you to buy leeks. Why did you buy a few green onions?"
Xiang Jin's grandfather sighed and said, "Oh, forget it, their vegetables have been sold out a long time ago, except for these few green onions left. The only thing they want is tomorrow, and they will keep them for us tomorrow.
These green onions were given to us by them, and I thought to myself, we would also use them when cooking at night, so I brought them back."
Xiang Jin's grandmother frowned, "What should we do?"
Xiang Jin said, "It's okay, just green onions. Didn't Grandma Mo and Grandpa Zeng bring us some mushrooms again? Let's cut some of that mushroom and mix it in. That one is also fresh."
"Okay, let's stick to that one," Xiang Jin's grandmother nodded in agreement, and then asked, "Are their vegetables selling so fast now?"
Xiang Jin and her grandfather said, "They have now set up a stall in the town, and then they bring back the dishes every day and sell them on the same day. Except for keeping some dishes that are needed in their own restaurant, they basically
There were no leftovers.
It is said that the four or five hundred kilograms of vegetables they produce every day in the town are simply not enough to sell. It is said that there are several restaurant owners who wait for the food there every day. When the food is brought back every day, it basically takes more than an hour.
Sold out.
It is said that some retail households on the street are willing to pay high prices to buy fresh vegetables like that. They also want to increase their orders in the future, but they are afraid that Grandpa Xiaochen and his family's production will not be able to keep up."
"Oh, so business is still pretty good, huh?" Xiang Jin and her grandmother said.
Xiang Jin and her grandfather said, "Okay, Xiao Jin, I remember your grandparents over there also grow vegetables in greenhouses?"
Xiang Jin nodded, "It seems that they are growing it, but their vegetables seem to be mainly supplied to Yufeng Township and Saigon Town."
Her grandfather nodded, and then sighed, "It is still profitable to grow vegetables in greenhouses now."
Xiang Jin and her grandmother suddenly asked Xiang Jin, "Hey, Xiao Jin, do the vegetables in the greenhouse that you and Xiao Chen grow in the provincial capital usually have customers come to pick them by themselves?"
Xiang Jinjiu said, "Some of them are harvested by yourself, and some need to be delivered to your door. However, we have more varieties there. We also grow off-season fruits, such as watermelons, melons and strawberries."
"Oh, can fruits be grown in winter?" Her grandma immediately felt very strange.
Xiang Jin said, "Okay, because many wealthy people in the provincial capital have very high requirements and pursuits for the quality of life, so we have to properly take care of the feelings of these people, and then we will
A special piece of land was set aside to grow these fruits.
Our watermelon is very popular in many hot pot restaurants. Because there are more spices in hot pot, the taste is stronger and the heat is greater. Watermelon has the effect of clearing away heat and reducing inflammation, so many people eat it.
After eating hot pot, I like to order a plate of watermelon to cool down the heat.
Well, grandparents, we also brought two packs of hot pot base that day. When my parents and aunt come over someday, we can also have a hot pot meal."
Her grandma immediately said, "Okay, your grandpa and I have never eaten hot pot in our lives, but I heard your dad say that the hot pot tastes very good, very fragrant, and very warm. It's great to eat it in the winter."
It feels especially good!”
"You haven't had hot pot yet?" Xiang Jin was surprised.
Her grandma said, "No, where have you eaten it? We heard that people in the southwest often eat hot pot, and we have never been to the southwest. Where have we eaten it?"
"Then how did my dad eat it?" Xiang Jin then asked.
Her grandfather said, "Your dad always goes to the provincial capital for meetings, and then invites his colleagues to have dinner together."
Xiang Jin's grandmother then said, "Your dad also said that he would invite us to eat hot pot in the provincial capital when we have the opportunity."
Xiang Jin immediately burst into laughter, "We don't have to wait until later, we will eat when they come next time!"
They own a hot pot restaurant, isn't it easy to have a hot pot meal?
Xiang Jin suddenly thought of something, and then asked, "Do you have any colleagues or friends who need to send New Year's gifts? If so, can you tell me? I will ask Uncle Tao to help me from the provincial capital.
I'll mail you some hot pot base ingredients over there, and then you can give them away to others, so that the New Year will be festive and prosperous!"
Her grandma immediately beamed with joy and said, "Oh, that's really great."
Xiang Jin and her grandfather said, "Okay, I heard that the hot pot base is made by other hot pot restaurants themselves. Except for some chain hot pot restaurants, they usually don't retail to the outside world. You
Wouldn't it be embarrassing for the child to say this? How bad it would be for her to ask someone to help her again!"
After Xiang Jin's grandmother heard this, she immediately felt annoyed, "Oh, that's it, forget it! Xiao Jin, don't take it to heart, our family doesn't have any particularly close colleagues and friends who need New Year's gifts."
Yes? Just don’t trouble others!”
Xiang Jin said, "It's okay. It's very convenient for us to get this. It's not laborious or troublesome at all. Otherwise, how did we get the two bags of hot pot base ingredients? And I'm very familiar with Uncle Tao, so there's no need.
So polite!"
Her grandfather said, "No need. It's the end of the year, and your Uncle Tao must be very busy, so let's not bother him. Also, it's the end of the year, and mailing things is slow.
Even if you drop it, you won’t get anything. It would be bad if the packaging is broken or something during transportation. After all, this is something that enters the human population, and you won’t be able to tell what happens if something happens.”
Xiang Jin nodded, "Okay!"
So, the matter was revealed like this.
A few days later, Xiang Jin's parents came to see them, and then they mentioned one thing, that is, Ouyang Bo called them yesterday and said that during his latest withdrawal, he suddenly discovered that there was an extra amount in his bank card.
He paid a thousand yuan and asked if it was from them, but they said no. Then they asked their aunt, and their aunt also said that they had not arranged any money for him. Then they looked at Xiang Jin and his grandparents, "Is that right?"
Did you fight?"
Xiang Jin's grandparents were confused, and then they shook their heads, saying that they had not arranged any money for Ouyang Bo. Then Xiang Jin's parents were puzzled, "Then who arranged this money? Could it be?"
Whoever wants to send money to someone else has arranged for his card to be loaded by mistake?"
Then Xiang Jin and her grandmother asked, "When did it happen?"
Xiang Jin's mother said, "Xiao Bo said that he checked and found that the money has been in his account for four days. Today is the fifth day."
"Five days?" Xiang Jin's grandmother lowered her head and muttered silently, but suddenly she heard Xiang Jin's grandfather say, "I remember that Xiao Jin and Xiao Chen went to town last weekend. That day was not the same as today.
Five days?”
"You mean that Xiaojin arranged the money for him? It's impossible, didn't you all say that you don't know Xiaobo's card number? Then how did she know it? It's impossible for Xiaobo to tell her?
"The whole family was immediately surprised. Xiang Jin's mother had a gut feeling that it was impossible.
Xiang Jin and her grandfather said, "That child has a good memory and can remember it almost at a glance. Don't forget, she has seen Xiaobo's bank card, and even if she can't remember it, there is still
As for Xiao Chen, that kid really has a photographic memory, and he has also seen Xiao Bo's bank card number.
I have a basis for saying this. Xiaobo mailed her some clothes and some food that day. Although the child said disgusting words, she also revealed in her words that she was afraid that her brother would not have enough money there.
No need to worry."
"Is there such a thing?" Xiang Jin's parents were surprised again, as well as Xiang Jin's grandmother.
Xiang Jin and her grandfather said, "Isn't that right? But you were cooking in the kitchen that day, so it's normal that you don't know."
Xiang Jin and her grandmother said, "Then I'll ask her when she comes back."
Several people nodded.
At noon, Xiang Jin and the others came home from school. After seeing them, Xiang Jin's mother couldn't wait to ask, "Xiao Jin, did you send money to your brother?"
"Do you know?"
"Is it really you?" The family suddenly looked surprised.
Xiang Jin nodded, "Ah, I think it's getting colder and colder. Then he bought me clothes and food for hundreds of dollars that day. I'm afraid he won't have enough living expenses. I won't be there by then."
Bian was extremely cold, so I arranged a thousand yuan for him to go there."
Her family members were very moved and heart-warming when they heard the first part of her sentence. They felt that the relationship between the two siblings had finally improved and become normal. However, they suddenly started to laugh and cry again after hearing the next sentence of hers.
This kid is still so rude! But they can't say anything. Why did Ouyang Bo deserve to be beaten for his behavior at the beginning? He deserves to be disliked by his sister now!
Then her mother changed the subject and asked, "What clothes did your brother buy for you? Take them out and let us see. Do they look good?"
Xiang Jin said, "I can't see it anymore. I gave it away!"
"Huh?" Xiang Jin and her parents looked puzzled.
Xiang Jin and her grandfather explained to them, "The clothes were too small for Xiao Jin to wear. If we returned them, the journey would be too far, and the freight back and forth would not be simple. Xiao Jin thought it was troublesome, so she took them
I gave the clothes to her classmates to wear."
Xiang Jin's mother sighed helplessly again, "This child is so careless in doing things."
Obviously, everyone knew that she was talking about Ouyang Bo.
Xiang Jin didn't say anything, but told them something else.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
I wish everyone a healthy Dragon Boat Festival and happy holidays!