My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 404 Eating Like a Revolving Lantern
The commotion caused by Sun Yanhong and Tian Hongli has attracted quite a few onlookers.

However, not many people come to eat at Chen Ling Farm.

At the time, Mr. and Mrs. Wang Cunye, as well as Wang Susu, were also there. They all invited everyone to come and eat, but not many people were too embarrassed to go.

Finally, it was a few families who were on good terms with Chen Ling who went with several cadres from the brigade.

Knowing that Chen Ling was going to prepare a river seafood feast and use local fish and shrimp to cook dishes, Wang Jusheng didn't hesitate to call Wang Lixian and Chen Dazhi and go to the reservoir to catch some crayfish.

This stuff is delicious and goes well with rice; it's perfect for making when there are many people.

Many people in the village are eyeing this dish.

No one is willing to use too much oil and seasoning, so they can never replicate the taste of Chen Ling's crayfish.

Since we have the opportunity to have a meal at Chen Ling's place today, we naturally don't want to miss out on the crayfish dish.

A large group of them went to the reservoir to catch shrimp.

Tian Hongli didn't want to stay with Sun Yanhong, so she wandered around the farm and orchard with several cadres from the brigade.

He would check on the beehives in the orchard, then look at the fish and shrimp in the irrigation ditch, and then go to observe the fishpond where the fish were kept.

While strolling around, Tian Hongli had a brief chat with several cadres from the brigade to get to know each other.

However, after this tour, the conversation between the two parties became secondary. What surprised Tian Hongli more was the quality of the fish at the farm.

Whether it's ornamental fish or ordinary fish and shrimp in the irrigation ditch, you can clearly tell from their appearance that they are different from those in the village.

"The fish here at Fugui are exceptionally good. We asked him how he raises them, and he said they are fed with leftover lees and medicinal residues from their own brewing, mixed with grass feed."

"Yes, my wealthy father-in-law has a secret recipe for him. The medicinal wine he makes is so popular that rich people are scrambling to buy it. It's very effective, and even the leftover lees are extraordinary."

"Sigh, we can't get our hands on such good stuff, we can't raise fish as good as theirs."

"..."

After hearing this, Tian Hongli remained silent, only thinking to herself: This Brother Chen really does have some secret skills, and those fermented grains must be quite extraordinary.

However, he had no interest in exploring further, as Chen Ling's dog was watching closely.

Given Erhei's particularly meddlesome nature, how could he not keep an eye on so many of them wandering around inside and outside his own house?
They had already been watching them from outside with the puppy.

This is why Xiao Jin felt at ease spending all day with Heiwa playing with Rui Rui.

There's no way around it, the puppies are too capable; the two of them don't need to worry about them.

Just focus on taking care of the kids.

Tian Hongli and the village officials were wandering around outside, while Sun Yanhong sat with Wang Susu outside the kitchen, picking vegetables and playing with Rui Rui.

"Rui Rui, tell Auntie what your name is?"

Wang Susu now knew that this woman was trying to get closer to her family, but she was always kind to everyone, so she naturally wouldn't give her a cold shoulder when someone greeted her with a smile.

Then we chatted about simple everyday things.

Rui Rui wasn't interested in her at all. No matter how she tried to coax him, he ignored her. He just let the two big dogs, Heiwa and Xiaojin, surround him. He would ride on Heiwa's back one moment and climb onto Xiaojin's the next. He also took his own little toys and arranged them in a long row on the dogs' heads and bodies.

The two dogs showed no impatience whatsoever, obediently lying on the ground and letting the little thing keep playing with them.

It even pressed its big head close to the ground, sticking out its tongue, as if afraid that the toys Rui Rui had placed there would fall down.

Sun Yanhong found it amusing and gradually began to genuinely admire Rui Rui and the two loyal and sensible dogs.

I find Rui Rui, this little baby, adorable, and I also find it rare and precious that these two big dogs take such good care of the baby.

In her opinion, this kind of performance was far more impressive and endearing than hunting in the mountains.

After a while, Wang Jusheng and his group returned from catching shrimp.

Tian Hongli and several brigade cadres also returned to the farm to help clean and wash the crayfish.

Wild river delicacies need to be thoroughly cleaned several times.

As the weather warms up, there are more parasites in the water.

It took them quite a while to clean just this big basin of crayfish.

"My goodness, Fugui cooks so fast! He's even faster than the village cook. He just finished cleaning these shrimp and he's already cooked two large tables of dishes all by himself."

"Of course! When his family built their new house in the village, they didn't hire a cook. Fugui handled everything by himself. Do you think he could be any worse than a cook for a wedding or funeral?"

The cadres in these brigades are all quite old. Although they are cadres and have some responsibilities, they are actually genuine farmers and work very efficiently.

But when I glanced into the kitchen, I couldn't help but click my tongue in amazement.

Chen Ling's dish was not only quick to cook, but also looked beautiful and smelled delicious.

Fish and shrimp are usually so fishy, ​​but the way he cooked them made them smell even better than other meats. The aroma was so strong it made your nose tingle and you felt like sneezing.

Sun Yanhong had never eaten at Chen Ling's house.

The aroma was so enticing that I couldn't wait any longer. I forgot all about trying to get close to Wang Susu and her daughter, and got up to stand outside the kitchen, enjoying the smell and watching Chen Ling cook.

Tian Hongli sniffed, smelling the delicious aroma wafting from the kitchen, and muttered to herself, "Brother Chen's cooking skills are so good, how can he not taste the quality of the fish?"

Chen Ling had such keen hearing that after hearing his muttering, he ladled food into the porcelain basin while laughing and saying, "Don't worry, Mr. Tian. Apart from the turtle and shrimp, the other fish are prepared in two or three ways, with several different cooking methods. To make sure you can enjoy them properly, I specially made them lightly. Some only have a little salt added. The fine-scaled fish is so delicious that I didn't even add much salt."

"You'll know once you try it."

Upon hearing this, Tian Hongli knew that Chen Ling had confidence in his fish, so she praised him, saying that Chen Ling was meticulous and thoughtful.

Little Sheep and Wang Lixian stood together, and upon hearing this, they couldn't help but laugh and said, "Boss Tian, ​​only I, Uncle Fugui, have this skill. No one else would make several dishes for you to taste. If it were us, we wouldn't know how to cook anything. If you want to taste something, we'd be lucky to get some firewood to grill two fish."

Everyone laughed when they heard that, and they all said that was exactly the case.

As the little lamb interacted more with the villagers, it gradually became familiar with them and started talking more.

Wang Lixian glanced at the young man, then turned to Tian Hongli and said, "Boming was just joking with you, but we used to be reluctant to use oil, so this was how we cooked it. We'd catch a few eels and loaches, gather some firewood, and just throw them in the fire to roast. We did the same with other fish, leaving the scales on." Tian Hongli handed him a cigarette and asked blankly, "Isn't it fishy to eat it like that?"

"It's fishy, ​​but it depends on the season and the type of firewood you use to grill it..."

Wang Lixian took the cigarette, and Little Sheep quickly came over and lit it before he continued, "When I was little, this is how I ate when I was craving something sweet: I would pick some pine branches, bamboo, and some grass leaves and bark with a bit of flavor to remove the fishy smell. Later, when I got a little older, we had soy sauce at home, so whenever I wanted to eat something sweet, I would steal some soy sauce, brush it on, and grill it. Tsk tsk, it smelled so good when it came out."

Tian Hongli suddenly realized and gave him a thumbs up: "Oh, this is good, this is good."

He poked his head into the kitchen again: "Brother Chen, you have a fire pit here, why don't we grill a couple of fish later? It sounds like we can taste the original flavor of the fish better that way."

He had actually heard it from Wang Lixian, and the aroma wafting from the kitchen made him a little hungry.

"Okay, there are two fish left. I won't cook them; you can take them out and grill them."

Chen Ling pointed to two cleaned grass carp and black carp in the bamboo basket and told him to take them himself, while he went to make crayfish.

"Hehe, okay, I'll grill it and see if it's good or not." Tian Hongli carried the fish out, and the group of people started fiddling around with the fire pit outside the kitchen.

With firewood and a hearth, everything is readily available, making it very quick to grill fish.

After a lot of fuss, the two fish were cooked. They decided to taste the fish without any sauce first, and if it didn't taste good, they would brush some sauce on it.

When I tried it, it was surprisingly good.

"It's because the fish here in Fugui are good, otherwise he wouldn't have the confidence to tell you that the price is too low."

"Yes, Brother Xian is right. Normally, grilled fish doesn't taste like this, and the meat isn't this tender."

Wang Lixian and Wang Jusheng seized every opportunity to speak up for Chen Ling.

Tian Hongli had nothing to refute, because the facts spoke for themselves: this fish was indeed better than fish from other places.

It's rare to find a dish that tastes this good without any seasonings.

He does have some knowledge.

As they tasted the grilled fish, Sun Yanhong didn't try to get closer to them. She simply helped Wang Susu and the two elders set the table and brought out dishes from the kitchen.

“Fugui, Uncle Cunye, you should try it too. This grilled fish is really good.”

"I'm not going to try it anymore. Come over here, it's time to eat."

Chen Ling took off his apron and said, "The crayfish will have to wait a while. These crayfish are fragrant and spicy, so let's eat them later. Eat this first, otherwise the other dishes won't taste as good."

Today's feast is almost entirely made up of freshwater seafood: domestic fish, eels, loaches, crayfish, and turtles, all prepared into various dishes that fill both tables.

The aroma was so enticing that everyone was already impatient to get there.

Without bothering with formalities, they all found seats and took their places.

After exchanging a few words, pouring the wine, and picking up chopsticks to start eating.

Wang Jusheng had a similar meal a few days ago, and while eating and drinking, he enthusiastically described it to everyone.

"Jusheng, you know so much, you must have eaten at Fugui's house quite a few times."

"Exactly, I think you've tried all the good things in the world."

Wang Jusheng felt quite pleased with himself for the sarcastic remarks made by these officials.

But he soon realized something was wrong; these people were talking to him while their chopsticks never stopped.

"Hey, Uncle Haiyun, how can you eat like that? You even picked up the plate and started drinking! Boss Tian and Boss Sun from the city are here. Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you?"

Tian Hongli and Sun Yanhong really didn't care about laughing at others.

This was the first time either of them had eaten at Chen Ling's house.

After a few dishes, the two of them lost all interest in competing with each other and just focused on eating.

Tian Hongli's performance was even worse.

Before the food was served, he still maintained the demeanor of a city boss. But once he sat down and tasted the dishes, his attitude completely changed. He found that even the fish and shrimp, boiled in salt water, had a unique flavor and were incredibly delicious.

"Boss Tian, ​​if you want to eat more food, you have to drink more alcohol. It's the same for everyone; if you want to eat more, you have to drink more."

Wang Laishun then said in a joking tone.

Today's main purpose is to discuss business. We can take advantage of the atmosphere at the dinner table to talk business, but we can't just focus on eating and drinking.

These people ravenously devoured Chen Ling's food, forgetting to even speak. This is not how business is conducted.

"No problem, come on, Brother Chen, let me toast you first. I've got your business settled. You can ask for any price for your fish and shrimp, and I'll take them away for you this time."

"Secretary Wang, I'd like to toast you too."

In order to eat more, Tian Hongli kept raising her glass to toast everyone, and after finishing one glass, she would eat voraciously.

Before long, his face was flushed from drinking.

When Chen Ling brought the crayfish to the table, the hot and refreshing crayfish, once tasted, the spiciness mixed with the alcohol rose up from his throat, making the old man choke and bring tears to his eyes.

He kept exclaiming, "How is this shrimp cooked? How can it be done like this? It's so fragrant and spicy, it's so delicious!"

While shouting, he kept eating with his chopsticks, ignoring the tears and snot streaming down his face from the spiciness. He hurriedly wiped his face with a piece of paper and then went on another big meal.

This left everyone speechless.

Soon, because he drank too fast, the alcohol took effect, and he started talking nonsense with a red face and thick neck.

He hugged Wang Laishun, calling him "older brother" one moment and "grandpa" the next, saying that he looked like his own grandfather. He said that seeing the old man was like seeing his own grandfather, and he also talked about how he was with his grandfather when he was a child.

This way, there's no point in discussing business; it's more about providing entertainment and a spectacle for everyone.

Moreover, Wang Laishun was so uncomfortable that he couldn't sit or stand properly. He could only smile wryly and say to everyone, "This food is too delicious, it's no good. Look, Boss Tian is so full of food that he's practically craving it."

(End of this chapter)