My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 97 Slingshot
After deep-frying the crayfish, Chen Ling took them out and drained half of the oil from the pot, leaving only the bottom oil.

When cooking crayfish, you must not take the easy way out by directly stir-frying them. You must first deep-fry them. This will enhance the color and shape of the crayfish, and the meat will also tighten quickly. Moreover, after the meat tightens, gaps will appear in the shell, making it easier for the flavor to penetrate.

Heat the oil again, then add all the spices and stir-fry until fragrant, and then add a large bowl of garlic cloves that Wang Susu had peeled.

After stir-frying, add a spoonful of fermented bean paste, stir-fry until the oil turns red, then add the chili pieces.

The aroma was so enticing that Han Chuang turned away and sneezed twice, but he still couldn't resist running over to take a look.

At this moment, Chen Ling had already poured all the fried crayfish into the pot.

Pour in Shaoxing wine and start stir-frying over high heat.

After stir-frying for a few minutes, I added cooking wine to enhance the flavor, and then poured in half a keg of draft beer.

While Han Chuang and the other man were helping Wang Susu peel garlic and prepare seasonings, Chen Ling went to Cui the Cripple's place to get a piece of pork and a bucket of draft beer.

They can't finish such a big bucket of water, so it's perfect for cooking.

Beer enhances flavor and removes fishy smells, especially when cooking crayfish; it tastes much better than cooking them with water.

He made a lot of crayfish today, and poured almost half a bucket into the container.

Finally, add salt, cover the pot, and simmer for about half an hour.

Han Chuang and Jiang Xiaoqing had been salivating from the aroma for a while, eagerly waiting for the food to be cooked, but Chen Ling suddenly put the lid back on the pot...

The two of them stared longingly at the stove, practically itching to get their hands on it.

Seeing this, Chen Ling laughed and said, "Let's wait a little longer. The crayfish are heavily seasoned, so let's not rush to eat them. Otherwise, the other dishes won't taste very good after eating the crayfish."

After saying that, he quickly stir-fried some wild vegetables and eggs, prepared a cold dish, and then had Han Chuang and the other person put the cooked dishes into a basin and take them out. He then carried out the kitchen with a large half-full barrel of draft beer.

Several bowls of dishes were set out on the stone table in the courtyard, and half a bowl of ice-cold draft beer was poured for each person. Without saying a word, everyone started eating.

Eels have few bones and a lot of meat, and they taste delicious. They can be steamed, boiled, fried, braised, or stewed.

Today, Chen Ling's braised eel was incredibly tender, smooth, and delicious. Han Chuang and Jiang Xiaoqing had eaten braised eel before, but they had never tasted anything so fragrant. Even the bones were soft and crumbly, and the more they chewed, the more fragrant it became. Neither of them wanted to swallow it.

They only stopped eating, still wanting more, when Chen Ling picked up his beer.

As the chilled beer mixed with the crispy and smooth eel went down his throat, Han Chuang was almost overwhelmed with joy.

"Ah, Lingzi, this is so awesome!"

Han Chuang closed his eyes, shook his big head, and sighed.

"This guy, I really didn't expect you to cook so well."

"I really regret not coming to find you sooner."

Jiang Xiaoqing nodded vigorously in agreement.

The girl was a bit reserved when she first arrived, but she's gradually opening up and has given Chen Ling a thumbs up.

"Brother Ling's skills are better than any of the top chefs in the city. My dad has run a restaurant for twenty years, but he's still far inferior to you."

"Haha, look at what you're saying, it's not that exaggerated. But from what you're saying, does your uncle own a restaurant in the city?"

"No, they just run a mutton restaurant in Huangni Town, not far from Chuangzi's house. They often invite people to my dad's place for drinks, it's been like that for years. Who knew they were plotting to make me their daughter-in-law?"

As she spoke, she angrily grabbed Han Chuang's ear and gave it a hard tug.

Instead of dodging, the guy just chuckled with a憨厚 (honest and simple) expression.

This guy was incredibly proud to have married a college student.

Seeing the two of them joking around, Wang Susu couldn't help but recall the trivialities of her life before she married Chen Ling.

She still can't forget the first time Chen Ling brought gifts to the village.

He wore a white shirt, light blue flared pants, and chunky leather shoes. He had a slightly shy smile, but his handsome and dashing appearance was undeniable. She recognized him at first glance.

She never imagined that Chen Ling would reveal his true colors after marriage.

Fortunately, she has now seen the light at the end of the tunnel.

Laughing and joking, the crayfish were ready in no time.

When Chen Ling brought the dish out from the kitchen, it attracted everyone's attention.

The porcelain basin was full of bright red crayfish, steaming hot, and the rich aroma wafted out on the wind, almost tempting the neighbors to come knocking.

Thanks to the word-of-mouth from the village kids, everyone now knows that Chen Ling spends all his time at home making food, and the best part is that he makes it really delicious. Just smelling the aroma makes people drool.

When the spicy crayfish were served, Han Chuang and his companion, who had never eaten this before, followed Chen Ling and Wang Susu's example and picked one up from the porcelain bowl, sucking the broth off the crayfish.

Then pinch the middle part of the shell at the tail and twist it, then pull it outwards to remove the shrimp vein.

Next, they removed the remaining half of the shrimp head, bit open the claws, extracted the meat, and ate it. Finally, they peeled off the shell of the lobster tail and put the spicy and delicious shrimp meat into their mouths. At this moment, Han Chuang and Jiang Xiaoqing finally understood why Chen Ling had served the crayfish last.

There's no other reason; it just smells so good.

It completely overpowers the flavors of other things, making other dishes taste bland and tasteless.

Spicy and refreshing crayfish, paired with ice-cold draft beer, pushes the taste to the extreme, it's truly the most satisfying experience.

The shrimp meal made Han Chuang and his companion feel like they had wasted the first twenty years of their lives.

They didn't even have time to praise it; they were slurping their mouths from the spiciness while focusing intently on eating.

After finishing the crayfish, Chen Ling got up, washed his hands, and went to the kitchen to cook some noodles.

Pour the cooked noodles into the crayfish broth, stir with chopsticks, and the red oil broth will immediately coat the noodles, making them look incredibly appetizing.

"Brother Ling, these noodles are amazing! I should have eaten less shrimp and drunk less beer earlier. They taste even better than shrimp meat."

Jiang Xiaoqing scooped up a bowl of noodles and ate it with her mouth full of oil.

Since draft beer has little alcohol content and the food was quite spicy today, she and Wang Susu drank quite a bit. As a result, after eating a bowl of noodles, they were already stuffed and couldn't eat another bowl.

All I could do was stare at the noodles in the porcelain bowl, my eyes filled with reluctance.

"It's okay, Xiaoqing. If you can't eat, I'll help you eat."

Han Chuang ate with sweat pouring down his face. While talking to Jiang Xiaoqing, he turned around, scooped up another bowl of noodles, and slurped them down.

Jiang Xiaoqing was so angry that she almost couldn't help but want to kick him again.

The meal was lively and cheerful. Jiang Xiaoqing and Chen Ling became quite familiar with each other, so Jiang Xiaoqing helped Wang Susu wash the pots and pans. Chen Ling then called out to Heiwa and Xiaojin and fed them the leftovers.

The two dogs had been watching them longingly while they were eating, and they couldn't wait any longer. They immediately started gobbling down their food, emptying the bowl completely and licking it until it was shiny. But they weren't satisfied yet. They wagged their tails and circled around Chen Ling, whining and asking for more food, as if Chen Ling had been too kind to them.

"Lingzi, did you just dig this lotus pond? I don't see a single fish in it."

After eating and drinking his fill, Han Chuang went to the toilet. When he came out, he squatted down next to the grape trellis and looked around the lotus pond.

"Yes, we haven't had time to release the fish yet, and the lotus flowers were just a few we dug up from our neighbor's front yard."

Chen Ling walked over and said.

"I'll bring you some fish in a couple of days. My brother keeps a lot of them at home, all sorts of colors, they're really beautiful."

"Forget it, don't bother. It's such a long way, and the road is difficult to travel in this heat. It wouldn't be good if it died while we were bringing it over."

Chen Ling immediately knew that Han Chuang was talking about ornamental fish. Most ornamental fish are very delicate, and with the hot weather and bumpy mountain roads, they can easily die.

"It's okay, my brother will definitely have a way."

Han Chuang said with a grin, then grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and sat under the grape trellis to tease the little rabbit.

After Wang Susu and the other woman finished washing the dishes, they sat down and chatted and played cards. They waited leisurely until around 4 p.m., when the weather wasn't so hot. Then Han Chuang got on his motorcycle and drove off with Jiang Xiaoqing on the back.

Before leaving, he kept telling Chen Ling not to go out for the next couple of days, saying that his brother would find a way to send the fish over.

……

The fourth month of the lunar calendar is almost over, and the weather is getting hotter every day.

Chen Ling got up early and, taking advantage of the cool weather, went to the old river bend south of the village and collected two baskets of pebbles, which he then laid around the lotus pond in the yard.

When Wang Susu saw him return, she stopped guarding the eel fry in the room and went out with a basket on her back and the ox to gather mulberry leaves. The silkworm eggs she got from Sister Xiuying's house had already hatched, and now an old house in the backyard had been cleared out and used by Wang Susu as a silkworm room.

In other words, the silkworms are still small now. If they get a little bigger, they will eat mulberry leaves very quickly. So you need to store more mulberry leaves at home and feed them more frequently. Otherwise, the silkworms will not grow well, and the silk they produce will be unusable and unsellable, and all your efforts will be in vain.

Not long after Wang Susu left, Chen Ling also glanced at the eel fry in the room. Then he moved a deck chair to the tree, intending to read a book in the shade. However, not long after, he heard a cacophony of chirping coming from the backyard.

The two dogs instantly perked up their ears and ran towards the backyard.

Seeing this, Chen Ling hurriedly got up and chased after it. When he opened the back gate, he was surprised to find that it was the hawk being attacked by a flock of magpies in the vegetable garden.

Upon seeing an old acquaintance, Heiwa Xiaojin immediately rushed over like the wind.

The magpies scattered instantly, and the hawks were startled and flew away. Only then did Chen Ling discover a dead magpie lying in the vegetable garden, its skull riddled with a bloody hole. The vegetable garden was also in a terrible state; several of Wang Susu's vegetables had been pecked to pieces. Needless to say, since hawks don't eat vegetables, it must have been the magpies who did it.

Chen Ling was worried that the vegetables in his family's vegetable garden would grow too fast if he used the Dongtianxi water directly, so he always used well water to dilute it before watering. Even so, his own vegetables were definitely different from ordinary vegetables.

I never expected to be targeted and harmed by these thieving birds again.

Chen Ling was furious: "You sons of bitches, I haven't even settled the score with you for stealing eggs yet, and now you're wreaking havoc on the vegetable garden. It seems I have no choice but to teach you a lesson."

He turned around and crawled into the old house where clutter was piled up, intending to make a slingshot and kill these thieving birds.

-

P.S.: The subscription count is just shy of 1000. Since starting the book, I haven't asked for anything except investment. Now that it's officially released, I'd like to ask for a wave of subscriptions. If you're generally satisfied with the book, I hope those of you reading the free version or the pirated version can support it on Qidian. Actually, each chapter subscription only costs a little over 10 cents, which won't cost more than a few dollars a month. I hope for your support. During the National Day holiday, I'll try my best to keep up with both quality and update frequency. (These words are free; I'm putting them in the author's notes so pirated readers won't see them, sorry.)
(End of this chapter)