Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 611 Chapter 610 Mustard Mound

Among all the friends, Tang Zhitong has the closest relationship with Wu Haiyang and the other two, closer than those friends from yesterday. They don't even need to ask for help when they have problems. Whenever anyone present has difficulties, the others will take the initiative to lend a helping hand.

When it comes to chatting, the group is quite casual and talks about everything under the sun without any need to be shy.

From Gu Yong, Tang Zhitong learned that there were signs of unrest in a certain southeastern country. This was something Tang Zhitong had not expected, as he had thought it would only happen around the millennium.

In response to this unrest, the country is also discussing relevant follow-up measures and will do its utmost to resettle our compatriots. A document will be issued soon.

Several female comrades finished their meal early and went to the bedroom. From time to time, bursts of laughter could be heard, among which Lu Lixian and Liu Yue laughed the loudest.

Because he had to ride his bicycle to take Liu Yue home after dinner, Gu Yong didn't drink much today. He only had two taels of wine, and no one tried to persuade him to stop.

There were a lot of dishes. Not only did I not have the staple food today, but I even had some leftovers.

In addition to the food today, Tang Zhitong and Xiao Wang also prepared gift money, but this was given to Lu Lixian privately by Xiao Wang, and Tang Zhitong did not participate.

Nowadays, every family has many children, and few people hold full-month banquets, hundred-day banquets, one-year-old celebrations, etc. They are just passed by normally. At most, people take a photo as a souvenir, wearing open-crotch pants.

In the afternoon, several men put the leftovers in the kitchen, wiped the table, drank some water, and then prepared to go back home to find their mothers.

"It's still more comfortable to smoke a cigarette, and I feel refreshed all over! I admire your perseverance, I don't think I can do it." As soon as he went out, Gu Yong lit a cigarette. Liu Yue told him not to smoke in the house, and he was quite self-conscious.

"Hey, if my sister-in-law asks you to choose between smoking and her, which one would you choose? Quitting smoking is not difficult. The first seven days are the hardest, and then every day after that is like the next. After three months, you will want to vomit when you smell the smoke." Tang Zhitong didn't drink much. Today he had to arrange the transfer for Wu Aijun, and it would be impolite to be drunk.

"Go, go, don't let your sister-in-law hear it, at least leave me a way out." Gu Yong wished he could cover Tang Zhitong's mouth. After he finished speaking, he looked back to see if Liu Yue heard it.

Several people went out and headed east, and parted at Muxidi. Tang Zhitong and his wife wanted to follow Ma Kejian back to get the horseradish.

Tang Zhitong was planning to take it and continue walking, but Ma Kejian stopped him with a word: "Do you have a tool that suits you when you go back? Sit for a while, I'll sharpen it for you and you can take it back."

"Okay, I'll do as you say." Tang Zhitong thought about it and realized that it made sense. He couldn't grind a few pieces of horseradish on a stone grinder, could he? A garlic mortar could work, but it didn't seem right.

Before leaving, Tang Zhitong took a lunch box from Ma Kejian and agreed to bring it over when he took his two younger sisters to piano lessons the next morning.

On the way, Tang Zhitong asked Xiao Wang, "What were you guys talking about when you were at Brother Yang's house? Why didn't I hear you laughing?"

"Go away, sir, stop asking questions." When Xiao Wang heard the question, he spat at Tang Zhitong, saying that it was not appropriate to talk about such things in the street.

Seeing Xiao Wang like this, Tang Zhitong felt relieved. It seemed that the two experienced people were passing on their experience and knowledge to the two sisters who had not yet gotten pregnant.

As for the old women driving, that's okay. It's just a matter of cooperation, as long as they don't embarrass Xiao Wang.

However, the speed should not be too high. After all, Xiao Wang has long legs and a flexible body, and he has even run on the highway. Others may not be able to compare with him. But that's not certain, because Liu Yue also studied dance.

When passing by the public telephone, Tang Zhitong paused and called Zhang Xinping first: "Brother Zhang, Happy New Year, I'm Xiao Tang."

"Haha, did you hear that?"

"It's nothing serious. It's not the New Year. I was thinking of going over to sit down with you. Last time I was so busy drinking that I forgot to ask for your address."

"Don't worry, how can I go to your workplace? It will delay your work, and it will be embarrassing if someone sees it."

"Okay, okay, I've got that in mind. I'll be there later."

Outside was not a good place to talk, so Tang Zhitong covered the outside of the receiver with his hat, fearing that the voice from the other end would be heard.

After exchanging a few polite words, getting Zhang Xinping's address, and paying the phone bill, the couple went straight home.

After Tang Zhitong got home, he looked at his watch. It was too late to go to sleep. He took out the mustard he had begged from Ma Kejian and said to Zhang Guifang in a flattering way, "Mom, I got some mustard. I'll make you some mustard dumplings."

"Where did it come from? You can't ask for things from others for free." Zhang Guifang took the lunch box, opened it a little, but didn't dare to sniff it hard for fear of choking.

"Brother Ma San gave it to me. I'll send him a fish tomorrow morning." Tang Zhitong put his clothes aside and prepared to cook dinner.

When Tang Zhitong saw the mustard dumplings and roasted Erdong made by Ma Kejian today, he thought of another New Year's Eve dish for ordinary people in old Beijing - crispy fish.

During the Chinese New Year, many people like to pray for good luck and prosperity every year, so there must be a fish dish on the dinner table.

Braised carp is too technically difficult for ordinary people to make and it is also very expensive, so gradually a dish called "small crispy fish" came into being.

The reason why it is called small crispy fish is because the ingredients used are the cheapest small fish.

It is very easy to make crispy fish. Clean the fish and place it in the pot. Add ginger slices, scallion segments, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, salt and peppercorns. It would be even better if you add some spices to remove the fishy smell.

Add water to the pot, covering the fish, and cook it on the stove. Simmer on low heat for three or four hours, until the soup is almost reduced, and you can serve it.

Some people with heavy appetites like to soak the fish in soup overnight before eating it, saying that this makes the fish taste better. Both ways are fine.

"Jingmin, let's not fry fish today. I'll make something else for you." Although we don't have small river fish at home, we have horse mackerel and hairtail!

There are canned fish these days, but in order to export and earn foreign exchange, they are all developed and produced according to the preferences of foreigners, such as canned fish in tomato sauce and canned fish in fermented black beans.

What Tang Zhitong wanted to make was five-spiced hairtail and five-spiced Spanish mackerel.

These two things were sold in cans on the market when Tang Zhitong was a child.

Looking at the hairtail slices through the glass bottle, I can almost smell the fragrance and my mouth is watering.

There is a very obvious sweetness in the fresh fragrance, and the taste is so good that you will remember it for a lifetime after taking a bite, because you may not get to taste this kind of canned food even during the Chinese New Year.

"Other things? Are there any fried fish that are delicious?" Jingmin was a little hesitant. He wanted to eat the crispy fish head, but he also believed in his brother-in-law's cooking skills and was also looking forward to the "other things" his brother-in-law mentioned.

"Remove that 'ma'. When has your brother-in-law ever fooled you about food?" Tang Zhitong rubbed his brother-in-law's head, picked up the basin, and went straight to the bathroom to get the fish.

The Spanish mackerel is too big to be suitable for making the five-spice Spanish mackerel, so Tang Zhitong took six hairtail fish.

Hairtail fish has no scales, and the internal organs have been removed. Wash and cut into sections, and put them directly into the pressure cooker. Add onion, ginger, aniseed, pepper, sugar, salt, and a little chili to effectively remove the fishy smell. The water should be the same as when making small crispy fish, and it should be covered. Simmer on the stove for half an hour.

While the fish was stewing, Tang Zhitong washed his hands and prepared to go down to the cellar to get the cabbage.

"Brother-in-law, I want to go down and take a look, is it okay?" Jingmin acted as Tang Zhitong's follower, guarding the entrance of the cellar with an eager look. He had heard Fengzhi talk about this cellar several times, but never got the chance to go down.

"There's nothing fun down there. If you climb up the ladder, be careful or your sister will beat you." Tang Zhitong lowered the basket down and tied the rope to the entrance of the cellar. He was not very willing to let his brother-in-law go down.

"My sister hasn't come out yet. I see there's a ladder here. I just need to be careful, right?" Jingmin did not give up and was not afraid that Tang Zhitong would be mean to him.

"I'll go down first and catch you downstairs. Let's make an agreement, this is just the time, and you can't sneak down here by yourself next time." Tang Zhitong thought for a moment. Children are very curious, and if he satisfied their curiosity appropriately, he would prevent them from causing trouble later when the adults were not paying attention.

"Okay! I promise!" Jingmin was overjoyed and stretched out his hand and clenched his fist to promise.

The cellar was quite deep for a child, but it was nothing for someone of Tang Zhitong's height.

Tang Zhitong stepped onto the second to last step of the ladder and called Jingmin to turn around and come down.

Jingmin went down while Tang Zhitong protected him.

It was Jingmin’s first time entering the cellar and he was curious about everything.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

Tang Zhitong found six large cabbages and put them in the basket. Since he was cooking, he might as well make more and add more vegetables to the family.

Jingmin looked around, even scratched the cracks in the wall, and hesitated for a long time before climbing up at Tang Zhitong's urging.

Tang Zhitong followed behind, holding the ladder with his left hand and protecting Jingmin with his right hand, fearing that he would miss a step.

After going upstairs, Jingmin was still in high spirits. He ran into the house to share his experience in the cellar with Fengzhi. Zhang Guifang frowned as he listened.

Tang Zhitong climbed up, pulled up the basket, and covered it before entering the house. What greeted him was Zhang Guifang's complaints: "You kid, Jingmin is so young, how could you let him go down to the cellar? If he gets hurt, how are you going to explain to your in-laws?"

No matter what Zhang Guifang said, Tang Zhitong didn't get angry. He just listened with a smile on his face: "Okay, Mom, I'll remember. There won't be a next time. I'll make you a mustard dumpling to apologize."

"You talk as if you're as greedy as I am." After hearing this, Zhang Guifang laughed out loud and punched her son twice.

Tang Zhitong chuckled, letting Zhang Guifang vent her anger, and started preparing to make mustard dumplings.

To be precise, mustard dumplings are made from cabbage stalks.

Tang Zhitong peeled off the outermost layer of the cabbage, then picked up the knife and cut the cabbage into two.

Keep the leaves on top of the cabbage for cooking, and cut the stalks on the bottom into 5 cm lengths for later use.

The most delicious mustard dumplings are made from cabbage cores, which taste very tender.

During the Qing Dynasty, the emperor's servants were assimilated into the Han culture, and their diet became more and more refined. When the chefs in the palace made this dish, not only did they use cabbage cores, they also had to tie up the cabbage cores with toothpicks to maintain the shape, for fear that they would fall apart.

Ordinary people are much more extravagant when making this dish. They don’t pay attention to the shape or the core of the vegetable. The old leaves must still be used and not wasted.

What is even more heartbreaking is that sharing the joy with the people is just an appearance. The reason why people eat mustard dumplings is to clean their mouths after a big meal of fish and meat, while ordinary people eat it as a main course.

Tang Zhitong estimated the time, about half an hour, so he took the pressure cooker down and left it aside without opening the lid to let the air deflate slowly.

Then find an iron frying pan, pour two thermos of boiling water into the pan, and when the water boils, put the chopped cabbage stalks in batches to blanch them.

Keep cooking until the cabbage becomes soft, then you can use a strainer to scoop out the cabbage and drain the water for later use.

Mustard dumplings are not difficult to make. Place the cabbage stalks that have been well-watered layer by layer in the prepared basin, apply a thin layer of mustard on each layer, sprinkle some salt, sugar, and white vinegar on them, and finally cover them tightly.

Although this method is not ready-to-eat, it can be stored for five or six days before being taken out and eaten anytime. It doesn’t matter if you can’t finish it, as you can keep it for another five or six days.

At this time, the pressure in the pressure cooker has almost been released. Take off the lid and continue to sit on the stove to collect the juice.

After removing the lid of the pot, the aroma inside emanated from it, causing the little gluttons to sniff.

"Brother-in-law, what is this dish called?" Jingmin no longer had any doubts. Just the little fragrance smelled good!
"How about the five-spice hairtail? It smells good, right?" Tang Zhitong also thought it smelled good, very similar to the smell he had in his childhood. While he was drawing the fragrance outside the main room into the space, he was chatting with his brother-in-law.

This dish has actually been changing all the time. The current version is just a simplified one. The really tempting version is to fry it first and then stew it, but there is not enough oil at the moment, so I can only make do with this to satisfy my craving for now.

"Smells good! It must be delicious!" Jingmin held Tang Zhitong's stinky feet, looking like a lackey.

Fengzhi looked disdainful, as if she had completely forgotten that she had also been drooling over the stove.

"Eat more if it tastes good, and be careful of fish bones when you eat it later." Since they were all cutlass fish, Tang Zhitong was not sure whether the bones could be softened in half an hour. When he was a child, the canned fish used to be small hairtail, and the bones were quite crispy and did not prick the throat at all.

We had dumplings for lunch at home, and finally we had steamed corn bread for dinner.

A group of kids were eating steamed bread with hairtail, and none of them said a word.

Tang Zhitong watched happily and planned to cook the hairtail fish like this in the next two days to save oil.

After finishing his meal and drinking some water, Tang Zhitong looked at his watch, told Zhang Guifang that he had to go out for something, then took his luggage and walked out of the main house.

With the experience from last time, Tang Zhitong did not skimp this time. He found a torn sack, picked up four big mackerels and put them in it, weighing about 20 kilograms.

Although the gift is not as generous as the last time we went to Qinghe, supplies are more scarce now than last time!
The plug under the bathing pool has been removed, and the ice on top will be drained directly into the street after it melts.

After Tang Zhitong took out the fish, he gathered some crushed ice to cover it. But he was still not at ease, so he did a "trade-in" and replaced the thawed fish and shrimp with hard ones.

If you have a lot of stock, there is no reason to let your family eat expired food.

This time is enough. After the continuous consumption in the past few days, plus I have to share some mackerel with Gu Yong and Ma Kejian tomorrow, and classes will start in Chunshu Hutong tomorrow, the remaining fish and shrimp can be eaten up before they go bad.

(End of this chapter)