Back to the 1990s: Holding the spiritual spring and striving for a well-off life

When Jian Nan came over pushing the wooden cart, Hua Xiali was surprised to find that his elder sister and younger sister had followed him.

Seeing how excited they were, I knew Jian Nan had told them everything.

Jiannan parked the wooden cart in a place where it would not slip, and then everyone worked together to lift the big fish into the bamboo basket.

Jian Nan brought over four bamboo baskets, filling them up.

"Jian Nan, we caught this fish together. We will split it equally later." On the way back, Hua Xiali whispered to Jian Nan about his plan.

"No need. These fish were caught by you. They have nothing to do with me. If you really want to share them with me, how about letting me come to your house for lunch every day for the rest of the time?" He dared to say that if he took a big fish to his relative's house, the matter would probably spread throughout the village.

So he didn't want any, not even one.

Hua Xiali thought about it, then nodded in agreement, "Okay, let's go back now, you guys help me clean up the fish, I'll make a fish feast for everyone, we'll have a good fish meal today."

Carefully pushing the wooden cart into the yard, Hua Xiali quickly closed and locked the gate. Hua's mother heard the noise and came out. Seeing the big fish in the bamboo basket, she was shocked. "This fish is too big, isn't it? Did you catch all of them?"

Hua Xiali nodded, "We used steamed buns to fish, but mom, you can't spread this story, otherwise the children in the village will learn to use steamed buns to fish like us, and then fall in and drown. We will be held responsible and cannot afford it."

"I know. Don't worry. I won't say anything." Hua's mother was reborn, so she's not stupid. "Hurry up and carry the fish to the backyard. We'll process it tonight. If we leave it out until tomorrow, it'll go bad."

"Mom, let's make a fish feast later so that everyone can enjoy a good fish meal." Hua Xiali said.

Mother Hua nodded, "Okay, then let's deal with the fish together."

After carrying the fish to the backyard and counting them, I found there were eighteen big fish, weighing several hundred kilograms of fish meat!
Jian Nan is a man and very strong, so the task of killing the fish was given to him. After Jian Nan gutted the fish, Hua's mother took the fish offal and sorted it out.

Hua Xiali was a little surprised, "Mom, why are you sorting the fish offal? It's too dirty!"

"I'll make you a fish hotpot." Hua's mother smiled. This was something she learned from Hua Xiali in her previous life, but Hua Xiali doesn't remember anything now.

"Can fish offal be eaten?" Not only Hua Xiali was surprised, but Hua Chunli and Hua Qiuli also widened their eyes in shock.

Mother Hua smiled proudly, "Not only is it edible, it's also spicy and fresh, and especially delicious. Watch carefully how I prepare it, and learn from me, so that you can make your own fish hot pot in the future."

Afterwards, the three girls surrounded Hua Mu, staring with wide eyes under the dim light, looking carefully and remembering what was edible and what was not, so as not to eat the inedible things.

Jian Nan turned his head to look over there, and seeing the pretty figure of the little girl, his heart was filled with joy. He was really glad that he had the sudden idea to come to Huazhuang to play this summer vacation.

It turns out that it was because of some mysterious attraction!
After Jiannan had processed all the fish, Hua's mother taught him how to fillet the fish. Jiannan learned it after watching for a while, and then started to fillet the fish.

There were so many big fish, so there were a lot of fish offal, filling up a large basin. The four mothers and daughters cleaned the fish offal and carried it to the kitchen, where Hua's mother started to process it. Since the spawning season had long passed, there were no fish roe in the fish offal, so there was no need to worry about eating it.

When Hua's mother was making fish hot pot, everyone stood by and watched, trying to remember the steps. Hua Xiali was confused and asked, "Mom, if fish hot pot is so delicious, why didn't you make it for us when we had nothing to eat?"

"You..." Mother Hua looked at Hua Xiali helplessly, thinking, you didn't teach me how to cook before, how could I cook? And I didn't know that fish could be so delicious when cooked!
Now when Hua's mother thinks about the fish she missed from childhood to adulthood, she feels regretful.

When she was transplanting rice seedlings in the past, the big crucian carp would run past her legs and no one would catch them. How could she know that fish were so delicious?
If I knew, I would definitely make it for my parents so that they could taste such delicious food before they die.

It’s just that there was a shortage of oil, salt, and seasoning in the past few years. Even though we knew that fish was delicious when cooked, under the conditions in those years, even delicacies from land and sea would not have tasted good.

Mother Hua prepared the fish offal in batches, served everyone a bowl, put it on the table, and said to Hua Xiali, "Xia Li, go call Jian Nan to come and eat the fish offal hot pot."

"Okay." Hua Xiali agreed and went to the backyard, "Jian Nan, the fish hot pot is ready, wash your hands and come and eat!"

Jian Nan nodded, put on some soap, rubbed his hands repeatedly, and went to the kitchen. He saw two bowls of fish offal left on the table. He knew that one bowl was for him, so he picked up one bowl and started eating.

As soon as you take a bite, your eyes light up. It’s crispy, fresh, spicy and very delicious.

"That's a fish bubble." Hua's mother reminded when she saw it.

Jian Nan nodded, and without saying anything, he started to eat with relish.

Mother Hua finished eating first and put down her bowl and chopsticks. "I'll go on to make the second pot. You can send one pot each to Uncle Three's and Uncle Four's families later. We can't finish so much, it would be a pity to waste it."

"I understand." Hua Chunli responded.

Hua's mother put the fish offal into the pot, asked the three of them to watch the fire, and went to the backyard, "Jian Nan, just fillet the fish in your hand, and then help me chop off the fish head. Don't fillet the rest of the fish, just help me chop it into egg-sized pieces."

"Okay, auntie." Jian Nan agreed readily, without a trace of unhappiness.

This is his future mother-in-law, so he naturally has to behave well. Otherwise, what should he do if she is unwilling to marry her daughter to him?
After working for most of the night, they finally finished processing all the fish. Hua's mother stewed fish head soup and made fish head with chopped peppers. She also made boiled fish fillets, spicy fish fillets, and fish soup with pickled vegetables from the sliced ​​fish meat...

Several people were so full that they didn't want to move at all.

Later, when it was time to marinate the fish pieces, the family did not have enough salt prepared for the braised food. In the end, they had to borrow salt from their third and fourth uncles' homes before they could marinate the fish pieces. Then they put them in a large jar and marinated a whole jar, which was enough for the family to eat for a long time.

When Jiannan returned, Hua's mother brought him a basin full of boiled fish slices and asked him to take it back to his relatives. (End of this chapter)