After the divorce, he took care of his child and sold fried rice; his ex-wife was filled with regret

A small porcelain bowl of the same color was placed over the seal of the porcelain jar, and the rim of the bowl was filled with water to prevent air from entering.

Lin Fan reached out and poured away the water sealing the opening, then lifted the sealed ceramic lid and removed the inner white sealing gasket.

"call--"

A refreshing and mellow sour aroma slowly wafted out from the open jar.

This flavor doesn't have the pungent, irritating smell of artificially added acetic acid. Instead, it's a pure, sweet and sour flavor extracted from the slow fermentation of lactic acid bacteria in a deep cellar at low temperatures. It also has a natural sweetness reminiscent of early winter greens touched by frost.

Lin Fan used a long, dry, oil-free bamboo chopstick to reach into the jar and gently picked up a snow cabbage.

The whole sauerkraut has a bright green and slightly yellowish-brown oily color, with the leaves unfolded and the stems of uniform thickness. It is covered with a thin layer of natural braising sauce and feels heavy in the hand.

Lin Fan pinched the thickest part of the vegetable stalk and applied slight pressure with two fingers.

"Click."

A crisp, short cracking sound was particularly clear in the kitchen.

The vegetable stalk snapped in two, the cut surface smooth and clean, without a single tangled tough fiber, only a fine, juicy liquid seeping slightly from the break.

Lin Fan tore off a small piece of vegetable stem, put it in his mouth, and chewed it slowly.

The moment your teeth bite through the vegetable stem, the juice bursts on your tongue, first with a mellow and refreshing sour taste.

Next comes a slight saltiness and the natural sweetness of the leafy greens. After swallowing, a faint aftertaste even lingers at the back of the tongue, completely lacking the bitter and overly salty taste of ordinary pickled vegetables on the market.

"This sauerkraut is fermented very thoroughly, without any raw or astringent taste, and the acidity is just right," Lin Fan nodded in approval.

As he spoke, he reached out and plucked a tender, crisp stem from the heart of the cabbage, handing it to Su Xiaoxiao beside him:

"Little one, have a taste."

"it is good."

Su Xiaoxiao reached out and took it.

Her hometown is in the countryside. Every winter since she was a child, her family would pickle several large jars of salted vegetables. When Aunt Wang handed over the jars in the morning, the mouth of the jars still had the unique stale, salty smell of homemade pickled vegetables.

In her mind, this kind of common pickled cabbage is usually very salty, often bitter and hard after chewing, and has many fibrous parts. It is impossible to eat it raw without washing it two or three times.

With a hint of doubt, she put the small piece of vegetable stalk into her mouth and subconsciously bit down.

"Snap!"

A crisp, crackling sound burst open in my mouth.

Su Xiaoxiao's eyes widened instantly.

The teeth cut through the vegetable stalk without encountering any rough or tough parts; it was crisp and refreshing, like chewing on a freshly picked, juicy radish.

What she found even more unbelievable was the taste of the juice.

The sour taste was warm and refreshing, sliding down the tongue coating, and a stream of saliva immediately welled up on both sides of the tongue.

It has neither the harsh, salty taste nor the stale smell of rotten vegetables; after swallowing, a faint sweetness even lingers on the tongue.

"Oh my god... Brother Lin?!"

Su Xiaoxiao swallowed the juice, instinctively covering her mouth with both hands, her face filled with undisguised shock:

"This...this really is the jar of pickled mustard greens that Aunt Wang sent over?!"

She glanced incredulously at the yellowish-green pickled cabbage on the cutting board, then at the sky-blue porcelain jar:

"When I smelled it in the old lady's yard this morning, I thought it was just ordinary heavily salted pickled cabbage."

"How can you cut it open and eat it directly? It's even crisper and more tender than those organic kimchi that cost tens of dollars a box in high-end fresh food supermarkets! There's no bitterness at all, the sourness is just right, and you even feel a sweet taste in your throat after eating it!"

Lin Fan took the mulberry knife and calmly arranged the pickled cabbage on the cutting board:

"The old jar is well-sealed, and the slow fermentation of lactic acid bacteria at low temperature completely eliminates the impurities and bitterness in the coarse salt, so the sweetness of the vegetable leaves naturally returns."

Su Xiaoxiao took a deep breath, nodded vigorously, and swallowed hard as she looked at the pile of chopped pickled cabbage.

"It's already this delicious just chewing it raw... Imagine stir-frying it in hot oil until thoroughly cooked, then adding it to boiling soup to stew with glass noodles—the flavor would be absolutely amazing!"

"The preparations are complete; we'll see the results soon."

Lin Fan smiled, exerted force with his wrist, and the blade landed on the cutting board, making a tight and steady "thud".

The knife cuts in fine lines, the sound of the blade slicing through the tender vegetable stems is dense and rhythmic.

The whole mustard greens were quickly broken down into tiny, three-millimeter-square pieces under the knife, while the leafy parts were chopped into even, fine pieces.

After chopping two whole heads of sauerkraut, a small mound of green and yellow vegetables piled up on the cutting board.

The cutting board surface was dry and clean, with no excess acid spilled out, and the juices were completely locked inside the cut fibers of the diced pieces.

"Your knife skills are really sharp," Su Xiaoxiao couldn't help but praise.

Lin Fan collected the chopped pickled cabbage into a deep white porcelain dish, then took a large stainless steel condiment bowl and poured in about half a bowl of warm water at around 40 degrees Celsius.

He untied the hemp rope binding the sweet potato noodles and placed a handful of ivory-colored, translucent sweet potato noodles into a basin of warm water.

When the dried rice noodles are soaked in water, they become supple and straight, with a faint, translucent sheen on the surface. No crumbs fall off, and the noodles are uniform in size, gently stretching and softening in the warm water.

"Soak the glass noodles for twenty minutes first, and they'll be ready to cook once they're thoroughly softened," Lin Fan instructed.

After processing the vegetables and vermicelli, Lin Fan turned around and walked back to the small storeroom. With a slight thought, his figure flashed and he entered the Spirit Field Farm.

A gentle breeze wafts through the farm, carrying the warmth and vitality of the earth.

Lin Fan quickly crossed the ridges between the fields and walked to the edge of the crystal-clear spiritual spring pond.

At a depth of more than two meters, several black and gray fish were swimming slowly along the bottom of the bluestone. They had broad dorsal fins, long and thick bodies, and scales with a healthy bluish-black luster.

Lin Fan picked up a long-handled landing net from the pond, his eyes fixed on the two fastest-swimming blackfish at the bottom of the water. With a slight dip of his wrist, the net broke through the water and sank down.

"Splash!"

The water splashed and rippled.

Two large blackfish, each weighing about five pounds, were frantically thrashing their tail fins inside the net.

These two fish were extremely strong. Their scales had a glossy, deep blue color when the light refracted, and their bellies were snow-white and clean, completely free of the black spots and muddy smell that come from being raised in stagnant water.

Lin Fan carried the wooden bucket of clear water containing two live black fish and left the farm space.

Pushing open the storeroom door and returning to the kitchen, the two blackfish in the bucket were still full of energy, banging against the bucket walls with loud thuds.

Lin Fan took a thick-backed machete and used the back of the blade to strike the top of the fish's head with a steady, precise tap. Under the force, the blackfish instantly stiffened and remained motionless.

Scrape off the hard, fine, bluish-black scales, cut open the gills, and gently slice open the belly from bottom to top along the vent with the tip of the knife.

Lin Fan deftly peeled off the internal organs and the black membrane on both sides of the abdominal cavity with his thumb, rinsed it several times under the tap, and the pinkish-white and firm flesh inside the fish's belly was revealed.

Next comes deboning and removing the meat.

Lin Fan laid the cleaned blackfish flat on the cutting board and switched to a thin-bladed scalpel.