The little one's purse connects the two worlds, turning a desolate village into a paradise.

On the stove, Aunt Lin took out all the seasoning packets according to the pictures drawn on the packets and the words read by Fang Tiesheng.

Cut a slit in the pickled cabbage seasoning packet with a knife.

As that familiar and enticing aroma wafted out, Ya Ya immediately tiptoed closer to the pot, her little nose twitching:

"It's pickled cabbage! It tastes like pickled cabbage!"

Slurp~

Little Bean withdrew a packet of saliva.

The village chief pulled the few children who were running around away: "Stay away from the pot, don't get burned by the oil splattering."

A large pot on the side was steaming fragrant white rice and the beggar's chicken that Ya Ya had brought back.

The strange name puzzled the villagers.

However, the things there were always strange, so no one investigated further.

Aunt Lin has cooked a lot of dishes in her life, and her cooking skills are among the best in the village.

But I've never seen a fish this big before, nor have I ever tried cooking it in such an elaborate way.

Fang Tiesheng held the packet of pickled fish fillet seasoning and carefully reviewed it for her, word by word.

The opened marinade packet was already placed next to her. Grandma Wang helped sprinkle the marinade into the bowl containing the fish fillets, added some sliced ​​ginger, and then carefully mixed it in.

"Let it stand for 10 minutes." Fang Tiesheng glanced at the small print.

This seems to be the unit of time used over there; he'd seen it on other packaging as well. But everyone in the village knows the purpose of the marinade: to enhance the flavor.

After thinking about it, I asked Aunt Lin how long it usually takes to prepare these fish slices, based on her experience.

Aunt Lin glanced at it, and Grandma Wang also looked at it. "A cup of tea should be enough to infuse the flavor."

Fang Tiesheng kept it in mind.

Aunt Lin used a small spoon to scoop up some of the lard that Granny Liu had rendered but hadn't finished rendering. As soon as the oil was hot, she added scallions and ginger, and the whole yard was filled with a rich aroma.

Fang Tiesheng read aloud: "First, stir-fry the pickled cabbage."

Aunt Lin then poured the damp, sauerkraut packet in.

As soon as the golden-brown pickled cabbage hit the pot, it sizzled and released a burst of sour and fragrant aroma. She slowly stirred it with a spatula, gradually bringing out the sour and fragrant flavors of the pickled cabbage, making it more and more fragrant as she stir-fried.

"Add broth and seasoning packet."

Aunt Lin poured the soup made from the leftover fish bones into the pot, squeezed in the golden seasonings, covered the pot, and brought it to a boil over high heat.

Soon, the pot was bubbling and steaming, and the aroma of sour and sour pork rinds mixed with the fragrance of fried pork cracklings made everyone in the yard's stomachs rumble.

Everyone worked faster.

Once the water boils, the fish slices should be almost ready to marinate. Gently slide the fish slices into the boiling soup.

As soon as the fish slices come into contact with the scalding hot sour soup, they immediately turn from translucent to snow-white, curling up at the edges and blooming like tiny flower petals.

The fish slices were cooked in just a short time, and they were so tender they were trembling.

Aunt Lin ladled the fish and soup into a large bowl, then sprinkled on some chopped green onions and drizzled a spoonful of hot lard over it.

Shila-

A rich aroma filled the air.

The golden broth swayed gently in the bowl, and the snow-white fish slices lay on top of the pickled cabbage, glistening with oil and emitting a fragrant aroma.

A simple version of pickled fish slices without any side dishes is thus made.

Ya Ya tilted her little face up and exclaimed, "It smells so good! So this is pickled cabbage and fish slices!"

Grandma Liu was also nearing the end of rendering lard.

The iron pot on the stove sizzled softly, and the white lard gradually became clear and shiny, with a layer of warm luster.

With a gentle scoop using a slotted spoon, the golden-brown, crispy fried pork cracklings drained of all their oil. Freshly fried pork cracklings are the most fragrant and crispy, slightly charred on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, bursting with oily flavor with every bite.

Grandma Liu smiled as she scooped out the cracklings, without adding any extra salt, and distributed a few pieces to everyone while they were still hot to tide them over.

The freshly rendered pork cracklings have a meaty aroma and a slight saltiness. They are best eaten on their own, and they are crispy with every chew. Everyone sips them little by little, and can't help but squint their eyes.

The two chickens over there have also been taken care of.

The black chicken was supposed to be stewed, but it wasn't suitable to simmer it for too long right now, so we'll keep it for now and cook it properly tomorrow, adding some mushrooms and other ingredients to stew with it.

The white chicken, on the other hand, had tender meat. Ya Ya said that this chicken would cook quickly, so she chopped it into small pieces.

After Aunt Lin ladled out all the broth from the pickled fish and rinsed the large pot clean, the pot was finally empty.

Sauté ginger slices until fragrant, then add chopped scallions. With a flick of the flame, the pot sizzles.

The old women opened and smelled all the sauces that Ya Ya had brought, and finally chose the fermented soybean paste in the red jar. They scooped a spoonful and put it into the pot.

As the chili oil is cut open, its aroma fills the air.

A fresh, spicy, and mellow flavor unlike anything I've ever tasted before, so strong it made my nose itch slightly, yet I couldn't help but take a deep breath.

The chicken pieces were stir-fried in the pan for a few moments until they were coated with an enticing red glow, glistening and juicy, a flavor unlike anything ever seen in the village.

Finally, I boiled a pot of water in a small pot, threw in some wild vegetables I had just picked by the roadside, and added a few slices of meat. I simply cooked a pot of wild vegetable and meat soup, and that's how the first late-night snack in the history of Lotus Village was completed.

A plate of crispy fried pork cracklings, a pot of stir-fried chicken with fermented soybean paste, a fragrant beggar's chicken, a large bowl of tangy and delicious pickled fish, plus a pot of clear and fresh wild vegetable and meat soup—five dishes in total, each a proper and substantial dish that is rarely eaten during the Chinese New Year, served with finely milled rice.

Two lamps in the courtyard shone on everyone's smiling eyes as a group of people sat together, busily starting to eat.

Grandma Liu first put a few slices of pickled fish on Ya Ya's plate.

I checked it beforehand, and the meat slices really don't have many bones, so they're suitable for kids.

Ya Ya took a small sip, her eyes instantly lighting up. She chewed rapidly, her little mouth smacking, her cheeks puffed out, nodding vigorously as she ate. "Delicious, so delicious! Tender, and tangy and fragrant!"

That uncle was so kind; he gave me fish and a seasoning packet. Big fish is indeed delicious!

Rich people eat so well!

When everyone saw that Ya Ya had started eating, they all twitched their noses, but none of them dared to take a bite.

This meal is far too lavish and too expensive.

Let alone having a late-night meal, even during the Lunar New Year, it's not always possible to put together a single dish for this table.

At this time of day, they would have already fallen asleep on an empty stomach.

Today we are able to sit around and enjoy such good food.

Each of them held chopsticks, bowed to the sky, then bowed towards the mountain god temple, and finally bowed deeply towards Ya Ya in silent gratitude.

Only then did he cautiously and somewhat solemnly reach for his chopsticks.

Ya Ya was engrossed in eating, completely unaware of what the village elders were doing, and didn't care at all. She kept shoveling rice grains into her mouth with her chopsticks.

It's so delicious with rice!

Little Bean stuffed a piece of fried pork crackling into his mouth, while Little Shuanzi ate a bite of pork crackling followed by a bite of rice, their mouths glistening with oil.

Zhao Hu immediately spotted the bowl of stir-fried chicken with red chili oil and fermented soybean paste, and picked up a large piece with his chopsticks.

The moment it entered my mouth, I was stunned. "What... what does this taste like?"

He had never tasted such a fragrant sauce in his entire life.

The chicken wasn't as fragrant as the ones raised on our own or hunted outside. The meat was tender, loose, and had a bland flavor. Looking at the claws, you could tell it was raised in captivity by the people over there.

Coated in that layer of red chili bean paste, it's fresh, fragrant, rich, mellow, and spicy. One bite fills your mouth with an indescribable sense of satisfaction, so novel that he keeps smacking his lips.

Grandma Li hadn't eaten pickled cabbage in a long time; just smelling its tangy aroma made her mouth water uncontrollably.

She gently picked up a piece of fish. The fish was white and soft, so tender that it seemed to fall apart at the slightest touch. It was also very smooth and melted in her mouth without much chewing.

"Wow... how can this fish be so tender?"

She gasped in surprise, took a couple of small bites, and then suddenly realized, "It...it doesn't have any thorns yet?!"