Transmigrated into a minor official in a county government, with children at home waiting for rice t

Wang Yue'e was washing dill by the well. She looked up at it briefly, then looked down again. The water was splashing, and she shook the dill in her hand a couple of times before holding it in her hand without taking it out.

When A-Yun saw that Zhang Sanlang was about to cook, she took a deep breath, hid behind the basin where the cicadas were kept, squatted down at the stove opening, and added a piece of firewood into it.

When Zhou An saw her go in, he hurriedly followed behind her, rubbing his hands together, wanting to help but not knowing how.

Seeing that the fire was already blazing, he watched quietly for a few moments, and feeling that he had learned how to start a fire, he squatted down with a smirk, took the fire tongs from A-Yun's hand, and began to add firewood to the stove.

As a result, too much firewood was stuffed in, the flames were suppressed, and a thick plume of smoke billowed out of the stove and hit his face.

Zhou An coughed twice and turned his head away, his face, which had just been washed, was now black again. There was a ring of ash around the corner of his mouth, and horizontal lines of black and white appeared on the bridge of his nose, making him look like the Kitchen God.

Seeing his expression, A-Yun, holding the fire poker, twitched her lips slightly. She couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

She covered her mouth with her sleeve, bent over, and laughed so hard her shoulders shook.

She laughed for a while, and when she saw Zhang Sanlang glaring at her, she took the fire poker and stirred out the excess firewood from the stove, and the flames rose up again.

Zhou An's face was burning hot. With his face covered in black and white patches, he threw down the words "The documents haven't been copied yet" and turned to slip out of the kitchen.

Ah Yun squatted by the stove, having laughed enough, and then began to watch Zhang Sanlang cook intently.

The cicadas had already drained their water. Zhang Sanlang and others heated the iron pot and poured in most of a spoonful of vegetable oil.

The oil is hot, then the cicadas are added to the pan.

Three cicadas were slowly fried over low heat, the oil bubbling in the pot. The cicadas curled up in the hot oil, their originally transparent abdomens turning golden brown, and the thin shell on their backs fried until crispy, with slightly charred edges.

Zhang Sanlang used a strainer to scoop it up, drained the oil on the edge of the basin, sprinkled it with salt and Sichuan peppercorn powder, tossed it a couple of times, and the aroma wafted out from the stove, filling the courtyard along the corridor.

He placed the first batch of fried salt and pepper cicadas on the stove, glanced outside the door at the three impatient little ones who were practically standing on tiptoe, and said, "You little rascals, eat first, don't fight over them!"

The three cheered and, with six hands carrying a plate, jogged towards the stone table under the old locust tree.

Before the plate was even properly placed, Qing-ge'er was the first to reach out, grab one, and stuff it into his mouth.

The freshly cooked cicadas were so hot that he slurped them up.

Biting through the crispy crust, the tender, white meat inside was immediately apparent. After chewing it a couple of times, my eyes widened in amazement.

He didn't say anything, and grabbed another one.

Not to be outdone, Xiao Sun Ce reached into the basin and grabbed two, stuffing one into his mouth and holding the other in his hand. It was so hot that he switched from his left hand to his right, mumbling "Delicious!"

Liu An didn't dare to compete. He slipped his little hand under Qing Ge's armpit, grabbed one, and quickly stuffed it into his mouth. It burned his mouth, but he still secretly reached out again.

Before Qing-ge'er could even swallow his food, he reached for it again, only to have his hand slapped by Xiao Sun Ce. "You just took that!"

Qingge'er withdrew his hand, swallowed what was in his mouth, and took advantage of the fact that both of Sun Ce's hands were full of cicadas to snatch them again.

Sun Ce, quick-witted and agile, moved the basin closer to himself, while Qing Ge'er slid off the stone block and went around to the other side to get it.

Around the stone table, everyone grabbed one cicada after another, and the cicadas devoured the three little guys' stomachs at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Xi Mei and the Lin sisters, who lived in the backyard, came over after smelling the aroma.

happy Mei looked at the grease on Qing Ge'er's lips, and then at the half-empty ceramic basin.

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When the three men saw her come out, they didn't dare to snatch her anymore.

Qing-ge'er's eyes lit up, and he immediately picked up the basin to present it as a treasure, "Sister, Dad's cicadas smell amazing! The rest are all for you!"

Xi Mei rolled her eyes at him, sniffed, and frowned at the cicadas on the plate. After hesitating for a moment, she finally reached out and picked up two, handing them to the Lin sisters, "You two try some first."

Upon hearing that it was a cicada, Lin Xiuer shook her head violently and hid behind Lin Qiaoer.

Lin Qiao'er took it and looked at the fried cicada, as if examining an unfamiliar object.

She closed her eyes, took a small bite, chewed twice, then her eyes widened suddenly. She quickly swallowed it, picked up two more cicadas, and exclaimed, "Delicious! So delicious! Ximei, Xiuer, don't be afraid, try some!"

Seeing how much she enjoyed the food, Lin Xiuer mustered her courage and took a big bite. Her cheeks puffed out, and after chewing a couple of times, her eyes lit up.

She turned around and squeezed next to Qingge'er, reaching into the basin to scoop things up.

Seeing this, Xi Mei quickly put the cicada in her hand into her mouth to taste it, and then ran over to grab it as well.

Six little heads scrambled around the stone table, and the pot of cicadas was emptied in no time.

Zhang Sanlang blew up the remaining cicadas in two batches.

The second batch was fried in larger quantities, and the aroma was even stronger than the first time, with the numbing fragrance of Sichuan peppercorns and the salty fragrance of salt mixed together.

Huangfu Ce stood by the stove. The eels had already been killed and were arranged in a rough porcelain basin, with the eel meat laid out one by one, and the cleaned blood water dripping down the edge of the basin.

He wiped his hands, picked up a fried cicada, popped it into his mouth, chewed it twice, and then picked up another one.

Lu Qiucheng quietly stood at the kitchen door at some point.

He leaned against the door frame, his hands hanging at his sides, staring blankly at the stove.

When Zhang Sanlang scooped out the third batch of cicadas, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed.

Huangfu Ce handed him a fried cicada, which he took and chewed, his eating habits not much better than Qing Ge'er's.

Zhang Sanlang scooped the eel meat out of the basin, drained the water, and cut it into sections on the cutting board.

Each piece is three inches long. Cut along the joint, one cut at a time, resulting in a clean cut.

Wang Yue'e stood on the other side of the cutting board and cut the washed dill into sections.

A-Yun squatted at the stove opening and, as Zhang Sanlang instructed, stoked the fire to make it burn brighter.

The oil in the iron pot was heated, and Zhang Sanlang put ginger slices, garlic cloves, and crushed dogwood into the pot all at once. With a loud sizzle, the aroma wafted up, spicy and numbing, with a fragrant aftertaste.

He poured the eel segments in and quickly stir-fried them a few times. The eel meat shrank rapidly in the hot oil, the edges curled up, and the color changed from grayish-brown to dark gold.

A moment later, Zhang Sanlang poured a spoonful of Shaoxing wine along the edge of the pot. The aroma of the wine rose and then fell back down, where it was caught by the hot oil and spices.

The dark brown color slowly seeps into the eel meat, coating each piece with a uniform layer of dark brown, giving it a glossy, slightly shiny appearance.

The sauce in the pot had reduced by more than half, and the thick broth clung to the eel pieces, dripping down the seams of the meat. Only then did Zhang Sanlang sprinkle in the dill pieces, stir a couple of times, and take it out of the pot.

A large pot of braised eel pieces sits on the stove, steam rising from the pot, carrying the aromas of soy sauce, wine, ginger, garlic, and the crisp, herbaceous scent of dill. The aroma is so strong that it's impossible not to look at it a second time.

Looking at the pot of eel segments, Huangfu Ce suddenly felt that cicadas no longer tasted good.

He reached out and grabbed a piece of eel, finally abandoning his scholarly airs. His greedy expression made him look like a starving ghost reincarnated!

Wang Yue'e glanced at him from behind the chopping board, her lips twitching. She then pulled on her apron to wipe her hands, picked up the pot of braised eel, and took it to the main room.