During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

Old Ye was too lazy to explain himself, and he kept being stubborn, so he ended up getting a beating.

The Ye family listened and laughed as they picked the fish.

With the help of Uncle Shuanzi and his wife, they picked about two or three hundred pounds in no time.

They both knew in their hearts that even if they came, they wouldn't be able to help much.

If we don't come, Brother Liang will still have to ask Dali to come and invite us anyway. It's better to come and find some work to do ourselves, so as to avoid passing the buck back and forth.

Ye Dali carried the cleaned fish to the base of the wall, first laid a layer of straw on it, and then stacked them one by one into a neat pile, almost like building a wall.

The stacked fish are covered with straw, and once frozen solid, they won't smell bad even after being stored all winter.

Seeing her stomach growling, Li Chunyan wiped her wet hands on her trouser leg, stood up, and said...

"You guys get to work first, I'll stew the fish and cook some rice. We'll clean up after we've eaten."

Aunt Shuanzi quickly got up and said,

"Dali's wife, let me help you clean the fish. As the saying goes, tofu can be stewed a thousand times, but fish can be stewed ten thousand times. This fish needs to be simmered to absorb the flavor and taste good."

"Okay, Auntie, let's stew a lot more, so we can eat our fill."

Li Chunyan didn't care about the size of the fish; she picked up about ten of them, each weighing two or three pounds, put them in a wooden basin, and went out to clean them.

She and Aunt Shuanzi scaled and gutted the fish one by one, washing their bellies clean in the icy water, and then made a few cuts on their bodies.

They didn't even throw away the fish belly and swim bladder; they washed them all and stewed them together.

Li Chunyan lit firewood in the stove, scooped a large spoonful of lard to coat the pan, and then put the fish in one by one to fry.

"Sizzle..."

The fish was pan-fried until golden brown on both sides, then topped with a handful of fresh scallions and fried until fragrant. The aroma of lard mixed with the slightly fishy smell of the fish was so enticing that everyone in the room couldn't help but salivate.

"Good heavens! Yan'er, you really put in lard!"

Aunt Shuanzi, who was helping out, felt her eyelids twitch with heartache as she watched her scoop out a full spoonful of pork.

Li Chunyan quickly said, "Auntie, fish tastes better when fried with plenty of oil!"

"Do you think I don't know how fragrant oil is?"

Aunt Shuanzi rubbed her beaded clothes and said, "But you have to be able to afford it! In our Kaoshantun village, right now only your family dares to eat meat and oil like this!"

Even the village head's family wouldn't be willing to spend this much!

"Isn't that all thanks to my second daughter?"

Li Chunyan couldn't hide her smugness and unconsciously straightened her back. "Auntie, go ahead and eat as much as you want later, don't hold back for my family."

As she spoke, she scooped a full bowl of rice from the rice jar and poured it into the wooden basin.

"Auntie, could you help me cook the rice? I'll go get some flour so we can make pancakes later."

The sight of rice and flour left Aunt Shuanzi completely dumbfounded!

Seeing her sister-in-law's smug expression, like a victorious fighting rooster, Ye Qingqing couldn't help but laugh.

The mango flowers were simmering in the pot, and the aroma of white rice was also wafting out, drifting from the Ye family's courtyard to half the village.

The villagers stared longingly at his house, filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment!

But when Er Yatou went to catch fish with her fishing net, instead of following her, everyone laughed at her for being "tiger"!

Now, I'm drooling over the smell of other people's stewed fish.

Some people even shamelessly went to his yard, hoping to make a good impression and ask for one or two fish. But the family was busy preparing fish and cooking, and didn't have time to pay attention to anyone.

After removing the fish from the fishing net, the meal was almost ready.

Ye Dali neatly arranged the fish against the wall, and the house was already bustling with the sound of dinner being served.

On the kang table sat a large bowl of golden-brown fried mandarin fish, its broth thick and rich, so fragrant it could make anyone stumble.

The broth turned milky white, and the white radish inside was so tender that it fell apart when picked up with chopsticks.

A large stack of white flour pancakes scooped off the edge of the pot, the bottoms of which were baked to a golden brown, with sticky fish soup clinging to the bottom half, exuding a rich wheat aroma.

Ye Cuicui then brought out a bowl of fluffy white rice and served it to everyone at the kang table.

"Dad, Uncle Shuanzi, Auntie, eat more! Get more if you're still hungry!"

"Alright, alright, Cui'er, you can't eat that much, it's a waste!"

Old Ye kept blocking the bowl of rice, but Ye Youliang put a piece of white bread into it, grumbling at him.

"Just eat as much as you want! We grew up together, I know your appetite too!"

"Eh..."

Old Ye secretly wiped his eyes. "Your brother's useless. He's only benefited from your success these past few days!"

With so many people, Li Chunyan and Ye Cuicui set up a low table in the empty space, where the women and Xiao Huanhuan ate.

Ye Dali and Ye Dazhuang also sat down at the kang table to eat, and Ye Youliang quickly called Ye Qingqing over.

"Second daughter is a hero of our family. Come on, sit on the kang and eat. Have a drink with your father and your Uncle Shuanzi."

"Here I am, Father!"

Ye Qingqing didn't refuse and took the bowl upstairs.

Ye Dazhuang automatically moved aside to let her sit next to him, and didn't say anything, just kept his head down and ate.

The table was covered with a large pot of stewed fish, a big pot of stir-fried pork with pickled cabbage, and a plate of crisp green onions. The aroma of the food made one's mouth water the whole time.

A whole bowl of mango roe was eaten clean in no time, with everyone taking a bite.

Even the large, stewed radish chunks, which were soft, tender, and flavorful, were scooped out completely.

Ye Dali wrapped the pickled cabbage and stir-fried meat in a flatbread, opened his mouth wide and took a big bite of half of it, then slurped up a spicy scallion, eating with his eyes squinting.

Not satisfied, he poured the sticky fish soup over the rice, stirred it with chopsticks, and slurped it up like a pig.

Ye Dazhuang vaguely remembered eating this fish before, but the taste was much milder, the fish meat was firm and tender, and the aroma lingered in his mouth.

He couldn't help but eat an extra bowl.

Ye Qingqing glanced at him occasionally, and seeing how much he enjoyed his food, she couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

I told you to stick with me and I'd eat three meals a day, I wasn't lying!

"Mommy, the fish smells so good, it tastes so delicious!"

Little Huanhuan ate the meat slices that Li Chunyan and Ye Cuicui had picked, her little face shining as she clapped her hands and shouted happily.

"I want more meat! Mom, I want more meat!"

"Eat up, what are you yelling about!"

Li Chunyan smiled and stuffed a piece of meat into her mouth, then couldn't help but lick the chopsticks.

"Two people peeling meat couldn't keep up with your little mouth! Look how pleased you are!"

At first, Aunt Shuanzi was too shy to eat much, but Li Chunyan and Cuicui kept piling food onto her plate, so she ate heartily and with relish.

After the meal, the family's mouths were glistening with oil, and they couldn't help but savor the taste of the stewed mandarin duck. They felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

This is what a life should be like!

Thinking back to the days when we ate cornbread, mixed grain porridge, and pickled cabbage for every meal, what a miserable life we ​​lived!