Hunting 81: Gathering Goods in the Mountains, I Spoil My Ex-Wife to the Extreme

"Catfish can be steamed, carp can be braised, crucian carp... Fry two eggs to make soup, and willow root fish can be deep-fried. They are salty, fragrant, and crispy, and can be given to DouDou as a snack."

In the early 1980s, resources were scarce, and people were not too particular about food. As long as the food was cooked and edible, that was enough.

People usually only eat meat during holidays and festivals throughout the year, and they know very little about how to cook meat.

These days, unlike decades later, a single fish can be prepared in several ways – chopped chili fish head, salt and pepper fish bones, braised fish belly, chopped chili fish head, fried fish intestines with eggs, and even fish scales can be made into a separate dish called spicy fish scales.

And then there's chicken. In Northeast China, they usually have chicken stew with mushrooms or braised chicken in a clay pot. But Li Yunshan, after traveling all over the country doing business in his previous life, knows that the ways to eat chicken in the South are as numerous as the stars in the sky: poached chicken, shredded chicken, salt-baked chicken, paper-wrapped chicken, roast chicken, coconut chicken, soy sauce chicken...

"How are we going to finish all this?"

Lin Xiulan looked at the catfish, which weighed about three or four pounds, the two crucian carp, which each weighed about one pound, and the other two crucian carp, one large and one small, which weighed about five or six pounds. She couldn't help but frown.

Besides that, there were also four or five pounds of willow root fish, which were all deep-fried.

How much oil would that require?

"You don't need to finish it all at once. I'm just telling you how to eat these fish."

Li Yunshan smiled and took it to deal with it.

Remove the gills from the catfish, gut it, remove the intestines and other internal organs, and then chop it into pieces; remove the scales from the crucian carp and carp, gut them, and then make decorative cuts on them.

As for willow root fish, they are more troublesome to process because the fish are small. Removing the gills and squeezing out the intestines requires a lot of effort and is the most time-consuming.

After processing the fish, Li Yunshan's hands were red from the cold.

After preparing the fish, Li Yunshan lit a fire in the stove.

A warm flame rose, and he added two pieces of firewood to the stove.

The flames licked the bottom of the pot, and in no time, the water in the pot was burned away.

Li Yunshan first poured the fish oil from the bowl into the pot, and a sizzling sound immediately rang out.

He collected the fish oil from the bellies of the catfish and carp he had just killed, noticing their plumpness. He then used it to render fish oil.

The pot sizzled for a while, and the water in the fish oil seeped out first, followed by the oil in the fish oil.

However, the grease was still mixed with water at this point. Li Yunshan glanced at the flames in the stove, which were gradually dying down, and added two more pieces of firewood.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle".

The sizzling sound continued in the pot, and the water mixed with the fish oil kept evaporating. After about seven or eight minutes, three or four ounces of fish oil were rendered from the bottom of the pot.

Li Yunshan didn't waste the leftover fried dough. He put it in a bowl. It was fragrant and crispy. Sprinkled with some salt, it was good with both wine and rice.

Just then, Lin Xiulan came in, and Li Yunshan pointed to the fish oil that had just been scooped up and said with a smile, "Look, isn't this the oil for frying willow root fish?"

"I'm not as smart as you." Lin Xiulan rolled her eyes at him, sat on the stool in front of the stove, and fed the firewood into it.

"Where's DouDou?"

Not seeing Dou Dou follow Lin Xiulan into the kitchen, Li Yunshan asked,

"After playing for a while, he climbed out of the pit and fell asleep."

Lin Xiulan smiled as she looked at the roaring flames in the stove.

"They must have gotten tired of playing at their mother's place."

As Li Yunshan spoke, he sprinkled some salt evenly on the bottom of the pot, and then put the cleaned willow root fish into the pot.

Immediately, a sizzling sound came from the pot.

Li Yunshan lightly sprinkled a layer of salt on top, and once the bottom of the fish skin was fried until golden brown, he flipped the willow root fish over.

After a while, the willow root fish in the pan was fried until the skin was golden brown on both sides, crispy and fragrant.

After frying one batch, they continued frying another, the aroma filling the kitchen and lingering for a long time.

About an hour later, Li Yunshan had fried all the willow root fish and put them on three plates.

"Daddy, what are you doing? It smells so good, I'm completely mesmerized by the aroma."

At the kitchen door, DouDou walked in, rubbing her eyes, looking like she had just woken up.

Smelling the delicious aroma filling the kitchen, she couldn't help but take several deep breaths, her eyes instantly lighting up.

"Daddy just fried some willow root fish. You can eat it after it cools down. It's salty, fragrant, and delicious."

Li Yunshan smiled.

These days, whether you're an adult or a child, it's considered good if you can have enough to eat, but there aren't many snacks available.

It's considered a luxury to have a piece of fruit candy on a regular basis. Moreover, people in this era have difficulty making money and are reluctant to buy candy for their children.

During holidays and festivals, they would buy half a pound or a pound of candy to keep at home and use to entertain relatives and friends.

When Li Yunshan went to Xiangyang Commune before, he bought White Rabbit milk candy for Dou Dou. Even though Lin Xiulan only gave her three White Rabbit milk candies a day, she had already eaten most of them.

These willow root fish, pan-fried until golden brown on both sides and with crispy flesh, make a nice snack.

"Thank you, Father."

DouDou clapped her little hands, very happy.

"Xiulan, you take Doudou inside first. I can take care of things in the kitchen myself."

"Okay." Lin Xiulan nodded, then took Dou Dou's little hand and left the kitchen.

Li Yunshan washed the pot clean and began to steam the catfish.

As for the crucian carp and carp, he planned to save them for tomorrow.

A dozen minutes later, the steamed catfish was ready. He then stir-fried some shredded potatoes with vinegar and steamed a pot of rice. Dinner was ready.

Once the food was served, the family began to eat.

Li Yunshan placed a piece of fish belly on Lin Xiulan's plate: "Xiulan, try it. The fish belly is tender and smooth, and rich in protein. You're pregnant, so eat more."

After saying that, she also put a piece of fish belly on DouDou's plate: "DouDou, eat up, you'll have the strength to grow up when you're full."

"Thank you, Father."

DouDou thanked her and then wolfed down her food.

Lin Xiulan ate the steamed catfish belly and thought it was delicious, fresh and tender, the fish meat melted in her mouth.

"It's actually quite delicious."

Lin Xiulan's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but say something.

"Eat more if you like it," Li Yunshan said, picking up another piece of fish for her.

……

While Li Yunshan was having dinner at his home, on the other side of Guapigou Village, Gao Hongmei returned home from the foot of the mountain carrying a bundle of firewood. She put the firewood down and left.

"Hey, Hongmei, it's almost time to eat, where are you running off to?"

Hearing the commotion outside, Su Lihua poked her head out of the kitchen and called out.

"I have something to do, I need to go out for a bit."

Gao Hongmei said.

"What's up?"

Su Lihua wiped her hands, ran to Gao Hongmei's side, and pulled her aside to ask.

"Good thing."

Gao Hongmei smiled mysteriously and whispered in Su Lihua's ear, "I went into the mountains to collect firewood these past two days and found a group of wild boars, more than a dozen of them, big and small. I estimate the biggest one is this big."

As she spoke, Gao Hongmei spread her arms wide and gestured.

As she gestured, Su Lihua's eyes also showed shock.

This wild boar is so big, it must weigh two or three hundred pounds.

Moreover, according to Gao Hongmei, it was a group of wild boars, including the largest one and smaller ones.

"So, you want to..."

"I'll go talk to Li Yunshan and ask him to come with me there tomorrow to see if we can kill that big wild boar."

"You're thinking of hunting a wild boar, selling it, and paying back the money?"

"Yes, if I don't look for Li Yunshan, I don't want to look for anyone else either," Gao Hongmei nodded in agreement.

There were several hunters in Guapigou Village, but she didn't go looking for them. Instead, she planned to go to Li Yunshan, mainly because Li Yunshan was her ex-husband.

Even if he manages to hunt a wild boar, he shouldn't let himself be at a significant disadvantage in terms of how the spoils are distributed.

After hunting and selling the wild boar, she can pay back part of the money she owes Li Yunshan.

This will reduce her stress.

Su Lihua guessed what Gao Hongmei was thinking, because she knew that after Gao Zhankui was discharged from the hospital and returned home, Gao Hongmei was so obsessed with how to make money to pay off her debts that she was almost driven mad.

"Okay, I'll heat up the food first, and you can eat it when you come back later."

Su Lihua said.

"OK."

Gao Hongmei nodded and left home.

When she arrived at Li Yunshan's house, Li Yunshan had just finished eating.

"Li Yunshan, I have something to tell you."

Upon entering the main room, Gao Hongmei saw that Li Yunshan had a toothpick in his mouth.

Then I looked at the dining table and saw that there was fish.

"Auntie, Auntie, you haven't come to see me in so long."

Upon hearing Gao Hongmei's voice, Dou Dou ran out of the house, rushed to Gao Hongmei's side, and hugged her leg.

"Dou Dou, be good. Auntie went to the county town a while ago, but Auntie will come to see you often in the future." Gao Hongmei picked up Dou Dou.

"Hongmei, what's up?"

Li Yunshan took the toothpick away. It was already lunchtime, and Gao Hongmei suddenly came to his house. What could she want?

He was also curious.

"I went to the foot of the mountain to collect firewood these past two days and found a litter of wild boars. The biggest one is this big, and I estimate the smaller ones weigh about 50 or 60 pounds. If you're free tomorrow, come with me to take a look and see if we can kill the biggest one."

Gao Hongmei told Li Yunshan about her discovery, including how many wild boars there were, how big the big ones were, how many small ones there were, and where she found them.

"Okay, no problem. We'll bring guns tomorrow, but you have to listen to me. I'll tell you when to fire, then you fire. Don't do anything rash."

After hearing this, Li Yunshan agreed.

If the herd of wild boars really is as large as Gao Hongmei described, and the leader is indeed that big, then taking down that big boar would be a considerable gain.

"Then I'll come find you first thing tomorrow morning." Gao Hongmei said, put Dou Dou down, and was about to leave.

"Hey, Hongmei, wait a minute." Li Yunshan quickly called out to her, then took out a cleaned carp and a cleaned crucian carp: "This carp is for you and Lihua, and the crucian carp and chicken leg are for making some crucian carp and egg soup for your father to nourish his body."