She poured oil into the pot. After the oil started to warm up—with each hand grabbing the head and tail of the fish—Xiaoguo lowered it into the oil. She slowly fried the fish on low heat. After a while, the fish was flipped over and left to cook. When it had turned golden and crisp, Xiaoguo removed it from the pot.
The fire was lit again, and the fish was dipped into the oil for another round of frying. When time was up, Xiaoguo took the fish out. The oil in the pot was also removed and set aside to cool. She was not in a hurry to make the sweet and sour sauce. The fish would not turn soggy so quickly since it was just fried. She could work on the sauce when the rice was almost cooked.
Then, she brought Zhuang Zhuang out of the house, and started washing the newly picked mushrooms in water.
Zhuang Zhuang sat beside Xiaoguo and followed what she was doing. Soon, they were done with washing the mushrooms.
