Mrs. Qian was beaten until she knelt on the ground. After staring blankly for a while, she jumped up and got into a scuffle with Chen Qingshan.
Chen Xiaosang shook her head repeatedly. It's true what they say, "blood is thicker than water." A terrible wife for a terrible husband. They would fight each other the moment they had the chance.
On the other hand, her own parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law were good people. They got along well and even fight together. Even the three young children, Dazhu, Erzhu and Sanzhu, were sensible and obedient. They would even go fishing together, and that showed just how close the family was.
Speaking of fish!
Chen Xiaosang held onto Mrs. Li's neck tightly and pointed at the kitchen in Chen Qingshan's house. "Fish, Mom! I want to eat fish!"
Mrs. Li halted her steps, stuffed the child into the arms of the Dashu's wife, then turned and went to Chen Qingshan's kitchen. After a while, she came back with a bucket from their house.
Mrs. Qian's three daughters-in-law saw this but didn't dare to say a word. They let Mrs. Qian bring back half a bucket of fish, only to have it taken away.
Mrs. Li caught a fish as long as an arm and gave it to the village chief. The village chief accepted it and bid them farewell before returning to his own home.
Old Chen muttered, "You shouldn't have fish when my mother had only passed away recently"
Chen Xiaosang wiped her eyes and said in a sweet, childish voice, "I want to nourish myself along with Dazhu and Erzhu. Grandma won't blame us."
"Other families have to wait for forty-nine days before they can eat meat or fish," Old Chen muttered again.
In decent families, people observed a period of mourning. It's not filial to eat meat and fish so soon after one's mother passes away.
Chen Xiaosang wasn't afraid to argue with her father. She wrinkled her nose and said, "Grandma loved Dazhu and Erzhu the most. She definitely wants them to be healthy."
Mrs. Li glared at Old Chen and said, "You're too fussy about these things. If we can't eat fish when your mother just passed away, how can Chen Qingshan's family steal and eat the fish caught by the three boys? They don't care about being cursed or blessed or whatever, so why do you care?"
Her two grandsons were beaten badly today. If they didn't eat something good to nourish themselves, what would happen to them in the future?
Old Man Chen knew that his wife was still upset, so he reached for his pipe and smoked leisurely.
Dashu's wife was worried about her two sons and hurried into the house as soon as she arrived home. When Mrs. Li entered the house with Chen Xiaosang, she saw that the two boys had already sat up and told Dashu's wife that they felt dizzy.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but seeing their swollen faces made them feel very bad inside.
Seeing everyone's troubled faces, Chen Xiaosang comforted the two boys, "Rest well. Tonight, I'll have Mother cook delicious food for you."
The two pillars were delighted and asked in a muffled voice, "What kind of delicious food?"
Chen Xiaosang counted on her fingers and replied, "White rice, pickled fish, egg soup. They're all for your health!"
Every time she mentioned a dish, the three boys would swallow their saliva and eagerly gaze at Mrs. Li.
The family was led by Mrs. Li. In the past, they all ate rough food like grains. Only their aunt could eat food like rice and eggs.
Mrs. Li felt bad for the boys, "Have a good rest. The food will be ready soon."
She had already got eight hundred wen. She would definitely buy good food to nourish the children's bodies so that her grandchildren could be as lively as before.
Dazhu and Erzhu wanted to grin, but they groaned in pain. Dashu's wife hurriedly went to take a look.
Mrs. Li took Chen Xiaosang to the kitchen. She looked at her daughter and felt troubled, "What's pickled fish?"
Chen Xiaosang took the time when Mrs. Li was cleaning the fish to whisper in her ear about the cooking method of the pickled fish. Mrs. Li quickly cleaned up the fish and went to the back of the house to pull out the onions, ginger, and garlic.
With the fish done, the pickled vegetables were also ready.
The two grandsons had lost a lot of blood. Mrs. Li made up her mind and added more oil. She followed Chen Xiaosang's instructions and fried both sides of the fish first.
The fish meat sizzled under the hot oil, and the fragrance wafted in the kitchen, making Chen Xiaosang drool.
Mrs. Li sighed with heartache, "This is too much of a waste of oil."
Her family's vegetables were all cooked and eaten with a few drops of oil and a few grains of salt.
"Smells so nice, mother," Chen Xiaosang said happily.
Mrs. Li swallowed her saliva and sighed, "So much oil has been wasted. How can it not smell good?"
They couldn't waste oil like this in the future. No matter how much money they had, they couldn't just keep adding spoonfuls of oil on a dish!
Chen Xiaosang had already started to recall the various dishes she had eaten in her previous life.
Before the apocalypse, other than going to work, she spent the rest of her time cooking all kinds of delicacies. The process of cooking was a kind of enjoyment, and eating his own cooking was even more enjoyable.
During the apocalypse, food was hard to come by, not to mention cooking all kinds of delicacies. A dish of stir-fried vegetables that was commonly seen was only enjoyed by the top experts.
Ever since she came to this world, she had been tortured by the poison and had no appetite at all. Her family's conditions did not allow her to eat anything. She had always eaten whatever her family cooked. However, today's pickled fish had aroused her craving.
After Mrs. Li finished cooking the first bowl of fish, she didn't use any more oil. She only added ginger, garlic, and water to cook the second fish. When it was almost cooked, she added a few grains of salt. After scooping it up, she took out the rice left in the cupboard to cook the rice.
In the past, Chen Xiaosang would enjoy the rice alone. Today, she had to cook two more bowls of rice. In the other pot, she would cook the dried sweet potatoes mixed with chaff.
Chen Xiaosang shook her head as she watched. She planned to earn more money to buy delicious food after paying the autumn tax so that her family could have a taste of delicious food.
The more she thought about it, the faster she salivated. She waited until it was completely dark before eating at home.
The family decided to move the table to the courtyard instead of lighting the oil lamp. As soon as the pickled fish was served, its aroma filled the air and wafted into everyone's noses.
Chen Xiaosang eagerly grabbed a handful of rice from her bowl and took a bite of the fish. The combination of the fresh fish's sweetness and the tanginess of the pickled vegetables made it so flavorful that it almost melted on her tongue.
She scooped some fish soup and mixed it with the rice, savoring each bite.
Aside from Chen Xiaosang, the happiest ones were Dazhu and Erzhu. They hungrily devoured the rice they hadn't tasted in a long time. Their mother, considerate of their convenience, had removed the fish bones before serving it to them.
The food was great. If this was what they would have for getting beaten up, Dazhu and Erzhu might just want to get beaten up every day!
"Mother, your culinary skills have improved so much!" Chen Wushu took advantage of the mealtime to praise Mrs. Li.
Dashu's wife and Ershu's wife chimed in, eagerly reaching for the plate of pickled fish with their chopsticks.
"Is it really this delicious?" Mrs. Li hesitated to ask.
Chen Xiaosang picked a piece of fish with fewer bones and placed it in Mrs. Li's bowl. "Mother, you should try a piece too."
Mrs. Li took a bite of the tender fish, and the burst of sweet and sour flavors surprised her, widening her eyes. "Can fish really taste this good?"
Wasn't fish supposed to be bland and fishy? How could it be so tender and fragrant?
"We've changed the cooking method." Chen Xiaosang reassured her mother before picking up another piece of fish for Old Chen. "Dad, you should have a taste too."
Her father had been well-behaved today and deserved a reward.
Old Chen quickly moved his bowl aside. "I won't eat. You all enjoy it."
After all, his hadn't even completed the seventh-day mourning period for his mother. It would not be filial of him to consume meat right now?
"Dad, just give it a try. This is your daughter's cooking. She made this for you," Chen Wushu persuaded him.