Xu Dawei, as a concerned father, sent Xu Zhiqiang to check: "Go see how your sister is doing."
Xu Zhiqiang had just been sent out.
Yang Cuihua also said, "Right, right, right, Zhiqiang, go help out and make sure your sister doesn't get burnt. This is her first time cooking."
Xu Zhiqiang, feeling helpless, had to go back into the kitchen.
Xu Niannian was cooking fish. There was no vegetable oil at home, only lard, which is the oil rendered from pork fat.
The pigs raised during that era were all grown without feed and the rendered oil was much more fragrant than the oil in later generations.
The family was poor and usually reluctant to use oil. They stored it in a large clay pot and sparingly used it for cooking. Even when they did use it, they would just dab a bit with chopsticks into the water for boiling.
Half of it was already gone.
Xu Niannian had originally planned to steam the fish, but considering the family's dire poverty and lack of amenities, she decided to boil it instead, so the leftover soup could be used to soak rice.
As soon as Xu Zhiqiang entered, he saw Xu Niannian scooping out a small half-spoonful of oil. Xu Zhiqiang usually did the cooking and was always cautious to use very little.
Seeing Xu Niannian add so much oil in one go, he was distressed and said urgently, "Use less oil."
To himself, he thought, she really is used to living like a young lady, unaware of the family's situation. Does she think we're rich?
If the family really had money, they wouldn't be unable to afford even coarse grains like corn and have to settle for rice bran.
Xu Niannian was busy cooking and hadn't noticed Xu Zhiqiang's arrival, so his voice startled her.
The oil was already in the pan, and she responded, "It's fine."
She knew Xu Zhiqiang wanted to save, but she couldn't bear the daily meals of salted vegetables and leftovers, nor did she plan for the family to keep struggling.
In the highly competitive market of her future generation, Xu Niannian was able to become a multimillionaire with her skills.
Not to mention the 1980s, where it seemed anyone could make money doing business.
In that era, it was rare for businesses not to make money.
It was mainly due to high market demand and the shortage of supply.
Xu Niannian had her own plans, oblivious to Xu Zhiqiang's darkened expression at her casual "It's fine."
If she cooked like this a few more times, they wouldn't even be able to afford oil.
Xu Niannian wasn't concerned about that. In the mindset of a businessperson, it was better to earn more than to save.
As the lard hit the hot iron pan, it quickly started sizzling, melting swiftly and releasing an enticing fragrance.
Xu Zhiqiang seldom used that much oil when he cooked, hardly using anything beyond a dab, so naturally, he never experienced such a smell.
The sudden aroma made him swallow involuntarily, not out of greed, but as a natural reaction.
Xu Niannian, however, didn't notice.
After heating the oil, Xu Niannian added a few slices of ginger, which brought out their aroma, then poured in a whole big bowl of water.
She had already sliced the fish meat into thin slices, placed in a bowl, and she didn't discard the spine and bones but would add them to the pot as soon as the water boiled.
At home, the only seasoning they had was salt, and ginger was something Xu Niannian had to search the kitchen for, mainly to remove the fishy taste.
As the fish was thinly sliced, it cooked quickly, and Xu Niannian hastily grabbed the chopped green onions from the chopping board, scattering them at the bottom of a porcelain basin.
But the iron pot was too heavy for Xu Niannian to lift, so Xu Zhiqiang had to help pour it into the basin.
This was the only porcelain basin in the house, purportedly part of Yang Cuihua's dowry when she married Xu Dawei.
The rich aroma of the lard combined with the fresh taste of fish meat, and the boiling hot soup poured into the basin brought out the scent of the green onions. The smell alone was mouthwatering.
After pouring, Xu Niannian sprinkled some more green onions on top, making the dish both appealing and delicious.
Yang Cuihua and Xu Dawei had already smelled the delicious aroma from outside.
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"Husband, what's Niannian cooking, it smells so good?" Yang Cuihua said while smacking her lips and craning her neck towards the kitchen.
"Won't you know in a bit?" he said.
Xu Dawei, too, was utterly enticed by the aroma; he sucked on his smoking pipe, which usually was his favorite pastime, but it suddenly seemed tasteless.
As for Xu Zhiqiang inside, there's no need to say; he had never smelled anything so delicious in his life.
Especially since he was right there, the smell was even more overpowering, making him swallow his saliva several times.
"Are you going to bring this out?" he asked.
Xu Niannian shook her head, "No need, we'll bring everything out together when it's all done, just find a lid to cover it so it doesn't get cold, it won't taste as good if it does."
Xu Zhiqiang hurriedly covered it with a pot lid.
After finishing the fish, Xu Niannian planned to make scrambled eggs with Chinese leeks.
It was only after Xu Zhiqiang had put the lid on that he realized Xu Niannian was going to cook more dishes.
He hurriedly said, "Sis, that's enough."
Usually, there was only one dish at home, pickles and bun noodles.
The pot of fish soup was already a luxury, and cooking more would be an even greater indulgence.
Xu Niannian cracked eggs while shaking her head, "There are two more dishes, what's the rush?"
"Two more!" Zhiqiang exclaimed in shock, so astonished that his voice changed.
It was rare to see any expression other than indifference on the face of this younger brother, and Niannian felt amused: "Yes, two more."
Zhiqiang had already seen her cracking eggs. He opened his mouth as if to say something but ultimately decided against it.
The eggs at home were essentially her own; not only was nobody else allowed to eat them, their mother never ate them either.
In their family's situation, these eggs were no different from Niannian's personal possessions.
Xu Niannian scooped another half spoonful of oil into the wok, finely chopped the leeks, and cracked four eggs at once since there were many mouths to feed at home.
This made Zhiqiang feel extremely distressed.
Although eggs were never a part of their own meals, he understood just how precious they were.
Their place was backward and poor; every household in the village only dared to keep one or two chickens, and when they laid eggs, they were saved to be traded for money when going to the city.
Only their household would consume eggs at home.
As a result, Niannian's level of squandering, in Zhiqiang's eyes, had climbed another notch.
Little did Niannian know that just making a meal would evoke so many feelings in Zhiqiang.
She was still busy cooking; she beat the eggs into the chopped leeks, mixed them well, and added a bit of salt, then waited for the oil to heat before pouring the mixture in.
The eggs quickly began to sizzle in the wok, turning into golden chunks, shiny and emitting an inviting scent.
The egg pancake was successfully done, and Niannian hurriedly took it out and placed it on a plate.
Afterward, Zhiqiang saw Niannian bring a wooden basin to the stove-top; it contained something slushy, which she referred to as water fungus.
To enhance the flavor, Niannian had torn the fungus into thumb-sized pieces and, having some ginger left over, she chopped it up and added it in.
Then, she added the green onion and coriander that were on the chopping board into the basin, sprinkled over some chili powder, and added salt. There was no soy sauce, so salt would have to do.
She heated another half spoon of oil and then, using an iron spoon, scooped it up and poured it directly over the green onion, ginger, coriander, chili, and other seasonings, immediately creating a sizzling sound.
The aroma was instantly brought out, and Niannian hurriedly stirred everything to mix well.
She made a large basin of water fungus, enough to leave for Yang Cuihua and Zhiqiang to eat in the morning when they were off to work; water fungus can last a bit longer.
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