There had been water fights, so the kids from the same village were quite enthusiastic.
When they found out Xu Qingfan wanted to catch some crayfish to feed the cat, several older kids came over to help, diving into the water and catching several at a time.
In a few minutes, the empty bucket Xu Qingfan had brought was filled with crayfish.
Returning home with a full load, he huffed and puffed as he carried the bucket back home.
"You're nowhere to be found at mealtime, what do you want with these things!" Xu's mom was about to go out to call Xu Qingfan back for a meal when she saw Xu Qingfan struggling with a huge bucket of crayfish.
"These are delicious, I want grandma to cook them for me."
"Delicious my foot, they look dirty, full of bacteria; I'll smash them later to feed the ducks!" Xu's mom took the bucket her son was carrying with disdain and placed it at the door.
"Grandma, I want to eat crayfish!" Knowing he couldn't persuade Xu's mom, he could only try another strategy to handle the one person who could.
"Go wash your hands first, grandma made your favorite stir-fried river shrimp. How did you get your clothes all wet? Go change your clothes," his grandmother said as she came out of the kitchen with a dish of fragrant stir-fried chives and river shrimp.
"No need to change, it's so hot today, it'll dry in a bit," his grandfather said from the side.
After washing his hands, Xu Qingfan couldn't wait to sit at the dining table.
The dinner was equally lavish, featuring soy sauce chicken, stir-fried river shrimp, sautéed Shanghai-green, and the crucian carp soup he had been longing for.
The soup was milky white, with a handful of bright red goji berries floating on top.
Benefiting from Xu Qingfan's fortune, the family's calico cat got its meal of smashed fish meat fried dry.
The television was showing some unknown war drama series about resisting the Japanese, and the small dining table gathered the family close together.
Grandfather sat at the head of the table, twisting off the cap of a plastic bottle to pour some local spirits into his glass.
The pungent aroma of alcohol mixed with the scent of the food comprised all the memories of Xu Qingfan's rural childhood.
Unlike a dozen years later, arriving in haste and leaving in a rush, it was hard to sit down leisurely as a family for a meal like now.
Even during holidays, checking the phone dozens of times during a meal, always appearing busy.
Not to mention that his grandfather was diagnosed with cancer when he was in junior high, and he didn't last a year before he passed away.
All these beautiful people and moments, he had to do everything to hold onto them, which was far more meaningful than earning ten million or a hundred million.
Of course, getting the money needed for all these was another matter.
"Brother, how is the harvest this year?"
"Just so-so, enough to eat and drink."
"The outer kitchen wall needs to be fixed, a big chunk is coming out."
"..."
Dinner ended amidst trivial chats.
After washing the dishes, Xu's mom went out to chat with childhood friends, and grandmother sat at the doorway continuing to pluck Phoenix Eye Fruit.
Uncle and grandfather were going into the mountains to catch beetles; Xu's dad joined them for fun, leaving Xu Qingfan alone in the house.
[Great opportunity!]
While his mom was away, he took the crayfish by the door to the bathroom, picked up the brush his grandmother usually used for washing clothes, and scrubbed each one carefully.
Twisting and pulling at the tail, he removed a complete vein from each.
After nearly half an hour, Xu Qingfan finally cleaned a bucketful of crayfish.
The stove was still stoked with firewood for heating bathwater.
Xu Qingfan moved a red-hot dry twig under the cooking pot, added some thin firewood, and stuffed in a handful of sugarcane leaves for kindling, quickly intensifying the flames.
He stealthily peeked outside to check; grandmother was still sitting there.
To avoid prolonging the night and risking dreams, he decisively poured oil into the pan after preparing the ingredients.
The family used peanut oil. Xu Qingfan, afraid of being caught, dared not pour too much; it took three batches to fry all the crayfish.
After fishing out the crisply fried crayfish and letting the water in the oil dry out, he added minced ginger, garlic, dried chilies, and hot pot base to stir-fry until fragrant before tossing in the crayfish.
He seasoned it with an appropriate amount of salt, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, and thirteen-spice mix. No beer was available, but it wasn't a big issue; he just grabbed some of his grandfather's local spirits and poured a bit in just for effect.
"Fanfan, what are you doing?" The choking smell of chili finally caught grandma's attention, and she walked into the kitchen to see Xu Qingfan confidently stirring the dish while standing on a red stool.
"Grandma, I'm making crayfish for you; they're really delicious!" Xu Qingfan said with an innocent expression on his face.
"Dangerous, get down!" Grandma snatched the spatula from his hand and lifted him down with one hand.
She glanced at the pan and found that it looked quite appetizing, a lustrous red spread.
"Grandma, it's time to add water, just enough to cover the crayfish."
Following Qingfan's instructions, Grandma scooped some water into the pan.
"Goodness, when did you learn to cook?" Pride was written all over Grandma's face.
"I learned it from the TV; I heard the host say crayfish tastes really good, so I wanted to make it for Grandma to try!"
"My grandson is so filial!" The kitchen suddenly filled with warmth and affection.
The crayfish wasn't even out of the pan when Mom had already returned.
"Mom, what are you cooking? There's a strong smell of chili in the house, you can smell it from outside!"
"You, come and check out the crayfish my grandson made!" Grandma bragged to Mom, slightly annoyed.
[Your grandson is also my son.] Mom thought to herself.
"Mom! Why are you indulging him in this nonsense, can we even eat this?"
"We can eat it, I really saw it on TV, it's called crayfish, in the Beautiful Country a lot of people eat it, you're just uninformed!"
"Cheeky boy, even if I'm uninformed, I'm still your mom!"
Qingfan wasn't sure exactly where crayfish originated, but nowadays products exported from the distant shores of the Beautiful Country were tagged as high-end and fashionable, and he didn't mind riding the trend.
Under his guidance, Grandma turned up the heat to reduce the sauce, and soon a large plate of fragrant crayfish was served at the table.
"Grandma, here for you." Qingfan thoughtfully peeled a crayfish and handed it to Grandma.
"Fanfan is so good."
Mom looked on, feeling a bit jealous: "What's so tasty about it?" She followed suit and peeled a crayfish, tossing it into her mouth, "What's so tasty about this?"
The second one, "It's just okay, not as good as the snails I cook!"
The third one, the fourth one...
The three of them feasted merrily, and halfway through, Grandpa who had been out catching geckos, along with Dad, joined the fray.
A large plate of crayfish was swept clean by the six of them in under five minutes.
"Didn't expect this thing to taste quite good." The usually reticent uncle remarked unexpectedly.
"Exactly, it's really our Xiao Fan who is insightful!" Grandma boasted about Qingfan's crayfish making to everyone present.
"Unlike some people who couldn't even pass their high school exams."
Mom: ...
"If you like it, we'll catch more from the river tomorrow and bring it back to the city," Grandpa suggested.
"These things aren't sold in the city; we should catch some to bring back," Dad savored reminiscing.
Qingfan: ???
[Why is everyone only thinking about eating, business opportunities, making money!]
"Mom, do you think the crayfish tastes better or the fried snails?"
"Both are almost the same." Mom actually thought the crayfish tasted better, but she couldn't let her pride show in front of her son.
"Sister, you could try selling crayfish!" Uncle suddenly suggested.
Qingfan: !!!
"Ah, will anyone buy this thing, if they've never seen it before?" Mom hesitated a bit.
"Mom, you could let them try it for free first; crayfish is so delicious, surely people will buy it!"
"Exactly, sis, you could let them try before they buy."
"Xiao Fan is really smart!"
If only Grandma had read online novels, she would surely comment, "My grandson Qingfan has the makings of a great emperor!"
"Let's give it a try."