si-mexico Chapter 435 Giving My Wife Fish Head Soup
Chapter 435 Giving My Wife Fish Head Soup
Li Ju'an killed the grass carp that night.
He slipped into the kitchen, put on an apron, stunned the grass carp with a single blow, then deftly gutted it and scraped off the scales against the grain with a cleaver. Just then, Song Desheng ran over to see him, carrying sausages and a red envelope for his daughter.
Song Desheng watched in surprise as he processed the grass carp and exclaimed, "Li Ju'an, you can even kill fish? That's amazing! Tell me, how many good fish meals have you secretly enjoyed behind your wife's back?"
Li Ju'an laughed and gave him a light tap on the head, saying, "Your information is so accurate. Why does it have to come when I'm cleaning fish? Lu Zhiqiang tipped you off."
Song Desheng said with a grin, "Of course. I didn't come empty-handed either. Look what good stuff I brought. I'll cook you some sausage fried rice and show you our cooking skills."
Unable to find a second apron, Song Desheng simply took off his military overcoat and busied himself in the kitchen. His sausage fried rice was quite authentic. For the past two years, Song Desheng had boasted to his buddies that he was a model man, but Li Ju'an and the Lu brothers didn't believe him, thinking he was just bragging.
As a result, Song Desheng's sausage fried rice smelled incredibly delicious. He asked, "Do you have any lard?"
"No, I finished eating but haven't had time to add oil yet."
"Then give me two pieces of pork fat."
Song Desheng quickly rubbed the pork fat on the bottom of the pot to moisten it, then stir-fried the sausage in the pot to render the fat, and the aroma of meat immediately wafted out.
Li Xiao was inside watching TV with Lin Mei on silent, and they both thought the food smelled delicious. She whispered, "Sister-in-law, there are sausages tonight, they smell so good! You should eat a couple more bowls. Aunt Lin came this morning and said you should eat more so you'll have more breast milk."
Lin's mother came again in the morning, urging Lin Mei to drink more soup so that the baby wouldn't go hungry. Lin Mei looked somewhat dejected. Every time her mother came, she was in a bad mood, always being ridiculed and urged. She always felt that her mother was dissatisfied with her, and no matter what she did, she couldn't gain her mother's approval or affirmation.
Lin Mei forced a smile and said, "Okay, don't worry, Xiao, I'll eat more."
Li Xiao wanted to cling to her sister-in-law affectionately, wanting her to hug her and scratch her head, just like they used to be. But she was afraid of pressing on Lin Mei's C-section belly, so she could only gently lean on Lin Mei's shoulder, patting the sleeping baby girl casually, and saying, "The baby girl is sleeping so soundly. She doesn't even wake up when we talk. This child is so easy to take care of."
Lin Mei laughed and ruffled Li Xiao's hair. Li Xiao, who was clearly a child herself, was already calling Nannan a child.
The sound of oil sizzling in the kitchen was loud, as fish heads were being added to the pan. Li Xiao couldn't resist the craving in her stomach; after all, she was still a child at heart. She carefully placed Nannan on the kang (a heated brick bed) and lay down next to Lin Mei, saying, "Sister-in-law, I'll go see if there's anything I can help with in the kitchen."
"Go."
Li Ju'an and Song Desheng were engrossed in wielding large ladles in the kitchen.
The oil in the wok was already hot. He chopped the bluefish into three pieces: the head, the upper half of the belly, and the lower half of the body. He gave the lower half to Song Desheng to make salt and pepper stir-fried fish pieces. He used the upper belly and the head to make a pot of fresh fish soup for his wife to help with lactation.
He held the fish head and slid it down the hot pan, frying it until both sides were golden brown in the scalding oil. The fish body was also thoroughly fried on one side, then flipped over and fried on the other. Once the golden-brown fish was ready, the aroma of fish filled the air.
Just then, the water in the pot that Song Desheng had boiled also came to a boil. Li Ju'an poured the boiling water into the pot and simmered it together. In just a few minutes, the fish head soup turned a rich, white color.
Looking at the milky white fish soup, Song Desheng's mouth watered. He said, "Oh my god, I've only ever seen fish soup this white in restaurants. If you ask me, even my mom couldn't make such authentic fish head soup. People who don't know you would think you grew up in that fishing village on the mountain."
Li Ju'an has lived two lives. In his previous life, he traveled all over the country and learned how to stew fish in the south. When his business failed and he was in debt and down on his luck, he also worked as a handyman and an assistant for others.
Seeing that the heat was almost right, he opened the lid a crack. Even through that tiny gap, the rich, white aroma of the fish soup escaped, filling the entire kitchen with its fresh, savory fragrance.
Song Desheng's eyes involuntarily fixed on it, his mouth watering rapidly. He swallowed hard and said, "Oh my god, it smells so good. Li Ju'an, you're something else. When my wife has our second child, I'll have to hire you to come and make fish head soup for us."
Li Ju'an joked, "Hiring me isn't cheap; how much is it per day?"
Song Desheng said, "How can you use such vulgar money to invite Li Pao Tou? Li Pao Tou is priceless; talking about money is tacky!"
Li Ju'an joked, "So you're not giving me a single penny, and I have to pay you a fish instead?"
"Otherwise, if we have a son, you'll have to be his godfather. What's wrong with cooking fish for your godson? Don't be so stingy."
The two men laughed.
Dinner was served in a very lively atmosphere.
A large pot of flavorful fish head soup, salt and pepper fried fish chunks, fried rice with cured pork, stir-fried pork, stewed potatoes and cabbage, cold bean sprouts... Li Ju'an and Song Desheng clinked glasses and drank heartily.
Song Desheng raised his voice, adopting a domineering and authoritative tone, and shouted, "Li Ju'an, we men are supposed to go out and make money. If you ask me, taking care of kids is not a man's responsibility. Men who take care of kids are all useless and incompetent. What's wrong, don't you want to make money anymore? Staying at home all day taking care of kids and competing with women for things to do, don't you think? Useless! Incompetent."
Li Ju'an was drunk and his speech was slurred. He buried his head and felt dizzy and wanted to sleep.
Song Desheng patted him, his face flushed red from the alcohol, like Guan Yu, and said, "Li, Li, Li Ju'an, if you ask me, I've never taken care of a child once in my life. Do you think I'm a man? Do I have any masculinity? I want my wife to know what it means to assert her authority as a husband."
He waved his arms energetically, looking like he was about to fight.
Suddenly, Nannan started crying. Song Desheng and Li Ju'an, who were both drunk, jumped up at the same time and turned around to look for the child.
"Where's my daughter, honey? Where's my daughter?"
"Where is the baby sleeping? The baby needs to be fed."
Just now, Song Desheng was still boasting shamelessly, but his actions spoke louder than his words. He skillfully prepared the baby formula and pushed Li Ju'an over, saying disdainfully, "You know how to take care of a brat? Watch how I handle this. I have two years of work experience, so why don't you call me senior?"
Song Desheng deftly went to prepare the milk powder. This made Li Xiao, Lin Mei, and Song Lanhua laugh uncontrollably, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
That evening, after Song Desheng left, Li Ju'an drank some hangover soup, which sobered him up a bit, but he was still a little tipsy and felt dizzy.
He lay on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and felt that his wife still seemed to be in a bad mood and looked very depressed.
He gently rubbed his wife's small hand and asked, "What's wrong, honey? Did that brat Song Desheng say something that made you angry? I'll beat him up tomorrow."
Lin Mei looked at him with teary eyes, feeling a little shy and embarrassed. She tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Husband, help me, I'm so swollen."