"Shuangshuang, what can I help you with?"
Feng Xiaohua squatted down and quietly asked Mu Shuangshuang, who was facing her.
"Auntie, you can just sit and watch!"
Mu Shuangshuang stood up and headed towards the kitchen.
When she ca out again, she held a clean loofah sponge in her hand. A small portion had been snipped off with scissors, leaving a palm-sized piece that was quite handy to hold.
In ancient tis, there were no bristle brushes, so old loofah sponges could serve as a replacent to so extent, though not as convenient. Mu Shuangshuang carefully cleaned the crayfish bodies, and finally removed the shrimp vein.
Feng Xiaohua watched with great interest. Unlike the n, she had a special fondness for food.
Mu Shuangshuang was the most enthusiastic cook Feng Xiaohua had t, adding wine and various spices to large dishes, but never masking the true face of the delicacy.
After the crayfish were cleaned, Feng Xiaohua’s limbs got a bit numb from squatting beside her.
Originally, Feng Xiaohua wanted to get up quickly, but she was supported by Mu Shuangshuang.
"Auntie, don’t get up too fast, or you’ll feel dizzy!"
Mu Shuangshuang’s concern was justified, as most won were a bit anemic, and getting up too fast could easily make one fall.
Feng Xiaohua didn’t know this, but because Mu Shuangshuang told her to stand up slowly, she did.
Inside the kitchen, Mu Shuangshuang handed a straw fan to Feng Xiaohua, so she wouldn’t get too hot.
Feng Xiaohua sat beside her, unable to take her eyes off what was happening.
She saw Mu Shuangshuang get a big green onion, wash it, and then cut it into sections. Next was ginger, sliced into pieces.
After preparing these, Mu Shuangshuang went to the stove to start the fire; cooking and going to the latrine were the hottest things in the sumr.
Once the fire was ready, Mu Shuangshuang felt like she was at Fire Mountain, feeling unbearably hot. She took a cup of water on the stove, drank it, and finally felt a bit better.
Once the fire was up, the pot started heating up. Mu Shuangshuang poured in two to three tis the usual amount of rapeseed oil, and when the oil was hot, she added ginger, green onion, and minced garlic.
She grabbed a big handful of bright red dried chili, tossed it into the pot, and it sizzled imdiately, causing the oil to roll in the pot. Mu Shuangshuang stirred it twice and then added Sichuan peppercorns, white wine, fernted soybean paste, and sugar. Once evenly stir-fried, she added the crayfish.
Feng Xiaohua watched in amazent. From her angle, Mu Shuangshuang stood at the stove, wielding a spatula, swiftly stir-frying.
The thing called crayfish, after high temperatures, turned completely red, even deeper than the dried chili’s color.
Feng Xiaohua couldn’t stop swallowing. She just knew the dish would be delicious.
Moreover, the aroma drifting in the air was enough to enthrall anyone.
Feng Xiaohua even felt grateful she hadn’t left today; if she had, she would have regretted it for life.
Mu Shuangshuang scooped a ladle of water, poured half into the crayfish, then added so salt.
While waiting for the crayfish to cook, Mu Shuangshuang began preparing other dishes. Since there was already a big pot of crayfish, Mu Shuangshuang only needed to make a few small dishes: pickled cabbage duck egg soup, stir-fried greens, blanched wild vegetables, and a plate of slapped cucumber prepared in the morning.
Mu Shuangshuang felt that everyone could probably eat a lot tonight, so she deliberately made each dish about half more than usual.
When the crayfish were cooked, Mu Shuangshuang had finished preparing the dishes.
She served the crayfish, filling two large bowls, and the stacked crayfish looked especially appealing.
"Auntie, please help taste it. Shuangshuang isn’t sure if the salt is enough!"
When Feng Xiaohua swallowed earlier, Mu Shuangshuang knew she wanted to eat.
Using the excuse of tasting, it just satisfied Feng Xiaohua’s curiosity.
Otherwise, with Feng Xiaohua’s personality, she certainly wouldn’t want to eat before dinner.
"Shuangshuang, how do I eat this thing?"
Feng Xiaohua was inwardly excited but faced with the shelled crayfish, she was indeed perplexed.
"I’ll teach you!"
Mu Shuangshuang helped remove the crayfish shells, pointed to the white at inside, and gestured for Feng Xiaohua to eat.
Though it was sothing unfamiliar, Feng Xiaohua didn’t feel scared at all while eating it. After finishing one crayfish, she completely fell in love with its taste.
Spicy, numbing, aromatic, combined with the unique flavor of crayfish, Feng Xiaohua felt this was the best thing she had ever eaten.
Mu Shuangshuang was very satisfied with Feng Xiaohua’s reaction and continued preparing other dishes.
Once the al was ready, Mu Shuangshuang felt as if she had fought a battle, her whole body covered in sweat.
"Auntie, I’ll head outside for a bit. If you want to learn to cook anything, I’ll teach you tonight!"
After stepping outside, Mu Shuangshuang felt she ca back to life, shaking the straw fan vigorously.
At that mont, Mrs. Lin sneakily approached.
Her eyes were fixed on the kitchen of the third branch, and she almost drooled from her mouth.
"Shuang, quickly tell Aunt Lin, what delicious thing did you make in the kitchen? It slls so good. Your brother is hungry, so he sent to check it out."
Mrs. Lin’s ntion of her brother made Mu Shuangshuang pause, and after a mont she rembered the dried-up baby in Lin’s belly.
"Aunt Lin, you’re so funny. Little brother isn’t even three months old, yet he can urge you to find good food. Surely, he’s sothing special and will achieve great things!" Mu Shuangshuang teased with a smile.
"Shuang, only you recognize it. Your uncle said yesterday he’d send little brother to study, and when he becos the Champion Scholar, he’ll serve you well as his sister!"
Mrs. Lin had a smile plastered on her face, looking sly and treacherous, causing Mu Shuangshuang to grow wary.
Although Mrs. Lin was indeed thick-skinned, her uncle always wished for her demise. The notion that her uncle would say his son would serve her was truly unexpected.
"Then Aunt Lin, rember to thank little brother and uncle for . Shuangshuang feels the warmth of family for the first ti!"
Mu Shuangshuang still smiled.
Seeing this, Mrs. Lin inwardly cursed Mu Shuangshuang foolish. She casually said one sentence and actually moved her.
Mrs. Lin swaggered towards Mu Shuangshuang’s kitchen to eat the food, but Mu Shuangshuang stopped her.
"Aunt Lin, where are you going?"
Mrs. Lin gave Mu Shuangshuang a look that said, "Are you stupid?" "I’m going in to eat! Shuang, didn’t you just say you really like little brother? He wants to eat good food; you wouldn’t stop him, would you?"
"Aunt Lin, you sure are good at flattering yourself. Little brother can’t eat any good food, so why use his na to deceive and boast here!"
Having been exposed, Mrs. Lin flushed, stuck out her belly, and shouted loudly.
"I want to eat, so what can you do about it?"
User Comments
0 comments from readers