Chapter 64: Chapter 64 Annoying Rushing Guest(1)_1 Chapter 64: Chapter 64 Annoying Rushing Guest(1)_1 Xiao He had been quietly watching the whole time; even after her parents went home, she didn’t budge, her eyes fixed on the fishing rod in Xiao Linshuang’s hands.
To tell the truth, Lin Yuan wasn’t particularly fond of this little girl—she was taciturn and always kept her head down.
When she did look at someone, her eyes darted about evasively.
However, Lin Yuan thought the girl had a good heart; there was no malice in her eyes.
She probably became timid from the beatings from her father and with a mother who wasn’t easy either, taking out her frustrations on her daughter after being hit by her husband.
Consequently, Xiao He developed her timid and silent nature, living without the companionship of siblings.
Ah, she’s a pitiable child.
After all, she was her own granddaughter.
Although her third aunt was deeply hurt by her eldest son and daughter-in-law, she still loved the child.
She immediately took Xiao He by the hand and, along with Xiao Shitou, went off to catch fish for fun.
Because of the commotion caused by Lin Dashuan, the fish in the river had scattered or hidden away, making them difficult to catch.
As the village folk, who had come to witness the spectacle, gradually dispersed, Lin Yuan noticed the day was growing hot and began packing up the fishing nets to head home.
After all, she had a good haul today—some river snails and fish—and even after packing up the nets, she managed to pick a lot of prawns and small fish from them.
Perhaps feeling embarrassed by her eldest son’s disgrace, the third aunt felt somewhat indebted to Lin Yuan and flat out refused to accept the two big fish Lin Yuan offered her.
In the end, after being unable to twist the young girl’s arm, she just took a few small fish to make soup for her grandson.
The three siblings of Lin Yuan, carrying the fishing net and holding a bucket, headed home.
For lunch today, they’d steam some rice, stir-fry some river snails, and make boiled fish—just the thought made one’s mouth water.
As for the prawns, they would be cooked with the residual heat after making the meals, as a snack for her two younger sisters.
Speaking of snacks, Lin Yuan suddenly remembered the new stone mill they had bought.
Last time in town, she only bought regular rice and forgot to get glutinous rice.
Next time she was in town, she would have to buy some.
Aside from making sugar cake, she could also make ludagun (“rolling donkey”) and rice cake.
If there was a market for these, she could also sell them along with mooncakes.
Ah, perhaps her road to wealth would begin with making pastries.
Lin Yuan planned this dreamily, and on returning home, she set about gutting the fish and cleaning the shrimp with great enthusiasm.
She had decided to make a soup for Lady Liu with the small crucian carp she had caught since it was nourishing and required few seasonings.
The most crucial aspects were the cooking time and heat.
There was still more than enough time before lunch, so she swiftly cleaned the small crucian carp and set about making the soup.
She didn’t put the fish directly into the pot to stew but first fried both sides of the carp in oil and then added a couple of slices of ginger and cloves of garlic to remove any fishy smell.
Only after these steps did she add hot water and simmer it gently.
She originally wanted to add some goji berries, especially since she had saved some of lower quality from her last harvest, but she decided against it this time, uncertain if goji berries would be too nourishing and perhaps too much for Lady Liu’s constitution.
After putting the carp into the pot, only Lin Wei needed to tend the fire.
Lin Yuan immediately went to clean the river snails and grass carp.
River snails harbored many parasites and therefore required thorough washing.
She soaked them in salted water beforehand, planning to eat them in the evening with boiled fish and rice for lunch.
Next came the grass carp.
For Lin Yuan, cleaning fish was no big deal—but filleting the fish was a bit more technical.
Since her sisters were still young, she needed to remove the large bones and leave as few small bones as possible.
Moreover, the fillets couldn’t be too thick, or else the flavor wouldn’t penetrate well.
To make boiled fish, bean sprouts, and baby bok choy were best for the base vegetables, but she had neither.
Making do with what was available, it was no issue—there was spinach from Sister Guizhi and various vegetables they had gathered from their own vegetable patch.