140 Festival
The whole family let out a sigh of relief, and they went all out to make preparations for the dinner.
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan decided to get a big fish in the afternoon, so Shao Xiaoqi took them to a relatively isolated and deep-water area of the river.
There was one section where long and many seaweeds were growing. Shao Taotao as well as Shao Xiaoqi were fishing shrimps using a net whilst Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan were fishing on the bank.
Qiao Xuan looked calm, but actually, she could not do anything.
With her superpower, she was able to see endless fish in the seaweeds, but that did not help. They were not able to catch any of it.
Luckily, there were enough fish and shrimps in the river, and they harvested a lot.
Half a basket of shrimps plus half a barrel of small fish as well as more than 30 large, green, finger-sized shrimps were taken back.
They got several crucian carp about the size of a palm, as well as two grass carp more than a foot long, alongwith five long large eels.
What pleased Qiao Xuan above all was that they also managed to catch a palm-sized wild mandarin fish.
They killed the duck for dinner, cut tender ginger into pieces, stir-fried chili and garlic cloves, added rice wine, soy sauce and other seasonings, as well as water. The whole thing was simmered over high heat. In this way, the fresh, spicy and fragrant taste quickly permeated the entire kitchen.
They steamed mandarin fish, and fried prawns in oil. The two grass carps were used to make pickled fish, whilst finger-sized, small fish were wrapped in egg batter and then fried.
A few dishes plus a bowl of braised pork, vegetarian fried yam, and shredded cabbage were served. A sumptuous feast was laid out.
The fish that could not be eaten up were kept in a large water tank in the backyard. Qiao Xuan put some water plants in the water tank. She could use the water plants to send her superpower into the water, so that these fish could stay alive for almost half a year.
Small river shrimps were not easy to raise, so they were roasted and dried. They could fry fresh leeks with it, or peppers, or even eggs. They could even make shrimp cakes with eggs the following day.
When Qiao Xuan was cooking, the mandarin fish was steamed on the stove. The small fish was fried first, then the two stoves were busy with the duck and pickled fish. Then she quickly braised the pork that was made in the pot, and fried the shrimp in oil. After that, she stir-fried two vegetarian dishes. All the dishes were still piping hot when they were brought to the table.
A large table of good dishes with aromatic flavors made the family drool.
The pickled fish and ginger ducks were the most popular dishes. Everyone enjoyed them the most. They never expected that fish and pickles could be so good together whilst the duck meat smelled so fresh and spicy without any strange taste. They could say nothing but praise their fifth sister-in-law!
They turned to look at Shao Yunduan in jealousy. They all lamented that Shao Yunduan was the luckiest one, since he was the only person who could eat the dish made by Fifth Sister-in-law throughout his life.
The steamed mandarin fish was disliked at first. The family always thought it looked too strange and might have no taste.
Qiao Xuan, however, urged everyone to have a taste of it. When they finally tried the first bite, they got attracted to the incomparable fresh dish!
On the other hand, Second Uncle and Ms. Niu as well as the others greeted Eldest Uncle happily the moment he arrived.
Eldest Uncle felt so gratified and guilty, thinking that his second brother’s family were so sincere, but Ms. Fang still refused to forgive them.
However, Second Uncle and Ms. Niu exchanged a look between themselves, looking very proud.
See! They knew that an apology would work! They could do whatever they wanted in the future!
They knew that Eldest Brother would get soft-hearted.
Ms. Niu went to fetch Ms. Ma and Third Uncle’s family to join them. Ms. Ma was helping with the cooking whilst Third Uncle was chit chatting with Eldest Uncle.
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