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墨書 Inktalez
"Did you not go fishing?" Shi Tian casually asked as he followed Shi Ye downstairs.
After camping at Zhi Shan for a few days, he had just returned and planned to rest for two days before heading north again. He had heard that Giant Blue was spotted near Lanjiang, and he wondered if they should go have some fun together.
Shi Tian didn't understand the appeal of fishing. Driving hundreds of kilometers just to feed mosquitoes for a few days? Could the fish they caught even cover the fuel costs?
"I'm not going! I’m going to stay home and work on some recipes. When you get back, I’ll let you taste my cooking!" Shi Tian had no desire to feed mosquitoes; the ones here were much larger than those in the north, resembling little flying machines that were quite intimidating.
"Working on recipes? Are you planning to become a chef?" Shi Ye was somewhat surprised by Shi Tian's statement, considering his university major had nothing to do with cooking.
"One must not neglect their own palate! The Shandong Cuisine here is not up to par, so I have to do it myself to ensure I eat well! It’s impossible to be a chef for life, but I need to tackle my current financial crisis first. Once I have some savings, we can talk!"
"Alright, when you come back later, we’ll buy some ingredients and see how good your cooking really is!" Shi Ye said with a hint of skepticism as he glanced at Shi Tian.
Finding authentic Shandong Cuisine was no easy task. After years of wandering, he could only enjoy a decent meal when he returned home or traveled to Beijing; elsewhere, he had little hope.
Once they settled into their new home and visited the market for groceries, Shi Tian's culinary skills were officially on display. With only the two of them, they didn’t need many dishes.
Sweet and Sour Carp and You Meng Da Xia were must-haves, along with Mu Shu Pork. With a side of Si Shan Yao, they had four dishes ready. The soup was a classic Milk Soup Crucian Carp Soup.
After cleaning the carp, he heated oil in a pan and placed the fish in it, frying until both sides were golden brown. Once cooked through, he drained the oil, added boiling water, tossed in some scallions, and let it simmer on high for eight minutes until the broth turned milky white.
He fished out the scallions, sprinkled in some salt and pepper, and then it was ready to serve.
As the last bowl of Milk Soup Carp hit the table, Shi Ye was left dumbfounded. "When did you learn how to cook like this?"
While Shi Tian was busy in the kitchen, Shi Ye hadn’t been idle either. From the moment the first dish arrived at the table, Shi Tian hadn’t put down his chopsticks; by the time the soup came out, most of the earlier dishes were nearly empty.
"I learned while waiting for you at the airport! How does this compare to what we had before?" He served Shi Ye a small bowl of Milk Fish Soup and couldn’t help but comment, "This carp is a bit small and not entirely wild; the meat is falling apart."
The milk soup carp needed improvement; being small and farmed made its texture loose. After simmering on high for a few minutes, it fell apart in the pot, severely affecting the quality of the broth.
Plus, with so many bones in carp, when the meat disintegrated, so did the bones—making it easy for them to mix into the soup. While adults could manage it fine, children might choke on fish bones if they drank it.
Wild carp? That’s easy! If I catch one someday, I'll bring it over for you! After tasting Shi Tian's cooking skills, Shi Ye decided he would stick around here for meals from now on.
Fishermen like them had little interest in Heikeng; otherwise, they wouldn’t have spent days feeding mosquitoes in Zhi Shan.
While Ye Diao was great, resources were scarce. In many places where there were ponds or reservoirs, someone usually leased them out for fish farming or opened fishing spots. In other areas, either there weren’t enough fish or transportation was inconvenient—most required hours of hiking over mountains.
After eating his fill and enjoying a drink, Shi Ye took a can of beer from the fridge and sat on the balcony enjoying the sea breeze while watching Shi Tian still busy in the kitchen. "Do you want me to find someone to help you renovate this place?"
A house has been given away, so the renovation costs are no big deal; it sounds good to say that.
Although the house isn't large, it has a significant area. With three floors above ground and two below, fully renovating it would easily cost at least a hundred to eighty thousand. Currently, with no income, relying on Shi Tian to renovate the house is unrealistic.
Shi Chui and Yun Wan'er could provide Shi Tian with the renovation funds, but then it would be better for him to cover the costs himself.
"No need for that; this is fine. Tomorrow I'll find an Electric Hammer; there are a few places that need some adjustments. For now, I can just live here!"
The house was originally simply decorated. With such a large space and only himself living in it, fancy renovations would be pointless and would only increase cleaning time.
For now, Shi Tian doesn't plan to touch the first and second floors or the two underground levels. Once the renovations are complete, he won't even need those four levels; just the third floor will be enough for him.
Shi Ye also lives in a large house, but he doesn't have to clean it himself! The hotel staff regularly helps him with cleaning.
Shi Tian is different; although Shi Ye gifted him the house, he certainly wouldn't ask anyone to send over housekeeping services! That would be unreasonable!
Shi Tian has no plans for renovations, and Shi Ye doesn't insist on it either. Whenever Shi Tian decides to renovate, he can help find someone to do it.
After taking a sip of beer, Shi Ye pulled out his phone and called Air Force.
"Jun Ge, let’s go check on the fish situation at the lake behind the mountain tomorrow! The fish have been in there for a few years now; it's time to see how they're doing!"
Behind the villa area is a lake, which should accurately be called Yanse Lake. Shi Ye acquired this piece of land and used construction as a cover; Air Force and Lu Ya brought in a mining team to create Yanse Lake, though it's unclear whether they used gas or carbon dioxide to blast it out.
Having just a lake isn't enough; it needs water too. After reinforcing the dam, they brought an excavator up the mountain to divert a seasonal stream into the lake and then redirected water from Yanse Lake back into the river, allowing the river water to circulate through the lake.
Investing so much effort into creating Yanse Lake was all for establishing a fishing spot—a private Fishing Spot covering over half a square kilometer of water surface.
There are fish in the lake, and Xiao Yu will swim upstream into it from the river. To enrich the variety of fish in the lake, they released several species into it after ensuring they had enough oxygen.
These fish have been living in the lake for several years now; they should have formed a decent population by now. It’s about time to cast a couple of lines and check on their condition.
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