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墨書 Inktalez
"Yezhi, what delicious food are we making tonight?"
Yezhi pointed to the four large basins behind her filled with loaches and said, "That!"
"What? Are we really eating those muddy things?" The Cart Master made a disgusted expression.
"Girl, these loaches have a strong muddy smell. No matter how much we crave meat, no one would think of them. With just the little bit of soybean paste we have at home, can you really make it taste good?" Aunt Zhou wasn't lacking in confidence in Yezhi; she just had too deep of a personal experience.
Meizi pointed to the basket of seasonings and said, "I didn't skimp on the scallions, ginger, and garlic when I cooked. It still smelled fishy!"
Yezhi confidently replied, "Whether it's good or not will be revealed at dinner!" Her number one blind admirer, Zhou Yidan, pretended to look greedy and assured her, "Sister Ye, it will definitely taste great!" Er Zhu and Er Niu, who were helping wash the vegetables, also smiled and said, "We support Sister Ye."
Yezhi had already done plenty of preparation work. She added salt to the four basins of loaches to help them expel sand and covered them with reeds to prevent them from jumping out. To make them delicious, she had a second step: manually removing their innards.
The rice seedlings planted in the fields yesterday looked vibrant; one could easily imagine the scene of a bountiful harvest with their eyes closed. A little further away, villagers were energetically cultivating the rice fields while dogs accompanied the young men as they picked up the loaches that were jumping around. Er Zhu and Er Niu continued foraging for wild vegetables on the hillside near the water puddles. Aunt Zhou and Aunt Ren Er were making sorghum cakes while Yezhi and One Egg began the task of cleaning the loaches, which left Aunt Zhou, Aunt Ren Er, Meizi, and Aunt Li looking astonished.
To be honest, if it weren't for Yezhi boasting about how delicious these loaches were, she wouldn't have done this second step; that was the price of pride! Holding the slippery loach, she moved slowly. Fortunately, after discussing the technique with One Egg, he became increasingly adept at it. Once Aunt Zhou and the others finished steaming the sorghum cakes, they all came over to help.
Just before dark, they finally finished cleaning. Yezhi, the chef, took a one-meter-long spatula and poured in some wild boar oil she had brought from home. She added scallions, ginger, and garlic into the hot oil until fragrant before adding two large basins of loaches. Leaning over the big iron pot to stir-fry them, One Egg followed Yezhi's steps by pouring in another two basins into another large iron pot to stir-fry as well. After adding a large amount of water and waiting for it to boil, they added their homemade soybean paste into both pots and stirred everything together; their work was complete.
One Egg exclaimed joyfully, "It smells amazing; I'm drooling!" Meizi stood up from tending the fire and took a spoonful with a Zhou Xiaomu spoon to taste it. She was speechless for a long time. Aunt Ren Er anxiously asked, "How is it?" Seeing Meizi's expression made Aunt Zhou gasp; she hoped it wasn't so fishy that Meizi couldn't even swallow it.
"It's so delicious! It's salty and fresh without any fishiness at all," Meizi said excitedly while waving her small spoon.
When Yezhi heard "It's so delicious," her heart finally settled down. Not afraid of getting burned, One Egg grabbed a whole loach that had broken its skin to reveal its tender white flesh and stuffed it into his mouth. "Delicious! Really delicious! This meat is as tender as any tofu I've ever eaten; it slid right down into my stomach without me even biting it."
Yezhi served a bowl for Aunt Zhou, Aunt Ren Er, and Aunt Li to taste. "I didn't expect this loach to be so fresh and tender; how come I never noticed before?" Aunt Zhou exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yes, not only is it delicious, but when there was no sauce, the soup was also a milky white, which looked quite nice," Aunt Ren Er added.
Aunt Li praised, "It's still thanks to Yezhi; I don't know how she managed to get rid of that muddy taste and make it so fresh." Everyone loves to hear such compliments, and Yezhi felt a bit elated.
After the villagers and the kids washed off the mud by the pond, they enjoyed their dinner amidst the sounds of frogs and insects. Since there would be no more work in the evening, each person had only one sorghum cake and loach stew. Yezhi added plenty of water, allowing everyone to drink their fill.
"Yezhi, is this really loach?" the Cart Master asked incredulously. This question had been answered by Yezhi at least thirty times, and she nodded affirmatively once again.
"Yezhi, how did you manage to get rid of the muddy taste?" The Cart Master's question echoed the villagers' thoughts, and everyone perked up their ears, waiting for her answer.
"It's simple; just keep them in clean water for a few days. Of course, adding a bit of oil or salt to help the loach expel sand works too," Yezhi generously explained to everyone.
"How come I saw you using scissors to cut off the head and gut them?" Village Uncle remarked, showing his keen observation skills as the village chief.
"That's for better flavor. However, achieving either of the first two points is sufficient," Old Accountant said as he took out his notebook to jot it down.
Watching the villagers eat while chatting and laughing, with a kid eating like a little glutton, Yezhi felt quite accomplished. In this peaceful atmosphere, she spoke about the nutritional value of loach: "Everyone, don't underestimate this small loach; not only is its meat delicate and delicious, but it also helps replenish energy and combat aging. It's especially beneficial for the elderly, children, and those with weak constitutions."
"This loach has such benefits!" Village Uncle beamed; as an elder, he needed to eat more.
"Is it really as nourishing as you say? So good!" The Cart Master confirmed happily; he also needed something for anti-aging.
The villagers pondered thoughtfully; there were plenty of loaches in the mud, fields, and puddles! Hehe, I’ll make some at home too…! Yezhi suddenly felt that because of her words, the loaches' doom was approaching.
...
Cooking is also a physically demanding task. When Yezhi returned home in the evening, she was exhausted. After climbing onto her bed and dozing off, she heard a voice say, "Master, your Cosmic Express has arrived." After getting up to collect her delivery of Colostrum Oat and just as she was about to lie back down to sleep...
Xiao Fang summoned again. "Master, Miss Dulisa has arrived!"
Dulisa tied up her red hair, with a few strands naturally falling by her cheeks, looking charming and noble. She wore earrings that resembled flowing droplets of water. "Dear Ye, do you think I should wear the silver-white fitted floral Long Skirt or the pink-gold chain dress?"
Seeing Yezhi squinting with laziness, Dulisa immediately changed her tone: "Hurry and help me choose one; I'm doing this for you!" Yezhi retorted angrily, "What does it have to do with me!"
"Isn't it you who called me sister? I borrowed so many Express Boxes for you; how can I owe so many favors and have to attend all these dates?" Dulisa shouted in frustration.
"Master, you're being unreasonable!" Xiao Fang shook her head in support of Dulisa.
Indeed, Dulisa had helped her a lot, and she hadn't even properly thanked her; helping to choose an outfit was the least she could do in return.
"Sister Du, the Long Skirt is good; it makes you look noble and graceful," Yezhi said flatteringly after seriously comparing the options.
"Now that's more like it!" Dulisa held the Long Skirt in front of her before cutting off the video call and rushing off to her date. After poking at Xiao Fang, who was speaking ill of their master, Yezhi logged off and continued her nap.
The next day, Yezhi was busy from morning until night again. She made a novel soybean stew with Loach, followed by wild vegetable stew with Loach, and then sauerkraut stew with Loach... After villagers had eaten various kinds of Loach soup for six consecutive days, they finally finished their work in the fields, leaving thirty people to guard the rice paddies while everyone else happily returned to the village.
Carrying the leftover tofu Loach soup, Yezhi went with Aunt Zhou to visit Barefoot Aunt. Due to having to care for a weak patient, the Madwoman, and several elderly villagers in poor health, Barefoot Aunt did not join everyone in working in the fields.
"Spring Flower, Leaf, you’re here," said Barefoot Aunt, who was grinding medicine with a mortar. The Madwoman, seeing someone come in, shrank back into the corner of the kang in panic. Since regaining consciousness, she had refused to let anyone touch her except for Barefoot Aunt. When Yezhi kindly tried to tuck her in with a blanket once, she ended up getting scratched. Now that she could get out of bed, she still startled easily and kept her distance from others.
"We brought some tofu Loach soup for you and the Madwoman! My girl says these are highly nutritious and will help restore your health," said Aunt Zhou, placing the pot of soup on the wooden table. Meanwhile, Yezhi sat by the kang telling Barefoot Aunt about what the villagers had been busy with in the fields today and what little Kids had done... She noticed that the curled-up figure of the Madwoman seemed to be relaxing a bit; she was quiet and seemed to be listening. A lifelong fan of television and mystery novels, Yezhi often speculated whether the Madwoman was truly insane or just pretending.
Back home, both Yezhi and Aunt Zhou were exhausted. After taking a refreshing hot bath, they lay on the kang. Yezhi shared her decision with Aunt Zhou: "Auntie, can you take me to see Village Uncle tomorrow to finalize my household registration?" Initially dazed, Aunt Zhou didn't react much at first; but after processing it again, she jumped up from the kang in shock, startling Yezhi.
"My girl, you want to settle down." Yezhi nodded affirmatively. "My girl, our village has rural household registration." Who didn't know that? She looked at Aunt Zhou amusedly. "Do you know that young people coming to our village would fight tooth and nail just to return to the city? The city is so much better! City folks are completely different from us!" pleaded Aunt Zhou.
"Aunt, do you think our village is bad? Is being a farmer bad?" Aunt Zhou shook her head. Of course, she didn't think it was bad. As a farmer and a laborer, she was proud. But Ye Zhi was different; how could she explain it?
"Aunt, I told you before, I don't have a home. You see, I often mix my speech with ours, which shows that I still don't know where my roots are. I don't even know how to speak my hometown dialect. Your home is my home; isn't it good for us to be a real family?" Although she couldn't see clearly in the dark, Aunt Zhou felt Ye Zhi's seriousness. "When did you start thinking about settling down?"
"After you slapped me. I was afraid everyone would hate me and abandon me. Isn't it because I can't leave the people here, the mountains and rivers here?" Aunt Zhou listened to Ye Zhi's clear response in the darkness, and her heart felt as if flowers were blooming in a desert.
That night, both Aunt Zhou and Ye Zhi slept soundly and sweetly. They arrived at Uncle's house early the next day. After explaining their intentions, Uncle asked repeatedly, "Once you settle down, you'll have a rural household registration. Are you sure you don't plan to return to the city?"
"Yes! I've thought it through very clearly," Ye Zhi replied solemnly.
"Have you asked your uncle who gave you the seeds? What if he doesn't agree?" Uncle asked with concern.
"My matters are mine to decide," Ye Zhi answered.
"No regrets; there's no such thing as regret medicine in this world!" Uncle asked again with a serious expression.
"No regrets!" Ye Zhi said firmly.
"Alright, Ye Zhi, I'll take care of this matter," Uncle said happily.
Two days later, Ye Zhi officially settled in Zhoujiatun, becoming Village Girl Ye Zhi and a true farmer.
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