Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 22 I dare not drink

Before long, half a pot of turtle was separated and placed in three large bowls, each covered with a slightly smaller bowl, and then wrapped tightly with a clean cloth. Jiang Lili found him a basket to put it in.

Chen Fan, carrying a basket, said to Jiang Lili, "You eat first, I'll take it to them and come right back."

Jiang Lili: "Then I'll wait for you to come back so we can eat together."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "No need, you eat yours first. It's cold, and it will taste fishy if it gets cold later."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Don't you dare not eat any vegetables. Let's agree beforehand that we'll each eat half. You can't eat too much, but you can't eat too little either."

He was truly exasperated by this young girl. She was the only one at the educated youth settlement, and there were so many cabbages and radishes in the backyard, yet she only ate pickled vegetables for meals. He had no idea what she was thinking.

Jiang Lili lowered her head and pursed her lips. "Okay."

As Chen Fan walked out, he turned back to remind him with concern, "Make sure you eat first, don't wait."

Jiang Lili walked to the kitchen door and watched him walk out. "I know. It's getting dark. Be careful and watch where you're going."

Chen Fan smiled, then turned around and walked outside.

When they arrived at Captain Yang's house, the family was having dinner. When they saw Chen Fan carrying a basket of things, they quickly stood up to greet him.

Captain Yang first had his daughter bring out chairs, then said to Chen Fan, "It's better to be lucky than early, let's eat here."

Chen Fan quickly shook his head, "No, no."

He then greeted Aunt Yang, who was about to get the bowls and chopsticks, saying, "Auntie, no need to trouble yourself, I'm leaving now."

He then put down the basket, placed the bowl on the table, and untied the rag.

Captain Yang looked at him curiously, "What is this?"

Chen Fan didn't say anything, he just grinned and lifted the lid off the bowl.

Captain Yang, Aunt Yang, and the five siblings of the Yang family all exclaimed in unison, "Meat?"

Chen Fan pointed, "Captain, have a taste."

Captain Yang looked at him in surprise, then at the meat in the bowl, and a thought flashed through his mind, "Could this be turtle meat?"

Chen Fan immediately gave a thumbs up, "Captain has sharp eyes; he recognized it as turtle meat at a glance."

Captain Yang grinned and chuckled, "Hey, you just caught such a big turtle, and now you've brought over a bowl of meat, and there are even turtle claws in this bowl. I'm not stupid or blind, how could I not see that?"

He then looked surprised and took a deep breath. "Oh, there really is no fishy smell. How did you do it?"

This bowl of meat really shocked him. Ever since he was a child, the elders had told them that this thing was not to be eaten. Every few years, a fool in the village would come along who didn't believe in such superstitions and cooked a pot of turtle that even pigs wouldn't eat. The fishy smell was so strong that just thinking about it made him lose his appetite.

Unexpectedly, Chen Fan was able to serve up a bowl of turtle that had absolutely no fishy smell, which naturally amazed him.

Chen Fan chuckled and began to explain, "It's actually very simple. The reason why soft-shelled turtles have a strong fishy smell and taste bad is mainly because they are not handled properly. To remove the fishy smell from soft-shelled turtles, the most important thing is three things. First, the outer membrane of the soft-shelled turtle. The outer membrane accounts for more than half of the fishy smell of soft-shelled turtles. The outer membrane must be torn off before the soft-shelled turtle can be eaten."

Secondly, there's the turtle's fat, the yellowish stuff attached to the meat. This fat has a strong fishy smell and must be cut off without breaking it, otherwise it will get into the meat and affect its quality. Thirdly, there's the blood.

Chen Fan pointed to the turtle blood in the bowl, "Just like when you slaughter a pig, if you don't drain the blood completely, the meat will have a fishy smell and won't taste good no matter how you cook it. As long as you drain all the blood, the meat will taste much better. Moreover, if you add some salt and ginger water to the blood and stir it, you can make blood tofu, which is also a good dish. After this treatment, when you cook the turtle, the meat won't have much of a fishy smell."

After catching his breath, he chuckled and said, "Actually, soft-shelled turtle is a famous dish in some places. For example, in Jiangsu, there's a dish called 'Farewell My Concubine,' which uses soft-shelled turtle and chicken. In Fujian, there's also a method of stewing soft-shelled turtle. Moreover, it's very nutritious, even more so than old hen, so eating soft-shelled turtle isn't unusual. It's just that it's relatively rare in our area." Captain Yang suddenly realized, "So there are so many intricacies to cooking soft-shelled turtle! No wonder nobody ate it before. If it's cooked well, it's a famous dish; if it's not cooked well, even pigs won't eat it!"

He then looked at Chen Fan suspiciously, "Have you lost your memory? How come you remember something like this?"

Chen Fan's face stiffened. He wondered what kind of expression he should make at this moment—pain, disappointment, or perhaps a blank and confused look?

Finally, his face fell. Oh well, he couldn't act without the skills. He just said in a low voice, "Anyway, I can't remember where I live. I only knew how to cook this turtle after I saw it."

Captain Yang's heart skipped a beat. "Then tell me, what else do you remember?"

Chen Fan frowned, thought hard for a moment, and said in a low voice, "Does washing eels with wood ash count?"

Captain Yang looked speechless. "I know that too."

She then frowned and looked at him, "Does someone in your family work as a cook? Otherwise, why are you only thinking about food?"

Chen Fan's expression shifted several times, and he looked at him with a conflicted expression, "Food is the first necessity of the people?"

Does that mean he just likes to eat?

Captain Yang's face fell as well. What was all this?

Chen Fan tried hard to recall the computer and phone in his room before he transmigrated, as well as the money he had painstakingly saved for his wife. His expression naturally turned serious. "I'm just taking it one step at a time now. It would be best if Officer Zhu could help me find her soon so I can go home and reunite with my family."

Captain Yang pursed his lips and nodded slowly, "Good people are always blessed, it will definitely happen."

Chen Fan forced a smile, then stopped talking about it and pointed to the still steaming bowl, "Try it while it's hot."

"Alright, I'll have some meat today too."

Captain Yang didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a piece, and popped it into his mouth. After just two bites, his eyes lit up, and he gave a thumbs up, exclaiming, "Delicious!"

Everyone else looked at the bowl of meat with anticipation.

Even though Captain Yang is a squad leader, he earns 300 more work points than others each year, which is equivalent to earning an extra 19.5 yuan this year, making his life much better. However, he still doesn't have many opportunities to eat meat.

Like other families in the village, they all hoped to slaughter a pig and eat meat at the end of the year.

So this large bowl of turtle meat had a great impact on them.

Just then, the eldest girl in the Yang family suddenly ran to the back and returned a moment later, carrying a bamboo basket. She left only the words, "Dad, I'm going to catch turtles."

It shot off in a flash.

Only two words came to Chen Fan's mind: So fast!
Then he really wanted to say that he had already searched the area and all the turtles had been caught.

But then I thought, more than three hours have already passed. What if a new turtle has spawned?
He then shut his mouth and remained silent.

Captain Yang not only didn't take his daughter's behavior seriously, but was quite pleased with himself. "That girl is so clever. She doesn't eat the meat that's already there, but goes to catch the live meat. She'll get to eat even more in the end!"
He then reached out and grabbed Chen Fan, saying, "You're not allowed to leave today. We'll eat here and have a couple of drinks."

Want a couple of drinks?
Chen Fan was initially delighted; there was actually wine to drink?

But the next second he realized what he had done and shook his head like a rattle, "No, no, Captain, I don't drink."

He dared not drink it; there was no good wine here, and what if he got into trouble?
(End of this chapter)