Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 26 The Craftsman
Ignoring the surrounding chatter, Chen Fan smiled at Accountant Liu and said, "I'm not just making this up. Soft-shelled turtles are not only nutritious, but also have very high medicinal value."

The Compendium of Materia Medica, Volume 15, Section on Intestines, records that soft-shelled turtle is primarily used to replenish qi and blood, clear heat from the blood, nourish yin deficiency, and treat heat-related ailments and rheumatoid arthritis. However, pregnant women, especially in early pregnancy, should avoid it altogether, as soft-shelled turtle can promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, potentially causing uterine contractions.

Upon hearing these words, Captain Yang and his companions suddenly understood.

They didn't know anything about turtles or medicine, but they had heard of the Compendium of Materia Medica. Since it was recorded in a medical book, it must be true.

Those around them, upon hearing this, began to murmur amongst themselves.

"Huang Ying, aren't you pregnant? Then you can't eat it."

Huang Ying was speechless. She had thought she would have a good meal, but it turned out to be a dish that was picky about who you were.

After chatting for a bit, Captain Yang pointed to a robust-looking man in his forties standing next to him. “This is our team’s craftsman. He’s in charge of organizing the banquets for weddings and funerals in several nearby production teams. People from other production teams also come to him because of his reputation. His surname is Liu. You can just call him Master Liu.”

"Jujiang" is the local term for the cook who prepares the village banquet.

In the village, whenever someone holds a wedding or funeral, they need to hire a master chef to cook and prepare the banquet. The master chef will discuss the dishes with the host family. If a family is richer, the master chef will arrange a more lavish banquet. If a family doesn't have much money, they can only buy some minced meat and save up a few eggs. The master chef can still cook a banquet with both meat and vegetables according to the available ingredients.

Because everything on the stove was handled by the craftsman, the homeowner didn't have to worry about anything, so it was also known as a "one-stop shop".

Chen Fan looked at Master Liu and quickly extended his hands, "Hello, Master Liu."

But I was wondering to myself, are there still people holding village banquets these days?
He would believe it if you said it existed in the 50s and early 60s, but then frugality was promoted, and the extravagant spending on food and drink was severely curbed. It only gradually recovered around 78. How come it's starting to appear again now? Or has it always existed, but no one has spoken up about it?

Master Liu looked rather simple and honest. He seemed a little surprised by Chen Fan's handshake. After he realized what was happening, he quickly reached out and shook hands with him, saying, "Hello, hello."

Captain Yang and the others watched Chen Fan's behavior from the sidelines and couldn't help but exchange glances, all of them able to see the smiles in each other's eyes.

If this person didn't come from a cadre family, they would never believe it even if you beat them to death.

Master Liu stiffly released his grip, his previous aloofness completely gone. He then looked at Chen Fan with a polite expression and coughed lightly, "Comrade Chen,..."

Chen Fan quickly smiled and said, "Don't call me that, just call me Xiao Chen or Xiao Fan."

Master Liu gave an awkward smile and coughed again. "Well, then let's call him Xiao Chen. Xiao Chen, I've never handled a turtle before. You said you have to peel the skin, how do you peel the skin?"

He had never heard of turtle as a dish before, so he was a little reluctant when Yang Ju called him over this morning, especially since he couldn't even peel the skin off two turtles properly, which made him even less convinced of their nonsense.

But after hearing Chen Fan's long-winded explanation, even bringing up the Compendium of Materia Medica, and considering Chen Fan's friendly handshakes, he no longer felt any disdain and was just waiting for Chen Fan to teach him a skill.

If turtles are indeed edible, then he will have more dishes to choose from when he hosts village banquets in the future.

Especially for families who can't afford to pay, they can easily find a few turtles by simply taking a stroll in the pond. One turtle is worth two chickens, so serving it out is both impressive and practical. Most importantly, it saves money, which is like having an extra trump card!
Chen Fan laughed and said, "That's easy. You're the master craftsman. I'll show you once, and you'll understand as soon as you see it."

Master Liu nodded repeatedly, "This is good, this is good."

They then stepped aside, waiting for Chen Fan to make his move.

Chen Fan didn't hesitate and walked over to the large pot to take a look. "The water temperature isn't high enough; it needs to be around 80 degrees Celsius." Chef Liu's eyes lit up. "Can't we use boiling water?"

Chen Fan shook his head and said, "You can't soak it in boiling water, it will easily ruin the outer membrane."

Master Liu clapped his hands and said, "I knew it! I just soaked it in boiling water and saw that the outer membrane was soft. When I tried to tear it by hand, it tore apart easily and I couldn't get it clean. According to you, most of the fishy smell is on the outer membrane. If the outer membrane isn't removed cleanly, it definitely can't be cooked."

He was grinning from ear to ear; just from that one sentence, he had truly mastered the art!

It's a pity that it was said in public; otherwise, this skill would have been more valuable if kept hidden.

Chen Fan nodded, "That makes sense."

One person teaches, one person learns, and everyone else watches with wide eyes.

"There are so many intricacies involved in killing a turtle. No wonder no one discovered it was edible before."

"How did others discover it? The captain even said that this is a famous dish in other places, and that people must know how to kill and cook it to make it a famous dish."

"Didn't you hear the captain say it's in Yangzhou? There's an old saying that goes, 'When you're rolling in money, go to Yangzhou.' In ancient times, there were mountains of rich people there. What delicacies haven't they eaten? It was only because some chefs tried to come up with some strange and unusual dishes that they discovered it."

"Hey, who is this Chen Fan? How does he know about this dish?"

"Who knows? It's strange, he doesn't remember where he came from, but he does remember cooking. Maybe someone in his house is a chef."

"I remember that cooking makes you a chef? Is there a chef as clean-cut as him? In my opinion, he's probably just used to eating this kind of food, and over time, he's learned how to cook it."

"It's the same principle as becoming a good doctor through long-term illness, right?"

"Yeah!"

In the middle of the crowd, Chen Fan saw that the water wouldn't boil for a while, so he asked Master Liu to prepare the turtle. Then he looked at Jiang Lili and said, "Little Jiang, fetch me a basin of water."

Yang Ju was about to go when she heard this, but Captain Yang stopped her with a look. The custodian, Huang, also gave Chen Fan a meaningful look and remained silent with his lips pursed.

Chen Fan asked Jiang Lili to fetch water, not because he wanted to be lazy or to make things difficult for her, but to give her a chance to prove herself.

According to her, apart from regular work and team activities, she was never invited to any family event in the team.

But Captain Yang just happened to invite them today, and they even had to kill turtles.

The turtle needs to be killed and cooked, and then the meat needs to be eaten. Captain Yang asked her to come along, naturally so that she could eat with him. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but given her background, if she did nothing but sit down and eat, who knows if people would gossip.

Now that Chen Fan has asked her for help, it's considered that she's involved, and it will leave a good impression. When she eats with everyone later, no one will gossip.

(End of this chapter)