1980: I have a spiritual spring

Chapter 14 Eating Fish Without Seeing Fish, Delightful Lily Cake

morning.

Qiao Dajiang and Qiao Erhe, carrying empty baskets, walked out of the noodle shop. Qiao Dajiang, his face flushed, exclaimed, "Great! This morning's drink was so refreshing!"

Qiao Erhe was quite satisfied with his drink. As he walked, he said, "When our family's financial situation improves, we'll go out to restaurants and have breakfast every day, just like these town residents."

Qiao Dajiang shook his head and said, "The two of us spent a little over three yuan on this morning's drinks. If the whole family went out to eat for breakfast, it would cost at least ten or eight yuan a day. It's okay to have breakfast occasionally, but if we went out to eat for breakfast every day, the expenses would be too high."

Qiao Erhe laughed and said, "Spending ten or eight yuan a day on morning drinks is indeed a bit extravagant for our family's current economic situation. However, this is only temporary. Once our laying hens start producing eggs smoothly and we have a stable income, I plan to continue to increase the number of chicks we raise. In this way, our family's income will increase dramatically next year, and the money spent on morning drinks will be nothing to us."

Qiao Dajiang was taken aback upon hearing this and said, "Second brother, are you planning to continue increasing the number of laying hens?"

Qiao Erhe said, "Didn't we calculate it when we were at home? Once the hens start laying eggs, the daily income from eggs can reach 40 yuan. Why not expand such a profitable business?"
Anyway, with our land, raising ten thousand or eight thousand laying hens wouldn't be a problem.

Qiao Dajiang was surprised that his second son was so bold and said with some concern, "Second son, I think we shouldn't rush into expanding the business. I've heard from my third uncle and aunt that large-scale chicken and duck farming is very risky, and the more you raise, the more likely problems will arise."

Qiao Erhe said, "Brother, you're worried that the laying hens will get fowl plague, right?"

Qiao Dajiang nodded and said, "That's right. Once chickens get infected with fowl plague, it's not just a matter of one or two laying hens dying, but all the laying hens will be wiped out. The risk is really too great."

Qiao Erhe said, "Don't worry, brother, I know all this. I don't know if other people's chickens and ducks will get infected with diseases, but the chickens and ducks I raise will definitely not get infected with diseases. Just wait to count your money and get married!"

Although Qiao Dajiang didn't know why his second son was so confident, his second son had always been in charge of the family's egg-laying chicken farming, which made him see the potential of egg-laying chicken farming. If everything went smoothly, it was indeed a very profitable business.

Since egg-laying hen farming is so profitable, it's only natural to expand the business.

Thinking of this, Qiao Dajiang did not stop his second son, but simply instructed him, "Alright, just be careful."

"Increasing the number of livestock is something for the future; we won't discuss it now."

Qiao Erhe stopped and put down his basket, saying, "I asked Lao Liu and Lao Qi to get their friends to help catch bugs to feed the chickens. I promised them a White Rabbit candy for every hundred bugs they caught. I think they've collected enough bugs. Wait here for me while I go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some White Rabbit candies."

Qiao Dajiang nodded and said, "Okay, go ahead!"

……

Before you knew it, Sunday arrived. This was the second Sunday Qiao Erhe had experienced since his rebirth.

Today is the joyous occasion of Qiao Qitan's tenth birthday, the seventh son of the Qiao family. All relatives and friends have been invited to attend this birthday banquet.

It's only the 1980s now, so celebrating a tenth birthday isn't as grand as it was in later generations.

In later generations, because there were so many people over ten years old, those with quick minds formed special teams. These teams included a wide variety of people, such as bands, emcees, lion dance teams, magicians, chefs, and even tables, chairs, pots, pans, and other utensils needed for birthday banquets.

In short, all the host family needs to do is pay; these teams handle all the celebration procedures.

Those teams that have made a name for themselves locally are booked up for celebrations all year round, making a fortune. Nowadays, life is still relatively difficult for everyone, so celebrating a tenth birthday is naturally not something to do extravagantly. Usually, they just invite relatives and friends over for a meal, and that's enough to celebrate.

When a child turns ten, relatives and friends come to the banquet, and everyone is expected to give red envelopes (cash gifts), just like at a wedding banquet.

Since there are red envelopes to be received, the food and drinks must be of high quality.

The dishes served today are very different from those of later generations. In later generations, catfish, eel, loach, turtle, tortoise, shrimp, crab, clam, snail, frog, dog meat, and various wild game were all rare delicacies, and serving them to guests was a matter of great prestige.

But in this era, none of these things are allowed to be served.

Therefore, the Qiao family only prepared four plates and three bowls, called Seven Star Arrow.

Of these four dishes and three bowls, the four dishes contain chicken, duck, fish, and meat, while the three bowls contain fish cake, glutinous rice balls, and eight-treasure rice, which are also essential items in the Cenhe banquet.

Among them, the most famous is naturally fish cake.

Fish cake, also known as "Xiangfei cake", is a traditional delicacy in the Jingzhou-Shashi area. In the local area, it is usually the first dish served when a family hosts a banquet, so it is also called the first dish, the three-delicacy first dish, or the family reunion dish.

This dish features fish cake as the main ingredient, along with three kinds of fresh ingredients such as pork liver, kidney, and tripe, and is supplemented with daylily, black fungus, and bamboo shoots. It is braised and has a bright color, various flavors, and a soft and tender texture.

By the late Southern Song Dynasty, fish cake had become widely popular in various counties of Jingzhou, and it was a staple dish at banquets hosted by the powerful and wealthy.

During the Qing Dynasty, high-ranking officials and wealthy families were required to prepare fish cakes for their weddings, funerals, and celebratory banquets.

The origin of this fish cake is said to be that when Emperor Shun was on a southern tour with his two consorts, Nüying and Ehuang, they passed through the Jiangling (Jingzhou) area. Ehuang fell ill with a sore throat and wanted to eat fish but disliked fish bones. So, under the guidance of a local fisherman, Nüying incorporated her own culinary skills and made fish cake for Ehuang.

Ehuang ate it and recovered quickly.

When Emperor Shun heard of this, he greatly praised it, and fish cakes became widely popular in the Jingchu region from then on.

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, there was a "Lily Fresh Fish Restaurant" outside the south gate of Jinan City (the capital of the State of Chu, and the ruins of Jinan City are located north of present-day Jingzhou City). King Zhuang of Chu once visited this restaurant on an outing and happened to eat there. He loved the fish and it was subsequently made the first dish served in the Chu court.

Even during the Qing Dynasty, it still appeared in the imperial cuisine. It is said that after tasting Jingzhou fish cake, Emperor Qianlong exclaimed: "Eating fish but not seeing fish, a delightful lily cake."

Because fish cake is so famous in Cenhe area, many locals know how to make it, and Qiao Erhe's second aunt is a master at making fish cake.

At this moment, Second Aunt was helping to make fish cakes, while Qiao Sanduo was helping out and learning a few tricks from Second Aunt.

Third Aunt naturally came to help early on. Although it was only seven dishes—four plates and three bowls—there was still a lot of work to be done.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, it quickly came to 10:30 a.m., and the invited relatives and friends arrived one after another with red envelopes.

(End of this chapter)