People in the Siheyuan: I am a Buddhist who is in a mess

His mouth never stopped, and his chopsticks in his hands never stopped moving. Often, before he had even swallowed the food in his mouth, the chopsticks had already picked up a large piece of food and put it back into his mouth.

From time to time, someone would cough continuously, probably because they ate too quickly and choked.

There are four tables in the courtyard.

Yi Zhonghai, Yan Fugui, Liu Haizhong and the people from the street office shared two tables: one for the public security office and one for the steel mill.

Lin Yi and the old lady naturally sat at the table near the steel rolling mill.

"I've spent a lot of money today, Lin Yi, this is too sumptuous."

It was much quieter in the small courtyard than in the big courtyard. The dishes had not been served yet, so the group of people did not pick up their chopsticks even though they were drooling.

Moreover, in this small courtyard, Director Wang from the Street Office, Zhou Kangri from the Public Security Bureau, and Yang Aiguo and Zhang Bing from the steel rolling mill were all present, and none of them thought of losing their composure in front of their leader.

"It didn't cost much, I caught the fish myself. This wild boar was found for me by Comrade Ning Linyi from the Public Security Bureau, who went to the mountains in the countryside. The other things didn't cost much either, mainly because of my brother Zhuzi's good cooking skills." Lin Yi praised He Yuzhu's cooking skills in front of everyone.

"Master He's cooking skills are famous not only in the steel rolling mill, but also in our entire street." Yang Aiguo often eats He Yuzhu's special meals and knows He Yuzhu's level. In addition, He Yuzhu is the chef of the steel rolling mill, so he is proud to say this.

As he was speaking, He Yuzhu brought up the last dish.

Pickled fish.

This authentic Sichuan dish became popular in the 1990s. That is to say, some chefs might be able to cook it during that era, but it was not famous and was not considered a major dish.

When Lin Yi saw there was sauerkraut and he had a big fish, he roughly explained the cooking method to He Yuzhu. Unexpectedly, He Yuzhu's culinary talent was indeed high. He was able to recreate the sauerkraut fish according to the key points Lin Yi mentioned.

The dish we made was the golden soup pickled fish with a golden soup base.

The aroma of garlic, sourness, pepper, and the aroma of fried chili peppers. I guess He Yuzhu even poured a circle of sesame oil around the edge of the pot when the dish was taken out of the pot, making it truly fragrant.

"Master He, what is this dish? It smells so good."

Yang Aiguo couldn't wait any longer, so he picked up a piece of fish with chopsticks and put it in his mouth. The tenderness of the fish, the sourness of the sauerkraut, the spiciness of the chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns, and the rock sugar that neutralized the painful stimulation of the taste buds made him exclaim "it's so enjoyable".

Before He Yuzhu could even introduce the dish, others followed suit and started eating the pickled fish with chopsticks.

No matter whether you can eat spicy food or not, no one will want to put down their chopsticks after tasting this flavor.

"Director Yang, have a piece of watermelon to relieve the spiciness."

Lin Yi took a piece of cut watermelon and handed it to Yang Aiguo, who had already eaten a lot of pickled fish.

The watermelon chilled with well water is sweet and juicy, and it goes perfectly with the pickled fish.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Yang Aiguo said, "Master He, you are hiding something. I have never seen you cook such a dish in all these years at the steel mill."

Zhang Bing next to him also said: "Indeed, if I had known that Chef He would make such a dish, I would not get tired of eating it every day."

He Yuzhu's face flushed, and he felt a little embarrassed, but he said ostentatiously, "Lin Yi told me about this dish, and I thought about it myself and made it. This is the first time I've made this dish."

"It's really a new dish? I have a reception task in two days. Chef He, you have to serve this dish." Yang Aiguo reserved the content of the next special meal.

He Yuzhu said with some embarrassment: "Director Yang, in addition to having many ingredients, the key to this dish is to have good fish. Ordinary small fish cannot make it taste this good."

"Is there any other story about this fish?" Yang Aiguo was puzzled and continued to ask.

"You should ask Lin Yi about this. He caught the fish, a big fish weighing more than ten kilograms. I have been a chef for many years and have cooked a lot of fish like this, including quite a few big fish. The fish caught by Lin Yi is particularly good, without any muddy smell. Otherwise, the fish fillet today would not taste this way."

He Yuzhu did not take all the credit for himself, but gave some to Lin Yi.

He also admired Lin Yi's fishing skills. Not only did he frequently catch big fish, but the fish he caught tasted really good. Not to mention that it was cooked by a chef like him, even an ordinary housewife could cook the fish deliciously.

After hearing this, Lin Yi said, "I still have a lot of big fish in my pond. If the factory director likes them, I will bring a few to the factory as a treat. It is my responsibility to make sure the guests have good food."

Lin Yi also said some polite words, and this fancy sedan was carried by everyone.

"Director, the fish head casserole is ready." At this time, He Yuzhu interrupted and said that the casserole was sizzling and emitting steam on the small charcoal stove.

He Yuzhu opened the lid of the casserole, and the hot steam surged. Then he sprinkled a handful of chopped green onions. Suddenly, the milky white fish head and tofu soup was covered with emerald green onions, and the visual effect was very filling.

"This tofu soup has milk added to it, right?" Yang Aiguo felt that today's trip was really worthwhile. Not only did he eat the pickled fish that he had never heard of before, but he also had the fish head stewed with tofu in this milky white fish soup.

The pickled fish was too spicy and the old lady didn’t like it, so Lin Yi scooped a small bowl of fish soup and a few pieces of fresh tofu into the old lady’s bowl.

"Lin Yi is a very capable kid. Before he joined the steel mill, he helped out in the canteen of the street office and often went fishing. Our street office canteen collected a lot of fish, and this fish soup was also made a lot. Director Yang, you must taste it carefully. The fish that Lin Yi caught is really different from ordinary fish."

Director Wang also endorsed Lin Yi and emphasized the benefits of this fish.

Yang Aiguo also drank the fish soup and savored it carefully. He is also a foodie and really likes it. That is why he promoted He Yuzhu all the way, because He Yuzhu is a great cook.

In those days, supplies were scarce and there were only a few kinds of food. However, He Yuzhu was the only one in the entire steel mill who could make these meat dishes taste different.

The fish that Lin Yi caught today really opened a new door for him.

Yang Aiguo tasted the fish meat and drank the fish soup carefully. Just as others said, the fish did not have the slightest fishy smell.

Yang Aiguo eats a lot of fish, and most of the time, he can't taste any fishy smell. But that doesn't mean fish has no fishy smell. It's often the seasonings that cover up the fishy smell.

The simplest way to deal with it is to drink some cold water right after eating the fish. Then you can taste the water in your mouth and know whether the fish has a fishy smell.

But in today's fish soup, including the pickled fish dish mentioned earlier, Yang Aiguo really didn't taste any fishy smell, it just tasted fresh and tender.

"Lin Yi, what you did is really unfair. The steel mill is your official workplace now. If you catch any fish in the future, you can send them to the canteen. Do you think the factory will treat you unfairly?"

As he said this, Yang Aiguo kept glancing towards the pond. When he came here, he saw the remaining big fish. He originally didn't have any ideas, but now, he wanted to take them all to the steel mill.

He even thought of how to cook the fish. The fish body would be made into sauerkraut fish, and the fish head would be stewed with tofu.

"Okay, Director Yang, next time I catch a fish, I'll bring it to the steel mill."

Lin Yi agreed immediately.

"Director Yang, you can't treat Lin Yi unfairly. Not only do you want this fish, but our street office has also been thinking about it a lot. There are staff members who are willing to buy it from Lin Yi for one yuan per pound."

Director Wang did not forget to help Lin Yi raise the price. She was not worried that Lin Yi would not deliver fish to the street office in the future, because she knew that Lin Yi was not that kind of person.

Yang Aiguo was not scared by the price at all. Good things are naturally expensive for a reason. Both of them are big fish, one is Lin Yi's fish without fishy smell, and the other is a fishy fish he had eaten before. Even if it is only one dollar per pound, Yang Aiguo will choose Lin Yi's fish.