You are unlucky and I am tough

Chapter 203: Fried Snails

Cheng Guqiu came in from the small door at the back of the house, holding a basket of freshly picked Chinese cabbages. The seeds given by Cheng Shuang grew very fast, and the Chinese cabbages were ripe and ready to be picked in more than 20 days.

"Shuang'er, look how well these vegetables are growing. From now on, we'll have fresh vegetables at home and won't have to go to the county to buy them every day."

Cheng Guqiu saw Cheng Shuang at the well and walked over directly with the basket.

When I looked over, I saw Cheng Shuang squatting on the ground looking at something in a wooden basin, which was actually full of snails.

"So many snails, are you picking them up to feed the chickens and ducks?"

Cheng Shuang looked up and said, "Aunt, these snails are not for feeding chickens and ducks, they are for frying and eating."

"Stir-fry them?" Cheng Guqiu's eyes widened. "Shuang'er, snails are full of mud and fishy smell. You can't eat them."

Cheng Shuang smiled and said, "Trust me, little aunt. If you do as I say, it won't be fishy at all. First, let them spit out the sand, then stir-fry them with chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, bay leaves, minced garlic, and ginger slices. It will taste great."

It would be even better if there were green peppers, but unfortunately they are still growing in the ground.

Cheng Guqiu looked at the snails in the wooden basin with doubt and hesitated for a moment. "Okay, since you said it's edible, then let's try it. You've been busy all day. Tell my aunt how to make it and leave it to me."

Cheng Shuang smiled and said, "It's okay, I'll do it with my aunt. The sand is almost gone, let's change the water and continue."

She took out another wooden basin, and Cheng Guqiu helped her to scoop the snails into another basin and continue soaking them in salt and white vinegar.

When it got dark, Cheng Shuang rolled up her sleeves and began to process the hard shell at the tail of the snail. There were a few pairs of scissors at home that Cheng Guqiu and two cousins ​​used to cut clothes. Cheng Shuang used them first and said she would buy new ones another day.

Cheng Guqiu also came to help cut the snails. The whole basin was full of snails, weighing more than ten pounds. When the two of them had cut three or four pounds, Wu Junniang and Aunt Peng, who had just returned from watering the vegetable garden, joined in, and the four of them worked together.

After cutting, Wu Junniang and Aunt Peng began to prepare dinner. Cheng Guqiu followed Cheng Shuang's instructions and first blanched the snails in water and added ginger slices to the water.

Cheng Shuang is responsible for preparing the ingredients. After blanching is completed, she heats oil in a pan over high heat, adds dried chilies, star anise, bay leaves, minced garlic and ginger slices to stir-fry, then pours the snails into the pan and stir-fry.

With the sound of "sizzling", a rich fragrance filled the air from the kitchen.

The other people in the house came back one after another, and as soon as they entered the door, they were attracted by the fragrance and couldn't help running to the kitchen.

Cheng Pan took a look at the contents of the pot and was surprised. "It's actually snails? Aunt, why did you cook so many snails?"

Cheng Guqiu said, "Your sister found it and said it tastes good when cooked this way."

Cheng Pan looked at Cheng Shuang who was helping to light the fire, "Sister, can this be eaten?"

Cheng Shuang nodded: "Of course it's edible, you'll know when you try it later."

"It smells so good, it smells so good." Wei Xinyi sniffed the fragrance in the air and her saliva was almost flowing.

The two cousins ​​also gathered around the pot, smelling the fragrance and swallowing their saliva. Dongyun looked at Cheng Shuang with starry eyes, "Cousin, you are really amazing. You can make snails so fragrant."

Wei Qinglang came back from the fields. As soon as he entered the door and smelled the fragrance, he knew what they were doing. Seeing a group of people in the kitchen, he didn't go in.

He lit the lanterns in the yard, took a few bamboo tubes that had been used to make soap and started making bamboo sticks. When eating snails, one has to use bamboo sticks to pick out the snail meat, as there were no toothpicks in ancient times.

First, use a hatchet to split the bamboo tube into thin strips, then take it to the room and close the door. Take out a sharp knife from the space and sharpen one end of the bamboo sticks one by one.

Soon, a big pot of snails was ready, and the children who helped pick snails during the day also came, because they were accompanied by their parents at home when it got dark.

The children each held a bowl in their hands and crowded into the kitchen chattering. They were so attracted by the aroma that they wanted to jump directly into the big iron pot.

"Line up, line up, come one by one or there will be no more." Cheng Shuang spoke to maintain order.

After the children lined up, Cheng Shuang stood by the pot and filled it for them, with each child getting about one pound.

The children happily came out of the kitchen with their bowls and handed them to their family members outside. The adults smelled the fragrant snails and couldn't wait to go home and taste them.

Cheng Shuang came out and told them roughly how to eat it, then distributed a few bamboo sticks that Wei Qinglang had cut to each of their families, and then those people took their children home.

Cheng Xiaomai came with her mother Chen, and brought a basket with her to ask Cheng Shuang for the spice packets for braised meat. The spice packets for the two families in the village to make braised meat were all provided by her. Cheng Shuang also specifically instructed them to dry the ones that had been used up before and then burn them directly.

Cheng Shuang took Chen's bamboo basket into the room, and when she came out a while later, it was full of spice bags.

"Aunt Chen, please take it. How's business been lately? Are you still busy?"

"Business is good. More and more people in the village come to buy braised meat and go out to eat. I haven't set up a stall recently. I sell the braised chicken feet, duck necks and other things directly to the villagers. They sell braised meat and eat them as well."

Chen smiled and said, "Four restaurants in the county have already received supplies. It's indeed quite busy, but with Zhaodi and Laidi helping us, we can still handle it."

"We still have spring planting to do at home. If you're too busy, hire someone. You and Uncle Daming shouldn't work too hard."

Cheng Shuang sat down and chatted with Chen, reminding her to collect the mustard greens as soon as possible if there was time, because people from Taibai Tower would come to collect them when they were almost pickled.

Chen also said that she planned to ask a few families in the village with more people to help pick and wash the mustard greens, and said that she wanted to send Xiaoguo to a private school in the county.

Cheng Xiaoguo didn't want to take the imperial examination, he just wanted to study in a private school for two more years, which would be more beneficial for him in the future whether he learned a craft or did business.

Cheng Xiaomai also loves reading, but no private school is willing to accept girls. Cheng Shuang encourages her to read more books at home and come to her if she has any questions.

After seeing Chen off, the family prepared to have dinner. Cheng Shuang served a large bowl of snails to Aunt Peng and Auntie Peng who were eating in the kitchen, then took a large basin to scoop up the rest and brought it to the main room.

The family sat around the table and started to eat dinner. There were four dishes on the table, but everyone's attention was on the snails.

Wei Qinglang took out the prepared bamboo sticks and distributed them to everyone.

"How do you eat snails with this bamboo skewer?" Wei Xinyi asked while holding the skewer.

Cheng Shuang took a snail and demonstrated how to eat it. She put it in her mouth and sucked it for a while, then used a skewer to pick out the snail meat and put it into her mouth. "Mm, delicious. My aunt's cooking skills are really not inferior to those of the restaurant chefs."

Wei Qinglang also reached out and started eating skillfully.

The others watched and followed Cheng Shuang's method. After tasting it, their eyes lit up, and after finishing one, they immediately reached out to grab the second one unconsciously.

"It's delicious, but a little spicy." Wei Xinyi ate and drank water.

Cheng Pan also said, "It's fragrant and spicy, not fishy at all!"

Cheng Guqiu ate a few in a row, his eyes full of surprise, "I didn't know that snails can be eaten like this. The villagers used to feed chickens and ducks, which was a waste."

The two cousins ​​gasped continuously due to the spiciness, but their hands did not stop moving for a moment. They nodded when they heard Cheng Guqiu's words.

Wei Qinglang was also very happy with the meal. It reminded him of the days when he was a college student in modern times and went to open-air food stalls with his brothers to eat barbecue. They would always order a plate of fried snails. Although he later started his own business and made money and went to high-end restaurants, he still missed this taste.

A pile of snail shells gradually piled up at everyone's hands, and no one touched the other food.

When they were almost done eating, Cheng Guqiu wiped his mouth and said, "Shuang'er, these fried snails are so delicious. If I sell them, do you think I can make money?"

Cheng Shuang asked, "Auntie, do you mean to fry the snails and sell them at the market?"

Cheng Guqiu nodded. "Yeah! I see snails everywhere in our village river. They're cheap and taste so good, so we should be able to sell them, right?"

Cheng Shuang turned to look at Wei Qinglang: "What do you think?"

Wei Qinglang felt that they would definitely sell, so he nodded and said, "These snails are not only found in our village, but also in the fields and rivers of other nearby villages. They are low-cost and taste good. You can make them if you want."

Cheng Shuang agreed and said to Cheng Guqiu, "Auntie, since you have this idea, why don't you go to the county and set up a stall yourself? You have good skills, and I believe it will be popular."

Cheng Guqiu pointed at himself and said, "Should I set up a stall? Can I do this?"

What she just meant was that she would be responsible for frying the vegetables at home and let other people in the family sell them. She was just a woman who only knew how to dig for food in the fields and was afraid that she wouldn't be able to sell a single single vegetable.

"Auntie, how do you know if it won't work if you don't try?" Cheng Shuang encouraged her. "You have to believe in your craftsmanship. Besides, the cost of making snails is low. Even if they don't sell well, you won't lose money. What are you afraid of?"

The family is not short of this little money now, but letting Cheng Guqiu go out to set up a stall to sell things and make money can train her and make her bolder.

After all, she was still thinking of letting Cheng Guqiu work as a chef in a restaurant in the future.

Cheng Guqiu hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and said, "Okay! Then I'll try it!"

"That's great, Mom, I'll go with you." Dongyun cheered.

Qiuyan was also very happy, "Let's go pick snails tomorrow morning."