The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Shen Cao didn't mind. She felt there was nothing wrong with helping an elderly person, and she did everything based on first impressions. She felt that this old lady was very pleasing to the eye.

What she didn't know was that the old lady was called Granny Zhang, and she was said to have moved to Xin'an County from the capital.

However, not long after the family moved in, Grandma Zhang's son drowned while fishing at sea.

Later, when her daughter-in-law went up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables, she accidentally fell and died after falling off a cliff.

She was left to depend on her young granddaughter for survival. Everyone said that Granny Zhang was too unlucky, that she had brought death to her son and daughter-in-law, and that she might even have brought death to her husband.

Therefore, the fishermen in the area were unwilling to deal with Granny Zhang, fearing that she might bring them bad luck and kill them one day.

This old lady usually sets up a few fish traps in the shallow sea to catch some fish every day to make a living.

After Shen Cao left, Granny Zhang also packed up her stall and left.

The older woman then asked, puzzled, "Why did you pull me just now? What if that young girl really was cursed by Old Lady Zhang? Wouldn't that be too pitiful?"

The man gave him a disdainful look. "Nobody buys your fish, why are you meddling in their business?"

"But I meant well!"

"Then please help me out and buy all the fish from my house."

The stall owners joked around as before, laughing it off as if nothing had happened.

Shen Cao bought a candied hawthorn for each of her younger brother and sister, and the three of them went home with their spoils.

Shen Cao first put the seafood into the kitchen's freezer. This freezer was set up by Wei Siyu after she discovered that the kitchen actually had a cellar. It was filled with large blocks of ice, and there were two shelves on both sides to store food that needed to be preserved.

She also has a refrigerator in her storage space, so that no one will suspect her if she takes things out of the refrigerator in the future.

To prepare dinner, Shen Cao went into the kitchen after finishing her work at noon, and her younger brother and sister naturally came to help her.

Mr. and Mrs. Shen were busy washing the dishes from lunch and cleaning the hall. Shen Cao had already wrapped the wontons for dinner, and the chicken soup was simmering on the small stove.

Shen Cao took out the flounder she bought from Grandma Zhang. She took out the casserole from the kitchen and compared it with the flounder. The size was just right, perfect for making a flounder stew.

She looked at the flounder's eyes, which were still very clear. Sure enough, the old lady hadn't lied to her; the fish was still very fresh.

She chopped off the head and tail of the flounder, then removed its internal organs and washed it clean.

Although flounder may not appear to have scales, it is actually covered in very small scales. She scraped off the scales with the back of a knife. To remove the slime from the fish, she grabbed a handful of starch and threw it into a basin. Then she vigorously rubbed the prepared fish with both hands, especially the belly.

After rubbing for two minutes, she cleaned the fish and found that the slime on the fish was gone.

Wipe the fish dry with a clean cloth, then make diagonal cuts on both sides of the fish with a knife to help it absorb the flavors later.

Then I cut three sections of scallion and a piece of ginger about the size of my thumb (the ginger had been peeled beforehand). I slapped them hard on the cutting board, flattening both the scallion and ginger to allow the juice to seep out.

Add chopped scallions and ginger to the bowl containing the fish, drizzle with cooking wine, and sprinkle in a pinch of salt.

Next, Shen Cao began to massage the fish with very professional techniques, taking care of every part of the fish's body from top to bottom and left to right. The thorough massage ensured that every part of the fish came into contact with the juice of scallions, ginger, and cooking wine, which would better remove the fishy smell.

After massaging the fish, set it aside to marinate. This allows the marinade to penetrate the fish, even in areas that the grass might have missed. This method ensures the fish has no fishy smell at all.

Place the prepared clay pot on a small stove and pour in rapeseed oil. The key to this dish is to slowly cook the fish in the clay pot over low heat. The clay pot ensures more even heating and prevents heat from dissipating.

This method will make the fish stew more delicious and bring out the best flavor of the fish.

Add the prepared shallots and garlic cloves to a clay pot and simmer over low heat until the garlic cloves turn golden brown. This fully brings out another layer of flavor in the garlic, and the garlic will lose its spiciness and only have a fragrant aroma.

At this point, place a layer of fresh, tender tofu that Shen Caotuo's father bought at the market this morning into the casserole dish, then put the freshly marinated flounder into the casserole dish, and then pour in the special sauce, which includes seafood sauce, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, soybean paste, honey, and cooking wine. Finally, following the process of making claypot rice, just drizzle a ring of oil around the edge of the pot, without adding a drop of water.

Simmer over low heat the whole time. Once the lid is on, the casserole becomes like a sauna with even heating. As the temperature rises, the excess juices from the fish are released and fully blended with the sauce, then cover the entire fish, including the tofu underneath.

When the temperature reaches its highest point, the pot starts to simmer. At this point, most of the delicious juices from the fish have been released. If you open the lid now, you'll see a rich broth. But it's not time yet. The juices, which have already blended with the sauce, need to be concentrated further to evaporate excess moisture, leaving only the delicious fish broth.

The continuous and even simmering process allows the flavors of the sauce to be fully absorbed into every part of the flounder, every strand of fish, and the tofu within the casserole dish.

After simmering for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, open the lid. At this point, you need to further concentrate the moisture that couldn't evaporate during simmering.

Five minutes later, the light brown broth turned dark brown, and the broth in the flounder stew also thickened from its previous richness. Shen Cao dipped her chopsticks into the broth on the side of the pot, and the dark brown broth clung to the chopsticks. She stuck out her tongue and licked it; it was neither too salty nor too bland, but incredibly delicious.

Shen Wan, who had smelled the aroma, ran into the kitchen. Seeing her sister take a bite, she couldn't wait to ask her sister to give her a taste too. "Sister, I want to try it too, give me a taste as well."

Shen Cao smiled and handed Shen Wan a new pair of chopsticks, dipped them in some soup, and gave them to her.

She took the chopsticks, and the moment she put the food in her mouth, her eyes lit up. "Delicious, delicious, so delicious!"

After tasting it, she sucked on the chopsticks in her mouth until they were completely tasteless before putting them down.

After turning off the heat, Shen Cao sprinkled some scallions on the flounder stew. The dark brown flounder stew was glossy, and the bright green scallions added color to it, making it look even more delicious.

Shen Cao carefully placed the flounder stew on the tray. The residual heat of the clay pot made the flounder stew inside still bubbling and simmering, and you could tell from the sound that the soup inside was very rich and delicious.