19 – Deliciousness

Lu Qing blinked and searched his memory for a while.

Only then did he gradually remember the memory of this large market.

To put it simply, this large market was actually a trading fair formed spontaneously by several big nearby villages.

After all, the town was far away, and entering and exiting required paying an entrance fee. Many villagers and mountain people were not willing to spend this money unless it was necessary.

Therefore, no one knew when it started, or who organized it.

Anyway, over time, a large market appeared near the area. Villagers from the surrounding villages would rush to the market every five days to buy and sell things.

The original host had gone to the market with his parents once when he was a child, but ever since Xiao Yan was born, he had taken on the responsibility of looking after his sister and had never been to the market again.

His memory of the market had gradually become blurry.

It wasn’t until now, when Wang Da’an mentioned it, that Lu Qing recalled some impressions.

Wang Da’an said, ‘At the large market, people from various villages will go to buy and sell things, and even the mountain people will occasionally come out to buy things. With such a large fish that you caught, as long as it’s not very expensive, there will definitely be someone who wants it.’

In Wang Da’an’s view, since Lu Qing had more fish than he could eat, keeping it would be a waste.

It would be better to take it to the market to sell cheaply. At least they could get some money in return.

Lu Qing thought for a moment and then nodded: ‘I’ll see. If I can catch a large fish again next time, I’ll take it to the market and try to sell it.’

‘It will definitely sell,’ Wang Da’an said happily. ‘Although I have seen fish being sold at the market, their fish are far from as large as the one you caught today.’

Lu Qing smiled: ‘These big fish are not easy to catch every time.’

‘Whether you can catch them or not, Lu Qing, if you want to go to the market, remember to come and inform me. There are still some rules to be aware of when going to the market,’ Wang Da’an reminded.

‘Alright, if I decide to go to the market, I’ll definitely let you know, Brother Da’an.’

‘Just remember that. For now, I should go.’

After Wang Da’an left, Lu Qing fell into deep thought.

He had ignored the information about the large market.

Perhaps, if he wanted to understand the information about the town, he could start here.

‘Big Brother, when can we eat the fish? Xiao Yan is hungry.’

Just as Lu Qing was pondering how to gather information from the market, Xiao Yan called out from the side.

‘Oh, very soon. As soon as your brother finishes preparing the fish, I’ll cook for you.’

Lu Qing snapped out of his thoughts and immediately continued to work swiftly.

He first chopped a few pieces of the remaining fish meat, preparing to send them to Old Zhang afterward.

During the time he was in a coma, it was Old Zhang who had been taking care of Xiao Yan. This kindness could not be forgotten.

After dividing the fish, Lu Qing chose the best piece of fish meat.

He carefully removed all the fish bones and then sliced the fish meat into thin pieces.

Then he put a pot on the stove to boil water and started making porridge.

As for the remaining fish meat, he directly skewered it with bamboo strips, hung it on a bamboo pole under the eaves to dry, and intended to make it into dried fish.

Looking at the long string of fish meat on the bamboo pole, Lu Qing secretly resolved to get an iron pot as soon as possible.

Oh, and seasonings too!

Otherwise, even with his cooking skills, he would have no place to showcase them.

Seeing such good ingredients being wasted, he felt a little heartbroken.

After Lu Qing finished all this, the porridge in the clay pot was also ready.

Lu Qing first added some salt, stirred it a few times, and made sure the salt was dissolved.

Then he carefully placed the fish slices into the porridge. Watching them turn white, he immediately turned off the heat.

Finally, he added a small spoonful of lard into the porridge, and it was done.

Lu Qing first served a bowl of fish porridge for Xiao Yan, fanned it to cool it down a bit, and then placed it in front of her.

“Xiao Yan, wait a bit longer, it’s still very hot.”

“Hmm, Xiao Yan knows!”

The little child, although already drooling with hunger, still obediently responded.

However, her eyes remained fixed on the fish porridge without moving.

Seeing this, Lu Qing smiled and also scooped himself a bowl of porridge.

Relying on his thick skin and flesh, he scooped a spoonful of porridge with fish slices using a wooden spoon, blew on it a few times, and then put it in his mouth.

As soon as the fish entered his mouth, he immediately felt a burst of fresh flavor surge onto his tongue, bringing a look of surprise to his face.

The fish was tender, smooth, and fragrant, with a faint hint of oily aroma, making it unexpectedly delicious.

Indeed, high-quality ingredients often require only the simplest of cooking methods.

For this fish porridge, he had only added a bit of salt and oil, not even scallions, and it was still this tasty.

No wonder it was deemed a high-grade fish that emitted dense white light!

After a mouthful of porridge, Lu Qing felt a sense of satisfaction.

“Brother, can Xiao Yan eat now?”

Seeing her brother eating so heartily, Xiao Yan couldn’t help but look at him eagerly.

Lu Qing reached out and touched her bowl, feeling that it wasn’t very hot anymore, and nodded.

“You can eat now, but still be careful, don’t burn your tongue.”

“Hmm, Xiao Yan will be careful!”

The little girl felt happy as soon as she heard she could eat.

She scooped up a spoonful of porridge, imitating Lu Qing’s previous action, carefully blew on it a few times, and only after feeling it was not too hot did she put it in her mouth.

Then, after finishing a spoonful of porridge, her eyes immediately widened.

“Brother, brother, this big fish porridge is very delicious, even better than the shrimp porridge from the morning!”

The little girl gestured excitedly, full of joy.

“Of course, didn’t you see that this big fish was caught after brother put in so much effort? It has to be delicious,” Lu Qing said with a proud look.

“Brother is the best!”

The little girl gave full credit without hesitation, offering her praise generously.

“Since it’s delicious, eat more; Grandpa Chen said if you want your hair to grow beautifully, you need to eat more.”

“Hmm, hmm, Xiao Yan will work hard to eat, Xiao Yan wants to grow beautiful hair!”

The little girl nodded vigorously, looking very serious.

Seeing this, Lu Qing felt a slight pang in his heart.

The day before yesterday, when the little girl had gone out to play, a village kid had said that her hair wasn’t good-looking.

When she returned, she had asked him, feeling slightly wronged, how she could grow beautiful hair.

Lu Qing of course knew that the main reason Xiao Yan’s hair was like this was largely due to malnutrition.

So he told the little girl to eat obediently in the future and that her hair would become beautiful once her body was well-nourished.

Therefore, every time Xiao Yan ate now, she took it very seriously and didn’t want to waste even a little.

Although, they never had the luxury to waste anything, to begin with.

After the two siblings had a satisfying meal of fish porridge, they comfortably sprawled in their chairs.

Even Lu Qing hadn’t expected the flesh of the Green Armored Fish to be so fresh and tender, it was indeed a delightful surprise.

He couldn’t help but think, if even the Green Armored Fish was this delicious, then how extraordinary must the taste of the Red Moon Carp, deemed the ultimate delicacy by the abilities, be?

Unfortunately, the Red Moon Carp was intended as a gift for Old Doctor Chen, so it could not be eaten.

After resting for a while, Lu Qing stood up and headed to the kitchen.

There was still something he needed to do.

The fish stone from the Green Armored Fish still needed to be processed.