320: minnow

Yang Qi's wrist flicked as he pulled the fishing rod upward, and another stream grouper was pulled out of the water.

"Oh! Not bad, not bad at all. It's a male stream grouper—so beautiful!"

He happily held the stream grouper, which weighed about two taels. Then, he gently placed it into the keepnet; such a beautiful fish definitely had to be taken back to be kept as a pet.

In this manner, Yang Qi caught four or five stream groupers in a row. Since the hook and line were thin enough, catching these small fish was very easy, and he basically never had an empty cast.

Suddenly, all the seven-star floats were pulled underwater, and the fishing line was stretched taut. It looked like this fish wouldn't be small!

Yang Qi hurriedly set the hook, and the force pulling back was significantly stronger. However, with a 3.6-meter rod and a size 0.6 line, he didn't dare use too much strength.

After a stalemate of over ten seconds, the fish underwater finally gave in to his pull and was brought to his side.

This fish was multicolored and exceptionally beautiful, especially the fins, which were orange-yellow with a hint of red.

Isn't this a peach blossom fish?

The peach blossom fish, scientifically known as the Pale Chub (Zacco platypus), has a silver-white body with 10 to 13 vertical blue-green stripes on each side.

Its fins are long and wide, and its colors are brilliant. It is truly the beauty of the freshwater fish world.

During the breeding season, the male Pale Chub develops many granular Nuptial Tubercles on its head, snout, and anal fin. Its entire body takes on vivid "Nuptial Coloration," as if it were wearing "wedding attire."

Between the vertical black stripes are many irregular pink spots; the pelvic fins are pale red, the anal fin is red with a greenish luster, and the tail fin is gray with a black trailing edge.

The colors across its entire body appear even more multicolored, vibrant, and beautiful.

Compared to the male Pale Chub, the female looks much more ordinary, lacking those multicolored hues.

"Tsk tsk tsk! It really looks even better than in the photos!"

Yang Qi looked at the peach blossom fish in his hand, which weighed about three taels, and simply couldn't put it down.

A second later, he carefully placed the peach blossom fish into the keepnet, fearing it might die from a lack of oxygen.

Over the course of two hours, Yang Qi moved between two or three fishing spots and caught about two catties of fish. Besides stream groupers and peach blossom fish, there were mostly Creek chub and small Crucian carp.

Not every stream grouper weighed two or three taels; most were under one tael. It even took three or four of those Creek chub to make up a single tael.

He saw Bai Xue, Yao Shanshan, and Liu Zheng's wife—the three women—already preparing lunch.

Yang Qi scooped up some clear creek water to wash his face. He had originally wanted to take off his shoes and step into the water to play on the pebbles.

But after washing his face, he gave up on that idea. Ugh—it was a bit cold!

"It would be better to come visit in the summer; then we could go swimming."

Thinking this, Yang Qi walked toward the spot where the others were cooking.

"Hubby, Sister-in-law is making their local specialty Mixed Fish Pot and Flour-coated Crab for us."

Bai Xue showed her pearly white teeth and said with a smile.

"Oh? Then we'll have to have a good taste of that later."

And so, lunch gained an additional Mixed Fish Pot and Flour-coated Mountain Crabs. Yang Qi also stood by to learn the preparation process.

The Mixed Fish Pot wasn't actually anything too special; it was just a braise made from the different types of fish they had caught that morning.

Yang Qi saw Creek chub, Grouper, Yellow Catfish, small Crucian carp, and more. After sautéing green onions, ginger, and garlic until fragrant, the fish were added and lightly seared on both sides, then some cooking wine and water were added to start the stew.

The Flour-coated Crab wasn't very difficult either. Some seasonings were added to flour, and water was mixed in to create a batter.

The Crabs, with their top shells removed, were cut in half, coated in the batter, and deep-fried in oil. Once they were fried to a golden brown, they were scooped out and set aside.

However, Sister-in-law Liu said they could be eaten now, so Yang Qi tried one.

It must be said, the taste was incredibly fresh and fragrant; even the flour coating on the outside had absorbed the savory essence of the Crab, making it taste wonderful.

Next, she took those fried Crabs and braised them again with more oil and seasonings, finally sprinkling a handful of chopped green onions on top. Done!

Immediately after, she stir-fried a dish of green vegetables freshly picked from her home.

By this time, Bai Xue and Yao Shanshan had also finished the other dishes: garlic stir-fried fish slices, Lobster steamed eggs, steamed Grouper, Native Chicken pot with Conch, pan-fried fish steaks, and a large platter of Crab, Mantis Shrimp, and Prawns.

"This..."

Sister-in-law Liu looked at the dining table—made by pushing two tables together—which was piled high with food. Most importantly, every dish was served in a generous portion.

"Isn't this a bit wasteful? We can't possibly finish all this! This is like treating money as if it were nothing!"

She pulled her husband aside and whispered.

"Don't worry about it. They have quite the appetite; they ate like this last night too."

Liu Zheng said softly.

"Come, come, Brother Zheng, Sister-in-law, sit down and eat."

After the five of them were seated, they were all young people, so there wasn't much need for formalities.

"Mmm! The flavor is incredibly fresh. Come, Little Snow, Shanshan, try this Mixed Fish Pot Sister-in-law made."

Yang Qi took a piece of the mixed fish with his chopsticks and had a taste. The flavor was truly delicious; the freshness of the various river fish blended together in an indescribably tasty way.

"It's much better than I imagined."

Yang Qi picked up another fish, full of praise.

"That's because the water quality here is good and there's no pollution. That's why the quality of the fish is so high!"

Liu Zheng explained from the side.

"Sister-in-law's skill is also a key factor!"

Bai Xue immediately chimed in.

"Oh, not at all! I just threw it together!"

Sister-in-law Liu said bashfully.

"Wow! This Flour-coated Crab is also delicious. It's so fragrant, especially how the flour fully absorbed the Crab's flavor. It's a completely different style from steamed Crab."

Yao Shanshan praised repeatedly while chewing on a piece of Flour-coated Crab.

Yang Qi also took a piece and tried it; after being braised, it was even more fragrant than before. The Crab shells had been fried until they were crispy and snapped with a crunch when bitten. He kept nodding in agreement.

"I wonder if sea Crabs would taste good prepared this way? Let's try this recipe when we get back."

Bai Xue was also won over by this classic traditional dish from the Jiangnan region. She decided she had to try this cooking method when she returned.

"Sister-in-law, let's add each other on WeChat. I might need to ask you for advice later."

"Sure, no problem. As long as you all like eating it."

Sister-in-law Liu was very happy to see that they all enjoyed the food she had cooked.

"These farmhouse greens are also delicious. They taste just like the greens we used to grow at home."

"Oh, you're being too polite. Your seafood is what's truly delicious! Usually, we can't bear to buy it; it's incredibly expensive over here."

Sister-in-law Liu said with a smile.

"Sister-in-law, then you should eat more seafood. After I go back, I'll send some over to you. When you have time, you and Big Brother should come visit my place; there will be plenty of seafood for everyone."

Bai Xue extended an invitation.

Liu Zheng and his wife were indeed a bit tempted. Taking advantage of the fact they didn't have children yet, it would be nice to go around and have some fun.

"That's right! Brother Zheng, why don't you bring the kids to my place for a few days? I'll take you out to sea to go fishing."

Yang Qi also invited them.