321: Local cuisine

"Uh, we don't have any children yet!"

Liu Zheng scratched his head sheepishly and said.

"Although our Zhejiang Province is by the sea, we are still several hundred kilometers away from the coast here. I've never been to the seaside!"

"Wife, why don't we go on a trip with Brother Yang Qi? I haven't taken you out to have a good time since we got married. Don't worry, I'll work hard to take on more orders and earn money when we get back."

"But will Mom and Dad complain about us?"

Lius Sister-in-law was somewhat tempted, but she still had some reservations.

"Leave that to me to explain, and we can ask them to help look after Ah Huang while we're away."

Seeing that they were both tempted, Yang Qi said sincerely:

"Go for it, Sister-in-law. My place has plenty of room to eat and stay, and you can just ride in my car when we go; it's very convenient. It's good to go out and see the world while we're young."

"Alright, then we'll take advantage of your generosity and go have some fun."

Lius Sister-in-law gritted her teeth and made up her mind.

"That's great, Sister-in-law! I'll take you out to sea to watch the sunrise when we get there."

Bai Xue was also very happy, then she took out her camera to show her various photos. The three women huddled together, chatting away excitedly.

"Thank you, Brother Yang Qi! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even have thought about taking my wife out to see the world. With my income, maybe after we have children, we'll have even less of a chance to go out and play."

Liu Zheng raised the drink in his hand and clinked it with Yang Qi's.

"Brother Nickname, don't say that. Meeting each other is fate! Don't worry, I'll arrange everything for this trip, and I guarantee you'll have a great time."

"How about this! We'll fish here this afternoon, go catch some military fish tomorrow morning, and then set off in the afternoon."

Liu Zheng nodded in agreement, "Alright! I'll leave it to you to arrange."

Lius Sister-in-law was eventually shocked by the appetite of Yang Qi and Bai Xue; all that food was completely wiped out, and it even felt like Yang Qi still wasn't quite full.

Only Yao Shanshan acted normally, eating just a little bit more than herself.

After eating, the group cleaned up and sat down to drink tea, using the clear stream water boiled for brewing; the taste was much better than brewing with bottled purified water.

The fish weren't biting well at noon; the saying "Even immortals find it hard to catch fish at noon!" really had some basis to it.

The group fished for two hours and hadn't even caught a pound of fish in total.

Although Liu Zheng said that four to six o'clock was the golden time for catching Grouper, Yang Qi still decided to pack up and stop fishing.

The four of them picked out dozens of the best-looking stream grouper and peach blossom fish each. They kept them in a live fish tank equipped with two oxygen pumps.

They gave the rest to Liu Zheng, telling him to take them to sell.

Now, Liu Zheng and his wife absolutely refused, insisting that Yang Qi and his friends take them back to eat.

In the end, there was no other choice; the five of them returned to Liu Zheng's home, cleaned and gutted all the fish, and stored them in the RV's refrigerator.

It took the five of them over an hour to clean all these small fish; everyone was numb from the work. It made Yang Qi slightly regret catching so many fish.

Fortunately, they had consumed a lot of the seafood brought from home over the past two days; otherwise, there really wouldn't have been enough room for these ten-plus pounds of river catch.

They had dinner at Liu Zheng's place. It was clear that this three-story, three-bay tiled house must have been built for his wedding.

Although the house didn't have fancy decorations, it was very clean; it was obvious that Lius Sister-in-law was a hardworking person.

Yang Qi also finally saw Ah Huang, whom they had mentioned; it was a large yellow dog. Its entire body was yellow without a single stray hair, and it was lying on the ground basking in the sun.

Seeing Yang Qi staring at his dog, Liu Zheng asked:

"How come Brother Yang Qi likes dogs too?"

"Yes, I really like them. But ever since a dog I kept was poisoned to death when I was in middle school, my family hasn't kept any dogs."

Yang Qi recalled a gray local dog his family used to keep; although it looked plain, it was very smart. The whole family loved it dearly, and after it was poisoned to death, the family never kept dogs again.

"Do you want to take two back to raise? My dad happens to have a litter of puppies, two months old, already weaned and ready to be raised. This yellow dog of mine is from the previous litter."

Liu Zheng said to Yang Qi.

Yang Qi looked at Bai Xue, scratched his head, and said, "That sounds good, let's go take a look!"

"Hubby, what are you two going to do?" Bai Xue asked when she saw Yang Qi and the other man walking toward the door.

"We're going to Brother Nickname's dad's place to see some puppies. Are you coming too?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?"

The group followed Liu Zheng toward the old house. When passing by the RV, Yang Qi got on board and grabbed a carton of cigarettes and a Grouper.

Seeing him take down a carton of Zhonghua cigarettes, Liu Zheng quickly refused, saying it was too expensive.

"It's not for you! It's my first time visiting an elder's home; I can't go empty-handed. Don't worry about it!"

Yang Qi pulled Liu Zheng along and told him to lead the way, not giving him any chance to refuse.

"Oh my! You are a friend of my son Nickname. If you like the dogs, just take them; why bring such expensive cigarettes?"

At Liu Zheng's father's home, after hearing his son explain the purpose of their visit, he also indicated that he wouldn't accept the cigarettes, though the fish could stay.

"Uncle, I don't know if I'll take the puppies yet, but this is my first time visiting you. You must accept these gifts, otherwise, I can't take your puppies!"

"Besides, this isn't a transaction; it's a gesture of friendship."

Since things had been put this way, the old man could only accept it; otherwise, wouldn't that be refusing to associate with him?

Yang Qi saw a female dog that was completely yellow; when standing up, it was about a meter tall and weighed around fifty pounds. That was considered quite large for a female local dog.

He then looked at the litter of puppies and immediately fell in love with them; there were four puppies in two colors: yellow and black.

Not to mention Yang Qi, even Bai Xue and Yao Shanshan were captivated by the chubby little meat-balls the moment they saw them. They wanted to go up and hug them but were afraid of the large dog nearby.

Yang Qi picked one that was completely yellow and another that was completely black. Both were solid-colored without a single stray hair, and both were male puppies.

The group said goodbye to Liu Zheng's father. After stepping outside, Bai Xue and Yao Shanshan took the puppies from Lius Sister-in-law and wouldn't let go of them.

Before cooking, Liu Zheng and his wife took the three of them to the local farmers' market.

Yang Qi bought a lot of local specialties, such as Qiandao Lake dried fish, Qiandao Jade Leaf tea, camellia oil, wild kudzu root powder, air-dried local pork, and so on.

He originally wanted to buy some specialty dried bamboo shoots, but Liu Zheng said there was no need; his family had their own dried ones, which were bamboo shoots he had dug up himself.

Yang Qi didn't refuse his kindness and agreed to take some back from his home.

Dinner was prepared by Lius Sister-in-law as the head chef, with Bai Xue and Yao Shanshan helping out, resulting in a table full of local farmhouse dishes.

Among them was the signature Qiandao Lake delicacy, stewed fish head, with tender meat and a rich broth, which was a refreshing experience for them.

There was also the traditional bamboo shoot stew, slow-cooked with fresh bamboo shoots and local ham; the freshness of the shoots combined with the fragrance of the ham created a unique, savory taste that was simply perfect for eating with rice.