Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982

Chapter  20 Dragon and Phoenix Soup

After putting in a lot of effort, Ye Yaodong finally plucked off all the chicken feathers and cleaned the chicken thoroughly.

"Alright, I've prepared the chicken. Who will cook it? Little Xiao? Fatty?"

Without lifting his head, Little Xiao replied, "Let Fatty do it. He's better at cooking than me. I'm on a winning streak now. After we finish eating, I'll clean up!"

"Alright then! Yaodong, you take over!"

Ye Yaodong shook his head and said, "I don't feel like playing, it's not interesting. I'd rather play cards!"

"How are we going to play with six people? How about crab fishing?" Ah Guang suggested.

"It's boring, it's all about luck, and there’s no skill involved. You guys play, I'll just watch."

"Huh? Changed your mind? Not playing Pai Gow and now not interested in crab fishing either?"

"Someone has to do the work, or else what will we eat later? You guys play your game, I'll go help Fatty in the kitchen.”

"Did you take the wrong medicine today? You're unusually diligent.”

With each person commenting, even being diligent was questioned. Ye Yaodong responded irritably, "Can't I be in a good mood today and have a change of heart?"

"Then go quickly! Call us when it's ready!"

Fatty was already inside the kitchen, making loud chopping sounds with a knife as he prepared the chicken. When Ye Yaodong entered, Fatty said, "Luckily Ah Zheng brought a chicken. Otherwise, that little snake weighing just over a jin wouldn't be enough to eat. It would barely fill the gap between our teeth! I also went home and brought two pork ribs, thinking of stewing them together with the snake. We can mix them up later."

"Let's cook the other ingredients first before making the Dragon and Phoenix Soup. Make plenty of soup and scoop an extra bowl of meat for Ah Zheng to take back.”

"No problem."

A big rooster weighing around five to six jin, along with the snake weighing a little over a jin, and two pork ribs, resulted in a full pot of simmering goodness.

As the aroma wafted out, everyone couldn't sit still anymore. They abandoned their cards after finishing a round and gathered around the stove.

"Is it ready?"

"It smells so good!"

"It's been a long time since I last had snake. I've been craving it!"

"Can we eat now? I'm starving. Three meals a day, just rice porridge, and it's gone after two trips to the bathroom."

Ye Yaodong brought a soup bowl over and said, "Wait a moment, let's scoop a bowl for Ah Zheng first. He can take it back to his parents while it's still hot."

"Oh right, right. Let's scoop a bowl for Ah Zheng to take back.”

Ah Zheng felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Just a small bowl is enough. We have so many people here!"

"We have a big pot of it, it's enough to eat. And we have other dishes as well. We intentionally cooked extra soup because all the essence is in the soup.”

After Ah Zheng came back, everyone took a bowl and sat at the table to eat.

They didn't put any herbs in the Dragon and Phoenix soup, only ginger and rice wine for a clear stew. After each person finished a bowl, they started eating the seafood on the table.

Ah Guang fiddled with the plate of sea melon seeds and picked one up, saying, "These sea melon seeds and sand clams were dug today? Did Yaodong dig them? No wonder Little Xiao went to find you in the morning, but you weren't home. These small ones are quite plump."

"I've been digging since early morning, it was scorching hot. Tomorrow the tide will go even lower. Do you guys want to go? It's quite interesting to occasionally explore the sea."

Ah Guang readily agreed after swallowing, "Sure, why not? It's not like we have anything else to do."

"I'm too full, and on such a hot day, I don't want to run to the beach to get sunburned. Count me out!" Fatty immediately declined. His family had more than enough food and drink, and he had no intention of exposing himself to the scorching sun at the beach.

"I can't go either. My wife wants me to go back to her parents' house with her tomorrow. Her mother isn't in the best health," said Haorzi, who had been relatively unnoticed until now.

Chen Wei, on the other hand, showed some enthusiasm, "I'll go! It's been a while since I last went to the beach. These days the tide is just right. I'll bring a fishing hook and see if there's anything to pick up."

"There must be something. Today, while picking oysters and snails by the rocks, I got lucky and found two blue crabs weighing around five or six jin each. Tomorrow, when the tide goes even lower, we'll go explore as soon as it recedes."

"Great! You even found blue crabs. They're worth one or two yuan each, equivalent to a day's wage for a laborer. You got lucky!"

Ah Zheng and Little Xiao also agreed to go to the beach together tomorrow.

The time they spent together as a group was often longer than the time they spent with their own wives at home. They enjoyed gathering together for activities.

"How much does this shrimp cost per jin? It's quite plump, and it even has roe!" Ye Yaodong asked Ah Guang while taking a bite.

"35 cents."

"Ah!?"

He thought for a moment and realized that this was indeed the price in this era!

In September last year, oh no, in September 2021, these small shrimps, measuring 5-7 centimeters, were purchased by the dock for only 3 yuan. The larger ones were priced at 30 yuan. However, in the market, the buying and selling prices had a significant difference.

Thinking about it, this price seems reasonable as well.

"If you pick and choose, it costs 35 cents, but if you take them without selecting, it's 30 cents. I've picked out the ones with roe."

The others also casually picked one and broke off the shrimp's neck, and surprisingly, each one had roe!

"You have a good eye!"

Ah Guang didn't think much of it and said, "What's the big deal? I actually wanted to pick more, but the guy at the dock, Ah Cai, changed his mind when he saw how accurate my picks were. He wouldn't let me pick anymore and said it's either take them without sorting or not buy them at all! If he doesn't want to sell, then he doesn't want to sell. I think this amount is enough."

"They're all appetizers, too bad we don't have any alcohol!" Fatty said regretfully as he peeled the shells.

"I didn't even drink enough yesterday. When I got home, my wife scolded me and even left two bruises on my hand from pinching. She almost didn't let me sleep in the bed." 

"If your wife doesn't let you sleep in the bed, you can find a mistress and sleep at her place. Let's see where your wife will cry!"

"Pfft~ No way! I almost couldn't marry my wife because of hanging out with you all the time. My reputation was tarnished. Luckily, I already have a wife and children.”

Ah Zheng playfully exclaimed, "Damn, no wonder both Ah Guang and I can't find wives. It's all because of you guys! Damn it, you better compensate us with two wives!"

Ah Guang joined in and said, "Yeah, that's right! The nights are long, and you guys sleep soundly with your wives by your side. Poor Ah Zheng and I can't sleep peacefully with our lonely pillows~"

"Well, why don't you two just cuddle together? When the lights are off and the blanket covers your heads, it's all dark anyway, so there won't be much of a difference..." 

"Ah bah, the difference is huge!"

Ah Zheng shamelessly patted his rear end and said, "What's there to compare? Whether it's in the front or in the back, it's all big, no doubt about it!"

"Hey, be mindful, my sisters are still here!" Ah Guang noticed his two sisters blushing and feeling embarrassed, holding their bowls as they headed back to their rooms. He quickly spoke up to prevent them from getting carried away with their inappropriate remarks.

"Eat, eat, eat! Enough with the vulgar talk, save it for when you're home with your wives!"

"Oh, Yaodong, I heard your dad caught a bunch of big yellow croakers yesterday and sold them for over a thousand yuan, making him rich. Are you planning to go out to sea with him next?" Chen Wei asked curiously.

"Do I look like someone who goes out to sea?"

"Not at all!"

"You seem more like a kept man!" Fatty burst into laughter.

"Well... Soft rice does taste good, quite delicious!"

(end of this chapter)

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1. Hoo Hey How (Fish-Prawn-Crab) is a popular Chinese and Vietnamese gambling dice game played during Lunar New Year. People could enjoy the gaming moment with family and friends in gatherings.I think this is the game

2. ‘A man who eats soft rice’ is a Chinese insult. When a man is told, or is spoken of, that ‘he eats soft rice’, it means that he relies on his wife or girlfriend to feed him.