The fish meat entered their mouths, Hu Zhou looked at the three of them, his face full of pride, beaming with smiles, as if expecting the three’s praise and surprise.
Lu Zheng, “…”
Liu Qingyan, “…”
Gao Junyu, “…”
Patting Hu Zhou’s shoulder, Lu Zheng quickly placed the bowl aside, then stood up, silently selecting two more fish from the bucket, going to the water’s edge, rinsing the fish bodies, and wielding the knife to scale them.
“In the future, Junyu will truly suffer.” Liu Qingyan sighed, holding Gao Junyu’s hand, looking towards Hu Zhou, “This fish, did you marinate it?”
Hu Zhou blinked, “Marinate?”
Liu Qingyan shook her head, sighing once more, “Or in other words, did you add salt?”
Hu Zhou was stunned upon hearing this, “No, oh right, when do you add salt to steamed fish? Do you sprinkle it on before steaming? I did not see Master sprinkle salt at the time, so I thought steamed fish did not need salt.”
Liu Qingyan, “…”
Gao Junyu, “…”
Gao Junyu lowered her head and held her forehead, “I actually believed his words, believed he really knew how to steam fish.”
Liu Qingyan was both amused and exasperated, patting Gao Junyu’s hand in comfort, “It is not your fault, did not my husband and I also believe it?”
Gao Junyu said irritably, “If I believe his words again, I am a blockhead!”
This phrase she had still heard from Hu Zhou’s mouth, it was said to originate from Lu Zheng.
“Do not be so extreme.” Liu Qingyan had to comfort her once more, “After all, between husband and wife, the most important thing is trust, and moreover, Xiao Zhou did not deliberately deceive you…”
Liu Qingyan looked at Hu Zhou’s somewhat innocent expression, helplessly saying, “After all, he truly believed he could do it…”
Hu Zhou: …
“Um…” Hu Zhou asked cautiously, “Is it not tasty?”
Gao Junyu considerately picked a large piece of fish meat for Hu Zhou, “You try it.”
Hu Zhou blinked, then ate the fish meat in one big bite.
Hu Zhou:
“Why is this?” Hu Zhou let out a heartfelt cry of doubt.
“Come over!” Lu Zheng called out.
“Eh!” Hu Zhou responded, flipping over and jumping to Lu Zheng’s side, “Master!”
At this time, Lu Zheng had already scaled and gutted the two white fish, preparing them properly.
“Even if eating raw fish, you need soy sauce and wasabi, your purely natural steamed fish is truly purely natural…”
Lu Zheng shook his head helplessly, “Watch carefully, these seasonings, prepare them all!”
While processing the fish meat, Lu Zheng spoke, spring onion, ginger, garlic plus fine salt, matched with soy sauce and cooking wine, spreading it all over the top and bottom of the white fish.
“First marinate for a quarter of an hour, then put into the pot.”
Hu Zhou was dumbfounded, “How is it so complicated, why did I not see it last time?”
Lu Zheng glanced at Hu Zhou, “Last time when I was preparing the fish, you were competing in knife skills with others, only until I put the white fish into the pot and the aroma came out did you come over.”
Hu Zhou, “…”
Was it like that?
Hu Zhou scratched his head, he had forgotten, but it was also possible, otherwise he would not have little impression of the steps before the fish meat entered the pot.
Alas, he was careless at the time, did not expect to boast to Gao Junyu afterwards.
The next moment, Lu Zheng lifted several more white fish from the wooden bucket.
“What is this for?” Hu Zhou asked.
“Make a few more dishes, after all, just one steamed fish is not enough to eat.” Lu Zheng said.
This time, not only did Hu Zhou stand obediently on the side watching, even Liu Qingyan and Gao Junyu came to the two’s side, stopping to watch.
They saw Lu Zheng skilfully handling the ingredients, then forming a stove from earth, and taking out pots, bowls, basins, and various seasonings from the gourd.
“See that!” Lu Zheng gestured towards the stove, “This is called professional!”
“Yes yes yes!” Hu Zhou was already dumbfounded at this point, only knowing to nod.
…A moment later, the dishes were served.
Steamed fish.
Braised fish in brown sauce.
Boiled fish.
Fish wrapped in paper.
Sweet and sour fish.
Fish head tofu soup.
One wooden table, four long benches, five dishes and one soup, one basket of steamed pancakes, and one pot of green plum wine.
“Done!” Lu Zheng clapped his hands.
Gao Junyu sniffed, pulling Liu Qingyan, “Liu Shi, you are so fortunate!”
Liu Qingyan smiled secretly, then whispered to Gao Junyu, “Urge Xiao Zhou more often.”
The next moment, Hu Zhou, who was drooling over the several plates of fish, felt a chill on his back.
“Come, to the table, eat.”
The several people sat at the table, first toasting a cup, then immediately starting to eat.
Hu Zhou had half tiger demon bloodline, Gao Junyu had half black bear bloodline, both were lovers of fish.
The two wielded their chopsticks like flying, praising while eating.
Hu Zhou picked up a piece of boiled fish, sending it into his mouth while asking, “Master, back when we were in Tonglin County, why did I never see you cook?”
Because at that time I had not yet consumed the light of fortune to add points to my cooking skills!
But of course, he could not say that, so Lu Zheng slanted his eyes, “What, do you think the dishes made by Madam Liu are not tasty?”
Hu Zhou’s neck shrank, “No no no, tasty tasty!”
He stopped talking, better to eat fish.
Apart from the three wasted by Hu Zhou earlier, the remaining more than a dozen fish had all been served.
These deep pool white fish, each over a chi long, more than five jin heavy, after being cooked, also filled the table fully.
If four ordinary people, they definitely could not finish it, but Lu Zheng and the others were clearly not ordinary people, so…
In the end, Hu Zhou even used steamed pancakes to dip in the soup of the braised fish, eating even the soup clean.
Gao Junyu originally also wanted to do so, but in the end still felt too embarrassed.
Moreover, the fish was indeed fresh and tender, even Liu Qingyan, who had little interest in aquatic products, ate about two fish.
…
After finishing the fish, the several people drank the green plum brew and chatted for a while more.
Hu Zhou and Gao Junyu knew that Lu Zheng and the other had only just entered the Dingfeng Mountain territory.
Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan also knew that Gao Junyu and her parents had only arrived the day before yesterday, and were now on the mountain preparing the two’s wedding banquet.
And Hu Zhou and Gao Junyu could not help with much, so they simply went down the mountain together, wandering around elsewhere to increase their feelings.
Fortunately they met Lu Zheng, otherwise if Hu Zhou cooked two more meals for Gao Junyu, this marriage would probably be called off.
…
After eating and drinking their fill, Lu Zheng washed the pots, bowls, and basins before storing them back in the gourd, and the four headed together towards Dingfeng Mountain.
This waterfall deep pool was on the outskirts of Dingfeng Mountain territory, the several people hurried along the way, also setting off from noon, and only finally arrived near Dingfeng Mountain as the sun set in the west.
“Young master!”
“Young madam!”
“Lu gentleman!”
The several went up the mountain, the guards on Dingfeng Mountain had all seen Lu Zheng, not to mention with Hu Zhou and Gao Junyu leading the way, naturally it was unimpeded.
And when the several reached the halfway point of the mountain, they discovered that Hu Yijun couple and Gao Xiu couple had already come together to wait outside the mountain gate.
“Hu brother! Ah jie! Gao mountain lord! Wang gentleman!”
After the several exchanged greetings, Wang Yuzhi immediately pulled Liu Qingyan, her expression excited, overjoyed.
Hu Yijun also smiled, “As the saying goes, arriving early is not as good as arriving just in time, the evening banquet has just started, the two of you join the seats together!”
