Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 49 - 49 49 Before the New Year_1

49: Chapter 49: Before the New Year_1 49: Chapter 49: Before the New Year_1 Killing chickens, slaughtering fish, plucking feathers, scaling.

In the kitchen, there are two pots on the stove, emanating a faint aroma from the hot oil in the back pot.

From the cracks of the front pot’s cover, warm white smoke is billowing, the entire kitchen is in a hot and bustling state.

Two little chubby dogs wag their bodies at the entrance of the kitchen, constantly glancing inside, daring not to enter.

It was obvious that they were being overly cautious due to previous scoldings, shaking their tails pitifully at the doorway and sweeping the snow clean.

“Xu Xiaoyan, do you really know how to make a fire or not?

Can’t you stop poking everywhere?

The house is full of smoke, just sit down quietly!” Yan Xiaofei cried out irritably.

“Isn’t this me helping you?

I also made fires often when I was a kid, don’t you think I can’t do it!” Xu Xiaoyan sat bored on a small stool next to the stove, waving a fire tong that had been heated until it turned red.

“Don’t wave that red-hot tong around, you’re going to set the house ablaze!” Yan Fei was startled by the red-hot tong and almost threw out the chicken in his hand.

“I heard you, Old Master Yan, just lower your voice, I’m not deaf.

I’m trying to help you here and you’re complaining?

Some people are just ungrateful…” Xu Xiaoyan placed the fire tong down and began idly drawing on the ground with a stick.

“I…

sigh, your sitting down is helping me…” Yanfei was truly helpless.

He initially wanted to say she didn’t need to go home to help, but considering she wasn’t particularly welcomed at home, he decided against saying it.

The few days before New Year’s are always the busiest.

All the ingredients have to be prepped for quick meals when relatives visit during the New Year.

Even less fortunate families must endeavour to prepare generously.

The big fish has to be chopped into pieces and deep-fried after being dusted with flour.

Chicken pieces also need to be deep-fried, meatballs are deep-fried, tofu is deep-fried, and even the lotus vegetables are deep-fried after a dusting of flour…

Well, these meatballs aren’t made yet, tofu hasn’t been purchased, and there are no lotus vegetables at home.

Right now, it’s mainly about deep-frying parts of the fish, chicken, and large chunks of meat.

Of course, there are also whole chickens being braised in the front pot.

The deep-fried items will be used to make steamed dishes, like crispy meat made from large meat chunks floured and fried.

Actually, it’s better to use starch but most households substitute with flour.

Another item that Yan Fei has made is his favourite — puffed skin.

Puffed skin is made by drying pig skin, removing the fat, and then deep-frying it.

The puffed skin thickens after frying and looks like beeswax, transparent with a beautiful glow and countless tiny bubbles visible inside.

It tastes crisp and fragrant when eaten now, but usually, it’s dried and stored.

When ready to be cooked, it’s soaked in cool, boiled water and then cut diagonally into strips.

Stir-fried with spinach, the crispy texture is even better than a fungus.

You can’t really tell what it’s made of.

Fortunately, Yan Fei had often seen his grandfather make this and frequently assisted him.

Although this batch isn’t the best, it’s still much better than those that showed no transformation from the original pig skin.

If not done well, it’s just deep-fried pig skin, which really is a matter of personal preference.

After Yan Fei had fried several pieces of floured fish and chicken, Xu Xiaoyan finally stopped pestering him, murmuring while eating and rubbing her belly, “I couldn’t eat because the watermelon was too cold earlier, sorry for making you suffer!”

Only after eating for a while did she remember Yan Fei, “Big fish is good, less bones and more meat, you’re really generous.”

“You’ve said this several times already, just eat, eat!”

At last, someone had spoken some fair words, why did it sound so awkward coming from Xu Xiaoyan’s mouth?

Yan Fei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

He brought everything he bought from the market back, and seeing the big fish he had bought, the neighbours commented on how willing he was to spend money.

They were probably cursing him for being a spendthrift in their hearts!

When she saw the watermelon, she was quite excited.

However, she seemed to know something beforehand and didn’t wait for Yan Fei to speak, simply saying that he bought it from the city and he did not need to explain anymore.

Eating watermelon by the stove in the bitter cold, it’s still refreshing.

However, a watermelon is a little too much for just two people, so they basically ended up just having a taste, without eating much.

Yan Fei didn’t really mind the cold, but, he wondered why anyone would choose to eat something almost frozen solid in sub-zero weather on the warm, comfortable island.

It felt like madness.

The hot oil in the pot sizzled away, filling the small courtyard with tantalizing aromas.

Golden, fried chunks of meat were brought out, causing the two dogs at the doorway to smacking their lips nonstop.

Thank goodness Xu Xiaoyan remembered to throw her chicken bones out, else the two poor dogs would have been driven crazy with desire!

“Yan Xiaofei, you’re thirteen this year, right?” Xu Xiaoyan asked abruptly while munching away.

“Yeah, why?

Didn’t you know?” Busy to his heart’s content, Yan Fei asked her offhandedly.

“Of course, I knew!

Just asking, is that forbidden?” Xu Xiaoyan gnawed at a piece of meat, grumbling, “Why do you grow up so slowly?”

“…” Yan Fei decided to ignore her.

After finishing a batch, Yan Fei added the newly coated pieces of fish into the pot.

Now he had time to tease her: “At least I’m not like someone who will soon be in college but still can’t cook.

All she does is eat, eat, eat!”

Xu Xiaoyan, busy eating, didn’t bother to retort surprisingly.

A short while later, after scooping out the fried fish, Yan Fei turned his head and immediately got panicked: “What’s wrong now?

I just mentioned you can’t cook, why are you crying?”

The girl was silently chewing, tears quietly streaming down her face forming two small rivers.

“Mind your own business, you little brat!

This stove is horrible to cook with, the smoke is killing me…” Xu Xiaoyan fiercely work the fire tongs, stabbing around the stove.

“If there’s something on your mind, say it.

What’s wrong?” Yan Fei couldn’t help but ask, realizing something was up.

“Nothing…” She wiped her tears and started eating again.

“So you can’t cook, what’s wrong with that?

You do plenty of other chores around the house.

Maybe they just won’t let you cook, always have you preparing vegetables and washing dishes.

What’s up, did they say something to you?” Yan Fei thought about what he just said, and worried he might have touched a sore spot.

Typically, she was busy with school and helped with household chores, rarely cooking.

She could actually cook but the result was always just mediocre.

Soon the fish and chicken meat was done frying, Yan Fei found a pot, and started ladling out the hot oil spoon by spoon.

He used a blend of peanut oil and vegetable oil, which he planned to keep separately.

When very little oil was left, he added the prepared fatty pork.

Immediately the sound of sizzling bacon rang out.

The goal was to fry the fat until all its oil was gone.

The leftover oil in the pot is lard, which makes any dish taste better.

Many households nowadays use this oil because of its flavor.

Not every family can afford to eat meat daily, but using this oil made the dishes a bit more substantial.

The oil residue left after frying the fat is used to make dumplings or steamed buns.

It’s even more flavorful than the meat itself.

“Yan Xiaofei, do you think if I finish my third year of high school and don’t go to college, I’ll be married off?” Amid the crackling sound of frying, Xu Xiaoyan voiced her concerns, startling Yan Fei.

(Aiming for few recommendations)

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.