Delicious

Lu Qing blinked and searched through his memories for a while.

Only then did he gradually recall the memories concerning Da Ji.

Simply put, Da Ji was actually a market fair spontaneously formed by several large nearby villages.

After all, towns were far away, and one had to pay an entry fee to go in and out. Unless necessary, many villagers and mountain folk were unwilling to spend that money.

Thus, no one knew when it had begun, nor who had organized it.

In any case, a market fair gradually appeared nearby. Every five days, villagers from the surrounding villages would attend it to buy and sell goods.

The original owner had gone to the fair once with his parents as a child, but after Xiao Yan was born, he had taken on the responsibility of looking after his younger sister and had never gone to Da Ji again.

His memories of Da Ji had gradually grown hazy as well.

It was only when Wang Da'an mentioned it that Lu Qing recalled some impressions.

Wang Da'an said, "People from every village go to Da Ji. Even those mountain folk deep in the mountains occasionally come out to buy things. The fish you caught are so big—if you take them to the fair to sell, someone will definitely want them as long as you don't price them too high."

In Wang Da'an's view, Lu Qing had more fish than he could finish eating anyway, so keeping them would only be wasteful.

He might as well take them to the fair and sell them cheaply. At least he could exchange them for some money.

Lu Qing considered it, then nodded. "I'll see. If I can catch another big fish next time, I'll take it to the fair and see if I can sell it."

"You'll definitely sell it." Wang Da'an said happily. "I've seen people selling fish at the fair, but none of their fish were anywhere near as big as the one you caught today."

Lu Qing smiled. "You can't catch a fish that big every time."

"Whether you catch one or not, Lu Qing, if you want to go to Da Ji, remember to come tell me. There are still some rules you need to mind when attending a fair," Wang Da Shan reminded him.

"Alright. If I want to go to Da Ji, I'll definitely tell Da'an Ge."

"As long as you remember. I'll be going, then."

After Wang Da'an left, Lu Qing fell into thought.

He had overlooked the information about Da Ji.

Perhaps he could start there if he wanted to learn about the city.

"Brother, when can we eat the fish? Xiao Yan is hungry."

As Lu Qing considered how to gather information at Da Ji, Xiao Yan called out beside him.

"Oh, very soon. Once Brother divides up the fish, I'll cook it for you."

Lu Qing came back to himself and immediately resumed working briskly.

He first chopped several more pieces from the remaining fish meat, intending to deliver them to Grandpa Zhang later.

When he had been unconscious, Grandpa Zhang had looked after Xiao Yan the whole time. He could not forget that kindness.

After dividing the fish, Lu Qing selected the best piece.

He picked out all the fish bones, then sliced the meat into thin pieces.

Then he set water to boil in the pot and began cooking porridge.

As for the remaining fish, he threaded it directly onto Bamboo Strips and hung it from the bamboo pole beneath the eaves to dry, planning to make dried fish.

Looking at the long string of fish meat on the bamboo pole, Lu Qing secretly resolved that he had to get an Iron Pot as soon as possible.

Right, and seasonings too!

Otherwise, despite having a whole arsenal of cooking skills, he would have nowhere to use them.

Seeing such fine ingredients go to waste made his heart ache somewhat.

By the time Lu Qing finished all that, the porridge in the Earthen Jar had already come to a boil.

Lu Qing first added some salt and stirred it a few times, making sure the salt had dissolved completely.

Then he carefully placed the fish slices into the porridge. The moment he saw them turn white, he immediately put out the fire.

Finally, he added a small spoonful of lard to the porridge, and the dish was complete.

Lu Qing first ladled a bowl of fish porridge for Xiao Yan and fanned it for her. Only after it had cooled a little did he place it before her.

"Xiao Yan, wait a little longer. It's still very hot."

"Mm, Xiao Yan knows!"

Though the little one was nearly drooling with greed, she obediently agreed.

Her eyes, however, remained fixed on the fish porridge without moving.

Lu Qing smiled at the sight, then ladled himself a bowl as well.

Relying on his thick skin and tough flesh, he scooped up a spoonful of porridge with fish slices, blew on it a few times, and put it into his mouth.

The moment the fish slices entered his mouth, a burst of freshness surged across his tongue, and surprise appeared on his face.

The fish was tender, smooth, fresh, and fragrant, carrying a faint aroma of fat. It was unexpectedly delicious.

Sure enough, high-end ingredients often required only the simplest cooking methods.

He had added only a little salt and oil to this fish porridge—not even any chopped scallions—and it was already this delicious.

As expected of a premium fish that radiated such rich White Light!

A mouthful of porridge instantly filled Lu Qing with deep contentment.

"Brother, can Xiao Yan eat now?"

Seeing how deliciously her brother was eating, Xiao Yan looked at him with eager, pleading eyes.

Lu Qing reached out and touched her bowl. Finding that it was no longer too hot, he nodded.

"You can eat now, but still be careful. Don't scald your tongue."

"Mm, Xiao Yan will be careful!"

The little one immediately brightened when she heard that she could eat.

She scooped up a spoonful of porridge and, just as Lu Qing had done, carefully blew on it a few times. Only when she felt it was no longer hot did she put it into her mouth.

Then, after finishing that spoonful, her eyes suddenly widened.

"Brother, Brother, the porridge made with this big fish is so good! It's even better than that, that shrimp porridge from the morning!"

The little one gestured excitedly, so happy she could hardly contain herself.

"Of course it is. Didn't you see how hard Brother worked to catch this big fish? Naturally it's delicious." Lu Qing looked thoroughly pleased with himself.

"Brother is the best!"

The little one was extremely generous with her praise, giving it without the slightest hesitation.

"Since it's good, eat more. Grandpa Chen said that if you want pretty hair, you need to eat more."

"Mm-hmm, Xiao Yan will work hard at eating! Xiao Yan wants to grow pretty hair!"

The little one nodded vigorously, her face utterly serious.

Seeing this, Lu Qing's heart tightened slightly.

When the little one had gone out to play the day before yesterday, some Little Brats in the village had said that her hair did not look pretty.

When she returned, she had asked him somewhat aggrievedly how she could grow beautiful hair.

Lu Qing naturally knew that a large part of the reason Xiao Yan's hair was like this was malnutrition.

So he had told the little one that as long as she obediently ate from then on and nourished her body well, her hair would soon become pretty.

That was why Xiao Yan now ate very seriously every time, unwilling to waste even a bit.

Though, all along, they had never had the luxury of wasting anything.

After the brother and sister happily finished a meal of fish porridge, both slumped comfortably in their chairs.

Even Lu Qing had not expected the Azure Armor Fish's meat to be so fresh and tender. It was truly an unexpected delight.

He could not help thinking that if even Azure Armor Fish tasted this good, what kind of flavor would the Red Moon Carp—called an item of supreme freshness by his ability—have? Unfortunately, the Red Moon Carp was a gift he had prepared for Old Doctor Chen, so he could not eat it.

After resting for a while, Lu Qing stood and went into the kitchen.

He still had one more thing to do.

The Azure Armor Fish's Fish Stone still needed to be processed.