Near noon.
River Dam bungalow.
Jiang Ning sat on a Small Stool by the mouth of the earthen stove, feeding a piece of firewood into the firebox and letting the flames burn.
It was already late November, and the temperature had dropped. Burning a fire in this weather was a pleasure.
The oil in the iron wok above the earthen stove had heated up. Aunt Gu lifted a carp cut into oval pieces, its body coated in starch. It no longer looked like a fish, but more like a string of fish.
She dropped the carp into the wok, and the oil immediately bubbled and sizzled.
Once the fish meat had fried through, Aunt Gu scooped out the fried carp.
Xue Yuantong, who was learning to cook beside her, caught the scent of the fish and called out, "Mom, I'm hungry~"
Aunt Gu glared at her daughter and scolded, "Eat, eat, eat! All you do all day is stick that face out and think about eating!"
The stern tone and rapid-fire delivery made Xue Yuantong pout, secretly unconvinced.
Aunt Gu took out the Tomato Juice she had prepared earlier from the juicer. It had been made from tomatoes Jiang Ning had picked from Tiger Perch Mountain, rich with an enticing sweet-and-sour flavor.
Sitting on her Small Stool, Xue Chuchu could practically imagine how wonderful it would taste.
Aunt Gu simmered the Tomato Juice with sugar, white vinegar, and other ingredients.
The fragrance spread through the air.
Finally, Aunt Gu poured the simmered tomato sauce over the fried carp. A squirrel fish was complete.
Outside.
Yan Bo had learned Jiang Ning's address from Boss Yang. He cursed under his breath. When had he last been this annoyed?
The last time had been when he was running a small factory and