Ode to the Goose

After finishing their meal, the two strolled around the streets for a while. Liu Yuewang made several phone calls, asking An Nuan to come home.

Free-spirited high school graduates like Liu Chang'an are rare indeed. Not long after An Nuan left, Liu Chang'an received some interesting information.

"Uncle, if I suggested that one of my male classmates get a circumcision during the summer vacation, would he agree?"

Ever since Liu Chang'an sent a message saying he had a son, she has been addressing him as "uncle" in her messages.

"Could it be Liu Chang'an, the one who's been relentlessly pursuing you?"

"Yes, yes, it's him."

Why?

"I think that way, he won't be able to bother me during the summer vacation; he'll have to stay home the whole time."

"You'd be too embarrassed to mention this kind of surgery to him, wouldn't you?"

"I'm trying to figure something out. My mom knows a doctor at the hospital who specializes in this. Would he agree to it if it were free?"

"How should I know? You try it."

Liu Chang'an rarely stopped, but he laughed for a while before slowly walking home.

When An Nuan got home, she also got home and sent Liu Chang'an a message: "My mom told me to tell you that she can get you a free circumcision! Good heavens, I really don't know what she's thinking. She thinks that way I'll be safe during the summer vacation."

Is she the surgeon?

Liu Chang'an!

"Yes, I understand. I refuse. I don't need it."

The two little girls are so adorable that Liu Chang'an didn't even haggle over the price when he went to the market to buy a goose.

The vegetable market near the community is not big. Geese are a rare sight here. Other items, such as soft-shelled turtles, local ducks, small fish and shrimp, and small carp, are all brought in and sold by farmers from the nearby suburbs and countryside.

Roast goose, herbal tea, and lychee are commonly known as the "Three Treasures of Nanyue." With the popularity of Cantonese cuisine, Junsha is now the most common dish in Cantonese restaurants. Traditional methods of stir-frying and stewing goose are less common. After all, a large goose like the Lion Head Goose often weighs up to 20 pounds, and even smaller breeds weigh around 10 pounds. Preparing one requires a lot of effort, so most families rarely buy a goose to cook themselves. However, there are quite a few private restaurants that specialize in goose dishes.

Liu Chang'an was the kind of person who had plenty of time and patience to eat goose. When he got home, he tied the goose to the window and warned Zhou Dongdong, who came to watch, to stay away from the goose. The goose was incredibly powerful. Back when he lived in the countryside, villagers often used geese to guard their homes. Ordinary dogs and jackals were no match for them.

"Goose, goose, goose, with its neck curved, it sings to the sky." Zhou Dongdong greeted the goose with a wave.

"Then what?"

"Goose, goose, goose, with its neck curved, it sings to the sky."

"I'll ask you the following question."

"Goose, goose, goose, with its neck curved, it sings to the sky."

Liu Chang'an stopped asking her questions, went to fetch bricks, built a stove, and then dug a large lump of wet mud from the edge of the pit where he raised loaches and smeared it on the stove.

"Brother Chang'an, are you playing in the mud? My classmates all say I'm a mud-playing kid, and their parents say they don't want to play with kids who play in the mud." Zhou Dongdong looked at Liu Chang'an with sympathy. Brother Chang'an probably doesn't have many friends, so he has to play in the mud by himself.

Aren't you going to play with me?

"I'll play with you." Zhou Dongdong squatted down and smeared the remaining mud all over the stove.

"You start the fire later, and those who do the work will get food." Liu Chang'an pulled her aside. "There's some dry firewood downstairs, bring some over."

Zhou Dongdong wiped her hands and hurriedly went to fetch firewood, feeling very happy because the delicious food her brother Chang'an made could make her eat several bowls of Zhou Dongdong.

Liu Chang'an boiled a large pot of water and fed the goose some Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) to make its feathers stand up, making it easier to pluck them later.

"What's the difference between a goose and Cygnus?" Zhou Dongdong asked, waiting for the fire to start. He moved a small stool and sat next to the earthen stove, watching Liu Chang'an kill the goose.

"They're all delicious."

Liu Chang'an killed the goose and prepared to bleed it. The goose's blood and vitality were extremely strong, far exceeding that of ordinary birds. Liu Chang'an even felt a surge of covetousness coming from the carriage next to him.

Goose is much more expensive than hen; Liu Chang'an wants to eat it himself.

After bleeding the goose, rinse it with boiling water to remove the feathers, then boil it over a fire to clean it. Cut it open and clean the internal organs. Mix salt with chopped green onions and pepper powder in white wine, rub it evenly inside the goose's belly, and then stuff a handful of green onions inside.

After coating the entire body with wine mixed with honey, a large pot was placed on the stove. A large bowl of wine and a large bowl of water were poured into the pot. A large goose was placed on a bamboo chopstick to hold it up to cool it down. The edge of the pot was covered with a damp cloth. The rest of the work was for Zhou Dongdong to tend the fire.

"Burn slowly... just burn these two bundles of firewood and that's it. After these two bundles are burned, call me to turn the pot over and switch sides. I'm going to lie down for a bit." Liu Chang'an instructed Zhou Dongdong, who was eager to finally show off her skills.

Zhou Dongdong tended the fire, while Liu Chang'an read a book, teaching her the last two lines of "Goose, goose, goose, with its neck bent towards the sky."

What's the use of memorizing poems?

"It doesn't seem to be of much use."

"Then why should I memorize it?"

"Because you're a stupid child, the only way you seem smart is by reciting poems."

"Goose, goose, goose, with its neck curved, it sings to the sky."

"Then what?"

"Goose, goose..."

As the two were talking, Liu Chang'an saw Gao Cunyi arrive again.

This time, he was followed by a two-meter-tall Han Dynasty looked somewhat similar to Chen Changxiu. He had messy eyebrows, bulging eyes, and wide cheeks that looked like they had been cut with a knife. He stared at Liu Chang'an with a rather impatient expression.

"Liu Chang'an, I've bothered you again." Gao Cunyi cupped his hands in greeting to Liu Chang'an.

"If it's meant to be a disturbance, then you shouldn't have come."

"I have no choice but to obey my master's orders." Gao Cunyi also seemed somewhat troubled. "Liu Chang'an, that's how things are in this world. There's never true freedom. Many times, you're forced to accept things you don't want to accept. If you don't resolve the issues, simply refusing won't solve anything."

"You can even make something out of nothing so insightful," Liu Chang'an laughed.

Gao Cunyi looked embarrassed. "I can't help it."

"I'm not going." Liu Chang'an didn't mind Gao Cunyi coming a few more times. Most people might find it annoying, but Liu Chang'an had plenty of patience.

"Junior brother, why waste your breath on him?" The burly man behind Gao Cunyi stepped forward.

"This is my senior brother, Wang Yibo," Gao Cunyi introduced. "Since you're not willing to spar with my master for the time being, how about sparring with my senior brother? You don't need to come to us; we've already delivered ourselves to you. The sparring will be brief and to the point, so you can rest assured."

Zhou Dongdong listened intently to the adults' rambling conversation, but she understood immediately: they were here to pick a fight with Chang'an again. Furious, Zhou Dongdong ran over, shoved Wang Yibo, and yelled, "You bad people, get away from me!"

"You brat!" Wang Yibo reached out to grab Zhou Dongdong's head.

Gao Cunyi was taken aback. He knew that his senior brother was always violent, and it was inevitable that the child would be slapped or thrown away. Just as he was about to stop him, he saw Liu Chang'an, who was originally on the recliner, disappear and instantly appear in front of Wang Yibo, reaching out and grabbing Wang Yibo's hand.

Liu Chang'an wrapped his other arm around Zhou Dongdong and covered her eyes with his palm.

"You..." Wang Yibo felt a sharp pain, clenched his teeth tightly, and sweat beaded on his forehead.

"Liu Chang'an, I'm sorry." Gao Cunyi apologized repeatedly.

Liu Chang'an paid no attention to Gao Cunyi's apology. He tightened his fingers, and with a cracking sound of bones breaking, he kicked Wang Yibo in the abdomen. Wang Yibo was sent flying and crashed into a sycamore tree.

The thick tree trunk swayed, and leaves fell one by one, as if the autumn wind had brushed past, carrying away the leaves' reluctance to leave.

"Don't do that again." Liu Chang'an patted Zhou Dongdong's head. "It's dangerous. Children should just hide behind adults."

"We're making something delicious, and they're so annoying!" Zhou Dongdong hugged Liu Chang'an's leg and looked at Wang Yibo. "I don't like them bullying Chang'an- gege."

"It's alright. When it comes to fighting, I'm fifth in the world."

"Why is he fifth in the world, and not first?" In the TV shows Zhou Dongdong watched, there were always people who claimed to be the best in the world.

"The world is so big, there must be some people who are better than me," Liu Chang'an said uncertainly, glancing at Wang Yibo and Gao Cunyi in front of him.

In Junsha, they are invincible.