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Having raised hazel grouse for so long, Qing Mengzhu was really looking forward to the taste of this batch.
When they got home, Zhao Hexi was already up, staring intently at the hazel grouse outside the chicken coop. "Mengzhu, come quick, we're going to catch a male hazel grouse, right?"
Qing Mengzhu nodded. "The hen should be kept to lay eggs."
Zhao Hexi: "I can't tell the difference between male and female, can you?"
Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, you go to the kitchen to boil water, I'll do it."
Zhao Hexi, without suspecting anything, happily ran to the kitchen to get water.
Ming Chunxi asked, "Do you need my help?"
Qing Mengzhu: "No need, I can do it by myself. You take the lotus pods inside first."
Ming Chunxi nodded, asked no questions, and took the lotus pods back home.
The two lived together, Ming Chunxi had already discovered that Qing Mengzhu had a secret; she had even subtly inquired about it once before.
Qing Mengzhu very directly and sincerely stated that she hadn't decided how to say it yet, wanted to keep it private for the time being, and guaranteed that this secret would not involve a third person.
After listening, Ming Chunxi stopped asking questions.
Qing Mengzhu went into the chicken coop to catch hazel grouse. His hazel grouse had actually been raised for less than two months, but because they were already quite large when he bought them, they were now barely ready for market.
He fed them well, providing them with vegetables mixed with millet every day, and occasionally even insects caught from the vegetable garden.
The hazel grouse are fed to be plump and chubby, with most of them weighing over a pound, which is heavier than the adult hazel grouse sold in the market.
Qing Mengzhu went inside, scanned the items with the Mall Assistant, and then selected three relatively large male hazel grouse.
He didn't touch the largest male hazel grouse; he planned to use them to breed the next generation, so he had to keep the male hazel grouse at home.
The male hazel grouse was very fierce. After being caught by Qing Mengzhu, it kept chirping, its voice a bit hoarse and shrill.
Hearing the noise, the two dogs ran over from the front. "Woof woof!"
Qing Mengzhu's eyelashes were almost ruffled from being fanned by the hazel grouse. Seeing the two dogs, Guard Dharma Protector, come and help me fetch the hazel grouse!"
The two dogs immediately ran up to Qing Mengzhu, and Qing Mengzhu stuffed a struggling hazel grouse into each of their mouths.
Qing Mengzhu looked at the stiff dog, whose eyes were practically showing whites, and laughed, "Alright, let's go to the front yard."
The Dharma Protector then spread his limbs and, together with the Guard, carried the hazelnuts and followed Qing Mengzhu to the front yard.
When they went ahead, Zhao Hexi had already prepared water.
Seeing the two dogs obediently carrying hazelnuts and getting slapped by them, Zhao Hexi said enviously, "The Guard Dharma Protector so well-behaved."
Qing Mengzhu: "That's right, don't you even know whose dog it is?"
Zhao Hexi pulled the hazelnut out of the two dogs' mouths. "Come on, let's get to work."
The three of them divided the work and worked together to process the hazelnuts.
Soon, the thoroughly cleaned hazel grouse was brought to the kitchen. Qing Mengzhu seized the opportunity to scan it with the Mall Assistant and found that the hazel grouse's quality was "Good Grade+".
Qing Mengzhu was quite satisfied that these ordinary hazel grouse had reached this quality after being raised for more than a month.
If he had more time, more time for his farmland, and if he had fed the hazel grouse with better feed, he could have gotten hazel grouse of even higher quality.
However, to go from "Good Grade" to "Fine Grade," he may need to breed it for several generations.
As Qing Mengzhu pondered this, she chopped the hazel grouse into large pieces.
After chopping the hazel grouse, he didn't put it directly into the casserole to make soup. Instead, he took the pot out, greased the bottom with oil, added two pieces of scallion whites, fried the scallion whites until fragrant, then removed the scallion whites, leaving only a little oil. He then placed the hazel grouse skin-side down in the pot to fry.
The combination of fat and hazelnut skin creates an instant aroma.
Zhao Hexi, who had been eyeing the soup for a while, stood to the side and asked, "Do we need to pan-fry the meat before making chicken soup?"
Qing Mengzhu: "Frying or not frying is fine, but frying it first will release a richer umami flavor and remove the meaty smell to the greatest extent."
Seeing Zhao Hexi's skeptical expression, Qing Mengzhu added, "The special chef said so."
Qing Mengzhu brought out the special chef, Zhao Hexi believed her somewhat. "Okay, I'll wait to drink it."
After the hazelnut chicken skin is fried until golden brown, Qing Mengzhu adds lotus seeds and briefly frys them in oil, then pours boiling water directly into the pot. Once the water boils again, she transfers the chicken and water into a casserole dish.
The soup has only just started simmering, but the color is already turning golden, and the aroma is already coming out.
Zhao Hexi watched the hazelnut soup from the side, and was filled with admiration for Zhou Yan, the special chef.
This prepared hazelnut chicken soup smells absolutely delicious and makes my mouth water.
After transferring the casserole to the charcoal stove and letting it simmer slowly, Qing Mengzhu didn't leave. Instead, she took a spoon and skimmed off all the oil floating on top.
These oils will make the soup thick and greasy; skimming them off will result in a more flavorful and clear soup.
For lunch, we had chicken soup. Qing Mengzhu didn't cook many dishes; she simply pan-fried a fish and stir-fried a few seasonal vegetables.
After a busy day, everyone finally got to the chicken soup and rice, and immediately started drinking the hazelnut chicken soup.
The hazelnut chicken soup looks ordinary, and the broth is even a bit clear. But after taking a sip, the fresh and rich flavor instantly fills your mouth.
The aroma that burst forth was even more pronounced in the slightly hot temperature.
Zhao Hexi took a big gulp and exclaimed, "No wonder people say that the 'dragon' in 'dragon meat from the sky' refers to a flying dragon."
The hazel grouse has another name, "Flying dragon." Qing Mengzhu knew this. "You have quite a broad range of knowledge!"
Zhao Hexi said happily, "Of course, who can't remember delicious food?"
A sip of hot soup seems to smooth out all the bitterness and sorrow accumulated in life, leaving only these small moments of happiness in this mortal world.
Zhao Hexi took another sip, squinting as she thought: No wonder some people go home to drink their mother's chicken soup when they've been wronged.
Qing Mengzhu also thought the hazelnut chicken soup was delicious, "I don't know if it's just my imagination, but it's even more flavorful than the one I had last time, and the whole soup seems richer."
Ming Chunxi: "When was the last time we drank together?"
Qing Mengzhu: "I had it with the old man a little over a month ago. We had mushroom and hazelnut chicken soup then."
Zhao Hexi immediately asked, "Which is better, mushroom and hazelnut chicken soup or lotus seed and hazelnut chicken soup?"
Qing Mengzhu thought for a moment and said, "Each has its own merits; they cannot be compared."
Qing Mengzhu explained, "The lotus seed and hazelnut chicken soup has a unique lotus aroma, but the main flavor is still that of hazelnut chicken soup. The mushroom and hazelnut chicken soup is very delicious, but the flavors of the mushroom soup and the hazelnut chicken soup are equally balanced, so it doesn't really highlight the hazelnut chicken ingredient."
Zhao Hexi took another big, satisfied gulp. "Then lotus seed and hazelnut chicken soup sounds more to my liking."
We had hazelnut chicken soup for lunch, but nobody ate much; they mostly just drank the soup.
After lunch, Qing Mengzhu touched the now-cooled hazelnut chicken soup, then added white rice and vegetables to it. She divided the hazelnut chicken soup and rice into four portions, giving one portion to each of the two dogs, the red fox, and the otter.
The two dogs had been impatient for a long time. As soon as they were fed, they buried their mouths in the food bowls and happily ate while wagging their tails, like bulldozers, showing no signs of their usual picky eating habits.
Qing Mengzhu didn't disturb them, and took Ming Chunxi and Zhao Hexi to feed the otters and red foxes.
This is the time when otters and red foxes sleep.
Logically speaking, they shouldn't be able to name the two little ones.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they placed the food bowls outside the two small burrows, before they even had a chance to call out, the red fox and otter, smelling the food, sleepily crawled out.
"Aww." The otter, recognizing familiar faces, completely lost its guard. It immediately grabbed the stainless steel bowl with its two front paws and started eating. After taking a bite, it looked at Qing Mengzhu and the others with bright eyes and whined, "Aww, aww."
The red fox was more cautious. It looked at Qing Mengzhu and the others, ran out to sniff the food bowl, then ran back into the cave. After a while, it ran out again to sniff.