Free Web NovelChapter 1118: Chapter 455: Will Boiling Fish in Hot Water Make It Taste Good? Chen Yan’s CEO Mode!
"Sizzle..."
Listening to the sound of frying fish coming from the kitchen, Shen Guofu lost the mood for gaming.
At times like these, having a bit of booze along with crispy fried fish would be perfect.
But his wife had already stated that dinner should be light, so how could he fulfill his wish to have fried fish with a drink?
"Uncle Shen, hurry up! We need to move forward together in Contra."
Geng Lele’s urging suddenly snapped Old Shen back to reality.
He can’t eat it himself, but he could call in some reinforcements. With reinforcements, drinking won’t be a big deal.
As for who the reinforcements would be...
"Lele, we caught quite a lot of fish today, and your godfather hasn’t had any yet. How about we invite him over for fish?"
Heh, as long as Professor Cui comes over, everything will be sorted.
Geng Lele shook his head:
"Don’t call him. He made me write an English apology this morning. I’ll tempt him later with some poisoned bait; after he’s had his fill and heads back to school, I’ll bring him some."
Shen Guofu, adopting a serious elder demeanor, said:
"That won’t do; it’ll get cold if you bring it over, and it’s impolite."
Just as he was about to say more, Geng Lele lowered her voice and asked:
"Uncle Shen, are you worried Aunt Han won’t let you drink, so you came up with this plan?"
Shen Guofu opened his mouth, realizing it’s tough when the kid is too clever—can’t fool her at all.
In comparison, his own silly daughter was easier to deceive.
Composing himself, he softly asked:
"Was I that obvious?"
"Too obvious and too deliberate. You should’ve called godfather while fishing, talked about the haul, and then naturally invited him over. That way, even if Aunt Han knows, she won’t say anything."
"I get it now. Learned a new trick today, thanks Lele."
Geng Lele waved her chubby little hand:
"No problem, no problem. I’ll send godfather a message now so he doesn’t wander to the store waiting for us."
She then picked up her phone and sent Cui Qingyuan a message:
"Godfather, SOS! We’ve caught so many fish today that we can’t finish them. Everyone is worrying here, could you come to Brother Xu’s house to help with some?"
Cui Qingyuan, riding a shared bike just past the school gate, immediately replied upon seeing this message:
"Have you finished the apology?"
"I’m checking vocabulary in Brother Xu’s study now. His study is arranged so well, the bookshelf is stylish yet practical. Godfather, you should come see it."
"Alright, I’ll buy some fruits before coming."
Going to a shop for a meal, going empty-handed is fine—after all, CEO Yan has already topped up plenty. Whether swiping a card or not, the meal is paid for.
But going to a home for dinner, being empty-handed wouldn’t be appropriate.
Just as Cui Qingyuan was about to put away his phone and bike over to Lin Xu’s neighborhood, another message came from Geng Lele:
"By the way, Sister Yue mentioned she wants pineapple, cherries, and Shine Muscat grapes, don’t forget!"
Cui Qingyuan instantly saw through his goddaughter’s intent:
"These are what you want to eat, right? Also, it seems your curriculum is a bit easy. Pick another language from the UN’s official languages, and I’ll teach you."
Geng Lele frowned, surprised her godfather was so tough.
Juggling both specialized and future cultural courses has already worn me out, okay? And yet you think I’m too relaxed...
The little girl quickly made a choice:
"I choose Chinese."
"Extend that apology to 2,000 words, both in English and Chinese, by ten o’clock tonight."
"Godfather, don’t be so harsh! I’m just a kid... French then, since godmother doesn’t speak French, we can use it for secret calls once I master it."
I’ll learn French to probe godfather, make him grumble about godmother, then translate it back.
Hehe, what fun to spar with godfather!
Little Mushroom Head put away her phone and said to Shen Guofu:
"Done! Continue, continue, Uncle Shen, just follow me; the next level is more fun."
Old Shen was a bit curious:
"You have time to play Contra at school?"
"I played it out of boredom at home when I was four or five. I’ve cleared it countless times..."
Meanwhile in the kitchen, after trying out three types of small fish, Han Shuzhen evaluated them:
"The ones from the air fryer are crispy enough but a bit dry. The roasted ones are not only dry but also slightly hard. If we’re talking about taste, the deep-fried ones win; crispy outside, and the fish inside remains tender."
Lin Xu plated up a full dish and handed it to her:
"Mom, take this out and enjoy it with everyone; I can handle the rest of the stuff here on my own."
Knowing her cooking skills weren’t that great, Han Shuzhen didn’t insist and took the big plate of fried fish outside.
"These are deep-fried ones; Old Shen, you can have the roasted and air fryer ones later; those suit you better."
After completing the frying, half were set aside to make spicy crispy small fish, while the other half was ready to eat directly. Meanwhile, several cleaned crucian carp were pan-fried and made into crucian carp tofu stew.
The three carp caught by the father-in-law—two were just brought home.
The smaller one was blanched and served as sauced fish, and the larger one sliced into fillets for fried fish fillets.
As for the six-and-a-half-pound channel catfish caught by the sister-in-law, it would be cooked Cantonese style, as baked catfish.
With some other dishes, this would be a simple dinner.
Lin Xu finished frying all the fish, blanched the tofu on the stove next to him, then set up the wok, added lard, and once the crucian carp were brown on both sides, added boiling water and tofu to start simmering the soup.
The soup takes a while, so he can start early.
