Chapter 34: Fresh Mountain Fish
The mountains grew colder day by day.
It was still all right for Ying Kongtu and the others, who lived at the foot of the mountain. When they woke in the morning, they would merely see the grass covered in a thick layer of white frost.
But up on the mountain, snow had already begun to fall.
Especially on the several higher mountains.
Sitting in the courtyard, Ying Kongtu could see from afar the soft, fluffy new snow covering the tops of the snowy mountains, spreading downward all the way until it nearly reached the mountainside.
The fresh snow carried a faint blue tone.
When the sky was clear and they got up in the morning, the rising sun shone on the peaks, dyeing the snowy mountains a brilliant gold, dazzling to the eye.
As the weather turned cold, Ying Kongtu switched the tea at home to a warmer cinnamon-bark tea.
The cinnamon bark he used was not true cinnamon, but a kind of cassia tree unique to the local area.
This tree belonged to the same genus as cinnamon, but its fragrance was richer and more mellow. If one leaned close to smell it, the spicy, warming scent rushed straight into the nose.
Just like its aroma, it had the effect of invigorating the blood and dispelling cold.
After boiling the cassia-bark tea, Ying Kongtu liked to add black tea, honey, and orange slices. When drunk, it had a warm, sweet fragrance, very suitable for this season.
The only pity was that this kind of cassia tree was extremely afraid of cold, and none of Ying Kongtu’s mountains could grow it.
The cassia-bark tea he was drinking now was made from bark he had personally and carefully selected outside and bought.
Its quality was slightly inferior to the various teas produced from his own mountains, but it was already quite good.
Ying Kongtu slowly drank his tea. Dart and Jingwei were playing in the open space of the courtyard.
Tiaozhu was still aloof as ever, lying on top of the courtyard wall, not participating in the games of those two silly cubs.
Dart and Jingwei were indeed playing rather foolishly.
They circled around the insect Dart had brought back early that morning, occasionally pressing it with their paws.
If the insect bit their paw pads, they would nervously flick their tails.
Ying Kongtu watched the two of them, especially Jingwei’s movements, and sighed lightly. “Why is this fellow so cat-like?”
Wen Zhongshan looked too. “It seems fine?”
“What do you mean, fine?” Ying Kongtu turned to look at Wen Zhongshan. “The way it hunts, walks, and plays now all looks very much like a cat.”
“But it’s a wolf.” Ying Kongtu worried. “A wolf’s claws and a cat’s claws have different structures. Its claws are much blunter than a cat’s.”
Ying Kongtu had seen it several times already.
Jingwei was always learning how Dart hunted.
Dart itself was a cat with mediocre hunting ability, but its body structure was there. Hooking prey with a raised paw was no problem.
Jingwei could not do that.
Jingwei imitated Dart, yet always lost its prey.
Every time it lost prey, its furry face would look utterly confused, as if it could not understand why it used the same method but failed to catch anything.
Unfortunately, this fellow had poor attention span. One moment it had just been confused; the next moment, it was still imitating Dart’s hunting.
Wen Zhongshan said, “It’ll be better once it grows a bit older.”
“I doubt it.” Ying Kongtu stared at it. “I’ll think of something.”
Winter had arrived, and the weather grew colder and colder.
The cat was lazy, the wolf was lazy, and people were lazy too.
For a while, Ying Kongtu also could not bear to send Jingwei off for special training.
It really was still young.
That morning, the temperature was nearly zero degrees Celsius.
Ying Kongtu nestled in his warm blankets, rarely staying in bed.
In any case, there was not much to do in autumn and winter, and dawn came late. It was fine to go up the mountain a little later. He could just sleep a while longer.
Ying Kongtu closed his eyes, wrapped himself in the quilt, and planned to continue sleeping.
He had only just begun to feel sleepy when a series of “meow-ao” cries came from outside.
That slightly rough, slightly hoarse voice was obviously Tiaozhu’s.
Tiaozhu was not only calling; it was also scratching at the door with its claws, making a kacha-kacha sound.
At night, Tiaozhu would go sleep in the mountain god temple. It did not stay at home.
Even when it was home, it was not a clingy little cat. It would not scratch the door, much less come call Ying Kongtu.
If it scratched the door, something had happened.
Ying Kongtu quickly put on his fluffy slippers and went outside to open the door.
The moment he opened it, cold air rushed at him.
“Meow-ao!” Tiaozhu called from outside the door.
Ying Kongtu lowered his head and only then discovered that it had brought back a large fish in its mouth.
The fish was very big, even several sizes larger than Tiaozhu itself.
Tiaozhu was holding it with difficulty. Because it was using so much force, the muscles on its body were bulging.
Even so, the fish’s tail was still dragging on the ground. It could not be fully held up.
Ying Kongtu looked at the big fish.
Its mouth was slightly open, and its eyes bulged outward. It looked on its last breath.
However, the way it occasionally thrashed showed that its vitality was actually still quite decent.
“It’s actually this fish?” Ying Kongtu was shocked. “Tiaozhu, how did you catch it?”
This was the same kind of fish that produced the roe.
However, this one was male. Its body was more slender, and its tail was sharper. It did not look as plump and delicious as the female fish.
Even so, it was still astonishing.
“Meow-ao!” Tiaozhu called again, raising its eyes to stare at Ying Kongtu. “Ao!”
Only then did Ying Kongtu snap back to himself as though waking from a dream, and he took the fish from Tiaozhu’s mouth.
When he lifted the fish, Ying Kongtu discovered that it was heavier than he had imagined. It weighed at least twenty-five or twenty-six jin.
Tiaozhu was only just over twenty jin!
“Meow-ao! Ao!” Tiaozhu followed at Ying Kongtu’s side, yowling as it licked its mouth.
Ying Kongtu immediately understood. Carrying it had made Tiaozhu’s teeth ache.
Just now, he had even stood foolishly at the door and failed to take the fish in time. Tiaozhu was grumbling at him.
“I’m sorry.” Ying Kongtu carried the fish toward the kitchen. “I was too shocked just now and forgot for a moment.”
“Meow-ao!”
“I’ll cook fish for you later.”
“Ao ao!”
Ying Kongtu hurriedly carried the fish to the kitchen, temporarily placed it in the washbasin, and covered it with a cutting board.
After thinking about it, he still felt uneasy. He simply moved the microwave over and pressed it down on top of the cutting board.
The fish should not be able to escape now.
Ying Kongtu breathed a sigh of relief, washed his hands, and went to call Wen Zhongshan.
This fish was the very one he had often mentioned to Wen Zhongshan, the kind that was especially delicious. Now they had finally caught a live fish. Today, they could have a feast.
Wen Zhongshan truly deserved to be a non-human with a similar schedule to Ying Kongtu.
He had not yet gotten up either.
When Ying Kongtu called, his voice carried a trace of drowsiness, slightly hoarse and a little sexy.
Ying Kongtu immediately felt a sense of discomfort, as though he had intruded into the other person’s private life, and could not help coughing lightly.
“Kongtu?” Wen Zhongshan called again.
Ying Kongtu rubbed his other ear. “Nothing much. I just wanted to ask you to come over and eat fish.”
“Now?”
“Yes! Early this morning, Tiaozhu brought down a huge fish. It’s the one I told you about before, the especially delicious kind. The fish is still alive, very fresh. We need to eat it quickly, or if we leave it too long, it won’t be as fresh anymore.”
“I’ll come over right away.”
“Good. When you arrive, come in by yourself. I’m going up the mountain to pick some vegetables for cooking the fish.”
There were still many fresh vegetables in Ying Kongtu’s little vegetable garden, even chili peppers.
But now, the only chili peppers left were bird’s eye chilies. If used in cooking, they could provide a fresh, clean spiciness.
After picking a basket of vegetables from the mountain, Ying Kongtu quickly walked home.
Wen Zhongshan had already arrived and was waiting at his house.
Dart had come together with Wen Zhongshan.
Jingwei had woken up and was running back and forth with Dart, pouncing on leaves in the courtyard.
Tiaozhu, who had been tired all night, had gone up to the top of the courtyard wall as usual and was curled up in a ball, sleeping soundly.
It disliked the noise made by Dart and Jingwei and usually avoided them.
Jingwei could not jump onto the top of the courtyard wall and would not disturb it.
“Wen Zhongshan!” Ying Kongtu called. “Did you see the big fish in the kitchen? That’s the big fish Tiaozhu brought back!”
“I saw it. A very big fish. You even pressed it down with a microwave. This is the first time I’ve seen someone deal with a fish by moving a microwave.”
“To make absolutely sure nothing goes wrong.”
Ying Kongtu carried the vegetables into the kitchen, and Wen Zhongshan followed him in to help.
When Ying Kongtu moved away the microwave and lifted the heavy fish by its gill cover, the fish thrashed violently in his hand.
Although with his strength, the fish did not slip from his grip, the jump was still dangerous.
Wen Zhongshan immediately reached out and took the big fish from his hand.
“Let me?” Wen Zhongshan said. “I’m more professional with knives.”
“All right, then I’ll assist you.”
The fish was too big. Processing it in the kitchen would make it hard to move around.
The two of them carried the fish outside and placed it beside the well.
Ying Kongtu also casually grabbed a handful of miscanthus stalks he had just brought back.
Dart and Jingwei curiously came over.
The moment the fish thrashed, both of them were so frightened that they tucked in their chins and backed away on their paws.
It was one thing for Dart to be scared. Ying Kongtu cast a disappointed glance at Jingwei.
This wolf was actually afraid too.
Jingwei licked its mouth. “Wu.”
The fish was too large. After Wen Zhongshan knocked it unconscious, he began processing it.
Ying Kongtu instructed him, “Take out the organs first.”
Smelling blood, Tiaozhu lightly jumped down from the top of the courtyard wall.
Ying Kongtu used a small dish to hold the organs and placed it in front of Tiaozhu.
It began eating without the slightest hesitation.
Dart and Jingwei smelled it and were so greedy that they kept licking their mouths.
Tiaozhu looked at them and moved aside a little, making room.
And so, the three little ones buried their heads together and began eating.
Dart even started purring, making a happy rumbling sound.
Jingwei imitated it and also began rumbling.
Who knew how a wolf could make that kind of sound?
Ying Kongtu wanted to hold his forehead again.
Wen Zhongshan had already removed all the organs and cleaned the fish’s abdominal cavity.
Ying Kongtu pointed. “Along the spine here, make another cut. This part has dark red meat.”
Most fish had a strip of reddish-brown meat along the spine. When cleaned, it felt like removing clotted blood.
In reality, it was a type of muscle tissue in the fish.
This meat was especially fishy. If it was not cleaned out, the fish flesh would be contaminated and easily carry a fishy smell.
Wen Zhongshan readily cleaned out the dark meat, then washed it thoroughly with well water.
The fish’s abdominal cavity looked extremely clean.
Tiaozhu and the others did not mind the fishiness and began licking and eating the dark meat.
Ying Kongtu pointed again. “Now cut the gill cover horizontally and pull out the gills inside.”
The fish’s gills were connected to the pharyngeal teeth. Once they were removed, the fish head would also be clean.
Wen Zhongshan cut off the fish head. “And then?”
“Then cut once at the tail. After that, I’ll show you something magical.”
“?”
Ying Kongtu looked at the fish that now had cuts at both head and tail, then handed one of the miscanthus stalks in his hand to Wen Zhongshan.
Wen Zhongshan held the miscanthus stalk, not knowing what it could be used for.
Ying Kongtu looked at him and smiled. “You’re not a germaphobe, are you?”
Wen Zhongshan shook his head.
After planting crops for so long, any germaphobia would have been cured.
Besides, he had never been germaphobic in the first place. Sometimes when he went on missions, he slept and ate outdoors. There had been no conditions for developing germaphobia.
Ying Kongtu then inserted the miscanthus stalk into the fish from the tail.
Wen Zhongshan showed a puzzled expression.
“There’s a large blood vessel here,” Ying Kongtu said. “The blood inside is very fishy. We need to clean it out as much as possible.”
“Like this.” Ying Kongtu blew into the miscanthus stalk.
At the fish head end, from the cut opening, a stream of blood immediately spurted out.
Ying Kongtu removed the miscanthus stalk and encouraged Wen Zhongshan, “You try.”
This was Wen Zhongshan’s first time learning that there was such a large blood vessel here in a fish, and that the blood inside could be released this way. He could not help finding it astonishing.
He tentatively inserted the miscanthus stalk and blew into it.
Another stream of blood flowed out.
The two of them repeated this several times until the blood was cleaned out.
A fish with its blood cleaned away was indeed different. The flesh was white and translucent, faintly tinged with blue, like fresh snow on a mountain peak.
Ying Kongtu said, “Fish processed this way will be especially clean and sweet. The flavor will be very different.”
Wen Zhongshan said, “I’ve learned something.”
Ying Kongtu smiled. “Actually, all fish can be processed this way. There are even tools on the market for injecting water into fish blood vessels to clean out the blood. It’s just very labor-intensive. If you don’t especially love eating fish, there’s no need to go to such trouble.”
“But today’s fish is too good, and Tiaozhu spent so much effort carrying it down from the mountain for us. If we don’t process such a good ingredient carefully, it would be a waste.”
Wen Zhongshan nodded in agreement. “How should I cut it?”
“Separate it into several parts. Chop the head and tail into large pieces for soup. Cut the belly into strips two fingers wide for braising. Slice the rest into thin pieces. Later, I’ll send them to the dehydrator and let Tiaozhu and the others have them slowly as extra meals.”
Wen Zhongshan prepared the fish according to Ying Kongtu’s instructions.
His knife skills were indeed excellent. Each piece of fish he cut was clean and precise.
After the fish was cut, the flesh looked even more translucent and carried a faint sweet fragrance.
Ying Kongtu first pan-fried the fish head and tail.
Wen Zhongshan pulled the bellows, and the large iron wok accumulated fierce heat, melting the snow-white lard.
Ying Kongtu placed the fish head and tail inside. After a brief fry, the exterior of the fish turned a beautiful golden color.
Once both sides were fried golden, Ying Kongtu poured in a large pot of boiling water.
It was boiling water made from sweet well water.
As the condition of the surrounding mountains and forests grew better and better, the water from his well also became sweeter and sweeter.
For making fish soup, this kind of well water could not be better.
The thick iron wok transmitted all its stored heat into the fish soup.
Boiling vigorously over high heat, the fish soup quickly turned milky white, with a thin skin forming on the surface.
Once the fish soup was ready, Ying Kongtu added half of the fish belly.
After briefly cooking it until the fish belly was done, he added a little salt, and it could be served.
Ying Kongtu saved one bowl of fish soup each for the two of them, then divided the rest equally among the three little fellows.
He even specially put on disposable gloves and removed the fish meat.
Although the fish belly and fish tail only had large bones, one still had to be careful. Dart and Jingwei might get bones stuck in their throats.
As for the fish head, that was not much of a problem.
The fish soup was placed on the windowsill to cool. The three little fellows smelled the aroma and paced back and forth under the eaves.
Dart and Jingwei kept whining.
Even Tiaozhu could not help raising its tail high and circling nearby.
Ying Kongtu smiled at them, then set up the wok again to fry fish.
This pot of fish needed to be braised.
Ying Kongtu briefly fried the fish, then moved it to the side wall of the wok and added whole garlic cloves and green and red bird’s eye chilies, using the hot oil to draw out their fragrance.
Afterward, he carefully stir-fried the fish and seasonings together, then poured in his own strong rice wine.
In an instant, as the mist of wine rose, the fragrance of fish also surged upward.
Ying Kongtu added soy sauce, cooked out its savory aroma, then poured in a little well water.
“Just let it simmer a bit and it’ll be done,” Ying Kongtu said.
The fish soup on the windowsill had cooled.
Ying Kongtu took it down and placed it in the corridor, letting the three little ones eat first.
The three little fellows had long since been anxious beyond patience. Now that they smelled the aroma, they immediately plunged their heads into their bowls and ate ravenously.
Even Tiaozhu was no exception.
They ate in big mouthfuls, crunching on the fish head with kacha-kacha sounds. It sounded extremely delicious.
Ying Kongtu patted them one by one, but none of them paid him any attention.
Ying Kongtu went to wash his hands, then served the braised fish meant for them.
“Time to eat!” Ying Kongtu announced.
Although it was breakfast, the dishes on the table were already abundant enough.
Braised fish, stir-fried cabbage, and fish soup.
Two dishes and one soup were placed on the table, paired with slightly jade-green rice. It looked beautiful.
Ying Kongtu signaled for Wen Zhongshan to start.
Wen Zhongshan picked up a piece of fish belly.
The fish had been fried, its surface faintly golden.
Because it had been cooked with seasonings, once he bit into it, the fragrance of the fish was layered—fresh, fragrant, and spicy, very appetizing.
Most wonderful of all was that it had a unique freshness, an especially clear and cold kind of freshness, like the ice-cold vast snowy plains of Siberia, a profound sensation that pierced straight into one’s mind, exceptionally distinct.
At that moment, Wen Zhongshan sensed nothing else. Only that word—fresh—occupied all his attention.
In his early years, Wen Zhongshan had gone on missions to international waters.
At that time, a non-human colleague on board had caught sea fish from the deep ocean.
The sea fish cooked on the ship that time had also been especially delicious, extremely fresh.
But the freshness of sea fish was different from the freshness of this fish. The freshness of sea fish carried a certain heaviness, perhaps the unique savory depth bestowed by the vast ocean.
This fish, however, was fresh in such a clear, piercing way that it was almost startling.
No wonder every living being that had eaten this fish once could never stop thinking about it.
Wen Zhongshan picked up another piece of fish.
When the golden surface was lifted, the fish meat beneath was snow-white and tender, almost like delicate tofu pudding.
With the slightest press of the tongue, the fish melted on the tip of it, incomparably fresh and fragrant.
“How is it?” Ying Kongtu asked.
“Extremely delicious,” Wen Zhongshan answered blankly. “I’ll never forget the taste of this fish for the rest of my life.”
Ying Kongtu looked at him and smiled. “Our lives are so long—”
“I still won’t forget it,” Wen Zhongshan said very seriously.
“Then we must thank Tiaozhu.”
Wen Zhongshan lifted his fish soup and lightly clinked bowls with Ying Kongtu. “Thank you for the gift from the cat mountain god.”
Tiaozhu heard its name and turned to glance at them.
Seeing the two of them smiling at each other, it lost interest and turned back again, continuing to eat with its head lowered.
Pa-da, pa-da.
Tiaozhu was eating very happily too.
