Mountain God’s Forest Farm – CH52

Chapter 52: Boiling Meatballs

Before going down the mountain, Ying Kongtu looked back.

The furry creatures of their household stood in a neat row by the lake, craning their heads to look at the fish in the water. Their eyes were full of longing. They really did look terribly greedy.

Ying Kongtu sighed silently. “When we go down the mountain later, let’s scoop up some stream fish.”

All six mountains under Ying Kongtu’s name had mountain streams.

This year, the mountain ecology had improved, and the stream fish in the gullies had grown quite plump.

Every time he passed by the stream, he could see creek groupers swimming back and forth in the water, looking very lively.

Catching fish would also be simple. They only had to place a back basket in the stream, then stir the water with branches from the other side, and the fish would swim toward the basket.

Once enough fish had been driven in, they only needed to lift the basket, and there would be fish inside.

When the two went down the mountain, they used this method and caught a little over two jin of fish.

Most of them were small mixed fish, a bit of every kind, and all of them looked quite plump and fresh.

That night, Ying Kongtu dried the small fish, mixed them with other meats, and gave each furry creature a portion.

The furry creatures ate them without any special reaction, simply treating them as an ordinary dinner.

None of them realized that Ying Kongtu had specially made this dish because he had seen how much they wanted fish.

Two days later, while patrolling the mountain, Ying Kongtu specifically observed the furry creatures’ behavior and discovered that they were still carrying prey up the mountain to feed the fish.

They looked extremely enthusiastic.

And extremely greedy.

Even Wen Zhongshan could not bear to watch anymore. “Why don’t we scoop up one or two fish for them to satisfy their craving? There are so many fish in the lake. It won’t miss one or two.”

“They already had a treat last time. How can they have one every day?” Ying Kongtu looked at Wen Zhongshan helplessly.

“Then I’ll ask Fu Yuan to help me check whether we can buy other fish or shrimp nourished by divine power?”

“That works. Ask him.”

Wen Zhongshan went to ask decisively, and was quickly scolded back by Fu Yuan.

[You’re really something. Buying fish and shrimp nourished by divine power to feed the little animals at home. If I really had that kind of high-grade ingredient, wouldn’t I have already put it in the Abnormal Management Bureau’s cafeteria to feed everyone?]

[If you’re not selling, then you’re not selling. Don’t get angry.] Wen Zhongshan held the phone a little farther away.

[And buying fish? When are you coming back to work? You’ve taken this vacation long enough. Hurry back and help with the work. I’m about to die from exhaustion!]

[I’m retired.]

[If you want, I’ll go write a reemployment letter right now! Is it still the old address? I’ll mail it to you immediately!]

Wen Zhongshan: [….]

[Keep the employment letter for yourself. I have a high pension. I don’t need it for now.]

[You’re not even older than me, and you’re already lying flat! Aren’t you ashamed? Once your state is adjusted, hurry back to work!]

Fu Yuan was still nagging on the social app.

Wen Zhongshan glanced at it twice, quickly found an opening to send two stickers over, turned off his phone, and ended the conversation.

The moment Ying Kongtu saw Wen Zhongshan’s expressionless face, he smiled and asked, “A bad start?”

“Fu Yuan said there isn’t that kind of high-grade ingredient.”

“Food nourished by divine power really is rare nowadays.” Ying Kongtu had been mentally prepared for this and was not surprised. “Even there aren’t many Ai fish in Ai Lake. As for fish in other places, that’s even more…”

Halfway through speaking, Ying Kongtu gradually stopped, his face turning thoughtful.

When Wen Zhongshan saw that expression, he knew something was up. “What is it?”

“If we insist on saying so, aside from Ai fish, we might be able to find other aquatic products nourished by divine power.”

Ying Kongtu exchanged a glance with Wen Zhongshan. “Do you remember the mussels we saw last time when we went to dig lake mud?”

Wen Zhongshan instantly remembered. “Right. There were mussels too.”

As a snowy mountain lake, Ai Lake’s water temperature was extremely low. Aside from Ai fish, there were basically no other fish species.

As carnivorous Ai fish, they therefore fed on birds and beasts, rather than eating fish like ordinary carnivorous fish.

There were very few fish in Ai Lake, but there were mussels.

Those mussels looked like a mutated variety of ordinary river mussels. They were large, and there were many of them.

Last time, when they were digging lake mud, they had seen quite a few.

Only, at the time, they had been busy digging mud and had neither the time nor energy to deal with mussels, so they had thrown all of them back.

Ying Kongtu said, “Those mussels have lived in Ai Lake for so many years. They can also be considered nourished by divine power. Their taste should be good. We can absolutely scoop some up and bring them back to eat.”

“Shall we go up the mountain and scoop them up later?”

“Scoop, scoop, scoop. I’ll go find the spoon we used to scoop lake mud right now.”

Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan originally wanted to hide it from the furry creatures at home and secretly scoop up some lake mussels.

They even specially observed the furry creatures and waited until they finished feeding the lake fish before coming over from a distant mountain.

Unexpectedly, Ying Kongtu had only just dragged the boat out of the lake-bottom mud when he heard a burst of panting.

He turned his head and saw that their household’s furry creatures had come over again, prey in their mouths, and were now looking at them from not far away with a somewhat stunned expression.

The one panting was none other than Dart.

“Meow?” Dart, the only one with an empty mouth, called at them, not quite understanding why they were here.

They had been caught.

Ying Kongtu looked at Wen Zhongshan and said with his eyes.

It’s fine. They didn’t discover that we followed them.

Wen Zhongshan also replied with his eyes.

“Awooo.” Xian Niao looked at them suspiciously, as though asking what they were doing.

Ying Kongtu said, “We came to scoop up some lake mussels. The New Year is almost here, so we’re adding a dish.”

“Wu.” Xian Niao answered softly and did not seem to have any objections to them scooping lake mussels.

Dart, however, raised its tail high and sauntered over, wrinkling its nose to sniff the little boat that had just been pulled out of the mud.

Ying Kongtu quickly blocked it with one hand while dragging the boat into the water with the other to rinse it. “Dart, stay away from the muddy water. On a freezing day like this, we don’t want to bathe and blow-dry you!”

Dart: “Meow.”

Dart had come over, and Jingwei also charged over excitedly with a mountain rat in its mouth, stepping forward on its big paws.

Ying Kongtu looked at the mountain rat tail still moving and sticking out of its mouth. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he moved slightly toward Wen Zhongshan.

Since these two had come over, Tiaozhu and Xian Niao also came.

And so, one family of furry creatures and two non-humans squeezed together onto the little wooden boat.

It was all thanks to the good quality of the little wooden boat Ying Kongtu had made. Even with so many living beings on board, it did not capsize. It was even quite steady.

Dart was in front of Ying Kongtu’s feet, and Xian Niao was crouched behind him. He did not even have space to turn around.

Every movement he made had to be done carefully.

He carefully used the spoon to stir the lake bottom and carefully scooped up the lake mussels inside.

He had to avoid capsizing the boat, and even more, he had to avoid letting the dirty muddy water wet Dart’s or Xian Niao’s fur.

“When I grow some good-quality trees, sooner or later, I’m going to build a big boat,” Ying Kongtu muttered. “There’s almost no place left to put my feet.”

“It is a little crowded, but it’s quite warm.”

Ying Kongtu turned to look at Wen Zhongshan. His meaning was: You really know how to comfort yourself.

Wen Zhongshan just smiled.

Ying Kongtu was used to scooping lake mud, so his skill at scooping lake mussels could be called masterful.

He only needed to press and tap once to know whether there were lake mussels below.

Although he could not judge the mussels’ size, it was not troublesome to scoop them up first, then throw the large ones into the basket and the small ones back into the lake.

Under the expectant gazes of a boat full of furry creatures, Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan soon scooped up a large basket of lake mussels.

Every time they scooped up a lake mussel, Dart and Jingwei had to sniff it, acting just like qualified supervisors.

“How is it? Is the quality of this batch of lake mussels passable?” Ying Kongtu asked the two supervisors.

“Meow.”

“Awooo.”

“Then let’s head back.” Ying Kongtu reached out and rubbed Jingwei’s head, then rubbed Dart as well. “The wind on the lake is so strong. I’m freezing to death.”

For fairness, he also rubbed Xian Niao and Tiaozhu.

Rubbing warm furry creatures on a cold winter day felt wonderful.

Ying Kongtu raised his eyes and gestured for Wen Zhongshan to rub them too.

Thus, Wen Zhongshan also rubbed them, making Xian Niao and the others’ fur, already tousled by the wind, even messier.

This time, two non-humans and four furry creatures lined up and went down the mountain.

They walked down along the ridge in the twilight.

From time to time, Jingwei could not control itself and would “awooo” twice. No one, human or furry, interrupted it.

Lake mussels tasted very good, but they were difficult to scrub clean. Their meat was also very tough. After being cooked, ordinary people might not even be able to chew them.

Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan sat in the courtyard and rinsed each lake mussel clean with well water. Then they used a small knife to open the mussels, dug out the meat inside, and cleaned away the innards.

The furry creatures lay to the side.

Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan opened one, and they ate one.

Although lake mussels did not taste as good as Ai fish, they were still rare lake delicacies.

Xian Niao and the others ate with great satisfaction.

“They can’t eat too much either.” After feeding each of them several, Ying Kongtu refused to give more. “They’re too cooling. Eat the cooked ones later.”

Tiaozhu licked its mouth regretfully.

Even though they were not allowed to eat raw lake mussels anymore, the furry creatures did not leave. They still lay beside them and accompanied them.

After Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan finished digging out the lake mussel meat, they repeatedly scrubbed it with flour and salt several times, removing all the mucus before taking it back to the kitchen to process.

In the refrigerator, there were various meats that Wen Zhongshan had bought for the furry creatures. All of them were excellent chilled meats.

Ying Kongtu rummaged through and took out pigeon meat, beef, and large shrimp. He chopped them all finely, mixed them with the chopped mussel meat, beat the mixture until it became elastic, and shaped it into meatballs.

Wen Zhongshan tended the fire in front of the stove.

The water in the large iron wok soon boiled. Ying Kongtu had him remove the big pieces of firewood and leave only one small piece, keeping the water in the large wok at a temperature just before boiling.

Ying Kongtu took a spoon, held the meat paste in one hand, and used the spoon in the other to scoop it down, gently placing it into the hot water.

As soon as the meat paste entered the water, it changed color, slowly floated up, and cooked into tender, round meatballs.

The whole kitchen was filled with the fresh aroma of meatballs, mixed with warm steam that slowly drifted outside.

Dart and Jingwei could not resist the temptation. One crouched on the left and the other on the right at the kitchen doorway, sniffing with all their might.

Since they could not eat the meatballs for now, taking a few extra breaths of the aroma was also an extremely enjoyable thing for them.

The furry creatures actually loved this kind of prepared food very much.

It was not a fragrance brought out by seasonings, but the tender, fresh flavor produced by mixing various minced meats together.

Different meats paired together could remove fishiness and enhance freshness, making the meat smoother, more tender, and richer.

Eating this kind of meatball was fresh, fragrant, and tender. It was different from any original form of meat, perfect as a treat.

Ying Kongtu soon cooked a large pot of meatballs.

He froze half of the meatballs for Xian Niao and the others to eat slowly later. After setting aside the portion for the two of them, he directly ladled out the remaining meatballs together with the meatball soup, cooled them, and poured a bowl for each furry creature according to their appetite.

Xian Niao and the others each had different-sized food bowls, and the amount of food they could hold was also different.

Now Ying Kongtu had portioned them out, just enough for them to eat their fill without becoming overly stuffed.

They immediately forgot everything else and walked to their bowls to begin eating excitedly.

Jingwei and Dart ate the fastest.

Jingwei had a big mouth, and Dart was highly efficient. The two almost used their teeth like shovels, clattering as they scooped meatballs into their mouths.

Ying Kongtu did not disturb them. Instead, he walked to Xian Niao and Tiaozhu. “How is it? Is the taste all right?”

Xian Niao: “Awooo.”

Tiaozhu did not answer and only buried its head in eating, looking as though it did not plan to leave two bites this time.

Ying Kongtu and Wen Zhongshan squatted one on each side and accompanied them for a while before entering the kitchen to prepare the human meal.

“It’s a little late today. Let’s eat something simple,” Ying Kongtu said.

Wen Zhongshan had no objections at all. He still sat in front of the stove, ready to tend the fire.

“Burn the fire a little stronger today. We’re stir-frying lake mussel.”

Wen Zhongshan nodded to show that he understood.

When Ying Kongtu had been making meatballs for the furry creatures just now, he had already marinated the portion of lake mussel meat set aside for them.

Now was just the right time to stir-fry it.

He heated the wok and added oil, heating the rapeseed oil until the raw flavor was gone. Then he scooped in a large piece of snow-white lard.

After the garlic cloves released their fragrance, he added his homemade pickled woad seedlings with a sizzling sound.

Under the fierce heat of the wok, the rich sour aroma rose up all at once.

Only after all the ingredients had been stir-fried until they showed a faint tiger-skin blistering did Ying Kongtu add the marinated lake mussel meat.

Under the effect of the roaring fire, the lake mussel meat immediately contracted.

Ying Kongtu stir-fried it quickly several times. Once the aroma of the meat came out too, he poured in strong white liquor.

A hot wok, roaring fire, generous oil, and a mist of liquor.

“Boom—” The flames in the wok suddenly leapt up, burning the ingredients until they released a fierce fragrance.

“It’s fine.” Ying Kongtu calmly said to Wen Zhongshan, who had suddenly raised his head. “This is a cooking technique called hooking fire. Letting the flames burn in the wok can bring out wok hei to the greatest extent and take away any unpleasant smells.”

Wen Zhongshan nodded, but still stood there, watching the wok.

Ying Kongtu hooked one finger under the pull tab of a beer can and opened it with a pop, pouring the beer into the wok. “Braising it a little with beer will make it taste better.”

Wen Zhongshan had already smelled it.

The beer in the wok bubbled and gradually reduced.

Ying Kongtu reduced the sauce over high heat. Once only a little sauce remained in the wok, he added emerald-green chopped scallions.

Very soon, the sour pickled vegetables and stir-fried lake mussel were done.

Ying Kongtu also made a simple meatball and green vegetable soup, and dinner was ready.

Winter nights were cold, and the wind outside was strong, so they no longer ate in the courtyard. They ate inside the house instead.

Today had been rather busy, so their dinner was fairly simple: one dish and one soup.

The dish was lake mussel braised with pickled vegetables, and the soup was meatball and green vegetable soup.

The aroma of the freshly stir-fried lake mussel with pickled vegetables still lingered in the kitchen and had yet to dissipate.

With every breath, they could smell the rich fragrance of the dish.

Wen Zhongshan took a bite.

After the pickled vegetables and lake mussel had been braised with beer and reduced over high heat, they had long absorbed the flavor.

As soon as the dish entered his mouth, the amino acids contained in the pickled vegetables and mussel meat burst out, blooming on the tip of his tongue together with the other flavor compounds.

The savoriness of fermented pickled vegetables and the savoriness of lake mussel, the freshness of vegetables and the richness of meat—all kinds of freshness interwove with one another, yet none gave way to the other.

The flavor they merged into in his mouth was sour, fresh, and spicy all at once. Layers of taste unfolded one after another, countless flavors tangled together, leaving a lingering aftertaste.

This dish, paired with rice, was simply perfect.

It was also one of Wen Zhongshan’s favorite dishes.

Especially the pickled vegetables made from woad seedlings. He had originally thought they were already delicious when stir-fried, but he had not expected that cooking them with lake mussels would create such a different flavor.

Ying Kongtu sat across from him and drank a satisfying sip of green vegetable meatball soup.

The meatballs were indeed just as he had imagined: fresh and tender, with a faint sweetness. They were delicious in soup with napa cabbage. Tomorrow, if they caught some mushrooms and used them to stew chicken soup, they would probably also be delicious.

When Wen Zhongshan finished a bowl of rice opposite him, Ying Kongtu especially said, “I cooked double the rice today. It should be enough.”

Wen Zhongshan went to get more rice.

The two slowly ate their meal.

The furry creatures at home had long since eaten their fill and gone back to the living room to sleep.

Even through the wall, they could hear their breathing.

Wen Zhongshan lowered his head and looked at the two dishes on the table.

Ying Kongtu noticed his gaze. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Wen Zhongshan said. “Today’s food is delicious.”

Ying Kongtu smiled happily.

Wen Zhongshan thought of the little creatures next door.

They truly wanted to eat fish. They had gone to squat by the fish every day.

He had not said that he wanted to eat stir-fried lake mussel with pickled vegetables, yet Ying Kongtu had still made one of his favorite dishes for him.

It looked like he was being fair to everyone, but Wen Zhongshan felt Ying Kongtu’s partiality.

Even if Ying Kongtu himself might not have realized it.

Thinking of this, Wen Zhongshan felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction in his heart, solid and peaceful.

Author’s Note:

Dart loves wandering around the county and knows many little animals’ secrets.

For example, a certain household with a courtyard in the west of town is always getting bird droppings all over the place.

The owner is utterly confused.

Because “if the cat isn’t taught, the mother is at fault.”

Looking at that family’s cat, who was behind the glass provoking wild birds again, Dart thought sympathetically.

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