I, Sun Shan, and the Imperial Examination

Sun Shan looked at the turtle curiously. It was very big and heavy, and would be best used to make soup.

Sure enough, the village chief pointed at the water fish and said, "Son-in-law, Chunlan, take it back later and bring it back to the He family. It's best to use it to make soup."

Uncle He waved his hand and said, "No, this is what Dalang worked so hard to catch. You keep it for yourself."

The village head's wife smiled and said, "We country folk don't know how to eat. If you ask me to cook, I can't do it. It's a waste to give it to us."

The village head's wife was telling the truth. When we catch soft-shelled turtles, we usually sell them and never eat them at home.

Now that Chunlan is back, it would be best to take it back to the He family to eat.

Uncle He smiled and said, "It's actually very simple. Just add some angelica, longan, wolfberry, and red dates and stew them. The fish soup is delicious, nourishing the yin and kidneys, and it's mild without being hot. It's best for you, the village chief."

Mr. He didn't dare to take it. It was obvious that the turtle had lived for many years. It had high nutritional value and was worth a lot of money.

The village chief waved his hand and said, "I don't know how to add this and that. You people in Fucheng are different. You know how to eat, understand how to eat, and how to cook. Don't say anything. Take it back and give it to Old Madam He. Don't despise it."

Uncle He and the village chief and others pushed and pushed, and finally they used their numbers to defeat the minority. Uncle He carried the bucket, Yu carried the empty basket, and Aunt Sun took Sun Shan home.

Just after walking out of the door, I met Uncle Sun who came to look for me. He hurriedly said, "Sister, brother-in-law, I was just about to look for you. The meal is ready and I'm waiting for you to come back and eat."

Seeing the fish water in my brother-in-law's bucket, I shouted exaggeratedly: "Oh, what a big fish, where did my brother-in-law get it from?"

Yu Ge'er answered first, "The village chief gave it to me. It's the first time I've seen such a big fish."

Yu Ge'er wants to keep it as a pet, not kill it or eat it, but I don't know if his parents would agree.

Uncle Sun took the pole from Yu Ge'er and said with a smile, "It must have been caught in the big pond. Villagers have caught one before, but none as big as this one."

A few people went home chatting and laughing.

As soon as they entered the house, the Sun family looked at the water fish curiously, and a few naughty boys even caught some to play with.

Huang scolded, "Don't play with it. It's for your eldest aunt to take back to the city." Children don't know the seriousness of the matter while playing, and they are most afraid of dying from playing.

Fortunately, the village chief caught a big water fish and brought it back to the He family. Others would also want Chunlan's parents to give a decent return gift.

I feel bad for spending less than I have earned over the years. Thanks to my son-in-law’s love for Chunlan and the kindness of the He family, they didn’t mind my daughter-in-law moving things back to her parents’ home.

It was not yet dark. The days were short and the nights were long in winter, so the Sun family planned to have dinner early.

Soon a pot of hot pot was served. The evening meal was much more sumptuous than the lunch.

Fried duck with basil, goose stewed with fermented bean curd, braised local chicken, steamed pork with kudzu root, stir-fried lettuce with garlic, and finally a large pork rib with lotus root soup. The lotus root and pork ribs were picked up and stir-fried with lotus root and pork ribs.

The food was served at two tables, one for men and one for women.

Huang picked up a piece of lotus root first, and then the others could start eating.

The Sun family does not have the rule of not talking while eating or sleeping. Everyone chats while eating.

Dingde from the third room was like his uncle. He ate the meat desperately while laughing, "Wow, it's delicious. The goose smells so good. Dad, I want to eat fried chicken."

Uncle Sun saw that his youngest son had half his mouth full of rice grains, and then looked at his brother-in-law. Fortunately, his brother-in-law was gentle and didn't mind.

She knocked his hand that was holding the food with her chopsticks and said angrily, "Just eat your meal, why are you making so much noise?"

After looking around, I found that my youngest son was the most untidy. His brothers were eating properly, but he was eating like someone was snatching the food from him. It made me annoyed just watching him.

I looked at Sun Shan at the next table again. I didn't know how annoying he was until I saw him. The comparison was even more infuriating. Shanzi was one year younger than De Ge'er, and his behavior was much more steady than De Ge'er. He stayed quietly next to his eldest sister, eating and chewing his food slowly.

Obviously De Ge'er is more handsome than Shan Zi, but once they eat, you can tell who is more uneducated.

De Ge'er was scolded by his father. He felt aggrieved, with rice in his mouth and red eyes.

Uncle He on the opposite side quickly put a small chicken drumstick into De Ge'er's bowl and said comfortingly, "De Ge'er, be good and eat the chicken drumstick."

De Geer wanted to grab the chicken leg for a long time, but the leg was in front of his cousin Yu, so he didn't dare to do it. His parents said that the He family was the backbone of the family, and everything they ate and used had to be closely related to the He family. If they were found to be snatching things from his cousin Yu, they would have to eat pork stewed with rattan sticks.

Although De Ge'er was young, he knew that his aunt's family was rich. The clothes he wore were made with cloth that his aunt bought from the capital.

The most important thing is the interest rate that my aunt gave me, which is the highest among all the people I know. The beautiful longevity lock and silver bracelet were also given by my aunt. My father and mother said that I should keep these and melt them down in the future to use for marrying a wife.

Seeing my uncle picking up a chicken drumstick for me, my previous unhappiness disappeared, and I said with a silly smile: "Thank you, uncle, I like chicken drumsticks the most."

The boys at the same table were so envious. We also like to eat chicken legs.

Sun Shan sat next to Aunt Sun, and next to him was A Niang Su.

Aunt Sun had already picked up a chicken leg for Sun Shan, and also picked up some meat dishes. She smiled and said, "Shanzi eats so slowly and so little, no wonder you are so thin." Compared with the children of his second and third brothers' families, the only boy in his eldest brother's family was really thin and short.

Sun Shan's mother, Su, said hesitantly, "Maybe she was born prematurely. She won't gain weight no matter how much she eats."

The doctor from the next village said that the baby had a small stomach and couldn't eat too much at one time. It was best to eat small meals frequently and slowly grow up. The doctor dared to give such instructions because he saw that the Sun family was well off. If it was a poor family, it would be good enough for them to be full.

Second Aunt Jiang agreed and said, "Shanzi does eat less than his brothers. It may be because he was born prematurely."

Aunt Zheng said with a wry smile, "Yes, Shanzi is not like the others in my family. All they think about is eating, eating, eating. They can eat anything."

Seeing how much Aunt Sun doted on Sun Shan, Zheng was so jealous. For Sun Shan's full moon, Aunt Sun gave him a gold bracelet and a longevity lock. My three children were all given silver gifts, which was really biased.

But so what if he was partial? Zheng didn't dare to object. If she continued to argue, she would probably not get any money.

Huang looked at Yu Ge'er and said with a smile: "It would be great if the child at home was like Yu Ge'er, who would enjoy eating anything and be pleasing to the eye."

When Yu Geer heard his grandmother talking about him, he picked up a piece of pork from the men's table and put it in Huang's bowl, saying with a smile, "Hey, grandma, eat braised pork. It's soft and sticky, and it's the best for you."

When Huang saw the braised pork in the bowl, she laughed and said quickly, "Oh, my brother Yu is such a good boy, so filial."

Seeing that there was no barrier between her son and his family, Aunt Sun said happily, "You are just sweet-talking and good at coaxing people. Mother, when Yu Ge'er is at home, he often coaxes his grandmother and often cheats her out of her money."

Yu Ge'er looks like He Erlang, and He Erlang looks like his mother. When Yu Ge'er, He Erlang and He's mother walk out, you can tell at a glance that they are a family of three.

So apart from her eldest grandson Jing'er, He's mother favored Yu'er the most.

Aunt Sun's words made Yu Ge'er feel embarrassed. His face turned red and he sat back to eat awkwardly.