Chapter 184: Chapter 184: Making Fish Balls

“Did this child dream of eating fish?”

Qi Quanjin laughed and said, “Let’s stew some fish tonight! Look at how much she craves it.”

Yi Meng also wore a gentle smile.

Tucking the loose hair behind her daughter’s ear, she was about to agree but then suddenly thought of something: “Brother Jin, what if we sell the stewed fish at a higher price?”

“What?”

Qi Quanjin was about to lie down. Hearing this, he paused and sat up again: “Ready-made fish?”

“Yes, we’ll prepare the fish at home and then sell it as is.”

The more Yi Meng spoke, the more she felt it was a good idea: “Considering tomorrow is market day, right? Many people will come to town to buy things. We can set up a big pot at the corner to stew fish, and maybe cook some noodles or something. It’s cold, and people will surely appreciate something warm.”

“Cooking noodles and such might work, but how should we sell the stewed fish?”

Qi Quanjin frowned: “We already sell frozen fish for twenty wen per pound. Wouldn’t it be even more expensive if cooked?”

“We’ll sell it by the bowl and not by the whole fish!”

Yi Meng suggested: “Put some pieces of fish or make fish balls and fish ball noodles! Yes, fish ball noodles!”

Qi Quanjin looked confused: “Wife, fish balls? How do we make those?”

“Just…”

Yi Meng pondered.

The fish balls she remembered were made from seafood, and she wasn’t sure if river fish could be used.

But it didn’t matter; they had fish at home and could try it out.

With that thought, Yi Meng tucked the children in and called Qi Quanjin to the kitchen.

The family had been out selling fish in the freezing weather, and Mrs. Qi had saved a big fish to make fish soup for everyone to warm up in the evening.

By now, the fish had thawed. Even if it was a dead fish, its eyes were still bright and didn’t have that stale look.

“Brother Jin, you clean the scales and the guts from the fish.”

While instructing Qi Quanjin to help, Yi Meng fetched the necessary ingredients from the shelf.

Eggs, green onions, ginger, garlic, and pork with about 30% fat and 70% lean.

She chopped the green onions, ginger, and garlic finely, and prepared the seasonings.

After Qi Quanjin cleaned the fish, he took over the task of mincing the meat while Yi Meng moved on to the next step with the fish.

This was a large carp about two feet long, and it wouldn’t fit on the cutting board.

So Yi Meng decided to handle the fish on the kneading board.

She chopped off the head and tail, then skinned the fish and split the body in half before cleaning out the bones.

Sea fish bones are easier to handle, but river fish have more bones, and carp is relatively better for this.

She put the head, tail, and bones in the soup, and used her fingers to check the deboned fish meat for any residual bones.

Once she confirmed there were no bones left, she started scraping the fish meat with a kitchen knife.

At first, she was a bit awkward, but she got the hang of it with practice.

She mixed the prepared fish meat with the minced pork, added two eggs, and then added the chopped green onions, ginger, garlic, and seasonings. She started stirring it all in one direction.

The stirring task was left to Qi Quanjin, while Yi Meng retrieved the fish head, tail, and bones from the fish soup.

The well-mixed fish and meat mixture was then grabbed by hand, and a slight squeeze through the fingers shaped it into a ball, which was spooned into the water.

As the slightly reddish white balls bobbed in the fish soup, an aromatic scent wafted through the kitchen.

Just as Qi Quanli returned to the backyard, he sniffed hard and shouted, “Fourth Sister-in-law, what delicious thing are you making?”

“You gluttonous little rascal!”

Mrs. Qi, also drawn out by the aroma, was startled by her youngest son’s shout and scolded him right away.

Qi Quanli chuckled, put down his empty basket, and quickly ran to his mother’s side, supporting her toward the kitchen in the side room: “Mom, what delicious food is Fourth Sister-in-law making? It smells amazing!”

“You’ll know if you just go take a look.”

Mrs. Qi glared at her youngest son, but she was also curious about what her fourth daughter-in-law was up to.

Why was she so sure it was the fourth daughter-in-law?

Because, apart from her, no one in the house could produce such a delicious aroma.

In the side room’s kitchen, Yi Meng was putting fish balls into the pot, while Qi Quanjin was diligently scrubbing the kneading board.

They had just handled the fish, and the kneading board was full of fishy smell. If not cleaned promptly, the smell would seep into the wood, and then the board would be unusable.

Doing anything with the board would have a fishy taste, which sounded quite unappetizing.

Upon hearing Qi Quanli shout, Yi Meng was startled. Thankfully, she didn’t drop the ball into the pot. She grabbed another handful of fish meat mix and said with a smile, “Old Six’s nose is really sharp.”

“That rascal’s nose is like a dog’s. He can smell something good from two miles away.”

Qi Quanjin also laughed in agreement.

The kitchen door opened, and both were surprised to see Mrs. Qi enter.

As Mrs. Qi saw it was indeed Yi Meng in the kitchen, she thought to herself, “Just as expected.”

She glanced at the pot where the balls were bobbing and then at Yi Meng’s actions before asking, “Fourth daughter-in-law, what are you making?”

“Mom, I’m making some fish balls. Now that you’re here, I don’t have to carry them out.”

Yi Meng called out, “Old Six, help Mom sit down. I’ll serve you each a bowl to try.”

Saying so, she was about to clean the fish mixture off her hands.

Seeing this, Mrs. Qi quickly said, “Don’t get your hands dirty. Let Old Six do it; just tell him what to do.”

Qi Quanli felt like he was already being overwhelmed by the aroma. Naturally, he didn’t refuse. Supporting his mother to sit on a small stool nearby, he then rushed to the stove.

“Wash your hands first!”

Yi Meng immediately reminded him when she saw him reaching out to grab a bowl.

Only then did Qi Quanli remember, chuckling as he tried to slip his hands into the water basin next to Qi Quanjin.

Qi Quanjin hurriedly moved him aside: “Wash in the next room; this water is for cleaning stuff, it’s fishy.”

“Aww, Fourth Brother, I don’t mind.”

Qi Quanli protested and tried to move closer.

Qi Quanjin directly blocked the basin with his body and scolded, “You might not mind, but I do! Go wash your hands properly in the next room! Otherwise, you won’t get any fish balls from your fourth sister-in-law!”

“Huh?”

Qi Quanli exclaimed, “Fourth Brother, you can’t do this! We’re brothers, how can you shun me?”

“Go on, go on, wash your hands now!”

Unable to stand it, Mrs. Qi joined in, scolding, “Old Six, if you don’t listen, you won’t have dinner!”

“I’ll wash my hands right away!”

Qi Quanli jumped three feet high and dashed out of the room.

The three remaining in the kitchen saw this and couldn’t help but shake their heads with a smile.

He’s supposed to be a grown man by now, but he still acts like a kid.

But it’s understandable; being the youngest in the family, before Qi Dalang came along, he was the apple of everyone’s eye.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep