Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Trump Card and Trough Clam Gathering

They felt they had successfully gained the favor of Zhao Hongqi from the commune and Deputy Director Qian from the county, ensuring that certain people from the brigade could be released.

Who would have thought that, when the moment came, not only was Zhang the Brigade Leader present, but they also underestimated this woman from Nanli Village.

Just a rural woman; even if she’d won the county martial arts championship, they didn’t think much of it. Who would have thought she was so meticulous and sharp-tongued? With a few words, she almost completely toppled the lies they had painstakingly crafted.

Zhao Hongqi coughed and said, “Even though they’re at the commune, it’s not forbidden to visit. Besides, young people who patrol at night often gather to smoke and chat. We can’t deny their patrol duties just because there are many of them.”

Ling Chengyan glanced at the two people from the Longsheng Brigade, whose expressions seemed improved, and also at Deputy Director Qian, who kept himself at a high moral ground, projecting an impartial front. Suddenly, she smiled slightly, took out a slightly crumpled piece of paper, shook it vigorously, and handed it to Zhang Hanchao.

Little Li, standing behind Zhang Hanchao, curiously leaned in for a look, and couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Zhang Hanchao’s previously slightly furrowed brows relaxed, and even the corners of his eyes showed a hint of amusement. He coughed, covering up the young officer’s lapse, shook the paper in his hand, and chuckled, “With this, I think there’s no need for further discussion, we can make a direct judgement.”

With that, he got up, holding the paper up to Deputy Director Qian’s face, letting him see, but clearly not intending to let go—obviously on guard against him.

Seeing Ling Chengyan take out that paper caused Deputy Director Qian’s heart to skip a beat, foreseeing something unfavorable. When she shook the paper, everyone present could see the few dark red fingerprints on it, and roughly guessed the situation.

At this moment, Zhang Hanchao triumphantly displayed the paper in front of him—clearly slapping him in the face right there.

He placed his hands on the table and suddenly stood up, pushing Zhang Hanchao aside without a word and quickly walked out of the meeting room. Zheng Jing cast a glance at Zhang Hanchao and the rural woman and hurried out after him.

“Impossible, in the pitch black, how could there be a confession!” Zhang Qingguang cried out in a state of distress.

Zhang Hanchao looked at them, the amusement completely gone from his expression, and said coldly, “Verdicts are based on evidence.”

The written confession in black and white ink, along with everyone’s fingerprints, these are the strongest and most direct evidence. You think it’s impossible, just because you say so?

With that, Zhang Hanchao left the small meeting room with Ling Chengyan and Li Haiyang.

Walking a few steps outside, Zhang Hanchao said to Ling Chengyan, “You focus on training and preparing well for the district competition, don’t worry about anything else.”

Ling Chengyan nodded without saying much and returned to the training ground.

That evening, she rode her chestnut-colored horse back home.

Riding for her was as natural as eating or drinking, much more comfortable and pleasant than riding a bicycle.

Riding a bicycle limited her to even surfaces, but horseback riding was much more convenient. As long as it wasn’t too wide a ditch or dense shrubs, they could easily cross over.

As a result, Ling Chengyan galloped along the riverbank for a stretch, initially thinking of catching a wild duck or goose to improve the children’s meals, but unexpectedly ran into two people fishing for clams.

In her past life, Ling Chengyan didn’t live near the coast and rarely had the opportunity to eat seafood. Being here, she was much closer to the sea, where homes frequently stock salted fish and shrimp paste, authentic coastal foods.

“Clams?” Ling Chengyan dismounted, intrigued.

The person took one out from a basket hanging at his waist to show her. Though covered in black mud, it clearly had two shells longer than a man’s fingers, about two fingers wide, with the distinctive feature of having two fleshy little legs sticking out from one end of the shell.

“Pretty big!” Ling Chengyan exclaimed.

“This isn’t the biggest. This one’s about two years old; old clams over three years can grow half a foot long, as thick as a child’s arm, and a single clam can yield two to three ounces of meat.”

As he spoke, the other man bent over and suddenly exerted force, pulling up a special wire hook in his hand, shouting loudly, “Caught a big one.”

Both Ling Chengyan and the fisherman quickly ran over to see that he had indeed a clam larger than his palm in hand.

After watching the spectacle for a while, Ling Chengyan ended up buying the ten-something pounds of clams they caught, along with a basket to carry them, and went home with them hanging on one side of her horse.

Riding a horse was even faster than riding a bicycle, and she reached home before the sun had completely set.

The elder cousin’s wife and Hongling were at her house. Ling Chengyan shook the basket in her hand, calling to Xiaoxing, Xiaoyu, and Hongling who had run out, “Look what good stuff I brought back.”

The group ran to see, and though Xiaoxing and Xiaoyu didn’t recognize them, Hongling, having seen them before, asked, “Clams, did you fish these yourself, Aunt?”

Even the elder cousin’s wife came out, clicking her tongue at the clams spilling into the basin, “This is the best early spring delicacy, perfect for wrapping with chives dumplings!”

Ling Chengyan turned to her with a smile, “You gather the chives, I’ll make the dough!”

The elder cousin’s wife laughed, “We just had beef dumplings the other day. We can’t be eating dumplings every day, can we? Let’s have chive egg soup instead, it’s just as delicious and fresh!”

With that, she briskly went off to pick chives.

As for the clams, the task was left to Xiaoyu, Hongling, and Xiaoxing, who washed, parboiled, and shelled them, and then sat around a large basin peeling the meat.

Hongling adeptly guided Xiaoyu and Xiaoxing, “Make sure to remove these black lines, or they’ll cause a stomachache if eaten.”

Ling Chengyan fed the horse, washed up, then found that the girls had finished peeling the clam meat. The meat, fat and plump, except for the fleshy little legs that were reminiscent of bugs.

The chives from the uncle’s garden had just sprouted, less than a foot high. The elder cousin’s wife picked two rows and sat in the courtyard trimming them.

The water used for parboiling the clams settled for a while, with all sediment and impurities at the bottom. They skimmed the clear broth with a ladle, cleaned the big pot, and with a bit of lard, fried it. The clam water was then poured back into the pot as the soup base. Once boiling, the season’s first tender chive segments were added, followed by pre-mixed flour paste, and an egg. The combination of chives and seafood created an intensely fragrant aroma that attracted everyone.

The shelled clam meat was already a supreme delicacy, needing no excessive seasoning; just a pinch of flour and two eggs, mixed well, and slowly fried in a hot oiled pan until golden on both sides. A sprinkle of chive bits, and this spring’s first taste made everyone’s mouths water.

Ling Chengyan filled a soup pot with clam soup and a bowl of fried clam meat and personally delivered it to her aunt-in-law.

The elder cousin’s wife and Hongling stayed back for dinner at Ling Chengyan’s house.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep