Chen Lan looked back, and lo and behold! Those two little rascals were truly bold and daring! The brother and sister were quite clever! Because the carrying basket was a bit deep, the two little ones couldn't reach the things inside, so they tipped the basket over. Jia Yao, with his chubby little hands, pulled out a "feilong" from the basket, shouting, "Meat, meat."
Jia Hui, not to be outdone, used her little chubby hands, holding a "feilong" in each, and also shouted, "Eat meat!"
Looking at these two little gluttons, Chen Lan was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. For a while now, everyone had been gathering wild goods in the mountains almost every day, and she herself had been hunting diligently. Every few days, she brought a few pheasants back to the kindergarten for the children to have chicken soup. The children in the kindergarten had seen pheasants quite often, and they were used to it and weren't afraid.
Chen Lan thought, it seemed the little ones hadn't had enough pheasant soup yet! Here they were, the brother and sister, still clamoring for meat.
Seeing the mischievous ways of the siblings, her mother, accustomed to it, said, "Lan'er, these two are so bold now. They don't know what fear is, and their curiosity is especially strong. They have to touch everything with their hands, poke at it with their fingers!
If you have anything important, you'd better put it away quickly! Don't let them catch sight of it.
As she spoke, she suddenly looked at the "feilongs" in the children's hands and asked, "Lan'er, what you hunted today doesn't look like pheasants. Are they some kind of birds?"
Chen Lan happily replied, "Mom, I hunted feilongs today. You should know what feilongs are!"
Her mother immediately became excited and nodded happily, "I know, of course I know. Aren't feilongs said to be 'dragon meat from the sky'? They are said to be one of the Northeast's Eight Delicacies!"
Chen Lan continued to explain, "Yes! Feilong meat is tender, delicious, and nutritious. It's very suitable for the elderly and children to eat. It's lucky to have hunted these five feilongs today! It's deep autumn now, perfect for you and the children to nourish your bodies."
Her mother smiled and said, "Why do you always need to nourish us like this! Besides, we eat well every day. Although we don't have seafood, we constantly have mountain delicacies. I'm enjoying a good life with you."
When Chen Lan heard her mother mention "seafood," she suddenly felt a craving. Yes! Since coming to this valley, no, since crossing over to the 1950s, she had eaten plenty of mountain delicacies, but she hadn't had seafood in a long time.
So she quietly said, "Mom, the big kitchen outside is preparing pork stew to celebrate the harvest today. Why don't we mothers, along with Mama Liu and Mama Cui, and Aunt Xiaoshan, eat some seafood in advance to satisfy our cravings after the children take their afternoon nap?"
Her mother's eyes immediately lit up, and she smiled, "You know, it really has been several years since I last had seafood. It would be wonderful to have seafood and a little liquor today! Mama Liu will surely like it; she loves shrimp the most."
Chen Lan nodded and asked, "Mom, what kind of seafood do you like? I'll get it for you."
Her mother smiled and said, "Lan'er, just get three to five kinds. We'll simply clean them, steam them, or boil them. We'll have them plain with a dipping sauce, don't make it too complicated."
Chen Lan agreed, "Okay! Mom, don't worry! I'll listen to you! I'll prepare three to five kinds, and we'll have them plain with garlic sauce. I'll go to the kitchen to prepare now."
Saying this, she took the "feilongs" that had been so thoroughly played with by the siblings and said, "Jia Yao, Jia Hui, be good boys and go take a nap with Grandma. Mommy will go to the kitchen to make you meat, okay?"
The siblings nodded their little heads adorably and said, "Meat, eat meat."
Chen Lan was speechless. These two little ones were truly obsessed with meat!
Chen Lan picked up the feilongs that had fallen on the ground and put them back in the basket. She handed the siblings over to her mother to watch and picked up the basket, intending to go into the house. But the siblings wouldn't have it. They clung to Chen Lan's legs, one on each side, not letting go, and cried, "Mommy, carry us!"
Chen Lan had no choice. She didn't want to make the siblings cry their eyes out before their nap, so she relented. Carrying the basket, she cradled one child in each arm and prepared to enter the house.
As she approached, she ran into Mama Liu, Mama Cui, and Aunt Xiaoshan, who were just coming out. The three of them greeted Chen Lan in unison, "Xiao Lan, you're back! Oh! Little Jia Hui and Jia Yao are being affectionate with their mother?"
Chen Lan quickly greeted the three elders, "Mama Liu, Mama Cui, Aunt Xiaoshan, I hunted a few feilongs today. Please help me clean them so they don't spoil."
With that, she crouched down, put the siblings down, and placed the basket behind her.
When Mama Liu and the others heard that she had hunted "feilongs" today, they were also very interested and immediately gathered around to look at the "feilongs" in the basket. Mama Cui and Aunt Xiaoshan had never heard of them before, so they were even more curious.
Chen Lan found it inconvenient to hold the siblings while carrying the basket, so she left the basket with the five feilongs and bid farewell to the three elders before going into the house with the siblings.
As soon as she entered the kitchen, she placed the siblings on a low stool opposite the stove and said to them, "Jia Yao, Jia Hui, sit here obediently. Mommy will make you meat, okay?"
The siblings nodded their little heads adorably and sat obediently on the low stool, their big eyes curiously watching Chen Lan busy herself.
Chen Lan first opened the system with her mind and went to her usual fresh food store. She ordered the large prawns that Mama Liu loved. It was said that large prawns were rich in protein, esculetin, and magnesium, making them the best for nourishing children and pregnant women! She also ordered abalone, known as a "seafood delicacy" for its delicious taste and rich nutrition, which her mother loved. She also ordered clams, swimming crabs, and oysters, making it five kinds. Chen Lan also liked shrimp, so she bought an extra serving of king prawns.
Taking the items out of the system warehouse, Chen Lan immediately began to clean them. First, she soaked all the purchased seafood in salt water. This was to help them spit out any sand, disinfect them, and allow the seafood to expel any toxic substances from their bodies.
When Chen Lan had finished cleaning the seafood and was about to put them in the pot to steam or boil, she looked up at the siblings again and couldn't help but giggle. The siblings were leaning against each other, their little heads nodding like chicks pecking at rice! Their mouths were dribbling saliva, and they were almost sliding off the ground. It was estimated that the siblings had been asleep for a while.
Chen Lan quickly went forward, picked up the siblings, and put the two little ones in the rocking crib in the living room, tucking them in with a quilt.
At 2:30 in the afternoon, Chen Lan, her mother, and the others finally got to eat the shrimp, abalone, and other seafood they had long missed.
Her mother and Mama Liu, while sipping their wine and eating their favorite seafood, were in sheer bliss.