Rebirth 90: The Long Road to Finding a Son

After finding the house number of Luo Changgeng's house, Sun Aimin rang the doorbell.

Soon, a woman in her fifties or sixties came out and opened the door. She looked at the father and son, with a friendly smile on her face. She looked at Sun Aimin and said, "You are Xiao Sun, right? Come in, come in, the old man is waiting anxiously."

Sun Aimin nodded and replied, "Hello, Auntie. I was afraid that it would be too presumptuous to come to visit suddenly!"

The woman opened the gate wide, let Sun Aimin and his son in, then closed the gate again and said with a smile, "The old man always complained that the family was too lonely because the children and grandchildren were not at home often. You are here just in time! Oh, this child looks smart, no wonder the second son likes him so much."

While they were talking, Sun Aimin and his son had followed the woman into the house and into the living room.

The woman said to the two of them, "You guys sit on the sofa and wait for a while. I'll go call the old man."

Arriving in an unfamiliar environment and facing strangers, Xiaoshu was inevitably a little nervous and held Sun Aimin's hand tightly.

Sun Aimin squatted down and said to him, "Son, don't be nervous. Look at the grandmother just now. Isn't she very kind? Everyone likes you very much!"

He knew that his son's uneasy behavior had a lot to do with the living environment and people he had been in for a long time. He had to constantly encourage and affirm him so that he could gradually get rid of the shadow left by the past and stand in the sun generously and confidently.

Two minutes later, the woman helped an old man down from upstairs. The old man muttered, "Oh, no need to help me, my legs and feet are fine!"

The woman smiled helplessly and said, "Dad, you are so old now, you'd better be careful. It's okay if you don't want me to help you, but next time you go out, in, or up and down the stairs, take the crutches with you!"

This woman is Luo Changgeng's wife. She usually takes care of Mr. and Mrs. Luo's daily life. There is also a young nanny at home, who is currently busy preparing dinner in the kitchen.

While talking to his eldest daughter-in-law, Mr. Luo had already walked down the stairs and arrived at the living room on the first floor.

Sun Aimin, who was originally sitting on the sofa, saw the old man coming downstairs, and quickly put his son who was sitting on his lap on the ground and stood up. He also stood up, took two steps forward, and said respectfully to the old man: "Hello, Mr. Luo. I came a little late today. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting!"

The old man waved his hand and said, "It's okay. I have nothing to do at home all day, you can come anytime."

He looked the father and son up and down for two seconds and nodded secretly. The father and son had dignified and decent features. Although he did not know how to read faces, based on his experience of seeing countless people throughout his life, the saying that appearance is determined by the heart is absolutely true.

Moreover, the child looks smart and clever. If he is really interested in Chinese medicine and persists in learning it, he will definitely achieve something.

The old man asked Sun Aimin and his son to sit down, and he sat on a single sofa next to him, and called Qian Xiaoshu forward: "Child, come here!"

Sun Aimin stroked Xiaoshu's head and said softly, "Go ahead, just answer whatever Grandpa asks you truthfully!"

Encouraged by his father, Xiaoshu walked closer to Grandpa Luo and politely called out, "Grandpa!"

The more Mr. Luo looked at the child, the more he liked him. He couldn't help but say to his daughter-in-law next to him, "Look at how this child looks. How come he is so good-looking? Compared with this child, those kids in our family are simply unbearable to look at!"

Luo Changgeng’s wife thought: Are the Luo family’s children ugly looking?

She looked at the little tree carefully again: Hey, there is no harm without comparison!

"Dad, that's because my parents have a good foundation. Look at his grandson, he's tall and handsome. How could they possibly give birth to an ugly child?" Luo Changgeng's wife responded to the old man.

This was true, but Sun Aimin felt as if he was being implied. Thinking of the ugly and naughty child at home, he began to feel upset again.

Luo Changgeng's wife looked at the time. It was almost six o'clock, and it was almost time for dinner. She said to the people in the living room, "You guys chat first. I'll go to the kitchen to help out. Xiao Sun, you can eat here later. Grandpa knew you were coming, so he prepared everything."

Sun Aimin asked, "Auntie, do you need my help? I don't have any other skills, but I'm good at cooking."

When Luo Changgeng's wife heard this, she was delighted: "Oh, Xiaosun, you can cook? Not many men can cook nowadays!"

Sun Aimin replied: "To be honest, I live by this. I'll go to the kitchen with you to see what other ingredients you have and make two dishes that older people like."

Then he said to Xiaoshu, "Son, stay and talk to Grandpa. Daddy and this grandma are going to prepare dinner!"

Luo Changgeng's wife was very happy to be able to eat the chef's meals at home. She immediately agreed and took Sun Aimin into the kitchen.

"Xiao Ye, how is the preparation of the dishes going? Is there anything left to do?" Luo Changgeng's wife asked the nanny.

The little nanny was preparing a fish at the moment, and turned around and said, "Auntie, there are only two more dishes left. Grandpa and grandma must be waiting anxiously, right?"

Luo Changgeng's wife waved her hands and said, "No, no, don't worry. Xiaosun, look at the fish in Xiaoye's hand. How about you cook this dish?"

Sun Aimin responded readily: "No problem!"

The nanny had already scraped the fish scales clean and was preparing for the next step. Sun Aimin said, "Let me do it! How about I make fish fillet in tomato sauce today?"

Luo Changgeng's wife didn't know what the fish fillet in tomato sauce that Sun Aimin was talking about was. Fish was always stewed or steamed at home, and the taste of all fish was pretty much the same. She was very interested in this new way of eating it that she was about to see.

"Xiao Sun, you can cook whatever you want. I'm tired of the fish we usually cook at home. It's a good time to change the taste. Do you have enough ingredients to make this dish?"

"This dish doesn't use many ingredients. I saw some tomatoes nearby and thought of this method. It tastes sweet and sour, which is quite appetizing. And it's safer to eat after removing the spines and slicing."

"Okay, okay, let's make this dish. Xiaoye, you can follow and learn from here, so that when your family wants to eat it, they can make it themselves!"

Sun Aimin began to process the big black fish. He first rinsed the remaining scales on the big black fish with water, then used scissors to cut open the fish's belly. While doing so, he explained to the nanny Xiaoye: "Be careful when doing this step, don't break the fish gallbladder, otherwise the fish meat will taste bitter."

After cutting open the fish belly, clean out the internal organs and remove the gills by hand. After further rinsing the blood off the fish body and belly, chop off the fish head with a kitchen knife and set aside.

Next, it was time to fillet the fish. He explained the technique while doing it: "When filleting the fish, the blade should be close to the fish bones, slightly tilted, and the fish meat should be sliced ​​neatly. The same goes for the next piece of fish."

After shaving the meat from the bones of the two large pieces of fish, Sun Aimin carefully sliced ​​off the fish bones, and then began to slice the remaining fish meat into thin slices.

Cut the fish head in half, cut the fish bones into several sections, soak them in water to remove the blood, and then clean them to make fish soup. Add a little salt to the fish slices and stir for a while, then rinse them under running water to remove the remaining blood. At this time, the reddish fish meat has turned white, and the appearance has instantly become better.

He also added a little white vinegar to the fish fillet, added an appropriate amount of white pepper powder, and kept stirring it, which could help remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor.

"Xiao Ye, look, in this step, when stirring the fish fillets, you should stir them in one direction, gradually making them somewhat sticky. This will make it easier for the fish fillets to be coated with starch, and the taste will be better."

After completing this step, Sun Aimin poured the scallion and ginger water that had been soaked in advance into the fish fillets and continued to stir to coat them with batter.

He asked Xiaoye to get an egg, beat the egg white into the fish fillets and stir again to fully blend the egg white and fish fillets, and then added cornstarch to make the cooked fish fillets smooth and tender.