Siheyuan: This is really immoral

Yan Bugui paused while frying salt, wondering if today was an unlucky day. Why did people always bring up irrelevant issues?

But he didn't want to admit that he couldn't catch any fish, so he said pitifully, "Uncle Third is so miserable. He has several mouths to feed at home. How can he have any extra fish to pickle after catching them?"

Of course Lin Zhuang noticed Yan Bugui's expression, but he didn't intend to speak in the same tone as Yan Bugui, otherwise he would have to first play the victim, second seek sympathy, and third ask for something.

"Then why don't you buy some fish, pickle them and then sell them. Wouldn't that help supplement the family income?"

However, when the third uncle heard this, his expression changed instantly, with a hint of panic in his eyes.

"Linzhuang, please don't talk nonsense. I, Yan Bugui, have no such plan. Isn't this speculation?"

Lin Zhuang nodded in his heart. At this moment, it could indeed be considered speculation. He just said it casually just to change the subject.

"Uncle, don't get excited. I just forgot and said it casually."

Yan Bugui and the third aunt then continued to work on their tasks, and Yan Bugui gave another reminder.

"Lin Zhuang, you're lucky you said this in front of me. Fortunately, I'm also known for my tight-lipped mouth. If some bad guy spreads it, you'll definitely be taken away for questioning."

Yan Bugui reminded Lin Zhuang kindly, but he was not at peace at all.

You are such a jerk, Lin Zhuang, you are trying to push my Yan family into the fire!

You are unkind, don't blame me for being unrighteous!

I, Yan Bugui, was still hesitant at first, but I have decided now! I will definitely not take the lightest fish, I will take the fish that weighs two taels as my reward.

After thinking about this, Yan Bugui suddenly felt much more relaxed.

He thought about it for a while. Lin Zhuang went out fishing and came back immediately. He definitely didn't weigh the fish. Two taels didn't make much difference.

Even if he knew, he could just say it shrunk when exposed to the sun.

In a blink of an eye, Yan Bugui immediately said to Lin Zhuang with a big smile, "Frying salt is really a physically demanding job. Look, my clothes are all soaked. But the salt is finally cooked to the right temperature."

Then, Yan Bugui and the third aunt tacitly put the fish in a basin, and then sprinkled salt on the fish little by little with a spatula. When there was one third of the pot left, the third aunt tacitly gave Yan Bugui a few strips of coarse cloth.

The uncle skillfully wrapped the cloth strips around his hands and tied them up, and when the temperature of the salt dropped a little, he began to "bathe" the fish.

Apply salt all over the fish little by little, covering every corner, and finally sprinkle the remaining salt evenly on the fish.

"Third Uncle, is this all right?"

"Almost. Whether the fish is pickled well or not basically depends on how well the salt is fried and how well it is dried."

Lin Zhuang continued to ask: "How long will it take to get better?"

"Now that the weather is hot, three or four days of pickling and four or five days of drying are enough. If we make it in winter, it will take a long time to dry it."

Lin Zhuang nodded, indicating that he understood, and said, "Third uncle, you go ahead and do your work. I'll go home and take a nap."

"Wait a moment."

At this moment, Yan Bugui quickly stood up, untied the cloth wrapped around his hands, and called out to Lin Zhuang.

"Linzhuang, it's hot today and there are a lot of mosquitoes."

"Putting so many fish together will cause a strong fishy smell. Then cats, mice, flies and other things will come."

"So, I thought, maybe it would be more appropriate to buy some chili powder and spread it on it."

Lin Zhuang immediately understood that Yan Bugui wanted to buy some chili paste, but was worried that he would not agree.

Lin Zhuang was a wealthy man, but also a greedy man. As long as he didn't get taken advantage of, it wouldn't be a big deal. He said to him:

"Okay, that's all. How much salt did you buy? And how much chili powder do you want? I'll give you the money later."

Yan Bugui's eyes narrowed with smile and he quickly pushed his glasses up a little.

Seeing that everything was fine, Lin Zhuang planned to go back and see if Ran Qiuye had woken up, and at the same time talked to Yan Bugui.

"Uncle, I need to take a nap. When I leave, I'll bring the money to your room."

"Okay, the ratio of fish to salt is about ten to one. A total of five and a half pounds of salt is used, and each pound of salt costs 1.3 cents. The chili powder needs..."

"Okay, I see."

After saying that, Lin Zhuang went back to the house, and Yan Bugui smiled and lowered his head to work.

"..."

night.

Yan family.

Yan Jiecheng had already finished his three pieces of pickled vegetable and was drinking porridge without any rice grains, and he seemed to say this casually.

"Dad, I heard from Mom that you made a big profit at Linzhuang?"

While speaking, Yan Jiecheng inconspicuously reached his chopsticks into the pickle bowl, trying to pick up a pickle.

Yan Bugui noticed his son's little action at the first moment, and he grabbed Yan Jiecheng's chopsticks with his chopsticks, and moved the chopsticks down to pull down the pickles that Yan Jiecheng had picked up.

He knocked on the edge of the bowl and said, "There is no order without rules. I said three pieces of pickled vegetables per person. If you want more, you have to pay."

Yan Jiecheng didn't have any extra money on him, let alone buying pickles. He immediately withdrew his hand in shame without saying a word.

Seeing that he was honest, Yan Bugui said:

"Forget about this fish."

"We dry the fish extra dry and eat half of it during the Chinese New Year... no, maybe one third."

When Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiefang heard that they couldn't eat fish and had to wait until the New Year, they immediately became depressed and buried their heads in drinking rice soup.

Yan Bugui put a piece of pickled vegetable into his mouth, chewed it slowly, and then gulped down a big mouthful of porridge before saying:

"As the saying goes, if you budget your food carefully for half a year, the more you save, the more you have; the more you eat, the more you have."

At this time, Yan Bugui gave the third aunt a look, and the third aunt immediately understood, got up and went to the cooking area to bring over a bowl of food.

The faint smell of fish made the two boys of the Yan family sniff the aroma frantically. They stood up anxiously, wanting to see what the third aunt was holding in her hand.

"Mom, what's that in your hand? Is it fish soup?"

Although Yan Bugui was not very good at fishing, he could occasionally catch one or two small fish to satisfy his hunger, and they were naturally familiar with the taste.

After the three aunts put the bowl on the table, everyone saw clearly that it was a plate of fried fish bubbles with a few fish roe in it, most of which were full of fish. So they all picked up their chopsticks and wanted to taste the meat.

But Yan Bugui put his big hand on the rim of the bowl, stopping them from thinking.

"I know you are in a hurry, but don't worry yet."

The two brothers Yan Jiecheng were so anxious that they were scratching their heads, not understanding what Yan Bugui meant.