Siheyuan: Big City, Small Love

The third canteen

He Lai and Yu Shui were chewing on a large lobster while He Daqing was drinking tea and watching them.

"Slow down, both of you! Why are you still the same as when we were little? Eating a meal is like being chased by a wolf!" He Daqing said with a smile.

"Oh, there's nothing I can do. It's because Yu Shui had no father or mother to love him when he was little. So he has to follow me and eat faster!"

He Lai swallowed a large piece of lobster meat and said in a mean way.

"I think you're itching for a fight and want to get a beating!" He Daqing raised his hand and slapped him immediately after hearing that.

"Go ahead and hit me. If you want to hit me, you have to get through the rain first!" He Lai said with a smile, hiding behind the rain.

Yu Shui held the lobster in both hands and smiled at He Daqing.

"Yes, yes, yes, you are the oldest, eat, eat."

He Daqing suddenly lost his temper.

"Uncle He, this dipping sauce is so delicious. You have to teach Yu Shui. We have to eat lobsters every day from now on! We can't live without this dipping sauce."

He Lai discovered that He Daqing was really good at these ingredients! No wonder in the original drama, Sha Zhu was able to make Fatty and Yan Jiecheng a couple with just a few secret ingredients.

"Can't you learn something? All you do every day is let the rain do this and that."

He Daqing glared at He Lai.

"Yu Shui and I have always been like this. She takes care of the inside, and I take care of the outside. If you don't believe me, ask Yu Shui!"

He Lai said shamelessly.

"Well, Dad, I want to learn!" Yu Shui said.

"Okay, okay, okay, Dad is leaving now, so he won't be an eyesore to you and make me upset!" He Daqing said and got up and left.

"Hey! Hey! Uncle He, if you want to leave, just leave. Why did you take my lobster?"

He Lai quickly spoke up.

He Daqing ignored He Lai and walked out quickly with a lobster in his hand.

……

When he got home from get off work, He Lai found Wu Juan sitting on the sofa, holding Wen'er in her arms, and Wu'er was crawling on the sofa.

"When did you come back, mother?" He Lai walked over, picked up Wu'er and asked.

"I came back this morning on a bullock cart. I heard from the people in the hospital that you were on a business trip, so I came to see you."

Wu Juan didn't expect He Lai to come back today.

"Hey, mom, are we considered to be mother and son? We came back on the same day."

He Lai said with a smile.

"Yes, of course not! Where's Yu Shui? Why can't I see her?"

Wu Juan didn't see the rain coming in and asked in surprise.

"She went to Brother Zhuzi's house to prepare some delicious food. You can try some later!"

He Lai replied.

"Okay, Mom, give it a try. My son is really capable. By the way, next time, don't put the golden eagle in the bedroom. It will make a mess. Remember to put it in the kitchen, okay?"

Wu Juan reminded him. She was startled when she was cleaning the house just now. The two golden eagles were still lying on He Lai's bed, and Wu Juan didn't dare to touch them.

"Okay, I'll make a nest for them in the kitchen some other day," He Lai agreed.

"What do you mean by another day? Mom will do it for you right now. Just watch Wen'er and don't let them fight."

After Wu Juan finished speaking, she left Wen'er next to He Lai and went out to look for something.

"Brother, brother, come in! Come in!" When Wu'er saw her mother leaving, she immediately shouted to He Lai.

"Come in, be good, and eat a dragon fruit."

He Lai immediately took out a dragon fruit from the space and gave it to Wu'er to eat.

"Ah...ah..." Wen'er also screamed beside her.

"Yes, yes, yes, and you, little guy." He Lai almost forgot about Wen'er and quickly gave him one.

In this way, He Lai and the other two sat on the sofa, watching Wu Juan carrying a pile of wooden boards and rags into the kitchen. After some banging and hammering, a simple bird's nest was ready.

"Okay, go and let those two eagles go." Wu Juan said as she picked up Wu'er.

"Uh, okay." He Lai had no choice but to do as he was told.

Soon, the two golden eagles reluctantly came to the bird's nest that Wu Juan prepared for them. It was quite big, but it might be a little hard! Haha.

He Lai could only touch their heads and give them two pieces of beef as a comfort. He would just put some cotton on them later.

After settling the golden eagle, He Lai returned to the living room. At this time, Yu Shui also came back with the dishes.

"Mom, you're back! Come and try the crabs my brother brought back. They're delicious."

Yu Shui put the steamed blue crabs and a plate of braised blue crabs on the table and called Wu Juan to come and eat.

"Okay, Mom, try it. It's so big! It must be several kilograms. How do I eat it?"

Wu Juan exclaimed when she saw the steamed crabs.

"Mom, my dad taught me, I'll teach you!" Yu Shui smiled, picked up a steamed crab, and started to process it.

In the past, the old city of Sijiu had the tradition of eating crabs and appreciating chrysanthemums. The crabs they ate included "sea crabs", "purple crabs", "river crabs", "lantern crabs", etc. Among the crabs sold on the market, the "Shengfang crabs" produced in Shengfang Town, Jinshi are the most famous.

After the crabs arrived at Sijiu City, Zhengyanglou and other big restaurants first selected the first-class "hat goods", and then they were distributed to the fish beds of Xiheyan, Dongdan Archway, and Dongxi Sipailou. By the time they were sold on the streets, they were already very small and skinny, the last goods.

In the past, when people in Beijing talked about Zhengyang Tower, they mainly talked about eating crabs.

People in Sijiucheng pay attention to the "seven pointed and eight round" style when eating crabs. That is, in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, they eat crabs with pointed navels, which are male crabs, and eat the roe; in the eighth month of the lunar calendar, they eat crabs with round navels, which are female crabs, and eat the roe.

When eating crabs at Zhengyanglou, the first thing to pay attention to is the tools, namely the eight crab pieces. What are the eight crab pieces? First, prepare a crab anvil, then prepare a crab hammer, use the crab hammer on the anvil to crack the big claws of the crab, and then use the crab pliers, crab skewers, crab forks, crab scrapers, crab scissors, and crab shovels, collectively known as the "eight crab pieces".

Bring the crabs up, add old vinegar with minced ginger, some cooked soy sauce and coriander, and use tools to pick out the crab meat and eat it.

Later, Zhengyanglou added crab banquets, preserving many historical ways of eating crabs.

Of course, it is not popular nowadays. Even Zhengyanglou has been converted into a state-owned restaurant, but there are still many craftsmen and some people who are good at eating.

Yu Shui probably got some tools from the chef He Daqing and was busy preparing crab meat for Wu Juan.

"Why is it so troublesome, Yu Shui, can't you just bite it directly?" Wu Juan asked, looking at Yu Shui's little movements.

"Haha, that's right, don't bother with the rainwater. I'll get a knife and cut it, we can just eat it directly."

After He finished speaking, he went to the kitchen to get a knife, and quickly cut several blue crabs into several pieces. He tapped the crab claws with the blade of the knife and the crab meat came out.

Seeing He Lai's operation, Yu Shui also put down the spoon in his hand and thought that there was nothing wrong with eating this way! Convenient, fast, effective, and most importantly, delicious!

These big blue crabs in Helai are all big and plump. The males have plenty of crab roe, the females have rich crab roe, and even the crab shells are bulging.

"Mom, don't just eat the meat. The yellow crab roe is the essence of the female crab, and the bluish-white stuff is the crab paste, which is the most delicious part of the male crab."

He came to see that Wu Juan had picked out the crab roe and didn't eat it, so he reminded her.

"Ah? If you hadn't told me earlier, I would have thought that yellow thing was something else!"

When Wu Juan heard that crab roe and crab paste were both good things, she quickly picked them up, put them on the steamed bun and started eating.

He Lai laughed a lot. People who have never eaten crabs really don’t know these things. When they see the yellow color, don’t they think of shit?

After a while of picking and choosing, He Lai and the other two finally ate their fill. Even Wen'er and Wu'er ate some crab roe. As for the crab meat, forget it because they were still young and would find it difficult to digest.