Reborn in 1977

Before long, half a pot of turtle was divided into three large sea bowls, each covered with a slightly smaller bowl and wrapped tightly with a clean cloth. Jiang Lili found him a basket to put them in.

Chen Fan, carrying the basket, said to Jiang Lili, "You eat first. I'll deliver these and come back."

Jiang Lili said, "Then I'll wait for you to come back and eat together."

Chen Fan smiled. "No need. You eat yours first. It's cold, and the fishy smell will be strong when it cools down, so it won't taste good."

He paused for a moment and then added, "Don't skip the vegetables. We've already agreed on half and half. You can't eat too much, but you can't eat too little either."

He was truly exasperated with this young girl. She was the only one at the educated youth spot, and there were so many cabbages and radishes in the backyard, yet she only ate pickles with her meals. He couldn't understand what she was thinking.

Jiang Lili lowered her head and pursed her lips. "Okay."

Chen Fan walked out, turning back to urge her worriedly, "Be sure to eat first, don't wait."

Jiang Lili walked to the kitchen door, watching him leave. "I know. It's getting dark, be careful and watch the road."

Chen Fan smiled and then turned to leave.

When he arrived at Captain Yang's house, they were eating dinner. Seeing Chen Fan carrying a basket, they quickly stood up to greet him.

Captain Yang first had his daughter bring a chair, then said to Chen Fan, "You've come at a good time. Have some with us."

Chen Fan quickly shook his head. "No, no."

He also greeted Aunt Yang, who was preparing to get bowls and chopsticks, "Auntie, no need to trouble yourself. I'll be leaving soon."

He then put down the basket, took the bowls and placed them on the table, unwrapping the cloth.

Captain Yang looked at him curiously. "What is this?"

Chen Fan didn't say anything, just grinned, and uncovered the bowl.

Captain Yang, Aunt Yang, and the five Yang siblings all exclaimed in unison, "Meat?"

Chen Fan pointed. "Captain, try some."

Captain Yang looked at him in surprise, then looked at the meat in the bowl, a thought flashing through his mind. "Could this be turtle meat?"

Chen Fan immediately gave a thumbs up. "Captain, you have sharp eyes. You recognized it as turtle meat right away."

Captain Yang grinned and chuckled. "Hey, you caught such a big turtle just now, and now you're bringing over a bowl of meat. There are even turtle claws in this bowl. I'm not stupid or blind, how could I not tell?"

Then, with a surprised expression, he took a deep breath. "Wow, there's really no fishy smell. How did you do it?"

This bowl of meat really surprised him. Since childhood, the elders had told them that this stuff couldn't be eaten. Every few years, there would be a fool in the village who didn't believe it, cooking up a pot of turtle that even pigs wouldn't eat. The fishy smell was so strong that just thinking about it made him lose his appetite.

But he never expected that Chen Fan could bring out a bowl of turtle that had absolutely no fishy smell. Naturally, he couldn't help but be amazed.

Chen Fan chuckled and began to explain. "Actually, it's very simple. Turtle has a strong fishy smell and doesn't taste good mainly because it's not handled properly. To remove the fishy smell from the turtle, the most important thing is three points. First, it's the outer membrane of the turtle. The fishy smell of the turtle is mostly from the outer membrane. You have to tear off the outer membrane for the turtle to be edible.

Second, it's the turtle's fat, which is the yellow stuff attached to the meat. The fishy smell of these fats is also very strong. You have to cut them off, and you can't cut them open, because if they break and get on the meat, it will also affect the meat quality. The third is the blood."

Chen Fan pointed to the turtle blood in the bowl. "Just like slaughtering pigs, if you don't drain the blood completely, the meat will have a fishy smell, and no matter how you cook it, it won't taste good. As long as you drain the blood completely, the meat will taste much better. Moreover, adding some salt and ginger juice to the blood and stirring it makes a good dish of blood tofu. After such treatment, when you cook the turtle, the meat won't have much of a fishy smell."

Taking a couple of breaths, he added with a smile, "Actually, turtle is a famous dish in some places. For example, in Jiangsu, there's a dish called 'Farewell My Concubine,' which uses turtle and chicken. In Fujian, there's also a method of stewing turtle in clear broth. Moreover, this thing is very nutritious, even more nourishing than old hen, so eating turtle is really not uncommon. It's just that it's relatively rare in our area."

Captain Yang suddenly understood. "So there are so many things to pay attention to when cooking a turtle. No wonder no one ate the ones we made before. So it turns out that if it's made well, it's a famous dish, and if it's not made well, even the pigs won't eat it!"

Then he looked at Chen Fan suspiciously. "Did you lose your memory or not? How do you even remember this kind of thing?"

Chen Fan's expression stiffened. He wondered what kind of expression he should give at this time, painful or lost? Or a blank, confused look?

In the end, his face fell. Forget it, he didn't have the acting skills. He just said in a low voice, "Anyway, I can't remember where my home is. I only know how to make this turtle when I see it."

Captain Yang's heart stirred. "Then tell me, what else do you remember?"

Chen Fan frowned and tried hard to think, whispering, "Does washing eel with wood ash count?"

Captain Yang was speechless. "I know that too."

Then he frowned, looking at him closely. "Could someone in your family be a cook? Otherwise, why are all the things you remember about food?"

Chen Fan's expression changed a few times, and he looked at him with a troubled expression. "People take food as their heaven?"

Meaning, could it be that he himself just loved to eat?

Captain Yang's face also fell. What was all this?

Chen Fan tried hard to recall the computer and mobile phone in his room before he transmigrated, as well as his hard-earned savings to marry a wife. His expression naturally became heavy. "I'm just taking things one step at a time now. I hope that Public Security Officer Zhu can help me find my family soon, so I can go home and reunite with them."

Captain Yang pursed his lips and nodded slowly. "Good people have their own blessings. It definitely will happen."

Chen Fan forced a smile, then stopped talking about it, pointing to the still steaming bowl. "It's hot, you should try it."

"Alright, I'll have a treat today."

Captain Yang didn't stand on ceremony, picked up his chopsticks, took a piece and put it in his mouth. After only two bites, his eyes lit up and he gave a thumbs up. "Delicious!"

The others also looked at the bowl of meat with anticipation.

Even though Captain Yang was the team leader, earning 300 more work points than other families a year, which was equivalent to earning 19 yuan and 50 cents more this year, and his life was much better, there were still not many opportunities to eat meat.

Like other families in the village, they all looked forward to slaughtering the New Year's pig and eating meat at the end of the year.

So this big bowl of turtle meat came as a big shock to them.

Just then, the eldest girl in the Yang family suddenly ran to the back, returning shortly with a bamboo basket in her hand, leaving only one sentence, "Dad, I'm going to catch turtles."

She darted out.

Chen Fan only had two words in his mind: So fast!

Then he really wanted to say that he had already searched once just now, and all the turtles had been caught.

But thinking about it again, it had been more than three hours, what if new turtles had been refreshed?

So he closed his mouth tightly and didn't say anything.

Captain Yang not only didn't mind his daughter's behavior, but was quite proud of it. The eldest girl's head was just clever, not eating the ready-made meat, but running to catch live ones, so she would eat even more!

Then he reached out and grabbed Chen Fan. "You're not allowed to leave today. Eat here. Let's have a couple of drinks."

Have a couple of drinks?

Chen Fan was first delighted, there was even wine to drink?

But the next second he reacted, shaking his head like a rattle drum. "No, no, Captain, I can't drink."

He didn't dare to drink. There was no good wine here. What if something happened after drinking it?