Chapter 52 : Recognize a girl, quail eggs

“Click, click…”  

Lu Fangfang popped the remaining half of the fish into her mouth in one bite but still felt unsatisfied. Without hesitation, she picked up her chopsticks and reached for another one.  

She didn’t even bother thinking about Yang Yufen next door anymore and simply focused on enjoying her meal inside the house.  

She had no idea what kind of fish these little ones were, but when fried, they smelled incredible and tasted even better than the fish from the river in her hometown.  

Maybe it was because the water flowed down from the snow-capped mountains, even the fish from it had a richer, more fragrant taste.  

After eating five or six small fish, Lu Fangfang finally forced herself to stop. Good food shouldn’t be eaten all at once.  

She grabbed a plate from the cupboard and used her chopsticks to pick up the fish, neatly arranging them on the plate.  

She stopped once she had filled up half the plate.  

Then, she placed the steamer on the stove and put in the freshly kneaded steamed buns.  

While the buns were steaming, Lu Fangfang grabbed a flashlight, picked up some of the small fish, and headed to Political Commissar’s house at the back.  

—  

Aiguo and his family were sitting down for dinner.  

On the table were a bowl of pickled cabbage, a bowl of shredded potatoes, a basket of steamed corn bread, and, in the center, a pot of beef bone soup left over from the morning.  

When Lu Fangfang arrived, Wang Shufen immediately stood up and said, “Sister, what are you doing? Take it back, my family doesn’t really like fish.”  

“Sister Shufen, these are just little fish not anything rare. I just wanted you all to try my cooking.”  

Without waiting for a reply, Lu Fangfang placed the plate directly onto the dining table.  

Daya and Tiedan’s eyes lit up instantly. They each grabbed a fish with their chopsticks and popped it into their mouths.  

“It’s delicious! Aunt’s fried fish is amazing, it’s even more fragrant than beef!”  

Tiedan was too busy eating to speak, so he simply nodded enthusiastically in agreement.  

He quickly finished his piece and reached out for another, but Wang Shufen smacked his hand.  

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Wang Shufen scolded, “You two little foodies! Put those down. You already had your aunt’s beef this morning, and now you’re still being greedy?”  

“Sister Shufen, let the kids eat.”  

Lu Fangfang chuckled, pulling Wang Shufen aside.  

“Shufen, don’t worry about it. This is all from Comrade Fangfang’s kindness.”  

Aiguo, who was sitting at the table, spoke up.  

Not just Tiedan and Daya even he was starting to salivate at the sight of the golden-fried little fish. The aroma was simply irresistible.  

Unable to hold back, Aiguo picked up his chopsticks and took a bite.  

“Hiss… this is really delicious! Comrade Fangfang, your cooking skills are excellent.”  

Giving her a thumbs-up,Aiguo continued, “Are you settling in well at the family compound? If you ever need anything, just let Shufen know. Before Xiaozhuang left, he specifically asked Old Gao and me to take good care of you.”  

“Everything is fine. Thank you for your concern, Political Commissar.”  

Wang Shufen, still holding Lu Fangfang’s hand, scolded her playfully, “Why are you still calling him Political Commissar? From now on, call him brother-in-law.Old Xiao, from now on, you call her Sister Fangfang.”  

“Alright, from now on, I’ll call you Sister Fangfang.”  

Aiguo agreed with a smile.  

Lu Fangfang, feeling a little shy, couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being drawn into forming deeper ties.  

Quickly changing the subject, she asked Sister Shufen to take her inside.  

She was planning to raise quails in the future, so she needed to learn how to hatch eggs herself. Since she was free tonight, she figured she might as well take the opportunity to see how Sister Shufen did it.  

“My husband and I just went to Zhao Guilan’s house and traded for some duck and goose eggs. They’ve just started hatching.”  

As Wang Shufen spoke, she lifted the quilt at the head of the kang bed, revealing rows of neatly arranged eggs underneath.  

“So many!”

Lu Fangfang looked a little surprised.  

There were nearly thirty eggs chicken eggs, duck eggs, and goose eggs laid out on the kang bed, making for quite a sight.  

“I’m afraid some of them might be bad, so I incubated a few extra. If I can’t raise them all, I’ll give them to the neighbors in the staff quarters,” Wang Shufen explained.  

Lu Fangfang nodded in agreement. That made sense.  

It took a month to hatch fertilized eggs, so it was always better to incubate more just in case.  

She reached out and touched the mattress, finding it warm. Then, she checked the eggs they were also warm.  

“Incubating eggs is simple, but it takes time. In the summer, when it’s hot enough, you can just leave them in the chicken coop, and they’ll hatch on their own without much care,” Wang Shufen said.  

Squatting down, she stuffed a handful of hay into the kang hole.  

A few sparks flickered inside, and soon, the hay caught fire.  

Lu Fangfang thought about the news she had seen in later years, stories of chicks hatching inside egg trucks during hot summers.  

She chuckled and shook her head before turning her attention back to the setup.  

Under the kang in Sister Shufen’s house, there was a mattress covered with a layer of cloth. When Lu Fangfang touched it, she found it slightly damp.  

“It’s too dry, so I sprinkled some water on it. The eggs need to stay moist for the first few days,” Wang Shufen explained.  

Lu Fangfang silently took note.  

She finally understood that as long as the temperature and humidity were kept stable, the eggs would hatch successfully.  

After observing for a while, she decided to head back.  

She had a steamer going on the stove at home and couldn’t afford to leave it unattended for too long.  

“Girl, take your plate,” Wang Shufen said, handing her the now-empty dish.  

“Sister Shufen, just eat, no need to see me off,” Lu Fangfang replied.  

Taking the plate, she returned home.  

Steam was rising from the pot on the coal stove. She let the buns steam for a little while longer before taking them off the heat.  

She pulled out the freshly steamed corn bread and started eating while it was still warm, pairing it with some crispy little fish.  

Hot steamed corn bread tasted pretty good, but eating too much of it could cause heartburn and wasn’t great for digestion.  

Still, she enjoyed the crunchy fried fish immensely.  

She only set her chopsticks down once her stomach was full and she let out a satisfied burp.  

Eating was when Lu Fangfang felt happiest.  

There was still a small portion of uncooked fish left in the enamel basin. She grabbed her iron pan and fried two more plates.  

By the time she was done, it was already close to nine o’clock.  

After soaking her feet for a while, she quickly undressed and climbed into bed.  

After a whole day of working the fields, Lu Fangfang was completely exhausted. Her body ached all over, and she tossed and turned for a while before finally falling asleep.  

—  

The next morning, she woke up at the crack of dawn.  

After getting up and washing, she was about to reheat some steamed buns when she heard the gate of the courtyard open.  

She stepped outside and saw the leader’s wife standing by the door.  

Lu Fangfang was a little surprised. She welcomed the woman inside and asked curiously, “Sister-in-law Shuhua, what brings you here so early?”  

Chen Shuhua didn’t answer right away.  

She glanced around the room before finally lifting the basket in her hand. “I heard you were looking for quail eggs. The commander had some, so I brought you a batch.”  

Lifting the cloth covering the basket, she revealed half a basket full of quail eggs.