Chapter 48: Brother is awesome! We've eaten so well these past two days, Song Qingshu...

We've eaten so well these past two days, Song Qingshu is sick of meat. Last night, he told He Feng he didn't want meat and wanted some vegetables.

In winter, the most common things farmers have are cabbage, dried sweet potato slices, carrots, white radishes, and the like.

Not to mention Song Qingshu, He Feng himself felt a little nauseous looking at all the meat in the cupboard. After a long moment of deliberation, he put on his cotton-padded jacket and prepared to go out.

He grabbed a sharpened bamboo pole from the cabinet in the east room and said, "Son, I'll go see if there are any fish in the river. We'll catch them and steam them."

"To the South Bridge?"

"No, let's go to the river behind the house. It's not big, so if we come across any fish, they're easy to catch."

This river was dug by He Feng's father and his brothers, but they left a moderate dam in the middle. In the summer, when the water is high, the water from both ends can flow together and towards the South Bridge.

In winter, when the water level is low, the central dam is exposed, splitting the river into three sections. He Feng planned to try the middle section.

He'd actually considered digging a hole and sitting right next to it for ice fishing, but the ground was frozen solid, so even earthworms couldn't be dug out. Without bait, it was difficult to catch

. Since he had nothing else to do, he decided to check out the back.

"I want to go, too," Song Qingshu said, appearing in a jacket, a hot water bottle in hand. "It won't be cold this way."

He stared intently at He Feng, like a flower longing for food.

He Feng reached for his long scarf, stood before Song Qingshu, and wrapped it around his neck and the lower half of his face, revealing only his nose and eyes.

He tucked in the loose ends of the scarf and said with a smile, "We should knit a hat for the baby so that everything is covered."

Song Qingshu blinked, but said nothing. Like a little snowman, He Feng led the way to the back of the house.

It hadn't snowed in a few days, and the water outside had melted quite a bit. He Feng didn't let Song Qingshu go down. The riverbank was still quite slippery and a bit steep, so it was safer to stand up.

"Stand here and watch," Song Qingshu hummed, obediently sitting on a fallen poplar tree, some distance from the riverbank. It was

a very safe place.

Xiao Hei and Xiao Hua also ran out of the yard. They'd been eating well lately, so they didn't go to the restaurant door together anymore. Instead, they were chasing chickens and ducks at home.

Later, He Feng closed all the doors to the chicken and duck pens to prevent them from playing, and they began to wander around the yard again.

He Feng stood on the stone dam, holding a bamboo pole, his eyes fixed on the river. Song Qingshu knew that you couldn't talk while spearing fish, as it would scare the fish away.

His own mouth was already covered by his scarf, so he lowered his head to cover Xiao Hua's mouth, pinching Xiao Hei's long mouth.

Now he couldn't make any noise and disturb He Feng.

The two, one large and one small, didn't struggle. Their breath lingered on Song Qingshu's cool hands, and the hot water bottle rested on his legs, warm.

Their round eyes continued to stare at He Feng, from head to toe, each blink a fleeting moment, afraid they'd miss something, or that He Feng would slip.

After all, the stone dam wasn't smooth; it had been smoothed by the water. From Song Qingshu's angle, the dam had almost become a semi-elliptical shape.

He Feng stared intently at the riverbed. The outer layer of ice wasn't particularly thick, but it was still hard to see clearly. He had broken a piece of it with a brick when he first came over. The fish inside, seeing the light, came closer,

but swam away in an instant.

He Feng's hands were a little cold from the wind, and he wore gloves to prevent any damage. He just stood there, staring at the fish.

When he first broke through the ice, he saw a black fish inside, weighing about two or three pounds, perfect for steaming or making pickled fish.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, He Feng bent down and grabbed some soil from the riverbank next to him, crushed it with his left hand and threw it in.

Sure enough, the fish that had been hiding under the ice poked their heads out to bite. He Feng was quick-eyed and quick-handed, and pierced the body of the black fish with a fork. He pierced it straight to the bottom of the river, making sure that the fish was pierced through before he pulled it out.

The bamboo pole was stuck with mud and a little grass from the riverbed, and it had a fishy smell. When he took it out, he found that the fish was a little bigger than it looked, probably three and a half pounds, almost four pounds, and very fat.

It was still shaking its tail and trying to run after being caught in the air, but it had been pierced through, and it was completely motionless after shaking a few times.

"Baby, it's forked!" He Feng shouted to Song Qingshu. His voice was not loud, but the village opposite could hear it.

Someone who came to visit relatives saw a fish pierced through the bamboo pole in He Feng's hand and said that he was amazing for being able to catch such a thing.

Song Qingshu saw the fish he put on the line with his own eyes. He immediately withdrew his hand and stood up.

He jumped twice in excitement and almost slipped before he stood up holding the hot water bottle. His eyes were dark and bright, and his eyebrows were curved. When He Feng came up, he approached him like a kitten, "Brother, you are so awesome!"

The voice came through the scarf. He Feng half-bent over, "Then, little one, kiss brother?

" Song Qingshu leaned over and touched the corner of his lips through the scarf, then quickly moved away, "Let's go."

When He Feng approached, he held the bamboo pole a little further away. There was a fishy smell that lingered. Xiaohua smelled it and meowed, jumping to reach for it.

Two furry paws stretched out.

Xiaohei did not come to help, but went back to the yard first, wagging his tail.

He Feng turned around and saw Xiaohua jumping around, lifting the bamboo pole net, and Xiaohua jumped even higher.

Two round eyes were fixed on the fish.

He Feng swung the bamboo pole, and the fish's tail swung with his movements. He smiled and said to Xiaohua: "It's bigger than you, stop jumping."

In the past, He Feng would not do this, and would only scold Xiaohei occasionally, but he found that Song Qingshu loved talking to cats and dogs, and did not care whether they understood or responded.

Later, he also began to talk to Xiaohua and Xiaohei, bushiing it as pure education or scolding.

There was no sauerkraut at home, so He Feng cut open the fish, threw all the innards to Xiaohua, cut it in half and steamed it, and even the biggest dish at home could not fit it.

Song Qingshu saw a head of cabbage next to the cupboard, the outside was a little wilted, and he didn't know if it was frozen or because it had been stored for too long.

"Why don't you stir-fry some more cabbage and steam half of the fish?"

"Okay." It was cold, and things could be stored without worrying about them going bad. He Feng found another plate and divided the cleaned and cut fish into two halves and placed them on two plates.

He changed the knife and sprinkled salt on it, put two slices of ginger under the belly of the fish, and poured a circle of rice wine on it.

After he was done, he walked to the back of the pot. Song Qingshu did not take off the scarf on his face. He sat on the small stool and looked up at him. He

was as obedient as a child waiting for his parents at the gate of an elementary school.

He Feng couldn't help but rub his head, "Don't you want to stay in the main room?"

Song Qingshu shook his head. He Feng pinched the back of his neck through the towel, "Go, bring two walnuts, I'll peel them for you."

When he came over again, Song Qingshu had taken off his scarf and was holding three walnuts in his hand. He Feng's eyes paused for a moment on his white hands, "Good boy."

"You can only eat two today." He brought all three, added some firewood to the pot, and then cracked the walnuts with his hands.

"Do you want roasted red taro?" He Feng suddenly remembered that Liu Xianghe had brought over a few small red taro last night, saying he bought them specially for the children to roast and eat, so they were sweet.

Song Qingshu nodded. "Do we have any sweet potatoes at home?"

He Feng went to wash his hands. "Hey, go look in the east room. They're just behind the curtain, you can see them at a glance." They

were indeed placed in plain sight, so Song Qingshu didn't need to be found before he brought four small red taro over and wanted to stuff them directly under the pot.

"Put the red taro on the ground first, and eat the walnuts." He Feng handed over four walnut kernels. His walnut-shelling skills had improved a lot.

Song Qingshu was no longer so averse to eating walnuts, because after eating them, he would receive a soothing, gentle kiss from He Feng.

Today, He Feng didn't cook rice porridge, but sweet potato slices boiled in water. Song Qingshu didn't like it, but only liked to drink sweet tea with a slight sweet potato flavor.

Actually, it was because He Feng added a little sugar, but there was also a hint of the sweetness of the sweet potato itself.

After the open flame under the large pot was no longer needed, He Feng came over to light the flame under the small pot and started stir-frying the cabbage.

Since he could tell Song Qingshu didn't want to eat meat, He Feng prepared a vinegar-fried cabbage dish, which was more flavorful than a plain stir-fry.

He had always stir-fried it

with lard, but this time, aside from the lard, there was no meat involved. The firewood under the large pot had already turned to charcoal. He Feng picked up some sweet potatoes from the ground and stuffed them in with an iron fire stick, then covered them with the flickering charcoal fire.

After all four were in, he started stir-frying.

Song Qingshu moved from the small stool to the one He Feng had made, watching the pot as if afraid the sweet potatoes would escape.

The sizzling sound of the cabbage as He Feng poured it into the pot, brought him back to his senses, and he began to watch He Feng cook again.

He loved watching He Feng cooking in his apron; it felt so homely, and at that moment, he could clearly feel that he was living with him.

That's why he loved being in the kitchen with He Feng.

No, to be more precise, he was happy just being with He Feng.

He Feng poured vinegar around the pot and closed the lid. The firewood underneath had just burned out. "Pour some hot water, wash your hands, and eat."

They didn't make many dumplings before the New Year, and since He Lishu and He Zhenxing each ate two on New Year's Day, they had just finished them yesterday.

From today on, only the steamed buns he made were left. He Feng opened the pot, quickly took out the fish, and poured some sesame oil on it.

Song Qingshu went to the main room to wash his hands after smelling the food. After washing his hands, He Feng held the steamed bun basket with steamed fish in one hand and the vegetables in the other.

It was too cold in winter, and hot tea would get cold after a while. He Feng didn't serve it out in advance, so he asked Song Qingshu to turn on the lights in the house and close the wooden door of the main room.

The cold air was kept out, and it suddenly felt less cold.

Xiao Hei's huge body curled up under the small square table, head lowered, waiting to be fed.

Xiaohua huddled at Song Qingshu's feet, meowing, as if urging him to eat, or begging for food.

They had been eating a feast of fish and meat for a few days, and Song Qingshu was afraid that they wouldn't eat the steamed buns if he fed them. But luckily, Xiaohei would eat anything. Xiaohua had just eaten some fish entrails, and He Feng broke off the steamed fish tail and threw it to it.

The warm yellow light from the tungsten bulbs shone into the room, and it seemed to be warm too.

This meal, which looked quite light, was the cleanest meal the two had eaten in the past few days. Song Qingshu burped and rubbed his stomach with his hand.

He Feng saw this and brought him over, holding him in his arms, rubbing his belly with the back of his hand, "Is it so delicious?"

Song Qingshu looked at him with a smile and gave him a thumbs up, "Brother's cooking is especially delicious!"

There was still some cabbage soup at the corner of his mouth. He Feng lowered his head and kissed him. He Feng was so flattered by just one sentence that he was at a loss, "As long as you like to eat it, you're still too thin."

Except for a little soft flesh on his cheeks, Song Qingshu didn't gain any weight anywhere else. He still looked as slender as a bamboo cut down for the New Year.

"I've gained weight, feel it." He pulled He Feng's hand and put it on his soft belly.

He Feng couldn't help but pinch it, and it happened to touch his ticklish spot. He huddled in He Feng's arms and laughed. He Feng continued to tease him without noticing that he had a smile on his face.