When Zhang Deben heard this, he said timidly, "That won't do. They belong to the Production Team. If we steal them and get caught, it's over!"
"Just don't get caught, then nothing will happen!" Liu Guixiang said angrily. "If you don't dare, I'll take my son myself!"
After saying that, she ignored Zhang Deben, leaving him there to sigh.
Two militia members who lived nearby were carrying fish home.
"Hey, Seventh Brother, why do you think Fugui is so fierce?" Zhao Kuiwu considered himself quite brave, but looking at Fugui's achievements, he really didn't dare to compare.
Wang Laoqi's mind was currently filled with his wife and children, imagining their reaction when they saw these fish.
His two daughters at home were as thin as beanpoles, they were really lacking in nutrition.
This entire winter, the whole family hadn't seen any meat or fish.
Then, it was as if the God of Wealth had suddenly entered their house.
First, he brought back a wolf, and now he brought back a large string of fish!
No! It's not the God of Wealth, it's Fugui!
This was all brought by Fugui. So many people, all older than Fugui, really lived all these years for nothing!
Being surrounded by a Wolf Pack, they actually had to rely on the youngest, Fugui, to save their lives!
The escaped criminals were also killed by Fugui; the Captain bringing people over was simply picking up what was left!
And he even shared the fish with them!
"Fugui is not an ordinary person!" Wang Laoqi muttered.
"What? Seventh Brother, what did you say?" Zhao Kuiwu didn't hear clearly and asked.
"I said Fugui is not an ordinary person!" Wang Laoqi said.
"Have you ever seen an ordinary person go into the mountains with a fox?"
"I heard that the white fox voluntarily followed Fugui home. Isn't that recognizing him as its master?"
"Tsk tsk, this fox thing is really strange!" Zhao Kuiwu said, smacking his lips.
"Don't talk nonsense, that's a fox immortal!" Wang Laoqi said solemnly.
"Ah, yes, yes, fox immortal! No offense, no offense!" Zhao Kuiwu said nervously, as if afraid the fox immortal had heard his words, and quickly bowed around to apologize.
When they arrived today, they saw Fugui sitting alone in the middle of the lake, stroking the white fox, and looking at them with a smile.
In that scene, there was a momentary illusion, like a celestial being from another world looking at mortals.
Is this still that silly boy from the Zhang family?
Wang Laoqi suddenly shivered and stood still. He thought of a question!
"Seventh Brother? What's wrong?"
"You say, were those two escaped criminals really killed by Fugui?" Wang Laoqi said, trembling.
"Who else could it be? Besides Fugui, there was only a fox. Could it be the fox..." Zhao Kuiwu also reacted.
"Seventh Brother... are you saying... the fox immortal?"
Neither of them spoke anymore and walked home in silence. Once some thoughts arise, they can never be eliminated.
And they weren't the only ones with this view.
Everyone who went into the mountains together that day was carefully pondering Fugui.
They pondered until late at night, unable to sleep, and the final conclusion was: Fugui is righteous towards everyone, and the fox follows Fugui, which means it's the guardian immortal of the whole village!
It's that simple!
At this moment, Zhou Cang was stewing fish at home, completely unaware that he had passively gained some mysterious aura.
The white fox, which he used as a hunting dog, also officially became the guardian immortal in the hearts of the whole village starting today!
Several old men and Old Lady even secretly lit a few incense sticks at home.
It's just that none of them came out and told anyone about this, treating it as a secret they had discovered themselves.
Fugui guarded the large pot, while Zhang Yue and Xiao Bai (Little White) squatted beside him, not leaving his side.
Today's meal was iron pot stewed carp with cornmeal flatbread as the staple.
Last time he went to Old Sun's shop, Zhou Cang also brought back a lot of seasonings.
In the iron pot was a large carp weighing over six catties.
Zhou Cang first scraped off the fish scales and cleaned the internal organs and gills.
He made a few cuts on both sides, then fried it in hot oil until both sides were golden brown, so it wouldn't easily break apart no matter how long it was stewed later.
After frying the fish, he pushed it to the side of the pot with a spatula. He left some oil at the bottom of the pot and added green onions, ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and dried chilies to stir-fry until fragrant.
The aroma was intoxicating. By this step, Zhang Yue and the Little Fox were already drooling.
Then he added half a scoop of soybean paste and stir-fried until fragrant.
Without cooking wine, he poured in half a bowl of tiger bone wine as a substitute and added a scoop of white sugar.
Then he added water to cover the fish and put on the lid to start stewing!
Zhou Cang washed a few potatoes and roughly scraped off the skin with a cleaver. He opened the pot lid and used the root of the knife to gouge out chunks of potatoes.
Every time he gouged out a piece of potato, there was a crunching sound, and then it plopped into the pot. This was simply the most beautiful sound Zhang Yue had ever heard in her life.
The firewood shouldn't be added too fiercely, otherwise the soup would dry up quickly and it wouldn't be good.
Stewing slowly over a stable low heat for half an hour, Zhou Cang lifted the pot lid again.
The rich aroma made the Xiao Yatou and the white fox almost dizzy. He took a piece of the freshly mixed cornmeal with his hand.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
He patted a circle of large flatbreads and pressed each one down to stick to the iron pot.
He put the lid back on and continued to stew.
After about ten minutes, he lifted the lid, and a fish aroma mixed with the smell of the flatbread instantly filled the entire room.
The meat of the pure wild large carp was delicious, mixed with a hint of chili aroma.
The large flatbread had formed a golden brown crust and emitted a rich corn fragrance.
He first used a spatula to shovel out the large flatbreads one by one, put them in a basin, and carried them to the heated brick bed table.
Hu Xianglan sat on the heated brick bed, rubbing hides, and waited for dinner with a smile.
Zhou Cang then shoveled out the large carp. The fish was too big to come out of the pot whole, so it had to be divided into two plates. Fortunately, they were eating at home, so they didn't need to care about these details.
He shoveled out all the soup from the bottom of the pot and poured it over the fish.
The iron pot stewed carp was ready!
The three of them sat on the heated brick bed. The Little Fox paced anxiously on the ground until Zhou Cang picked up a large flatbread, broke it open, dipped it in the fish soup, and put it in its small bowl.
It ate with smacking sounds, its eyes narrowed into slits.
"Mmm, delicious, delicious!" Zhou Cang said with a smile. "Grandma, Xiao Yue, eat more, there's plenty of fish!"
"I want to eat fish again tomorrow!" Zhang Yue said while eating, her large eyes also curved into crescent moons.
"I must eat fish today too!"
Liu Guixiang thought bitterly, other families must be eating fish today, she must eat too!
She and Zhang Shengli dragged the sled secretly to the Production Team's storehouse. There was a lock on the storehouse, but it couldn't stump Zhang Shengli.
He knew that the key to this lock was usually kept in the Great Brigade office, and the office door was not locked!
Soon he got the key and opened the storehouse.
In the open space in the storehouse, two large fish, each a person long, were placed side by side, wrapped in quilts.
Next to them were two sacks, which, when opened, also contained fish.
They were already frozen solid.
After prying off a few with a claw hammer, they tied the sacks and loaded the two large fish on the sled.
They locked the storehouse and returned the key to its original place.
The mother and son returned home without anyone knowing.
"Today we'll eat a small one to satisfy our craving. The other ones his father will take to the County tomorrow to give as gifts."
"Hide those two large fish in the storehouse and save them for the New Year!"