Chapter 102 First Update

Chapter 102 First Update

Aside from the mandatory propaganda pieces, Qin Yao hadn’t written any fiction in a while. During the 1970s, there weren’t many topics she could explore, and many subjects were off-limits. To avoid trouble, Qin Yao followed the principle of "don't write what you aren't familiar with." She would only write about something after thoroughly understanding it. As for other ideas she wanted to write, she thought it might be better to save those for the 1980s.

Without hearing Second Aunt Gu’s personal experiences, she would never have thought of writing about topics related to flying and parachuting. But these stories piqued her interest.

As a writer, nothing’s worse than churning out the same old stuff. She craved something fresh, and even if it was just for fun, writing gave her a sense of excitement.

"Second Aunt, I’ll draft an initial version in a couple of days for you to look at. After we eat, let’s chat more," Qin Yao proactively sought more information from Gu Qing. Having someone like Second Aunt Gu as a source would help the story pass the review process.

"Alright," Gu Qing nodded, feeling both surprised and a bit flustered. Thinking of the men in the Gu family, including her grandfather who was still alive, and the other uncles and grandfathers who constantly boasted about their past glories... Yet, the first person in the family to have a "proper autobiography" would be her, a woman in her thirties?

She wondered how her younger sister-in-law would portray her life in the story.

Gu Qing felt a bit embarrassed. The word "humility" came to mind, and she felt that her past wasn’t worth mentioning. It would be better to stay humble. "Younger sister-in-law, there’s no need to write my autobiography. Just use a pseudonym and write a story."

Though she enjoyed being respected, she was still in her early thirties—too young to be writing an autobiography.

"Sure," Qin Yao smiled slightly. It didn’t make any difference to her. Writing it as a story would allow for more creative freedom.

During the chat between Qin Yao and Second Aunt Gu, the men had already returned with the meat. Gu Cheng was in the kitchen cooking with his brother-in-law, and the food smelled quite good.

Qin Yao never complained about his cooking. She always encouraged him, believing that any man willing to cook was a good man. She just ate without complaining.

Because of this, Gu Cheng’s cooking skills had improved dramatically in just two years, thanks to the silent support from his good wife.

When Second Aunt Gu saw her younger brother prepare the meal and effortlessly handle his two sons, she was genuinely surprised.

This was so different from her older brother, Gu Xing, who never showed much interest in family life!

"I never imagined my brother would turn into such a family man after getting married, and his cooking is even better than yours!"

Her husband, Dongjian Pan, whom she had carefully chosen for his kindness and diligence, had cooking skills inferior to her younger brother Gu Cheng. It seemed that the men of the Gu family had a natural talent in this regard.

Their son, Cheng Cheng, was likely the result of the combination of both parents.

"Maybe I should cook tomorrow," Qin Yao thought. Since Second Aunt Gu and her family had come all this way, she couldn’t just let them eat these ordinary dishes. She should let them experience more exotic flavors.

Gu Cheng was very skilled at cooking traditional dishes like braised pork, elbow, and sea cucumber. Most of these were hardcore traditional flavors, heavily influenced by the military canteen style. They were not bad, just very hardcore.

Qin Yao thought these dishes were a bit too safe. Gu Cheng stuck to crowd-pleasers, trying to cater to everyone’s taste.

Coming from several decades of abundant resources, Qin Yao had tasted various national specialties and regional cuisines from across the country. She had certain views on food and loved "innovation."

Innovation could lead to failures but also unexpectedly create new recipes.

Qin Yao thought that since Second Aunt Gu had come all this way, it would be great to introduce her to some unique Southeast Asian dishes and local snacks.

The island had an overseas Chinese farm where several waves of returnees from Southeast Asia were resettled, starting in the 1950s and continuing through the 1960s and 1970s. Some were born in Southeast Asian countries and still lived in the overseas Chinese farm, retaining their Southeast Asian dietary habits.

For example, they had habits like drinking coffee and making curry.

Unlike other coastal regions where coffee was hard to come by, the island actually grew its own coffee beans. Qin Yao had two packs of coffee beans at home, along with spices like lemongrass.

Qin Yao tried making some shrimp paste and prepared two types of curry, one thin and one thick. She used the thin curry to make curry beef with radish and also attempted curry coconut milk shrimp.

Curry requires turmeric, so Qin Yao also made turmeric rice.

Second Aunt Gu was very supportive after tasting the curry. She preferred a sweeter curry, saying, "This is so fragrant when mixed with rice."

Her young child, Cheng Cheng, loved curry rice.

"Second Aunt, here, let's make some grilled fish, self-sufficient style." The fish caught from the sea had a strong ocean smell, and grilled fish wouldn't taste good without heavy seasoning. But if fresh lemon juice was drizzled over the grilled fish, it had a magical effect, perfectly removing the fishy smell with its refreshing acidity, and the fruity aroma masked the heat from the grilled fish.

Of course, some people would still find it too "heating" no matter what, so they needed to drink cooling herbal tea along with it.

"Sister-in-law, can I have some more? I want to eat more."

Second Aunt Gu had a big appetite, and Qin Yao felt a real sense of accomplishment feeding her. When she was in high spirits, she would experiment with various troublesome snacks.

During the Lunar New Year, every household had sticky rice cakes. Qin Yao cut the cakes into small pieces, coated them with roasted soybean flour, and drizzled them with brown sugar syrup. The children in the yard scrambled for them. Not only the children but also the adults loved eating them.

She also made cassava sugar water and corn sugar water. Cassava is a slightly toxic plant. Although it resembles sweet potatoes, its texture is quite different. The cooked cassava sugar water had orange-yellow cassava flesh that held together without dispersing. When bitten into, it had a slightly gelatinous and chewy texture, like large taro balls but not as hard.

The most common snack on the island was fish balls. Fresh fish was cheap, and the military had dedicated fishing boats. Fish could be bought without ration tickets at low prices, and if you went early, you could get very fresh fish.

Fish like Spanish mackerel were very suitable for making fish balls, fish dumplings, and dried fish. People on the island loved Spanish mackerel.

Qin Yao made many fish balls, all handmade and frozen in the refrigerator. They hadn't been finished after some time, thanks to Second Aunt Gu's family coming over.

These fish balls hadn't been consumed because Gu Cheng didn't like fish balls, or rather, he didn't like eating fish—or seafood in general. For Gu Cheng, making him eat a sea fish was already torturing his stomach; eating fish balls was double torture, doubly fishy.

"Come on, try a bite. These fish balls have pork filling, and I added some at home..." Qin Yao tried her best to convince Gu Cheng to try the fish balls. She didn't have any ill intentions; she just wanted Captain Gu to broaden his horizons and appreciate the deliciousness of fish balls.

Gu Cheng tightly closed his lips, refusing to eat.

"Go grill the shark then. Go grill the shark." Qin Yao kicked him lightly. Shark meat was also a common type of edible fish. Of course, it wasn't a typical shark but a commonly eaten shark found along the coast. People called it shark, and the taste was quite good.

"I'll grill it, but I won't eat it."

Second Aunt Gu chimed in with disdain, "Younger brother, not liking fish while being a navy comrade is like not knowing how to swim by the river. Isn't that embarrassing?"

"If I were you, I'd be glad to be in paradise."

Gu Cheng said indifferently, "If you had to eat fish every day, I bet you wouldn't love it."

Qin Yao spoke earnestly, "If you can't resist life, you might as well learn to accept it. By the sea, it's better to like eating fish than not."

Gu Cheng: "..."

"I'm focusing on cultivating your love for fish," said Qin Yao.

"No, I refuse."

Qin Yao laughed and continued their playful banter, "I’ve got you there. If you dare to make me angry, I'll force you to eat fish."

Qin Yao ground the coffee beans herself and, along with milk and osmanthus tea, made an osmanthus-flavored latte, which was highly popular with the family.

"Auntie! Auntie smells so good!"

Five-year-old Cheng Cheng had completely fallen for his young and beautiful aunt. To him, Auntie was like a fairy from a storybook, always coming up with new and delicious treats he had never tried before.

"Your aunt-in-law smells amazing; your uncle is just lucky, born under a good star to end up with someone like your aunt." Second Aunt Gu was deeply envious of her younger brother, wondering how he got so fortunate to have a wife who was not only beautiful but also an excellent cook with a talent for creating wonderful dishes, living a dream life on the island.

After Third Brother Qin tasted the curry, he was quite impressed and asked Qin Yao about the recipe. Qin Yao, unable to explain the spice ratios clearly, said, "Brother, go visit the overseas Chinese farm and check out different households. Every family eats a different kind of curry. See which one you like and match it with the spices."

Curry never has a fixed recipe, as it depends entirely on each family's preference. Many overseas Chinese families kept various spices, along with mortars and pestles, to hand-pound the spices for their curry.

"Our little sister really knows what she's doing and has some great ideas," Third Brother Qin praised instinctively.

Qin Chuanrong never specifically taught Qin Yao how to cook. Each of the brothers learned on their own. Qin Chuanrong was self-taught, figuring things out as he went along, and he taught his son to do the same, encouraging innovation.

At that time, working as a chef in a state-run restaurant didn't require exceptional culinary skills; most were just "passable." However, Qin Chuanrong had a strong spirit of innovation, and the few signature dishes he mastered earned him praise from the leaders.

Whenever the factory hosted important guests, they would request him specifically to cook, something Qin Chuanrong took great pride in.

Shen Guixiang smiled and said, "Your little sister is just like you now, always tinkering with things herself."

According to Qin Chuanrong, "Palace dishes? Who cares about those fancy imperial chefs? The food doesn't even taste good."

Second Aunt Gu's family stayed on the island for close to ten days before they had to fly back. Before leaving, Qin Yao finished part of her manuscript outline, writing the first 20,000 words. Gu Qing was very pleased after reading it and said, "When you're done, make sure to send it to me first."

As she prepared to leave the island, Second Aunt Gu was reluctant to go, wishing she could take her sister-in-law back with her, regretting that she wasn’t a man so she could marry someone like her.

After visiting the overseas Chinese farm, Third Brother Qin not only learned about various spices and cooking methods but also began to nurture a small ambition.

This ambition had Xie Hongni holding her daughter and exclaiming, "Little sister, you need to talk some sense into your brother."

Qin Yao asked curiously, "What's the matter?"

"Your brother wants to raise something."

"You’re not talking about a python, right?" Many households on the island kept unusual animals. While some raised normal livestock like chickens, ducks, sheep, and pigs, others kept more exotic pets like squirrels, parrots, monkeys, and even pythons.

Xie Hongni said, "He's planning to raise land lizards."

A fierce, bright red large lizard. When Third Brother Qin brought it home, Xie Hongni was terrified. These lizards were quite common on the island, often seen on the roadside, but most people wouldn’t dream of keeping them as pets.

According to Third Brother Qin, he intended to keep the lizard to deal with the cockroaches.

The cockroaches on the island were large and could fly, a variety that Third Brother Qin had never seen before. Every time he saw them, he got annoyed. At a time when people barely had enough to eat, these cockroaches were thriving—big, fat, and shiny black.

Stepping on them left a big, greasy mess on the ground, both disgusting and inedible, yet it felt like such a waste to just throw them away.

At the overseas Chinese farm, he saw people raising lizards and found them to be quite resourceful. They ate cockroaches and earthworms, requiring only insects to feed them without consuming any grain.