Chapter 11: Sour Bamboo Shoot and Fish Slice Soup – The Goal of Living is to Live Well

Chapter 11: Sour Bamboo Shoot and Fish Slice Soup - The Goal of Living is to Live Well

Tao Chun's legs were swollen, making it impossible for her to squat. She had to go back inside to fetch a chair, making several trips to bring out a basin, stool, knife, and oil lamp.

The rain poured down, and the water rushed by, so although the ground was wet, it wasn't muddy. Tao Chun walked steadily on it, dragging her shoes.

With so many mouths to feed at home, Tao Chun decided to cook both strings of fish in one go. She removed the fish from the straw rope and, holding the knife in her right hand, struck the fish heads with the back of the blade. The wild fish, which had been thrashing a moment ago, went still, only their mouths still twitching.

Tao Chun tested the knife's sharpness by running it a couple of times over the basin. Satisfied, she carefully began scaling the fish, moving the blade from the tail up to the gills in one smooth motion. This was a skill she had perfected in her past life. Her family had been in the fish-selling business, and during school breaks, she would help out at the stall, catching, weighing, scaling, gutting, and slicing fish. It was this skill that had saved her life when she fled into the mountains. For a student who hadn't yet graduated, bird eggs were the easiest to come by in the mountains, but fish were also plentiful wherever there was water. As long as there was water, she wouldn't die of thirst, and as long as she could catch fish, she wouldn't starve. Thanks to her knack for catching fish, she made it through the toughest times.

The fire in the stove roared up, and Tao Chun put down the fish to push the firewood further into the stove. Hearing the pot begin to bubble, she grabbed a spatula and cracked the lid open to keep the soup from boiling over.

When she stepped back outside, the sky had started to drizzle again. Not wanting to track fishy water into the kitchen and too lazy to haul everything back inside, Tao Chun just sat out in the open, scaling the fish in the rain.

As she finished scaling one string of fish, she heard footsteps approaching the house. Tao Chun looked up, but the dim light made it hard to make out who it was.

"Who's there?" she called out.

"It's me. Are you home alone? Where's Mom, Dad, and Sister-in-law?" Tao Qingsong had returned. "I smell fish. Did Dad catch them?"

"They all went to the river by the mountain to catch fish. Wu Changan said a school of fish had come down from upstream," Tao Chun replied, still focused on scaling the fish. "There's a pig leg stewing in the pot. Can you throw some firewood in for me?"

Tao Qingsong wanted to join the others, but with his sister unable to move around easily, he had to stay put.

"It's raining outside. Go back inside, and I'll handle the fish scaling," Tao Qingsong said as he approached. When he got closer and saw her skill, he was speechless. The heavy iron knife, which could easily slaughter a chicken, felt as light as a bamboo strip in her hands, moving deftly and precisely. Several times, the blade stopped just short of her fingertips, as if it had a mind of its own.

Tao Chun glanced at him and said, "I'm almost done. Go take care of the fire."

"Alright."

"Why are you back so late?" Tao Chun asked.

"I was herding cattle on the mountain today. It started raining while I was still up there, and I didn't get the herd down until dusk," Tao Qingsong explained.

By the time Tao Chun finished scaling both strings of fish, the rain had intensified. She hurried inside, leaving Tao Qingsong to clean up the mess outside.

As Tao Qingsong poured the fishy water from the basin, he heard footsteps and called out, "Who's back?"

"Qingsong, come help me with the fish. I can't carry it all," Dongxian shouted.

Dongxian had brought back half a bucket of fish, different from the two strings earlier. These fish were almost as long as an arm—two large grass carp, one black fish, and the biggest one, a catfish. Tao Qingsong weighed it and found it was nearly ten pounds.

"Dad and Uncle are using shovels to catch fish in the mountain bend, and my brothers and brother-in-law are dragging a net downstream, planning to go up from the prince's tomb," Dongxian explained. "The rain upstream must be heavy because the river is flowing fast and strong."

"You and Second Sister stay here and cook. I'll go check on them," Tao Qingsong said, feeling uneasy.

"Alright, take two more buckets with you," Dongxian said.

Tao Qingsong didn't return until midnight, and the others came back with him, each carrying fish.

Chunxian and Qiuxian dumped the fish from the net onto the ground, and Tao Tao stood nearby, excitedly saying, "There must be over a hundred pounds here!"

"Definitely," Qiuxian nodded. "Auntie, I'll go call my mom over. We need to clean these fish tonight, or they'll spoil by tomorrow."

"Alright," Tao's mother agreed. "We'll work through the night to clean the fish and divide them among the three families."

"Let's not rush. Eat first. Aren't you all hungry?" Tao Chun interjected. "The soup in the pot is almost dried up. Let's stop what we're doing, wash our hands, and eat."

"Let's eat first. Everyone’s having dinner at my place tonight," Tao's father said. "We’ve got plenty of food at home."

"You’ve got to try my second daughter’s cooking. She learned from her aunt outside the mountains for several years," Tao's mother said enthusiastically.

Wu Changan glanced towards the kitchen. He’d already bragged about it, and now he wanted to see how good the female ghost's cooking could be.

The rain had stopped, and the moon reappeared. The moonlight outside was gorgeous, so Tao Qingsong moved the dining table outside, planning to have dinner under the night sky.

A big pot of rich, creamy pork leg soup was set on the table. Wu Changan sniffed it and found the aroma pleasant, though it didn’t smell like some magical potion.

"This fish soup is perfectly stewed, with only a fragrant smell and no fishy odor," Tao's mother said.

"The black membrane on the fish belly is the most fishy part, and I scraped it all off. Frying the fish gives it a richer flavor," Tao Chun explained. "There's also a pot of sour bamboo shoot fish soup, and it's almost ready. Just need to cook the fish slices, which’ll take about as long as brewing a cup of tea."

"Mom, let me tell you, second sister’s knife skills are out of this world," Dongxian said with genuine admiration.

The fish slices were added to the fish soup and boiled over high heat. In just a few moments, the soup began to bubble, and the thin, almost see-through fish slices curled up.

"It's ready to serve," Tao Chun said.

Dongxian immediately grabbed a bamboo strainer, scooped out the fish slices, and poured them into the sour bamboo shoot soup.

Only then did Tao's mother get a clear look at the fish slices. She nodded and said, "Her knife skills are really something. It seems she didn't slack off outside the mountains."

Tao Chun smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, clean the pot and heat up the oil."

Dongxian followed her instructions. Tao Chun had already explained the method for making the sour bamboo shoot fish soup to her.

Tao Tao, having changed her clothes, also came in and peeked into the pot. "Are we still stir-frying anything?"

"No more stir-frying for now," Tao Chun pointed to the food cabinet and said, "The pork leg bones are in there. The meat has been removed, leaving only the bones. Sister-in-law and I sawed the bones into pieces. You can take them out and eat the marrow oil."

Tao Tao giggled and hurried to open the food cabinet. "This is my absolute favorite."

The lard was bubbling hot. Dongxian dried a wooden spoon and carefully scooped half a spoonful. With her left hand, she grabbed a handful of green peppercorns with pepper leaves and tossed them into the spoon. It sizzled, and the peppery aroma filled the air.

Two spoonfuls of green pepper oil and one spoonful of chili oil were poured over the fish slices, instantly giving the sour bamboo shoot fish soup a shiny, oily finish.

"Let’s go, it’s time to eat," Tao's mother said, carrying a basin and leading the way outside.

Dongxian quickly served a large basin of rice and followed her out. "Second sister, take it slow. I’ll call your brother-in-law to help you."

"I don’t need him, I can manage," Tao Chun quickly declined.

"Second sister, open your mouth," Tao Tao scooped a spoonful of pork bone oil and fed it to her. "Try this, it’s even softer than pig brain."

Tao Chun took a bite and then led Tao Tao outside. As they stepped out, they saw Wu Changan approaching. She waved her hand, signaling that she didn't need his help.

Wu Changan felt a bit forced into this. Everyone present was her family, and no matter how reluctant he was, he had to put on a good act to save face for the elders.

"After working all evening, I feel more limber, and the swelling in my legs has gone down a lot," Tao Chun said with a smile. "Moving around more might even have me walking and running by tomorrow morning."

Hearing this, Wu Changan stopped in his tracks.

"Second sister, you’ve really put in the work tonight," Chunxian said politely.

"No need to talk about hard work. We haven't been idle either," Tao's father interjected. "Everyone's here, so let's not wait any longer. It's time to eat."

Tao Chun and her sister sat next to Dongxian. Dongxian served rice for both of them and then picked up a piece of fish slice to eat. The fish slices were thin but held together perfectly, with no falling apart. There were no bones to pick out, making this dish very convenient to eat.

"What kind of fish is this? The meat is quite tender," asked Tao Ren.

"Grass carp and snakehead fish. My sister-in-law brought back four fish, and except for the catfish, the other three were sliced into fish fillets," replied Tao Chun. "Uncle, how’s it taste?"

"It's good. Did you learn this at the Marquis's estate? The nobles sure eat fancy," said Tao Ren, scooping a spoonful of fish fillets.

"Your uncle loves fish but doesn’t know how to eat it without getting bones stuck. This dish is just what he needs," said Tao's mother.

"Next time I visit, as long as Uncle doesn’t act like he doesn’t see me, I’ll make this dish for you again when I have time," Tao Chun seized the opportunity to say.

"What's going on?" asked Tao's father.

Tao Chun glanced at her uncle and said, "Nothing much."

Tao Ren chuckled and said to Wu Changan, "Son-in-law, my niece is a tough one. She’s not one to back down easily. You should give in when you can."

Wu Changan swallowed the meat in his mouth and could only nod at this point.

Of the three dishes, the sour bamboo shoot fish soup was the first to go. By the end, only the stewed fish soup was left. They stewed eleven fish, each about as long as chopsticks, and five remained untouched.

After the meal, Tao Tao and Tao Chun cleaned up the pots, pans, and dishes while the others were outside scaling fish. Tao Chun cleaned up the kitchen, then she and Tao Tao washed up before going to bed.

Tao’s mother and Dongxian didn’t go to bed until the wee hours. Wu Changan, Tao Qingsong, and Tao's father stayed up all night. After splitting up the fish, the three of them headed up the mountain at dawn. The mountain with the Marquis of Dingyuan’s tomb is covered in pine trees. They chopped two bundles of wet pine branches and collected four big baskets of wet pine needles to smoke the fish.

"The mushrooms are already popping up. We can come to pick them before dawn tomorrow," said Tao Qingsong, uncovering a mushroom patch. The mushrooms were still small, so he covered them back with pine needles.

"Let’s head back. I’m beat," said Tao's father, who looked two years older after staying up all night.

The three descended the mountain, lit a fire at home, and poured half a basket of pine needles onto it. Half an incense stick later, thick smoke poured out of the smoking room behind the kitchen, squeezing through the gaps in the wooden planks and quickly blending with the blue mist of the mountains.

Everyone went to bed, and it wasn’t until after noon that people started stirring in the yard.

Tao Chun had slept and woke up with just her knees still swollen. Her legs and feet had already reduced in swelling. She leaned on a cane and slowly walked around the yard a couple of times, getting used to the soreness before she could stand straight and walk.

Tao’s mother made a pot of noodles using the leftover fish soup from last night. When the noodles were ready, Dongxian returned with Chun Jian.

"Look, Second Aunt is back," said Dongxian, bringing the child to Tao Chun. "Second Sister, this is your oldest niece. She’s been staying at my parents’ place these past few days to wean her."

"I heard Third Sister mention her. Her name is Chun Jian. What a lovely name," said Tao Chun, holding the child's small hand. "Who chose the name?"

"Your brother did. I only studied for a year, so I don’t know as much as he does."

"He doesn’t know squat. How can an uncle be named Chun Xian and his niece Chun Jian? It sounds like they're siblings," said Tao's mother, bringing out the food.

"They don't share the same surname, so how can they be siblings?" muttered Tao Tao.

"It’s nice that the names share a character. Both have 'Chun' in their names, and her uncle dotes on her even more," Dongxian laughed. "My brother gets up at the crack of dawn every morning to milk the cows and feed her. He's more attentive than her own father."

"I remember that after the rain, earth skin vegetables grow where there's cow dung. Let's go for a walk on the hillside later," Tao Chun changed the subject. "Earth skin is great for stuffing buns. Have you tried it?"

Tao's mother nodded. People living in the mountains always find ways to taste whatever fresh things the mountains offer.

After the meal, Dongxian stayed home with the child to tend to the fire, while Tao's mother took her two daughters to the hillside where the cows were kept.

The green mountains were cloaked in mist after the rain. The wind at the entrance carried a heavy moisture, wrapped in the scent of grass, trees, and the fragrance of the soil. The fallen leaves underfoot had thickened after the rain, soaked with water, and each step squeezed out a puddle.

When they reached the hillside where the cows were kept, there were already people there. The mountain produce after the rain is time-sensitive, and to taste the freshness, every household was out and about, busy with their families.

Tao's mother squatted down in a spot where the grass was sparse, with Tao Tao and Tao Chun settling on either side behind her. The brown ground clung to the soil like bloated moss, easily pulled up in large clumps.

Tao Chun laid out a piece of sheepskin on the grass, sat down, and leaned forward to search through the vegetation.

"Only pick the big ones; they're easier to clean," Tao's mother reminded her. "These plants spoil quickly. Just enough for one meal is fine; don't be greedy. It rains every year, and there's always more."

Hearing this, Tao Chun moved her hand away, leaving the smaller pieces untouched.

"The mountains are different from the outside world. Most of what we eat and drink can be found here, so we don’t need to spend money or sell things to make a living. If there’s something you didn’t get enough of this year, there’ll be more next year or the year after. Don’t be greedy. You’re hasty and have big desires, and that’s something you need to adjust. If you don’t desire too much, life will be easier for you," Tao's mother specifically advised Tao Chun. "Now that you’re back in the mountains, don’t bring the habits of the outside world here. Remember, money isn’t useful in the mountains. You can’t buy anything good with it, so don’t focus solely on making money."

Tao Chun’s mind suddenly cleared. Yes, life here was secure. Even if she did nothing, she would still have enough to eat and wear. She could relax and no longer needed to live in constant tension.

The days of toiling and rushing just to fill her stomach were over. From now on, the goal of life was no longer mere survival, but to live well.