Chapter 113: Chapter 113: Ye Qing’s Craftsmanship

Hearing Su Dai’s words, Jiang Yan’s eyes suddenly lit up:

“Soil? I know a place where there’s some!”

She remembered the times when during the high temperatures, she had descended from the rooftops of the buildings in her jet-powered flight suit.

There were several flower beds up there.

At that time, the flowers and trees in the flower beds had all dried to death, but the soil remained.

Now, no matter how heavy the rain, it was impossible for all the soil in the flower beds to be washed away. There should still be some left.

It had just turned into a muddy form, and would take some effort to retrieve.

“Where?” Su Dai was stunned.

The torrential rain outside was flooding everything, submerged under tens of meters of water.

“The rooftop of this building,” Jiang Yan said mystically, pointing upwards.

Su Dai was even more surprised: “The rooftop?”

She had been quite puzzled when Jiang Yan moved to Shallow Bay District; now that the latter had even been to the rooftop, she was even more puzzled.

Although it wasn’t really a big deal.

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“Yes,” Jiang Yan nodded, “you can go up and take a look. There are a few flower beds on the roof. The edges of the beds are quite high, and the drainage is good. Some of the rainwater should have washed away, but there should be some left.”

In fact, she knew that before the extreme cold set in, there would be a day or two when the rain would stop.

That period would be the best time to collect this soil.

But there was a problem. Vegetables needed time to grow from seed to edible size.

Moreover, given the current situation, seeds were precious resources and needed to be used sparingly.

Hence, it was better for the vegetables to grow as large as possible.

Now, to retrieve the soil, was to race against the clock and mother nature.

“Okay, we’ll go up and have a look tomorrow,” Su Dai said, though she was still somewhat puzzled, she didn’t ask further.

On the other side, Sun Jingtao and Ye Qing had already cleared the dining table.

An alcohol stove was placed on the table, supporting a shallow pot.

There should be prepared food in the pot, covered with a lid.

As the alcohol stove heated the bottom of the pot, an enticing aroma began to waft out gradually.

It smelled like spicy grilled fish.

Even though Jiang Yan hadn’t been lacking in various delicacies lately, she couldn’t help but swallow her saliva.

Sun Jingtao set the last pair of chopsticks in place and said, “Alright, wife, you and Jiang Yan can come and sit down.”

“Come on, Jiang Yan, let’s taste Xiao Ye’s cooking,” Su Dai beckoned Jiang Yan to walk back.

Over there, Tian Jiliang, Ye Qing, and Sun Jingtao each took a seat on one side.

“Haha, I’m the oldest here, so I’ll shamelessly take the seat of honor,” Tian Jiliang laughed heartily.

His laughter caused the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes to nearly trap a few mosquitoes.

Jiang Yan wasn’t pretentious either, and directly took a seat next to Ye Qing.

Seeing that everyone was seated, Sun Jingtao uncovered the pot lid.

The steam and the spicy and savory aroma instantly filled the air.

“Bubble bubble~” The contents in the pot were boiling nicely.

Indeed, it was grilled fish.

Specifically, Mountain City grilled fish.

In the standard preparation, one would normally marinate tilapia or grass carp with salt, cooking wine, and five-spice powder. Then, the fish would be roasted in the oven until the surface turned golden brown.

After the first round of roasting, ingredients such as onions, cabbage, lettuce, lotus roots, and bean sprouts would be washed, cut, and placed under the roasting pan, then topped with the grilled fish.

Finally, a special spicy sauce with Sichuan peppercorns, green and red chili peppers, and other ingredients would be stir-fried separately and poured over the fish and vegetables.

A little broth would be added and then it would be slowly stewed over low heat or roasted further in the oven.

To finish, fresh cilantro, red pepper threads, and fried peanuts, among other garnishes, would be sprinkled on top.

What they saw now could be considered a simplified version of fragrant grilled tilapia.

Due to the considerable size of the fish, its head and tail were set aside, leaving the fish meat to be cut into thin slices.

The sauce seemed to have been directly made from a spicy hotpot base, with some dried chilies and Sichuan peppercorns stir-fried together.

What surprised Jiang Yan was the sight of fresh bean sprouts and onions, as well as some tofu skin, kelp, and shiitake mushrooms.

The latter three were dried goods, ready to eat after soaking in water.

“My god, this smells so good!” Jiang Yan couldn’t help but praise.

Next to her, Ye Qing glanced at her with a hint of light in his eyes, and laughed a little awkwardly like a big boy.

“That is because it’s Xiao Ye’s product, it’s bound to be excellent!” Su Dai said proudly, as she passed a piece of fish to Jiang Yan.

Immediately after, she also picked a large piece for Tian Jiliang’s bowl.

Although the lighting in the room wasn’t great, Jiang Yan could still see that the fish was cooked just right.

The exterior was crispy and golden while the fish flesh was bright white and tender. Matched with the spicy and savory seasoning, it was mouth-watering and irresistible.

Even though the fish had mutated and who knows what strange things it might have eaten, under the current circumstances, having food and drink was already fortunate, and no one would fuss over those details.

Jiang Yan didn’t resist either.

After all, if she were to survive in such an environment in the future, she would always have to step out of her comfort zone.

This comfort zone naturally included her daily diet.

“And not to forget the onions, tofu skin, shiitake mushrooms, and fresh bean sprouts! Oh my! This meal is simply the most delicious Taotie feast I, Tian, have ever had in my life!” Tian Jiliang also couldn’t stop praising.

He used to be an investment director at a listed company, with frequent high-end business entertainments, having sampled countless delicacies from land and sea.

This grilled fish meal would not be considered anything special on a regular day.

The ingredients and seasoning were not fresh.

The water for boiling the fish was rainwater.

It was only that Sun Jingtao and the others had made a simple water purifier and filtered it slightly.

But now, when some people lacked enough to eat, it was truly a top-notch delicacy.

“For the past few months, I’ve not had a decent meal, and today, it’s rare for us all to get together, so I thought why not splurge just this once,” Su Dai chuckled and picked another piece of fish for Ye Qing.

“Oh, I almost forgot, we have this too! It’s rare for us to get together today, let’s all have a drink!” Sun Jingtao said, pulling out a bottle of very ordinary liquor from under the table.

These past few days when they went out to find supplies, they happened to find a bank’s internal staff canteen inside a high-rise office building.

They found quite a few good things inside.

Although most had spoiled in the heat, they still brought back everything they could.

Tian Jiliang was a bit eager for a drink, but still said,

“The weather is getting colder now, this liquor is good stuff; shouldn’t we save some?”

“Let’s not save it, drink today’s wine today! It’s rare to be so happy today, let’s drink a bit now to warm up!” Sun Jingtao insisted, taking out disposable paper cups and pouring a little for everyone.

Jiang Yan wasn’t accustomed to drinking liquor.

But she didn’t refuse.

The main thing was to participate.

“Cheers!” Sun Jingtao lifted his glass first.

“Cheers!” The others naturally responded joyously.

As the liquor went down, it was different from what Jiang Yan expected; it was as though she had drunk a sip of water.

The taste of the alcohol was long gone, bland and weak.