Chapter 7 Fish Soup

Chapter 7 Fish Soup

In the evening, the clear river water reflected the orange light from the horizon. Duan Qing and his party, who had traveled four days, set up a fire with wood in a sparse forest by the river, and sat a small black pot on the bonfire. , the water inside was boiling.

This pot is of course the one Duan Qing carries on his back.

"Haha, Xiao Qingzi, look I finally caught a fish, ouch?"

Wu Wen stood by the river with an excited look, raising the wooden stick in his hand and waving it up and down, shouting to Duan Qing, with a one-inch-long fish stuck on it.

Being carried away with his pride, his feet slipped and he sat down on the wet river sand.

Duan Qing scalded the pheasant with boiled hot water on a half-human-sized bluestone not far away to make it easier to remove the feathers.

At this time, Duan Qing no longer looked as lonely as when he first set out a few days ago. Although he still missed his parents in Xiao'an City, he had almost adjusted his mentality after these few days.

With his hands, he skillfully removed the feathers from the pheasant and cleaned out the internal organs. After hearing Wu Wen's words, he raised his eyelids and glanced at it with a strange expression. "Yes, my great scholar Wu, it's been half an hour, just like this one. I said your wooden stick is thicker than a fish. How did you do it? If I really believe you, then I'll get it all." I’m starving! Fortunately, Brother Zhangli and Cheng Yu took action.”

After saying that, he looked at the two guards who were setting up a grill next to the campfire. "Brother Zhang Zhang, Brother Cheng Yu, I really bothered you this time. It was Wu Wen who caused you to sleep in the wilderness together. I apologize to you on his behalf, and thank you for the pheasant you caught."

"As for you damn scholar, just eat your dead fish tonight."

Although he said harsh words to Wu Wen, Duan Qing still cared about his only friend, but he still said that he was unforgiving of Wu Wen.

Zhang Li is the triangular-eyed one of the two guards, and Cheng Yu is the fatter one.

At this time, the guard Cheng Yu said with a smile: "Brother Xiaoqing, what are you talking about? I have become accustomed to sleeping in the wild these years. Catching a few pheasants is nothing. I will have to see what you do, Brother Xiaoqing later." craft."

Wu Wen looked very embarrassed on the side, scratching his ear with his left hand in embarrassment, and holding a wooden stick with a small fish stuck in his right hand, neither lifting nor releasing it, his movements looked extremely funny.

Duan Qing was right, all of this was indeed his fault. The previous three days had been fine, and the group of people who were traveling that day were able to reach the next town before dark and find a place to stay.

But when they set out on the morning of the fourth day, because Wu Wen saw the beautiful family members of a merchant in the inn, he went to talk to them behind his back.

Although Wu Wen had a good face, his speech was indeed a bit unpleasant. As a result, his family regarded him as a gangster and took him to the police!

Everyone tried to explain the matter clearly, but it was already noon when Wu Wen was taken out of the government office. This commotion directly caused everyone to be unable to rush to the next stop on the day according to the itinerary.

We had no choice but to find a place to sleep before dark.

The dry food that everyone brought with them was all eaten while rushing on the road during the day. Since they did not make it to the next town, they naturally could not stay in a hotel or eat.

The braised beef that Duan's father made for Duan Qing was shared by Duan Qing to everyone two days ago. As for the pot of Qinjiu that was more than ten years old, Duan Qing kept it in the bag on his waist and did not drink it.

So when everyone settled on the river bank and prepared to sleep in the open, Wu Wen made a big offer and expressed that he would take on the task of catching fish. He wanted to make up for his mistake and show off his unique fishing skills. The result was self-evident.

The water potential here is completely different from that in Xiaoan City. Xiao'an City has gentle terrain, slow water flow, rich aquatic products, and fish are naturally easy to catch.

However, the Xiao'an River stretched to this point and the water had become turbulent due to the terrain. Not to mention going into the water to catch fish, whether he could stand firmly in the water was another matter.

Wu Wen had no choice but to break off a branch and sharpen it. He squatted by the river and did the useless work of waiting for the rabbit. As a result, half an hour later, the blind cat encountered a dead mouse and inserted an inch-long fish into the gap between his teeth. Neither is enough.

After a while, night had completely enveloped the earth, and the stars in the sky gave off faint starlight, making the distant terrain and mountains still vaguely visible.

The sound of rushing water and the chirping of insects seem to form a delicate balance.

Wu Wen and others sitting by the bonfire were staring intently at the three pheasants roasting golden brown on top of the bonfire.

The excess fat continuously seeps out of the roasted chicken under the influence of the flames, dripping onto the burning wood, making a sizzling sound.

Under Duan Qing's skillful hands, these raw ingredients continue to exude an alluring fragrance that arouses everyone's taste buds.

Wu Wen swallowed his saliva and was the first to say. "Qing'er, I was wrong. You, sir, have a lot of money. Please don't argue with me. See if you can...!"

As he spoke, he looked longingly at the tempting roast chicken.

Duan Qing continued to flip the wooden sticks on which the chicken was being roasted, so as not to burn it and keep the color of the chicken from changing. "Didn't you catch a fish? These three roast chickens are not enough for me, Uncle Wang, and brother Zhang Li and Cheng Yu."

Wu Wen's face suddenly turned red with embarrassment, but he couldn't see it under the light of the flames.

At this time, he was so hungry that his chest was pressed against his back. He had only eaten some solid food throughout the day. A meal by the river in the evening had consumed a lot of energy. He was already relatively thin and now he could no longer stand.

Driven by hunger, he begged Duan Qing for mercy with some embarrassment. "But...but that fish is too small!"

Duan Qing wanted to laugh when he heard this. He was not really angry with Wu Wen. Thanks to Wu Wen who kept talking to him along the way, he was able to adjust his mentality so quickly and prepare for a new life.

He just wanted to take this opportunity to teach his trouble-making friend a lesson and let him remember it.

So he pretended to be indifferent. "Don't worry, although the fish is a little small, I made fish soup for you, which will definitely fill you up."

He also pointed at the pot on the simple stone stove next to him.

Hearing this, Wang Dazhuang and others who had been silent all the time cast their eyes on the small black pot.

Looking closely, there was really an inch-long fish floating on it!

Because of the poor light, everyone had not noticed anything in it before, and they all thought it was the hot water boiled by Duan Qing. Unexpectedly, it was really a pot of fish soup.

However, in the big pot of soup, there was nothing else except a small fish.

"Haha, it's true. Such a big pot of fish soup is definitely enough for you, Wu."

The fat guard Cheng Yu was the first to make a joke.

Wang Dazhuang, who was wiping his big knife next to him, couldn't help laughing when he saw this. Only Zhang Li, the triangular-eyed guard, still looked cold and said nothing.

Wu Wen stared at the little fish in the pot, rolling in the boiling water, with a look of death on his face.

Of course, Wu Wen didn't really drink the "fish soup" in the end.

After roasting the pheasant, Duan Qing first sent one to Uncle Wang on the side with a wooden stick, and then Zhang Li and the other guards shared one.

Wu Wen and Duan Qing shared a roasted chicken.

In the end, Duan Qing still couldn't bear to let his good friend go hungry.