Deng Jing had no choice but to open her mouth and accept the bite.
As soon as it entered her mouth, her eyes lit up.
Living inland all year round, Deng Jing didn't really know how to cook the seafood Lin Zhilan had sent her last time. It had turned out tasting overly fishy and astringent, and her two children hadn't liked it much either.
But the cold-tossed sea cucumber Lin Zhilan made had absolutely no fishy or bitter taste.
The crisp, chewy texture carried a hint of tenderness, and that tenderness was thoroughly soaked in the sour and spicy dressing.
The flavor was simply indescribable.
"How is it?"
Deng Jing nodded emphatically. "It's so delicious. Sister-in-law, how did you make it?"
Lin Zhilan smiled. "The fishermen by the sea know how to eat seafood best. I asked them for advice and then made a few small improvements."
"Your cooking skills are just too good," Deng Jing praised from the bottom of her heart, regretting that she had eaten it too fast to fully savor the aftertaste.
Su Lang couldn't help but reach out a hand, only to be lightly smacked by Lin Zhilan's chopsticks. "How old are you? Behave yourself!"
Su Lang smiled and reached over to pinch her cheek. "Who told you to tease my appetite on purpose?"
Lin Zhilan shot him a glaring, yet affectionate look. "Your hands are getting itchy, aren't they? If Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law weren't here, believe me, I'd beat you up."
"It's fine," Su Lang said, glancing at his brother and sister-in-law. "They aren't as thick-skinned as we are. If anyone's going to be embarrassed, it'll be them."
Su Jue was fine, but Deng Jing's face was completely flushed. "Little Lang has grown more and more shameless as he's gotten older. You should scold him more, sister-in-law."
Su Lang was the youngest brother in the family. When Deng Jing married in, Su Lang was still just a half-grown boy.
He had been mischievous back then, and now he was even more so, daring to make fun of his second brother and sister-in-law.
Su Jue glanced at his wife's blushing face. The way she looked right now somewhat resembled her demeanor from when they were younger.
Su Jue looked thoughtful.
Su Lang shot him a look. "Second Brother, let me teach you how to gut a fish."
Deng Jing almost blurted out: How could your second brother's hands be used to gut fish?
In Deng Jing's heart, even though Su Jue wasn't a qualified husband or father, she still deeply admired him.
Precisely because she knew that the state their family was in couldn't be entirely blamed on him.
Su Jue had always been an outstanding person.
Whether in school or at work.
Because of this, Deng Jing felt as though she had no valid reason to vent the resentment in her heart.
After all, who could blame a great hero and scientist who dedicated himself to his country and its people?
Su Jue walked over to his younger brother.
Su Lang bent down, grabbed a live fish from the bucket, and struck it hard on the head with the back of his knife. The fish, which had just been thrashing about, instantly stopped moving.
"This is called cutting the Gordian knot," Su Lang turned and said to his brother. "If you wait for it to pass out from lack of oxygen, the fish will be dead long before and won't be fresh."
Before Su Jue could even react, Su Lang rinsed the fish under the tap, scraped off the scales with the back of the knife, sliced open its belly, and removed the innards and gills. The whole process took less than a minute.
"Fast, right?" Su Lang asked his brother with a smile.
Su Jue nodded blankly.
Su Lang quickly sliced off the fish bones and then carved the meat into thin slices.
While he was cutting the fish, Lin Zhilan had already heated the lard, tossing chunks of ginger and sections of scallion into the wok to stir-fry until their fragrance burst out.
Su Lang naturally dropped the fish bones, head, and belly into the wok. He pan-fried both sides to a golden brown, then poured in boiling water they had prepared earlier, letting it simmer slowly.
The fish soup instantly turned a milky white.
Deng Jing stared at the wok. "When I make fish soup, it never turns out this white. I heard people say it's because my heat is too low."
Just as Lin Zhilan was about to speak, Su Jue spoke up.
"This is fat emulsification. Water and oil are inherently immiscible; oil should float on top of water. But after the fish is pan-fried, the fat inside it is released. The boiling water breaks the oil drops into microscopic droplets. These tiny droplets scatter evenly in the water, and when light hits them, they appear milky white. This is called fat emulsification."
The other three: "..."
Seeing that no one knew how to respond, Lin Zhilan said, "Second Sister-in-law, just remember to pan-fry the fish first, then add boiling water and boil it over high heat. That way, the fish soup will turn white."
Deng Jing curled her lips into a smile. "I understand. I'll try it next time."
Su Jue pressed against the thick callus on his middle finger, feeling a bit at a loss.
In the past, whenever he showed off like this, Deng Jing would look at him with a beaming smile.
This time, she didn't.
The savory aroma of the fish gradually wafted out, immediately attracting a greedy little cat.
"Auntie, is there anything I can help with?" Jiang Chengzhou asked, leaning against the doorframe.
Taking a break from slicing the fish, Su Lang glanced back at him. "Can't you see how many people are already in here? There's barely any room to stand."
Jiang Chengzhou looked around. Only Su Jue was standing there empty-handed.
"Second Uncle doesn't know how to do anything. Let him go out."
Su Jue: "..."
Lin Zhilan: "It's not your turn today. Go out and play with your little cousins."
Jiang Chengzhou peeked into the wok, sighed, and walked out dejectedly.
Su Jue watched him leave. "You've raised Chengzhou very well."
Su Lang laughed. "He's usually quite naughty. It's all thanks to his aunt keeping him in check."
Deng Jing said, "You should go out and spend some time with your daughters too."
In all the time Su Pei had been growing up, she had only seen him once or twice.
As for Su Yao, this was technically the first time she had seen her father since she was old enough to remember.
A large part of Deng Jing's resentment toward Su Jue was out of a sense of injustice for her daughters.
Su Jue looked slightly helpless. "Peipei and Yaoyao seem a bit afraid of me."
Of course, Su Jue wanted to be close to his daughters, but whenever he approached Yaoyao, she would cry, and Peipei was also rather resistant, deliberately hiding from him.
It was the first time Deng Jing had ever seen Su Jue looking so helpless.
Her heart suddenly ached.
Words of complaint blurted out, "Yaoyao has barely even met you. A grown man suddenly appears in the house—how could she not be afraid?"
Su Jue fell silent, naturally knowing that every word his wife said was true.
But he had been so deeply engrossed in his work all these years. Aside from his colleagues at the research institute, he had hardly interacted with the outside world.
Those colleagues at the institute were all just like him—quiet, introverted workaholics.
His own personality was already somewhat wooden, and after staying there for so many years, his social skills had deteriorated even further.
He had absolutely no idea how to get along with his daughters.
Nor did he know how to win his wife's favor.
Su Lang offered him some advice. "Just sit in the living room and let the kids get used to your presence first. When they need help, step in appropriately."
Lin Zhilan added, "Wait a second. If you want to coax kids, you need something novel."
There were plenty of radishes in the kitchen. She picked up a paring knife from the cutting board, gently turned it against a radish, and after a few strokes, a little flower appeared.
She grabbed another one. This time, she carved a little bunny with long ears and a round tail. It was certainly cute, but it took a bit more time.
Before long, one little flower and three little bunnies were neatly lined up on the cutting board.
"Second Brother, go give these radishes to the kids. Give the flower to Jiang Chengzhou."
Jiang Chengzhou wouldn't care whether you carved a flower or a bunny. Once it reached his hands, it was destined for his stomach anyway.
Su Jue washed his hands and dried them thoroughly before taking the carvings.
