Gourmet: Midnight Vending-Chapter 303 - 284: Going All Out So the Kids Can Eat Fish!

Chapter 303: Chapter 284: Going All Out So the Kids Can Eat Fish!

The hot pot base from Sichuan isn’t difficult to prepare; the key lies in making the red oil and using various spices to stir-fry the beef until it’s fragrant.

For Chen Mo, who has stayed in Sichuan for quite a while, this is a piece of cake.

Chen Mo could even prepare the spices while watching the situation by the river.

Jiang Wenqing was holding Chen Mo’s long fishing rod, and with Li Jingyi’s help, he baited it with a small yellow lure.

This time, he was more careful and didn’t swing the hook around.

After all, even the invincibly handsome Brother Mo had been ambushed by a hook before, so Jiang Wenqing obediently kept the rod tip pointing upwards, trying to get the hook as far out as possible.

When the fishing rod was fully extended, Jiang Wenqing was about to place the hook steadily into the water.

"Splash~~"

"Whoosh~~~"

Wu Xiaofeng, who was still waiting for a bite, suddenly froze.

"No way... is this fish dumb? How did it just hook itself?"

A parent nearby was also shocked, "Aren’t fish supposed to hook themselves? But the fish in this river today are a bit strange, jumping out to bite the hook on their own?"

Jiang Wenqing was a bit dumbfounded too.

He hadn’t even dropped the hook into the water yet, and a small fish leaped out of the river and bit onto the hook. Stunned for a moment, Jiang Wenqing excitedly reeled in the rod, took the small fish off the hook, and ran excitedly to the food cart with his hands held high.

"Uncle Xiao Chen, look!"

Chen Mo raised his eyes to take a look. It was a dace not even the size of a palm.

"Bring it here."

Taking the small fish, the Black Blade, turned into a knife, swiftly handled it with a few flicks, "Bring it to your group member’s parents, wash it, then inject some of my marinade into it, coat it with batter and deep fry it, and it’ll be ready to eat."

"Okay!" Jiang Wenqing nodded excitedly.

His group members tagged along behind him like little ducklings.

When they reached the riverside, Li Jingyi stopped, "Mom, what are you doing?"

Jingyi’s Mother was holding a freshly fried strip of fish; after refrying, the batter on it turned even more golden and looked really crispy.

Sprinkling some cumin and salt on it, the fried food exuded a tempting aroma.

Actually, Jingyi’s Mother wasn’t doing much; she was just nibbling on the fried fish.

"Just eating some fish. This fried little white strip is really good; you guys better hurry up and catch more fish; just one is not enough for anyone."

Li Jingyi’s forehead was filled with big question marks, while Jiang Wenqing and his three team members’ faces turned red with excitement, shouting as they ran to the river.

This time, not only Jiang Wenqing held a fishing rod, but all four group members, including Li Jingyi, picked up theirs as well.

They mimicked Chen Mo’s earlier actions, needing no fancy techniques; just hook the little yellow ball bait and naturally drop the hook into the river.

"Whoosh~"

"Splash~"

As soon as the five kids’ hooks went in, they came out with a fish, barely needing any wait time.

They then took the fish off the hook and dropped it into a nearby water-filled basin, with a young mother transporting the fish to the food cart.

Chen Mo easily handled this kind of small fish, then she transported the handled fish back to the riverside to be cleaned by two other parents; one injected it with marinade, another coated it with batter, and then handed it over to Jingyi’s Mother for deep frying.

The effective cooperation of Jiang Wenqing’s little team amazed the other parents and students.

Seeing Jiang Wenqing catching one fish after another, albeit small, the quantity was impressive.

Wu Jun wasn’t having it.

Smack!

Wu Jun threw his fishing rod on the ground, "What kind of lousy fishing rod is this, Dad? I don’t want this one; I want the kind they have. Your rod doesn’t work at all."

Wu Xiaofeng was also questioning his reality a bit.

What’s going on?

Though none of his fishing gear components are top-notch, they’re definitely decent in the amateur fishing world.

Even so, they’re surely better than those makeshift tree sticks, right?

So, how come I can’t catch anything?

Hearing Wu Jun say this, lots of kids started murmuring to their parents.

"Mom, I want to fish too!"

"Dad, make me a rod like Jiang Wenqing’s; Wu Jun’s one doesn’t work."

"I want to fish too; I also want to eat fish. That fried fish looks so good..."

The five little kids were fishing nonstop, and the collection of fried strips and dace in the basin kept growing, with Chen Mo handling them effortlessly.

It was actually Jingyi’s Mother who started getting a bit overwhelmed by the pace.

"Alright, alright, everyone, take a break from the hustle and have a bite to eat. We’ve starved all day; try some of Uncle Xiao Chen’s cooking, it’s really tasty."

A parent was holding a fried fish by its tail.

Biting into the side of the body where it had the most meat.

The fried white strips’ batter formed a golden, crispy shell due to the high-temperature frying, and it produced a "crunch" sound when bitten into, feeling almost like chips, but even lighter and crisper.

Inside, the fish meat locked in moisture, thanks to Chen Mo’s temperature control and the injected marinade’s magic.

The texture was unbelievably tender, almost melting in the mouth, with no trace of any unpleasant odor. The delicate texture contrasted starkly with the crispy shell.

Every bite let her feel the fish’s juicy flavors infiltrating its fibers, without any greasiness, complemented by the simple seasoning of cumin and salt, the savory and aromatic flavors echoed in her mouth repeatedly, making her turn the piece around for another bite.

A few bites later, the small fish was reduced to just bones.

"Jingyi’s Mother, give me another one."

"There are plenty more."

Jingyi’s Mother handed out some fish to other parents, then left a bowl of extra fried fish for the children. "Fishing is important, but don’t forget to grab a fried fish to eat, too. Uncle Xiao Chen’s fried fish is super delicious."

Li Jingyi, Jiang Wenqing, and the other three young members.

They nodded solemnly without saying a word.

For some reason, at this very moment, in this very setting.

The five kids suddenly felt a little grown-up.

Usually, they followed closely behind the adults, listening to their commands. Whatever the adults said was what they did.

And now?

Their own mothers not only couldn’t command them but also had to wait for them to catch fish to cook. This feeling was strange, like having taken the lead.

Perhaps most of the fish in the river had been caught, as the little fish in the water basin started piling up, the five children’s fishing rate gradually slowed down.

Finally, they had some time to eat fish themselves.

Jingyi’s Mother brought over another batch of fried fish.

Jiang Wenqing shared the fish with the team members, "Come on, to celebrate the success of today’s picnic, let’s all enjoy some fish!"

"Let’s go for it!"

"Down it!"

Chen Mo rolled his eyes, thinking, where did they learn this from...

Five fish were raised high and clinked together; the five little ones threw their fishing rods into the water, feeling hungry as well.

The ice cream they had in the car earlier counted as a meal, but it was all gone after a bathroom break.

They ate the crispy little fried fish one after another.

Jiang Wenqing was a bit surprised after eating a fish, "I didn’t expect the fish I caught to fry up and taste so good!"

"Yeah, the one just now surely was the one I caught, it smells amazing."

"No way, I need to have another one, it’s so delicious."

The children only knew it was tasty and couldn’t say why it was so, so they credited it to the theory that "the fish you catch yourself are the best."

After all, a frequent saying by the teacher was, "The meal you cook yourself tastes the best," and "The clothes you wash yourself are the cleanest." Of course, this was all to cultivate everyone’s hands-on ability, insisting on doing their own things themselves.

Just now, the elementary students were busy asking their parents to make fishing rods for them, but before the rods were ready, they saw Jiang Wenqing and others sitting by the riverbank, already starting to eat the fried fish.

High-calorie fried food can provide short-term pleasure, often giving a feeling of simple yet robust deliciousness. At this point, watching the five people gnawing on small fish.

Especially Jiang Wenqing.

After eating a few, it seemed like he found some secret trick.

A bite from the left, tugging it down, he could pull the meat from head to tail.

A bite from the right, the same action.

Two bites a fish, tossing away the clean fish bones, reaching for another one immediately!

People couldn’t bear to watch.

"Mom, can you make me fried fish!"

"This kid, where am I going to make you fried fish? Didn’t I just make you scrambled eggs with tomatoes?"

"Dad, can you get a few fish from the river for me? I want fried fish, I really want some."

"Do you think this belt of mine is tougher than your butt?"

The elementary students stood on the riverbank, watching Jiang Wenqing and others devour the fried fish. Some students subconsciously smacked their lips following along as if they were eating fish too, almost drooling.

Some parents felt that this situation wasn’t ideal.

One young mother took out a mirror from her bag to touch up the lipstick that got smudged while eating, then tidied her hair, and confidently led her child to the food truck.

"Well..." Gao Le’s Mother glanced at the sign in front of the food truck, "Chen Mo? Haha, I seem to be a bit older than you, can I call you Xiaochen?"

Chen Mo had just finished up and was washing his hands, "Sure, is there anything I can do for you, this classmate’s parent?"

"Well, my kid might not have eaten enough, and we’re out of ingredients on our side. I was wondering if he could have a piece of fried fish?"

Chen Mo sized up the mom.

Her outfit seemed rather particular, and the thick black fabric peeking from under her skirt looked quite good in quality, "You can ask Xiao Jiao, if he doesn’t mind, then it’s fine. After all, these are the kids’ hard-earned results."

"Thank you~"

Gao Le’s Mother brought her child back to the riverbank, "Jiang Wenqing~ can we give Gao Le some fish? I already spoke to Uncle Xiao Chen, and he said it’s okay if you agree."

Jiang Wenqing glanced at Gao Le.

"Sure, why not, here you go."

Gao Le immediately beamed with joy, hugging Jiang Wenqing’s shoulder, "You’re such a good buddy, I’ll hand in your homework last when school resumes."

Only elementary students know how valuable a promise like this is!

Seeing this. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Another mom boldly walked over, "Gao Le’s Mom, what did you just say to Boss Xiao Chen?"

Gao Le’s Mom was taken aback, "Oh, nothing..."

The other mom glanced at Gao Le’s Mom’s makeup and then at the outfits of the four young, pretty moms in the same group as Boss Xiao Chen.

A light bulb went off in her head.

She understood!

Quietly pondering to herself.

Luckily, I brought an extra pair of tights just in case they got torn while playing in the countryside today.

So, Boss Xiao Chen likes black!

Looking down at her son who was almost in tears from craving the fish, the young mother bit her lip.

It’s all or nothing!