Chapter 2777 - 2839: Rustic Pleasures

"No, you still need to fry it with oil, just a few seconds and the strong fragrance spreads, and after frying, it turns red, looking very tempting. When I was little, to improve the food condition at home, I often caught fish, crayfish, snakes, and the like to eat at home."

"Caught snakes too?" Chu Xiaoyao asked with eyes wide open.

"Of course, snakes are quite common in my hometown. Sometimes you can see them in the outhouse, in the garden, in the house, let alone by the riverside and at the foot of the mountains. They’re really common."

"Oh my god, are snakes tasty?" Chu Xiaoyao revealed her foodie nature, despite being afraid of snakes, and stayed true to her original intention, directly getting to the point.

Su Lio got lost in thought. She was also quite interested in food, but when snakes were mentioned, she recalled the second meeting between her and Li Yifei. When Li Yifei visited the Su Family, they had an encounter on the mountainside, which didn’t seem too pleasant at the time as Li Yifei knocked her over. Back then, Su Lio was very angry, even though she understood Li Yifei was trying to save her. Now, looking back, the taste is different. She has to thank that big snake for bringing them together.

"Hey, Ali, hubby says snakes are tasty too. Should we catch one, roast it, or fry it?" Chu Xiaoyao nudged the spacey Su Lio and said with great interest.

"Huh? That’s not good, I’ve heard snakes have a lot of parasites that can be harmful to health," Su Lio came back to reality and said.

"Oh, well then. But hubby said earlier that after catching a snake, you rip the skin a bit from the head, pull gently, and the entire skin and innards come off, leaving just the white snake meat. Clean it, cut it into sections, blanch with hot water, make soup, or salt it and toss it into the hot oil pan, roll it around a bit, and the flavor is amazing." Chu Xiaoyao spoke with her mouth watering, even though she hadn’t tried it, just imagining it made her crave it. If she had tasted it, she would probably reminisce even more.

Take Li Yifei for example, as soon as he got out of the car and glanced at the riverbank, he knew there were crayfish in this river. Maybe they don’t taste as good as back then, since there wasn’t much to eat back in the day, they had to rely on what nature provided. But still, he reminisced fondly, that’s why he went down to the river to catch them himself.

Back in the day, he could catch more than the other kids because it was simple. The stones housing the crayfish, or the stones forming crayfish dens, always had freshly turned fine sand in front of them, while some stones didn’t. Turning over the ones without sand was a waste. So he usually aimed straight at the stones with sand underneath, and he almost always caught one. He rarely came up empty-handed. The other kids didn’t seem to discover this secret and continued searching one stone at a time, naturally lowering their efficiency.

That’s the clever part. Li Yifei thought about it and couldn’t help but chuckle. Chu Xiaoyao stood by the bank, shaking the water bucket in her hand, and said, "Should we fill it with some water?"

"Yeah, fill some, not too much."

"Okay, got it!" Chu Xiaoyao nodded quickly and urged Li Yifei, saying, "Hubby, hurry up and catch more. Later we’ll take them back home and let the girls try them."

"Okay!" Li Yifei agreed. There were quite a few crayfish in this small river, known by various names like Changbai Mountain Lobster, grass lobster, water crayfish, crayfish clamp, cray crayfish. Crayfish live in cold water environments in clear, unpolluted rivers and streams with lots of stones. They have high water quality requirements, sensitive to pesticides and chemicals, and mild pollution can cause them to die. Due to the extensive use of pesticides in rice fields in recent years, their habitats have shrunk, and their numbers have decreased. You can still occasionally see them in unpolluted rivers or streams in the northeastern forest areas.

They resemble small lobsters, with pincers on the first pair of feet, having protective whiskers and long sharp spikes at the corners of the mouth, living in unpolluted freshwater, and are intermediate hosts for lung flukes. Crayfish are omnivorous, primarily feeding on small microorganisms, insects, and fresh moss particles, and also on small fish, tadpoles, and soft insect larvae in rivers. In winter, they eat hibernating wood frogs. When hiding, they usually go under stones, sometimes burrowing into soil holes or tree roots. Occasionally, they surface. Moving around by propelling water with their tail, they move in the opposite direction of their head. Crayfish grow by molting, each time they molt they grow a bit larger. The discarded shell is soft yet formed. Due to poor eyesight, they’re afraid of light, so they move slowly and are easily caught by people or animals due to the delay in reacting.

Indeed, it’s a real treat for northern kids, this river delicacy. After frying, you can eat the whole shell, chew it, and swallow it, unlike the hard shell of the little lobster.

The crayfish-catching operation began, and using Li Yifei’s smart method, they quickly caught more than ten, including one particularly large female. Under its shrimp feet was a cluster of small crayfish, all seemingly stuck to it, and surprisingly, these little ones were alive. This scene amazed Su Lio and Chu Xiaoyao, and they took photos, live streaming to the women at home. Seeing this mother shrimp, they felt compassion and said, "Let’s release it. We’ve caught so many today; we should leave some small ones for the river, to avoid catching them all."

"Okay, everyone else too, if you catch ones with eggs or already hatched, let them go!" Li Yifei instructed the others. Several security guards understood this, rolled up their pants legs, and went into the river to catch more.

With many people helping, they caught over a hundred in just twenty minutes. Li Yifei arranged for someone to gather branches and quickly set up a makeshift grill. The security guards were experienced and completed it quickly. Chu Xiaoyao and Su Lio clumsily picked out several crayfish, preparing to clean the insides, but live crayfish can pinch, causing the two women to shout, adding to the fun.

The insides were thrown back into the river, where small fish and other crayfish would eat them, so there was no worry. Using willow twigs from the roadside, they skewered several. Initially, they thought they had no salt, but a security guard dashed to a car and quickly returned with a small box. Inside were not just salt, but also oil, chili, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar—everything they needed. It was perfect. Li Yifei personally placed several skewers over the fire, brushed a little oil on them, sprinkled a pinch of salt, and soon a crackling sound was heard along with a strong aroma. Chu Xiaoyao, eyes wide, squatted beside Li Yifei, hands on her cheeks, unable to wait any longer, constantly asking when they would be done, eager to taste the enticing aroma.

Su Lio was similar, eagerly watching the skewers on the fire. Li Yifei laughed heartily, encouraging the security guards to keep catching more. The crayfish were abundant here, probably because hardly anyone came, allowing them to breed prolifically, so catching several hundred wouldn’t harm the ecosystem.

In reality, there wasn’t much meat. In their childhood, when food was scarce, these critters seemed particularly delicious. Now, the Li family had more refined tastes, so they might not be as fond.

The skewers were quickly done. Li Yifei handed one each to Chu Xiaoyao and Su Lio, tossing the rest to the security guards. Today they were here to resolve cemetery matters, but that wasn’t a major issue—Li Yifei was personally involved, so if it were difficult, it would be unexpected. Enjoying these childhood delicacies was the real pleasure.

Though conditions were basic, freshness compensated for flavor. After a brief roasting, the crayfish’s aroma spread, tantalizing the taste buds. The two girls consulted Li Yifei on how to eat them, grimacing as they chewed vigorously.

"It’s delicious! Am I just hungry? No, it’s simply tasty," exclaimed Chu Xiaoyao, learning she could eat the whole shrimp, leaving nothing wasted, slowly devouring one.

"If you can’t chew it, spit it out. No need to worry about waste!" Li Yifei chuckled.

"No, no, it really is delicious. I’ve never eaten this... crayfish like this. Never eaten Changbai Mountain Lobster this way, either. It turns out you can chew them up," Chu Xiaoyao said, blowing on another roasted crayfish, cheeks puffed greatly.

Li Yifei laughed, "Haha, if you enjoy it, that’s great. Ali, how about you?" As he spoke, he threw an entire crayfish into his mouth, chewing vigorously. The idea was not to shell them; there wasn’t much meat, apart from the tail. The tail, even, had a hard shell. If you peeled it off, there’d really be nothing left. Eating it with the shell added a unique flavor.

Li Yifei swallowed it in a few bites, while Su Lio gently nodded. Compared to Chu Xiaoyao, she ate more delicately, nodding, "The taste is nice. I haven’t had this before, and it’s easier to chew than I thought. I wonder if using the method for Changbai Mountain Lobster would make it even more chewable."

Of course, the hard shell areas, like the claws and the tail, were harder to chew. Li Yifei didn’t mind, but the two women found it took time to chew properly, fearing it might scratch their esophagus if swallowed improperly. Li Yifei advised them to spit out some parts rather than force themselves to eat them.

The barbecue continued—after ten skewers, Li Yifei personally brought them upstairs. A few aunts were still busy, and upon seeing the roasted crayfish, said, "This river has such things? They’re good stuff. When you had little to eat as kids, you depended on these to satisfy cravings. Remember the river near home? It had a small fork, where the water was shallow, and you’d go there to catch fish. Under the stones were soft little fish to bring home, clean, and then fry straight in oil."