He washed the fish in clear, sweet mountain spring water, removed the bones, and then minced the flesh with a knife to make a paste.
Since they only had one cleaver, he couldn't create that rhythmic, galloping sound of two cleavers chopping at once. It was a bit of a shame. Li Xiang decided he would buy another cleaver the next time he went to town or the county seat.
It would definitely come in handy for mincing meat to make meatballs during the New Year.
He'd just picked the spinach from the garden, so he brought it in, washed it, and chopped it finely.
By the time Li Xiang had finished preparing the fish paste and spinach, his grandma's congee was almost ready. He added the fish and spinach to the pot, seasoned it with a pinch of salt, and let it cook for about ten more minutes before serving.
"Grandma, you eat first." Li Xiang ladled out a bowl for his grandma and brought it to her.
"It smells wonderful!" Grandma scooped up a spoonful, blew on it to cool it down, and ate it, showering it with praise.
Li Xiang went to the front room to get the cat bowl. He washed it with clean water and filled it to the brim with the fish congee, making sure to add plenty of fish. After letting it cool down a little, he placed it next to the cat's den.
This fish congee was suitable for both people and cats.
Generally, cats and dogs in the countryside ate whatever the people ate.
Of course, food that was too spicy or salty wasn't suitable. For some dishes, people would set aside a portion for the cats and dogs before adding any chili peppers.
The so-called cat food and dog food that city pets ate were basically "pre-packaged meals," no different from "instant noodles." Their main selling point was convenience. As for how nutritious, healthy, or delicious they were, they definitely weren't any of those things.
Some unscrupulous manufacturers even add addictive substances like catnip to their cat food to create the false impression that their brand is popular with cats.
The five little kittens were nursing. The black-and-white one was particularly mischievous. Despite being less than a day old, it was already possessive of its food, constantly pawing and kicking at the white kitten.
'This little white kitten is so dense,' Li Xiang thought. 'And the mother cat isn't doing anything about it.'
Li Xiang grew anxious just watching, but he couldn't bring himself to interfere. Luckily, the mother cat was hungry. Smelling the fragrant fish congee, she couldn't resist climbing out and began to eat with a happy "MEOW, MEOW."
The "threshold" of the den was a bit high, so the five little kittens couldn't get out. They cried with soft, plaintive mews from inside, as if calling for their mother to come back quickly.
Since none of them could nurse anymore, the black-and-white cat stopped bullying the white kitten.
However, the other kittens didn't seem to like the white one very much and kept their distance.
'Seriously? They were just born and there's already contempt and bullying? You're all siblings!' Li Xiang was speechless.
'Maybe it's because white cats are considered ugly in the cat world?'
But Li Xiang thought this little white kitten was the prettiest, just a little dense.
'Doesn't seem like anyone in the village has a white cat. Where on earth did its father come from?'
After briefly speculating about Xiaobai's mysterious origins, Li Xiang went to eat his own breakfast.
Grandma had one bowl and was full, so Li Xiang finished the rest of the fish congee.
Because the kittens had been born, they had fish at every meal.
When the brilliant sun shone down on the backyard and evaporated the morning dew, Li Xiang once again spread out the striped tarp to continue drying the rice grains.
Also spread out in the backyard to dry was the threshed straw. After it was dry, Li Xiang would pile it into a straw stack.
Dried straw could be used as kindling, as it was highly flammable. If they had cattle or sheep, it could also be used as fodder in the winter. Additionally, it could be used to line dog houses and cat dens to keep the pets warm.
Grandma said that in the old days, they used to spread this dried straw on the bed frame, then cover it with a cotton quilt and a bedsheet. It was exceptionally comfortable and warm.
It was a completely natural mattress, with the only drawback being that it could easily attract fleas.
Li Xiang tilled another vegetable plot in the backyard. This time, he made it long, about a meter and a half wide, and it wrapped all the way around the backyard, forming an oval-shaped "wall" of rapeseed. The main idea was to have a beautiful view of rapeseed blossoms in the spring.
He felt he hadn't planted enough last time, and it wasn't too late to plant more.
Besides, the harvested rapeseeds could be pressed for oil, which was much healthier than buying it.
Li Xiang was currently striving for the "Pure True Form" and didn't want to ingest any more gasoline, kerosene, or diesel...
Of course, as a content creator, how could he pass up the chance to film an episode on pressing rapeseed oil using traditional methods?
He would naturally record the process of tilling the new rapeseed plot and sowing the seeds, but he wouldn't post it now. Instead, he would save it as preliminary footage for a future oil-pressing video.
Autumn was also the season for planting wheat. Sichuan Province grew wheat, but not in large quantities.
This was mainly because the local climate had four distinct seasons with abundant rainfall, but it was unevenly distributed, concentrated mostly in the summer. These climate conditions posed a challenge for wheat cultivation.
In Sichuan Province, the yield and quality of wheat were not particularly good. It was more economically valuable to grow rapeseed instead. Rapeseed was highly adaptable to the climate, capable of growing in relatively dry conditions, and its water needs were more flexible throughout its growth cycle.
So, Li Xiang gave up on wheat and chose rapeseed. At least, he didn't plan on planting any this year. If he wanted to eat noodles or other flour-based foods, he could just buy some wheat flour at the market.
By noon on the fourth day of drying, the golden, newly harvested rice was ready. Li Xiang casually picked up a grain and bit down on it gently. CRUNCH. He took another and peeled it easily with his fingers; the rice and husk separated cleanly.
He tested grains from three different spots on the tarp with the same result, so Li Xiang began to gather the rice.
After gathering it all into a pile, he brought an old-fashioned winnowing machine out from the house. With his grandma's help, he began to winnow the rice.
Li Xiang was in charge of lifting the baskets of rice and pouring them into the opening at the top, while Grandma turned the crank to generate a current of air inside.
This was a brilliant invention of the working people of ancient China, said to have been invented in the 2nd century BC and used ever since.
Of course, there were more efficient machines available now, but for the small amount of rice Li Xiang's family had, the manual machine was perfectly fine.
This winnowing machine was essentially a hand-cranked blower. Its purpose was to clean the grain by blowing away the husks, chaff, and any empty kernels, leaving only the plump, full grains to fall straight down.
An empty basket was placed at the bottom opening to catch them. As for the impurities, they were blown out the side and discarded.
"Grandma, are you holding up okay?" Li Xiang asked, a little worried.
Grandma smiled. "You think cranking this little thing is too much for me? I'm not helpless yet. If you hadn't come back, I'd be the one doing all this work, wouldn't I?"
In truth, after taking the Tier One Exotic Grass, Grandma's health had improved significantly. Turning the crank on the winnowing machine really wasn't strenuous for her.
Seeing his grandma's vitality improving day by day, Li Xiang broke into a happy smile. He began to wonder when he could save up some more Tier One Exotic Grass to send to his maternal grandparents.
Although his maternal grandparents were in better shape than his grandma had been, they were also getting on in years and could use a boost.
He had sent them Red Ginseng before, but how could a Mortal Item like that compare to the effects of a Tier One Mutated Spirit Grass?