Taste of Home

Uncle Lin saw Bai Yi Nuo enter the kitchen and, worried there wouldn't be any food to eat today, asked with some concern: "Does Yi Nuo know how to cook? The food she makes later might not even be edible."

Auntie Lin glared at him: "Even if it's bad, you have to eat a lot. It's rare for the child to make a meal; you can't discourage her."

After saying that, Auntie Lin became worried: "Do you think Yi Nuo was serious just now? Is she really not looking for a job? Her parents haven't been able to earn money for many years; can Yi Nuo do it? Oh right, doesn't your family have a nephew who is a manager at an internet company? How about tomorrow we invite him for a meal and give him a small gift to see if he can arrange a job for Yi Nuo in the company."

Uncle Lin sighed: "I know. As elders, we naturally can't watch her fall into a pit. Tonight I'll call my nephew and ask."

At this moment, a strange fragrance wafted from the kitchen. The two of them sniffed carefully, only able to distinguish the scent of Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers. Many types of spices were combined together—numbing, spicy, fresh, and aromatic—making one's mouth water.

"Gurgle, gurgle."

The two of them heard the sounds from each other's stomachs and looked at each other; the volume of their discussion couldn't help but gradually lower. That scent inevitably stirred memories of their childhood. Their ancestral home was in Si Chuan, and they had only taken root in Hai Shi for over ten years. The palate in Hai Shi leaned toward sweetness, and they weren't used to the local food. Fortunately, Hai Shi was a place that embraced a hundred rivers; people from provinces all over the country gathered here, and there was no lack of Sichuan spicy eateries in the streets and alleys.

The two of them had tasted many spicy Sichuan dishes in Hai Shi, including those opened by Sichuanese people. For some reason, the flavor was never particularly authentic; it was always a bit different from the original taste, which was a pity. This aroma made them feel as if they had returned to Si Chuan.

And that wasn't even the end of it. As time passed, the fragrance became even more intense, even more delicious than the authentic Sichuan food they had tasted back home.

Bai Yi Nuo took the cleaned river shrimp and carefully removed the shrimp lines. After cutting off the antennae and legs, she put them all into a prepared bowl and poured in half a bottle of liquor to remove the fishy smell. These river shrimp had large heads, and after having their lines removed and being placed in the spirit, they were still lively, exactly as Auntie Lin had said—very fresh.

It was said she was making the meal, but in fact, Auntie Lin had already done most of it. Inside the steamer on top of the rice cooker was steamed egg with minced meat, and on the stove, corn and pork rib soup was simmering. Uncle Lin liked to have a little drink while eating, so he had also bought quite a bit of braised duck meat and duck wings as appetizers. Thus, Bai Yi Nuo intended to make only one savory dish to enrich the meal.

She knew Uncle Lin's family were migrants from Si Chuan who weren't happy without spice, so she planned to use these river shrimp to make a pot of Numbing and Spicy Shrimp.

Bai Yi Nuo's father, Bai Qi, was a Great Scholar of the Dai Wei Dynasty. There was a saying that a gentleman stays away from the kitchen, but it seemed Bai Qi was not a standard scholar; he was old and gluttonous, and his culinary skills were not bad. When Bai Yi Nuo was still in swaddling clothes, he would use chopsticks dipped in green plum wine to feed her. As she grew up, she was taken to travel in all directions, experiencing the delicacies of the eight regions. Sichuan cuisine was naturally something she had witnessed, and later she followed a master to learn it properly.

Sichuan cuisine is perfect; if one could eat it without getting a stomachache, it would be even more perfect, she thought to herself.

She poured garlic, ginger, bird's eye chilies, star anise, and many other spices into the pot to stir-fry until fragrant. The numbing and spicy aroma exploded in an instant, filling the kitchen with a seductive scent.

By the time the main dish was plated, everyone was at the dining table. The three of them gathered around the table, all staring at Bai Yi Nuo. However, the thoughts of the three were not entirely the same. Auntie Lin and Lin Yu were expectant, while Uncle Lin was extremely worried and even had some secret resistance.

Although the plate of numbing and spicy shrimp was bright red and looked and smelled great, he remained steadfast, not daring to lower his chopsticks, worried the shrimp weren't cooked. One couldn't blame Uncle Lin for being timid; it was truly because when he first married Auntie Lin, she had left him with too deep a psychological trauma.

At this moment, Bai Yi Nuo brought over another small side dish. The side dish was dark green, looking crisp and carrying the characteristic aroma of marinated spices.

At first, Uncle Lin didn't recognize it: "What is this?"