She started prepping and found the fish was still lively. Expertly, she knocked the fish’s head with the back of a knife.
The fish, which had been flopping around, immediately stopped moving. She quickly cleaned it—scales, guts, everything spotless.
Her daughter was picky—if it wasn’t cleaned properly, she could always tell.
Sometimes Gao Xiuling wondered if her daughter took after her. Back then, she never had to worry about milk—couldn’t afford formula anyway.
First, she fried the Crucian Carp until both sides were golden.
She had to be patient and let one side cook fully before flipping, or it would taste fishy.
Once done, she added ginger slices, sautéed until fragrant, then poured in a pot of boiling water, added scallion knots, covered it, and simmered on high for five minutes, then medium for ten.
The broth turned milky white.
Then she added the tofu.
She’d even gone to the market to get the freshest tofu—told the Boss she needed it for a pregnant woman, and as a regular, the Boss always messaged her when it was ready so she could pick it up at the right time.
She also added some mushrooms—these mushrooms were great, just a little bit made everything taste better, no need for MSG or chicken essence. Mushrooms and tofu simmered for another ten minutes.
Three minutes before serving, she added salt, removed the scallion knots, and sprinkled chopped scallions on top. The Fish Tofu Soup was done.
The moment she lifted the lid, a wave of rich, umami aroma hit her.
Oh wow.
So fresh!
She was practically drooling.
Her daughter would love this!
Gao Xiuling poured a bowl for her daughter, picked out the fish belly meat, added two pieces of tofu, scooped in some mushrooms, and made a big bowl of soup.
She brought it to her daughter’s room.
Inside, Qin Shi was watching her show, no longer hearing the baby cry, fully absorbed.
She didn’t even hear the door, but soon her nose twitched. “Smells so good…”
The aroma appeared out of nowhere.
It was the freshness of fish soup, but without any fishy smell.
More importantly, it was an umami scent that reminded her of the mushrooms she’d eaten before, but this was different—the fish soup and mushrooms’ flavors intertwined, making her mouth water uncontrollably!
She turned to see her mom carrying a bowl of milky white fish soup.
Gao Xiuling heard her daughter’s comment and beamed proudly, “Smells good, right? This fish is from the Mushroom Stall Boss. Everything she sells—my goodness, every single thing tastes so good. I was worried the fish wouldn’t be worth the price…”
She suddenly changed her tune, afraid her daughter would worry about the cost.
They weren’t a wealthy family—otherwise, she wouldn’t have thought fifty-one yuan per jin was outrageous.
She’d only bought the mushrooms at first to help her daughter recover, figuring if they were so expensive and so many people were buying them, they must be good.
And they really were!
Too bad it rained for two days and the stall didn’t come, so her daughter’s appetite dropped again.
Today, she rushed over as soon as possible and was glad to find the stall open.
She’d thought fifty-one yuan for a fish might not be worth it, but after smelling the soup, she had no complaints.
Gao Xiuling hadn’t even tasted it and was already satisfied.
Then she remembered there was something else she hadn’t bought.
She couldn’t help but say, “Why don’t you look up if you can eat Mulberry Fruit during Yuesao? The boss has some too. I heard it’s really good—lots of people are buying it. If you can have it, I’ll buy some tomorrow.”
Qin Shi was speechless, but her heart warmed at her mom’s words.
Only a real mom would care so much.
She carefully sat up and nodded. “Okay, I’ll check later. Let me drink the soup first!”
“Alright, alright!” Gao Xiuling nodded, helped her set up the little table, and put the soup down. “It’s hot, don’t rush.”
“Mm mm!” Qin Shi nodded eagerly, already reaching for the spoon.
The soup was beautiful—not pure white, more of a creamy yellow, with a thin layer of oil on top. It didn’t look greasy like chicken soup.
The aroma alone was comforting.
She scooped up a spoonful, blew on it gently, and as the two pieces of chopped scallion floated in the rippling broth, she took a cautious sip.
Just a little.
The moment the soup touched her tongue, the umami flavor exploded in her mouth.
Qin Shi’s eyes widened, joy written all over her face. “Wow, it’s so good!”
She finished the rest of the spoonful in one gulp, even more satisfied.
The subtle saltiness and the relaxing umami, along with a faint sweetness—not like fruit, but a natural sweetness from the fish—made her want more.
River fish are known for their umami, after all.
But most people now eat farmed fish, especially river fish raised in high-density ponds with medicine to keep them alive.
No wonder the flavor can’t compare to wild-caught.
That’s why Qin Shi usually only tasted fishiness—but this was the first time she tasted pure umami and sweetness.
After drinking, she felt a gentle warmth flow through her body, and even the lingering discomfort from childbirth seemed to fade.
She hurried to take another sip, and another, and another…
Gao Xiuling watched with a loving smile. Seeing her daughter eat happily made her happy too—so much so that she was getting hungry herself.
Wait—was it really that good?
After the initial praise, her daughter was eating silently, spoon after spoon!
Alright, she’d better go eat too!
Everyone who bought fish was eating well tonight.
Except for Zhang Yan and her boyfriend. Neither had ever cleaned a fish, and now they stared at the fish still flopping in the basin, both at a loss…
It was way too lively!
Especially since there was a wound on the fish’s head—from when they’d tried to knock it out with the back of a knife—but as first-timers, they hadn’t dared to hit hard enough.
Instead, it just made the fish fiercer. It jumped off the cutting board into the basin, and when they tried to grab it, it slipped away, impossible to catch.
Now what?
Should they just keep it alive and wait for it to die?
Maybe eat something else first?
Surely it’ll be dead by tomorrow morning… right?
At the Plaza Stall.
One customer after another bought what they wanted and left.
The goods in front of Jiang Heng’s stall quickly dwindled—mushrooms were going fastest, then Mulberry Fruit.
But the fish were a bit different.
Mushrooms were expensive, but people could taste the Mulberry Fruit, so most people were willing to try those.
The fish, though, were much pricier than the market rate, so most people just watched.
Only the initial commotion gave people some confidence in the fish’s taste, so a few more bought.
This lively, fast-paced selling created a positive feedback loop.
It kept attracting passersby.
Right now, the people buying were all paying without hesitation, surprising the onlookers.
It was just the dinner rush, so there were a lot of people passing by. Anyone who stopped could hear the Boss’s payment notifications:
“…Received 285 yuan!”
“…Received 420 yuan!”
“Your Alipay has received 340 yuan!”
Passersby: ???
Curious, one walked to the end of the line and asked, “You’re all buying mushrooms? Are they really that good?”
The person in line nodded. “Super delicious! With these mushrooms, I feel like a Chushen—everything I make is amazing!”
“I think the Mulberry Fruit is great too, hahaha! Lately, I haven’t bought any other fruit—just eating Mulberry Fruit, and my sleep has improved! Since I stopped staying up late, my acne has cleared up. As long as the taste stays this good, I’ll eat it all summer!” a young woman said happily.
The passerby was even more curious and joined the line.
Jiang Heng kept busy for more than half an hour.
By then, only a little Termitomyces was left—too expensive, so few people bought more than a taste.
The Boletus was gone, the Wuzhong Mushroom was gone, and only some Chashu Mushroom, Pine Mushroom, and a bit of Forest Mushroom remained.
She’d picked over fifty jin of Mulberry Fruit today, and only about ten jin were left.
There were still seven fish.
She glanced at the time—it was only six thirty.
Looked like she could finish early again today.
Jiang Heng stretched, relaxing her whole body.
Song Ming, who’d been quietly watching, laughed, “I told you you’d have a great day today! Tired? It’s a happy kind of problem~”
Before, it was manageable—coming every day, buying expensive mushrooms in small amounts to eat a little each day.
But after two days of rain with no mushrooms, everyone was desperate.
Jiang Heng smiled. “Yeah, a happy problem.”
Just then, Song Ming had no customers either. Jiang Heng waved her over. “Come on, pick out a fish. I promise, it’s really, really delicious!”
This morning, she’d had fish soup noodles, for lunch she’d eaten braised Cyprinid, and for dinner, fried fish chunks.
Every method was delicious!
The fish chunks were from her aunt, who was a great cook.
She’d sent over plenty of fish, and since frozen fish isn’t as fresh, they just fried them up.
When her aunt was frying them, she called Jiang Heng over to eat, and the taste was amazing!
The fish had been kept in spiritual water overnight, so the muddy taste was almost gone.
The batter on the outside was crispy, and the fish inside was tender and delicate.
As wild fish, the meat was tight and tender, with a natural sweetness.
Jiang Heng took one bite and was hooked, standing by the pot and eating piece after piece—half of it was gone before she realized.
Good thing she had more fish, or there wouldn’t be enough to send to Jiang Peng.
Song Ming didn’t really like fish—her dad was an avid fisherman and always brought home plenty. After ten years of this, she was tired of eating fish.
But she trusted Jiang Heng’s food.
She didn’t love fish, but she didn’t hate it either, so why not try?
Who knows, maybe she’d fall in love with it again?
So she said, “Pick me a Cyprinid, I’ll make roasted fish at home!”
Usually, people used grass carp or catfish for roasted fish, but she preferred Cyprinid—it was more tender.
Jiang Heng picked out the liveliest Cyprinid, bagged it, and added some water. “It should survive a few more hours, just don’t break the bag.”
“Thanks!” Song Ming grinned, tied it to her little cart, and picked up her Mulberry Fruit and a big bag of mushrooms.
She could smell the aroma through the plastic bag. If she could sell out sixty portions before seven, she’d increase it by ten tomorrow!
Just like Jiang Heng’s mushrooms, she had plenty of repeat customers for the Beef Mushroom Sushi.
Of the sixty sushi portions, fewer than twenty were left after just half an hour!
So Song Ming was feeling a little cocky again.
Just then, she caught a whiff of a familiar yet unfamiliar aroma.
Familiar because it smelled like mushrooms; unfamiliar because it was a bit like the Termitomyces she’d just gotten, but richer, with an oily fragrance.
Was someone else selling mushrooms too?
Song Ming’s heart skipped a beat, and she looked at Jiang Heng.
She saw Jiang Heng gazing thoughtfully at the noodle shop across the street.
Song Ming was confused at first, but quickly remembered—she’d heard earlier that the Noodle Shop Boss had bought Termitomyces from Jiang Heng to make Chicken Oil Mushroom and invited everyone to try it tomorrow.
So she was already frying it?!