"You just need to grab the middle of its tail and pull, then the shrimp vein comes out!"
Chen Muxue was teaching the children how to remove the shrimp vein, after all, with nearly six pounds of little lobsters, if she were to do it alone, they might as well skip dinner and go straight to a midnight snack.
The good-natured Dafu was assigned to the task of peeling garlic. Chen Muxue planned to make two flavors, one spicy, the other garlic.
Garlic-flavored little lobsters require a lot of garlic, so splitting half of them into three pounds of little lobsters would need nearly ten heads of garlic to fully exert the garlic's power. Garlic nowadays isn't as big as it was in Chen Muxue's original world, so peeling it is quite a tedious task, not at all easier than handling the little lobsters.
Especially when you have garlic-scented fingers for the next three days...
Da Gui, every time he reached out to catch a little lobster, would be scared away, unable to catch one for a long while. Xiaohu mastered the technique; he would first use scissors to clamp down the lobster's pincers, then reach out to grab it, naturally immobilizing the pincers in his hand, making the subsequent processing very simple.
Amazingly, in Xiaohua's hand, only four years old, the little lobsters were so obedient they didn't seem alive, not even moving their pincers, just submitting obediently.
If Chen Muxue faced such docile little lobsters, she might hesitate for a few seconds before handling them, but Xiaohua seemed unfazed by it. Despite her small strength, she gritted her teeth to pull out the shrimp vein.
Food enthusiasts can be quite ruthless!
After processing, Chen Muxue first fried the little lobsters. The kids were amazed as the slightly bluish little lobsters turned red one by one—it looked much more appetizing!
For spicy little lobsters, hot pot base is needed, which this world evidently lacks. Xiaohu was now at the fifth rank of Qi cultivation, and even though he was just a child, no one would easily dare to mess with him, so Chen Muxue sent him off to the pharmacy.
In the original text, Xiaohu was a cannon fodder character and died particularly early, but he probably wouldn't encounter anyone strange by going himself!
As for why to go to the pharmacy, in ancient times, many spices weren't used for cooking but as medicine. Since this world involves cultivation and has many overseas exchanges, the spice availability should be fairly comprehensive.
"If you can't find it at the pharmacy, check the grocery store, and if needed, look around the tea-selling place. Remember, it's the tea-selling, not the tea-drinking place." Chen Muxue carefully explained.
Nowadays, some people like to brew tea with all sorts of miscellaneous things, creating a true tea soup. It is rumored that savoring it can lead to some enlightenment. Therefore, a place selling tea might have spices too.
Xiaohu was a bit excited; this was his first time going down the mountain alone!
Recently, due to better nutrition, Xiaohu had grown quite a bit taller, no longer looking like a four or five-year-old although he was indeed seven or eight. Now you could tell he was a big kid.
But the definition of a "big kid" is based on ancient standards; in Chen Muxue's eyes, he was still of elementary school age.
Knowing spices aren't cheap, Chen Muxue gave him a full fifty silver, instructing him to buy more.
Xiaohu returned triumphantly with a large bag: "I went to the pharmacy, and the doctor who treated us last time said the Sect Leader's sour and spicy noodles were delicious. He helped me get spices saying there were some Western Region merchants passing by last time, and he stocked up on some. He even asked when the Sect Leader will be going down the mountain again to sell sour and spicy noodles and spicy hotpot. He's been thinking about it so much, even his meals aren't as tasty anymore."
"Sect Leader is amazing!" Xiaohua exclaimed after listening.
Chen Muxue patted Xiaohu's head: "Xiaohu completed his first mission down the mountain perfectly. Xiaohu is also amazing."
With that said, she rolled up her sleeves; since they bought a lot of spices, she planned to make more. Don't think she's settling for just a hundred silver; the opportunity is here, it's better to keep the rundown restaurant in town closed!