I Awakened to a Farming TALENT

## Chapter 64: The Drool-Worthy Golden Soup Lemon Fish

Meanwhile, Jiang Tingyun finally remembered this girl—the one who had made snide remarks on the second floor of the villa.

But what crossed her mind was: I hope her knee is okay. Back then, Pei Jingmo had secretly flicked a peanut right into her knee. Hopefully, he hadn't crippled her.

Judging by the way she walked in, probably not.

Jiang Tingyun started wondering—was this girl here to pick another fight?

But then Qi Yue took a deep breath and said, "Boss Jiang, I'm sorry about before."

Both Qi Cong and Jiang Tingyun froze.

Qi Cong looked utterly confused. "Sorry for what? What did you do?"

Jiang Tingyun quickly nodded at Qi Yue. "I understand."

Not wanting Qi Cong to keep pressing, she told Zhu Lili to show the two of them to their seats.

Once they sat down, Qi Cong kept asking, "Seriously, Qi Yue, what did you do? What were you and Boss Jiang talking about? I don't get it."

Qi Yue rolled her eyes hard. "None of your business."

"None of my business?! Let me tell you, the fish we're eating today—Boss Jiang made it specially for me. You're only getting to taste it because of me. And you say it's none of my business?"

Qi Cong's temper flared again. He couldn't help showing off.

Qi Yue gave a cold laugh. "If you hadn't ordered this dish, would Boss Jiang have refused to do business? Don't flatter yourself."

The two were equally matched. They started exchanging barbs before they'd even eaten anything.

...

Since the customers had arrived, Jiang Tingyun quickly got to work on the golden soup lemon fish.

She first marinated the sliced snakehead fillets with a little cornstarch and egg white to ensure tender texture, then added some salt and pepper to remove any fishy smell and give it a base flavor.

The classic side vegetables were lettuce, enoki mushrooms, and bean sprouts. These three were the standard pairing for golden soup—whoever first thought of combining these three with yellow lantern chili was a genius. They absorbed the rich golden soup flavor while still retaining their own taste. Jiang Tingyun felt they couldn't be easily replaced.

She quickly blanched the vegetables and laid them at the bottom of a bowl.

Then she turned up the heat, heated oil in a cold wok, and pan-fried the fish bones and head on both sides. After adding hot water, the fish would release proteins, making the soup turn milky white—no artificial additives needed.

She set the prepared fish soup aside. Jiang Tingyun re-lit the fire, stir-fried scallions, ginger, garlic, and green Sichuan peppercorns until fragrant, added a few spoonfuls of yellow lantern chili paste, poured in the fish soup, and let it simmer.

The yellow lantern chili paste was the key to the golden soup. But this chili was really spicy—don't add too much. If the color wasn't golden enough, it was better to add some steamed pumpkin puree or salted duck egg yolk instead to achieve the perfect color.

That said, pumpkin and egg yolk weren't the best substitutes. If you could get passion fruit, simmering it in water to make a broth would give a beautiful golden color with a refreshing fruity sourness—even more delicious for fish.

Another option was to use her homemade red sour soup made from wild tomatoes. It was also delicious with fish, but after giving most of it to Cao Zhizhi, she only had enough left for herself.

When the golden soup started to simmer gently, Jiang Tingyun did a preliminary seasoning—adding salt, sugar, and squeezing in some lemon juice.

Once the soup came to a full boil, she quickly added the fish slices, blanching them in the high heat. Fish tends to fall apart easily—simply use a spatula to push them apart gently. Do not stir constantly.

The thin fish slices cooked quickly. As soon as they changed color, she fished them out and laid them on top of the prepared vegetables, then poured the thick golden soup over everything.

At this point, you could add more lemon juice to taste and garnish with extra lemon slices.

A key tip for cooking with lemons: be careful not to drop the seeds in, and don't let the lemon slices cook for too long—otherwise, the bitterness will turn the dish bitter.

If you like cilantro, you could also sprinkle some on top as garnish.

Pickled fish usually gets a final drizzle of hot oil to bring out the aroma, but golden soup lemon fish is all about that refreshing, palate-refreshing flavor, so that step could be skipped.

The important thing was to serve it hot and enjoy it.

As soon as the golden soup lemon fish hit the table, the sour and spicy aroma made Qi Cong and Qi Yue's mouths water instantly.

Before even tasting the fish, Qi Cong called out, "Waiter, bring us some rice first!"

This dish looked so appetizing—it absolutely needed rice to go with it.

Zhu Lili brought them their rice, smiling. "The soup is made from fish broth. You can drink it directly."

Qi Cong's eyes lit up. He immediately scooped up a generous spoonful of soup.

Without waiting for it to cool completely, he put it in his mouth.

"Hiss... so hot. But the flavor is amazing—sour, spicy, fresh, and fragrant. The lemon comes through so strongly. Boss Jiang must have used imported premium lemons."

Qi Yue also took a sip of the soup and sighed contentedly. "So refreshing. Not greasy at all. The broth is really flavorful. These lemons must be from Qiongzhou. Qiongzhou lemons are the best. Imported ones don't compare."

Qi Cong snorted. "Either way, they're high-quality. Ordinary lemons couldn't make this taste."

The two of them quickly picked up some fish slices. The fish was sliced delicately—evenly sized, tender, with no small bones. The cooking timing was just perfect.

The fish had fully absorbed the rich golden soup flavor. Eating it made you involuntarily close your eyes.

Then they moved on to the vegetables. The lettuce was sweet, the bean sprouts crisp and refreshing, the enoki mushrooms soaked in the savory fish broth—truly, you couldn't stop eating.

"Strange. The fish is delicious, but why are these vegetables so good too?"

Qi Cong was genuinely puzzled. Unlike his grandfather, who was a vegetarian, he had always been a meat lover. Yet here he was, blown away by the flavor of vegetables.

For once, Qi Yue didn't argue with him. She was also amazed—the vegetables, infused with the savory fish broth, were incredibly delicious.

Their chopsticks flew. Before long, the entire pot of fish and vegetables was empty.

For two people who usually picked at their food, this was rare.

Even though they were already quite full, they still couldn't resist using the still-hot golden soup to mix with their rice.

The rice, mixed with the sour, spicy, fragrant broth, was unbelievably appetizing. Before they knew it, the rice was gone too.

By then, more and more customers had arrived at Qionghua Eatery. The entire dining hall was filled with the sour, spicy, savory aroma, wafting all the way outside and drawing people in.

When it came time to pay, Qi Yue couldn't help asking, "Your food is so good. Why do you only run this tiny restaurant in such a remote place?"