I Have a Penglai Immortal Island

Back at the inn, Zhao Zhao handed the fish to Da Linzi to clean. Da Linzi had never seen this type of fish before, so she fibbed a bit, saying it was a gift from the orca. It wasn’t too far from the truth, after all.

After cleaning the fish, Da Linzi cut off the three large fins, and Zhao Zhao marinated the fish with scallions, ginger, and cooking wine. Surprisingly, the fish had no fishy smell.

She steamed one of the fish for ten minutes. When she lifted the lid, a wave of fresh aroma hit her. She poured off the juice in the plate, drizzled on some steamed fish soy sauce, garnished it with green onions, cilantro, a few chili rings, and red peppercorns, and finally drizzled hot oil on top. The farmhouse steamed fresh fish was done.

The grilled fish was even simpler. She marinated it with scallions, ginger, garlic, and salt for fifteen minutes, scored the fish, applied plenty of olive oil to lock in moisture, and grilled it for five minutes on each side.

As for the remaining fish fins, she was at a loss at first but decided to blanch them and then dress them with a cold sauce.

When the three dishes were ready, she and Da Linzi each had a glass of wine. In front of Gun Gun was a piece of relatively plain steamed fish, and in front of Yaoguang was a plate of jabuticaba.

Zhao Zhao announced, "The White Dragon Feast begins!"

"Is this fish called White Dragon? Why is it called the White Dragon Feast?" Da Linzi asked.

"It reminds me of a fish I once heard of, called White Dragon. Anyway, let’s eat!"

She tore off a piece of the grilled White Dragon Fish. The skin was golden brown, and the flesh was still snow-white. As soon as she took a bite, an indescribable freshness burst in her mouth. The juice was perfectly retained, and the meat was tender, not dry. This was the best grilled fish she had ever eaten.

Da Linzi, after taking a bite, exclaimed, "Zhao Zhao, your grilled fish is amazing! This is the best grilled fish I've ever had!"

"Maybe my steamed fish is also amazing..."

She took a piece of the steamed fish. It was even more tender than the grilled one, fully bringing out the fresh flavor of the White Dragon Fish without any fishy taste, only fresh and tender.

Da Linzi, devouring the fish, gave his sister a thumbs up, "You should open a seafood restaurant. I've eaten fish for twenty years and was already tired of it, but this fish I can eat every day. There'd be a queue at your door."

The least impressive part was the fins, which Yaoguang said were the most valuable. Perhaps the cold dressing wasn’t the right way to prepare them. They weren't bad, just not as impressive as the fish meat. The fins were crunchy but lacked flavor, and no one was particularly interested in them.

They focused on the fish meat, while Gun Gun ate without lifting his head. Seeing the ignored White Dragon Fins, Yaoguang said, "Da Linzi, I just remembered a few idioms."

The proud parrot deigned to talk to him, and Da Linzi, flattered, asked, "What idioms? Tell me!"

"Steamed pears for a crying child, buying the case and returning the pearl, short-sighted, eyes without pearls."

"Zhao Zhao, is it insulting me...?"

No, it's insulting me.

Since the White Dragon Fins were beneficial to water-attribute cultivators, they couldn't be wasted. Zhao Zhao and Da Linzi ate them together. Afterward, they felt spiritual energy surging within them. The White Dragon Fish was indeed a treasure.

She gave Da Linzi a big turbot fish and sent him home, then prepared to practice her martial arts.

They hadn't had lunch due to the orca incident, so they ate an early dinner. When Da Linzi got home, his family hadn't started dinner yet, and Qin Yunmei was peeling potatoes in the yard.

"Perfect timing, let's have fish for dinner. We caught two turbot fish today," Da Linzi said. Hearing this, Xiong Haitao came out of the house. "Wow, they're big! It's been a while since I caught any. How was your haul today?"

Da Linzi finally had someone to show off to and eagerly recounted their good luck, catching over a hundred jin of wild flounder, and how fast and thrilling the Poseidon was.

Qin Yunmei took the turbot fish to clean, muttering, "We're really doing well, eating such expensive fish ourselves."

Xiong Haitao didn't appreciate the comment, "Eating fish is a bad thing? You always have something to say. I'm not even going to mention it, but in the future, you should mind your own business about Zhao Zhao. Just because someone praises you doesn't mean you can make decisions for her!"

"What do you mean, Xiong Haitao? I didn't interfere with anything! Sihai's mom just asked me to ask!" Da Linzi, hearing Zhao Zhao's name, ignored his mother's unhappy face and asked his father what was going on.

"Sihai's mom wants him to work on Zhao Zhao's fishing boat and asked your mom to arrange it. You think I was asleep? I heard it all."

Da Linzi, straightforward as ever, didn't care if his mom liked it or not. "Mom, how can you handle such things? Sihai is so lazy. What can he do on the boat? He'd just be taking Zhao Zhao's salary for nothing. No way!"

Qin Yunmei was embarrassed by their words and retorted, "Sure, you two are both Xiong, so you get to decide. I'm just an outsider. Fine, I won't handle dinner either. Go see if your rich cousin can feed you!"

Da Linzi, clueless, replied, "I've already eaten..."

Qin Yunmei was furious at her silly son and glared at him, then went inside after taking off her apron.

Xiong Haitao also gave his son a look. This foolish son was lucky Zhao Zhao was willing to help; otherwise, he'd be a real headache.

When Xiong Jin came home from work, he found that dinner time had passed, but no one had started cooking. The atmosphere was strange as everyone went about their own business.

He went inside and asked his mom, "Mom, why isn't dinner ready? I'm starving." Qin Yunmei continued watching TV, replying sarcastically, "What? No one's feeding you? Dinner is canceled tonight!"

Well, collateral damage.

Before Xiong Jin could pacify his mom, another visitor arrived—the daughter-in-law from across the street.

She warmly greeted them and offered some fresh melons from her garden.

This daughter-in-law wasn't usually this friendly. Sure enough, after a few words, she got to the point, asking about Zhao Zhao's fishing boat.

A job close to home was quite desirable on the island, especially since fishing was a family tradition.

Qin Yunmei, still upset, didn't respond, so Xiong Haitao had to explain, "Zhao Zhao has her own plans after graduating from college. We can't make decisions for her. You should ask her yourself."

"I came to the island late and haven't interacted much with your niece. Can you ask for me? Our Da Zhu is very capable on the boat! We heard from Haiming's wife that it's a big boat and needs many people, right?"

Qin Yunmei added, "You should ask her second uncle. As an outsider, I can't say much."

Da Zhu's wife picked up on the tension and turned to Xiong Haitao.

"The boat is indeed big. I'll have Da Linzi ask Zhao Zhao tomorrow how they're hiring. If Da Zhu is capable, he can apply directly. We really can't decide who to hire."

After finally seeing off Da Zhu's wife, Xiong Haitao told Da Linzi, "Go ask your sister about the hiring process first thing tomorrow. Once it's decided, we'll broadcast it to the village. The sooner we settle this, the less trouble it will cause. Otherwise, we'll offend people by dragging it out."

Xiong Jin seemed to grasp the dinner cancellation situation.

"Dad, are you going to work on the boat too? Our little iron boat can't catch much in the near sea. Working on a big boat sounds good, with a guaranteed salary. Since it's your niece's boat, it shouldn't be too hard, right?"

One son was a fool, and the other was overly shrewd. It was frustrating.

"I'm not going. Da Linzi can take a spot. The salary is good. You also have a job. I'll stay home and enjoy life."