Feng Yifan carried a fishing rod and a bucket in his hand, which was filled with things such as charcoal, iron nets, grills, and a small shovel. He also brought his own set of knives.
His wife Su Ruoxi was beside him, holding a bag of various vegetables.
Behind the couple followed a group of children including Feng Ruoruo, Han Wenwen, Yue Qihao, Ning Cheng and Ning Guang.
Among them, Feng Ruoruo was holding the paper box that contained her little duck, and her daughter Tiantian followed behind her.
Han Wenwen was still leading the big dog and a group of puppies.
Yue Qihao was also carrying a fishing rod and a bucket.
The two brothers, Ning Cheng and Ning Guang, one carried a tablecloth and a fruit basket, while the other looked reluctant but also carried several fishing rods and nets.
Feng Yifan had promised his wife and daughter that he would take them to the river to fish and have a picnic today.
Originally, Ning Guang didn't want to come, because he felt that he couldn't play together with Feng Ruoruo, Han Wenwen, and Yue Qihao, and he didn't like seeing Feng Yifan. In fact, he was a little afraid of Feng Yifan.
But Ning Cheng still dragged his brother along. As Ning Cheng said to his brother, "Aren't you bored staying at home all day? Instead of getting into trouble with those kids in the village, why don't you go fishing and have a picnic with us and see the cooking skills of a real chef."
Ning Guang's grandparents also tried to persuade him, and finally he had no choice but to agree to come along.
However, unlike Feng Ruoruo, Han Wenwen, and Yue Qihao who were all laughing and talking cheerfully, Ning Guang was like a stingy person with a lot of anger in his heart.
Seeing that they were almost at the river, Ning Cheng couldn't help but say to his brother, "Can't you smile? And can't you talk to everyone? Look at you, you've been pulling a long face all the way here, as if we're all bullying you. Can you be a little more capable?"
Facing his brother's accusations, Ning Guang curled his lips and said, "I don't want to come."
Ning Cheng was helpless and could only say, "Don't be stubborn here. When the fun really starts, I'm afraid you'll be crazier than anyone else."
Ning Guang still curled his lips, a look of disdain appearing on his face.
Finally arriving at the river, Feng Yifan found a place under a row of weeping willows. The lush willow branches could just block the scorching sun.
After putting down everything, Feng Yifan let the children try fishing first, but he also warned them: "Don't get too close to the river, and don't run too far. Stay near here. We will all fish together later to see who can catch the most fish today."
Feng Ruoruo was the first to respond loudly: "Okay, okay, let's have a fishing competition."
Ning Guang curled his lips and whispered, "It's not even as high as the fishing rod. You still have to compete in fishing. Don't let the fish pull you away."
As soon as he finished speaking, he was slapped on the back of his head.
After beating his brother, Ning Cheng said, "What are you talking about? You're talking as if you're good at fishing. Don't let yourself fail to catch any fish later. I'll see if you're embarrassed."
Hearing what big brother Ning Cheng said, Feng Ruoruo immediately said to Ning Guang with a smile: "Haha, I can't catch any fish. What a shame."
Ning Guang got angry when the little girl laughed at him. "I won't catch any fish at all. I will definitely catch a lot of fish. Humph, just wait and see."
Next, the children began to prepare for fishing.
Feng Yifan and his wife put out all the things they brought.
Feng Yifan brought a folding table with him and put some vegetables and tools on it temporarily. Then he used a shovel to dig a hole in the muddy land by the river.
Feng Ruoruo was originally helping her brother and sister with the fishing rod and teasing her ducklings. When she saw her father digging a hole with a shovel, she became very curious and quickly came to her father: "Dad, why are you digging a hole here? What are you going to do with this hole?"
Feng Yifan smiled and explained to his daughter: "We will use this pit to grill fish later. We will dig a pit and put the charcoal we brought into the pit. When we are done, we will fill the pit up. This will not affect the surrounding environment, right?"
After listening to what her father said, Feng Ruoruo nodded and thought that what her father did was very good.
"Dad is so great. He knows how to avoid getting this dirty."
Feng Yifan said to his daughter, "Okay, Ruoruo, go play. Remember not to get too close to the river, and don't go play in the water alone. You can bring your Tiantian and Little Duck to play on the riverbank, but be careful and don't run too fast, okay?"
After listening to her father's instructions, Feng Ruoruo agreed with a smile: "Okay, don't worry, Dad."
Then the little girl ran to play, first playing with her brothers and sisters, and then taking the little duck and Tiantian to run and play together. Later, with the help of her sister and brother, she slowly put the little duck in the river and let the little duck swim in the water by the river for a while.
"Hey, Mom and Dad, come and have a look, the little duck can swim."
Ning Guang couldn't help curling his lips when he heard the little girl making a fuss, "What's the big deal? Ducks can swim."
When Ning Cheng heard what his brother said, he immediately said, "Shut up. Why are you talking so much nonsense? Get to work."
Ning Guang could only be submissive and obedient in front of his brother.
Feng Yifan had almost finished packing. He went to the river with his wife and prepared the fishing rods with his children. Then the group sat in a row by the river and began to fish patiently.
Although Feng Ruoruo is still young, she sits in her mother's arms and goes fishing with her mother using a fishing rod, and she looks really good at it.
The key to fishing is patience, which is what Ning Guang lacks the most.
So not long after he sat down, Ning Guang was obviously a little restless, and he would lift up the fishing rod from time to time to take a look. Seeing that the fish had not been caught, he became even more depressed and even more restless.
Just when Ning Guang could no longer sit still, the float at the front end of Feng Yifan's fishing rod suddenly moved. After the float moved a few times, he suddenly pulled it up and caught the first fish of the day.
When Feng Ruoruo saw that her father's fish was hooked, she immediately clapped her hands and cheered: "Great! Dad caught the first fish. Dad is great, Dad is great."
Feng Ruoruo cheered and got up from her mother's arms and shouted to Ning Guang, "Look, look, my dad caught a fish, right? You haven't caught any fish until now, my dad is the best. You will definitely not catch any fish today, hehe, my dad is really awesome."
Seeing her daughter's happy look, Su Ruoxi reached out and pulled her daughter back into her arms and sat down.
"Alright, alright, how can you praise your father like this? Sit still, we haven't even caught any fish yet."
Ning Guang was also very angry and said unconvincedly, "It was your father who caught it, not you. You said I didn't catch it, but didn't you catch it too? Let's see who catches the fish first and see who is better, you or me."
Feng Ruoruo agreed immediately: "Okay, okay, let's compete, let's compete."
Su Ruoxi pressed her daughter down again and said, "Be quiet. How can you catch any fish if you keep moving like this? The fish will be scared away by the noise."
Feng Ruoruo immediately put her little finger to her lips, made a gesture to keep quiet, and said to her mother in a very low voice, "Okay, Mom, let's be quiet. We have to catch the fish before Ning Guang."
In the following time, perhaps because of the temptation brought by the bait, fish began to approach this side, and soon Ning Cheng, Yue Qihao, and Han Wenwen also caught fish. Feng Yifan caught several fish in succession, making his daughter next to him envious.
Feng Ruoruo was becoming increasingly impatient and was wondering why she hadn't caught any fish yet.
Finally, Feng Ruoruo saw the float at the front end of her fishing rod move.
At this moment, the little girl was about to lift the rod, but a big hand reached out from the side and stopped Feng Ruoruo from lifting the rod.
"Be patient and wait for the fish to bite the hook."
Finally, the fish started to move faster, and Feng Yifan said to his daughter, "Okay, hurry up and pull it up."
When Feng Ruoruo heard what her father said, she immediately lifted the fishing rod with force. When the fishing line at the front end of the fishing rod was lifted out of the water, a small fish was hanging on the hook.
Feng Ruoruo immediately cheered happily: "Yeah, Ruoruo caught it, Ruoruo finally caught a fish."
Ning Guang was also discouraged when he saw this situation. He didn't expect that he was still no match for Feng Ruoruo in the end. Looking at the fish float on his side not moving, he felt very lost for the first time, as if he had suffered the first blow in his life.
Ning Cheng saw his brother's look and patted him on the shoulder: "How are you? Are you suddenly hit? In the end, you are not as good as a little girl. So this tells you the benefits of patience. Be more patient and you will definitely catch fish."
Ning Guang glanced at his brother, then decisively sat down obediently, staring at his fishing float without moving.
Hard work pays off, and with Ning Guang’s patient waiting, he finally caught a fish.
Ning Guang was very happy when the fish was caught. For the first time, the boy experienced the joy of gaining something through patient hard work.
After Ning Guang caught the fish, he gradually started playing with other children.
While a group of children were playing, Feng Yifan began to prepare for the picnic.
First, we selected a few larger fish, quickly slaughtered and dissected them by the river, cleaned the fish in the river water, and then washed them again with the purified water we brought.
Afterwards, on a small table, Feng Yifan cut the fish into pieces and marinated it with the marinade he brought.
While marinating the fish, Feng Yifan opened another package he had brought.
This is pre-processed and mixed with chicken marinated in Su Zao soup.
After Feng Yifan took it out, he poured out some of the Suzhou soup, stuffed the chicken's stomach with the mixed glutinous rice, poured some of the Suzhou soup in, and then sealed the opening with a needle. Then he used the clean lotus leaves he brought in advance to wrap the whole chicken and tied it tightly with a rope.
After tying them up, Feng Yifan mixed the soil from the pit he had dug with water and used the soil to wrap the lotus leaves.
At this time, a group of children finally found something fun and gathered around.
Feng Ruoruo was the first to speak: "Dad, why did you cover this with mud? It's so dirty. I can't eat it."
Before Feng Yifan could answer, Yue Qihao next to him said, "I know this. I saw it on the Internet. This method is called beggar's chicken. It is wrapped in mud and then roasted in the fire. When the mud is burned very hard and cracked, the chicken inside is cooked."
Feng Ruoruo became even more curious after hearing this: "So that's how it is? Then why is it called 'Beggar's Chicken'?"
Ning Guang next to him interrupted and said, "Of course it's because only beggars would do this. They are poor and don't have a pot, so they can only use this method."
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "Well, what Xiaoguang said is almost the same, but my version is much better than beggar's chicken. You will know when you eat it later."
After spreading the mud evenly, Feng Yifan started to make a fire in the pit, threw the mud-wrapped chicken into the bottom of the pit, and then lit the charcoal on top. He then put the prepared rack on top and placed the grill on top, thus making a simple grill.
After the grill was ready, the fire quickly lit up. Feng Yifan took out the marinated fish, put it into the prepared clamped grill net, put it on the fire and started grilling.
As the fish was roasted and the fat dripped onto the fire, making a sizzling sound, the children stared at it with curiosity.
Soon, the aroma of grilled fish wafted out, making the children couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
Ning Cheng followed and watched the whole process, carefully observing how Feng Yifan processed the fish, the chicken, and some of the pickling techniques.
In the past, Ning Cheng felt that chefs had to work in a professional place like the kitchen to be able to display their talents.
But today, here by the river, Feng Yifan proved to him that a top chef can make delicious food anywhere with what he has on hand.
When the surface of the fish was almost crispy, Feng Yifan took the fish away from the flame.
He took out the baking tray and put the various vegetables he brought on the bottom. Then he took the fish out of the grill and put it in the baking tray. He poured some Suzhou soup into it, sprinkled sesame seeds on it, added two sprigs of coriander, and put it back on the grill to bake.
As the soup in the baking pan boils, the aroma of the grilled fish and the soup inside gradually wafts into the air.
The children by the river were immediately immersed in the fragrance.
"Wow, Dad, this smells really good."
"Mmm, it smells really good. I want to eat it."
"This is the fish we caught ourselves. It will definitely taste better."
"Yes, the fish we caught ourselves tastes delicious."
Ning Cheng was also very happy to see his brother gradually integrating into the group. The more he looked at Feng Yifan, the more he admired him.
Finally, after the grilled fish started to be cooked, Feng Yifan and Su Ruoxi called the children to eat.
"It's time to eat."