American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness.

Chapter 420 Wang Hu's Craftsmanship

The crowd gradually dispersed. Although everyone was still immersed in the shock of what had just happened, the chill of the polar afternoon wind was real. After the initial excitement of watching the spectacle cooled down, their stomachs began to rumble.

Lin Yu'an felt like his bones were about to fall apart. After the adrenaline subsided, the deep-seated fatigue and hunger instantly returned.

"Brother! Oh my god, it's finally over!" Wang Hu, the big brother from Northeast China, came over at this moment, his face still showing the excitement that hadn't faded.

Lin Yu'an gave a wry smile, and his stomach promptly let out a loud "gurgle".

"Hungry?" Wang Hu slapped his thigh, his hearty spirit rising. "Come on! Let's go to my place! I'll cook you a real feast!"

As he spoke, he seemed to suddenly remember something: "Oh right, brother, when you went to buy noodles earlier, didn't you say you caught a fish? Take it with you, I'll stew it for you."

Lin Yu'an nodded: "Yes, it's still buried in the ice pit."

"How big is it?" Wang Hu rubbed his hands together. "Perfect! Let's take it to my house. I have a big iron pot there, and I'll make you a truly authentic Demoli stewed live fish!"

"It's a good thing there's no fresh tofu in this place, otherwise you'd be completely confused!"

Lin Yu'an thought for a moment. Although that fish wasn't nearly as impressive as the 205-kilogram one from before, its size—

"Uh—stewing is possible." Lin Yu'an hesitated for a moment, "but it might have to be cut up before stewing. Is your pot big enough?"

"Cut it open? What? It can still weigh thirty or forty pounds? Don't worry, my pot used to stew goose, it can fit it!"

"Okay, then lend a hand."

Lin Yu'an walked to a snowdrift in the corner of the tent, which was his "natural refrigerator" for temporarily storing his fish. He picked up an ice shovel and dug away the thick layer of snow covering it.

As the snow slid off, a huge, dark brown fish, as wide as a round tabletop, gradually came into view.

Wang Hu was happily waiting to catch the small fish, but as the snowdrift got lower and lower, his eyes widened and his mouth slowly opened into an "O" shape.

Wang Hu was completely petrified when the Atlantic halibut, which was nearly 1.7 meters long and weighed 68.5 kilograms, was fully exposed to the air.

"Holy crap?!"

Wang Hu pointed at the fish on the ground, then at Lin Yu'an, stammering, "This—this is the one you said you caught? This is the one you said was—okay?! This must weigh at least 130 or 140 pounds!!"

Lin Yu'an patted the fish head and laughed, "Haha, it's not that big, only 68.5 kilograms. Stewing it separately should be fine, right?"

Wang Hu circled the fish three times, clicking his tongue in amazement: "We have to make it! We absolutely have to make it! Even if it's too big to stew, we have to stew it."

Half an hour later.

Lin Yu'an, Nuoya, and Mars, who was responsible for being cute and drooling, followed Wang Hu in a tracked vehicle.

Wang Hu rode a modified snowmobile with a large snow basket towing from the back. The huge "ingredients" were thrown into the basket, taking up a large area of ​​space.

With the roar of engines, the group drove through the bustling racetrack and headed towards a residential area on the edge of the town of Ilulissat.

The houses here are typical Greenlandic colorful wooden houses, red, blue, and yellow, scattered across the snowfield like building blocks.

But Wang Hu's home is definitely the most "eye-catching" one among them.

Before even reaching the door, Lin Yu'an couldn't help but laugh.

At the entrance of a Nordic-style wooden house painted in sky blue, two strings of bright red dried chilies, frozen solid in the polar wind, were prominently displayed!

That vibrant red, so out of place in a pure white world of ice and snow, yet so welcoming and extremely arrogant.

What's even more amazing is that a faded red couplet was still pasted on the pillars of the porch.

Although somewhat mottled by wind and snow, the inscription still reads "May your business prosper throughout the world and your wealth flow to the three rivers."

"We're here! This is my humble abode!" Wang Hu stopped his motorcycle and greeted him warmly. "Although it's a humble abode, it's incredibly warm inside! It's like a traditional Northeastern heated brick bed!"

As soon as you open the door, a mixture of the aroma of warmth, stewed meat, and a very unique sour smell hits you.

That's the smell of pickled cabbage!

Lin Yu'an got out of the car with his backpack on, took a deep breath, and smelled this scent in the Arctic Circle, thousands of miles from home, which was really intoxicating.

"Wife! Coming right now! Hurry up!" Wang Hu shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Here you are! What are you yelling about!"

A woman with a full figure and rosy complexion came out of the inner room.

She has a typical Inuit face: a broad face, high cheekbones, squinty eyes, and an extremely honest and simple smile.

"Wang Hu, you idiot! Don't you know to call your brother inside? Brother, come on in! It's freezing outside, don't catch a cold!"

Her slightly off-key, but still distinctly Northeastern-accented Mandarin left Lin Yu'an completely stunned.

Wang Hu introduced her with a smug look: "This is my wife, Marina. She's a native Greenlander, but after living with me in Northeast China for two years, she's been 'trained' to be half a Northeastern woman!"

Marina smiled warmly: "Don't listen to his nonsense. Come on up to the kang (heated brick bed) and warm up."

The interior design of this house is also a wonderful mix of styles.

Seal skins and reindeer antlers hang on the walls, in the Inuit style; but on the wall directly opposite the door hangs a huge Chinese knot, and next to the TV cabinet is a statue of the God of Wealth.

The most outrageous thing is that a platform similar to a traditional kang (heated brick bed) in Northeast China was actually built in one corner of the living room, but underneath it were modern water heating pipes.

"Brother Tiger, you're living a wonderful life," Lin Yu'an exclaimed sincerely.

"Hey! That's right!" Wang Hu grinned, a smug look on his face.

"This thing is so great for sleeping in during the winter! The heat rises from underneath, warming your lower back and making all sorts of rheumatism and bone ailments disappear!"

He rubbed his hands, which were red from the cold, and looked across the warm living room. "Come on, brother, let's take care of that big guy first! Today I'll show you my secret weapon!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Yu'an immediately became interested as well. The two of them worked together to carry the flounder, which was frozen solid like a huge slab of stone, to the processing room in the backyard.

This place is less of a kitchen and more of a semi-open shed, with thick floor tiles and piles of processed seal skins and miscellaneous items in the corners.

In the very center of the shed stood a clay stove made of bricks and mud, with a large, shiny black iron pot, a meter in diameter, seamlessly embedded in it.

Lin Yu'an was astonished when he saw the equipment: "Brother Tiger, did you bring this from Northeast China? You actually have a set of gear like this in the Arctic Circle?"

Wang Hu took a fish-killing knife, longer than his arm, from the wall and rubbed it on the whetstone a few times.

"Ugh, Western cooking with all those small pots and stoves is like kids playing house. We Northeasterners are so proud of using these big iron pots, the firewood is so powerful! The flavors we get from stewing are just so irresistible!"

He patted the fish's body, making a dull "bang" sound, like he was hitting a piece of granite.

"It's so big, it won't thaw naturally until tomorrow morning." He dragged a huge blue plastic storage box from the corner of the wall and walked to a tap in the corner of the processing room.

Wang Hu pointed out the window and saw a thick pipe, half a meter off the ground and wrapped in insulation material, connecting every house in the town between their house and their neighbor's house.

"See that thing? The locals call it the lifeline. It contains not only water pipes, but also heating pipes, sewage pipes, electrical wires, and internet cables, all bundled together."

"This is called a centralized heating system. Those heating pipes are hot 24 hours a day. The heat they emit warms the adjacent water pipes,"

"So the water coming out of the tap is always several degrees above zero, it never freezes!"

Wang Hu turned on the tap, and a stream of cold but not frozen tap water gushed out and filled the storage box.

"Come on, brother, give me a hand, throw it in and let it soak." The two men laboriously stuffed the giant fish into the tank, its cold body splashing water.

"Remember this: frozen fish, no matter how big, never thaw with hot water." Wang Hu lit a cigarette, like a master teacher passing on a secret technique.

"When you use hot water, the outer meat fibers are cooked instantly, trapping all the cold air inside."

"In the end, the outer layer is cooked, but the inside is still ice. It tastes tough and dry, with no freshness at all."

"We have to use this cold water to slowly draw the coldness out of its bones."

Lin Yu'an nodded repeatedly as he listened; these were life experiences that couldn't be learned from books.

"Come on, let's go back inside and have some tea! You can't even cut this thing without waiting an hour or two. Haste makes waste!"

More than an hour later, Wang Hu got up and went to the backyard to take a look.

"Almost there, Microsoft is ready, let's get started!"

Lin Yu'an followed them to the backyard. At this time, the giant fish's body was no longer as stiff as a stone; it had a slight elasticity when pressed.

Wang Hu took out a special scaling knife—that thing was less of a knife and more of a serrated iron plate with a wooden handle.

"The scales of a flounder are very fine and dense, hidden under mucus, so you have to use this to 'squeak' them down!"

Wang Hu held down the fish's tail, while Lin Yu'an pressed down on the fish's head, which was thicker than his thigh. Wang Hu then began to scrape the fish vigorously from tail to head.

The fine fish scales mixed with slippery mucus were quickly scraped off in a thick layer, revealing the thick, bluish-gray skin underneath.

After scaling, it's time to gut and eviscerate.

Wang Hu switched to a sharper knife and made the cut near the fish's vent: "Brother, watch carefully. When opening this kind of big fish, you can't just cut all the way through, or you'll rupture the gall bladder and ruin the fish!"

He made a very shallow cut, only cutting through the outermost thick layer of skin on the fish's belly, then reached in, probed with his fingers, and then made another cut all the way to the bottom.

The enormous entrails spilled out instantly, carrying a strong fishy smell.

He pointed to a huge, thick, pale yellow thing among a pile of entrails: "Brother, give me a hand, get this stuff out and throw it away. That's fish liver! This stuff is good stuff! Deep-sea fish liver, top-notch delicacy! We'll pan-fry it and have it with our drinks later!"

After cleaning the fish's internal organs, the two used a hose to rinse the fish's belly inside and out thoroughly.

Wang Hu switched to a thick-backed cleaver, aiming at the thickest part of the fish, the middle section. "Come on, brother, you want to try?"

"I'll give it a try!" Lin Yu'an took the knife, put all his strength into it, and slashed down fiercely!

With a loud "clang!", the blade struck the thick fish spine, leaving only a shallow white mark, and the blade was almost bent.

"Hahaha!" Wang Hu burst into laughter at his disheveled appearance. "No way, right? The bones in this thing are harder than old elm wood! We'll have to use a saw!"

As he spoke, he took a clean hacksaw from the wall. With one supporting him and the other pulling him, the two of them exerted tremendous effort to saw off a large piece of fish fillet weighing at least twenty pounds.

"Alright, that's all for now. Let's eat our fill today!"

Finally, it was time for the cooking segment, a symphony filled with the warmth and energy of everyday life.

Wang Hu first stuffed the stove with dried firewood, then used a small piece of oil-soaked fish skin to start a fire. Soon, the roaring flames licked the black bottom of the pot.

He picked up a huge iron ladle, scooped out two large spoonfuls of grease that looked like melted lard from a white plastic bucket, and threw them into the boiling hot iron pot.

"This is seal oil," Wang Hu explained. "It's the best local oil, more fragrant than butter, and without the gamey smell of beef tallow. Using it to stew fish adds another layer of aroma to the fish."

As the temperature rises, the seal oil melts rapidly, sizzling as a strange aroma fills the cold air.

Once the oil was hot, Wang Hu grabbed a handful of chopped scallions, ginger slices, garlic cloves, and a few dried chilies and threw them all into the pot.

With a loud "sizzle," the aroma of the spices exploded instantly under the influence of the hot oil!

Lin Yu'an helped by painstakingly chopping the 20-pound fish fillet into fist-sized, even pieces with a cleaver.

"Brother Tiger," Lin Yu'an couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering him, "I remember that Northeastern-style stewed fish doesn't involve oil, so why do we stir-fry it first?"

Hearing this question, Wang Hu grinned, but his hand on the shovel didn't stop: "Brother, you've hit the nail on the head!"

He took a ceramic jar from Marina, which contained homemade soybean paste.

"The stewing method, which we in Northeast China call 'lazy man's stew,' emphasizes the original flavor and tenderness of the fish. If it's a young, tender fish with little fishy smell, you can stew it directly."

"But what are we stewing today? It's a deep-sea fish that's lived for over ten years! This kind of fish, after living for over ten years, is full of oil!"

"This oil is a good thing; it's the source of the aroma. But it's easy to make it greasy if you stew it directly, and sea fish, after all, has a bit of a fishy smell."

He scooped two large spoonfuls of soybean paste into the pot with a spatula, stirred and stir-fried it quickly, and pointed to the pot: "So, you have to sauté it in hot oil first! To remove the fishy smell and enhance the aroma!"

"Fire the fish!"

At his command, Lin Yu'an poured a large basin of fish pieces into the pot with a "whoosh".

Wang Hu grabbed the spatula and quickly stir-fried the fish. The snow-white fish meat tightened rapidly and turned slightly yellow the moment it came into contact with the scalding hot wok and sauce.

"Look," Wang Hu explained as he stir-fried the fish, "once the oil is heated like this, the collagen in the fish skin is locked in, and the fish meat is not easy to overcook."

Most importantly, it brings out all the aroma from the fish oil! It's the same principle as pan-frying steak.

Once each piece of fish is evenly coated with the sauce, and the skin curls slightly under the high temperature, turning golden brown and fragrant, it's ready.

Wang Hu then poured in the whole bowl of chopped pickled cabbage and frozen tofu with a "whoosh," and continued to stir-fry, allowing the tangy aroma of the pickled cabbage and the oily fragrance of the fish to fully blend together.

Finally, he picked up a large kettle and poured in hot water that submerged all the ingredients.

"Put the lid on! Let it simmer!" Wang Hu turned down the fire in the stove, leaving only a few thick pieces of firewood to burn slowly, keeping the soup in the pot at a gentle boil.

"Come on, brother, let's go back inside! This fish gets better the longer it's stewed, no rush! The flavor won't penetrate it in under an hour!"

Back in the warm house, several exquisite cold dishes were already laid out on the table: golden and crispy fried peanuts, smashed cucumber with minced garlic and vinegar, and a plate of thinly sliced ​​meat jelly.

"Come, come, have a seat first, and have something to eat to tide you over," Wang Hu warmly invited. "The fish will have to wait, let's start with the drinks!"

Noah curiously picked up a piece of meat jelly and examined it under the light. It seemed to contain some small pieces of cartilage. "What is this?"

"Seal paw jelly!" Marina introduced enthusiastically. "I made it myself, it took me all afternoon! It's full of collagen, you should try it, it's great for your skin!"

Noah took a cautious bite, and her eyes lit up instantly. The meat jelly melted in her mouth, with a bouncy and smooth texture, and a faint salty and savory flavor, completely without the fishy smell she had imagined.

"Mmm! Delicious! Like jelly!"

"That's right! If it's delicious, then have more, little brother and sister-in-law." Wang Hu proudly pulled out a bottle of Wuliangye liquor and a bottle of sweet vodka with a snow scene painted on it from a wooden cabinet.

He held the bottle of Wuliangye liquor up to the light as if showing off his treasure.

"Brother, look at this! I've been saving it for a while! But since you're here today, and you've accomplished something really impressive, we have to open it! This is what they call good wine for a hero!"

As he spoke, he reached for the bottle cap.

"Wait, Tiger." Lin Yu'an smiled and pressed his hand down.

Wang Hu was taken aback: "What's wrong, bro?"

While Wang Hu was still in a daze, Lin Yu'an turned around and took out two bottles of wine from his backpack.

"Hiss—" Wang Hu gasped instantly when he saw what was inside, his eyes widening in shock.

Inside the box lay two bottles of classic-packaged Flying Fairy Moutai.

In Greenland, the world's end, let alone Moutai, even a bottle of authentic Lao Gan Ma chili sauce is considered a form of hard currency.

For Wang Hu, a Northeasterner who is away from home for many years, the value of these two bottles of Moutai far exceeds the value of the liquor itself.

That represents a status, a sense of nostalgia, and the highest level of prestige.

"Brother—brother—what are you doing?" Wang Hu's tongue was tied in knots, and he subconsciously tried to push the wine back.

"This thing is too valuable! I can't accept it! It would be fought over back home, and you went through so much trouble to get it here!"

Lin Yu'an smiled and pushed the box back, her attitude resolute.

"Brother Tiger, you're being too polite. There's an old Chinese saying, 'A gift of a goose feather from a thousand miles away is a small gift but carries great meaning.'"

Although mine isn't a goose feather, the principle is the same.

"Besides, how can we visit someone empty-handed? You treated us to dinner and even helped us prepare the fish. One of these bottles of wine is to thank you, and the other we'll drink tonight!"

Lin Yu paused for a moment, picked up one of the bottles, and deftly unscrewed the cap.

"Damn it! You spendthrift!" Wang Hu felt a pang of heartache, but it was too late to stop him.

An extremely rich and dominant aroma of soy sauce burst forth from the bottle. In an instant, it filled every corner of the small wooden house, even temporarily suppressing the smell of the stewed fish.

"Smell it, Brother Tiger." Lin Yu'an handed the bottle to Wang Hu. "This is the true aroma of the national liquor. This meal, this occasion, wouldn't be complete without it."

Wang Hu greedily inhaled the familiar aroma, feeling as if his thirst for alcohol had been awakened.

He stopped refusing, nodded heavily, and a genuine smile appeared on his face: "Okay! Brother!"

"I've decided to be your friend!"

He took his bottle of Wuliangye back, then found two clean white porcelain wine cups and solemnly placed them in front of the two of them.

Lin Yu'an filled both of their glasses with the rich Moutai liquor, and poured sweet vodka for Nuoya and Marina.

"Come on, Brother Lin," Wang Hu raised his glass, "this first toast must be to you! What you did on the ice today, whether it was fishing or releasing the fish, you really made us Chinese proud!"

The two clinked their glasses together loudly, making a crisp sound.

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