Era-Ch32

Chapter 32: Hey, I Just Won’t Tell

“Lin Heng, is this the cicada you caught? What is it for?”

After Lin Heng returned from the bathroom, his mother asked, holding a bamboo sieve.

“Yes, I caught them to eat. They’re very tasty,” Lin Heng nodded and said.

Before his mother could respond, he added, “Mom, the fire’s already burning, right? Don’t make breakfast yet. Let me fry these cicada larvae.”

“Do you think you can finish all this by yourself? We won’t eat it. It looks disgusting,” his mother said with a look of disdain, as she thought about the dirt these bugs might bring into the pot.

His sister-in-law Liu Juan also shuddered. “It’s not like there’s nothing to eat, why are you cooking such disgusting things? Are they poisonous? Don’t ruin the pot.”

Caiyun was a little curious. “Second Brother, did you catch these last night?”

Hearing this, Lin Heng helplessly said, “You guys are really talking a lot. Wait until I’m done, and then don’t eat any.”

“I wouldn’t eat even if you paid me,” Lin Heng’s mother coldly responded.

“Exactly, even if you begged me on your knees, I wouldn’t eat them. They look so scary,” Liu Juan added dismissively. What could be so good about bugs? Impossible for them to taste better than pork.

Caiyun, like Xiulan, was skeptical and didn’t speak.

Lin Heng went into the house, scooped water from the pot, let it boil off, and then poured in some vegetable oil.

In the countryside, the pots are large cast iron ones, more than a meter in diameter, fixed on the stove. They looked black and imposing.

“Why are you pouring so much oil? Quickly pour some back, you spendthrift,” his mother exclaimed as she saw the large pool of oil.

“No, it needs to be deep-fried for the flavor,” Lin Heng stopped his mother, and when the oil was hot enough, he directly dumped the cicada larvae into it, not giving his mother a chance to intervene.

“How did I end up with such a spendthrift son? Xiulan, how will you live with such a husband?” His mother was furious, picking up a stick to hit him. The amount of oil to fry these cicada larvae could last her two days, and she was annoyed at the waste.

Lin Heng grabbed the stick, broke it, and smiled, “It’s just a little oil. When I make money, I’ll buy you hundreds of pounds, and you can eat as much as you want.”

“Unfilial child!”

His mother, infuriated, sat on a bench, glaring at him. “Wait until you make money to buy oil, I might as well wait for pies to fall from the sky.”

Lin Heng was speechless. It wasn’t that much oil. As time passed, the delicious aroma of the cicada larvae began to fill the whole yard.

“What’s that wonderful smell?” Lin Heng’s father walked in from outside the yard, curious.

“Are you frying meat again?” Lin Yue, his elder brother, asked, puzzled.

They had both gone up the mountain early to haul wood since the midday heat was unbearable. It was early in the morning, around May 23rd, and the weather was already very hot.

“No, Lin Heng is frying the bugs he caught last night. He poured in so much oil; he’s always doing pointless things,” Liu Juan complained to her husband.

“I’m going to check,” Lin Yue and his father walked into the kitchen.

At this point, Lin Heng had already finished frying the cicada larvae and was pulling them out. He picked one up and put it in his mouth.

The crisp sound of biting echoed as the tender and delicious protein exploded in his mouth. The taste was amazing—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and the fragrance was mouth-watering.

“Mmm! So delicious! Dad, elder brother, want one?”

Lin Heng was ecstatic, offering one to his father and elder brother.

Being men, they both had a spirit of adventure. They looked at each other, picked one up, and put it in their mouths.

At the same time, Lin Heng’s mother, Caiyun, Xiulan, and others looked on curiously. Liu Juan’s two children had long wanted to try but were told off by their mother.

After tasting it, Lin Heng’s father and elder brother both widened their eyes in surprise and showed expressions of disbelief.

Lin Heng’s father, having finished one, grabbed another, saying, “I’ll be damned, this really is good.”

“Yeah, it looks weird, but it’s even better than meat,” Lin Yue also couldn’t resist eating another two.

Seeing the three men devour them one after another, the women in the house began to doubt themselves. Better than meat? That’s impossible.

“Dad, we want some too!”

Lin Yue’s two young sons ran over, mouths open, eager for some. Lin Heng grabbed a handful and gave it to them. After tasting one, the two children began fighting over the leftovers.

“This one’s mine, don’t take it.”

“No, it’s mine!”

They even started arguing over food.

“Want to try?”

Lin Heng looked at Caiyun and Xiulan, smiling as he handed them the bowl. Caiyun hesitated but took one.

After tasting it, her face showed shock. “It’s really delicious.”

Xiulan took one as well, and her face also showed surprise. “It really does taste amazing.”

“Of course!” Lin Heng chuckled. The fact that this was loved by people nationwide in the future said everything.

Then he fed one to his daughter, Xiaoxia, who was over one year old. It was fine for her to eat this.

As they continued eating, the cicada larvae in the bowl were quickly running out. Lin Heng’s mother couldn’t help herself and walked over to try one.

“Mom, you just said you wouldn’t eat it even if you were paid,” Lin Heng teased his mother, rebelling in a playful way.

It felt like his body was young again, and his heart felt younger as well.

His mother glared at him. “You used so much oil, what’s wrong with me eating one? What are you going to do about it?”

Lin Heng shrugged, thinking, “You’re my mom, so you can be tough on me, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

He then looked directly at his sister-in-law, Liu Juan. “If you don’t say something nice today, you won’t get to eat.”

Liu Juan noticed Lin Heng’s look and, feeling too proud to apologize, turned to leave. But the cicada larvae were too delicious to resist, so she turned back and said to Xiulan with a smile:

“Xiulan, where did you catch them? Let’s catch more tonight so everyone can have some.”

“Mom, what do you think? More people catching means more effort and more cicadas.”

Worried that Xiulan wouldn’t tell her, Liu Juan even involved her mother, not caring about her pride as long as she could get the benefit.

Xiulan glanced at her sister-in-law and shook her head. “I didn’t go out last night. Lin Heng caught them by himself. I don’t know where. You’ll have to ask him.”

How could she betray her husband? Besides, she didn’t like the way her sister-in-law often criticized Lin Heng.

(End of this chapter)