Chen Lan, carrying her basket and two bags of crayfish on her shoulders, hurried towards the RV gathering point before the rain. From a distance, she saw Wenrou Niang looking in her direction. Upon seeing her return, Wenrou Niang rushed forward to meet her, wanting to take the load of crayfish. Chen Lan stopped her, knowing her mother had never done strenuous labor, and the two bags of crayfish must have weighed nearly two hundred jin. She told her mother, "Mom, I'm not tired, we're almost home. Let's hurry back to the RV, Mom and daughter! It's about to rain."
The mother and daughter returned to the RV. Chen Lan peeked inside and saw the two babies asleep. Xiao Shan Niang was not in the RV. Chen Lan took a breath and went to the washroom to wash her face. When she came out, she saw her mother staring blankly. She quietly asked, "Mom, what's wrong?"
Wenrou Niang snapped back to attention and asked, "Lan'er, what are these two big bags you brought back? They're dark and have big pincers! One almost pinched me just now, it really startled me."
Chen Lan quickly explained, "Mom, these are Changbai Mountain crayfish, scientifically known as *la gu*. They're a unique shrimp from this region of Changbai Mountain. The meat of this *la gu* shrimp is tender and delicious, a rare delicacy."
Wenrou Niang looked doubtful and said, "Lan'er, why did you bring back so much of this *la gu*? They're so dark, how do you eat them!"
Chen Lan said proudly, "Don't be fooled by how this *la gu* looks, Mom. Once cooked, whether stir-fried, steamed, fried, or boiled, they are all incredibly delicious."
After saying this, she looked at the two large bags of *la gu* and felt a bit troubled. It wouldn't be practical to clean so many *la gu* inside the RV. Although *la gu* don't have a strong fishy smell, they are river delicacies. Piles of shells would definitely attract insects, and her mother and children were living in the RV.
Chen Lan decided it would be better to clean the *la gu* outside the RV. As soon as she thought of it, she acted. She quickly used her mind to open the system's purchase function and searched for the retractable, foldable large tents used at night markets in her previous life. She quickly placed an order. Before the rain started, she looked at the assembly diagram on the system's screen and began assembling. Soon, it was finished.
She then moved the two large bags of *la gu* and the basket out of the RV. She took out a stainless steel basin and purchased a large plastic basin from the system. She opened a woven bag and poured the *la gu* into the large plastic basin. As soon as they were poured out, the *la gu* scrambled everywhere.
Chen Lan quickly grabbed a *la gu*, twisted off its head, removed its large pincers, and then pinched off its tail. These parts were all discarded into the woven bag. The body of the *la gu* was dropped into the stainless steel basin, done in one smooth, fluid motion.
While she was struggling with the *la gu*, her mother-in-law and the women's militia returned. Upon seeing Chen Lan cleaning the *la gu*, they all gathered around, curiously asking, "Xiao Lan, what are you doing?" "Xiao Lan, what is that?" "Xiao Lan, is that edible?" ...
Chen Lan didn't have time to explain to each of them. While cleaning the *la gu*, she told them, "Hurry up and help me. There's so much of this, if I do it alone, I don't know how long it will take before we can eat." The crowd instantly understood, "So it really is food!"
They all rushed forward and quickly gathered around, learning from Chen Lan's example and starting to clean the *la gu*.
Chen Lan asked Ming Wei to get stainless steel basins from the other RVs to hold the *la gu*. She then handed over the cleaning operation to her mother-in-law and the others and returned to the RV. She bought five toothbrushes per pack from the system, ten packs in total, to give to each RV for brushing teeth. She took out six packs of toothbrushes from the system's warehouse and got out of the RV. She saw that Ming Wei had already brought over the stainless steel basins from the other RVs. She quickly unpacked a pack of toothbrushes, took out five toothbrushes, and told Ming Wei, Hu Yuzhen, Cui Qiao, and Zhao Xiaoyue to each take a stainless steel basin and go to the RV kitchen to fetch half a basin of water.
Although the women had many questions, they cooperatively went to the kitchen and fetched half a basin of water.
Chen Lan gave each of them a toothbrush and said, "Watch how I do it, and you do the same."
Everyone was even more curious holding their toothbrushes. They all stared, waiting to see what Chen Lan would do. Chen Lan brushed the *la gu* while explaining, "I'm brushing them like this to clean off the dirt, sand, and grime on them, so they won't be gritty when we eat them."
Everyone followed suit, imitating Chen Lan and working with great enthusiasm.
Seeing everyone diligently helping, Chen Lan called her mother-in-law aside and said, "Mother-in-law, what do you think of this shed I just put up? Should we build a bigger one specifically for cooking and eating?"
Her mother-in-law clapped her hands and happily said, "Yes, of course, we should build one. Having such a large shed is incredibly convenient. From now on, no matter the wind, rain, or strong sun, we won't have to worry about getting rained on or sunburnt. We won't have to worry about the firewood getting wet from the rain anymore."
Her mother-in-law continued, "This way, even if it rains, we won't have to eat separately. It's too inconvenient to divide things up!"
Seeing that her mother-in-law had decided on a larger one, Chen Lan immediately got up and went back into the RV. She purchased a very large, movable, foldable tent from the system, similar to those used for street food stalls in her previous life. She quickly took it out of the system's warehouse and set it up where they usually cooked and ate. Her mother-in-law and Wenrou Niang ran over to help. Xiao Shan Niang had also returned by then and joined in. With the experience from the first time and the help of several people, the tent was quickly erected. Her mother-in-law praised it, saying how good it was and how simple to set up and convenient to use.
Seeing so many people helping to clean the *la gu*, Chen Lan called Lin Mai over. She asked, "Mai Zi, have you ever cooked *la gu*?" Lin Mai shook her head and said, "No, I haven't. I only heard my master mention it. He said *la gu* is a unique delicacy from his hometown that can't be found elsewhere. Whether stir-fried, fried, or steamed, it's delicious no matter how you cook it!"
Thus, Chen Lan and Lin Mai, along with Chef Lin, began to finalize the menu for the *la gu* feast, preparing to thoroughly reward everyone for their hard work.
After some discussion, the menu for the *la gu* feast was decided. Today, they planned to prepare five main *la gu* dishes:
Spicy Stir-fried *La Gu*: Wash and drain the *la gu*. Chop scallions, ginger, garlic, and dried chilies. Stir-fry them in hot oil until fragrant. Add red chili bean paste and stir-fry until the oil turns red. Add the *la gu* and continue stir-frying. Add a little water, cover, and simmer until cooked.
Cumin *La Gu*: Wash and drain the *la gu*. Steam them over high heat for ten minutes. Sauté minced scallions, ginger, and garlic in hot oil until fragrant. Add the steamed *la gu*, minced garlic chili paste, and cumin powder. Stir-fry over high heat, adjust seasoning, and serve.
Steamed *La Gu*: Wash the *la gu* clean. Sprinkle evenly with salt and steam over high heat for ten minutes to enjoy the delicacy.
Deep-fried *La Gu*: Wash the *la gu* clean, remove the heads, tails, and intestines, then wash again and drain. Marinate with scallions, ginger, garlic, salt, and a little wine for ten minutes. Discard the marinating liquid, sprinkle with starch, mix well, and deep-fry in hot oil until cooked.
*La Gu* Tofu: Wash the *la gu* clean, remove the shells, then chop them with a knife and extract the juice. Filter the juice and pour it into boiling water. The *la gu* meat will immediately turn into something like tofu pudding, with pink strands of *la gu* meat. Bring to a boil, adjust seasoning, and serve.
After the concerted efforts of all the women, the *la gu* feast finally began amidst the anticipation of everyone and the tantalizing aromas.