Chapter 18 [I'm Not Going Anywhere, I'm Staying with You]
It was the first time for me to receive a gift. So many people came. If I gave one to each person, I would be rich. My enthusiasm for my eldest brother-in-law was unprecedentedly high. I laughed and hugged him. Then the couple came to the crowd hand in hand to greet the brothers and sisters, chatting and laughing in the middle of the sofa.
Then the brothers and sisters took their gifts one by one. India was ruled by Britain for such a long time. After studying Britain for so many years, the intellectuals of the upper caste generally treat people in a Western way. So when the guests give gifts, the host will open it on the spot to see what is inside and tell the guests that he likes it very much. This is a matter of courtesy.
Bel Singh did the same. Of course, everyone knew that Bel Singh was seriously injured and unconscious, so most of the things sent were some nutritional supplements. Some sent Himalayan honey, some sent yogurt, and the most bizarre one was my second brother-in-law, who actually gave me a box of Wahaha Eight Treasure Porridge newly produced in China, which made me feel very cordial.
Of course, there are some more bizarre ones, such as sending some expensive western medicines, and some people sending tea sets, etc. After receiving more than a dozen gifts, although these gifts are not of high value, they are also the thoughts of these relatives, and Belsinger still feels very fond of them.
It was almost ten o'clock when it was time to have breakfast. The Indian breakfast is actually very simple, and the rich families are more Westernized. A glass of milk, a few pieces of coarse wheat bread with butter or various jams, and grilled bacon and sausages. Of course, due to the limited conditions in the small mountain village deep in the mountains, the coarse wheat bread is made by ourselves, there is no shortage of various jams, and the milk is also very fresh. As for bacon and sausages, they are nowhere to be found.
After a fairly hearty breakfast, without the relatives asking to see everyone with red eyes and wrinkled clothes, you know that the other party will definitely do their best to hurry on the road. Only on the seventh day did they arrive at the Lagar Valley. These people are really tired. Fortunately, the people who came are all young people. If they were old, they really couldn't stand the journey.
Seeing everyone start a chat, Belsinger quickly asked Jamal, the housekeeper, to clean up the room and let these relatives who had been tired for a few days have a good rest. They were going to have a lamb dinner for dinner, which everyone was looking forward to, after all, they could eat fresh lamb. There were not many opportunities, and everyone felt very happy to have a good meal.
Others chose to rest, but the little girl Lina held Belsinger's hand and refused to let go, even though she was panting. Belsinger was very distressed to see the little girl in so much pain, and he also knew that the little girl was suffering from the sequelae of being frightened. He was afraid of losing himself and pulled himself by his side, which was a manifestation of love, and Belsinger was still very moved.
In the end, Belsinger had no choice but to pull the little girl back to his room and lie on the bed to rest, but he just woke up and couldn't fall asleep. Lying on the bed and unable to move, there were no entertainment facilities, and there was no computer or TV, just lying there dryly, no one could stand it.
I felt uncomfortable all over, but fortunately the little girl was restless when she slept, and her hand loosened after a while. At this point, Belsinger was finally liberated, and quietly stepped out of his room step by step. He leaned against the door and took a long breath, then smiled and came to the kitchen to personally observe how the dinner prepared by the Brahmin chef who was hired back at a high salary was going. There were still more than ten hours before dinner, but a lot of work needed to be prepared, and the kitchen was still as dirty and messy as ever. It can't be said that sewage was flowing and flies were everywhere, but the whole wall was black, and you could even smell the smell of rotting vegetables and fruits, which was really unbearable.
But don't look at the dirty and messy kitchen, but the Belsinger family is there, and the relatives who come are all their own brothers and sisters-in-law, and they don't neglect them at all. The preparations are also very rich. Even early this morning, Jamal's old housekeeper asked Jamal to take some experienced male servants in the family, take fishing nets and fishing rods up the mountain and cross the alpine grassland. Through the dense forest, we came to the alpine lake on the back mountain, which is regarded as a holy lake by the entire Lamar Village, to fish.
India has abundant rainfall, so there are many lakes and rivers in the mountains. In addition, this alpine lake has been managed by the entire Singh family for more than a hundred years. Every year, some precious fish fry are released, and a complete food chain has been formed over the years, and the aquatic products in it are very rich. There are all kinds of delicious fresh fish, and even freshwater species such as crabs and shrimps. Of course, due to the backward fishing technology, only the most primitive fishing method can be used. Hope that luck is good and catch a few big fish.
You really don’t say, after a morning of hard work, little Jamal lived up to expectations and really caught a lot of fresh aquatic products. A six-barbel catfish weighs more than 20 kilograms. Don’t look at the weight of this catfish, but it is still a primary school student. The largest six-barbel catfish weighs no less than 150 kilograms, and some very few can even grow to three or four hundred kilograms. This is a monster-level big guy.
The six-barbel catfish is a giant of the catfish family last year. It has few thorns, rich meat and fat, and tender meat. No matter how it is prepared, it is a rare and delicious ingredient. There were also a few Asian carps, which was a good harvest. In addition, the most prepared were a variety of fresh vegetables. Although Hinduism does not explicitly prohibit eating meat and drinking alcohol, in this strange country of India, the higher the status and caste, the more people are vegetarians.
If you want to tell which diner has a higher caste status in a restaurant, there are three ways to identify. The first is to see what material the sacred thread tied on his right wrist is made of? The second way to identify is to see his skin color. In India, white is beautiful. The whiter the skin and the more Western the face, the higher his caste status.
The third and most direct way to identify is to see what he eats. If he doesn't have any taboos and eats a lot of fresh seafood. Then he may be a tanned foreigner. If he is a vegetarian and eats very elegantly, combined with his appearance, it can be judged that he is either a Brahmin or a Kshatriya.
Because the third sex, the Vaishya, has a darker skin color, of course, it is much whiter than those slaves, the Shudras, or those untouchable Dalits. Indian food is curry. Curry is the soul of Indian food. Curry is indispensable for three meals a day. In addition, Indian food pays attention to crispy and tender. Any vegetables can be put into the pot and added with curry to stew, stewed until crispy and tender, and then soaked in rice for use.
Or rolled in a pancake and eaten, so curry stewed vegetables are the main attraction of almost every banquet. Of course, meat and fish are indispensable. Whether you like to eat them or not depends on the individual. Anyway, our Master Bel Singh is a carnivore in both his previous life and this life. Not eating meat is like asking for our Master's life. What Bell cares most about is whether the goat to be slaughtered is strong enough and whether the meat is fresh enough. He doesn't care much about those vegetables.