Ancient Foodie Survival Guide Chapter 30
Tled by Serena Love
Unedited
Chapter 30: Lanzhou Beef Noodle
After Jiang Shuyao returned to the mansion, she went straight back to the east wing.
Xie Xun let her be. After reading a book for a while, he walked down the corridor to see candlelight in the east wing.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes... After watching too much, he realized that Jiang Shuyao didn't seem to be in the house.
He searched the yard for around half a circle, then he stopped and walked towards the small kitchen.
There were several lanterns in the kitchen, the light was soft and bright, and Jiang Shuyao was standing next to the counter.
She neatly tied up her hair up in a bun. Her sleeves were also tied weirdly, and her whole body was condensed. She repeatedly smashed, kneaded, and stretched the large soft dough, then pinched the ends of the dough and beat them constantly.
The quiet kitchen was full of loud "boom" sound.
Xie Xun didn't know what she was doing, and walked towards her, "Let the maids do this kind of thing. Why do you have to do it yourself."
His voice was soft, so Jiang Shuyao was not scared. There was no reaction from her when he came. "I just want to do it myself." This was her habit. She cooked when she got stressed. Kneading and making noodles were the most destressing activity.
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There was a strand of hair hanging down in front of her forehead, scratching her face and make it a little itchy. Jiang Shuyao raised her arm, wrinkled her nose, and rubbed the itchy spot.
She stretched the dough again and beat it hard on the chopping board, then folded and stretched it in half, then continued to beat it. The force was so great. It looked like the dough was a villain that had some disagreement with her; it looked a bit silly.
Xie Xun didn't leave and didn't make a sound. He stood quietly and watched for a while. His mouth couldn't help but smile.
The two did not talk. One focus on her work, and the other watched.
Jiang Shuyao finally finished, and the depression in her heart had reduced a lot. She turned her head to Xie Xun, her breath was uneven, and she said viciously, "Let's eat it!"
Such a grudge?
Xie Xun couldn't help but laugh. A little candlelight reflected in his black eyes, "Okay."
Jiang Shuyao patted the flour on her hands and said triumphantly, "Let me show you something."
She greased the chopping board, picked up the slippery dough, held both ends with her arms, and quickly stretched outwards, then folded in half. Her fingers fluttered, her wrists trembling, and she stretched it again. In the blink of an eye, the dough had turned into messy noodles in her hands.
Xie Xun looked curious, "Where did you learn this?"
Jiang Shuyao was too lazy to lie, so to block him, she just said, "Do you even need a teacher?"
Xie Xun shut up.
The soup is the soul of Lanzhou beef noodles. It was made with leg bones, fat chicken, and beef that Lin-shi insisted on Jiang Shuyao to bring back. It was slowly boiled with seasonings and Chinese herbs. The soup base was clear, but the flavor was completely integrated into the soup. Even if you put a variety of meaty bones, the soup would be clear and delicious.
When the water boiled, Jiang Shuyao threw the noodles into the boiling water. She boiled it for a while, fished it out when the time is right, and the noodles would be strong and flexible.
She poured a large spoonful of fresh and fragrant soup, topped it with boiled radish slices and beef slices, sprinkled with coriander and chopped green onion, and poured some balsamic vinegar. Suddenly, the fragrant smell of vinegar was in the air. The taste was clear but not weak.
Xie Xun volunteered to serve the dish, and the two returned to the east wing and started eating.
The soup base was clear, the noodles were white, the green onion was green, and the radish slices were white. The light color made the beef slices extremely eye-catching. You could imagine the mellow beef just by looking at it.
Xie Xun picked up a large amount of noodles and put them in his mouth.
Although the noodles were thin, they were long, soft, and tough. The thick soup was soaked into the thin noodles, and each noodle was delicious.
The noodle soup had a slight vinegar fragrance. It was delicious and refreshing. The noodles wrapped in the soup were slurped up comfortably.
"It's delicious." Xie Xun exclaimed. He loved this supper so much.
Jiang Shuyao said, "Of course."
Xie Xun sighed and lowered his head to blow on the green onion and slick oil on the noodles. He drank the hot and spicy soup. It was so comfortable that he narrowed his eyes, like a greedy cat.
He looked tall and thin, but he was actually a master who can eat a lot.
The giant bowl, which he did not know where Jiang Shuyao had found, had become his exclusive bowl. The comparison between Jiang Shuyao's small porcelain bowl and his was not small.
She still reminded as usual, "Don't eat too much."
Xie Xun buried his face in the bowl, gave an "um" sound from his nose, and continued to eat noodles.
The mist on his face made his cheeks reddened. He felt that his nose and mouth were full of delicious taste. He couldn't help but sigh again how this clear and watery soup base could have such a mellow fragrance.
The night was relaxing. He was immersed in delicious food, ate noodles and soup. He felt that chewing noodles had to be the most enjoyable activity.
When Jiang Shuyao finished eating, he also finished.
No one wants to move after eating. He leaned back comfortably and waited for the sweat to dissipate slowly.
Xie Xun suddenly thought of something and reminded her, "Tomorrow you are going to a banquet at the Princess's Mansion, don't forget."
"Well, Bai Zhi has been talking about it."
"Don't miss the time because of dressing up." The last time they went out together, he had enough waiting.
"No, I must get up early to dress up."
Jiang Shuyao felt a lot more relaxed, and there was no gloom on her face anymore.
Xie Xun saw the opportunity, and he asked, "What happened at the Xiangyang mansion?"
His topic changed suddenly. Jiang Shuyao was a little confused as to why he mentioned it, but she did not avoid this topic. She shook her head and said, "Nothing, it's my mother. I feel she was depressed and gloomy, like a loss of hope and fighting spirit, and she has no energy."
She was willing to talk to him, Xie Xun was a little happy. He wanted to solve her troubles and said, "What does your mother love to do normally??"
Jiang Shuyao thought for a while, "Love... making money?" She recalled the time when she transmigrated, and said, "On normal days, she usually finds trouble on the concubines, settle her accounts, do her business, and then she hopes that I will marry sooner—— "
Then she went on an embarrassing silence. After all, the marriage between her and Xie Xun was definitely not a pleasant one.
Xie Xun was unaware of her thoughts, and chuckled after hearing her words. "Then help her find her motivation again." The problems that bothered her were not as difficult as he imagined. Xie Xun sighed with relief, "Your mother loves business, so let her do some business. The Lin family business that she was involved in is now the top of the business, so just change to another business."
"For example?" Jiang Shuyao's eyes lit up. Her brain got some idea.
Xie Xun straightened up slightly, with a vigorous smile on his face, and said, "For example, food stalls and restaurants. You can't waste all your cooking skills in the Duke Xie's mansion."
"Pop!"
Jiang Shuyao stood up suddenly. The corner of her sleeve swept the bowl to the ground, and she quickly ran next to Xie Xun, holding the skirt, and sat down, "Tell me in detail."
She leaned so closely, her eyes were full of gorgeous expressions, and she was looking at him happily. Xie Xun was inexplicably a little bit shy, and suppressed the smile on his face.
"The Lin family has now reached the top of the original business. It's meaningless to go further, but it's not the same if we change to another industry. Everything will start from the beginning, so the way forward will be unknown. It would be new and novel. Presumably, mother-in-law who loves business will be interested in this."
Jiang Shuyao patted the ground with both hands and said excitedly, "It makes sense! But how could a Lin Family restaurant stands out?"
Xie Xun could not help but laugh again when he saw her being so excited. His brows were handsome and gentle, "It depends on you. But I have a suggestion. The Lin family is wealthy. I think you don't really care about making money. Then change the focus, for example, making money while doing something beneficial to the people."
"This... sounds like it's difficult." Jiang Shuyao didn't expect Xie Xun to send her such a great and noble task.
Xie Xun said, "It's not a great cause to save the common people. Don't frown. It's not that difficult. For example, your Lin family's shipping line, leading the navigation, clearing the river bandits, making it easier for the people to travel for business and trade. Is this not beneficial to the people? That was the reason of Emperor Taizu's support of the Lin family."
Emperor Taizu is the same founding emperor who built various infrastructure.
When Jiang Shuyao thought of him, she couldn't help but sigh. She came to this world to eat and drink when others came through for infrastructure construction. It's just that Taizu developed the social system, down to clothing, housing, and transportation. He also developed food and let the caravans went out to sea to find seeds. He only looked for corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes for food, but not even looked for pepper.
She nodded, "Okay! I'll suggest it to my mother."
Xie Xun continued to advise her, "Restaurants are often only accessible by wealthy people. They are too exquisite, and ordinary people will not step in. It is better to think about the cheap and delicious food. What do you think about opening a restaurant and selling it to ordinary people?"
Let alone Lin-shi, even Jiang Shuyao was already motivated. She patted the ground again with excitement, but she patted Xie Xun's shoulder again, "Xie Boyuan, you are so amazing! You only need a word to wake up people from a dream."
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Xie Xun was originally shy, but seeing her looked so generous and excited, he was amused in his heart. He let her pat his shoulder vigorously, "I just come up with an idea. You should discuss more with your mother."
"Yeah!" Jiang Shuyao nodded, slowly retracted her hand, with a depressed expression, "How come your arm is so hard? Don't you get fat by eating so much?" She had a lot of roundness recently.
Xie Xun was stunned when he heard the words. He couldn't laugh or cry. He really didn't know what sort of weird things she was thinking about every day.
"I-- "
He was about to speak when Jiang Shuyao suddenly stretched out her hand to reach his abdomen.
Boom-
Xie Xun's mind was blank, and he fell into sluggishness.
With a soft hand pressed against his belly, with only layers of fabric between them, it seemed that he could feel the softness of her palm.
Xie Xun's body was as stiff as a rock, and he forgot to avoid her hand. He blushed until his face was blood-red.
Jiang Shuyao just touched a bit and pulled her hand back. "Why do you still have abdominal muscles? It's really unfair. I feel like I'm about to have fat on my stomach... eh, Xie Boyuan, why are you running?"
Xie Xun had stood up, stumbled, and rushed out. His face was flushed and embarrassed.
People only saw a gust of wind entering the study room and slammed the door.
The heat lingered on Xie Xun's face. It was so hot that his heart was also burning. White steam was about to appear on top of his head.
He paced back and forth around the room, but he couldn't shake it.
The candlelight was too bright, as if all his shyness and helplessness were laid bare on his face.
He hurried over to blow out the candlelight, and when the room became dark, he sighed with relief and panted weakly in the corner.
He raised his hand to touch his face. He felt the heat of his hot hand, and he knocked his head to the corner of the wall in shame.
Jiang-shi was really...really... He was really helpless with her.
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