Gong Mingxia was a person with great self-awareness, and besides, she hadn’t really helped them out yet. Even though the condition mentioned by Cao Yuan was very tempting, she still felt that one should not accept a reward without having earned it, so she returned their gesture with another bow.
"Thank you, Aunt Wang and Brother Cao, but there’s no need to be so polite. I’m away from home and don’t know many people. Aunt Wang has been so kind to help me, and I’m truly grateful from the bottom of my heart. It’s really nothing for me to cook a meal for Aunt Wang from time to time, you don’t have to be so formal,"
Just then, a neighbor entered the building, so Aunt Wang decided to leave it at that: "Fine, we can talk about this some other time, after all, Xiao Xiao is only five years old,"
After that, Gong Mingxia went back home to start making dough for cooking. She had a noodle maker that could make noodles of any width, so she just needed to prepare the dough to get it to the right width for oil-poured noodles.
Oil-poured noodles are very simple. How simple, you ask?
Cucumber shreds laid at the bottom of the bowl, bean sprouts and bok choy blanched in hot water, noodles boiled and floated to the surface, scooped out into the bowl. A one-to-one ratio of rice vinegar to soy sauce, seasoned with sugar, salt, and pepper powder, mixed well to settle at the bottom of the bowl. Chili and Five-Spice Powder at a ten-to-one ratio, hot oil drizzled in two or three times, creating a sour, spicy, fresh, and fragrant taste. And there you have it!
Since there was no meat at home, the oil-poured noodles didn’t have any, but it wasn’t right for someone who had not been home for a long time to eat just two bowls of plain noodles, so in the end, she fried two eggs for them and placed them on top of the bowl. Hmm, now it looked a bit more interesting.
She looked up and saw it was already ten o’clock. Right then, the door was knocked, and Gong Mingxia tidied up before placing the bowls on the dining table and going to open the door.
Granny Wang came in with Xiao Xiao, followed by Cao Yuan, who had already changed into civilian clothes. As soon as they entered, they instinctively inhaled the tempting aroma.
"That smells so good!"
"Auntie, there’s still some noodles in the pot. Should I make you a bowl as well?"
Granny Wang waved her hand dismissively, "No, no, it’s so late, I shouldn’t eat. I’ll hold off a bit, go back to sleep, and it’ll be fine. But Xiao Xiao, will you eat?"
Xiao Xiao, who was full from dinner, shook her head: "I won’t eat, but I’ll watch Uncle eat. Uncle, Mom made you two bowls. Can you finish them all?"
Cao Yuan glanced at the size of the bowls on the table, then assured Xiao Xiao confidently, "I can finish them."
Xiao Xiao immediately clapped her hands: "Wow, Uncle, you’re amazing!"
Before sitting down, Cao Yuan nodded earnestly at Gong Mingxia to express his thanks, "It looks delicious, thank you!"
"No need, no need. You better eat now. Auntie, let’s sit over there,"
"Alright, alright, that’s perfect. We can even peel some garlic. Oh right, son, do you want some garlic?"
Oil-poured noodles without garlic have no soul, so someone again nodded earnestly, "Yes!"
Aunt Wang grabbed several heads of garlic, sat down and peeled four or five cloves before handing them to her son.
After that, the three of them peeled garlic on one side, while on the other side, the sound of Cao Yuan slurping the noodles was heard. Ah, he was enjoying it so much, even Gong Mingxia subconsciously swallowed her saliva.
"How did you know my son has a big appetite? I forgot to tell you just now."
"Auntie, aren’t soldiers known for their big appetites? They have such demanding training tasks every day, it’s only normal that they eat a lot."
With that in mind, she didn’t forget to turn back and ask Cao Yuan, "Brother Cao, there’s still about half a bowl of noodles left in the pot. How about I make you another bowl?"
With a mindset against wasting, Cao Yuan pushed his bowl in Gong Mingxia’s direction, "That would be great, thanks."
Gong Mingxia immediately stood up, picked up the bowl Cao Yuan had finished from, went into the kitchen, and started to heat the oil. While the side dishes and seasoning went into the bowl, then with a few swift movements, the fragrant aroma wafted out again. Soon, a fresh bowl of oil-poured noodles was served on the table. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novｅlfire.net
Before long, it all vanished into Cao Yuan’s stomach, leaving Gong Mingxia impressed by his capacity, thinking to herself that if this was the modern era, he would certainly make a qualified competitive eater.