Soon, the door curtain was lifted from the outside, and a thin, dark-skinned woman came in.
She carried a large tray, and on it were four bowls of noodles that looked even bigger than the children’s heads. As she approached, the aroma of spicy, savory, and numbing Sichuan flavors filled the air, making everyone’s mouth water.
The three little ones couldn’t sit still and all stood up, tiptoeing to get a better look.
None of the three children had ever seen bowls this large, nor noodles like these!
In each huge bowl was more than half a serving of hand-pulled noodles, thin yet chewy, looking perfectly springy and firm.
On top of the noodles was a fragrant mixed bean and meat sauce. The bean paste was fried with red chili oil, glossy and bright red, with plenty of tiny, finely diced pieces of meat visible.
The meat bits were fried until crisp, the fat rendered translucent, each piece soaked in the sauce and giving off an irresistible aroma. Just imagining it, the noodles promised a mouthful of flavorful oil with every bite.
Even without the noodles, the meat sauce alone was amazing, but on top of the sauce lay a thick layer of douhua.
The snow-white douhua spread around the edges of the large bowl, contrasting sharply with the red chili oil along the rim and the yellowish bean sauce in the middle. The visual effect was striking and utterly novel.
“What’s this? How come there’s tofu pudding in the noodles?” As soon as the woman left, Su Peng couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked in amazement.
“In Sichuan, tofu pudding is called douhua. There are noodles and douhua in this bowl, so it’s called douhua noodles,” Su Qiao explained with a smile.
She picked up the bowl in front of her younger brother and mixed the noodles evenly, while reminding Su Wei, “[1]“Xiao” (小) means “little” or “young” jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1729849_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1729849_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });Xiao Wei, stir from the middle. Don’t crush all the douhua, you have to take a bite of douhua and a bite of noodles together to really enjoy it!”
Su Wei nodded and, imitating his sister, carefully mixed his noodles in the same meticulous way.
Since Su Peng and Su Lan were small and might burn themselves, Su Qiao didn’t let them touch the noodles.
The two little ones wriggled with excitement beside her, waving their arms and hopping about, their faces lit with joy and anticipation.
Douhua noodles are a specialty snack from Sichuan, so they’re naturally spicy. Although the owner had “gone easy” on them because of the children, the numbing and spicy flavors still made everyone sweat.
Even after rinsing their mouths with water, Su Peng and Su Lan’s lips were bright red from the heat, making tearing, slurping sounds as they ate.
But they didn’t care at all, despite the spiciness making their eyes water, they ate with unbridled delight.
Su Qiao scooped some noodles into a small bowl, rinsed them in hot water, and slowly fed her little sister.
As she fed her, she quietly watched her two younger brothers devour their noodles, her eyes betraying a hidden sense of relief and a faint glimmer of tears.
She remembered this little shop from her previous life, back when her younger brother was hospitalized for treatment.
At that time, six-year-old Su Peng woke from a high fever only to find that he couldn’t hear anything at all. On top of that, the wounds on his face were wrapped in bandages, and each dressing change caused him unbearable pain.
Such suffering was far beyond what a small child could endure.
At first, he screamed and cried, but eventually, he stopped crying, stopped screaming, and wouldn’t even open his eyes. Even when the painful dressing changes happened, he no longer reacted at all, shutting himself completely off from the world.
Back then, there was no psychological intervention, and the doctors were at a loss.
They could only tell Su Qiao that if the problem wasn’t addressed quickly, Su Peng might remain trapped in his own world for life, never coming back out.
Su Qiao tried everything, massaging her brother, borrowing a wheelchair to push him outside for walks, but the results were minimal.
It wasn’t until one day, when she was walking down the hospital corridor holding her brother’s hand, that a man carrying a bowl of freshly cooked douhua noodles passed by them.
The aroma made Su Peng lift his head and peek in the direction the man had gone.
Without a second thought, Su Qiao grabbed her brother and ran to where the man had come from, finding the place immediately.
They picked a spot in the corner and ordered a bowl of noodles. Just like she was feeding her little sister now, Su Qiao rinsed the noodles in water and fed her brother bite by bite.
The noodles had been served by Boss Hu, and when he saw Su Peng’s face wrapped in bandages, he looked surprised.
But he quickly composed himself, didn’t ask a single question, and later quietly brought them a bowl of soy milk as well.
After that day, Su Peng finally began to interact with his sister.
No matter how frugal Su Qiao was, she always set aside a small portion of her weekly allowance to bring her brother to Boss Hu’s for douhua noodles.
At that time, they could only get a small bowl each. Su Peng would eat the noodles and douhua, while Su Qiao used the leftover soup to soak buns for herself.
But Boss Hu and his wife were generous, they gave them more noodles, more meat sauce, and more soup than anyone else, and they would always give an extra bowl of soy milk.
Those visits to eat douhua noodles became some of the few happy memories Su Qiao had of her hometown.
These memories were unique to her; the other siblings didn’t understand the scars in her heart.
All they knew was that today was incredibly joyful.
Not only could the whole family finally be together, but they could also eat such delicious noodles, and everyone was completely satisfied.
After eating, Su Qiao took them to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy salt, oil, kerosene, and other urgently needed household items, then they all headed home together.
By the time they got home, the two little ones were already exhausted and sprawled out everywhere. Su Qiao told them to go to bed.
She and her brother then shelled the old corn and ground it with the stone mill at home into coarse corn grits.
Until they went to the village to buy more food, this would be their ration for the next day.
They had eaten too much at noon, so no one mentioned dinner that evening.
Actually, they couldn’t have eaten even if they wanted to, they had been out most of the day and hadn’t had time to gather firewood, so there was no way to light a stove.
By the time the corn was ground, it was already pitch dark.
Su Wei let out several yawns in a row. Su Qiao reached over and rubbed her brother’s head. “Go to sleep. Tomorrow we’ll get up early and gather some firewood. I won’t cook for you in the morning, but I’ll bring buns back for you to eat tonight.”
Hearing this, Su Wei’s drowsiness immediately vanished, and he quickly asked, “Sister, what are you going to do tomorrow?”
“I need to go to the county. I have to go back to school for a bit.”
Hearing that, Su Wei fell silent. That day, he had heard his sister tell the villagers she wouldn’t take the college entrance exam, but he understood better than anyone how seriously she took it.
To give up at this final push? Even thinking about it made him restless.
“Sister, why don’t you still take the exam? I can manage Xiao Peng and Xiao Lan by myself.”
“What are you saying? Even if you can handle them, I still wouldn’t feel at ease. Enough, don’t worry about me. I’m definitely taking the college entrance exam, not just me, you, Xiao Peng, and Xiao Lan will all have to take it in the future. I won’t allow us to miss it!”
“So?” Su Wei looked puzzled.
“This year, I’m just getting our family matters settled. Next year, I’ll re-enroll and take the exam,” Su Qiao explained.
Hearing this, Su Wei immediately looked relieved. “Okay, next year I’ll take care of my siblings at home. Sister, you focus on your studies, and we’ll aim for good results!”
“I know, I’ve got my plan. By the way, you know how to make porridge, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then remember to keep an eye on the pot. Don’t get distracted, and don’t burn the porridge.”
“Ah, why are you so naggy? I’m not Xiao Peng!”
…
After discussing the plan for tomorrow with her brother, Su Qiao returned to her room.
Her little sister, Su Lan, was already fast asleep in bed, so exhausted that she was even softly snoring.
Su Qiao tenderly stroked her little face, then opened her schoolbag, took out paper and pen, and wrote an application to request early access to their father’s survivor benefits.
Going to the county tomorrow to explain the situation to the school was one thing, but an even more important task awaited, she wanted to visit the county committee to see if she could get the survivor benefits released.
Even if she could only get part of it, that would be enough!
With that money, she could buy a sewing machine and, unlike in her previous life, skip over the initial hardships and start earning right away.
But this life was different from the last one, she wasn’t sure if she could actually get approval.
Still, she had to try.
Just after five in the morning, when the sky was barely light, Su Qiao left the house.
There were buses from the town to the county, three trips a day. The earliest was at seven in the morning. Technically seven, but if the bus filled up, it could leave earlier, so she needed to reach the town bus station before six-thirty.
After a bumpy ride, she arrived at the county government entrance just after eight and walked confidently to the guard booth.
“Sir, I’d like to go to the Office of Preferential Treatment. Could you please notify them for me?” Su Qiao said, taking her student ID from her schoolbag.
The guard was an elderly man in his early sixties, wearing reading glasses, a clearly educated man.
He looked at Su Qiao, then took her student ID and squinted at it carefully.
“A student from the county school, not in class in broad daylight, what do you need at the Office of Preferential Treatment?”
In her previous life, Su Qiao had run back and forth to that office countless times to secure her brother’s medical funds, so she was very familiar with the procedure.
She calmly replied, “My father’s name was Su Changhe. He sacrificed himself to save someone in 1979. I’m here today to inquire about his survivor benefits.”
Hearing that she was the child of a martyr, the elderly man’s expression immediately grew solemn.
He returned her student ID, handed her a visitor registration book to fill out, then picked up the phone and called the Office of Preferential Treatment.
Not long after hanging up, a young man hurriedly ran out from the county committee compound.
He entered the guard booth, looked at Su Qiao, and asked anxiously, “Xiao Qiao, why aren’t you at school today? What are you doing here? Did something happen at home?”
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