“Auntie, could you pick two cucumbers and bring me a carrot too?”
“Sure.”
With that, Shen Jianing headed outside.
Qin Ruan continued working, pulling out strand after strand of noodles by hand.
After a moment’s thought, she realized they didn’t have any bean sprouts. But shredded carrots and cucumbers would be enough.
She sliced some scallions into sections, finely chopped some green onions, and prepared some garlic water.
Then she chopped some dried chilies and fried them, planning to make chili oil to pour over the noodles later.
Shen Jianing returned with the washed cucumbers and carrot and handed them to Qin Ruan.
Qin Ruan immediately laid them on the cutting board.
Chop! Chop! Chop!
In the blink of an eye, the cucumbers and carrots had become fine, even shreds beneath her knife.
“Ruanruan, your knife skills are incredible! Did you learn professionally?”
“No, no, Auntie. I’m just casually slicing them.”
Even Qin Ruan felt a little embarrassed after saying that, so she quickly changed the subject.
“Auntie, why don’t you go outside first? I’m about to light the stove.”
“It’s fine. I’ll sit here and tend the fire for you while you cook.”
“All right then. Please keep the fire going while I boil the noodles. Afterward, I’ll rinse them several times in cold water.”
Shen Jianing sat down by the stove and began feeding wood into the fire.
Qin Ruan filled the large wok with plenty of water.
As the water came to a boil and the noodles went into the pot, Qin Ruan began chopping the chilies.
“Auntie, don’t you and Uncle eat chili oil?”
“I’m from northern China, while your uncle is from Yunnan. He prefers fresh chilies, and I don’t eat much spicy food. So we’ve never made chili oil at home.”
“I see.”
After a pause, Qin Ruan asked,
“Auntie, do you like eating wheat-based foods like noodles?”
“Of course I do. We just don’t know how to make them. Whenever I want noodles, I go back to my mother’s house and ask her to cook them for me.”
“Then I’ll make them for you from now on. I’m pretty good at making noodles.”
“I can tell,” Shen Jianing replied with a smile.
Once the noodles were cooked, Qin Ruan scooped them out and rinsed them several times in cold water before draining them thoroughly in a bamboo tray.
Next, she cleaned the wok, poured in some rapeseed oil, and added several whole scallions.
She fried the scallions until they turned golden brown, removed them, then filled a large porcelain basin with finely chopped chilies.
She carefully poured the hot oil over the chilies in two batches before adding a bottle cap of white liquor.
That step left Shen Jianing puzzled.
“Why are you adding liquor?”
“It’s to make the chili oil more fragrant,” Qin Ruan explained. “You’ll see when you taste it.”
She continued pouring the hot oil in stages, stirring the chopped chilies gently with chopsticks as she went.
Instantly, the rich aroma burst forth, filling the entire kitchen with the irresistible fragrance of fresh chili oil.
Next, she found another large basin and added the drained noodles.
She mixed in the chopped green onions, salt, seasoning, shredded carrots, shredded cucumbers, and the freshly made chili oil.
Finally, she added a splash of soy sauce and vinegar before tossing everything together thoroughly.
“It feels like it’s still missing something,” Qin Ruan murmured.
Shen Jianing looked over.
“Missing what? It already smells amazing.”
“I remember now.”
“Peanuts.”
Seeing there was still some oil left in the wok, Qin Ruan decided it would be a waste not to use it.
She immediately ran to the storage room, grabbed a handful of peanuts, and quickly shelled them.
Returning to the kitchen with the peanuts, Shen Jianing looked up and asked,
“Should I add more firewood?”
“No need, Auntie. This much heat is enough.”
As she spoke, Qin Ruan poured the shelled peanuts into the wok and began stir-frying them.
Gradually, the peanuts released their rich, nutty aroma. Qin Ruan scooped them out into a bowl and mixed them into the cold noodles.
“Auntie, do we have any white sugar?”
“Yes, we do. It’s in the jar under the kitchen cabinet.”
Following the direction Shen Jianing pointed, Qin Ruan found the jar, scooped a spoonful of sugar into the noodles, and mixed everything together with her hands.
Once everything was evenly coated, she tasted a little of the sauce from her fingertip.
“Perfect.”
Satisfied, she went to wash her hands.
“Auntie, could you carry the noodles out first? I’ll bring the bowls and chopsticks after I wash my hands.”
“Sure.”
Shen Jianing carried the large basin of noodles out of the kitchen.
Seeing his wife carrying such a large bowl, Qin Ruofeng hurried over to take it from her.
“So this is what we’re having for dinner?”
“That’s right. Ruanruan said it’s delicious. It’s called cold noodles. I watched her rinse the noodles in cold water over and over again.”
Qin Ruofeng took a deep breath and sniffed the air.
“Mmm… it smells pretty good.”
“It does. It smells wonderful, but I think it’ll taste even better.”
“All right. I’ll go call Mom for dinner.”
With that, Qin Ruofeng headed inside.
A moment later, he returned with Hu Yufen. Shen Jianing was already seated at the table, and Qin Ruan came out carrying the bowls and chopsticks.
“All right, everyone! Time to eat! Tonight we’re having cold noodles. They’re refreshing and really whet the appetite.”
Then Qin Ruan looked at Shen Jianing.
“Auntie, I’m sure you’ll love them.”
“Let’s hope you’re right,” Shen Jianing replied with a smile.
“We’re family. Why thank me? Whenever you’re craving them, I’ll make them for you.”
“Good. I’ll remember that—you said you’ll make them for me anytime.”
“Of course! Who understands me better than my wonderful aunt?”
It had to be said—that bit of flattery hit exactly the right note.
Qin Ruofeng first served a bowl to his mother, then another to Shen Jianing, and finally filled one for himself.
Qin Ruan froze.
Her uncle hadn’t served her any.
Shen Jianing immediately noticed.
The girl had obviously expected her uncle to serve her too.
“Uncle!” Qin Ruan suddenly shouted.
The outburst startled Qin Ruofeng so much that he nearly dropped the noodles he was eating.
“What is it? Hurry up and eat.”
“Why didn’t you serve me any?” Qin Ruan demanded.
“Huh? You don’t have any yet? I thought you were going to serve yourself. Well… then just help yourself. Hurry and eat.”
After saying that, Qin Ruofeng paid her no further attention. He happily slurped up another mouthful of noodles, even letting out a satisfied sigh.
“They’re so good.”
“Hmph! I’m never cooking for you again!”
“Huh?”
Qin Ruofeng looked completely bewildered.
Beside him, Shen Jianing tugged gently on his sleeve.
“You served your mother. Then you served me. After that, you filled your own bowl and started eating. Why didn’t you serve Ruanruan?”
“I was just about to! I saw she was already reaching for the noodles herself, so why would I serve her too?”
The entire table burst into laughter.
“Thank you very much, Uncle. You’re right—I have two perfectly good hands. From now on, I’ll serve myself.”
Qin Ruan’s exaggeratedly polite tone dripped with sarcasm.
“Exactly! That’s the spirit!”
“Hmph. I made these noodles, so you’re not allowed to eat them anymore!”
As she spoke, Qin Ruan protectively pulled the large basin of cold noodles toward herself as though guarding a treasured possession.
“Oh, come on! Don’t be mad. I’ll serve you some in a minute. Besides, there’s a whole basin—you can’t possibly finish it all by yourself.”
“Hmph.”
After another indignant snort, Qin Ruan turned her head away, refusing to look at Qin Ruofeng any longer.