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墨書 Inktalez
In the middle of the night, Wang Ni was surprisingly hungry. Well, it made sense; she had basically thrown up everything she ate, and with the cold wind blowing, how could she not be hungry? But still, it was late, where could I go to find food for her? Sure, there were probably some barbecue stalls still open, but given Wang Ni's current state, going out for barbecue would be like asking for trouble.
It’s best for someone who has been drinking to eat something light. After thinking it over, I decided that going to the Red Bean Affection noodle shop would be more appropriate.
The landlady and I had a good relationship; Qu lived in the noodle shop, so I wasn’t worried about it being empty.
Even though the landlady and Luan weren’t staying overnight at the shop, there had to be someone to keep watch, right? Usually, Qu stayed at the shop to help with that. Qu was originally a cat that had cultivated into a human; she was naturally active at night. Even after taking human form, she was particularly energetic in the evenings. So before I even knocked on the door, she had already opened it.
The entrance of the Red Bean Noodle Shop was an iron roll-up door, but Qu could easily lift it with one hand—truly a fairy! As soon as the door was wide enough for a person to pass through, Qu poked her head out and exclaimed in surprise.
“I knew it was you, Yin Zheng'an.”
Although Qu looked younger than me, I didn’t mind her calling me by my full name. After all, she was from the same era as Red Boy; in terms of age, she was much older than I was.
Humans cultivate to nurture their Primordial Spirit and can ascend during the day, but why can fairies live so long? Because their cultivation relies entirely on absorbing Earth Spirit Energy from nature and increases with age. Currently, humans are dominant, so fairies cannot ascend; this is also why the Ancient Court belongs to the fairy race. Humans need to rely on cultivation while fairies generally become stronger simply by aging. Of course, there are distinctions among fairies; some are quite powerful even in their beast forms (like Fat Yi or Bifang mentioned in the Classic of Mountains and Seas). Those like Qu who have no special endowment but are just ordinary beasts that have cultivated are already impressive if they can transform into human form. Most are like the jackals I've encountered—still in beast form but have gained intelligence. Then there are Bat Demons who have begun shedding their beast forms but still retain some characteristics. Naturally, there are also those who can fully transform into human form but choose to keep certain traits.
At night, Qu’s eyes glowed a bright green, looking quite eerie from a distance.
“How did you know it was me?” I helped Wang Ni onto a chair and then asked.
“By scent.” Qu pointed to her nose. “Although our noses aren’t as sensitive as a dog’s, we can still distinguish quite a few scents.”
I suddenly thought that it would be particularly fitting for Qu to work as a pet trainer since they were of the same kind! But asking her to train her own kind—tch! Thinking about it this way made me realize how unkind humans could be...
“Is there anything to eat? This one is hungry.” I wasn’t sure how to have Qu refer to Wang Ni. Asking her to call her ‘sister’ seemed inappropriate since Qu had lived for at least three thousand years; but having her call Wang Ni ‘younger sister’ would definitely not sit well with Wang Ni. So I let Qu decide how to address her.
“Sister, what would you like to eat?” Sure enough, although Qu had cultivated for a long time and was an old fairy, she looked too charming when she called Wang Ni ‘sister’ without any awkwardness: “It seems we only have noodles here.”
“Anything is fine; just bring some hot soup noodles. She drank quite a bit.”
It had been a while since then; the smell of alcohol on Wang Ni had started to fade, but if you sniffed closely, it was still there.
"Um..." Qu lowered her head suddenly, extending a finger that dangled beside her thigh, looking very cute.
"What's wrong?" I was still busy helping Wang Ni adjust her posture. Goodness, I had never been this attentive while serving my master. Indeed, the treatment for beautiful women is different; it's hard to resist getting close...
"I can't cook..." Qu said, lowering her head even deeper as if she wanted to bury it in her newly formed curves. (That's the best way I can describe it.)
"Good morning, I'm here." It's just cooking noodles, after all! "Just go find an apron."
"Okay."
I have to admit, the Landlady is someone who knows how to live well. No, calling her a demon doesn't quite fit; perhaps a fox that knows how to enjoy life? Still not right...
In any case, the kitchen was designed by the Landlady to be very neat and practical. You would feel out of place if you took anything from inside.
Directly in front of the kitchen was a large cabinet-style refrigerator, filled with fruits and vegetables that needed refrigeration. Since Red Bean Affection is a complete noodle shop, there wasn't a trace of meat in sight. The top of the refrigerator served as a cutting board, with two wooden boards laid out for chopping vegetables and kneading dough.
Behind it was a spice rack, and in the corner sat the Landlady's special red beans. Wrapped in plastic wrap, I could sense there was an additional layer protecting those red beans. The spices were arranged thoughtfully in order from light to heavy flavors, making it easy to see what was available.
In the far corner sat a pot of soup on a coal stove, the kind I really appreciate—made from vegetables and fruits. Scooping it with a ladle revealed not only fruits and vegetables but also plenty of mushrooms.
Opening the freezer, besides vegetables and fruits, there were neatly placed lumps of dough that had already been prepared and kneaded.
"Hey, Qu, can we use the dough?"
"Sure, just don't touch those red beans."
I grabbed the nearest lump of dough and kneaded it on the cutting board for a few moments. This dough was already elastic enough to be pulled into noodles directly; however, the Landlady kneads her dough finely into noodles, which gives her noodles a unique taste.
As I squeezed and shaped the dough in my hands, I wasn't planning to make the Landlady's type of noodles but leaned more towards making a bowl of ramen.
Kneading, stretching, pulling, and folding the dough repeatedly transformed it into thin strands of noodles.
According to the thickness of the noodles, they can generally be categorized into: thick, medium-thin, thin, very thin, and fine strands. The noodles I made are actually considered thick.
I scooped out a few ladles of Vegetable Soup and poured it into a pot to boil. I picked a few Vegetable Leaves and blanched them, setting them aside for later. Then, I added the noodles to the pot and stirred them slowly with chopsticks. Once the soup was boiling completely, I added a ladle of cold soup, repeating this process three times before fishing out the noodles and placing the vegetables on top. It seems simple, but not many people can make this bowl of noodles. Don't believe me? Just keep reading.
This bowl of noodles is my method for making noodles; it looks simple but has its intricacies.
While pulling the noodles, I infused my magic into them, creating hollow tube-like marks throughout. This way, during cooking, the soup flows through these tubes into the noodles, ensuring that every bite is filled with broth. In the past, when my master asked me to make noodles, I always did it this way. However, the broth I made for my master was simmered from Beef Bones, rich in meaty aroma. My master always enjoyed it immensely, but I never tasted it myself because I couldn't make good Vegetable Soup. This bowl of noodles relies entirely on the broth for flavor; without good broth, the noodles would be lackluster. Ever since I had the noodles at Red Bean Noodle Shop, I planned to cook a bowl like that but never had the chance until now. Thanks to Wang Ni, I finally made it today.
Carrying a bowl of noodles outside, the steaming mist hit my face directly. Looking at Wang Ni, she was actually sleeping with Qu on the table.
"Heh." I shook my head and placed the noodles in front of them.
In her sleep, Qu twitched her nose and sat up as soon as she opened her eyes.
I brought all three bowls of noodles over and woke Wang Ni.
"It smells so good!" Wang Ni rubbed her eyes awake.
"Let's eat. After we're done, I'll take you home." I tried to keep my voice down.
"Okay."
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