Chapter 232 231. Eating Noodles

Upon hearing this, the old men and women all leaned forward to look at the leeks.

They all buy groceries all year round, but no one knows each other.

Only an old man standing in the outermost circle, speaking Mandarin with a slight accent, whispered, "This is winter chives from southern Shaanxi."

The sound was quite quiet and only the person next to him heard it.

The man immediately turned around and asked loudly: "Old Zhou, do you know what the name of leeks is? Tell us."

When Lao Qi turned around, he found that he didn't recognize Lao Zhou.

"What's your name?" Lao Qi asked politely.

Before the newcomer Lao Zhou could speak, Lao Zhang answered for him: "This is Lao Zhou, he just moved here and lives in Building 7. Lao Qi, you haven't been out for a few days, so I haven't seen you yet."

"Hello." Lao Qi greeted him quickly, and then asked, "Brother, do you recognize this leek?"

"Yeah, that's right." Lao Zhou was a newcomer and a little shy. He felt a bit embarrassed when everyone was looking at him, so he answered, "This is winter chives. They grow in winter. They are produced in Tianhan. We also eat them there. We can cook them in hot pot or use them as stuffing. They don't taste strong."

After hearing this, the old lady pulled out a leek, pinched off a piece and smelled it, "This smell is so strong, it's all over my head."

As he said this, he handed it to Lao Zhou to see.

Lao Zhou took it and smelled it, then was stunned. He smelled it again and blushed a little, "This... really has a strong smell."

Lao Zhang snatched the leeks from Lao Zhou and waved his hand, "Hey, what's in this box is ordinary stuff. It's normal that it's different from the common ones."

Lao Zhou also nodded, "Well, we don't have such a good one there."

"By the way, Lao Zhou, where are you from? Your accent doesn't sound like a local." There was not only Lao Qi in the crowd, but also several others who had never seen Lao Zhou.

Lao Zhou replied, "They are from Sichuan Province. Their kids are studying here. They will settle down after they finish their studies. They don't plan to go back to their hometown, so they brought me here too. I cook for them and take care of the kids."

"Now, everyone has to listen to the younger generation. You have to do whatever they tell you to do and go wherever they tell you to go. You have to listen to them."

"That's good too. It's family happiness. If you have a headache or a fever, you can go to the hospital."

"Old Zhou, is your child a girl or a boy? How old is he? Is he married?"

"Haven't I heard people say that those who come here to take care of children already have children, so how can they not be married?"

"He keeps talking about his kids. I thought he was talking about their kids."

Chatter and chatter, a group of old men and women started chatting to themselves.

Old Zhou nodded politely to everyone with a smile on his face, but he still couldn't keep up.

People in the capital speak too fast, with many interjections, erhua sounds and swallowed words, so it was difficult for Lao Zhou to understand.

Lao Qi saw that Lao Zhou was uncomfortable, so he pulled him aside to have a private chat, "Lao Zhou, where in Sichuan are you from?"

"Guangyuan."

"It's pretty close to this Tianhan."

"Hey, next to each other."

After just a few words, an old man next to them interrupted, "Where is Tianhan?"

Another old man took the opportunity to laugh at him, "You don't know Tianhan? Have you heard of Dingjun Mountain, where Huang Zhong killed Xiahou Yuan in battle? And who is that, Han Xin selected more soldiers, the better, and Wei Yan kicked down the Seven Star Lantern, and Zhuge Liang died in Wuzhangyuan."

"Wuzhangyuan is not in Tianhan. Zhuge Liang came from Qishan, and Wuzhangyuan is almost in Gansu."

"That's about it. It's that patch anyway."

"It's a long way from the truth..."

The two old men's topic went further and further away, and they started to argue with each other.

The others thought they were shameful and pushed the two old men out of the circle and left them aside.

The rest of the people continued to unpack.

There were actually only a few newspaper packages left in the box.

Open another one, it’s still winter leeks.

"The rest should be leeks." Lao Qi squatted down, pulled out a large bag from the box, and stuffed it to Lao Zhou, "Your family knows how to eat this, take it and eat it."

Then he took two more cans of hot sauce and looked at them in his hands. "Hey, they are also produced in Tianhan. Didn't my son say he went to Inner Mongolia? Why did he go south again?"

He himself didn't know where his son had gone.

He picked out two cans and stuffed them into Zhou's hands. "You people from Sichuan can eat spicy food, so take these two spicy ones. Take the cucumbers, mushrooms, corns and other things on the ground. Take whatever you like and try them."

This enthusiasm made Lao Zhou so excited that he didn't know where to put his hands after receiving the things. He said, "How can I do this? How can I take your things?"

While refusing to hand the things back.

Old Zhang, who brought him here, stopped him and said, "It's okay, we're all taking it. Let me tell you, the kid from the Qi family is very capable. He's a great scientist from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Every time he goes out, he gets good stuff mailed to him. You can't see it outside."

"We all benefit from it."

"You've moved here too, haven't you? We'll be neighbors from now on. If you have anything new, give him some. It's called reciprocity. That's how friendship is built."

"Just take it with confidence."

After Lao Zhang finished talking to Lao Zhou, he squatted down and took two cucumbers and a carrot. "I don't like tomatoes, so I'll leave them for you."

"Okay, I love eating tomatoes. I'll also get a corn and a bundle of leeks to take home and make dumplings." The old lady in charge of unpacking the boxes replied, picked out two tomatoes, picked out a corn, a bag of leeks, and took out a plastic bag from her pocket.

As soon as these two started to work, the others all squatted down. One picked some cucumbers, another picked two handfuls of mushrooms, and there were only two stalks of celery that could not be taken, so they broke them apart and shared them among everyone.

Anyway, no one has anything empty-handed.

But no one took more, and in the end two-thirds was left for Lao Qi.

When Lao Zhou saw that everyone had something, he felt relieved. He thanked Lao Qi with a smile and helped pack everything back into the boxes.

I was thinking about what gift to give in return, and I went home with the gift...
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The other old men and women also dispersed.

Those who should cook cook, and those who should pick up their grandchildren pick up their grandchildren. Everyone is busy with their own things.

Lao Qi also happily returned home pulling the small trailer.

After arriving home, I quickly called my spouse out.

When Lao Qi's wife saw that the box was mostly empty, she couldn't help wondering, "Who did you run into when you went out?" "I just happened to run into Lao Zhang and the others, and we chatted for a while."

"Let's chat for a while, you're showing off again. You give gifts to this and that every day, and they have to give gifts in return. You take things home one by one, and we give them gifts in return. Isn't it a hassle?"

"Look at these tomatoes, so bright, and this cucumber, absolutely amazing..." Lao Qi didn't dare to refute and quickly changed the subject.

Lao Qi's wife is just complaining. Since she doesn't want to talk about it, then she won't say anything.

Picking up a tomato, "Yeah, it's good, what else."

"There are also mushrooms, corn, and carrots." Lao Qi took out the things in the box one by one and showed them off, just like he did outside before.

After taking everything out, looking at the large table of "daily" dishes, Lao Qi pondered, "There are tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, and a piece of pork belly in the refrigerator. How about we have noodles with stewed meat tonight?"

My wife had no objection. "Okay, you go and mix the dough, and I'll take out the meat and melt it."

The noodle soup with gravy from the old capital is a representative of exquisiteness.

The noodles should be hand-rolled.

The marinade needs to be made with the water used to soak shiitake mushrooms. The pork belly is cut into thin slices and added with yellow fungus, shiitake mushrooms, eggs, winter bamboo shoots, and starch to thicken.

The Qi family’s dish was not very traditional this time, as they added tomatoes but omitted winter bamboo shoots.

Lao Qi kneads the dough, rolls it out and cuts the noodles.

His wife makes stew.

I washed a cucumber and cut it into thin strips, diced the celery and blanched it, and made two kinds of noodle toppings.

Once this stew is ready, everything from its color to its smell is special.

Lao Qi's wife scooped up some with a spoon, intending to taste the saltiness.

I took a bite and it tasted so good, so I finished it in one spoonful.

Then he scooped up another spoonful and brought it to his mouth.

Lao Qi was watching from the sidelines and was amazed. He quickly grabbed it and said, "Hey, hey, hey, don't you mind the choking? Is there anything dry to drink? I'll turn into a Yanbahu and fly away at night."

The old lady was still very angry and snatched it back, "I just want to taste the saltiness."

Then he drank it in another gulp.

Lao Qi was so scared that he pushed his wife out and closed the kitchen door to physically isolate her from the pot of stew.

Then he picked up the spoon, scooped a spoonful and tasted it, "Hey, it's not bad."

Dry in one gulp.

Can't wait any longer.

Lao Qi seized the opportunity and quickly cut the noodles.

Connect water, put on the pot, and cook the noodles when the water boils.

I was so anxious that I counted the seconds for the water to come back, and I only ordered water twice.

Usually, the old couple likes to eat soft noodles, so they take longer to cook.

This time, it’s fine as long as it’s cooked.

Quickly serve it out and fill two large bowls.

In the kitchen, Lao Qi poured the sauce on the food, then took the chopsticks and the bowl to the living room. The old couple picked up the sauce, mixed it, and started eating.

I didn’t even have time to watch “Happy Two on One”.

These two bowls of noodles were so delicious.

The old couple finished their meal without saying a word.

After they finished eating, the old lady said the first sentence, "You are so good, Old Qi, why is your bowl bigger than mine!"

"..." Lao Qi felt so wronged, "Don't you usually eat less at night? Every time you have a small bowl and I have a big bowl."

"It's not possible today. Don't you know I have a good appetite today? Are you still a human being if you don't even let me have a full meal?" The old lady didn't care and just made excuses.

"How would I know you had a good appetite today? You didn't tell me when you were cooking." This made Lao Qi worried. "We still have the stewed meat and a pack of noodles at home. How about we cook some more?"

"Row."

The old lady agreed.

Lao Qi quickly picked up the bowl and drank some of the Fugen in it.

Carrying two empty bowls, he walked into the kitchen cursing, "I see you are just greedy."

Actually, he is greedy too.

My stomach is definitely full, but I still feel a little bloated, but my mouth is still greedy.

So……

"Oops." His hand shook and a little more noodles fell under.

“There’s no way to get this out.”

"Forget it, that's it."

When you put the noodles in the pot, it seems like there is only a little bit, but when you cook it, there is a lot.

Two big bowls again.

Can't waste it.

The marinade was not enough, so I added another spoonful of salt.

After mixing it all up, the old couple ate it all.

Because there was no more noodles, one of them washed another cucumber.

We finished our meal and the "Happy Two on One" game wasn't over yet, it happened so quickly.

The old couple leaned on the sofa together, one on this side, the other on the other, holding their stomachs and panting...

(End of this chapter)