Chapter 43: 042: The old lady has no appetite recently i
Translator: 549690339
After Goudan left, Ni Yang turned back to the kitchen, processed the free-range chicken she had bought from the market that day, blanched it, and simmered it on low heat in a casserole. After the water came to a boil, Ni Yang added the ginseng she had dug up from the mountain yesterday, followed by a few large jujubes. Soon, the small kitchen was filled with the fragrance of chicken soup.
Looking at the soup simmering in the casserole, Ni Yang poured the fish and shrimp from the bucket into a large basin and kept them in fresh water, planning to kill them later in the evening to make Sour Fish Soup.
Anticipating that she would catch fish from the traps, Ni Yang only bought eighteen fish from the vegetable market this morning.
As Ni Yang was busy in the kitchen, Ni Cuihua came in carrying a child, “Yangyang, these vegetables were sent by Aunt Zhou. She said you cured her cold and wanted to thank you with these.”
In the corner was a pile of fresh vegetables with a bundle of homemade sticky noodles nestled in the middle. Ni Yang said with a smile, “Aunt Zhou is too courteous. Mom, let’s have Sticky Noodle tonight.”
“Sticky Noodle?” Ni Cuihua asked puzzled, “What is Sticky Noodle?”
Ni Yang gave a mysterious smile, “You’ll know by tonight.”
Ni Yang was a person of strong execution. She announced that they would have Sticky Noodle for dinner, and immediately cut off the tail of the snails, cleaned them thoroughly, heated the wok until it was red hot, drizzled it with rapeseed oil, added two spoonfuls of bean paste and fried until the red oil was out. She then put in the chopped green onion, ginger, garlic, star anise, and Sichuan peppercorns and stir-fried them.
After these ingredients were stir-fried to bring out their fragrance, she added the snails and stir-fried them over high heat for five minutes, then added water. After the water boiled, she put in the cut hog bones, simmered it on a low heat for three hours. By then, the broth was ready.
The flavorful and aromatic broth is the essence of the whole Sticky Noodle.
With the broth ready and early in the evening, around five o’clock, the chicken soup that had been simmering was also ready. Ni Yang took the lid off, scooped out a large bowl of chicken soup and chicken meat and handed it to Ni Cuihua.
This ginseng chicken soup was intended to nourish Ni Cuihua’s body.
Ni Cuihua was currently weak and needed more nourishment.
Clear chicken soup with a thick layer of yellow fat floating on top. All the chickens at this time were free-range, revered as ‘free-range chicken’ in later generations. Not only was it nutritious, but it also tasted amazing. Adding a bit of salt made the soup delicious, and the chicken melt in the mouth.
In the beginning, Ni Cuihua refused to drink the chicken soup. Ni Yang tricked her by telling her that she had already had some herself. Only then did Ni Cuihua hesitantly drink it.
Evening came in a blink of an eye, and it was time for Ni Chenggui to return home. Ni Yang boiled a pot of water, blanched the sticky noodles, greens, and black fungus in it, scooped them out into a bowl, then poured the prepared snail broth on top and sprinkled it with spring onions and cilantro. If you liked chili, you could add a spoon of chili sauce and fragrant vinegar, a bowl of fragrantly steaming Sticky Noodle is then ready.
As soon as Ni Yang brought the blanched noodles to the table, Ni Chenggui returned. She smelled the fragrance just as she arrived at the door, “Yangyang, what’s for dinner? It smells so good?”
“Aunt Ni is back home, we’re having Sticky Noodle for dinner.” Ni Yang replied with a radiant smile.
Ni Cuihua laughed and said, “Our Yangyang loves to make these exotic dishes.”
Dishes like Sour Fish, Stewed Carp with Kelp and Pork Feet, Potato Mushroom Soup and so on. She had never heard of these dish names before, but they were created by Ni Yang. These were clearly unconventional cooking methods, yet the taste was superb.
Ni Chenggui hung her bag on the coat rack and asked curiously, “Sticky Noodle, does it have snails in it? I’ve never heard of Sticky Noodles in all these years.”
Sticky Noodle is a signature dish from Guangyu. In fact, it existed as early as the Qing Dynasty. Due to limited transportation and information channels at this time, Sticky Noodles were only popular locally, not being featured in snack shops on every street and alley like in later times.
Ni Yang explained with a grin, “Sticky Noodles is a specialty of Guangyu, 1 read about it in a book. This is my first time making it, and I’m not sure if it tastes good. Aunt Ni, have a seat and try it.”
“Alright, I’ll try it now.” Ni Chenggui rolled up her sleeves, sat down and eagerly started eating the noodles.
The noodles had absorbed the essence of the snail soup perfectly, and they were soft and chewy, fresh and enjoyable. The soup contained the aroma of coriander and green onions, triggering people’s taste buds, to the point where one would wish to swallow their own tongue. At this point, even if someone offered Ni Chenggui a bowl of bird’s nest and abalone soup to exchange for these noodles, she wouldn’t do it.
“Delicious! It’s really delicious!” Ni Chenggui directly gave a thumbs up and lamented, “Yangyang, whoever marries you in future would have their household’s ancestral graves spewing green smoke!” Sadly, she didn’t have a son, otherwise, she would definitely make Ni Yang her daughter-in-law.
In addition to Sticky Noodles, Ni Yang also made two stir-fried dishes.
Fried Shrimp with Green Peas and Stir-fried Carrots with White Fungus.
Green peas and shrimp had a breast enhancement effect. The combination of carrots and white fungus had the effect of nourishing the skin.
Eating beauty foods every day would make anyone beautiful, even if they didn’t want to be.
Last night while bathing, Ni Yang noticed that her bust size had grown an entire size larger since she first arrived in Beijing. Her eyes also looked more vibrant and alive.
It’s not just her, the changes to Ni Cuihua and Ni Chenggui were also significant.
Having prepared a large amount of rice noodles and two plates of stir-fry, Ni Yang was initially worried that there might be leftovers. However, it turned out she was overthinking. The large pot of rice noodles and the two plates of stir-fry were consumed thoroughly, even the bottoms of the plates were shining brightly, reflecting the sight of their consumers.
No one would believe the fighting strength of three women if they did not witness it themselves.
Looking at her creations being so welcoming, Ni Yang felt very gratified.
**
On the other side of Beijing.
The Mo Family villa.
The Mo Family’s old lady’s appetite has not been good lately. Nothing tasted good, partly because she was worried about her granddaughter Mo Hudie, and partly because as she aged, her appetite gradually declined. Everything tasted bland to her.
Was her time drawing to an end?
The old lady of the Mo family sat in the living room with a face full of worry. No, she hasn’t seen her granddaughter get better yet… She absolutely must not fall first!
A servant came over at this moment and whispered, “Old lady, you haven’t eaten all day. This is the ginseng soup the kitchen has prepared for you. You should at least drink some, or else your body won’t be able to hold up.”
“Alright.” The old lady of the Mo family nodded. She had just picked up the bowl and took a sip of the ginseng soup when she frowned. After a bout of nausea, she spit out the ginseng soup. “Take it away” she said, waving her hand weakly.
The servant unhappily took the tray and went down.
Just then, a young man in a suit and leather shoes walked in from outside. Seeing the servant, he asked in a mild tone, “What happened to grandmother? Is she not feeling well?”
The servant sighed, “The old lady hasn’t had much of an appetite these past few days. She can’t eat anything. This is the just-served ginseng soup. Young Master, you must think of a solution.”
This man was the son of the Mo family’s second daughter, Song Beicheng.
In this upright and proper family, Song Beicheng was an exception. He was a businessman.
And a very successful one at that.
In his early twenties, he already had tens of millions in assets and was a bona fide billionaire.
Hearing this, the assistant following Song Beicheng said, “Madam Wu, is the old lady not having a good appetite?”
“Yes.” The servant nodded.
The assistant then said, “Second Master, I remember that the old lady loves noodles. There’s a noodle stall on Yurtist Road that makes very tasty noodles with a unique way of eating. Hundreds of people line up there every morning. How about I buy a portion for the old lady tomorrow morning? Maybe she’ll regain her appetite.”
“It’s a street stall?” Song Beicheng frowned slightly.
Could the old lady who couldn’t even swallow ginseng soup stomach street food?
Additionally, was the food from that stall safe to eat?
Is it hygienic?
The assistant smiled and said, “Second Master, don’t judge that unassuming stall on the basis of its appearance. The prices there are not expensive, but the noodles are really delicious. I’ve never tasted such delicious noodles since I was a child!”
Song Beicheng glanced at his grandmother who was sitting listlessly on the sofa, looking pale. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “Then i’ll have to trouble you to buy a portion of noodles for my grandmother to try tomorrow morning..”