Chapter 9, The 9th Inn: Plain Noodles and Scallion Oil Noodles

Yunyin has a lot to do today. Besides preparing for the stall, the remaining task is to test the dishes.

Just then, the people Zhang Lin had hired from Linjiang Village to build thatched huts arrived. Yunyin was to be in charge of their lunch and dinner, and she planned to let them try the food to see if it suited their tastes.

Zhang Lin has already tried the sauerkraut fish, and besides rice, another option for staple food is noodles.

Yunyin is preparing to make two kinds of noodles: plain noodles and scallion oil noodles.

Yangchun noodles are very easy to make, so Yunyin went to prepare the broth first. In the past, when she wanted to keep things simple, she wouldn't even bother to make broth. She would just boil the noodles, add a little lard and soy sauce, and finally sprinkle some chopped green onions on top, and it would be delicious.

Now that we're selling to customers, it'll taste better if we make some broth. Yunyin washed the pork bones, threw them into a large pot to boil, added some ginger to remove the odor, and then left it alone after adding firewood.

The noodles need to be kneaded. Yunyin took out a large bowl, poured in the ground flour, and kneaded it with a ratio of one pound of flour to half a pound of water. She added a little salt and kneaded it into a rough dough.

Set the dough aside to rest, then knead it again until smooth.

After kneading, divide the dough into small balls, roll them into strips, apply a little oil, and set them aside to rest.

When it's time to cook the noodles, stretch the rested dough to get a satisfactory noodle.

The noodles were ready, and Yunyin went to prepare the fish. Because there were many people this time, Yunyin added some cabbage she had bought. The cabbage cooked in the sauerkraut fish was also very delicious and went especially well with rice.

She then prepared scallion oil, which is very simple to make. She poured in soybean oil, put the washed and chopped white and green parts of the scallions separately into the pot, and slowly fried them over low heat.

Once the scallion segments turn golden brown and their aroma is fully released, pour in soy sauce and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves, and the frying is complete.

While Yunyin was making sauerkraut fish, the workers were already distracted. When she was frying scallion oil, they kept glancing in Yunyin's direction.

When Yunyin saw that it was almost dark, she started stretching and cooking noodles.

Zhang Lin went to call the workers over to eat noodles. Yun Yin handed them the cooked plain noodles and said, "Eat first. There will be scallion oil noodles later. Of course, if you don't like noodles, you can eat rice."

After Yunyin and the others started eating, she also took a bowl of scallion oil noodles and started eating.

Don't be fooled by how simple it is to make scallion oil noodles. Perhaps it is precisely because of its simplicity that the original flavors of the food are revealed. This is why the wheat aroma of the noodles and the scallion aroma of the scallion oil blend together to create a unique and amazing flavor.

Yunyin quickly finished a bowl of scallion oil noodles, and then a bowl of plain noodles with soup followed by it was simply irresistible.

After she finished eating, she saw that the villagers of Linjiang Village were eating so much that their faces were almost buried in their bowls, and she was very happy.

For a chef, the greatest reward is to receive such praise for their own food.

They highly praised Yunyin's noodles, saying it was the best noodles and dishes they had ever eaten. Seeing that they all liked it, Yunyin decided to try selling these two types of noodles first, and then add other dishes once more customers came.

She doesn't have much money right now, so she'll sell these simple and readily available foods for now and make more money later.

Yunyin's thatched hut was quickly completed. After checking that there were no problems, she handed over the wages for the past two days and said, "As we agreed before, once this thatched hut is finished, please build another one for me."

This was something Yunyin had decided long ago. Since Zhang Lin was helping her with the work, she naturally couldn't let him be without a place to stay.

The thatched hut by the official road was built by someone else. Although it was a temporary place to stay, Zhang Lin couldn't stay there indefinitely.

While they still have some free time, let's build another one next to that thatched hut, so that Zhang Lin will also have a place to live.

While they went to choose a location, Yunyin made the final preparations for setting up the stall. The tables and chairs had already been made when she went to town, so she just needed to bring them back.

Yunyin retrieved the basket she had hidden earlier, then went to the mountains to find the glass jar and the book, put them back in the thatched hut, locked the door, told Zhang Lin she was going to town.

With Zhang Lin watching over things, she felt at ease. She still had a lot of seasonings she hadn't bought all of. If the county weren't so far away, she would have liked to go there to take a look.

Moreover, it was time to start preparing the mushroom sauce for Luo Man. Yun Yin put the tables and chairs she brought back from town aside and mentioned the dried mushrooms that Zhang Lin had bought back for inspection.

He bought mostly straw mushrooms. Zhang Lin explained that this is the type of mushroom that people eat most often, so they prioritize picking this type when gathering mushrooms. As for the porcini mushrooms and similar mushrooms that Yunyin picked in Yunwu Village, they haven't been found among these mushrooms yet. It's unclear whether they don't recognize them and therefore don't eat them, or whether they're simply not available here.

If she wants to eat it in the future, she will probably have to go to the mountains to find it herself.

Yunyin first soaked the dried mushrooms, then diced the fresh lean pork she bought, and chopped the scallions, ginger, and garlic and set them aside for later use.

After the mushrooms have soaked, drain them and chop them into small pieces. Heat vegetable oil in a pan, and once the oil is hot, add diced pork and stir-fry until it changes color. Then add chopped green onions, ginger, and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant.

The pork sold at the pork shop in town was castrated, so it didn't have much of a porky smell, and even the fat was fatty but not greasy, and very fragrant.

Dishes made with this kind of meat are all very delicious; pork stew with cabbage is also very fragrant.

So the pork shop in town was doing very well. Even though pork was expensive, many people still went to buy it. If you went too late, there wouldn't be any meat left. Yunyin had to make an appointment with the owner to get so much meat.

However, Yunyin's mushroom sauce uses lean pork, which is less popular than fatty pork, so she can still order it. The shopkeeper is willing to sell it to her all at once. If she wanted fatty pork, it wouldn't be so easy.

Yunyin looked at the sizzling pork in the pot and thought of how her grandmother used to sit by the stove like this when she was still alive, and how she would follow her grandmother around like a little shadow.

Thinking of her grandmother made her feel a little sad, but fortunately she had long since gotten used to it. Now it was just a change of location, and she could make her life better and happier.

Add the mushrooms to the pot and stir-fry gently for a few seconds. Once the mushrooms soften and release their juices, add an appropriate amount of soybean paste and continue to stir-fry to allow the mushrooms to fully absorb the flavor of the sauce.

Finally, add appropriate amounts of soy sauce, sugar, salt, and other spices, pour in water, and simmer over low heat until the water evaporates. Then, transfer it to a ceramic jar.

Yunyin made extra mushroom sauce while it was still early, and then prepared dinner for everyone when the sun was setting.

Time passed slowly as she made the sauce. By then, she had made all the sauce that Luo Man needed, and she even made dozens more jars to keep on hand. She had Zhang Lin deliver the rest to Luo Man.

Meanwhile, the thatched hut beside the official road was completed, and Yunyin settled her copper coins with the villagers of Linjiang Village. She was also preparing to set up her stall.

She set up the tables and chairs and hung up the flags, which read "Yunji Restaurant." She even asked Sun Lizheng from Linjiang Village to help her write the name.

She looked at the sign with satisfaction, then set out pots and pans on the table next to the stove, and the preparations were almost complete.

The noodles were kneaded early in the morning, and Yunyin and Zhang Lin had also prepared plenty of firewood for cooking them, which was now piled up in the corner. She had even prepared the broth early in the morning, and it was being kept warm on the stove over a low flame.

We're just short of customers now.

It was just dawn, the sun hadn't yet risen, and there was no one passing by on the official road. Yunyin wasn't in a hurry, so she cooked two bowls of plain noodles for herself and Zhang Lin.

The morning breeze still carried a slight chill, but drinking a bowl of hot soup at this moment instantly dispelled that chill.

After breakfast, Yunyin asked Zhang Lin to wash the dishes while she peeled garlic cloves to use when preparing lunch.

Zhang Lin quickly finished washing the two bowls. Not knowing what to do next, he sat down next to Yunyin and started peeling garlic.

But he couldn't sit still. He peeled the garlic cloves into pieces and kept looking towards the main road to see if anyone was coming.

Seeing that he was really impatient, Yunyin could only say, "Don't rush, it's still early. When people arrive, you'll probably be too busy to handle everything."

Zhang Lin tossed down a peeled clove of garlic and said, "Hey, someone passed by before dawn yesterday, but the sun's about to come out today and no one's passed by yet."

"I'm also anxious. What if no one comes by nightfall?"

Yunyin shook her head and said, "Doing business requires patience. As long as the food is delicious and the prices are reasonable, the longer you run a restaurant, the better your business will be."

"This is just the beginning, why are you in such a hurry? I'm not in a hurry at all."

Zhang Lin sighed and said, "Alright, I'll bear with it."

But he was like a nail stuck in a stool, unable to sit still no matter what. Seeing this, Yunyin could only urge him on, saying, "Since you can't sit still, then go and clear the wasteland."

“The village head gave me ten acres of land before, but I haven’t decided where to plant it yet. You can go and see where the soil is good, and we can plant one or two acres to grow scallions, garlic and green vegetables.”

"You can't buy everything from other people; you still need to save money when you can."

Hearing her words, Zhang Lin got up to get a hoe. "Then I'll go check around the neighborhood. If Lady Yun comes, remember to call me."

Yunyin waved him away, and after Zhang Lin left, the place immediately became quiet, with only the sound of the pot bubbling away.

She sat by the stove, feeling the gentle breeze and hearing the soft chirping of birds. She slowly peeled garlic cloves, enjoying the tranquil moment.

The clatter of horses' hooves awakened the tranquil official road. Birds seemed to be startled by the sound, chirping as they flew over her head. Yunyin put down the garlic cloves and called Zhang Lin back, saying, "You stay here and keep watch. I'll go check the situation."

She patted her dress, which was slightly creased from sitting for so long, touched the whip still tied around her waist, and walked towards the official road.

As Yunyin walked to the edge of the official road, the sound of horses' hooves grew closer and closer. She listened intently for a moment and could only roughly estimate that there were more than a dozen people.

Just then, a tall and strong black horse appeared before her.

Her eyes lit up and she exclaimed, "What a beautiful horse!"

Yunyin looked up from the horse and saw a handsome man sitting on the horse with a tall and elegant posture, wearing a round-necked, narrow-sleeved robe. When his bright eyes looked over, she could see a flash of sharpness in them.

She immediately became alert, touching the whip at her waist and staring intently at the man. The man also noticed Yunyin's movements, pulled on the reins to stop, and did not approach.

The people behind him also gathered around and protected the goods behind him.

Yunyin blinked, as if only then realizing the ambiguity of her action. She immediately lowered her hand and looked innocently at the man with her almond-shaped eyes, saying, "Um, I wanted to ask you, would you like to have breakfast?"