The next morning, as soon as the sky began to lighten, Su Hua got out of bed and ran to check on the sweet potato starch syrup in the yard.

Upon opening the lid, the previously murky powdery water had become much clearer. After scooping the water out of the wooden basin with a ladle, a layer of white powder remained at the bottom of the basin.

Su Dalang and Su Erlang were feeding rabbits in the yard when they heard the noise and came running over to see what was going on. "Auntie, is the white powder at the bottom of this basin sweet potato starch?"

Su Erlang noticed some powder stuck to the edge of the basin, couldn't resist dipping some in and putting it in his mouth. His chubby face immediately scrunched up. "This powder doesn't taste as good as candied sweet potatoes. It's not sweet at all, and it's sticky."

Su Hua couldn't help but chuckle at his greedy look. "The stuff at the bottom of this bowl is just sweet potato starch, and it's only a semi-finished product. So it has no flavor. Besides, sweet potato starch is different from candied sweet potato. The key is not sweetness, but its chewy texture."

Add some chili oil and aged vinegar to make hot and sour noodles; the tangy and spicy flavor will make you want to keep slurping them up.

Upon hearing this, the two brothers both swallowed hard. "Auntie, shall we make hot and sour noodles today?"

"It's not going to work today." Su Hua shook her head, added water to the basin again to wash the sweet potato starch, and filtered it clean once more.

"This starch is not pure enough. To get clear sweet potato starch, it needs to be washed twice. After the second washing, it needs to settle for a day and a night before the wet starch is dried."

The two little kids were stunned.

With so many steps, it seems much more complicated than Grandma's usual noodle-making process.

Su Hua smiled. These processes may seem complicated, but if they are mass-produced, they become muscle memory and are not a big deal.

In the kitchen, Su Baishi served the fried loach. Through the window, she glanced at the three aunts and nieces in the courtyard and immediately raised her voice, "Hua'er, come and have breakfast when you're done with your work. This morning, I made perilla eel noodles and fried loach. They won't taste good if they get cold."

"Hey, coming!" Su Hua replied with a smile, exchanged a glance with the two brothers beside her, and immediately washed her hands and went to the kitchen.

In May, loach and eel are at their fattest and most delicious. When made into a sauce and poured over noodles, the fresh aroma permeates the broth, and one bite is incredibly satisfying.

Su Hua drank two bowls of eel soup and ate a plate of pan-fried loach. She felt that the mental and physical energy she had been depleted over the past few days was gradually recovering.

Nearby, Danfeng and Qingdai were eating eel and loach for the first time, and they were just as fast as the men of the Su family. Only the sounds of slurping soup could be heard in the kitchen.

Seeing that everyone was enjoying their meal, Su Baishi beckoned to Su Sanhu and said, "Sanhu, after you finish eating, take the two bowls of eel and loach from the pot to your Aunt Zhou so that they can have a taste as well."

Yesterday, Aunt Zhou brought over a large bucket of eels and loaches, weighing about fifty or sixty pounds. This morning, we only used a quarter of it for breakfast, leaving more than half a bucket that can last for two or three more meals.

"Okay." Su Sanhu nodded in agreement.

These days, his eldest brother spends all his time studying at school, and his second brother is busy with the restaurant. He's the only one with nothing to do all day, so he simply went back to the village to stay. From time to time, he can learn a few kung fu moves from Yu Feng and Yu Yu.

Just as the Su family was having breakfast, the courtyard gate was suddenly banged on.

One sound after another, like fists pounding on the door.

Su Bai's slanted eyes narrowed as she heard this. "Who is this person? Making such a racket so early in the morning. Do they want to smash up my Su family's house?"

"Please wait a moment, Madam. I'll go out and take a look." Danfeng wiped her mouth, put down her chopsticks, and walked out.

Qingdai was calm and composed, while Danfeng was more lively. Therefore, Su Hua usually took Qingdai with her when she went out, while Danfeng stayed at home to take care of the family. In just two days, they had become very familiar with the Su family.

At the courtyard gate, the woman watched as the door opened from the inside, and her dull eyes suddenly shone with a frightening light.

The person who appeared was an unfamiliar face. The light dimmed considerably. "Where's Hua?! Where is Hua? Tell her to come out! I need to see her urgently... Hurry..."

As he spoke, he scrambled inside.

Danfeng grabbed her by the hand, looked her up and down for a while, and then looked up at the little woman huddled behind her, "Who are you? What business do you have with my young lady?"

Those who served as guards were always good at remembering people. She remembered clearly everyone who had brought vegetables to her house in the past few days, whether they were chatting or even causing trouble. However, she had no recollection of the old man and the young girl in front of her.

Inside the kitchen, Su Hua had just swallowed a piece of eel when she heard the sounds outside and couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

That's clearly Old Lady Xiao's voice. What does she want with her?

The mud house wasn't very soundproof, and the commotion outside grew louder and louder. The Su family members in the kitchen could hear it clearly. Su Baishi stood up abruptly, grabbed her bowl of noodles, and rushed outside.

Before anyone even left the kitchen, the shrewish woman roared from the rooftop, "You old hag, do you also want to follow in Feng Yulian's footsteps and cause trouble for my Hua'er? Do you really think the Su family is a pushover?"

Seeing this, the Su family members also forgot about breakfast and followed Su Baishi to the courtyard gate.

Nowadays, whenever the Meng family, Feng family, or Xiao family is mentioned, even the dogs in the house shake their heads.

However, upon seeing the figure at the courtyard gate, everyone stopped in their tracks. The once arrogant man was now terribly haggard, his fat body had vanished without a trace, his clothes were loose and tattered with mud, as if he had crawled out of some ditch.

Most of his once black hair had turned white, his cheeks were sunken, his eyes were red and swollen, and there were dark circles under his eyes. If you saw him at night, you might think you had seen something evil.

The silver bracelet and hairpin that she used to always carry with her when she went out, which she would tell everyone she met as gifts from Old Man Xiao, were nowhere to be found. Her empty wrist was clutching Danfeng's sleeve.

Su Bai felt a little uneasy, and suddenly remembered that she hadn't seen Old Lady Xiao for a long time.

No matter how long it takes, it won't exceed a month in total. Old Mrs. Xiao's transformation is too frightening.

The young woman behind the old woman had been married for more than half a year and had never left the village. She had only occasionally glimpsed the Xiao family when the gate of their courtyard was open. Now, however, the two of them came to the door together.

Su Baishi rolled her slanted eyes, "What brings you here today! Why are you looking for Hua'er?"

Old Mrs. Xiao saw that the entire Su family had come out, but she still couldn't see Su Hua. Tears streamed down her face. "Where is Hua? Please let her out! My Yan'er has just been kidnapped. Only Hua can save Yan'er now..."