"I need to talk to your father about something. You guys keep going."

The captain gave Zhao Youcai a wink, indicating that he wanted to speak to him privately.

Zhao Youcai really didn't want to move; he just wanted to stay and guard the pot in front of him.

He was afraid that as soon as he left, the children would sneak up and lift the lid to taste the saltiness. If they were to try and be clever and pour in all the ground seasonings, all his hard work would be wasted.

In addition, since the children in the family are all quite obedient, Zhao Youcai doesn't feel that there's anything he can't let his family know.

So he pretended not to understand what the captain meant, and said, "Just say what you need to say here. I'm really busy and can't leave."

The captain was furious. He had come to advise him with good intentions, hoping to save face for the younger generation.

What's the result?

This cousin of mine is usually so cunning, but right now he seems like a complete idiot.

Anyway, it's not me who's losing face; Zhao Youcai brought it on himself, so don't blame him!

"It's true that life is getting better every day, but we still need to save money where we can. There will be many more days to spend money in the future, and we can't keep spending so lavishly."

Zhao Youcai raised an eyebrow.

There's no sea in Zhao Jia Gou.

Did the brigade leader travel across provinces to see the sea and buy a house by the sea to settle down? Otherwise, why would he be so nosy?

Zhao Youcai looked speechlessly at the solemn-faced captain.

He just didn't understand, what's wrong with his own family eating something nice?

It's not like we don't have the means!

But he also knew that everyone in the village was having a hard time.

You can't find many people as extravagant as me, not just in the village, but even in the whole town.

Therefore, he understood the captain's advice.

Just then, Zhao Youcai brought out a bowl of noodles, and asked her to bring him a large ladle.

He ladled a large spoonful of broth into the pot and poured it in, then took a small spoon and scooped a couple of times into the seasonings. He then had his eldest daughter-in-law scoop a ladleful of water and pour it in, before stirring the noodles again.

After the eldest daughter-in-law had mixed everything together, Zhao Youcai signaled to the brigade leader to pick up his food and eat.

"Try this new recipe I developed, what do you think of it?"

The captain sighed, feeling increasingly frustrated.

It's just noodles. What kind of noodles wouldn't taste good if you added meat broth and oil?

But the moment the noodles touched his lips, the captain's pupils dilated. He buried his head and ate voraciously, not only eating one bite at a time without uttering a sound, but also drinking the entire bowl of soup.

When he put down the bowl, his expression was somewhat complicated.

He thought Zhao Youcai was just putting all the money he made into his own pocket, but to his surprise, it turned out to be another way to make money.

But these noodles are really delicious, even better than when he last went to town and had dinner with all the village leaders and commune leaders.

With this exclusive recipe, if he opened a shop during a period when it could be freely traded, he would make a fortune.

But upon closer reflection, it makes sense. Zhao Youcai's cousin has powerful connections. While others might have to operate clandestinely, he might have the means to do business openly and legitimately.

No wonder he studies food all the time. He makes money by selling food. What else could he study if not food?

With so much broth in the pot, and only one spoonful for a large bowl of noodles, how many bowls of noodles would this pot make?

Then, upon looking at the several iron barrels not far away, the captain suddenly realized something.

He put down the bowl and said nothing more, wishing he could swallow back all those words he had just spoken.

It was my own shortsightedness that led me to realize that Zhao Youcai was not a spendthrift.

"Boss, have your wife pack a big bowl of noodles and take it back to the brigade leader, so your aunt can have some too."

Zhao Youcai remembered that a few days after he transmigrated, the brigade leader's wife brought him a bowl of food and an egg that was secretly placed inside.

The captain felt a burning pain in his face; he felt like a bandit for taking food and other things.

But he couldn't resist Zhao Youcai's enthusiasm, nor could he resist the joy of bringing his wife some good food. After thanking him repeatedly, he was politely seen off by Zhao Youcai's family.

Then Zhao Youcai had his eldest son deliver a large bowl of noodles to the neighbor. When they returned, the whole family sat together, each with a large bowl of noodles in front of them.

Zhao Youcai was the first to pick up his chopsticks and put some in his mouth. Although it couldn't compare to the taste of instant noodles, the hand-pulled noodles were very chewy and smooth.

With the flavor of the instant noodle seasoning packet that he had replicated from his memory, Zhao Youcai was quite satisfied.

Moreover, if this seasoning is modified further, it might even solidify into a hot pot base.

What's needed now is a sealing machine, preferably one that can vacuum-pack these seasonings for easier storage.

Fortunately, it was an experimental subject, so not many were made this time.

After the whole family finished eating, there was practically nothing left. Everyone patted their bellies and said with a wry smile that they had eaten too much and were a little stuffed.

Zhao Youcai was helpless. Fortunately, these people were saying these things at home. If they went out with their round bellies and said these things to other people in the village, they would probably be hated so much that people would want to sneak into his house in the middle of the night, put a sack over their heads, and beat them up to vent their "hunger".

For five consecutive days, Zhao Youcai hardly left the house except to deliver vegetables, spending all his time researching and improving the seasonings and noodles.

The Zhao family was initially very happy to have noodles to eat every day, but they've been eating too much these past few days and are starting to worry.

Life was tough back then, and we didn't have enough to eat, so I wasn't this fussy.

I don't know what's wrong with them now, they've actually started to look down on them.

Zhao Youcai has been eating noodles properly these past few days, so we really need to improve his meals.

But these seasonings couldn't be wasted, so Zhao Youcai's eyes lit up again—

"Let's have mala tang today!"

"Malatang?" the Zhao family's sons and daughters-in-law exclaimed in unison, "What's Malatang?"

Zhao Youcai smiled without saying a word, and told his son and daughter-in-law to pick and wash all the leafy greens they could, then made an excuse that he had bought some vegetables in town that they didn't have at home.

The Zhao family was shocked; they never knew this pot of soup could be used in such a way!

Zhao Jianhua looked even more distressed, "In the end, isn't it all just eating noodles?"

Zhao Youcai smiled mysteriously and added the freshly minced garlic and the newly opened jar of sesame paste to the bowls of several people.

No matter how unwilling they were, they had no choice but to bite into the food.

That one bite shocked everyone.

They suddenly regretted not cooking enough noodles; it wasn't nearly enough to eat!

Zhao Youcai was very pleased with himself.

Do you think I'm some old man who doesn't know that you didn't make much noodles at all in order to eat less? Today I'm going to teach you a lesson so you won't dare to question me again!

then--

"After you finish eating, go back to work. Tonight we'll have noodles with meat broth again."

Zhao Youcai ate with great relish, while his sons and daughters-in-law were almost in tears.

Just a few days after the brigade leader left, the Zhao family's door was knocked on again.