Chapter 22 Pancakes

Gu Xiyue was awakened by hunger. When he woke up, he saw that it was already past noon. He saw Meixiang sitting next to him sewing cloth bags.

"Have you had lunch yet?"

As soon as she spoke, Meixiang was startled and almost pricked her hand with the needle. She turned around and saw that the young lady had woken up. She quickly put down the half-sewn cloth bag and went to the young lady.

"Miss, I wanted to wake you up for dinner, but His Highness said you were too sleepy and asked you to take a nap. The rice is in the pot. Wait, I'll go and serve it to you."

After saying that, he turned around quickly and trotted out. A moment later, he came back with a big bowl and put it on the table.

"Miss, come and eat. His Highness made cold noodles. I will bring you a bowl of noodle soup."

After saying that, he went out again.

After a good sleep, Gu Xiyue's fatigue was mostly gone, and her stomach started to growl. After washing her hands, she walked to the table and sat down. Meixiang came in with a small bowl of noodle soup.

"Miss, the noodle soup is still warm, drink it slowly!"

Gu Xiyue looked at the cold noodles in the big bowl, which was garnished with chopped green onions and a few green vegetables. He swallowed his saliva and took a few sips of the noodle soup.

The noodle soup is smooth and warm, with the fresh aroma of noodles. It instantly whets your appetite. I put half of it aside and picked up my chopsticks to start eating.

I hesitated for a moment. This big bowl of noodles was a bit too much. I didn't know if I could finish it. I looked up at Meixiang.

"Where is His Highness?"

"He took Hu Mazi to the east end to discuss things with the three military masters. Wei Lin stayed in the east room."

Meixiang couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh after she finished speaking.

Gu Xiyue looked at her in surprise, "Why didn't Wei Lin go?"

That Hu Mazi has some skills. Although he is now the prince's man, it still feels a bit dangerous to let him follow around alone.

Then I thought again that he must have his own reasons for doing this, and it would be unnecessary for me to worry too much.

"He was bitten by an insect. Your Highness asked him to rest in the house."

"Bug?" Gu Xiyue was puzzled for a moment, but didn't ask any more questions. He guessed that the bug was quite powerful.

This prince is quite nice to the people around him.

Meixiang saw that the lady didn't ask any more questions and saw her start to pick up noodles with chopsticks. She was afraid that telling her would affect her appetite.

If I really told the young lady that Wei Lin was bitten by a bug smaller than her little finger, I guess she would find it unbelievable.

She still couldn't believe it. Wei Lin was just bitten by such a small insect, but it hurt so much!

She saw it all just now, and Wei Lin was almost in tears.

Gu Xiyue picked up a piece of noodles with chopsticks and put it into her mouth. The moment she took a bite, her heart trembled. It was so delicious!

Just now I doubted that I could not finish this big bowl of noodles, but now I don’t have to doubt it at all, I will definitely finish it. Besides, I don’t have to eat with them today, and I don’t have to pay attention to my image, so it’s okay to eat with big mouthfuls.

When she first went to the family company for an internship, she often didn't have time to eat while doing business. In order to save time, she later trained her eating speed to an astonishing level.

Now that there was no one around, Gu Xiyue controlled himself a little, but still ate very fast. He felt very satisfied as he ate in big mouthfuls.

This cold noodle is chewy and soft. It has been chilled in cold water and has the aroma of scallion oil. It tastes refreshing and chewy in the mouth, and has a long aftertaste, which awakens all the taste buds.

Gu Xiyue was once again impressed by Xiao Heng's cooking skills.

He can cook ordinary home-cooked meals to perfection. It would be a shame if he didn't become a chef.

If he were an ordinary person, she really wanted to chase him and marry him. In the future, he would cook for her at home while she would develop business outside. What a great combination.

Gu Xiyue was shocked by her own thoughts. She quickly woke up, blocked out the thoughts in her mind and concentrated on eating noodles.

Meixiang beside her said worriedly, "Miss, please eat slowly. Be careful not to choke."

Poor young lady, she used to eat in small bites, chewing her food slowly, but after being exiled here, she not only has to lead everyone to survive, but even her eating habits have become wild.

The lady has indeed changed.

Gu Xiyue finished her meal in no time, drank the noodle soup in the bowl, and stood up very satisfied.

There’s something so comforting about eating a full meal, especially when the food is delicious.

She decided that when she became rich and led everyone to become wealthy, the first thing she would do would be to open many food stores so that everyone could eat delicious food.

Thinking of this, she reminded Meixiang, "When Madam Liu and the others come to get food in the evening, you can wrap some of the steamed buns we cut earlier and ask Madam Liu and the others to soak two slices in each person's bowl when they make lunch tomorrow."

Now is the critical moment. The food she bought must ensure that more than 200 people in the village can eat for a month. All the steamed buns that were dried before are still there. If combined with other foods, they can be used for a few meals.

Meixiang kept it in mind.

In the evening, Madam Liu and Madam Li, as well as Madam Zhou and Madam Chen from Zhou Daying's family came together to collect food.

Zhao Yancheng was pulling the cart and just arrived at the door. Gu Xiyue and Meixiang heard the noise and immediately went out to greet him.

Zhao Yancheng and Qian Fu went in to move the grain. The four women talked to Gu Xiyue in the yard. Meixiang went to the west room to take down the cloth bag hanging in the air, took a basket and filled half of it, then took the other half of the basket of steamed buns out to Madam Liu.

Madam Liu looked at the dried steamed buns in the basket and asked in confusion, "What is this?"

Several women came over to look, equally puzzled.

"These are the steamed buns my fellow villagers brought me when they came to help me reclaim land. There were too many of them, and the four of us couldn't finish them all at once. We were afraid they would get moldy if we left them out in the hot weather, so we cut them into slices and dried them in the sun. This way they can be stored more easily and won't get moldy easily."

Gu Xiyue said with a smile, and picked up a small piece of steamed bread, broke it into several pieces and shared it among the people. It was crispy in the mouth and quite delicious.

Several women's eyes lit up, "This is a good idea. We will do it this way in the future. We can also give these dry steamed buns to our children as snacks."

"Don't do that!" Gu Xiyue quickly stopped him.

"This steamed bun is too hard. It can damage children's teeth and cause them to get stuck in their throats. It's too dangerous!"

When Madam Liu and the others heard this, they immediately gave up the idea.

However, this reminded Gu Xiyue that when he opens a food court in the future, he should add rice crust to the snack shop.

"For lunch tomorrow, put one or two slices of this steamed bun in everyone's bowl so everyone can fill their stomachs."

Tomorrow's lunch will be stewed noodles. Since there are so many people, it is impossible to make dry noodles. If we can put a piece of dry steamed bun in the bowl, the dry steamed bun will absorb the soup and the villagers can eat more fully.

Several women looked at Gu Xiyue and thanked her affectionately, not knowing what to say.

Miss Gu was younger than all of them, looking only about seventeen or eighteen years old, but her mind and the things she did were beyond their imagination.

Even the steamed buns they kindly gave her were made into dry steamed bun slices and stored, and now they were taken out and given to them to eat.

"Ms. Gu, you are so kind!"

"My sisters are very good to me, and we will be better in the future."

Zhao Yancheng and Qian Fu moved enough food for seven days. Granny Liu had helped them calculate beforehand. She divided the food in the east room roughly according to the size of the boys and girls. She mixed the rice, flour and other grains and divided them into four portions. She asked Zhao Yancheng and the others to move one portion at a time. This way it would be easier to control and there would be no waste.

After piling the food onto the cart, they set off. Madam Liu and the others still had to make some vegetable pancakes. Granny Liu was waiting for them in the dining hall. In two hours, the villagers would go get their vegetable pancakes.

Gu Xiyue didn't keep them. After they left, seeing that it was getting late, Xiao Heng hadn't come back yet, and Wei Lin was nowhere to be seen, he guessed that the work was not yet done, so he asked Meixiang to go into the house to cook dinner.

She sat on the stone slab and weaved mosquito repellent grass.

Madam Liu and her companions quickly brought the food to the village canteen.

Half a day later, the three rooms were converted into two. The small room was used to store food, and an aisle was left against the back wall of the large room. Two large stoves were placed against the side walls, with a total of four pots. The stove holes were inside. People burned fire against the wall and operated in the front. An operating table was also built on the door side.

All the modifications were made according to the drawings provided by Gu Xiyue.

In this way, when things get busy, the person working on the stove can turn around and work on the platform at the door. Platforms are also made on both sides, with layers of shelves for placing pots, jars, bowls, plates, etc. The shelves below are for placing dishes, etc.

The stove hole is two meters away from the back wall, which is very convenient for storing firewood and burning. Gu Xiyue also specially set up two long hanging small pots on the side against the wall, two on each side of the wall. The bottom of the two pots is empty, and there is a chimney connected to the outside of the wall. When fire is burning in the two large stove holes, the smoke will pass through from below and bring its own heat.

When Gu Xiyue was a child, she had seen such small pots at her grandmother's house. The two small pots were always filled with warm water. Whether it was for washing in the morning and evening, or when her grandmother was cooking, she would use the water in the small pots, which was very convenient.

Moreover, placing the two large pots on both sides makes management easier. One person can manage the two stoves while the other operates the two pots, and they can still handle the work.

After the stove is built, a fire is started in the stove hole. By evening, all the moisture in the mud has been dried up and can be used directly in the evening.

Granny Liu walked around the house and was very satisfied with the arrangement. After Lady Liu and the others had their food delivered and settled in the small house next door, they began to wash basins and wild vegetables, scooped out a little of each flour and mixed them together, poured the chopped wild vegetables in, sprinkled an appropriate amount of salt in it, and began to knead the dough.

When baking this kind of wild vegetable and mixed flour pancakes, the softness and hardness are very important. Five people have to bake nearly three hundred pancakes, and Madam Liu and others are a little nervous.

Granny Liu was completely focused, directing the four of them to make a line in the middle of the mixed flour in the large basin in front of them, scald the flour with boiling water on one side and cold water on the other side, then stir them separately and finally knead them together.

While kneading the dough, Granny Liu reached out and pressed it, nodding with satisfaction, finding it just the right softness and hardness.

It should be softer than the noodles you usually eat, so that it tastes better when fried.

After the dough was kneaded, it was covered and allowed to rise slowly. Madam Liu and Madam Li poured two bowls of oil, placed a brush in each, and placed them on the stove. A large, clean basket was placed inside, ready to hold the pancakes.

After everything was ready, Madam Shen and Madam Zhou started to light the fire and bake the pan. To make pancakes, one must use soft fire instead of high fire.

Under the guidance of Granny Liu, the two stuffed dry straw into the stove hole and slowly started a fire.

When the time came, Madam Li and Madam Liu brushed oil into the pot with a brush, greased their hands with oil, and began to grab the dough and press it into the pot.