Chapter 4 04 Tofu Rice Noodles

The room Qin Yue was assigned in the guesthouse was just a small square room.

While Xia Tang was changing clothes inside, he stood outside waiting.

He was tall and upright, had just come out of the army, and still had military habits.

It stood there like a javelin, and Xia Tang, who had just changed her clothes and was about to go out, was startled.

Xia Tang said "Yo" first, then laughed out loud after realizing what was going on:

"If you stand like this, someone who doesn't know you might think there's a leader in the room."

"You are not."

Qin Yue said this subconsciously, and when he realized what he had said, his face turned red.

Xia Tang pursed her lips, and the corners of her lips curved upwards.

She glanced upwards:

"Qin Yue, I have to..."

Before he could finish his words, his stomach suddenly made a rumbling sound.

Her face couldn't help but turn red.

From the time I woke up until now, I have been through a lot of ridiculous things, and I haven't even had time to satisfy my appetite!

Qin Yue moved his gaze from her fair face to her lower abdomen and whispered:

"How about we go eat first?"

Just eat.

Qin Yue hasn't completed the formalities yet, so he can't eat in the canteen of the machinery factory.

After discussing it, the two decided to go to the small street behind the machinery factory to find a small restaurant.

We walked side by side along the way, and no one recognized us.

There were quite a few young girls and boys who passed by and couldn't help but look in their direction a few more times.

The reason is nothing more than the word "eye-catching".

It is the early eighties.

The turbulent life of the past few decades has just ended, and people are already cheering up to welcome a new wave of the times.

The old life has not yet been completely peeled off, but the new tide has already brewed a surging power within.

Everything is changing with each passing day.

This is what Xia Tang felt as he walked down the street.

Some of the young people on the street are still wearing plain green military uniforms and blue work clothes, while others are already wearing fashionable bell-bottom pants and floral shirts;

On the low wall of the machinery factory, traces of the "big-character poster" written in brush calligraphy still remain, and the red slogan "Emancipate the mind, seek truth from facts" has been painted on the wall.

The factory still retains a strong sense of planned economy, but outside the factory, the spring breeze of market economy has already spread to the small backstreets.

Flowers are blooming everywhere.

Xia Tang and Qin Yue found a rice noodle shop and sat down.

This seems to be an old shop nearby. Many people sit on bamboo stools and slurp rice noodles from porcelain bowls. The flavors are very simple, only tofu rice noodles.

"Boss." Qin Yue waved his hand, "Two bowls of tofu rice noodles, one with chili, one without."

He spoke according to Xia Tang's taste in his memory.

Xia Tang stopped him and said, "Let it go a little."

Looking at Qin Yue's puzzled eyes, Xia Tang pursed her lips and said, "I want to try it, too."

“You can actually eat spicy food.”

Qin Yue looked at her with some surprise. His eyebrows were surprised at first, and then he bent slightly, and his bulging lips floated up.

Xia Tang smiled and said, "It's been so many years, it's bound to change."

What Qin Yue remembered was her taste when she was a child.

At that time, I became spoiled by my grandma and didn't want anything spicy or hot.

If the food is not good, he will run home and cry to his grandma.

There was nothing to eat in the village at that time.

The only thing the villagers had with their meals was a bowl of dipping water.

The dipping sauce is usually made of chili peppers, pepper powder and salt. It has a strong and spicy taste and is great with rice.

However, Xia Tang doesn't eat spicy food, so the old lady was always worried about every meal, fearing that the picky Xia Tang would be hungry.

Qin Yue was her little follower, so he naturally knew her habit. Whenever the family made glutinous rice cakes or roasted potatoes that Xia Tang could eat, he would steal them out and give them to Xia Tang. After returning home, he would be beaten up by his mother.

Thinking about it now, my taste at that time was inevitably due to the pampering and love of my grandmother and others.

After going through so much, the taste that was originally cultivated by Jiao has changed beyond all recognition.

The childhood habit that had long been forgotten was now carefully brought up again, and Xia Tang couldn't help feeling sad.

The boss is skilled and quick in his movements, and two bowls of tofu rice noodles are quickly served on the table.

Tofu rice noodles are a very common snack in Yuncheng. There are already two or three shops selling them in this small back street.

The rice noodles are cooked to a soft and chewy texture, and then added with peanut oil, chili oil, crushed peanuts, chopped green onions and other ingredients, covered with trembling white and tender tofu pudding, and finally a spoonful of homemade fried sauce. When it is served, it becomes a bowl of hot tofu pudding rice noodles.

Although there is not much meat, the hot and refreshing taste can satisfy your taste buds.

Qin Yue pushed the bowl with less chili to Xia Tang, and handed her a pair of chopsticks:

“I’ve eaten here before, it’s delicious.”

Xia Tang couldn't help but laugh: "You're not picky about food, so which one is not delicious?"

Qin Yue smiled innocently, and explained in a low voice with some embarrassment:

"I can still tell which one tastes better. This one... tastes more like what grandma made."

Xia Tang pursed her lips and smiled, took the chopsticks, mixed the tofu pudding, rice noodles and seasonings evenly, put them into her mouth, and immediately, a fresh, spicy, salty and refreshing taste rushed to her taste buds.

It’s been so long that she can no longer remember the taste of the tofu rice noodles made by her grandmother.

But she couldn't help but have red eyes.

From her death to witnessing Qin Yue looking for her to her rebirth and then to Xia Lulu's farce, there was always a string in her heart.

It was not until this taste entered my throat that I truly felt alive.

It's really good to be alive.

She didn't say much. She picked up her chopsticks and ate mouthful by mouthful, slowly filling her mouth with all the rice noodles in the bowl.

Fragrant and spicy, hard and soft, oily and light...

All the flavors mixed in the mouth and finally into the body, turning into an unextinguishable fire.

Xia Tang felt that the fire was burning in her heart, warming her whole body.

She put down the bowl and looked up, and saw that Qin Yue had finished eating the rice noodles and was looking at her seriously and carefully.

His pure black eyes looked away quickly after meeting hers, and he lowered his head, but handed her a blue-black plaid handkerchief, which was folded neatly, but there were traces of fingertips on the edge, and it was unknown how long it had been held in his hand.

"Xia Tang... do you want to wipe your eyes?"

Xia Tang took the handkerchief and was about to move when she heard him ask cautiously:

"Your... eyes are red... is it because... I bullied you..."

"ah?"

Xia Tang looked at him in surprise.

But she saw Qin Yue looking straight at her.

He seemed afraid to look at her, but forced himself not to avoid her gaze. His voice was a little trembling, but it was more serious and sincere than he had ever heard before:

"Xia Tang...I'm sorry."

Xia Tang couldn't help but purse her lips again.

So, he looked at me so carefully just now because he thought I was thinking about being bullied?

As he was thinking, Qin Yue's chest rose and fell, as if he had made up his mind:

"It's all my fault. I don't have the wrong idea that you have to marry me after this happens. But Xia Tang, if you are willing, I want to take care of you for the rest of your life."

The voice was gentle, with a heavy ending, like dragging a small tail, but the words that came out were crisp and decisive, leaving no room for compromise.

Xia Tang inexplicably thought of the tofu pudding he had just eaten. It was so moist and refreshing. Was Qin Yue's voice the same?

She pursed her lips and did not answer directly.

When he looked at Qin Yue again, his eyes were a little more anxious:

"Qin Yue, didn't you call me sister when you were little? Why do you call me 'Xia Tang' now?"

If she remembered correctly, he had never called her "sister" again since she left the village.

Qin Yue's face was a little red, but his warm black eyes were focused and bright:

"I used to be called sister, but it's not easy to call her sister now."

"What's the problem?"

Xia Tang glanced at him and murmured:

"If you don't call me sister when you are younger, your mind will be..."

"What did you say?"

Qin Yue didn't hear clearly, so he moved closer to try to hear it more clearly.

"Nothing."

Xia Tang deliberately frowned, but her eyes were smiling:

"You go and pay the bill. I have no money."

*

After the two of them had dinner, Xia Tang decided to go back to his uncle's house.

Although she didn't want to go back to that home, after all, some of her things were there, and Xia Tang was also worried that Xia Lulu would go crazy and destroy everything.

What's more, she had a bill to settle when she went back to find them.

Dabo Xia Dashan's home is located in the old courtyard of the herbal medicine factory. The herbal medicine factory and the machinery factory were originally next to each other, so the walk there was not far.

Xia Dashan is a formal employee of the medicinal materials factory, but his aunt Liu Mei does not have a formal job. She has been raising three children at home.

There are five mouths to feed in a family, but only one person earns money. However, the quality of life in Xia Dashan's family is not low.

The children never had to eat peanut candy or snacks, but they still had new clothes to wear every season.

When Xia Lulu couldn't find a job, Liu Mei directly took out three hundred yuan and arranged for her to work as a temporary worker in a medicinal material factory.

Xia Tang's parents have made a great contribution to this.

Thinking of this, Xia Tang couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Her kind-hearted parents gave subsidies to her uncle's family from time to time when they were alive. After their death, Xia Dashan kept the monthly pension and orphan support money, and he lived like a blood bag for many years.

Even in her previous life, she was bound by Xia Dashan and Liu Mei's curse of "being grateful", and she had to be constantly sucked dry by them after getting married.

If I hadn't known that Xia Lulu had done something so extreme, I would probably have been stuck in it.

Before, she was labeled as a benefactor and dared not to object to them.

But now it's time to settle this bill.

Xia Tang wanted to go back, so Qin Yue naturally wanted to follow.

Xia Tang thought about it and didn't object, but asked him to stand at the door and not go in and scare others.

After all, she went there to discuss theory, not to fight.

Xia Dashan's house is located at the innermost part of the courtyard of his hometown. It is a two-story building.

This was actually Xia Tang's home.

Six years ago, Xia Tang's parents died in the line of duty, so Xia Dashan and his family took the initiative to move into this yard, under the pretext of taking care of Xia Tang.

“You think we love living here!”

"It's not warm in spring and not cool in summer here. There are many trees and mosquitoes. It's far from the factory. After moving here, your uncle has to work and the children have to go to school. If it weren't for taking care of you, we would have left here a long time ago."

When saying this, Liu Mei rolled her eyes, as if she looked down upon everything around her.

Xia Tang, who was fifteen years old at the time, really listened to it.

Although she always remembered that her uncle's original house had nine floors, it took a lot of effort to climb up every time, and there was only one room. Except for the only son Xia Dong, Xia Xia and Xia Lulu had to draw a curtain and live in the living room.

But at that time, her parents and grandmother had passed away one after another, and she was left alone and wanted a home very much.

Therefore, even though there was always something wrong with what Liu Mei said, she still listened to it.

But now that I think about it, this is really funny.

As they thought about the past, the two of them walked along the road. They didn't talk much, but their movements were extremely coordinated.

After walking a little further, Xia Tang looked up at the small courtyard at the end of the road:

"arrive."