Hearing the laughter of one adult and two children coming from behind, Liu Mingfeng and Wu Qiaoqiao smiled but said nothing more and went straight into the kitchen.
After entering the kitchen, Liu Mingfeng immediately went to the stove to start a fire, since the weather was already quite hot, and he didn't want Wu Qiaoqiao to sit by the stove tending the fire. So after lighting the fire, he got up and went to Wu Qiaoqiao's side, wanting her to go outside. Liu Mingfeng meant that although he couldn't cook other dishes, he could still make noodles.
Wu Qiaoqiao didn't refuse when she heard Liu Mingfeng say that, but she didn't actually leave either. Instead, she moved a stool and sat down at the door, watching Liu Mingfeng busy at the stove, and told him where everything was.
Then Liu Mingfeng, listening to what Wu Qiaoqiao said, first took out seven eggs from the earthenware jar in the cupboard. Then he put some oil in the pan, fried seven beautiful sunny-side-up eggs, and placed them in seven bowls of different sizes that he took out from the cupboard.
After frying the eggs, there was no need to wash the pan. They simply filled it with water until it was almost full. While waiting for the water to boil, Wu Qiaoqiao told Liu Mingfeng that the noodles were on the cutting board. When Liu Mingfeng uncovered the white cloth covering the cutting board, he discovered that the noodles weren't the kind cut with a knife, but rather hand-pulled noodles.
Looking at the distinct strands of ramen noodles, all roughly the same thickness and size, Liu Shifeng turned to Wu Qiaoqiao sitting at the door. Seeing the expression on Wu Qiaoqiao's face, he knew that she had made them, so he gave her a thumbs up.
When Wu Qiaoqiao saw Liu Mingfeng's thumbs-up, a big smile spread across her face. She then explained why she had made ramen. It turned out that ever since Liu Mingfeng and Feng Minghao had done that thing, Wu Qiaoqiao had been learning things she considered useful from Lin Yuwei at home—things like etiquette, needlework, and the arts. Although she couldn't learn everything due to limited resources, she could still learn etiquette and needlework.
It was at this time that Lin Yuwei realized how strong Wu Qiaoqiao was, and that her strength control wasn't very precise. However, although it wasn't precise, it wouldn't hurt anyone. It just wasn't good for delicate things, like holding a needle. If she was holding something that could be easily pierced by a needle, it was okay, but if she tried to use force, she would just bend the needle. So the two of them tried to find a way to train their strength without attracting attention. Later, in practice, they discovered that kneading dough was the best method.
So Wu Qiaoqiao used the time she spent cooking to learn how to control the force. At first, she only kneaded the dough, but as she became more and more skilled, she started to learn how to pull noodles. At first, the noodles she pulled were of different thicknesses and kept breaking. It took her a long time to practice until she could make such beautiful noodles.
Upon hearing Wu Qiaoqiao's explanation, Liu Mingfeng felt a pang of heartache and stepped forward to embrace her, kissing her forehead. He knew that Wu Qiaoqiao was preparing for their next life, or even the life after that, and Liu Mingfeng felt that he also needed to start learning, so as not to fall too far behind his family.
The two embraced each other, waiting for the water in the pot to boil, not minding the heat. After the water boiled, Liu Mingfeng got up and put noodles into the pot, stirring them occasionally with chopsticks to prevent them from sticking together. When the noodles were cooked, Wu Qiaoqiao asked Liu Mingfeng to lift the lid of the earthenware pot on the stove in the corner.
As soon as the lid of the earthenware pot was lifted, Liu Mingfeng smelled a fresh and fragrant aroma. Looking inside, he found that it was more than half a bowl of chicken soup with two chickens in it, and some fragrant ingredients such as mushrooms were floating on top of the soup.
Following Wu Qiaoqiao's instructions, Liu Mingfeng put varying amounts of noodles into the seven bowls, mainly filling the bowls of the two men and Feng Mingyue, since Liu Mingfeng and Feng Minghao probably hadn't eaten well at the train station. Feng Mingyue, having only taken a simple flatbread to eat that morning to pick up her two brothers, ended up having the most noodles in their bowls.
As for Wu Qiaoqiao and Lin Yuwei, the two adults with two children, they had already eaten breakfast. At this time, they only needed to eat a little bit, mainly because Wu Qiaoqiao and Lin Yuwei needed to eat small meals frequently.
After putting all the noodles into the bowls, Wu Qiaoqiao asked Liu Mingfeng to add chicken broth to the bowls. Then, she put a chicken leg in each of the two children's bowls. Of course, Feng Mingyue's bowl also had a chicken leg and two chicken wings, while Liu Mingfeng only put one chicken wing in each of her and Lin Yuwei's bowls. Liu Mingfeng knew that Wu Qiaoqiao was not one to deprive herself; if she only gave him one chicken wing, it meant she really didn't want to eat much.
Then Wu Qiaoqiao asked Liu Mingfeng to take out the chicken that was missing its leg and wings, so that he and Feng Minghao could share it. As for the chicken that was missing some parts, they could save it for Zhao Xiuxiang and Feng Mingran to eat when they came back at noon. Whether they ate noodles or cornbread was up to them.
After the noodles were prepared, Wu Qiaoqiao and Liu Mingfeng each carried a tray with seven bowls of noodles, along with a bottle of chili sauce and vinegar, and carried them directly out of the kitchen and into the main room.
Upon entering the main room, one could see Feng Mingyue and her two children still rummaging through things. By this time, the two children had changed their clothes; they were wearing sailor shirts and army green overalls, which Liu Mengmeng had apparently prepared for them.
Tie Dan and Daya saw Wu Qiaoqiao and her companion carrying food out. Upon seeing this, the two children quickly ran to the door of the main room and followed them to the table.
Liu Mingfeng and Wu Qiaoqiao placed the trays they were carrying on an empty spot on the dining table that Feng Mingyue had slightly tidied up, then turned around and picked up the two little ones. They even kissed their chubby cheeks, which Wu Qiaoqiao had been fattening up recently, and praised them.
"Oh, whose child is this? So cute, and dressed so beautifully. Who bought these clothes?"
Tie Dan and Da Y's cheeks were flushed from Wu Qiaoqiao and Liu Mingfeng's kisses. They leaned their heads on their shoulders shyly. Da Y said in a low voice.
"They are Mom and Dad's children. This outfit was bought by my great-aunt, and my little cousin gave it to us to wear."
"Really? It seems that Auntie has a good eye. The clothes she bought make Tiedan and Daya look even more handsome and beautiful."
Wu Qiaoqiao and Liu Mingfeng continued to praise the two little ones while holding them. The reason they did this was because they knew that there were always some people in the village who had bad mouths and bad character, saying all sorts of nonsense in front of Tiedan and Daya. This made the two little ones a little cautious at home, and they always tried to please the adults. The two children did this simply because they didn't want to be abandoned.
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