After returning home, Pei Yuezhi remembered the big watermelon in the well. After working so hard and feeling hot and tired, a slice of cool watermelon would definitely feel good.
It took quite a bit of effort to scoop the watermelon out of the well, but luckily the well opening wasn't too big, and we managed to get it out smoothly.
Seeing the watermelon being scooped up, the four of them gathered around it, looking at it expectantly.
Pei Yuezhi patted the watermelon, making a thumping sound, indicating that it was perfectly ripe.
With a "snap," the bright red flesh of the watermelon came into view, and the sweet aroma of watermelon, carried on the summer night breeze, made one's mouth water.
"Come on, everyone, have a big piece, then go to sleep!"
Pei Yuezhi cut a large piece of watermelon for everyone and then put the watermelon away.
Liu Yuanyuan had put in a lot of effort today, and now she couldn't wait to take a big bite of watermelon.
Its crisp texture and refreshing sweetness instantly dispel all the heat.
Watermelon is very juicy, and after eating a large slice, one person feels a bit bloated.
Pei Yuezhi boiled water and had everyone wipe themselves down, and she also washed Fan Mu herself.
I fell asleep comfortably and woke up naturally.
However, it's still quite early at this time, after all, your biological clock is already set.
After getting up, I used the leftover rice from yesterday to cook some porridge, bought some pickled vegetables, and fried some eggs. Breakfast was ready.
After the two boys finished eating, they put the bowls and chopsticks in the kitchen and prepared to go to school.
I should head to the store now.
I kneaded a lot of dough yesterday, which took a lot of time. I haven't prepared the vegetables yet, so I'll go over a little earlier.
Today's vegetables are eggplant, potatoes, long beans, green peppers, and shiitake mushrooms, all of which are relatively easy to prepare. I also need to replenish my supplies of flour and rice.
After buying everything, the two of them, along with Xiao Fanmu, washed the vegetables together. A few minutes later, Grandma Liu arrived.
With the addition of a key member, the work team's speed increased dramatically.
Pei Yuezhi, Liu Yuanyuan, and Granny Liu each used a cutting board to chop vegetables.
"Yuezhi, I've never heard of this self-service braised noodles before. How did you come up with this idea? You're really clever."
"Auntie, this wasn't my own idea. I went to a place before where there were lots of food options, like self-service boxed meals and self-service braised noodles, which were pretty standard."
"Wow, there are places like this? I'll have to go check it out sometime."
The group chatted as they worked, and they finished quickly, completing the task in no time.
Pei Yuezhi first salted the diced eggplant to draw out some moisture. This was a vegetarian sauce, which was also paired with some diced potatoes. The combination of the two was absolutely delicious.
While it's set aside, you can start making the sauce.
Pei Yuezhi first made a mushroom and meat sauce. She heated the oil, put the meat into the pot, and stir-fried it until it changed color. Then she added diced mushrooms and stir-fried them until the mushrooms softened.
Add minced scallions, ginger, and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. Then add fermented bean paste and soybean paste and stir-fry until fragrant and the oil turns red.
Add salt, chicken bouillon, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and a little water, then simmer.
Then pour in cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce; once it reaches a thick consistency, it's ready to serve.
Next is the green bean and pork stew. First, blanch the green beans in water until they are just cooked through.
Heat the meat, add the minced meat, stir-fry until it changes color, then add scallions, ginger, and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. Finally, add the blanched green beans and stir-fry together.
After stir-frying evenly, season with: light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, soybean paste, a little sugar, and appropriate amount of salt.
Then add some water and simmer for a while before thickening the sauce with cornstarch. That's it!
Pei Yuezhi washed the eggplant and squeezed out the water so that it wouldn't absorb too much oil.
But add a little more oil to the pan, since eggplant tastes better when it's oily.
After stir-frying the eggplant until golden brown, add the diced potatoes and stir-fry. Then add Sichuan peppercorn powder, light soy sauce, salt, a little sugar, and chicken bouillon. Add water and cook for two or three minutes until the potatoes are cooked through. Finally, add some green peppers to accompany the dish.
Then comes thickening with cornstarch, and then it's ready to serve.
Finally, the last batch of broth was ready. Grandma Liu's noodles were all rolled out and cut, and were cooking in the pot.
Liu Yuanyuan tended the fires in each pot, helping out here and there, keeping herself busy.
Making braised noodles is no easy task!
Heat the oil, pour in the eggs, and once they solidify, add the green peppers. Stir-fry evenly, then add light soy sauce, oyster sauce, soybean paste, and salt.
After stir-frying until fragrant, add a little water, simmer for a few minutes, and finally thicken with a thin cornstarch slurry.
Four gravy dishes, plus so many noodles—the preparation work is quite tiring.
First of all, all the ingredients for the braising sauce have to be chopped into small pieces, not to mention kneading the dough and rolling it out. Rolling out the dough requires quite a bit of effort.
We cooked a pot of noodles, scooped them out and put them in a basin of cold water, then served them out to start business.
I don't know who said it, but as soon as Pei Yuezhi showed her face, someone asked about it.
"Boss lady, noodles today? It's so hot and stuffy, I'd love some cold noodles!"
"Yes, this area is full of noodle stalls. I love noodles, but I find them too hot. It just so happens that you're selling noodles today."
"Why are there so many bowls? And you can even choose your own noodle sauce! That's great!"
Pei Yuezhi arranged the food and introduced it to everyone: "Today we're having noodles. It's been so hot and humid lately, so we're making something refreshing. There are four kinds of sauces to choose from: mushroom and meat sauce, minced meat and green bean sauce, diced eggplant sauce, and green pepper and egg sauce."
"Two kinds of meat dishes and two kinds of vegetarian dishes. Meat sauce is ten coins a bowl, and vegetarian sauce is eight coins a bowl."
After the introduction, Liu Yuanyuan helped serve the noodles while the others eagerly started ordering.
That bowl of noodles was gone in no time, but luckily Grandma Liu was quick and made a second bowl in time.
"This braising sauce smells amazing! This eggplant, once cooked properly, is almost as fragrant as meat."
"Real meat is the only kind of delicious. I wouldn't trade my mushroom and meat sauce noodles for twenty coins."
"It's so delicious, I'll have another bowl."
"Hahaha, Zhu Zi eats more noodles than usual."
Fortunately, the previous owner left behind quite a few large bowls, which made washing dishes less urgent. Otherwise, with today's customers, Grandma Liu would have been exhausted.
Finally, they sold out the last bowl of noodles for the day, and Pei Yuezhi and the others breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
After tidying up the shop, they returned home and prepared for lunch. They ate noodles with gravy. As Grandma Liu mixed the noodles, she said, "These people are exhausted. They could only smell the aroma, and now they're eating so late!"
As Liu Yuanyuan served noodles, she said, "That's right! I watched them eat, and they all seemed to enjoy it more than the last. I've already served over a hundred bowls of noodles, and finally it's my turn!"
Finally, it was lunchtime. We were all hungry, tired, and hot, so we ate in silence.
After the meal, Pei Yuezhi cut a few pieces of watermelon, which finally made it less hot and helped her cool down!
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