Chapter 20: Wild Vegetable Noodles
There is no well at home, so water has to be carried by hand for daily drinking and washing.
In order to save the precious water in the jar, Tu Subo went to the small river at the entrance of the village to wash his clothes.
When he returned, Gu Yuexuan had already started cooking, but the other family members ignored the subtle movement and had no intention of going out to investigate.
Unlike Tu Subo's monotonous way of cooking porridge, she boldly opened the tightly closed bag of flour.
White flour is piled up like snow in a wooden basin. A proper amount of salt is sprinkled in and stirred evenly. Then a small hole is cleverly dug at the top, boiling water is poured in, and the flour is carefully kneaded into dough.
The soft dough became unusually compliant in Gu Yuexuan's hands, being easily shaped into round shapes or flattened. Xi Lanfang, who was trying to help, was stunned by the sight and couldn't help but stammer, "How can I help?"
Gu Yuexuan answered directly without hesitation: "There seem to be some fresh vegetables in the vegetable garden in the backyard. Please go pick some."
Although the garden had been dormant for some time, it still bore traces of the seeds sown by its previous owner. Despite the lack of careful care, the vegetables in the garden weren't flourishing, but a variety of wild vegetables had spontaneously sprouted, dotting the landscape.
After simple picking and cleaning, these wild vegetables can barely become a dish on the table.
Xi Lanfang looked solemn and nodded slightly, then carried Tu Su Minxu on his back and strode towards the vegetable garden.
Tu Subo placed the wet clothes in the basin, slowly approached the stove, looked at the snow-white, soft dough, and murmured softly: "Didn't I tell you to rest before?"
He kept waiting and delaying to force those selfish people who were starving to death to cook for themselves.
Otherwise, once someone starts taking action, it will be difficult to escape.
Thinking that Gu Yuexuan might be bound by the stove in the future, he couldn't help but roll up his sleeves and said firmly: "Let me do it."
"You really can do it?"
Gu Yuexuan raised her eyebrows slightly, a hint of teasing flashing in her eyes: "This is not as simple as cooking rice porridge. It will be inedible if you just throw it into the pot."
She raised her chin slightly, motioning Tu Subo to step back, then slowly kneaded the noodles in her hand and said leisurely, "I know what you're worried about, but I'm not stupid."
"That big bowl contains prickly ash. Grind it up yourself and apply it to the broken skin on your shoulder."
Tu Subo's outstretched hand stopped in mid-air, and he involuntarily lowered his head to look at the wound on his shoulder covered by clothes.
Gu Yuexuan smiled and jokingly said, "You don't usually do any heavy labor, so the sudden injuries to your muscles, bones, and flesh must be unbearable. Why are you acting so shy?"
"We don't have any special medicine for wounds at home. I only found some wild prickly lettuce. I'll apply it to the wound for now. It will ease the pain soon, and we can have dinner later."
The expression on Tu Subo's face kept changing, and he just responded lightly.
When he finely ground the herbs and applied them to the wound on his shoulder and walked out of the house, Gu Yuexuan had already lit a fire and started preparing to cook noodles.
She skillfully stretched a ball of round dough into noodles of uniform thickness, threw it into boiling water, and the noodles began to dance lightly in the heat wave.
Gu Yuexuan deftly added some cold water to the pot. She picked up the various wild vegetables Xi Lanfang had dug from the garden and explained to her mother-in-law, "This wild vegetable with a fluffy, umbrella-like top is called lantern grass. It tastes slightly bitter when eaten raw, but it's very effective in clearing away heat and detoxifying. I'll pick some of it out later and boil it in water for Tu Subo to drink."
"Those with single, opposite, oval leaves and yellow corollas are called cilantro. Those with a distinctive smell, slender stems, and roots at the nodes are called cilantro. And those with triangular leaves with scalloped edges are called water celery. These are all edible and highly nutritious wild vegetables."
Xi Lanfang frowned and listened attentively, remembering every detail.
As she began digging for those strange-looking wild vegetables, she was filled with anxiety and had no idea whether she could successfully find something edible.
However, once she received Gu Yuexuan's affirmation, her heart felt as if she had found a solid support and she felt much more at ease.
Gu Yuexuan noticed that she was listening so attentively, so she deliberately slowed down her speech so that she could fully absorb every word.
Her willingness to try new things is undoubtedly a positive sign.
At the very least, it showed her mother-in-law was willing to lend a hand and offer support.
Gu Yuexuan, who has a background in agricultural science, doesn't mind imparting more knowledge.
Tu Su Minxu was confused by this series of words. He held tightly a bunch of wild grasses with small balls at the roots, stood on tiptoe, and excitedly handed them to Gu Yuexuan.
"Sister-in-law, look!"
“I pulled this out!”
Gu Yuexuan recognized the weeds immediately, but still pretended to be curious when she took them. She gently broke them off, sniffed them, and then exclaimed in surprise, "Minxu is really smart! These are yellow shallots, which are indispensable for cooking noodles, and you actually discovered them!"
Tu Su Minxu's face was filled with a satisfied smile, and he pulled Tu Subo's sleeve.
"Brother, my sister-in-law praised me!" His voice was full of pride and joy.
"Great!" Tu Subo gently rubbed his cute head with a hint of playfulness, then stepped forward to take the wild vegetables carefully selected by Gu Yuexuan, and said with a warm smile on his face, "Let me wash the vegetables?"
"OK."
"By the way, I'll cook you some green leafy vegetables to go with the noodles."
Before she finished her words, the noodles in the pot mixed with water began to boil. Gu Yuexuan nimbly picked up a small piece with chopsticks, folded it gently, and confirmed that it was cooked just right. She then quickly took it out and gently placed it in bowls of different sizes.
She then sprinkled some chopped yellow onions on it, paired it with perfectly parboiled wild vegetables, and seasoned it with just a little oil and salt to make a simple and delicious meal.
However, when she thought of Tu Subo's hard work throughout the day, she raised her hand without hesitation and cracked a few eggs into the boiling water, adding some nutrition and warmth to the meal.
The rich aroma of noodles wafted from the kitchen. In the originally quiet house, Tu Su's family members came out one after another, attracted by the aroma.
Mrs. Yu examined the neatly arranged bowls of noodles on the stove with an inspecting gaze and commented, "This is more presentable. You can't just drink porridge every day, right? It's almost tasteless!"
Gu Yuexuan chuckled upon hearing this and pushed two large bowls filled with food towards Yu: "Second Aunt, these two bowls are for Grandpa and Grandma. Please help me deliver them to them."
Yu curled her lips, but had no objection. After taking the bowl, she hurried to the old man and the old lady's room.
However, when she returned to the kitchen, she found that besides the cold and hard noodles, there was only a pot of dull noodle soup on the stove.
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