Chapter 113 A Kiss That Makes Your Skin Numb
For the next three days, the entire village was very busy.
Xu Zhiheng was so busy that he often didn't get to rest until late at night.
Lin Yao was also busy.
The soldiers are heading north, and the journey is long and the march is fast. They certainly won't have much time to cook. Ordinary dry rations will become bland after a while, so they need to prepare some food that can enhance the flavor and is easy to carry.
Her first thought was mushroom and meat sauce. Back in Linjia Village, she had made a sauce with dried mushrooms and minced meat, which was savory and rich, perfect for mixing into steamed buns or flatbreads.
Lin Yao frowned again as she stared at the small bag of dried shiitake mushrooms left on the stove. This amount of mushrooms wasn't even enough to make sauce for ten people, let alone supply hundreds of soldiers.
She sat on a small stool in the kitchen, her mind racing as she considered alternative ingredients.
Lin Yao's gaze swept over the pile of flour in the corner, and suddenly her eyes lit up as she remembered the sweet bean sauce that was commonly eaten in modern times.
Sweet bean sauce has a perfect balance of sweet and salty flavors. It can be used to mix with pancakes and steamed buns, as well as for seasoning. Most importantly, the raw materials are common, a lot can be made at once, and it is also very durable for storage, making it perfect for soldiers to carry on long journeys.
Lin Yao slapped her thigh and immediately gathered the villagers who had free time, explaining the steps for making sweet bean sauce one by one: "First, we need to make the batter. The flour and water must be stirred in one direction and made thin, otherwise it will clump when it is put into the pot, and the sauce will not taste good if there are lumps in it."
Ah Zhu and Ah Fu helped move a large ceramic basin to the stove, while Wang Xiaoyu opened the flour bag and carefully poured flour into the basin.
Lin Yao stood aside and directed: "Pour in three catties of flour first, then add water slowly, don't pour in too much at once."
As she spoke, she picked up long wooden chopsticks and demonstrated how to stir in one direction.
The flour and water gradually blended together. At first, there were still some small lumps. Lin Yao patiently stirred for a while until the batter became smooth and fine. When she lifted the wooden chopsticks, the batter flowed smoothly down. Then she stopped and said, "This is the consistency. This way, it won't clump together when you put it in the pot."
Next comes color and flavor adjustment.
Lin Yao took out a bag of candy.
This was brought out from the valley before, and I couldn't bear to eat it. Now it comes in handy.
She poured the sugar into the batter, added a suitable amount of salt, and instructed, "The sweet bean sauce should be just the right balance of sweet and salty. Everyone should try it, and add more if it's not flavorful enough."
Su Niang first dipped her chopsticks into the batter and tasted it, then nodded and said, "The sweetness is just right. Adding more salt would make it too salty, and there's no need to add any more sugar."
The others also tasted it and thought it tasted just right. Only then did Lin Yao continue stirring to make sure the sugar and salt were completely incorporated into the batter.
The most crucial step is to cook the sauce.
Lin Cheng was in charge of tending the fire, while Lin Yao poured a large amount of oil into the large iron pot.
"Don't turn the heat up too high, medium-low heat is fine. Once the oil is hot, pour in the batter." When the oil started to smoke slightly, Lin Yao quickly poured the batter into the pan, stirring it constantly with the spatula against the bottom of the pan.
At first, the batter was a bit thin, but as the temperature rose, it gradually thickened. Lin Yao stirred it even more vigorously: "Everyone, watch carefully. Be sure to stir it close to the bottom of the pot, otherwise the batter at the bottom will easily burn, and if it burns, the whole pot of sauce will be ruined."
Song Mi stared wide-eyed at her stirring, then suddenly pointed at the pot and exclaimed, "Sister Ayao, it looks like it's clumping together!"
Lin Yao looked down and saw that there was indeed a small piece of batter stuck to the bottom of the pot. She added some cold water and stirred quickly, and the clump of batter soon broke up.
"Don't panic in this situation, just add some cold water and stir it." She said as she continued stirring, fine beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. Su Niang quickly handed her a handkerchief to wipe her sweat.
As it simmered, the aroma of the sweet bean sauce gradually wafted out, becoming increasingly rich and intense.
Lin Yao would stop every now and then to pick up a little sauce with her chopsticks to check its consistency. She kept doing this until the batter became thick enough that the lines left by the chopsticks when they were drawn across the bottom of the pot were clearly visible and wouldn't disappear immediately. Then she would call out, "You can turn off the heat now!"
After turning off the heat, Lin Yao did not stop immediately. Instead, she used the residual heat of the pot to add a suitable amount of oil and continued to stir: "This step is very important. Adding oil can prevent the sweet bean sauce from clumping after it is bottled and can also make the sauce smoother."
She stirred it for a while until the oil was completely incorporated into the sauce before pouring the sweet bean sauce into a clean earthenware bowl to cool.
Once the sweet bean sauce had completely cooled, everyone began to portion it out.
Lin Yao took out the small earthenware jars that she had washed clean beforehand. She sterilized each jar by scalding it first, and then carefully scooped the sweet bean sauce into them with a spoon until they were full. She then sealed the mouth of the jar with clean oil paper and finally tied it tightly with hemp rope.
"This way, it's sealed well and can last a long time, so the soldiers can eat it with peace of mind on the road," Lin Yao said as she sealed the jar.
Seeing rows of earthenware jars filled with sweet bean sauce neatly arranged on the ground, everyone showed the most relaxed smiles they had seen in the past few days.
Su Niang exclaimed, "With so much sauce, the soldiers will no longer have to eat bland dry rations on the road."
Lin Yao nodded, but she still felt uneasy.
While sweet bean sauce can enhance the flavor, soldiers need a quick and easy meal to accompany them on marches.
At night, she lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), tossing and turning, unable to sleep. She wished there was something that didn't require any cooking and could be eaten simply by soaking it in boiling water.
As I was thinking, a sudden inspiration struck me: isn't this just instant noodles?
The noodles in instant noodles are hard and durable, and when paired with the seasoning packet, they can be eaten after being steeped in boiling water for a short time. They are simply tailor-made for marching!
This thought instantly banished her sleepiness.
Lin Yao quietly got up, glanced at Su Niang and Wang Xiaoyu who were still fast asleep beside her, and, by the faint moonlight outside the window, groped her way to put on her clothes and tiptoed towards the kitchen.
Lin Yao first scooped out three catties of flour and poured it into a ceramic basin. She added water and kneaded the dough. She slowly poured water along the edge of the basin, pressing the flour with her palm as she poured, allowing the dry flour to gradually absorb the water.
At first, the dough was loose and shapeless. Lin Yao kneaded it repeatedly for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, until the dough finally became smooth and firm, and it was not sticky and elastic when pinched.
Lin Yao placed the dough in a bowl, covered it with a damp cloth, and let it rest for half an hour.
The rested dough was even softer. Lin Yao placed it on the work surface, picked up a rolling pin, and began to roll and press it until the dough was rolled into a thin sheet.
When cutting noodles, Lin Yao first cuts even vertical lines on the dough sheet, and then gently shakes the cut noodles to separate them to prevent them from sticking together.
Next, she placed chopsticks in the middle of the cut noodles, so that after frying, they could be made into the wavy shape of instant noodles in later generations.
While checking the time, Lin Yao tidied up the flour on the cutting board, waiting for the noodles to set.
Once all the noodles were shaped, Lin Yao poured half a pot of oil into the large iron pot.
She stood by the stove, slowly heating the oil pot with firewood.
The earthen stove has a strong fire, and the oil temperature reaches 60% in a short time.
Lin Yao gently placed the dough into the oil pan. The noodles were immersed in the hot oil, and the oil began to swirl gently, quickly filling the air with a fragrant aroma.
She gently stirred the noodles in the oil with long chopsticks to prevent them from burning, and the noodles slowly turned from white to golden yellow.
After frying for about 15 minutes, the noodles became crispy. She used a slotted spoon to scoop out the noodles and placed them on a bamboo sieve to drain the oil.
After the oil is drained, the noodles are golden and crispy, exuding a rich aroma of oil and wheat. When you gently break them in your hand, you can hear a crisp sound, almost no different from modern instant noodle cakes.
Lin Yao picked up a piece of flatbread and examined it carefully. Suddenly, she heard light footsteps coming from the kitchen doorway.
She looked up and saw Xu Zhiheng standing at the door in a black outfit.
His eyes were bloodshot and his under-eye area was dark and swollen, clearly indicating that he had just finished dealing with military affairs.
After finishing his military affairs late at night, Xu Zhiheng thought he would go out for some fresh air, but he didn't expect to smell a fragrance.
He followed the aroma to the kitchen, and as soon as he entered, he saw Lin Yao and a stove full of flatbreads. His eyes widened in surprise, followed by a pang of heartache.
"Why aren't you resting so late?" Xu Zhiheng walked in, closing the door behind him to block out the cold wind. "Making sweet bean sauce during the day is tiring enough, why are you still busy at night?"
As he spoke, his gaze swept over the flour scattered on the cutting board and the golden-yellow dough in the bamboo sieve. He knew without asking that she had stayed up all night to make these.
When Lin Yao saw him arrive, she put down a piece of flatbread she was holding: "I couldn't sleep. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be resting at this hour?"
"I came out for some fresh air, but I didn't expect to be so captivated by such a fragrant aroma that I couldn't move," Xu Zhiheng joked.
Lin Yao laughed and scolded, "Nonsense!"
Xu Zhiheng looked at her and smiled too, his previously suppressed mood due to military affairs relaxed considerably.
He took two steps forward, and the distance between them gradually closed. The oil lamp in the kitchen flickered, making their eyes sparkle.
The moment their eyes met, the air seemed to slow down, and an ambiguous feeling, indescribable intimacy, filled their gaze.
Lin Yao came to her senses first, looked away somewhat embarrassed, picked up a piece of dough from the bamboo sieve, and handed it to Xu Zhiheng: "Look at this new food I made, it's called instant noodles."
Xu Zhiheng took the noodle cake. It was crispy to the touch, and some crumbs fell off with a gentle squeeze. The aroma was enticing. "Instant noodles? That's a novel name. Is it for the soldiers to eat on the road?"
“That’s right!” Lin Yao nodded. “I was thinking that you often have to eat dry, hard steamed buns and flatbreads while you’re on the march, so I thought of making something that’s easy to carry and eat. This instant noodle is made from flour, and it can be stored for a long time after being fried. You just need to boil a pot of water and brew half a cup of tea before you can eat it. It’s much easier than cooking noodles.”
She pulled Xu Zhiheng to the stove, picked up an empty bowl, put a piece of noodles in it, and then lifted the freshly boiled kettle from the stove to fill the bowl with hot water: "Look, just soak it like this. When it softens, you can add some of my dogwood salt packets. It will taste pretty good. With instant noodles, you can eat less cold and hard dry rations when you're on the march."
Xu Zhiheng leaned closer to the bowl, watching as the hot water slowly submerged the dough. The originally golden and crispy dough gradually absorbed the water and softened, his eyes filled with astonishment.
He looked earnestly into Lin Yao's eyes, his gaze filled with solemnity and gratitude: "A Yao, on behalf of the soldiers, I thank you, thank you all."
In no time, the noodles in the bowl had completely softened, and the noodles, having absorbed the hot water, had expanded. Steam wafted out, carrying the aroma of oil and the spiciness of dogwood salt.
Lin Yao picked up her chopsticks, stirred it gently, and said to Xu Zhiheng, "It's ready to eat. Try it and see if it's bland. If it's too bland, you can add some salt."
Xu Zhiheng also picked up his chopsticks, took a mouthful of noodles, and put it in his mouth. The noodles were soft but not mushy, with just the right amount of chewiness, much tastier than he had imagined.
He couldn't help but nod: "Delicious! Much better than eating dry bread, everyone will definitely like it."
Seeing that he was enjoying his meal, Lin Yao picked up a piece of dough with her chopsticks, took a bite, and a small piece of dough stuck to the corner of her mouth. She didn't notice it, and continued smiling as she said, "I was worried that the frying wasn't done properly, but it looks pretty good..."
Before she could finish speaking, Xu Zhiheng raised his hand and gently brushed his fingertips across the corner of her mouth, wiping away the piece of noodle.
They both paused for a moment when his fingertips touched her soft lips.
Lin Yao's cheeks flushed red, and she subconsciously pursed her lips, her eyes becoming somewhat flustered.
Lin Yao's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her chest; she couldn't suppress the throbbing. She quickly lowered her head and pretended to continue eating her noodles.
That light touch felt like an electric current, traveling from the corner of my mouth to my heart, leaving a tingling, numb sensation.
Looking at her, who seemed to want to bury her face in the bowl, Xu Zhiheng felt as if his heart had been gently tickled by a feather, making him feel incredibly soft.
The dim candlelight reflected on her reddened earlobes and drooping eyelashes, making her look exceptionally lovely.
He couldn't help but lean forward, and the distance between them grew closer and closer. He could clearly smell the faint fragrance in her hair and see her chest rising and falling slightly due to nervousness.
"A-Yao..." Xu Zhiheng's voice was lower than usual, with a hint of hoarseness, as he slowly approached.
Only the sound of their breathing remained in the kitchen, the air thick with a sweet yet tense atmosphere.
Lin Yao slowly closed her eyes, her remaining senses becoming increasingly acute. She could feel Xu Zhiheng's presence drawing ever closer, gradually encroaching on her safe zone...
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