I drove this black Santana 2000 slowly on the streets of the provincial capital, without a clear destination, and just let the wheels take me through this bustling city.
I was weighing the pros and cons in my mind: should I drive back to the county seat overnight or find a place to stay here for the night? It was difficult for me to make a decision.
As I watched the lights of the city slowly pass by outside the car window, my stomach began to protest. I hadn't eaten for nearly eight hours since I got off the plane at noon, and my hunger was getting stronger and stronger.
So I took out my cell phone, my fingertips dancing on the keys, and called Yang Ruining.
I asked in a low voice: "Are you home?"
"Well, I'm home. How come you finished so quickly?" Her voice sounded like a wife having a normal conversation with her husband.
I said, "I didn't drink alcohol, I just drank some tea."
She said, "Have you found a hotel yet?"
I said, "Not yet. I'm still thinking about where to live."
On the other end of the phone, she seemed to be silent or thinking.
"I'm hungry." I said softly, trying to break the silence.
She laughed into the phone when she heard that, her voice full of warmth: "Then come to my house. I only know how to cook instant noodles. If you don't mind, just make do with me. I'll text you the address, and you just need to head towards the hospital."
Not long after I hung up the phone, her text message arrived as expected. I followed the address provided in the text message and soon found her residence.
She opened the door for me with a big smile and welcomed me in warmly. This apartment, which had a living room, a bathroom and everything else, was not very spacious, but it was well laid out and very comfortable.
As she showed me around, she joked, "You studied so hard that you became stupid and useless. All you can do is make noodles. My son complains that I can't cook anything delicious."
I smiled and replied, "Don't worry, I'm not as picky as your son."
She immediately responded, "How dare you be so picky? If you make me angry, I will order you to leave!"
When I mentioned the Edict of Expelling Foreigners, I thought of Li Si's "Remonstrance on Expelling Foreigners" and blurted out: "Mount Tai does not reject soil, so it has become big; rivers and seas do not choose small streams, so they are deep. The king does not reject the common people, so his virtue is clear."
She said: "You are not like Li Si, you don't have that kind of talent and vision. I am not like Qin Shihuang, I don't have that kind of broad mind."
When I heard that, I glanced at her chest without thinking: "Are your breasts not big enough? I think they are OK."
She immediately blushed and said angrily, "Guan Hongjun, I find that your mind is full of these dirty and filthy things."
In order to hide her nervousness, she hurried to the kitchen and brought out a bowl of hot noodles with a runny poached egg on top.
I grabbed the chopsticks and wolfed down the food.
She sat opposite me, her eyes full of tenderness, watching my every swallowing movement closely.
She spoke cautiously, with a hint of anticipation in her voice: "Is it delicious?"
I answered without hesitation: "It's delicious!"
When she heard this, she smiled brightly and said happily, "You know what? This is the first time I feel this way."
I looked up at her curiously and asked, "How does it feel?"
She gently held her cheeks with her hands, her eyes sparkling with happiness: "It turns out that cooking for others and watching them eat the food you cook can also bring an indescribable sense of satisfaction."
Seeing her intoxicated, as if the whole world was moved by it, I really couldn't bear to break this beautiful moment and tell her that the noodles tasted only so-so. But I knew that for her, this bowl of noodles was made with full sincerity and care; and for me, a diner who is neither picky nor hungry, this kind of care and warmth has already surpassed the taste of the noodles themselves, and its meaning is far greater than the substance.