Chapter 47: The First Meal in their New Home – Tomato and Egg Noodles

Su Ruanruan turned around and entered the eastern room while simultaneously opening the Gold Rush panel to search for fruit candies.

The all-powerful Gold Rush did not disappoint her. Very quickly, she found the same type of fruit candies she had bought—each wrapped in cellophane.

Without hesitation, Su Ruanruan placed an order and received the goods in no time.

There were no special markings on the packaging. She unwrapped one and examined the candy inside, confirming that there were no unique patterns or characters on it.

Once she was sure there was nothing unusual, she carefully repackaged the candies and mixed them with the ones she had previously bought.

She had brought a basket with her, so she grabbed more than half a catty (500g) of candies and placed them inside.

Then, she unwrapped the oil paper that held the twisted fried dough sticks, took out half of them, and opened the peach crisp package, placing six pieces into the same oil paper bag as the fried dough sticks.

After setting the fried dough sticks aside, Su Ruanruan picked up the basket and walked out.

She turned left after leaving the house and, after walking a short distance, arrived at Niu Guifang’s doorstep.

The gate was wide open, and in the courtyard, a few young boys were squatting by a large basin, washing their faces and hands.

Before Su Ruanruan could step inside, she saw Niu Guifang walking out of the house, holding a ten-cent coin in her hand. Behind her followed a little girl, about three or four years old.

As soon as Niu Guifang spotted Su Ruanruan, she called out: “Ruanruan, what brings you here? Do you need something?”

“Sister-in-law.” Su Ruanruan spoke as she stepped into the courtyard. “Not really, I just came to return your basket.”

By then, Niu Guifang had already reached her. Hearing this, she reached out to take the basket and said: “That wasn’t worth making a special trip—what’s inside the basket?”

“Oh, nothing much. I went to the department store this morning and bought some candies and pastries for Zhengjun and his siblings—just something sweet for them.”

“You didn’t need to bring so much. Just one for each of them would have been enough—”

“Sister-in-law!” Su Ruanruan’s expression turned serious. “Are you treating me like an outsider? If so, then I won’t dare ask you for vegetable seeds, nor will I trouble you to take me along when you go to get the chicks.”

Niu Guifang looked at Su Ruanruan helplessly before finally letting out a long sigh. “Fine, I’ll accept it. You, girl—your name sounds soft, but your personality is anything but soft.”

She then turned to her children. “Zhengjun, Zhengqi, Zhenghong, hurry up and thank your aunt.”

Niu Guifang’s husband, Xiao Aiguo, had chosen names for their three children that were full of the patriotic spirit of the times. Their names were Xiao Zhengjun, Xiao Zhengqi, and Xiao Zhenghong.

The three children, seeing Su Ruanruan for the first time, curiously stared at her.

Upon realizing that Su Ruanruan had brought them candies and pastries, the three children beamed with joy and thanked her in unison: “Thank you, Auntie!”

Su Ruanruan looked at the three children warmly. “Such well-behaved kids. No need to thank me.” Then, turning to Niu Guifang, she added: “Sister-in-law, you go on with your work. I’ll head back to make lunch.”

“Alright, go ahead. I’ll come find you in the afternoon.”

“Okay!”

Leaving the Xiao family’s home, Su Ruanruan finally felt a sense of ease as she made her way back.

She had not been in this era for long and still wasn’t quite used to the warmth and generosity of the people. She always believed in reciprocating kindness, unwilling to owe anyone anything.

Even though she knew Niu Guifang’s intentions were purely good, and there was no expectation of repayment, she still couldn’t bring herself to accept it without giving something in return.

Returning a small gift—no matter how insignificant—was always better than receiving something for nothing.

As she stepped into the courtyard, Su Ruanruan instinctively closed the front gate before striding into the kitchen.

Inside, Fu Wenjing had already washed all the bowls, chopsticks, and basins. The fire in the stove was burning steadily, and a pot of water had already been set to boil.

“Wife, what are we having for lunch? Do you need me to do anything?”

“You’re really diligent!”

Su Ruanruan praised him, then thought for a moment before saying: “We have tomatoes and eggs, and since the weather is hot, let’s make tomato and egg noodles. We can slice some cucumbers into it and pair it with the pickled vegetables and soybean paste we brought along—it’ll be delicious.”

Fu Wenjing nodded enthusiastically. “That already sounds amazing! I’ll knead the dough, and you can chop the vegetables.”

Su Ruanruan glanced at Fu Wenjing in surprise. “You know how to knead dough?”

“I don’t, but I can learn! Just tell me how to do it.”

Diligence and a willingness to learn were admirable qualities, and Su Ruanruan didn’t want to discourage his enthusiasm.

“Alright! First, scoop half a ladle of standard flour, then add a little over half a ladle of black flour. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt, then gradually add small amounts of water while mixing until all the flour comes together.

The dough shouldn’t be too hard, or it’ll be difficult to roll out later. But it also shouldn’t be too soft, or it’ll turn into noodle soup when we cook it.”

They already had rolling pins at home—one thick and one thin. Fu Wenjing had bought them along with a knife, though they hadn’t been used since they arrived.

That morning, he had washed the rolling pins and the chopping board, leaving them to dry in the courtyard. Now, they were just right for use.

Even though it was Fu Wenjing’s first time kneading dough, he handled it like a natural.

Whether it was due to his strong learning ability or simply his strength, he managed to get the dough just right on his first try.

Su Ruanruan reached out and poked the dough—it felt a bit too firm for her liking.

But seeing how effortlessly Fu Wenjing rolled it out, she knew it was just right for him.

No wonder people said that making hand-rolled noodles required someone with strength. The more force applied, the chewier and more delicious the noodles would be.

Without enough strength, even if one managed to knead the dough properly, rolling it into noodles would still be a challenge.

Since Fu Wenjing was already busy rolling out the dough, Su Ruanruan didn’t waste any time. She washed the tomatoes, chopped them, and placed them into a large bowl. Then, she picked a small handful of green beans, sliced some scallions and ginger, and set everything aside.

The stove had two pots—one large pot in the front and a smaller one at the back.

Su Ruanruan poured the water from the small pot into the large one and let it continue boiling. Once the small pot dried out, she added a layer of oil before pouring in the beaten eggs.

For scrambled eggs to taste good, they needed plenty of oil. Otherwise, they would stick to the pot and lose their rich flavor.

As soon as the eggs were cooked, Su Ruanruan scooped them out.

Since there was still enough oil in the pot, she didn’t need to add more. She simply tossed in the chopped scallions and ginger, stirring them until fragrant.

Once the aroma filled the kitchen, she added the tomatoes and green beans, stir-frying them before mixing in the scrambled eggs. Finally, she sprinkled in some salt, poured in a bit of soy sauce, and added water to simmer everything together.

Since the amount of noodles needed for the two of them wasn’t much, and Fu Wenjing was strong and quick, he was already slicing the noodles just as Su Ruanruan finished preparing the sauce.

He cut the noodles into strips as wide as chive leaves, dusted them lightly with flour, and shook them apart. Each strand was clearly defined, without a single one breaking.

By then, the water in the large pot had reached a rolling boil. Fu Wenjing picked up the noodles and dropped them all in.

Taking advantage of the waiting time, Su Ruanruan washed a cucumber and cut it into thin strips.

The noodles only needed to boil three times before they were cooked. After that, they were rinsed in cold water and served in a small yellow enamel basin.

She ladled the tomato and egg topping over the noodles, arranged the cucumber strips on top, and added a spoonful of soybean paste.

The little bowl of noodles looked colorful, fragrant, and incredibly appetizing.

Even before taking a bite, Fu Wenjing was already showering her with praise. “Wife, your cooking skills are amazing! Just like a professional chef!”

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Tomato and Egg Noodles

T/N: Do you want me to include photos of the food they’re cooking?

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