Chapter 25: Rolling Noodles

After waking up from her nap, Xia Qinqin opened her eyes, turned her head to look left and right, and saw the empty sides of the bed. She quickly rolled out of bed and called out to the living room, “Mom, mom!”

Meng Yufei heard her daughter’s voice and hurriedly walked in, saying, “Qinqin is awake.”

Xia Qinqin relaxed when she saw her mother. She turned her head to look behind her and asked, “Where’s dad?”

Meng Yufei explained, “Dad went outside to find someone to bring in some wood. He’s planning to build a grapevine rack.”

Meng Yufei picked up Xia Qinqin and placed her on the living room sofa, then began to comb her hair.

When Xia Qinqin heard the mention of grapes, her eyes brightened. She quickly said, “So I can eat grapes at home?”

Meng Yufei smiled and said, “Yes, when the rack is ready, you’ll be able to sit under it and pick grapes whenever you want.”

After imagining that scene, Xia Qinqin clapped her hands happily and said, “Yay!”

Once Xia Qinqin’s braids were done, Meng Yufei took her daughter outside to the cement area under the eaves of the house. The shells that had been drying there in the morning were now completely dry.

“Let’s make a wind chime,” Meng Yufei suggested.

“Okay, let’s make a wind chime!” Xia Qinqin eagerly replied.

While Xia Qinqin napped, Meng Yufei had borrowed an awl used for shoes from the neighbor. This would be perfect for making small holes in the shells.

“Qinqin, pick out a few shells that you like,” Meng Yufei said.

Xia Qinqin lowered her head, carefully picking out shells. Meng Yufei took the shells she had chosen and used the awl to carefully drill a small hole in the center of each one. Then, she threaded them with string.

She also broke off a few small branches from the tree outside, smoothed them into small wooden sticks, and arranged them into a little cross shape. She then tied the strings with the shells to the wooden frame and tied everything together into a single piece. This way, a simple shell wind chime was completed.

Gently shaking it, the shells clinked together, making a pleasant tinkling sound. Although it didn’t sound as crisp as a wind chime with metal parts, Xia Qinqin was very satisfied.

She happily exclaimed, “Wow, mom, you’re amazing! This wind chime is even prettier than Lily’s!”

Meng Yufei handed the wind chime to her, smiling, “Here, take it and play with it.”

Xia Qinqin took the wind chime and shook it, listening to the sound of the shells. Her eyes were fixed on the shells jumping around on the string, her face full of joy.

After playing for a while, Xia Qinqin said, “Mom, can we make another wind chime? I want to give it to Sister Fangfang.”

Meng Yufei smiled, “Sure, let’s make another one. You can pick out the shells again.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Following the same method as before, they made another wind chime. The mother and daughter took the wind chime and went next door, just in time to return the awl.

Mrs. Zhang pulled Meng Yufei to see her pickled vegetable jars. In the yard, there was a row of black ceramic jars neatly lined up, all filled with the pickled vegetables that Mrs. Zhang had made.

“Sister, look, pick whatever you want. There are string beans, sauerkraut, pickled cucumbers, pickled garlic, pickled chili… How about this, I’ll get you some, and you can decide which one you like, then come back and get more.”

Meng Yufei quickly said, “No need to trouble you. Our family is small and won’t finish it all. Sister, just get me some pickled cucumbers.”

“Alright, I’ll get some for you right now.”

After bringing a bowl of pickled cucumbers back from Mrs. Zhang’s house, Meng Yufei placed it in her own bowl, washed the bowl, and returned it.

Xia Qinqin, holding the wind chime that made a jingling sound, ran around the house. After playing for a while, she ran over to Meng Yufei and said, “Mom, let’s hang up the wind chime.”

Meng Yufei took the wind chime and looked around the house, saying, “Hmm, where should we hang the wind chime?”

Xia Qinqin pointed at the living room window and said, “Mom, let’s hang it on the window.”

Meng Yufei agreed, “Okay, that way we can hear the wind chime when the wind blows.”

She brought over a chair, stood on it, and hung the shell wind chime on the window.

Just after hanging it, they heard voices coming from the yard gate.

“We’ve arrived. Just put it in the yard, please.”

Xia Junshan shouted as he led two people into the yard, pushing a wooden cart with seven or eight wooden posts stacked on it.

Meng Yufei saw the visitors from the window, quickly poured two cups of water, and went to the yard to hand them the water, saying, “Thank you for your hard work.”

These two people were residents from the commune on the island. A few days ago, Xia Junshan had asked the commune’s secretary to buy some wood. The island had plenty of trees, but they all belonged to the public, so they needed permission to cut them down.

Fortunately, the commune’s warehouse still had some leftover wood from building houses, so they didn’t need to cut any down themselves. They just had the wood delivered today.

The two men smiled and took the water. After drinking, they unloaded the wood from the cart, placed it in the yard, and left.

Xia Qinqin curiously ran over to inspect the long pieces of wood, exclaiming, “It’s so long!”

She looked up and asked, “Mom, what is this wood made of?”

Meng Yufei replied, “It’s from a tree.”

Xia Qinqin, puzzled, asked, “Huh? Then why doesn’t it have bark or leaves?”

Meng Yufei explained, “Bark and leaves are like the tree’s clothes. When we want to make a wooden frame, we have to take them off.”

“Oh,” Xia Qinqin nodded, though she didn’t quite understand.

Meng Yufei looked at the wood and said, “This wood doesn’t look like it was just cut down recently.”

Xia Junshan replied, “Right, this wood is from last year’s leftover materials from the commune’s house construction. If we had to cut fresh wood, it would take quite a bit of effort. Anyway, we’re just building a wooden frame, so it doesn’t matter.”

As he spoke, he pulled out a hoe from somewhere and walked over to the west side of the yard, in front of the bedroom window, saying, “How about building it here? That way, once the grape rack is done, you’ll be able to see it from inside the house.”

Meng Yufei nodded, “Okay, do you want to start building it now?”

“Mm, we don’t have anything else to do this afternoon,” Xia Junshan said, then began digging the hole.

Meng Yufei walked over and asked, “Can I help you? What should I do?”

Xia Qinqin also came over and said, “Qinqin wants to help too.”

Xia Junshan laughed and said, “Wait until I finish digging the hole, then you can help me hold the wood.”

Meng Yufei looked around at the messy flowers and plants and said, “I’ll clear the weeds here.”

Xia Junshan reminded her, “The work gloves are on top of the shoe cabinet. Go get them and put them on, don’t hurt your hands.”

“Okay, I got it.”

She came back with three pairs of gloves and put one on Xia Qinqin’s little hands. Xia Qinqin shook her hands with the large gloves and giggled, “Hee hee, my hands are big now.”

Meng Yufei handed a pair of gloves to Xia Junshan, saying, “You should wear these too.”

Xia Junshan waved his hand and said, “No need, I don’t like wearing gloves. When I wear them, my hands slip, and it’s hard to work. It’s fine, I’m used to it.”

Seeing that he didn’t want to wear them, Meng Yufei took the gloves back and reminded him, “Then be careful, don’t hurt your hands.”

Xia Junshan nodded and smiled, “Alright, I know.”

Meng Yufei took Xia Qinqin and started pulling weeds. There were all sorts of wild grass in the yard, but they were easy to pull up. With just a little tug, they came out by the roots.

Wearing gloves, Meng Yufei soon cleared a small patch. Xia Qinqin followed behind, picking the small flowers from the wild grass. Before long, her hands were full of flowers.

Meng Yufei said to her, “Qinqin, you’ve picked so many flowers. Go and put them on the cement floor in the hallway, where we dried the shells this morning, and play with them there.”

“Okay~”

Xia Qinqin ran over, crouched down, and arranged the flowers one by one on the ground.

Xia Junshan finished digging the hole, lifted a piece of wood, and placed it in the hole. Meng Yufei saw this and hurried over to help hold the wood. Xia Junshan, worried, said, “Be careful, this wood is a bit heavy.”

After seeing that Meng Yufei was holding the wood steadily, Xia Junshan felt at ease and grabbed the hoe to refill the hole with the dirt he had dug out.

The two of them worked together, and soon they had set up a few wooden posts. Xia Junshan clapped his hands and said, “Alright, just wait for a couple of days, and I’ll ask the commune about transplanting some grape seedlings.”

After that, he took Meng Yufei to wash their hands. He took off his gloves and noticed that her palms were a bit red. He gently touched them, feeling concerned, and asked, “Does it hurt?”

Meng Yufei lightly patted him and laughed, “It’s not like my skin is broken, it’s just a little red.”

Xia Junshan turned on the faucet to wash her hands, then grabbed the soap and carefully lathered up each of her fingers.

“Dad, Mom, I want to wash my hands too,” Xia Qinqin suddenly ran over, stood in front of them, and raised her hands, calling out.

Meng Yufei pulled her little hand and smiled, “Okay, Mom will wash your hands.”

After the three of them finished washing their hands, they returned to the living room. Meng Yufei poured a glass of warm water for each of them. Xia Junshan sat down on the sofa and pulled Meng Yufei to sit beside him, saying, “Take a rest for a bit.”

Xia Qinqin lay on her dad’s lap, pointing at the wind chime on the window and said, “Dad, look, it’s the shell wind chime Mom made for me. I picked the shells. Isn’t it pretty?”

Xia Junshan looked up just as a gentle breeze blew, making the wind chime sway and produce a sound. The colorful shells sparkled in the sunset light, as if they were at the seaside.

“This wind chime is really beautiful,” Xia Junshan praised.

Xia Qinqin smiled and continued, “I also had Mom make one for Sister Fangfang. She likes it a lot. Fangfang’s second sister, Xiao Mei, said that Mom is beautiful and everything she makes is beautiful too.”

Xia Junshan nodded and said, “Mm, I think so too.”

Xia Qinqin quickly said, “Qinqin thinks so too. Mom is the most beautiful mom in the world.”

After saying that, she turned to Xia Junshan and said, “Dad is the most handsome dad in the world.”

Xia Junshan pinched her little nose and smiled, “Then our Qinqin is the cutest little girl in the world.”

Meng Yufei smiled as she watched the father and daughter compliment each other and said, “It’s time for dinner. This afternoon, Sister-in-law Zhang from next door sent over a bowl of pickled cucumbers. I’ll go to the cafeteria and get two more dishes.”

Xia Junshan said, “Let’s have hand-pulled noodles for dinner. Didn’t we make crab sauce today? That goes perfectly with hand-pulled noodles.”

Meng Yufei waved her hand and said, “I can’t make hand-pulled noodles.”

Xia Junshan said, “I can!”

Meng Yufei was surprised and asked, “You can make hand-pulled noodles?”

Xia Junshan replied, “I’m from the north, I was born knowing how to make noodles.”

Seeing Meng Yufei’s disbelieving look, Xia Junshan stood up from the sofa and said, “Today, you’ll get to try my skills.” He then walked toward the kitchen.

Meng Yufei curiously followed him and saw him take out a bag of flour from under the cabinet. She said, “I was wondering why we had a bag of flour here. I thought I couldn’t make noodles, but it turns out you’re going to make them yourself.”

Xia Qinqin also ran over, saw Xia Junshan take out a bowl, scoop flour into a basin, and add water to make dough. She curiously asked, “What’s Dad doing?”

Meng Yufei replied, “Dad is making dinner.”

“Wow, Dad making dinner looks fun!”

Xia Junshan, while kneading the dough, laughed and said, “Wait and see, it gets even more fun. Kneading dough is just like playing with mud. It’s so much fun.”

Xia Qinqin asked, “What’s playing with mud?”

Xia Junshan paused for a moment, then realized that his little one had grown up by the sea and probably had never seen mud. He glanced at Meng Yufei and said to his daughter, “Later, when Mom’s not home, Dad will take you to play with mud.”

Xia Qinqin looked at her mom curiously and blinked, asking, “Why do we have to wait until Mom’s not home? Can’t we take Mom with us?”

Meng Yufei gently tapped her little head and said, “Because Mom doesn’t let you play with mud.”

Xia Qinqin tilted her head, looked at both her dad and mom, and, holding onto her mom’s leg, smiled and said, “If Mom doesn’t let me play, then I won’t play. I’ll listen to Mom.”

Xia Junshan: “…”

Meng Yufei crouched down and kissed Xia Qinqin’s little cheek, smiling at Xia Junshan, “Don’t think you can hide anything from me. We have my little informant here at home.”

Xia Junshan quickly nodded and laughed, “Got it, I understand. From now on, I’ll follow your instructions and won’t dare to make any secret moves.”

As they spoke, the flour and water had fully mixed to form a dough.

Meng Yufei took a dishcloth and wiped the dining table clean. Xia Junshan carried the basin to the table, sprinkled a thin layer of flour on it, and then poured the dough from the basin onto the table, starting to knead it.

Xia Qinqin climbed onto a chair, curious to touch the dough, but Meng Yufei quickly stopped her, saying, “Qinqin, you can’t touch it with your hands.”

Xia Junshan, seeing his daughter’s longing look, couldn’t bear it and was about to tear off a small piece of dough for her to play with. But when he saw Meng Yufei’s warning look, he stopped the movement of handing her the dough.

“This is food, we can’t just let her play with it.”

Xia Junshan said, “It’s just this small piece. I’ll eat one less tonight.”

Meng Yufei shook her head and said, “No, we’ve only just started getting by in these past two years. Many families can’t even get enough to eat. If people find out we’re giving food to the children to play with, what will they think of us?”

Seeing Xia Qinqin staring at the dough with a disappointed expression, Meng Yufei added, “How about this? Next week, you can take her to play with mud. Didn’t you say it’s just like playing with dough?”

Xia Junshan, having grown up enduring hardship, was very precious about food. In general, he wouldn’t let children play with food. However, after not seeing his daughter for many years, he couldn’t help but want to fulfill her requests.

Hearing Meng Yufei’s words, Xia Junshan smiled and said, “Qinqin, Mom agreed. Next weekend, Dad will take you to play with mud. I’ll even make you a tank car out of mud, it’ll be so much fun.”

When Xia Qinqin heard there was a new game to play, she stopped worrying about the dough and nodded excitedly, “Mm-hmm, okay! Play with mud.”

It must be said, kneading dough was indeed something suitable for people with strength. Xia Junshan quickly kneaded the dough. He took a rolling pin from the kitchen and began rolling out the dough. With his long arms, he effortlessly rolled the dough into a large thin sheet.

He folded the sheet into long strips, then cut them into small thin pieces. When he unfolded it, it was long noodles.

Xia Qinqin clapped her hands excitedly and said, “Wow, the noodles appeared!”

Meng Yufei praised, “These noodles are rolled so well! Did you learn this before?”

Xia Junshan shrugged and said, “No, I just watched others do it before, and remembered it. This is my first time making it.”

In fact, when he was young, he saw it being done at the landlord’s house. Of course, he didn’t get to eat any of the noodles, but the image of making noodles stayed in his childhood memories. He often wondered how delicious those noodles must have been.

Now, he could finally eat hand-pulled noodles made from fine flour.

Meng Yufei smiled and said, “Looks like Qinqin and I are lucky today, getting to eat the noodles you made for the first time.”

Xia Junshan gently said, “If you like it, I can make it for you every day.”

After the noodles were cut, Meng Yufei turned on the coal stove to boil water. Once the water boiled, she added the noodles. Xia Junshan dusted off the flour from his hands and said, “These noodles need to cook a bit longer than the instant noodles.”

Meng Yufei nodded and said, “I understand, go wash your hands.”

After the noodles were cooked, three bowls were served on the table. Meng Yufei added two large spoonfuls of crab sauce to each bowl, which had cooled earlier but now melted from the heat of the noodles, releasing the rich scent of crab. The crab sauce seeped into the gaps between the noodles, coating every strand.

Taking a bite of the crab sauce noodles and a bite of pickled cucumbers, Xia Junshan sighed contentedly, “This is something even the gods wouldn’t exchange for.”

Meng Yufei tasted the noodles and her eyes lit up, “These noodles are so chewy! They’re way better than instant noodles!”

Xia Junshan said, “Of course. How can instant noodles compare to hand-pulled noodles?” He shook his head and added, “Especially the noodles in Haishi, I really can’t get used to them, they have no chewiness at all.”

Meng Yufei nodded in agreement and smiled, “After eating the noodles you made today, I really feel that the noodles we used to eat weren’t as good.”

Xia Junshan picked up some noodles with crab sauce and said, “The crab sauce you made, paired with my noodles… Hmm, what’s the word for it?”

Meng Yufei said, “A perfect match.”

“Right,” Xia Junshan smiled as his eyes curved, “A perfect match, a match made in heaven!”

Xia Qinqin, sitting beside them, nodded as she ate and quickly finished half a bowl of noodles. She raised her bowl high and said, “Dad, I want more noodles.”

Xia Junshan took the bowl and said, “Alright, Dad will serve you some more.”

Meng Yufei reminded him, “Serve a little less, she won’t be able to digest it if she eats too much tonight.”

Xia Junshan said, “It’s okay, after she finishes, I’ll take her out for a walk to help her digest.”

He served half a bowl of noodles with crab sauce to Xia Qinqin, and she quickly finished it.

She smacked her lips, still savoring the taste, and rubbed her little belly, saying, “Qinqin is full now.”

Xia Junshan said, “If you’re full, then you won’t eat anymore. If you want more noodles, Dad will make them for you next time.”

Xia Qinqin nodded, “Okay~”

After washing the dishes, the family of three went out for a walk to help with digestion.

They left the residential area and walked along the small path to the beach, enjoying the cool evening sea breeze as they strolled slowly.

Xia Junshan said, “Qinqin had two bowls of noodles tonight. It looks like she’s just like me, with a noodle-loving stomach, she likes eating noodles.”

Xia Qinqin looked up and smiled, saying, “Yes, Qinqin is just like Dad, likes eating noodles.”

Meng Yufei raised her chin and said, “Qinqin likes candy, just like me, she likes sweets.”

Xia Qinqin turned her head and looked at her mom, smiling, “Yes, Qinqin is just like Mom, likes sweet things.”

Xia Junshan laughed and held Meng Yufei’s hand, “Qinqin is our daughter, so of course, she’s a little like both of us.”

The family of three continued their slow walk along the beach. As they neared a group of people ahead, Xia Junshan, with his sharp eyesight, recognized them and pointed ahead, saying, “That’s Regiment Commander Ma from next door, bringing his two sons to the beach for training.”

Meng Yufei sighed, “It’s not easy for eldest sister-in-law either. When she was young, she and her husband lived apart and were constantly worried. Now, after finally reuniting with her family, her son is going away to the army. She’ll still have to worry and fear in the days to come.”

Xia Junshan stopped walking, his deep eyes looking at Meng Yufei seriously. “Feifei, these years, you’ve worked hard. Because of me, your life has added a lot of unnecessary worries and troubles, hasn’t it?”

Meng Yufei said, “What are you talking about? You’re the one on the front lines, suffering the most. Because of your hard work up front, Qinqin and I are able to live in a peaceful and happy environment. Those small worries are nothing compared to that.”

The sea breeze lifted the loose strands of hair from Meng Yufei’s temples. At this moment, her smiling face, looking at herself, was deeply etched in Xia Junshan’s heart.

The sun slowly sank beneath the sea, and the bright moonlight rose, illuminating the path for their family of three to return home.