The Great Tang's King of Provisions

Chapter 23: Oil-Drizzled Noodles Without Chili Oil

Early the next morning, after washing up, Li Xuanba marked all eight mu of land for automatic corn cultivation. Then, his eyes sparkling, he looked at the harvest of chili peppers in his spatial pocket. Each chili pepper was about the size of a palm, a vibrant emerald green that made one want to take a bite right away. “Crunch!” “Whoa! That’s good! So good!” No sooner had he pulled the emerald-green chili peppers out of the spatial pocket than Li Xuanba, without a second thought for whether they were spicy or not, opened his mouth wide and popped a palm-sized green chili right in. After chewing it a couple of times, he felt a burst of fiery heat explode in his mouth—yet it made Li Xuanba shout in sheer delight! Li Xuanba had always loved eating chili peppers, and now that he was in the Tang Dynasty, he hadn’t had any for several days—which really bothered him! Now, tasting that familiar, fiery-hot flavor again, he felt completely refreshed! “Xuanba, what tasty treat have you been sneaking a bite of again? Can you let Shuangshuang have a taste?” Just as Li Xuanba was exclaiming how wonderful it was, Du Shuangshuang’s clear voice rang in his ear, tinged with a hint of playfulness. Li Xuanba turned to look behind him and saw three beautiful young women standing there. One was Mei Hanxue, dressed in purple, smiling radiantly at him. The other two were Du Xingxuan and Du Shuangshuang, both a head shorter than Mei Hanxue. They wore snow-white robes, which set off their adorable features, making them look like little fairies straight out of a painting. Seeing the three girls, Li Xuanba’s already cheerful mood grew even brighter. With a mischievous grin, he pulled out a small, emerald-green chili pepper and handed it to Li Shuangshuang. “This is my favorite food, little sister Shuangshuang. Give it a try.” “Oh!” Du Shuangshuang, suspecting nothing, accepted the emerald-green chili with a smile, opened her mouth slightly, and bit straight into the tip of the chili. “Don’t eat it!” “Crunch!” Mei Hanxue and Du Xingxuan both noticed the mischievous grin on Li Xuanba’s face. They opened their mouths in unison to stop Du Shuangshuang, but she was too quick—she had already bitten off the tip of the green chili. “Whoa! That’s so spicy! My mouth is on fire! Brother Xuanba, you tricked me!” The moment the green pepper touched her tongue, Du Shuangshuang froze for a split second. Then, opening her mouth slightly, she spat the green pepper right back out. Her entire face instantly turned bright red, and her eyes welled up with tiny, sparkling tears from the heat. “Cough, cough… My bad, my bad!” Seeing that his attempt to tease Du Shuangshuang had earned him reproachful glances from Mei Hanxue and the other girl, Li Xuanba awkwardly rubbed his nose. He quickly pulled out a bright red tomato and handed it to Du Shuangshuang, who was still puffing out clouds of breath. “Shuangshuang, this is a tomato. Eat this—it’s sweet and sour, not spicy at all!” “Sniff, sniff! Is it really not spicy?” Holding the tomato, Du Shuangshuang didn’t dare eat it right away. She wiped the tears streaming down the corners of her eyes and eyed Li Xuanba suspiciously. Having been tricked once, she wasn’t about to trust him right away. Li Xuanba helped Du Shuangshuang wipe away the tears that kept streaming down her face. He tapped her wrinkled nose and looked earnestly into her eyes. “Don’t worry! Big brother wouldn’t lie to you for no reason.” “Ahem, a little lie now and then—it’s just a joke, right?” Glancing at the reproachful looks from Mei Hanxue and Du Xingxuan, Li Xuanba added another thought in his heart—one he didn’t dare voice aloud. “Slurp!” Seeing the earnest look in Li Xuanba’s eyes, Du Shuangshuang held the tomato with a mix of skepticism and trust. She took a tiny bite—really, just a tiny one, about the size of her fingertip. “Wow! It’s sweet and sour—it really is delicious.” After taking a bite of the tomato, Du Shuangshuang’s wrinkled nose and puckered lips immediately smoothed out, and she beamed like a fresh little flower, looking absolutely delighted. “If you like it, eat some more. Don’t rush—I’ve got plenty more here, and you don’t need to save any for Sister Hanxue or Sister Xingxuan.” Seeing that Du Shuangshuang was about to break the tomato in half to give to Mei Hanxue and Du Xingxuan, Li Xuanba quickly reached out to stop her. With a flick of his wrist, he produced two more bright red tomatoes and handed them to Mei Hanxue and Du Xingxuan, who were looking on enviously. “Mmm! Not bad! Delicious!” “So delicious!” Prompted by Du Shuangshuang’s earlier gesture of sharing, the two girls haphazardly wiped the tomatoes—which were already perfectly clean—and, with their cherry-red lips parted, began taking small bites of the tomatoes in their hands, all while Li Xuanba let his imagination run wild. While the three women ate the tomatoes for breakfast, Li Xuanba busied himself over there, preparing breakfast for himself as well. It was the same twenty jin of flour, and the same kneading process. However, this time, Li Xuanba didn’t make white steamed buns or braised pork; instead, he set about making noodles. After dividing the twenty jin of dough into smaller portions, Li Xuanba took his hardwood rolling pin and gave each piece just one roll on the pastry board—and instantly, the entire small dough ball transformed into a thin, large round flatbread. “Swish, swish, swish!” Amid the cold glint of his kitchen knife, it took Li Xuanba just ten seconds to slice the large round sheet into strips of noodles as wide as a finger. After dropping the cut noodles into the boiling water, Li Xuanba continued rolling out the remaining dough. As for the noodles, Mei Hanxue and the other two girls—who had come over to watch after finishing their tomatoes—helped out; this was a simple task they could easily handle. Once the last ball of dough had been turned into noodles and dropped into the boiling water, Li Xuanba took out a few wild greens, garlic, and scallions, along with the tomatoes from his spatial pocket. After chopping and mincing them one by one, he placed them in separate small bowls, then took out the chili peppers that hadn’t turned red. These green chili peppers weren’t suitable for making chili oil, but Li Xuanba didn’t mind much—he was perfectly content as long as they had a spicy kick! As for the chili oil, he’d worry about that once the truly ripe chili peppers had been sun-dried! With all the ingredients prepared, and under the curious gazes of the three women, Li Xuanba scooped a large spoonful of the soybean oil he’d pressed himself and poured it into the heated cast-iron wok. Once the oil was hot, Li Xuanba scooped out one sea bowl plus three large bowls of noodles. He then arranged the chopped wild greens, finely chopped green chili peppers, minced garlic, and vinegar on top of the tender white noodles, adding half a sliced tomato to each serving. This bowl of unprocessed noodles, with its interplay of white, green, and red, looked incredibly tempting—enough to make anyone’s mouth water. Watching the faint white smoke rise from the soybean oil, Li Xuanba lifted the large pot and slowly poured the hot oil over the green peppers and minced garlic. “Sizzle! Four consecutive sizzles of hot oil rang out, and wisps of white smoke rose from the four bowls of noodles, filling the entire kitchen with a unique aroma—spicy, fragrant, sour, sweet, and the distinctive, clean scent of soybean oil. “Gulp!” Even though she’d already eaten two tomatoes, the rich aroma wafting through the air made Du Shuangshuang’s stomach growl again. She gazed longingly at the tender, white noodles in the large bowl. “Xuanba, are the noodles ready yet?” “Haha! Just a little longer!” Li Xuanba used his chopsticks to stir each bowl one by one, mixing the ingredients thoroughly so that every strand of noodle was coated with the cooled hot oil and tangy vinegar. Only then did he serve Du Shuangshuang a large bowl of noodles. “All set! You can eat now.” “Ding! Host has crafted 1 portion of Level 2 ‘Oil-Drizzled Noodles’ and earned 1 experience point.” No sooner had he finished making the noodles than the system notification sounded again, causing Li Xuanba to shake his head in exasperation. It seemed he wouldn’t be able to farm experience points anymore. “Mm-hmm! Thanks, Brother Xuanba!” As Li Xuanba stood there speechless, Du Shuangshuang took the noodles he handed her, thanked him with a beaming smile, picked up a strand, opened her mouth slightly, bit down with her pearly teeth, and sucked it in with a firm pull—a strand of noodles glistening with soybean oil slid into her mouth. “Wow! So spicy! So delicious!” Fearing the chili might be too spicy for Du Shuangshuang, Li Xuanba had deliberately used very little chili, so that the noodles—with just a hint of heat—were barely noticeable. As soon as they touched her tongue, the greedy little girl’s eyes lit up instantly, and she began eating the noodles from her large bowl, one small bite at a time. Watching Du Shuangshuang savor the delicious meal, Mei Hanxue took the oil-drizzled noodles Li Xuanba handed her, tried a strand herself, and her eyes lit up as well. She nodded in admiration and exclaimed, “Mmm! It really is delicious. The chili has a unique flavor, but it’s very appetizing! Young Master Li, you truly have a knack for cooking!” Du Xingxuan tasted a strand of noodles and cast a sidelong glance at Li Xuanba, who had begun to wolf down his meal. “Li Xuanba, I didn’t expect you to be so skilled at making roujiamo—it seems you’re quite the noodle-maker as well?” Unlike Mei Hanxue and Du Shuangshuang, Du Xingxuan had always called Li Xuanba by his given name—neither “Young Master Li” nor “Brother Xuanba.” It was unclear what she was really thinking.