With the silver ingots in hand, Madam Zheng looked down and almost threw them away in shock.
“D-Dalang! This... where did you get this silver?”
“Mother, listen to me.”
Shen Xiuhan explained in a gentle voice.
“I had good luck today and caught a Silverback Fish. I sold it to the Mei Family Martial Arts Hall in the Inner City. The hall master saw that I had decent potential, so she not only bought the fish for twenty taels of silver but also accepted me into the martial arts hall's outer courtyard!”
His eyes shone brightly as he spoke slowly and clearly, emphasizing every word:
“Mother, starting tomorrow, I can practice the martial path!”
A Silverback Fish...
Sold for twenty taels...
Learning martial arts?!
Madam Zheng understood every single word.
But when put together, it all sounded incredibly surreal.
“M-Martial arts? An outer courtyard disciple?!”
“Exactly, Mother. From now on, I can practice martial arts just like Chen An!”
Madam Zheng stood there, dumbfounded.
She looked at Shen Xiuhan, then at the three silver ingots in her hands, her voice trembling:
“Is this real?”
“It's real!”
A moment later, Madam Zheng suddenly clutched the silver tightly to her chest. Two streams of tears burst from her eyes as she fell to her knees with a thud, crying out toward Cloudwater Lake with heartbreaking grief and joy:
“My dear husband!”
“Open your eyes and look! Our Dalang is becoming more and more successful by the day!”
“If your spirit is watching over us from heaven, you can finally rest in peace...”
Her cries echoed in the kitchen.
Shen Momo wrapped her tiny arms around Shen Xiuhan's neck, tightening her grip instinctively, and asked in a quiet voice:
“Big bwother, why is Mommy crying...”
“Because she's very tired.”
“Big bwother, why do I want to cry too...”
“Uh...”
Shen Xiuhan turned his head to look. The little girl's large eyes were pooled with tears, looking incredibly pitiful as the little pearls threatened to spill over.
Shen Xiuhan quickly said:
“It's because you're hungry. Come, look at what tasty treats I brought back for you.”
Carrying her over to the fish basket, he grabbed a few dried fruits and stuffed them into her hands. The little girl was too young to worry for long, and her attention was instantly diverted:
“Wow, bwother!”
“...These are berries.”
“Bwother!”
“Berries...”
“Bwother!”
“Bwother... No, they're ber— Sigh, forget it, call them whatever you want.”
Shen Xiuhan set Shen Momo down, patted her little head, and went back into the kitchen.
Madam Zheng had calmed her emotions. Seeing Shen Xiuhan walk in, a trace of worry crept onto her face:
“Dalang, you said just now... that the fish you caught is called a Silverback Fish? Is it the same kind your father caught back then?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Oh no, this is bad!”
Madam Zheng did not even bother to wipe her tears as a sudden look of panic came over her face:
“Dalang, our family are tenant farmers of the Bai family. By law, any fish we catch must be handed over to them.”
“When your father caught that Silverback Fish back then, many martial arts halls and powerful figures in the county came to inquire about it. But in the end, the Bai family's steward took it away by force...”
Shen Xiuhan felt a slight chill in his heart. After pondering for a moment, he said in a low, reassuring voice:
“Please don't worry, Mother. I sold the fish to my master, and she won't go around boasting about it. As long as we keep our mouths shut, how would anyone else find out?”
“Well...”
The worry on Madam Zheng's face did not entirely fade, but seeing her son's confident expression, she could only nod gently.
“Mother, our hard days are finally behind us. Don't overthink things.”
Shen Xiuhan helped his mother to her feet and rolled up his sleeves with a smile:
“Today is a day of great celebration for our family. Take Momo to the room to rest. I'll cook and prepare a wonderful feast myself.”
...
As a chef in his past life, Shen Xiuhan had truly neglected his own stomach these past few days.
When he was first bedridden, he ate bean gruel or chaff porridge.
Chaff was the discarded husks of rice, wheat, and beans. It was rough, scratched the throat, and was incredibly difficult to swallow.
In his previous life, such things were used as fodder for livestock.
Later, seeing that he was not recovering from his long illness, Madam Zheng had gritted her teeth and bought some millet to make porridge to nurse him back to health, but she saved it all for him alone.
Madam Zheng and Shen Momo had survived on nothing but a single bowl of rough chaff porridge each day just to keep themselves alive.
By the day he woke up, the two of them had completely run out of food, starving until they were sallow and emaciated.
Now that he had acquired so many ingredients today, and had even bought a catty of sorghum flour from the East Market, he naturally had to give them a proper treat.
Shen Xiuhan sliced off a small piece of smoked pork belly and placed it in warm water to soak.
Then, he took out the dried mountain delicacies.
He did not know what kind of exotic beast the Gold-Tailed Rat was, but it was clearly highly intelligent and possessed an incredibly sharp eye.
Every item in its stash was a delicious, non-toxic, high-quality mountain product.
Scanning the selection, there were various dried mushrooms like termitomyces, porcini, matsutake, and chanterelles, along with plenty of dried bamboo shoots and black wood ear mushrooms.
He selected a bit of each and set them to soak in water as well.
Once enough time had passed, he sliced the smoked pork belly into thin strips and cut the dried bamboo shoots into fine shreds.
He tore the rehydrated mushrooms into strips along their natural grain and set them aside with the wood ear mushrooms to use for the soup base.
Next, he mixed the flour with salted water, kneading it until it was smooth and elastic. He pinched the dough into small portions and skillfully pulled them into wide, flat sheets of noodles.
Although Shen Xiuhan knew how to make pulled noodles, he preferred the chewy texture of wide noodles.
Sizzle...
The firelight flickered inside the stove.
The smoked pork belly went into the wok. Under the intense heat, the fat rendered instantly, releasing an incredibly tempting savory aroma.
He poured a ladle of water along the edge of the wok. The water bubbled and merged with the rendered fat, gradually turning a milky white.
Shen Xiuhan tossed the dried bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and black wood ear mushrooms into the wok all at once.
Boiling over high heat, it quickly transformed into a rich, aromatic broth.
Finally, he slid the hand-pulled wide noodles one by one into the boiling broth.
Once the water boiled again and the noodles floated to the top, he scooped them into bowls.
The noodles were wide and flat, resembling the silk blankets on a bed. This dish was known as “Blanket Noodles,” and it was one of his best culinary specialties.
Three bowls of Blanket Noodles were placed on the kang table.
Madam Zheng and Shen Momo's noses twitched as they simultaneously looked down at the table.
The noodles were pulled wide and thin. The combination of smoked pork, dried bamboo shoots, and mushrooms in the broth released an enticing aroma, causing both of them to swallow their saliva at the same time.
“Dalang, what kind of noodles are these?”
“Blanket Noodles.”
“Ooh! Big bwother made noodles for Momo...”
“If you like them, I'll make them for you often from now on.”
As they spoke, Madam Zheng picked up a piece of the wide noodle that had fully absorbed the rich broth.
Taking a bite, she was first hit by the savory flavor of the smoked pork and bamboo shoots, followed by the unique, earthy fragrance of the wild mushrooms blooming between her teeth.
After chewing a few times, she felt the smooth, chewy, and perfectly cooked texture of the wide noodle.
With just this single bite, Madam Zheng fell silent.
She stared blankly at her bowl, beginning to seriously question how she had been cooking for thirty-three years.
The little girl was young and her hands were small, making it difficult for her to use chopsticks, and she was also afraid of the heat.
After blowing on it for a long while, she finally took a cautious bite.
With that single bite, her large, dark eyes instantly went wide.
She tilted her head, looking utterly incredulous.
Taking another bite, her eyes widened even further.
“Big bwother!!”
“The noodles are so yummy! Momo wants to eat these noodles every day!”
“They really are delicious...” Madam Zheng snapped out of her daze and sighed softly. “I doubt even the restaurants and taverns in the Inner City could make noodles this good.”
“Big bwother, let's open a restaurant too!”
The little girl waved her chopsticks, her eyes shining brightly. “That way, Mommy won't have to work so hard doing laundry for other people!”
“Hmm... That's actually a pretty good idea.”
A single pot of Blanket Noodles made the three of them in the thatched hut feel as joyful and festive as if they were celebrating the New Year.
If there was anyone who wasn't happy... Well, there actually was.
In the withered forest.
A plump rat with golden patterns running across its body and a completely golden tail dug its way halfway out of the soil. Familiar with the route, it scurried up the withered tree trunk.
But when it poked its head in to look at the tree hollow, the entire rat froze.
Only two or three messy, drooping strands of dried grass remained of what used to cover the entrance.
Inside, the winter rations it had painstakingly hoarded all autumn were gone—not even a crumb was left.
The little rat instinctively clawed at the withered trunk with its front paws.
Scratch, scratch, scratch...
It was empty. It was truly empty!
Its rations had been stolen!
“Ahhhhh!!!”
In the next moment, an incredibly shrill, agonizing squeak erupted from the depths of the withered forest.
Rate on N.U.
