Blanket Noodles

The silver ingot fell into Madam Zheng's hands. She lowered her head to look and nearly threw it away:

"D-Dalang! Th-this... where did you get this silver?"

"Mother, listen to me."

Shen Xiuhan explained gently:

"Your son had good luck today. I caught a Silver-backed Fish and sold it to the Mei Martial Hall in the inner city. The hall master saw that I had decent bones and aptitude. Not only did she buy the fish for twenty taels of silver, she also accepted me into the outer courtyard of the martial hall!"

His gaze burned as he enunciated every word:

"Mother, starting tomorrow, I'll be able to cultivate martial arts!"

Silver-backed Fish...

Sold for twenty taels...

Learn martial arts?!

Madam Zheng understood every sentence.

Yet strung together, they sounded so unreal.

"M-Martial arts? An outer-courtyard disciple?!"

"That's right, Mother. From now on, I'll be able to learn martial arts just like Chen An!"

Madam Zheng stood there dumbfounded.

She looked at Shen Xiuhan, then at the three ingots of silver in her hands. Her voice trembled:

"Really?"

"Really!"

After a moment, Madam Zheng suddenly hugged the silver tightly to her chest. Two streams of muddy tears burst from her eyes, and she fell to her knees with a thud. Facing Cloudwater Lake, she cried out with heart-rending anguish:

"Your father!"

"Open your eyes and look! Dalang is becoming more capable by the day!"

"If your spirit is watching from heaven, you can close your eyes and rest easy now..."

Her sobs echoed through the kitchen.

Shen Momo wrapped her little arms around Shen Xiuhan's neck and unconsciously tightened her grip. She asked in a small voice:

"Bro-bro, why is Mother crying..."

"Because she's very tired."

"Bro-bro, why do I want to cry too..."

"Uh..."

Shen Xiuhan turned his head and saw tears hanging in the little girl's big eyes. She looked so pitiful that the tiny pearls seemed ready to fall at any moment.

Shen Xiuhan hurriedly said:

"Because you're hungry. Come on, look what I brought Momo to eat."

He carried her over to the fish basket, grabbed several dried fruits, and stuffed them into her hands. The little girl was young and forgetful, so her attention was immediately diverted:

"Wow, it's bro-bro!"

"...They're called fruits."

"Bro-bro!"

"Fruits..."

"Bro-bro!"

"Bro-bro? No, it's fru... Ah, forget it. Call them whatever you like."

Shen Xiuhan set Shen Momo down, patted her little head, and returned to the kitchen.

Madam Zheng had already calmed down somewhat. When she saw Shen Xiuhan enter, worry faintly clouded her expression:

"Dalang, you said just now... that fish you caught was called a Silver-backed Fish? Was it the same kind your father caught back then?"

"That's right."

"Oh no!"

Madam Zheng did not even have time to wipe away her tears before her expression turned fearful:

"Dalang, our family are tenants of the White Family. By custom, the fish we catch has to be handed over to the White Family as well."

"When your father caught that Silver-backed Fish, quite a few martial halls in the county, along with various experts, came asking about it. In the end, a White Family steward forcibly took it away..."

Shen Xiuhan's heart tightened. After pondering for a moment, he said in a deep voice:

"Mother, put your mind at ease. I sold this fish to my master. She naturally won't publicize it. As long as we keep quiet, how would anyone else find out?"

"This..."

The worry had not left Madam Zheng's face, but seeing her son's firm expression, she could only nod lightly.

"Mother, we've finally endured our way out of those bitter days. Don't let your thoughts run wild anymore."

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 back to the room and rest. I'll personally cook and prepare a proper feast."

As a chef, Shen Xiuhan had truly mistreated his own five viscera these past days.

At first, while bedridden, he had eaten bean gruel or millet-bran porridge.

Millet bran was the husk stripped from rice, wheat, assorted grains, and beans. It was coarse, scraped at the throat, and difficult to swallow.

In his previous life, such stuff would have been fodder for livestock.

Later, seeing that his illness lingered, Madam Zheng had clenched her teeth and bought some millet. She boiled it into porridge to nurse him back to health, but even then, she had reserved it solely for him.

Madam Zheng and Shen Momo survived each day on nothing but a bowl of coarse-bran porridge.

By the day he awoke, the mother and daughter had already run out of food. Hunger had left them gaunt and sallow.

Now that they had obtained so many ingredients and bought a pound of sorghum flour at the East Market, they naturally had to give the mother and daughter a proper treat.

Shen Xiuhan cut off a small piece of smoked pork belly and soaked it in warm water.

Then he took out the dried mountain delicacies.

He did not know what sort of exotic beast the Golden-Tailed Rat was, but it seemed quite spiritual, and its eye for quality was remarkably sharp.

Everything it had stored was a fresh, delicious, and nonpoisonous mountain delicacy.

At a glance, he saw dried termite mushrooms, porcini, matsutake, chicken-fat mushrooms, and other varieties of dried fungi, along with plenty of dried bamboo shoots and black fungus.

He picked a little of each and soaked them in water as well.

When enough time had passed, he sliced the smoked pork belly thinly and cut the dried bamboo shoots into fine strips.

He tore the soaked mushrooms into strips along their grain with his hands, placed them together with the black fungus, and set them aside for the soup base.

Next, he mixed flour with saltwater, kneaded it until elastic, pinched it into portions, then skillfully stretched each portion into a broad sheet of noodles.

Shen Xiuhan knew how to pull thin noodles too, but he preferred the chewy texture of broad noodles.

"Sizzle..."

Firelight flickered inside the stove.

When the smoked meat slices hit the pot, the fierce heat seared them at once. Fat poured out, releasing a tempting, meaty fragrance.

He splashed a ladleful of water along the side of the pot. The clear broth boiled and blended with the grease, gradually turning milky white.

Shen Xiuhan dumped the dried bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and black fungus into the pot all at once.

Under the roaring heat, they soon transformed into a pot of rich soup whose fresh aroma filled the air.

Finally, he slid the prepared broad noodle sheets one by one into the boiling broth.

Once the water boiled and the noodles floated, he lifted them out and portioned them into bowls.

The noodles were broad and large, resembling a brocade quilt spread across a bed. They were called "Blanket Noodles," one of the noodle dishes he was best at making.

Three bowls of Blanket Noodles were placed on the heated brick-bed table.

Madam Zheng and Shen Momo flared their nostrils and lowered their heads to look at them in unison.

The noodles had been stretched broad and thin. The smoked meat, dried bamboo shoots, and mushrooms intertwined in the soup, releasing an irresistible savory fragrance that made both of them swallow at the same time.

"Dalang, what kind of noodles are these?"

"Blanket Noodles."

"Eh? Bro-bro can make noodle-noodles for Momo to eat..."

"If you like them, I'll make them for you often."

As they spoke, Madam Zheng had already picked up a broad noodle that had soaked up the broth.

With the first bite came the salty savor of smoked meat and dried bamboo shoots, followed by the distinctive wild fragrance of mushrooms blooming between her teeth.

After chewing several times, she finally felt the noodles' perfectly balanced softness and firmness, their smooth yet springy texture.

After that single bite, Madam Zheng fell silent.

She stared blankly at the bowl and began to wonder how she had managed to cook for thirty-three years.

The little girl was young, and her hands were small. Using chopsticks was difficult, and she was afraid of being burned.

After blowing on it for a long while, she cautiously took a bite.

With that one bite, her dark, sparkling eyes suddenly opened wide.

She tilted her head, seemingly unable to believe it.

After trying another bite, her eyes widened even further.

"Bro-bro!!"

"The noodle-noodles are so yummy! Momo wants noodle-noodles every day from now on!"

"They really are delicious..." Madam Zheng came back to herself and sighed. "I'm afraid even the restaurants and taverns in the inner city couldn't make noodles like these."

"Bro-bro, let's open a restaurant too!"

The little girl waved her chopsticks, her eyes glittering. "Then Mother won't have to work so hard washing clothes for other people!"

"Hmm... That's not a bad idea."

One pot of Blanket Noodles made the family of three in the thatched hut as lively and delighted as though it were New Year.

If there was anything unhappy about it...

There was, too.

In the dead forest.

A plump rat covered in golden markings, its tail entirely golden yellow, dug half its body out of the earth and climbed up the withered tree trunk along a familiar route.

But when it poked its head toward the tree hollow, the entire rat froze.

Only two or three stray strands of dry grass remained to cover the entrance.

Inside, not even a scrap remained of the provisions it had painstakingly saved over the whole autumn.

The little rat instinctively clawed at the withered tree trunk with both front paws.

Click, click, click...

Empty. It really was empty!

Its food had been stolen!

"Ah!!!!!"

The next moment, a shrill, utterly agonized squeal suddenly exploded from the depths of the dead forest.