Chapter 188: Chapter 188: The Young Lady’s Good Fortune

In Yi Meng’s view, the fish balls made this way aren’t particularly delicious. However, during this season of scarcity, something fresh like this can provide a unique stimulation to one’s taste buds.

Therefore, the lady who was pulled by Qi Manman to sit down and order a bowl of fish ball noodles was very pleased after tasting it.

“The soup is fresh too, not fishy.”

Fish soup generally has a fishy taste, but the fish soup made by Yi Meng not only lacks that quality, but also carries the savory flavor of fresh fish.

The responsibility of rolling out the noodles fell to Qi Dafu.

As the eldest son at home, Qi Dafu has always been the biggest since childhood, helping his parents to take care of his younger brothers.

The men of the Qi Family are strong, and combined with their experience of taking care of younger siblings and helping cook from a young age, his skills at the noodle board are the best among the six brothers.

The noodles rolled out are chewy, though they are cut noodles, their thickness is just right, without any irregularity.

On the noodles were four fish balls, two small green vegetables, making it look particularly appetizing.

Yi Meng came over, picked up Qi Manman, and said with a smile, “Eat while it’s hot, it warms up your body. You’ll have more energy for shopping later.”

“That’s true.”

The woman responded with a smile, picked up a few strands of noodles, and slurped them into her mouth.

Qi Manman leaned against her mother’s embrace, watching the woman eat noodles, couldn’t help but swallow her saliva.

Seeing the pitiful look made Yi Meng burst into laughter, turning to Qi Dafu, “Brother, roll out some noodles for a few bowls for the kids!”

Aside from Qi Manman, the other boys responsible for calling out were all watching the woman eat noodles, each one’s swallowing action more pronounced than the last.

This is because the children of the Qi Family are well mannered. If they were kids from other families, they’d likely be shouting by now.

Qi Dafu laughed heartily and quickly continued rolling noodles.

Today, Wang Daya was in charge of cooking the noodles, while Qu Laodi and Ai Zhaodi stayed at home to take care of the family’s green vegetables.

The income from the green vegetables is still the main source of the family’s income, so everyone didn’t feel at ease. After some discussion, each person would come out to cook noodles for a day, and Mu Yunniang followed Yi Meng to make fish balls, leaving the two sisters-in-law to stay home to look after the green vegetables.

The portion of noodles cooked for the children wasn’t big, but the bowls were large.

As there was no wind today, they simply let the little ones squat around the round stools, with a bowl of noodles on the stool.

Behind them was the stove, keeping them warm, so there’s no fear while eating this way.

“You guys should drink the soup first, warm up your tummies and then eat the noodles. Don’t eat the ones that fall, got it?”

Yi Meng and Mrs. Qi were responsible for looking out for the children, yet they didn’t forget to remind them.

The children collectively responded, grabbing their chopsticks and feeding themselves.

The children’s hands were small, unable to handle adult chopsticks well, so Yi Meng especially went home to fetch the chopsticks they usually use. Although the bowls were large, they didn’t hinder them from slurping the noodles.

Children eating with gusto, squatting in a row slurping noodles, was exceptionally eye-catching.

“Oh dear, these little ones sure eat with relish!”

All the grannies and women passing by laughed when they saw.

Qi Manman’s chopsticks had a fish ball skewered on them. She had just taken a bite when she heard someone complimenting them. Immediately, she swallowed the fish ball in her mouth and showed off a row of small white teeth: “It’s really good! If you don’t believe it, come and try.”

“Hahaha, the little girl sure knows how to talk!”

Onlookers were amused.

The air was filled with the salty aroma of fish soup, along with the steaming vapor, making it particularly eye-catching on this winter morning.

Someone, attracted by the aroma and watching the children eat heartily, curiously asked.

Upon learning that a bowl of noodles was twelve wen, someone immediately called out to order a bowl.

The townspeople didn’t mind much, but those coming into town had set out early in the morning, and not only hadn’t eaten breakfast, they hadn’t even had a hot drink.

Each of them was freezing cold, the aroma at this moment stirring up the cravings in their stomachs.

Meanwhile, Qi Manman was sharing the delicious experience with Qi Shilang on the side.

“Brother Shi, are the meat balls good?”

“Good!”

Qi Shilang’s pronunciation was influenced by Qi Manman’s again.

Qi Manman nodded twice: “I also think it’s good! And this soup, it’s so warm, just like lying on the bed, right?”

“Right!”

Qi Shilang nodded firmly, then slurped again, sending another noodle into his mouth.

The other boys also kept saying the food was delicious, especially when eating the fish balls, they were just like Bajie gobbling up Ginsengfruit.

Someone voluntarily bought a bowl, and soon there were others following suit.

By the time the kids finished eating, the small alley’s table already had five or six people sitting around it.

“If you’re full, head home! Come out again after your food digests.”

Yi Meng was afraid the kids would shout and catch a chill, so she discussed with Mrs. Qi: “Mom, can you take them home first? Would that be alright?”

“Alright!”

Mrs. Qi had wanted to take her precious granddaughter home for quite some time.

Though there wasn’t a wind, it was still quite cold!

Qi Manman wiped her mouth with the handkerchief her grandmother had prepared, then said, “Mom, Manbao will come to accompany you later!”

“Okay, Manbao is really good!”

Yi Meng tidied up her daughter’s collar, also tidying up the clothes of the other boys, before watching Mrs. Qi lead the children away.

Mu Yunniang’s work wasn’t heavy, having prepared a dozen balls beforehand to be cooking in the pot.

Now if someone ordered noodles, she’d put new ones into the pot.

Thus, the balls guests ate were freshly cooked, while the previous dozen floated in the pot, looking appealing and adding aroma.

Once guests finished eating, Yi Meng went up to clean up the dishes.

When Qi Quanjin came over to deliver firewood, he saw his wife reaching into the bucket to wash the dishes, and hurriedly rushed forward: “Wife, don’t touch, I’ll do it!”

The sudden shout startled Yi Meng, also caused the noodle-eating guests to flinch.

Yi Meng was a bit annoyed yet amused, chiding: “What are you yelling for, scaring the guests!”

After chiding Qi Quanjin, she apologized to the noodle-eating guests.

No one really choked, and everyone laughed it off, passing over the incident.

Qi Quanjin wasn’t upset being scolded by his wife; he laughed cheerfully and started washing the dishes after putting down the firewood.

Under the noodle board, two clay pots on a charcoal brazier were boiling hot water specifically for washing dishes.

But the weather’s cold, and the hot water cooled soon after being poured out.

He didn’t care if others were cold, but his wife couldn’t be left in such cold weather washing with cold water outside.

Seeing the big man squatting by the wall scrubbing dishes, some elderly women among the dining guests couldn’t help but laugh: “Young lady, that’s your husband, right? He really dotes on his wife! Such good fortune, good fortune!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep