Chapter 874 - 605: Happy Birthday!

Chapter 874: Chapter 605: Happy Birthday!

"Bzzz bzzz bzzz~"

The phone under the pillow suddenly vibrated, gently waking Huang Jun, who was immersed in a dream of playing chess with the God of Sleep.

He slowly opened his eyes, still a little drowsy, and, out of habit, reached under the pillow; his warm palm closed around the phone.

The screen lit up, a soft glow brushing lightly across his face and illuminating his hazy, sleepy eyes.

His gaze focused on the screen, where the 6 a.m. alarm reminder came into view.

"Hoo~"

Huang Jun gently let out a long breath, slid his finger lightly across the screen, and the alarm stopped abruptly, plunging the room back into silence.

He slowly lifted the quilt and sat up in bed, beginning to get dressed.

Today was a special day—Qingqing and Weiwei’s birthday—so even though it was Saturday, he got up early without the slightest hint of laziness.

To give these two little angels a surprise, he had decided to personally prepare a special breakfast for them—longevity noodles.

Speaking of longevity noodles, there is an ancient legend behind them.

It is said that on Emperor Wu of Han’s birthday, the imperial chef came up with something novel and prepared a tableful of noodles as the main dish for the birthday banquet.

When Emperor Wu of Han first saw it, he was quite displeased, thinking that as the emperor, he should not be served such simple food.

However, the strategist Dongfang Shuo at his side cleverly explained that the noodles were thin and long, symbolizing longevity, just like the face of the ancient long-lived Peng Zu.

He went on to point out that this bowl of noodles implied that the chef wished for Emperor Wu of Han to live even longer than Peng Zu.

After hearing this, Emperor Wu of Han turned anger into joy and rewarded the chef.

From then on, the custom of longevity noodles spread.

In real life, eating noodles at a birthday banquet is also an important custom in northern regions.

For girls from the Central Plains, making noodles is a life skill they must master.

And in the countryside, eating a bowl of longevity noodles is the traditional way to celebrate a birthday.

Noodles came to symbolize birthdays in Huaxia on the one hand because their shape is long and thin, echoing the idea of "long life"; on the other hand, the custom of longevity noodles also carries people’s beautiful wish for health and longevity.

At rural birthday gatherings, there is also a special ritual: all the villagers together select the longest strand of noodle and place it in the birthday person’s bowl, symbolizing the whole village’s blessings.

Today, Huang Jun also wanted to use this custom to send his most sincere blessings to his two little treasures, hoping they would be safe and long-lived.

Once he was dressed, Huang Jun left the master bedroom and tiptoed to the door of Qingqing and Weiwei’s room. He gently pushed the door open and quietly poked his head in.

The two little ones were sleeping soundly, their breathing steady, sweet smiles still lingering on their faces, as if they were in the middle of a lovely dream.

Seeing that they hadn’t kicked off their covers, the big stone in Huang Jun’s heart finally dropped.

He softly closed the door, turned, and went into the bathroom for a refreshing wash.

After washing up, he walked into the kitchen, tied on a clean white apron, and prepared to start making two bowls of longevity noodles filled with good meaning.

He took a bag of good flour from the kitchen cabinet and poured it into a bright, shiny basin.

Then he sprinkled a little salt into the basin and slowly added water, stirring with chopsticks as he poured, until the flour and water blended perfectly, gradually forming a flocculent mass.

After that, he began to knead the dough.

Both hands kept pressing, rolling, kneading, extraordinarily nimble...

Before long...

Under his skillful hands, the dough gradually became smooth and delicate, full of elasticity, like a piece of warm jade, giving off an enticing sheen.

He picked up an oil brush, lightly dipped an appropriate amount of oil, and carefully brushed a thin film of oil evenly over the surface of the dough, making sure every inch was coated with gloss.

Once everything was ready, he covered the mouth of the basin with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for ten minutes.

When the time was up, he lifted off the plastic wrap, took the dough out, and gently placed it on a clean, tidy, large workboard.

He divided the dough into two portions and once again patiently kneaded each one in turn, gradually stretching the dough until they became both soft and highly extensible...

He took a clean basin and placed it side by side with the previous one.

He brushed a thin, even layer of oil on the bottom of both basins.

He coiled the lengthened dough into each of the two basins, loop after loop, like two winding dragons.

After all the coiling was neatly done, he once again carefully brushed a layer of oil evenly over the surface of the noodles, then covered them with plastic wrap, giving these two portions of noodles ample time for a second proof.

Though the second proofing seemed to take longer, by the time he finally lifted the plastic wrap, the noodles had become even softer and more elastic.

He carefully took out the noodles one by one and placed them on a wide workboard. His hands moved deftly as he rolled and rubbed, gradually working the noodles into long, slender strands.

He kept adjusting the force in his hands, making the noodles ever finer and longer...

Next, he brushed another thin layer of oil inside the basins and coiled the two slender noodles back into them, layer upon layer.

In the process of coiling the noodles, he was especially cautious, meticulously oiling each layer to prevent the strands from sticking together.

After finishing the noodle preparation, he turned to the refrigerator and took out greens, carrots, fresh shiitake mushrooms, large shrimp, and eggs.

With practiced hands, he shelled the shrimp, freeing plump, crystal-clear shrimp meat one by one.

"Splash splash splash..."

The sound of water was crisp as he carefully washed the greens, carrots, fresh shiitake mushrooms, and shrimp, ensuring that every leaf and every piece of shrimp was perfectly clean. Then he gently set them aside, letting the droplets of water slowly slide off and drain naturally.