Chapter 437 - 214: The Duan Family Is Just Too Rich

Chapter 437: Chapter 214: The Duan Family Is Just Too Rich

Zhou Yan got up bright and early the next day and bought all the ingredients he would need.

He tied the young chicken to the tree by the door with a rope, then started by preparing the pig’s head.

He had only bought one pig’s head today.

Since it was a small order today, Zhang the Third had some spare time and had already cleaned it quite thoroughly. All Zhou Yan needed to do was rinse it off.

By just six-thirty, the beef and pig’s head were already in their respective braising pots.

Zhou Yan took out a small aluminum pot and mixed a separate batch of brine. He waited until the meat was simmering away in its pot before he started braising the vegetarian ingredients.

The quantity wasn’t large: one jin of lotus root, one jin of dried tofu, and one jin of rehydrated bean curd sticks.

Mrs. Zhao had specifically requested the braised vegetarian dishes. He would pack a separate portion for them later to take as a snack on their outing today.

He wasn’t in a hurry to cook the beef and pork ribs. He could start an hour beforehand; bringing the ingredients over to cook on-site would make the food seem fresher.

At eight o’clock, a beaming Mrs. Zhao came downstairs with Zhou Momo, looking for food.

Zhou Yan had already heated up some water in the pot for them to wash their faces.

"Brother, good morning~~" Zhou Momo was wearing the small leather jacket Duan Yu Yan had given her. With three stubborn tufts of hair sticking up on her head and her eyes still half-asleep, she trotted over and snuggled into the arms of Zhou Yan, who was sitting on a small stool in front of the stove. "What are we having for breakfast?" she asked in an adorable, soft voice. "Noodles?"

"That’s right. I’ll make you some braised beef noodles in a bit." Holding her like a soft little kitten, Zhou Yan smiled and reached out to pinch her chubby little cheek. The little one’s skin was even better than when he’d first seen her a month ago—fair and tender.

’Looks like eating well and sleeping well recently has really done wonders for her.’

But even though the little one ate quite a lot every day, she hadn’t gained much weight. Her face was a little rounder, but her little tummy hadn’t gotten plump.

’It makes sense, though. She’s always jumping and bouncing around all day. When she gets back from playing, she still has to work her "daily commission" sales job. As our star salesperson, she burns a lot of energy.’

"Braised beef noodles? Is that a new kind of noodles?" Zhou Momo’s eyes widened, her face full of anticipation.

"Yep, a new flavor," Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.

"Okay! I want that one," Zhou Momo said, nodding her head.

"Where’s the Old Man? Is he not up yet?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at Mrs. Zhao.

"He saw too much money last night and was too excited to sleep. Let him sleep in a little. It’s rare for him to get a chance to," the beaming Mrs. Zhao replied casually.

She went to the doorway to comb her hair, tying her long locks back with a rubber band. She scooped a ladleful of hot water from a gourd dipper into an enamel basin. Grasping a corner of a towel, she swirled it in the basin a few times. She lifted it, waited for most of the hot water to drip off, then immediately wrung the towel dry and walked toward Zhou Momo.

"I don’t wanna wash!" Zhou Momo buried her face in Zhou Yan’s chest, protesting.

"You’re going to visit Yuyan’s family today. If you don’t wash your face, you’ll be a little grubby kitten, and people will laugh at you," Mrs. Zhao said with a laugh. "Fine, don’t wash it then."

"I’ll wash it!" Zhou Momo immediately poked her head out and squeezed her eyes shut as if facing her doom.

"Didn’t you just say you didn’t want to?" Mrs. Zhao asked with a smile.

"Well... I have to save face, don’t I?" Zhou Momo pouted.

Zhou Yan and Mrs. Zhao both laughed.

Such a little thing, and already she knew about saving face.

Mrs. Zhao covered her face with the hot towel and scrubbed both her face and neck.

Zhou Yan couldn’t help but find it funny watching her chubby little face change shape as it was being scrubbed. Mrs. Zhao certainly didn’t hold back.

"Come on, let’s go to the doorway and comb your hair. I’ll braid it into two pretty pigtails for you." Mrs. Zhao led Zhou Momo out the door.

Zhou Yan stood up and began to knead and pull the dough. Once the water in the pot boiled, he dropped in the pulled noodles. Then he fished out a piece of braised beef, about half a jin, from the brine pot and sliced it into large, thin pieces. ℴ𝗆

"Having noodles for breakfast?" Comrade Zhou came downstairs, peeking at the noodles tumbling in the pot and asking with a smile.

He had slept in for an extra two hours today and looked quite refreshed and energetic.

"Old Man, do you want the braised beef noodles or the beef with dried bamboo shoot noodles?" Zhou Yan asked, turning his head.

"The braised beef noodles. Let’s try your new creation," Comrade Zhou said.

"You got it. Go wash up, they’ll be ready in a moment." Zhou Yan replied and started preparing the seasoning in the bowls.

Having decided on noodles for breakfast, he had asked Zhang the Third for two marrow bones when he bought the meat this morning. He’d been simmering them in a small pot since early, making a rich bone broth.

When it came to food, he never settled for anything less than the best.

When the noodles were almost done, he first ladled a scoop of the rich, white broth into an earthenware bowl, stirring it to dissolve the seasoning at the bottom. As steam billowed up, he lifted the noodles from the pot with a bamboo strainer, shook off the excess water, and poured them into the bowl. He then covered them with a thick layer of beef and sprinkled some cilantro and scallions on top.

And just like that, a bowl of braised beef noodles in a red broth was ready.

The large slices of beef were cut very thin; a single serving was enough to cover the entire surface of the noodles.

Half of it was submerged in the soup, while the other half was sprinkled with fresh green scallions. It looked absolutely delicious.

Zhou Momo’s bowl was a size smaller. It was a plain bone broth noodle soup, without any chili oil or cilantro. However, he didn’t give her any less meat; in fact, her portion was piled even higher than the other three bowls.

The little one didn’t eat cilantro, but she liked scallions.

"Brother, look, do you like my pigtails?~~" Zhou Momo ran into the kitchen, her two little braids swinging back and forth.

"They’re beautiful. Very cute," Zhou Yan said, nodding with a smile. ’Mrs. Zhao is getting better and better at braiding,’ he thought. He picked up a bowl of noodles and started walking out. "Go and sit down. We’ll head into the city after breakfast."

Comrade Zhou came in, brought out the other two bowls of noodles, and exclaimed in admiration, "This braised beef noodle soup looks amazing! There’s so much meat! Are you selling this for sixty cents a bowl, too?"