Reborn in the 80s: Everyone Falls For Me
Chapter 173 - 172: Secret Broth (3 more)

Chapter 173: Chapter 172: Secret Broth (3 more)

After the hangover, Jin Ruiyang’s head was throbbing and when he woke up again, he lay on the floor of his own room.

His slender fingers curled, massaging the aching spot between his brows as he called out in a hoarse voice, "Jin Yu..."

No one answered, so Jin Ruiyang called out again, "Jin Yu..."

Still no response. Jin Ruiyang slowly sat up, noticing himself sitting on the floor as his forehead continued to pulsate.

The heartless one.

He took his clothes to the bathroom for a cold shower, got dressed, and opened a drawer that held more than a dozen gold-rimmed glasses without prescription lenses.

His slender finger picked one pair and put them on. One side of his collar was sticking up, he frowned and pressed it down before he walked out of the room unruffled.

Xu Qiang stayed up last night to write a heartfelt letter, employing all his literary skills to express one thing: to ask Xu Niannian to send him some Liuyue Su.

Just as he was about to go out and mail the letter, he saw Jin Ruiyang and cheerfully said, "Cousin, you just got up?"

It was already past three in the afternoon, and Jin Ruiyang had just risen.

He gave a noncommittal "Mhm," his peach blossom eyes hidden behind glasses, losing their roguish charm and gaining a touch of scholarly grace.

"Where’s Jin Yu?"

"My older cousin?" Xu Qiang looked puzzled, "Wasn’t he with you? I haven’t seen him all day. Grandfather asked about him this morning at breakfast, but he wasn’t in his room."

Hearing this, Jin Ruiyang said, "Go about your business."

It seemed Jin Yu had gone back.

"All right, cousin, I’m off to send the letter."

"Sending a letter?" Jin Ruiyang asked with a frown, "Who are you writing to?"

Xu Qiang replied gleefully, "I’m writing to my sister-in-law, asking her to send me some goodies. It’ll make Ruibing and the others jealous, prove them wrong for not believing what I said."

Jin Ruiyang smiled, "Is it really that delicious?"

"Hey, cousin, let me tell you, don’t doubt it. You’ll know once you try," Xu Qiang said with delight.

Xu Qiang was the biggest foodie in the family, and that was no secret.

He was the most discerning when it came to food; if he said something was delicious, it probably wouldn’t disappoint.

Thinking about it, Jin Ruiyang suddenly became very curious about Jin Yu’s fiancée.

The culinary skills that Xu Qiang couldn’t forget must be extraordinary. Most importantly, it captivated Jin Yu, that living eunuch, stirring some worldly desires.

What kind of woman was she?

It looked like he needed to make some time to meet her.

Xu Niannian sneezed again. Hope she hadn’t caught a cold, why was she sneezing so much lately?

The shop opens tomorrow, and Xu Niannian still has preparations to do.

First, she needed to prepare the broth for the noodles well in advance.

With noodles, the quality of the broth is crucial, so is the seasoning.

For the seasoning, she would use Butter Sauce, but for the broth, she had to simmer it the night before.

In her past life, her secret broth was very tasty; she planned to use stream water to simmer the broth and see if the effect would double.

It wasn’t until after dinner that she started the broth, Jin Yu and Xu Zhiqiang wanted to help, but Xu Niannian shooed them outside.

Joking aside, how could she bring out the stream water in front of them?

With everyone gone, Xu Niannian got to work.

To make a delicious broth, one must ensure it’s rich, savoury, and aromatic.

Xu Niannian planned to make pork bone soup.

She cleaned the purchased large pork bones with freshwater and then soaked them in the cold stream for ten minutes.

While they soaked, she minced ginger and prepared other ingredients.

After soaking, the pork bones looked fresher and brighter, and the stream water turned very murky.

Then Xu Niannian scooped more stream water into the new soup pot she had bought that day; she had remembered she needed it to simmer the broth that evening and picked one up on her way back from the shop.

As the stream water came to a boil and released a tempting fragrance, Xu Niannian quickly blanched the pork bones to remove any blood and impurities.

Before blanching, the bones had already soaked in the impurity-removing cold stream water.

So there wasn’t much scum.

Still, Xu Niannian discarded the water and added fresh stream water to boil before reintroducing the pork bones.

She diced the mushrooms but didn’t rush to add them.

After simmering the pork bones for nearly an hour, Xu Niannian finally added the mushrooms and then various seasonings to taste.

The secret to her special broth was in the last ingredient she added.

It was a seasoning cake she had concocted using a secret recipe a few days earlier; it had taken her two years in her previous life to perfect this formula.

The seasoning cake required various spices and six to seven hours of simmering on low heat before it automatically congealed into solid blocks upon resting.

Once the seasoning block was placed in the boiling stream water with the pork bones, it dissolved immediately, releasing a rich and enticing aroma.

In an instant, the entire kitchen was filled with that rich and aromatic scent. Xu Niannian’s eyes widened exaggeratedly, that was quick.

This secret seasoning block was hard to dissolve, even in boiling hot water, it required about two minutes to completely melt.

The flavor also needed to simmer in the soup for around ten minutes before it would start to waft through the air.

But now, from the moment it was added to when the aroma began to spread, it was just a blink of an eye.

She immediately looked towards the pot, billowing with steam, in astonishment. Could it be because of the stream water?

The answer was foreseeable, a definite yes.

How much more of a surprise could this stream water give her?

Xu Niannian was so delighted she almost jumped for joy.

The scent was so appetizing that Xu Qiang and Jin Yu, who had already returned to their rooms, began to salivate with craving.

Jin Yu even sat up straight from the bed, what is this girl cooking now to tempt him so?

It made him feel hungry immediately after having just finished dinner.

Xu Zhiqiang was hungry too, but helpless, he could only burrow into the covers, covering his nose with the blanket, attempting to block out the tempting fragrance.

When it was finally time to finish the cooking, Xu Niannian sprinkled a handful of chopped green onions on top.

Scalded by the piping hot, thick soup, the scent became overwhelmingly enticing in a flash.

After preparing the broth, Xu Niannian started making the Butter Sauce. Having made it several times, she had become proficient, and in half an hour, she had stewed a large pot of the sauce.

Tailored to the tastes of the people from Nancheng County, the Butter Sauce was both numbingly spicy and fragrant, smelling it alone was enough to whet one’s appetite.

Jin Yu and Xu Zhiqiang in their rooms were now utterly hungry.

But Xu Zhiqiang, being sensible and obedient, even if the smell left him unbearably craving, merely wrapped the blanket even tighter around himself.

Jin Yu was different, he threw off the covers and jumped out of bed, heading straight for the kitchen.

Xu Niannian was just putting the finished Butter Sauce into a pottery jar when she heard the noise and looked up.

Jin Yu entered the room, looking at the pot brimming with red oil, and started to drool again.

Xu Niannian was puzzled why he hadn’t gone to sleep yet when she saw him approach with a straight face, "I’m hungry."

Xu Niannian: "..."

It seemed he had been awakened by his cravings.

Well, she herself was also tempted and hungry.

"How about, I cook you some noodles?"

Jin Yu answered without hesitation, "Good."

Xu Niannian again: "..."

This person really wasn’t shy at all; he could have at least been a bit more diplomatic.

"Go ask Zhiqiang if he wants any."

Jin Yu didn’t speak but turned around and left, and within a few seconds, his voice was heard.

He was asking Xu Zhiqiang if he wanted some noodles.

After a minute, Jin Yu and Xu Zhiqiang both appeared at the kitchen doorway, both pairs of eyes staring fixedly at Xu Niannian, looking like two statues, motionless.

This made Xu Niannian somewhat amused and exasperated.

"You guys go wait in the living room, I’ll be right there."

The noodles were made from high-gluten dough that she had kneaded herself.

Boiling the water, she cooked the noodles, scooped them into bowls, and without the need for any other seasonings, directly ladled a generous spoonful of the secret broth and topped it with Butter Sauce—voilà.

Three steaming bowls of Butter Noodles were thus prepared. While making the broth, Xu Niannian used plenty of pork bones, and there was a good amount of meat clinging to them.

Xu Niannian decided to fish out a fist-sized pork bone for both Jin Yu and Xu Zhiqiang.

Thinking that Xu Zhiqiang was too thin, Xu Niannian scooped another piece of pork bone meat into his bowl.

Carrying the tray with three bowls of noodles out, she set one in front of each person and then sat down to eat as well.

Jin Yu noticed that Xu Zhiqiang’s bowl had an extra piece of meat compared to his, and shot Xu Niannian a glance.

Xu Niannian was clueless.

After all, he was her older brother-in-law; Jin Yu suppressed that inexplicable feeling of slight resentment.

The rich broth, glowing red with Butter Sauce.

Mixed evenly, the three of them began to eat.

With just one bite, all three stopped in their tracks.

Xu Niannian knew that the soup she made was delicious, but she hadn’t expected that made with stream water, the flavor would turn out so incredibly good.

Coupled with a more successful batch of Butter Sauce than the previous ones, the taste was indescribably delightful.

The numbingly spicy flavor instantly stimulated the appetite, the savory broth slowly absorbed by the noodles. With one bite, the mouth filled with the overflowing juices.