Qi Zhenzhen poured Gu Sinian a cup of tea and said with a smile, "It's good for people to have some plans."
Those without plans, to put it bluntly, weren't they just like fools?
"You're right. I can tell you think highly of that person just now?" Gu Sinian asked slowly.
"Song Yan is a very capable person. With the support of the village head Song, he handles everything perfectly," Qi Zhenzhen said.
Gu Sinian could vaguely guess some of Qi Zhenzhen's thoughts. On the surface, she spoke of repaying the village's kindness, but in reality, the Song family was the only one who had shown kindness to her and her two children. If she truly wanted to repay them, what she had given to Song Mingyue was enough. Yet, her choice benefited the entire village, even making plans for its future. It was likely she intended to develop Xinghua Village into a support for herself and Qi Yi, a mutual reliance.
As long as Song Yan was trustworthy, Gu Sinian was happy to see him manage all this for Qi Zhenzhen.
Therefore, he should investigate this person thoroughly.
Gu Sinian got up and walked out. "I'll have Gu Qing do something. It's almost noon, and I'm hungry. I want to eat the food you make."
After taking a couple of steps out, Gu Sinian stopped. "You only need to cook for me and you. Let the others cook for themselves."
After all, cooking was a tiring task. Why should those people enjoy his wife's culinary skills?
Qi Zhenzhen didn't think much of it. Looking at the crowd, Gu Sinian was the most important. As long as she took good care of him, that would be enough. Of course, she couldn't forget Qi Yi, Mingyue, and Little Ox.
Having interacted with Gu Sinian for some time, Qi Zhenzhen had figured out a little about him. He loved noodles, and his eyes would always show pleasure when he ate them.
The weather had already turned cool, so cold noodles were not suitable. Hot soup noodles were extremely delicious.
She mixed the dough and kneaded it.
In just a quarter of an hour, a smooth dough was ready in the basin.
She covered it with a bamboo steamer, letting it rest for two quarters of an hour to make the dough more elastic, which would result in better-textured noodles.
During this time, she hadn't been idle. She made two kinds of soup toppings: one was a sour and spicy meat sauce soup, and the other was a tomato and egg soup. She had even brought the tomatoes from the Marquis's mansion specifically.
She rolled the dough into thin sheets, sprinkled flour evenly over the surface, then folded the sheet from one end to the other with both hands. Soon, the entire sheet was folded into strips about five inches wide.
With a swift movement of her knife, evenly thick noodle segments scattered onto the cutting board. After cutting, Qi Zhenzhen grabbed the noodle segments with both hands, gave them a gentle shake and flick, and long noodles were placed on the steamer.
Feixu and Erxi, watching from the side, were so astonished their mouths hung open.
They had seen Qi Zhenzhen cook in the mansion before, but she had only made delicate dishes. They had never seen her roll noodles.
Erxi, having been trained since childhood, had not delved into culinary arts, but she was not foolish. She knew that Qi Zhenzhen's skill was remarkable, and if she weren't an excellent cook, how could she make it so pleasing to the eye?
Before her family's decline, Feixu's household also had servants to attend to them. She had seen them make noodles. She remembered a nanny saying that rolling noodles looked simple but was very difficult to do. First, there was kneading the dough. The softness and hardness had to be controlled, and kneading was a meticulous process. To what extent should the dough be kneaded? Smooth dough, smooth hands, and a clean basin – achieving these three points meant the kneading was satisfactory. She had watched clearly just now, and her young lady had achieved it.
Then there was rolling the dough. If the force was uneven, the dough would be rolled unevenly in thickness. When the noodle segments were cut, if they were flicked, they would easily break. She had seen clearly just now that not a single noodle broke when her young lady flicked them.
Considering there were two big eaters, Qi Zhenzhen cut three steamers of noodles.
Erxi voluntarily added water and stoked the fire, preparing to help Qi Zhenzhen cook the noodles later.
As for Feixu, she was busy cooking on the side, as there were still several people coming to eat later.
She had also wanted to roll noodles, but thinking of so many people, she decided against it. She felt that with her strength, if she were to make noodles for so many people, her arms would surely ache.
Steaming rice and stir-frying vegetables was more convenient.
When Gu Sinian returned and heard Qi Zhenzhen say they were having noodles, his expression was very pleased. Seeing so many noodles, he guessed there were portions for others, and his initial happiness diminished slightly.
Upon entering the room, he saw Song Mingyue sitting there. Gu Sinian couldn't help but say, "Little Ox praised your cooking skills highly."
Song Mingyue was stunned for a moment, then looked up at Gu Sinian blankly. There was no one else in the room, only the two of them.
"Does the Young Lord mean that Little Ox said my cooking is good?" Song Mingyue asked.
Gu Sinian nodded with a reserved air. "Yes."
That's not right. Zhang Xiaoniu knew that her cooking skills were not good. He had also said that from now on, there would be a dedicated cook in the house, and she wouldn't need to do it. Could it be that he said this just to show off? Should she admit it or deny it? If she denied it, wouldn't Xiaoniu lose face?
Thinking of this, Song Mingyue nodded. "I can cook a few dishes."
"It's rare for Xiaoniu to return," Gu Sinian added. "Perhaps he's hoping to eat your cooking."
Song Mingyue nodded blankly. It wasn't until she walked out of the main hall and went to the kitchen that she realized something was amiss.
What did he mean by "rarely return"? He had returned for his wedding, and from now on, they would live together. He was hoping to eat her cooking? How was that possible? In his words, eating her cooking was worse than him cooking it himself.
But why would the Young Lord say such a thing to her?
Song Mingyue couldn't figure it out, so she went to ask Qi Zhenzhen.
When Qi Zhenzhen heard Song Mingyue's retelling, she was also stunned for a moment, then recalled what he had said before he went out.
"You only need to cook for me and you. Let the others cook for themselves."
Qi Zhenzhen felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. She tactfully conveyed Gu Sinian's meaning.
"This Young Lord, despite his seemingly indifferent demeanor, is actually a thoughtful person," Song Mingyue praised after understanding. "He's worried about us eating the food you made, and that you'll be busy cooking for us during your stay here. He specifically told me this. He's afraid of tiring you out! How considerate!"
Qi Zhenzhen felt a little flutter of joy for some reason. It sounded a bit petty, but she seemed to quite like this pettiness.
When it was time to eat, Gu Sinian looked at Zhang Xiaoniu with an unfriendly gaze, making Zhang Xiaoniu eat unhappily. Everything had gone smoothly outside. Why was he always glaring at him now? Had he done something wrong?
Putting down his bowl, Zhang Xiaoniu was about to ask for clarification, but Song Mingyue grabbed him by the ear and pulled him away.
"It hurts," Zhang Xiaoniu winced. "Be gentler."
"You have no foresight. Didn't you see the Young Lord's expression?" Song Mingyue pulled him all the way to the kitchen.
"I saw it. His expression was off. I was just about to ask what was going on, and you suddenly pulled me out," Zhang Xiaoniu said aggrievedly, rubbing his ear.
"Go, go, go. The Young Lord is concerned about Zhenzhen. Brother Yi is his younger brother-in-law. It's understandable for Zhenzhen to cook for him, but what about the two of us? Hmm?" Song Mingyue gave Zhang Xiaoniu a reproachful look. "Zhenzhen will be the Young Lord's Consort in the future. Do you think it's appropriate to say such things?"