Chapter 46: Is Xiao Fu Bao Disliked? The Whole City Loves Me With Their Lives
Chapter 46: He Le Mian (Noodle Dish)
By the time they returned from viewing the Kongming lanterns, dusk had settled in. The two children, exhausted from a day of travel, were carried back by Prince Qing and Physician Liu.
When they got back to the inn, both children were so tired they fell into a deep sleep during their washing and freshening up.
The system observed Suisui drifting into a sweet dream with a loving smile.
The next day, the sky was overcast, and they were unsure if it would rain, so they decided not to travel for now.
Since the inn's dining facilities were not very convenient, they needed to ask the staff to prepare a small kitchen.
Thus, Prince Qing and Physician Liu took everyone out for breakfast. Some of Prince Qing’s attendants had already left earlier, escorting the bandit leader and key suspects from the abduction case back to the capital.
Now, only about ten attendants remained with Prince Qing.
With such a large group, going out for breakfast was quite a sight. Prince Qing instructed them to disperse to avoid drawing too much attention.
Having experienced the recent abduction incident, Prince Qing was now more cautious. Being too conspicuous could easily attract unwanted attention from bad elements.
Today, only Prince Qing, the two children, Physician Liu, and the Qing brothers were going out.
Di Jiao and Di Yu accompanied the attendants to breakfast.
As for what to have for breakfast, no one had a specific preference.
The town was relatively prosperous, even boasting a street dedicated to breakfast foods. The street offered noodles, wontons, dumplings, buns, and various other choices.
The attendants opted for wontons, which were filling and plentiful.
Feng Xuanrui was fine with anything since the meals recently had been quite average. If it were up to him, he would listen to Prince Qing.
But he had a sister now.
Thinking of this, Feng Xuanrui pointed to a breakfast shop not far away and asked Suisui, “Sister, what do you want to eat?”
Fearing Suisui might hesitate, Feng Xuanrui waved grandly and said, “Just pick whatever you want. We can eat anything!”
The rising steam and bustling noise made the entire street feel lively and vibrant.
Standing at the street corner, Suisui, inhaling the fragrant aromas in the air and listening to the vendors calling out, couldn’t help but squint in enjoyment.
Hearing Feng Xuanrui’s words, Suisui nervously and cautiously asked, “Is it okay to choose anything?”
Physician Liu had recently relaxed his restrictions on the children’s diet. However, Suisui was still cautious about eating heartily and was hesitant to indulge.
Feng Xuanrui couldn’t stand seeing his sister so timid and loudly said, “Of course!”
His voice seemed to overlap with the system’s encouraging tone: 【Of course!】
With her brother’s affirmation and the system’s encouragement, Suisui felt a surge of confidence and courage.
Following her brother’s example, she shouted, “Suisui wants to eat noodles!”
It was only when she said it aloud that Suisui realized: expressing what she wanted really just required summoning the courage.
Previously, she never had the opportunity or the bravery to speak up.
So, having a brother like this was truly wonderful!
Suisui found herself reflecting on how fortunate it was to have met her brother and couldn’t help but think: If not for her uncle and aunt abandoning her on the mountain, she might never have met her brother.
The system, not accepting such thoughts, immediately responded.
【Do not thank the bad people!】
【Your meeting with your brother was destined.】
【Whether those two evil people existed or not, you would have met your brother eventually.】
【In fact, you might have met even earlier without them!】
Suisui understood that she shouldn’t be grateful to her uncle and aunt. She was merely reflecting on how wonderful it was to meet her brother.
Having corrected her thoughts, Suisui obediently heeded the system’s advice.
Seeing that the little girl, though not fully understanding, was at least listening, the system felt a bit relieved.
When Feng Xuanrui heard that his sister wanted noodles, he immediately raised his arm and said, “I want noodles too!”
Physician Liu, smiling, watched the children’s excitement.
Hearing their choice, Physician Liu nodded, “Let’s try the local specialty noodles from Wenzhou.”
Specialty?
The term sounded delicious.
Feng Xuanrui, curious, asked, “What kind of specialty noodles?”
Prince Qing, having traveled extensively, thought for a moment and asked uncertainly, “Is it He Le Mian?”
Physician Liu smiled and nodded, “Yes, that’s right. It’s said to be smooth and delicious. Since we’re here, it would be a shame not to try it.”
Prince Qing agreed, while Feng Xuanrui was intrigued and Suisui didn’t quite understand.
Physician Liu led everyone to a small shop specializing in He Le Mian.
As they approached, they were greeted by the delicious aroma, mixed with a hint of mutton.
Feng Xuanrui sniffed the air and his eyes brightened, “It’s mutton!”
Physician Liu nodded, “Yes, it’s mutton. The hot oil poured over the He Le Mian is made from mutton fat. It’s said to be fragrant with no unpleasant odor.”
Mutton!
Suisui had only had mutton once in recent days. Because it was warming and nourishing, Physician Liu hadn’t allowed her to eat much, just a couple of pieces.
Feng Xuanrui had commented that the mutton was average and promised that once they returned to the capital, he would have the chefs make better mutton for Suisui.
Thinking of the fragrant, delicious mutton, Suisui swallowed her saliva.
In the past, eating was just a necessity for survival for Suisui.
Of course, she was still young and might not fully understand.
Her survival instincts drove her to live, even if it meant fighting chickens for food or eating wild vegetables and grasses.
As long as she could survive, she ate whatever was left by the chickens.
But now, eating was becoming more of an enjoyment for Suisui.
She even found herself salivating and feeling a bit greedy.
Previously, meat was something Suisui dared not dream of.
Now, she allowed herself to have a small expectation.
Physician Liu had chosen a small, clean noodle shop. To attract customers, they had a large pot of soup set up outside.
A middle-aged man was stirring the pot with a ladle, and when he saw customers, he greeted them warmly.
Inside the shop, a young man, who looked like he could be the middle-aged man’s son, was busy running around.
An efficient woman stood at the cashier, occasionally helping out, likely the wife.
It seemed to be a family-run business.
Physician Liu looked around, satisfied, and chose a table near the door, “This one will do.”
(End of Chapter)
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