Yangchun Noodles and Potato Silkworm 1

Unlike Wenjiu’s wheat-colored skin, the other girl had fair, delicate features, resembling a porcelain doll.

The girl on the opposite bed rubbed her eyes and sat up. “Hello, I’m Qiao Shishi.”

“Hello, I’m Wenjiu.”

Seeing her friendly demeanor, Wenjiu confidently introduced herself.

Qiao Shishi was quite outgoing, so much so that even Wenjiu, who prided herself on being talkative, found herself outmatched.

“Which district are you from?”

“Wenjiu, what courses are you planning to take?”

“After running twenty-five laps during the day, I’m almost exhausted.”

While consulting the freshman handbook on the holographic screen, Wenjiu listened to Qiao Shishi’s endless chatter.

However, Qiao Shishi meant no harm, so Wenjiu occasionally found time to respond.

After completing her selections, Wenjiu finally submitted her chosen courses.

Qiao Shishi’s eyes widened as she asked, “You actually signed up for so many classes! Are you planning to become a combat mecha soldier someday?”

Combat mecha soldier?

Wenjiu was puzzled; she hadn’t yet explored that field. She simply wanted to make the most of her tuition by studying everything that interested her.

Seeing her blank expression, Qiao Shishi eagerly began to explain.

“We’re basically recruits now. After five years of training and passing assessments, we have to choose our military branch.”

“There are three main categories: commanders, combat mecha soldiers, and logistics personnel. As for the finer distinctions, I’m not sure.”

Wenjiu nodded, realizing there were opportunities to advance to higher ranks.

But she hadn’t considered a long military career; her main concern was how to earn money to pay off her debts.

Today was the first day of freshman orientation, and there were no classes in the afternoon. So Wenjiu stayed in the dorm, chatting with Qiao Shishi all afternoon.

Around four o’clock, Wenjiu headed to the cafeteria.

Zhou Sen had already sent her the work guidelines, which basically involved washing dishes, cooking, and serving food during fixed time slots.

Normally, Wenjiu would have been assigned a position after checking in, but due to the incident with Shi Gang, the teachers had decided she would independently run a food stall.

She could hire classmates to help, but only if she could afford to pay wages.

Running a stall alone was not difficult for Wenjiu.

She had always loved food, though her mentor often urged them to curb their appetites for fasting practice.

But Wenjiu believed life was meant for eating; without food, life lost its meaning.

She often secretly prepared delicious meals for herself.

Upon entering the cafeteria, the senior student who greeted her was much kinder this time, guiding her to her assigned stall and explaining the work before leaving.

Wenjiu surveyed the space; it was small, with kitchenware and stoves clearly well-worn and even greasy.

Basic seasonings were available but still in unopened packages.

She checked the storage shelves, finding few ingredients—just a large bag of flour, a big sack of potatoes and eggs, and a hefty bundle of scallions.

Wenjiu recalled the senior mentioning that the cafeteria’s supplies were distributed weekly by the supervising teacher, with different ingredients allocated to each stall.

She didn’t think much of it and began cleaning the stall thoroughly before planning what dishes to prepare with the available ingredients.

After some thought, she decided to make simple spring noodles and stir-fried silkworm potato.

Without delay, Wenjiu measured out flour, water, and salt, kneading a smooth dough, then peeled and cut the potatoes into chunks, soaking them in water.

Next, she washed the scallions, which were twice as thick as ordinary ones. To enhance the dish’s appearance, she painstakingly chopped them finely.

After filling a bowl with chopped scallions, she stopped, deeming it sufficient.

Planning to prepare stir-fried silkworm potato, Wenjiu decided to make some chili oil first. She rummaged through the kitchen for ingredients.

Finding chili powder and white sesame seeds, she placed portions into a bowl and poured hot oil over them.

Her simple chili oil was ready.

Since the dough needed time to rest, Wenjiu took a frying pan and cooked a large plate of fried eggs, setting them aside on a plate.

When the time was right, she skillfully rolled the dough into sheets of moderate thickness.

She then cut the dough into evenly sized noodles, completing the basic staple.

With twenty minutes until the five o’clock meal service, Wenjiu decided to have a bowl of noodles herself to practice.

While waiting for the water to boil, she took a large bowl, cleaned it, and added seasonings.

Without pork lard, she used sesame oil, light soy sauce, and salt for a simple flavor.

She dropped a handful of noodles into the boiling water, cooking for a few minutes before swiftly scooping them out into the bowl.

She ladled generous broth over the noodles and sprinkled green scallions on top.

Other students at their stalls busied themselves, while Wenjiu leisurely slurped her noodles.

She thought, “It’s a pity there’s no pork lard; this bowl would have smelled even better. But compared to some of the awful dishes around, this is a real delicacy.”

Just as she was enjoying her meal, someone tapped on the transparent glass of her stall.

“Wenjiu, I heard from Teacher Zhou that you’re working in the cafeteria, so I came to support you!”

Qiao Shishi smiled sweetly, gesturing at Wenjiu’s bowl of noodles. “I want a bowl of that! Do you have any other dishes? I’ll have those too!”

Wenjiu nodded, swallowing her last bite before setting down the bowl and getting busy.

She scooped some potato strips from the soaking bowl, heated oil in a large pot, and when ready, fried the potato strips.

Meanwhile, she dropped a handful of noodles into the hot water.

When the potatoes were crispy, and the noodles cooked, Wenjiu drained the potatoes and set them aside, then scooped noodles into a bowl.

She expertly poured broth, sprinkled scallions, and topped the dish with a golden fried egg.

“Wow, what is this?” Qiao Shishi asked, eyes wide with curiosity as the inviting aroma overwhelmed her senses.

She usually disliked food because it was often unpleasant, relying mostly on nutritional drinks to fill her stomach.

But this fragrance made her stomach growl for the first time in a while.

“Simple spring noodles,” Wenjiu replied, pouring the fried potatoes into a large bowl to start mixing the stir-fried silkworm potato.

She skillfully added various seasonings, working fluidly.

After mixing, Wenjiu transferred the dish into a small bowl, garnished it with scallions, and handed it to Qiao Shishi.

“This smells amazing too! What is it?”

Qiao Shishi asked, enchanted by the completely different aroma from the noodles.

“This is stir-fried silkworm potato. Try it first and see if you like it. Then you can pay.”

Wenjiu hadn’t yet set prices but assumed Qiao Shishi wouldn’t run off without paying, so she let her take the dishes first.

Qiao Shishi beamed, thanked her, and quickly found a seat with the two bowls in hand.