Sisters in the Deep Forest Valley: Many Fun Things

Chapter 278 Chestnut Flour and Cold Noodles

Having received the praise she wanted, Lin Lanshan contentedly placed the cold noodles back on the cutting board.

I just wasn't careful when I put it in, and accidentally a small crack appeared in the middle of the cold skin.

It's okay~ It's okay~

She glanced to the side and, seeing that her sister hadn't seen it, quickly tucked the two sides of the opening towards the middle, making it still look like a perfect sheet of cold noodles.

Well, if you can't see it, it's not broken!

Lin Lanshan kept running back and forth between the stove and the cutting board, continuing to steam the cold noodles.

In less than the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, the cold noodles on the cutting board were piled up to the length of a fingernail.

"Sis, how's the sauce coming along? Let's mix a few pieces and eat them, I'm hungry~" As soon as she finished speaking, her stomach rumbled.

"It's ready, but I don't have any sesame paste, so I just mixed something together. You can dissolve the chestnut powder in boiling water first; I'm only missing half a cucumber shred."

The sauce is made by mixing salt, sugar, vinegar, white sesame seeds, chili oil, Sichuan peppercorn powder, soy sauce, garlic water, and cilantro.

Lin Lanshan went to the cupboard and took two bowls. She scooped some chestnut powder into a bowl, dissolved it in cold water, and then poured boiling water into it from a height.

The boiling water was from the same pot of water that had just been used to steam cold noodles. She was too lazy to throw it away and boil it again; a little dirt won't hurt, right?

Then continue stirring clockwise until the grayish-white liquid becomes viscous and translucent, like jelly.

A bowl of chestnut powder is ready.

Then came the part she had been looking forward to: adding extra ingredients.

First, I'll make a bowl for my sister. "Sis, how many spoonfuls of nuts do you want?"

"Just one spoonful is enough." Lin Chunyi held down the stacked cucumber slices with one hand and used a cleaver in the other to slice out a bunch of cucumber shreds.

"Where's the diced fruit?" Lin Lanshan asked, adding a spoonful.

"One spoonful too!"

She added another spoonful to the bowl. "And what about the jam? What flavor do you want?"

"Hmm... Osmanthus honey, half a spoonful will do."

After Lin Lanshan put it down, she asked again, "What about the sugar? Do you want some sugar added?"

"Just add a little sugar, it doesn't need to be too sweet," Lin Chunyi said casually, then overlapped the several sheets of cold noodles she wanted to eat and rolled them up together.

"Hmm, I'll add..." She paused suddenly, then said while cutting the cold noodles, "I'll have it with 70% sugar, please."

The word "whatever" is actually quite difficult to use.

Lin Lanshan was about to argue about what "any" meant when she heard a familiar phrase. She muttered to herself, "Seven parts sugar—I'm using the standard sugar level!"

However, he still obediently took the sugar jar and put in a thin layer of icing sugar.

Stir, stir, stir~

"Sis, your chestnut flour is ready. Try it and see how it tastes."

"Let's leave it there for now. I'll eat it once I've mixed the cold noodles." Lin Chunyi poured the cucumber shreds and the prepared sauce into the bowl of cold noodles and stirred it a few times.

The white noodles, coated with red chili oil, look incredibly tempting. Add some cilantro and shredded cucumber, and a bowl of chewy, refreshing cold noodles is ready.

She placed the bowl of cold noodles on the counter, intending to take a bowl and taste the chestnut powder they had spent half the day making.

"..."

Then I saw Lin Lanshan take her own rice spoon, scoop a spoonful from her bowl, and put it in her mouth.

"Isn't this mine? You have your own, why are you eating mine?"

Lin Lanshan chewed on her food and mumbled, "I saw you weren't going to eat, so I'll try it for you first."

Lin Chunyi snatched the bowl containing chestnut flour, which was noticeably less than the one on the side. "Thank you! But when yours is ready, I should have a bite too, it'll be fair!"

"Hey~ You, as the older sister, are so stingy that you even fuss over giving your younger sister a taste of food!" Lin Lanshan pouted and turned to add toppings to her own bowl of chestnut powder.

Since it's for my own consumption, I should let go and eat freely!

If you eat too many nuts, your jaw will easily ache, so just add a couple of spoonfuls.

Diced fruit—this is all my favorite stuff, you need to add three spoonfuls of this! Oh, and those jujubes I diced earlier but didn't add—cut them into small pieces and add some too.

Peach jam, if you like it, add a spoonful.

Then stir it.

Oh haha~

I added too much material and it's hard to stir anymore, what should I do?

It must be because the bowl is too small; just get a bigger one!

Finally, sprinkle a layer of white icing sugar on top, and a big bowl of nutritious, fruity, and visually appealing mixed fruit chestnut powder is complete!

Lin Lanshan held her large bowl of chestnut flour high in the air and laughed loudly.

After swallowing a mouthful of chestnut powder with a moderate sweetness and rich texture, Lin Chunyi said, "Chestnuts are very bloating. Can you eat so many? Be careful not to get constipated."

This big bowl, even if it's just rice and side dishes, would be enough to fill them up quite a bit...

"If I can't finish it, I'll save it for a midnight snack. I'll eat it under the covers, hehe~" She didn't plan to finish it all; she just wanted to enjoy the pleasure of adding as many toppings as she wanted.

I need to save half my stomach for the cold noodles; I haven't eaten any yet!

"..." Lin Chunyi ate silently, her bowl of chestnut powder, which was completely different from her sister's, without saying a word.

Lin Lanshan had just taken a bite of the sweet chestnut powder, then slurped up some cold noodles, and said, "Sister, these cold noodles are delicious, but they're definitely missing something."

Lin Chunyi didn't react, a row of question marks appearing above her head, "Huh? Soul? What soul does liangpi (cold skin noodles) need?"

If food has a soul... wouldn't that mean food has become sentient?

What is this? Liangpi (cold skin noodles) essence?

"No, I mean it's missing some seasonings! The essential ingredients for liangpi (cold skin noodles) are sesame paste, steamed gluten, and fried peanuts!"

"Oh, I thought you were going to say something else~ It's too much trouble, let's do it next time. Next time we'll prepare in advance. After we eat, we still need to steam all the remaining batter into cold noodles. They'll get tasteless if they soak in water for too long."

Lin Lanshan took a bite of chestnut powder and a bite of cold noodles, her mouth constantly occupied, so she nodded in response.

After lunch, the two sisters took several clean earthenware jars and separately packed the chestnut powder, nuts, and diced fruit into the space.

If you get hungry in the middle of the night or don't want to get up early to make breakfast, you can just take it out and make a bowl with boiling water anytime. It's simple, convenient, nutritious, and healthy!

Next, wash the pots and pans, boil half a pot of water again, and continue steaming the cold noodles.

The two of them worked in the kitchen for more than half an hour, and there were several piles of steamed cold noodles on the counter before they finally used up all the batter in the two buckets.

They stood side by side, took three to five sheets of cold skin noodles as a group, rolled them up, and then cut them all into long strips.

As Lin Lanshan cut the noodles, she said, "It's a pity that some of the cold noodles were ruined during steaming; they have a lot of cracks. Next time, let's eat the ones that were ruined first and save the good ones for last."

"Hmm~ But if I want to eat sesame paste next time, I'll need a lot more sesame seeds. I'll have to wait until the mountain road is better before buying a few more pounds on my way down the mountain."

"Then let's wait until the sesame paste is ready before eating the cold noodles. It would be even better to save it for summer!"

When it's too hot to have an appetite in the summer, how refreshing it would be to eat a bowl of liangpi (cold skin noodles) and a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), along with an ice-cold drink...