Chapter 183

After dinner, Miss Ganyu bid farewell and returned to Yuehai Pavilion to work overtime.

Xia Zhi felt that she was truly working too hard.

So the next day, he decided to make some instant noodles.

"Boss, what are instant noodles?"

"They're noodles that are convenient to eat."

"Huh?"

"Normal noodles need to be boiled in a pot, and require special broth and garnishes. The preparation process is quite troublesome. But instant noodles don't need all that—you just put the noodle cake and seasonings in a bowl, add hot water, let it sit for a while, and then you can eat."

"That sounds really convenient!"

"I plan to make quite a few of these instant noodles to give some to Miss Ganyu. If she gets hungry while working late, she can just make a bowl to fill her stomach. We'll also keep some in the shop so that when Miss Chi Yu is hungry while watching the store at night, she can have some noodles too."

"Thank you, Boss!"

"No need to thank me. Actually, I mainly just got a craving for instant noodles myself, so I thought I'd make extra. Go help me start the fire."

"Okay!"

Making instant noodles isn't actually difficult—the key is deep-frying.

The noodles are made with water, and during the frying process, the water evaporates, leaving countless tiny holes in the surface of the fried noodles. When hot water is added, these holes absorb water like a sponge, allowing the noodles to soften quickly.

This was just for making the noodle cakes. To make the final product taste good when prepared, the seasonings were also very important.

However, for Xia Zhi, a master of spices, this was a simple matter.

He opened the [Shop] and spent 10 points to purchase a bag of silver-quality ingredient: [Golden Wheat].

This was an investment, so he didn't feel too bad about the cost.

Besides, he had already bought [Second Meditation Method], and there weren't any items he particularly needed to save up for at the moment, so he could use his points quite freely.

Now he had the raw materials for the noodles.

As for the seasoning packet, Xia Zhi decided to use fried mushrooms to make it—good texture, savory taste, and most importantly, vegetarian.

Grinding flour, kneading dough, pulling noodles, frying noodles...

Before long, golden-colored, fragrant noodle cakes were ready.

While frying mushroom bits, Xia Zhi asked, "Shenhe, you know how to make talismans, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you have any talismans that can seal in qi?"

"Yes."

"Are those talismans difficult to make?"

"No, they're very simple."

"Then please help make some of these talismans. We'll use them to seal the noodle cakes, otherwise they'll get damp if exposed to air."

"Alright."

Shenhe felt secretly delighted.

Usually, she couldn't help much when the boss was cooking—he could even cut vegetables more efficiently than her, so she could only help with tasks like grinding or washing dishes.

Now finally there was a chance for her to be useful.

Shenhe walked out of the kitchen, raised her hand, and touched the ornament in her hair.

A slight spatial ripple emerged.

From it, she retrieved the paper and writing tools needed to make talismans.

Qiqi stood beside her, looking somewhat dazed.

This was probably the difference between someone from a proper sect and someone self-taught like her.

Shenhe laid out the talisman paper and picked up the brush and ink.

Although it had been almost a month since she last drew talismans, her technique hadn't grown rusty.

Her movements showed no hesitation, the brush tip flowing like clouds and flowing water as it traced mysterious patterns on the talisman paper.

After a while, the talisman was complete.

Shenhe set it aside and began making the next one.

Qiqi stood watching blankly, as if some memory was awakening in her mind.

It seemed... long ago... someone had also drawn talismans in front of her like this, then stuck the talisman on her forehead...

Who was it?... She didn't seem to know them... Was it that adeptus?...

Qiqi's eyes grew confused, and when she came back to herself, Shenhe had already finished making a large batch of talismans. She put away her writing tools back in her hair ornament and returned to the kitchen with the talismans.

By now the kitchen was filled with enticing food aromas.

"Boss, I've finished them all."

"Mm, thank you for your hard work. Now everyone help put the noodle cakes, seasonings, and garnishes into the food boxes, then seal them with the talismans. These boxes are for Miss Ganyu—when she wants to eat, she can just remove the talisman and add hot water."

Diona swallowed and asked, "Although it smells really good, will it actually taste good just adding water like that?"

"Everyone can try it in a moment and see, but first help package these up."

"Okay!"

After finishing with the food boxes, everyone took a large bowl, put in a noodle cake, added seasonings and garnishes, then poured in freshly boiled hot water.

"When preparing instant noodles, it's best to cover the bowl with something."

"Oh!"

"You don't need to wait long, a few minutes is enough."

"Oh!"

"It's ready now, everyone try it."

"Mmm! So delicious!"

The girls ate with flushed faces and glistening eyes.

Though called instant noodles, it was actually a luxury dish made from combining supernatural ingredients like [Golden Wheat], [Melk Stardust Powder], [Chicken Leg Mushroom], [Shark Fin Mushroom], and others, plus prepared with a culinary master's technique—of course it was delicious.

Xia Zhi also took a bite and felt the taste was incomparably better than the instant noodles in his memory.

After finishing the noodles, Xia Zhi looked at the sealed food boxes and felt like something was missing.

He thought carefully before realizing what the issue was.

So, he had Shenhe bring paper and pen again to make small paper slips, on which he wrote three characters.

"Chef Xia"

After attaching the paper slips to the food boxes, Xia Zhi felt it was much more proper now.

--

At night, in Yuehai Pavilion.

Ningguang finished handling an urgent document and handed it to Baishi.

"Secretary Ganyu should still be working overtime. Take this to her and ask her to process it immediately."

"Yes, Lady Ningguang."

Baishi took the document seriously and walked quickly toward Ganyu's office.

Just as she reached the door, Baishi suddenly sniffed the air, her expression surprised.

What was that smell!?

How could it be so fragrant?!

Suddenly she felt like she was getting hungry...

Baishi unconsciously swallowed and knocked on the door.

Ganyu's voice came from inside: "Please come in."

Baishi pushed open the door and entered, holding out the document.

"Secretary Ganyu, this document is quite urgent. Lady Ningguang hopes you can process it immediately."

"I understand."

Ganyu nodded, took the document, and began carefully reviewing it.

Baishi stood in place, her gaze involuntarily drawn to a covered food box on the desk that was continuously releasing warm, fragrant aromas.

That was the smell she had noticed!

What could be inside?

How could it be so tantalizing?

Baishi stared at it in a daze until Ganyu's voice startled her.

"Baishi, I've finished processing it, please take it."

"Oh! Right!"

Ganyu looked at the food box before her, her expression suddenly panicked:

"Oh no, I lost track of time, I hope it hasn't soaked too long?"

She hurriedly opened the food box.

A cloud of white steam rose up.

The entire office was filled with an enticing aroma.

Baishi swallowed.

These were... noodles?

Ganyu picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a bundle of noodles, and put them in her mouth.

"Mmm... so delicious..."

Ganyu looked completely satisfied. She was about to take a second bite when she noticed Baishi still standing at her desk, looking at her longingly.

"Baishi?"

"Miss Ganyu, might I ask what this is?"

"It's a special food that a friend gave me. You just add hot water and let it sit for a while, and you can eat hot, steaming noodles."

"I see..."

Ganyu smiled.

"My friend gave me quite a few. We've been working until now, you must be hungry too. Why don't I give you two boxes?"

"Thank you!"

A moment later, Baishi returned to Ningguang's office with two boxes of instant noodles and the document.

"Lady Ningguang! I brought you something delicious!"

"Oh? What is this?"

"This is..."

A few minutes later, Ningguang finished drinking the last of the noodle soup from the food box, let out a light breath, her face showing a satisfied flush.

To think there were such delicious noodles in the world!

She felt not only that her fatigue had disappeared and her energy was restored, but her mood had also improved greatly.

Ningguang lowered her head to look at the small paper slip attached to the food box, her eyes showing interest.

"Chef... Xia?"

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