Chapter 3: Noodles in Another World

Evening.

First floor of the castle, the lord's kitchen.

This was the time when the servants had their meals. When Bruno arrived, the servants were gathered in small groups, eating their dinner.

In this world, aside from nobles like Bruno, most ordinary people could only afford two meals a day—breakfast and dinner.

"Is this your food for today?"

Bruno curiously picked up a piece of black, hard, and coarse bread.

The sudden arrival of the lord made the servants uneasy, and the cook, who was washing ingredients, was so frightened that he nearly lost his soul.

"Y-yes... this is my food," the servant stammered nervously.

Bruno examined the black bread, tapping it against the stove a few times. The bread made a dull duang duang sound as it hit the stove.

Coarse and hard—no mistake, this was the legendary black bread.

Bruno had heard about medieval black bread before, and there were faint memories of it in the original body's mind. But today was the first time he had seen it with his own eyes.

"Do you eat this every day?"

"My lord, having such black bread is already considered a blessing from heaven. The old butler is kind-hearted. The black bread he gives us is made from barley, oats, or rye. Although it's mixed with bran, peas, and other things, it's still much tastier than ordinary black bread."

Hearing Bruno's question, Shabi, who was standing nearby, quickly explained.

"This is considered a blessing from heaven? Do others eat even worse than this?" Bruno couldn't help but ask.

"Of course. Although commoners can occasionally catch a few fish to improve their meals, black bread is still their staple food. And the bread they eat is often mixed with small stones, sand, bran, weeds, and other things. Not only is it hard to chew, but the taste is also unbearable. Some can only grind cheap crops like peas or acorns into flour to make bread."

Hearing this, although Bruno had expected it, he was still somewhat shocked. This world... was indeed too impoverished.

Could he... change... this backward world?

After having the servants stand up, Bruno carefully examined the ingredients and utensils in the kitchen.

Compared to the commoners who didn't know where their next meal would come from, his life seemed much better.

It had to be said that the ingredients in the kitchen weren't as monotonous as Bruno had previously imagined. There were not only common fruits like apples, lemons, and peaches but also many wild berries of unknown origin. As for vegetables, there were cabbages, onions, celery, radishes, and... beets!?

Bruno felt as if he had discovered a new continent. He quickly walked over and picked up a few beets to examine them closely. Beets were an important raw material for sugar production on Earth...

In this world, the method of extracting sugar from beets had definitely not been discovered yet. At least, in the memories of the unfortunate soul he had transmigrated into, beets were just a simple vegetable used for making soup.

In this world, the only source of sugar was wild honey, which was rare and hard to come by. Therefore, sugar was extremely precious here.

It seemed that he would have to find time to produce sugar. This was a clear path to wealth!

However, sugar production wasn't the most urgent matter at hand.

Bruno was tired of dealing with barely edible white bread every day. Therefore, training a competent cook was his top priority right now.

As for the system's task... he would worry about filling his stomach first. There was plenty of time ahead, and there was no need to rush.

The cooking utensils were simple. People in this world only knew how to stew, roast, and boil food. There were no iron pans, which shattered Bruno's dream of eating stir-fried dishes.

After looking around, it seemed... making noodles would be the simplest option.

There was no way Bruno would do it himself. As a noble, he had to act like one.

He instructed the cook to scoop out a large bowl of flour, add water to make dough, and then carefully knead it repeatedly in an earthen basin.

"Is the lord going to cook himself?" Shabi asked softly.

"Maybe..." Bruno replied casually.

"This won't do. It's already inappropriate for the lord to come to a place like this where servants stay. How can he do it himself? If word gets out, it will damage your noble dignity."

Old Ford frowned and spoke gravely.

"Fine, I won't do it myself. Besides, the cook's skills are indeed limited. I'll just give him some pointers," Bruno said somewhat helplessly.

In this era, there seemed to be an insurmountable gap between nobles and commoners. Therefore, Bruno's actions today would be considered extremely improper by most nobles.

Old Ford could only nod. Although he had watched Bruno grow up, Bruno was the master of this land. If not for Bruno's trust in him, his status would be no different from that of an ordinary servant.

The cook, who was kneading the dough, was so frightened by Bruno's comment about his limited skills that he immediately knelt on the ground. "I deserve to die for not being able to make food to your liking..."

"Get up. I'll teach you how to make noodles this time. Study it well in the future."

"My lord, you're so amazing! You can do anything!" Shabi flattered with a smile.

Bruno: "..."

While waiting for the dough to rest, Bruno picked out a few vegetables that looked relatively fresh and had the servants wash them carefully.

As for meat... there were quite a few pieces of dried meat hanging by the window in the kitchen. There was not only common beef and lamb but also some game. However, perhaps because they had been stored for too long, the surfaces of the meat were covered with mold, making them look far from fresh, not to mention the faint sour smell lingering in the air.

To preserve meat, people in this world mostly dried it and stored it, and they didn't use much salt.

In this world, the method of producing salt was still very primitive. Most people used coarse salt, which had a bitter taste. Even nobles like Bruno didn't have access to much better salt.

Not only did it taste bad, but it was also scarce. People sprinkled it carefully, never daring to be wasteful.

Seeing that the dough had rested enough, Bruno rolled up his sleeves and prepared to take over.

Old Ford wanted to say something more but held back. Fine, if it's improper, so be it. We'll just make sure no one talks about it.

Bruno kneaded the dough with his hands and found that it had gained some elasticity. He then tore off a piece and began rolling it out on the cutting board with a rolling pin.

Although Bruno hadn't cooked much in his previous life, he had at least seen how it was done. He proceeded to make noodles in a somewhat decent manner.

Although the process was a bit rough, the final result wasn't bad.

Looking at the uneven, twisted noodles piled on the cutting board, Bruno finally felt a faint sense of joy.

There was no iron pan, but there was a clay pot. Bruno watched the vigorous flames until a faint aroma of noodles wafted from the pot. His stomach growled uncontrollably.

After serving the noodles, he added a bit of lard and salt. The aroma of oil and noodles rose with the steam, making his mouth water just from the smell.

"The lord is truly a man of great wisdom!" Shabi flattered immediately, swallowing his saliva.