Chapter 124: Chapter 124: A Busy Day

Creak—

Chen Rong pushed open the door.

“Chang Xia, time to get up and have breakfast!” Chen Rong called gently.

Chang Xia was bundled up in her fur blanket, inching her way deeper into the heated brick bed. Memories she’d forgotten last night resurfaced in her mind.

Damn—

She had been the one teasing Chen Rong at first.

Who would have thought Chen Rong would turn the tables, catch her, and kiss her for ages.

“Okay, I got it,” Chang Xia mumbled back from under the covers.

Chen Rong covered his mouth to stifle his laughter.

If Chang Xia heard him, she’d probably get embarrassed and throw a fit again.

As much as he found this side of her incredibly cute, he knew better than to say it out loud—otherwise, she’d definitely get mad.

“Hurry up! Otherwise... Nan Feng and the others will be here soon,” Chen Rong reminded her.

With that, he left the room.

He knew if he stayed, Chang Xia probably wouldn’t dare get out of bed.

“...” Chang Xia waited a while, making sure Chen Rong had really left the room. Only then did she crawl out from under the fur blanket, gasping for air. She’d held her breath too long—almost suffocated herself. She knew Chen Rong wasn’t lying; if she didn’t get up now, Nan Feng and the others would show up.

That would be even harder to explain.

A moment later—

Chang Xia got up and mustered her courage to head to the kitchen to wash up.

“Chen Rong, what’s for breakfast?”

“Noodle soup. I pressed the dough into fine noodles, and the soup’s chicken broth.”

The noodle soup was pretty tasty. The dough hadn’t fermented, so it lacked that slight tang, and the noodles weren’t especially chewy, but the flavor was still really good.

“They didn’t break?” Chang Xia asked in surprise.

“Nope, they held together just fine,” Chen Rong replied.

“Must be because you kneaded the dough well,” Chang Xia guessed. She thought to herself that next time it rained, she should try making dried noodles. There was a lot of fruit flour stored in the cellar, but it was prone to moisture. Turning it into dried noodles would make it last longer and be easier to carry.

All things considered, rainy days at home were actually pretty busy.

She had jade ornaments to work on, flour to make, and was waiting for news from Su Ye.

When she thought about it, every day was packed—there was hardly a moment to spare.

Soon, Chang Xia finished washing up.

Chen Rong handed her a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

Chang Xia took the bowl, sipped the broth first, then picked up some noodles and slurped them down.

She had to admit, the chicken noodle soup was delicious. Unlike fish or bone broth noodles, the chicken version was just so fragrant—probably thanks to the wild chickens from the Twilight Forest.

The chicken, duck, and goose they’d had before all tasted amazing.

“This is so good!” Chang Xia gave Chen Rong a thumbs-up, feeling like she could easily eat another big bowl.

“Chang Xia, what’s so tasty?”

Just then, Nan Feng’s voice rang out from the courtyard outside the cave.

How did Nan Feng hear what Chang Xia was saying all the way from the living room? Sometimes, you just had to admire a foodie’s superpowers.

“This smells like chicken soup.”

“Chang Xia, you’re having chicken soup for breakfast?”

Chang Xia shrugged at Chen Rong—these noses never slept.

“I’m having chicken noodle soup, not just chicken soup,” Chang Xia replied. Then she glanced at Chen Rong and whispered, “Chen Rong, did you make enough noodles?”

There was enough chicken broth, but she wasn’t sure about the noodles.

Chen Rong looked at her mischievous expression and replied softly, imitating her, “Don’t worry, there’s plenty. I made extra, just in case they showed up early.”

He really was quite foresighted.

“Is there more? I’ll have some…” Nan Feng chimed in without hesitation.

Behind her, Maple Leaf, Warm Spring, and the others watched speechlessly as Nan Feng darted into the kitchen. There was just no saving this girl!

“When did she get so shameless?” Maple Leaf asked quietly.

Kong Shan cleared his throat and murmured, “Don’t you want some of Chang Xia’s chicken noodle soup?”

At that, Warm Spring and the others immediately quickened their pace.

Actions spoke louder than words—they all wanted some.

“Chang Xia, I—”

“Hey! Don’t push, I want some too!”

In an instant, everyone crowded into the kitchen, jostling for a share.

Chang Xia slurped her noodles, ignoring the pack of hungry wolves. Luckily, she’d made herself another bowl just in time. As for the rest, it was survival of the quickest.

Chen Rong also sat back to watch, amused by the scramble.

“Warm Spring, you already had breakfast at home—let me have this bowl,” Nan Feng said, grabbing at the noodles with her chopsticks as she and Warm Spring fought over the last bowl.

Actually, Nan Feng had already gotten herself a bowl earlier.

But she figured she could eat two more.

Up front, Maple Leaf and Kong Shan were the quickest—they grabbed bowls, scooped noodles and broth, and headed to the living room to eat. Like Chang Xia and Chen Rong, they ate while watching the chaos unfold.

Ya Dong was the sneakiest—he ate from his own bowl while eyeing Nan Feng’s first bowl, which hadn’t had broth added yet. While Nan Feng and Warm Spring fought over the last noodles, Ya Dong made his move.

Before Nan Feng could react, Ya Dong swiftly grabbed her first bowl, dumped it into his own, and went to add chicken broth.

He was so fast.

By the time everyone realized what had happened, Ya Dong was already slurping away.

“Nan Feng—”

Chang Xia called her name, reminding her.

Nan Feng’s hand slipped, and Warm Spring snatched the noodles right out from under her nose. She turned around in a daze, only to find an empty bowl in front of her.

“My noodles—where did my noodles go?” Nan Feng wailed.

Unfortunately, no one paid her any mind—everyone was too busy slurping their own noodles to care.

Links:

Nanfeng glanced around, her gaze landing squarely on Yadong.

“Yadong, are you looking for trouble—?”

It was obvious that Nanfeng had guessed Yadong was the one who’d stolen her noodles. Other than him, no one else present would do something so tasteless.

Yadong didn’t deny it. He quickly stuffed the last of the noodles into his mouth and finished off the soup.

He flipped the wooden bowl upside down, gave Nanfeng a regretful look, and said, “All gone! As expected of chicken soup noodles—delicious, that’s all I can say.”

As he spoke, he smacked his lips in satisfaction.

Nanfeng was furious. She slammed her chopsticks onto the noodle sieve and kicked at Yadong. But Yadong was ready—he tossed his bowl and chopsticks aside and dashed straight out to the courtyard of the cave dwelling.

“Ah! I’m going to kill you!”

“Yadong, if you’ve got guts, don’t run! Stand still!”

Changxia finished her soup and sighed, “Ah, another lively day. I hope the weather holds.”

It was the rainy season, and the weather was very unpredictable.

Changxia was hoping for a few more sunny days so they could finish paving the courtyard of her cave dwelling with snowflake stone slabs.

“Elder Yami said there should be two or three more days of good weather,” Maple Leaf said.

The tribe’s elders could read the weather with remarkable accuracy.

Hearing there would be a couple more days of sunshine, Changxia was overjoyed.

“Changxia, you clean up the dishes. I’ll go to the cellar for some resin. Should I melt the resin in the kitchen or out in the courtyard?” Shen Rong asked.

“In the courtyard,” Changxia replied immediately. “Melting resin smells too strong—don’t do it in the kitchen.”

“Okay,” Shen Rong said. “Kongshan, could you build a stove in the courtyard later? I’ll fetch the resin from the cellar. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish.”

“Got it!” Kongshan replied.

They had come early today, hoping to get Changxia’s courtyard done in a single day. With a template in place, it would be much easier for them to do their own in the future.