After transmigrating, he supported his family by working at a garbage dump.

Originally, Hu San Niang said she would cook for the guests herself, but somehow, as the two of them were busy in the kitchen, Zhang He suddenly took the lead.

Seeing that Zhang He was even more efficient than herself, Hu San Niang felt a little embarrassed and quickly told Zhang He not to bother and that she would do it.

Zhang He said that the technique of rolling out dough is not something that can be done by ordinary people. Hu San Niang tried it and found that she was indeed not very familiar with it.

Afraid of delaying everyone's meal, she simply stepped aside and stood to the side to help. Looking at the cured meat in her hands, she was somewhat troubled: "If that's the case, it's a real waste to steam this cured meat. Does He Niang have a good idea?"

I originally planned to steam it directly, but it doesn't seem to go well with noodles.

Zhang He wiped her flour-covered hands, took the cured meat, and weighed it in her hand.

In Qingzhou Prefecture, pork from pigs slaughtered for the New Year can be kept for the entire winter without spoiling. While some people do make cured pork, it's rare.

Zhang He didn't do it before, but later Xu Zhuzhu kept nagging her.

She heard about it a lot, and two years ago she asked her neighbor and learned how to make it. It was also because of Xu Zhuzhu that she figured out a lot of ways to make cured meat.

Frying, stir-frying, steaming, boiling—no method was omitted.

Today, since it's to be eaten with noodles, it's natural to make it more flavorful. Steaming it alone would probably be a bit bland. So he smiled and said, "This piece of meat is a bit too fatty. Why don't we stir-fry it with the vegetable stalks and fry out the fat inside, then pour it over the noodles? Maybe that will make it even more fragrant."

When Hu San Niang heard this, she thought it was a good idea. The cured pork was a bit fatty, but that was good. More oil meant it would taste better. Her family even specially picked out two rather fatty pieces of cured pork and sent them over.

"Then I'll go pick some more greens from the back. Do you want some radishes?"

She had only picked one cabbage, intending to use it to make a vegetable soup with some cured meat, but upon hearing that Zhang He was now doing it this way, it probably wouldn't be enough.

When Zhang He heard that they were going to pull up radishes, she thought for a moment and said, "Sister-in-law, pull one up. It'll be good for making soup base."

Hu San Niang sighed and went to the backyard.

She also had a vegetable garden in the front yard, but the ones in the back yard were growing better. The main reason was that the ones in the front yard had been wilted by the snow a few days ago, and Hu San Niang was too embarrassed to use them to entertain guests.

Zhang He makes excellent hand-pulled noodles.

This skill was passed down from her grandmother. The older generation figured out the method themselves over decades. It has nothing to do with Meimei Hot Pot. Before Xu Zhuzhu fled, she never got tired of eating it.

Today, with the addition of cured meat from Hu San Niang, it sounds even better.

While Zhang He was busy making noodles, Hu San Niang, under Zhang He's guidance, started stir-frying cured meat.

With a sizzle, hot oil was poured into the pan, and the fat from the cured pork was rendered out. Then, the washed and chopped vegetable stalks were added to the pan, and the aroma instantly filled the air.

The Li family's neighbors, who lived not far away, smelled the aroma and even made a special "pass by," constantly swallowing their saliva.

The old woman asked from across the courtyard, "Third Sister, what a wonderful day this is! What delicious dishes are you making? The aroma of the food is wafting into my yard."

She smelled the aroma of meat.

Hu San Niang didn't leave the courtyard. She stood at the kitchen door and answered, not saying that she was eating meat, but casually saying that Xu Wenjie's family had come to visit. She had used the leftover lard from before the New Year to stir-fry some vegetables, which weren't anything special.

The neighbor then pursed his lips and left, looking rather dissatisfied.

Seeing that Hu San Niang seemed to dislike the old woman, Zhang He asked out of curiosity, "Whose aunt is this?"

"Our great-aunt."

Hu San Niang pursed her lips tightly, and the smile on her face had faded considerably. She seemed unwilling to say more, so Zhang He didn't ask any further questions.

The conversation quickly shifted to the food, "...It's ready to be served. If you stir-fry it any longer, it will get tough. If you stir-fry it too much oil, it will become dry and won't taste good."

Hu San Niang then hurriedly scooped up the dishes, saying, "Luckily, He Niang reminded me."

Zhang He smiled gently, her hands still moving.

Knowing that several people could handle spicy food, and that Li Quanfu was someone who couldn't live without spice, he added two dried chilies, which made the stir-fry even more fragrant.

Xu Zhuzhu and the other two children couldn't resist either. They slipped out of the room and stood at the kitchen door, swallowing their saliva as they smelled the delicious aroma wafting from inside.

Zhang He was engrossed in kneading the dough and didn't notice, but Hu Sanniang caught a glimpse and said with amusement, "...How hungry are you? Come and have a taste!"

As he spoke, he picked up three pieces of cured meat, blew on them, and stuffed them into the mouths of the three children.

The three children ate with smacking mouths.

Xu Zhuzhu wasn't actually craving meat; she was just craving the cured meat from the South, which her mother could make and that tasted delicious.

But the taste is very different from that in the South.

She couldn't quite put her finger on what was different, but she felt that the ones made in the south were more fragrant, probably because she was a southerner in her past life.

Zhang He and Hu San Niang finished preparing dinner for both families before dark.

Hot soup noodles are the best right now. Hu San Niang wanted to take the pot off the stove and eat it around the brazier in the house. It would be convenient and hot.

He Niang quickly stopped her, saying, "Sister-in-law, there's no need to go to so much trouble. We can just eat in the kitchen and sit around the table. It will save us the trouble of moving things around and cleaning up."

Xu Wenjie and Li Quanfu had no objections, and the younger ones, including Xu Zhuzhu, were only concerned about eating, not caring where they ate.

So the two families sat around the stove and ate dinner.

A large bowl of noodles was served, and everyone ate with great relish.

The Li family father and son fell in love with it after just one bite, and Hu San Niang kept asking Zhang He what the secret was. Zhang He was generous and told her the family's secret recipe.

With four people from two households, the amount of dough to roll out was naturally quite large, so they used up almost half a bag of flour to roll out a whole basin of dough.

At first, Hu San Niang said it was too much and she couldn't finish it.

"I can finish it, my Zhuzhu can eat two bowls by herself." Xu Zhuzhu, who came out to find out the news, followed behind Zhang He and giggled, "I can finish it, I can finish it."

Sure enough, as soon as the noodles went into the pot, paired with the fragrant stir-fried cured meat, half of the bowl of noodles was gone in less than fifteen minutes.

The Xu and Li families enjoyed a hearty meal, and Li Quanfu's family hadn't eaten so satisfyingly in a long time.

Li Xiaomo stuffed a large mouthful of noodles into her mouth, and didn't forget to praise Xu Zhuzhu: "Sister Zhuzhu, your mother's noodles are so delicious, even better than my mother's."

Li Quanfu chimed in, "That's right, Third Sister's cooking was a bit lacking. Brother Xu, quickly have He Niang teach Third Sister."

Xu Wenjie just smiled and didn't say anything. In his eyes, his wife's cooking was the best in the world, so he naturally wouldn't argue.

Zhang He humbly replied, "Brother Li is too kind. I'm just learning by doing. My sister-in-law cooks much better than me."

Hu Sanniang rolled her eyes at the father and son and said irritably, "I've only made it once, and it was only after you two nagged me for half a year that I finally learned how to make it. And you still remember it now. You talk so much when I make you food. Even food can't shut you up. Now that I've learned how to make it, I won't make it for you anymore."

Xu Zhuzhu giggled and found a place to comfort Hu Sanniang, "Auntie's stir-fried cured meat is delicious! Don't you think so, brother?"

Xu An, who was chewing slowly, nodded hurriedly, "Sister is right."

Hu Sanniang hugged the two children and kept calling them "my darlings". "Our Zhuzhu and An'an are so good. If you want to eat more, then eat more."

As she spoke, she put many more pieces of cured meat on the two children's plates.

Mr. and Mrs. Xu quickly stopped her, saying, "...You can't eat that much, sister-in-law, please eat more!"

Hu San Niang didn't care about any of that. She ignored the couple and said to the father and son, "Look, even a three-year-old girl can talk better than you. They say daughters are their mothers' little cotton-padded jackets, and it's true. From now on, I'll recognize Zhuzhu as my daughter. You brat, if you dare to bully her, I'll never forgive you!"

These words were spoken to Li Xiaomo.

Hu Sanniang was known for her absolute authority in the Li family, so the father and son naturally went along with her words.

Upon hearing his mother speak, Li Xiaomo swallowed a mouthful of noodles, immediately stood up straight, his face solemn, and respectfully bowed, saying, "Yes, Mother."

This made everyone burst into laughter, and Xu Zhuzhu almost choked from laughing.

However, Hu San Niang fell for Li Xiao Mo's cunning tricks; upon closer inspection, Hu San Niang's lips were practically curled up to the sky.

Zhang He patted Xu Zhuzhu on the back, and Xu Wenjie handed her a glass of warm water...

This heartwarming scene allowed them to temporarily forget the troubles of the day...

I just hope everything will turn out well!