Chapter 9

"Place the chicken legs in water and soak for 1 hour to fully remove the residual blood, then take them out, debone, and cut into small pieces; soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in warm water, remove the stems, and cut into small pieces..."

Li Yi flipped through a book titled "Comprehensive Guide to Noodles" in his mind, following the recipe for shiitake chicken noodle soup and began preparing the ingredients.

It wasn't that he didn't want to make something better; it was just that the kitchen had very few ingredients. Apart from a small bag of flour, the only thing Li Yi could find were a few dried mushrooms in the corner.

The flour was also very different from what he had seen in the future, far from being as refined, with a lot of bran, making it taste very poor. Li Yi had already experienced this when he ate breakfast in the morning.

However, from a nutritional standpoint, eating such coarse grains was indeed very beneficial for the body. Of course, the more important reason was that he simply couldn't find better flour as a substitute.

The provincial library, which was like a chicken rib in his mind, finally proved useful. Li Yi easily found a "Comprehensive Guide to Noodles" in the recipe section.

What he was about to make was shiitake chicken noodle soup.

Shiitake chicken noodle soup has the effect of tonifying the body and strengthening the spleen, which is very beneficial to the human body. Li Yi chose this dish, of course... just because he couldn't find any other ingredients besides the shiitake mushrooms and flour.

A book that only Li Yi could see floated in front of him. He tore off two chicken legs and followed the steps in the book to prepare them. After slicing the shiitake mushrooms, he started kneading the dough.

He had already chased Xiao Huan out of the kitchen. After eating the noodles she made at noon, Li Yi decided that in the future, she would only be allowed to cook porridge.

Kneading dough is actually a skill.

The dough needs to be kneaded well to taste good. First, you need to choose good flour, of course... this point can be temporarily ignored.

When kneading the dough, the amount of water, the quality of salt, and the strength and technique of kneading all affect the texture of the noodles. Li Yi didn't have high expectations for the salt either; if the flour was like this, how could he expect good salt in this world...

As for other technical aspects, there was no difficulty at all. Whatever he had seen would be firmly etched in his mind, and his hands would be guided by a divine touch... Outside the kitchen, the little maid stood on a stool, peering through the window and seeing her son-in-law's skilled dough-kneading technique, her beautiful big eyes widened in surprise.

This son-in-law seemed different from the scholars she had imagined.

The recipe for shiitake chicken noodle soup was very simple. In front of the kitchen was a small vegetable garden, where Li Yi found some lettuce. After the soup was cooked, he sprinkled some green onions, and a rich aroma filled the air.

Although the ingredients were limited, Li Yi was very satisfied with his creation.

Since it was his first time making it, he was worried about wasting food, so he only made a single serving. After washing his hands at the water tank, he was about to taste the long-awaited flavor when he turned around and saw the empty stove. Li Yi was stunned, his face changing instantly!

"Damn, where's my noodles!"

A scream suddenly echoed through the kitchen.

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As night fell, Second Auntie called out affectionately for the only hen that laid eggs in her house. Soon, her affectionate calls turned into vicious curses.

"Who the hell stole my chicken!"

"Don't let me catch you, or I'll break your legs!"

"Oh, what a disaster..."

Li Yi stood at the door, seeing the woman standing in front of the house with her hands on her hips, cursing loudly because her chicken was stolen. He thought of the bowl of noodles that had mysteriously disappeared and shook his head, a look of sympathy on his face. He closed the door and walked back into the house.

It was a rare dinner time, and good food should not be wasted. Li Yi didn't want to eat while listening to the woman's curses.

Liu Ruyi sat across from Li Yi, a hint of surprise on her beautiful face.

The noodles were chewy, the meat was tender, and the broth was delicious. In fact, when she first saw the dinner, Liu Ruyi was a bit puzzled. This dinner didn't seem to be made by Xiao Huan.

Not only was the aroma rich, but the bowl wasn't plain like before. It had red and green, making it look very appetizing. What made her even more curious was that it wasn't a holiday, yet there was a bit of meat in the bowl.

After tasting a small bite, Liu Ruyi's beautiful eyes lit up. She looked at the little maid and asked, "Xiao Huan, did you make today's dinner?"

The little maid was immersed in the best noodles she had ever eaten. Hearing this, she suddenly raised her head and said, "No, it was the son-in-law..."

Only then did she remember that she had agreed with the son-in-law not to tell Miss about it. Her face changed slightly, and when she looked up, she saw a look of extreme surprise on Miss's face.

"Cough, cough..." Li Yi cleared his throat, giving the little maid a subtle glare, and said, "I used to live alone, so I'm used to these things."

Liu Ruyi's face still showed surprise, clearly not having digested this information. Her eyes glanced at the meat in the bowl, "This meat..."

"Wild chicken, picked up on the way..."

...

...

After a long while, Liu Ruyi nodded and said softly, "Husband, you are a scholar. These coarse tasks... should be left to Xiao Huan in the future."

Li Yi glanced at Xiao Huan, who playfully stuck out her tongue and quickly lowered her head, not daring to look at him.

At fifteen or sixteen, a young girl is in the prime of her life, and it seemed that she had noticed that her son-in-law was different from other men. She gradually became more relaxed in front of him.

Beside Li Yi, Liu Ruyi, who had been silent, occasionally looked at him with a gaze of discovery, sometimes unconsciously licking her lips, as if savoring something...

"By the way, the village school will reopen tomorrow. Husband needs to prepare in advance," Liu Ruyi said after dinner, as Xiao Huan went to wash the dishes.

Li Yi nodded but didn't take it to heart. It's just a bunch of brats, right? Tomorrow, he would just find a few books and teach them a few lines, then make them recite until they could repeat it, and if they couldn't, they wouldn't be allowed to go home for dinner. That's how ancient schools worked, right?

Dealing with a few brats didn't cause Li Yi any mental burden. After waking up, before he had time to eat breakfast, Xiao Huan came to notify him that it was time to go to the school...

Li Yi still thought that a school shouldn't exist in a bandit camp. Led by Xiao Huan, he walked through most of the camp and stopped in front of a house that looked a bit wider than the others.

Before he even entered, he heard a noisy commotion inside, mixed with the laughter of the brats. The moment Li Yi walked in, the atmosphere suddenly changed, and the surroundings became quiet.

On the dirty faces, clear and curious eyes sized him up from head to toe, many of them with a scrutinizing look.

After a few seconds of silence...

"Are you Sister Ruyi's husband?"

Before Li Yi could speak, a young and slightly dissatisfied voice came from the side.