Chapter Thirty-Four: This Feeling, This Scene

  The name of this wonton shop on Yu Hua Road, Fu Nan Street is quite special, called "A Bowl of Fragrant Wontons". On the sign above the door, there was also a riddle written: "Three tiles, covering a temple, inside lives a small old Taoist", this riddle requires guessing the name of an agricultural product. Ye Feng naturally understood what it meant in his heart, but pretended not to know and asked Qin Yan: "Qin lawyer, do you know the answer to this riddle?"

  "It's buckwheat, I used to eat zongzi too, and I know the best zongzi noodles are made of buckwheat noodles. Three tiles and a temple is exactly describing its external shape." Qin Yan answered correctly without any hesitation.

  This old restaurant is a well-known local eatery, usually bustling with customers. However, Ye Feng and Qin Yan arrived late, so most of the diners had already left. The owner and staff were not busy at this time either. Seeing new customers arrive, the waiter hurried over, beaming with smiles, and greeted them: "Welcome to our humble restaurant! Our small dishes and wine may not be special, but we have a variety of mountain and sea delicacies that will leave you wanting more. Try our famous Dongguan oat noodles, and I guarantee you'll want to come back again and again - once is not enough, twice will make you want to stay, three times and you won't want to leave, four times and you'll be reluctant to go home! Haha!"

  This fellow speaks with a strong accent, is infinitely enthusiastic, and has a clever way with words, making one feel like a honored guest.

  The restaurant wasn't big, but the decor was very particular. There were private rooms and elegant rooms. Ye Feng and Qin Yan chose a quiet place to sit down. As soon as they sat down, the enthusiastic waiter came over with a smile: "Will you two order some small dishes first or go straight to the noodles? Do you want white, yellow or black?"

  Qin Yan listened with some confusion, she had eaten noodles before, but not such exquisite ones. Ye Feng opposite her just smiled lightly and didn't explain to her. Qin Yan was helpless and could only ask the shopkeeper: "Excuse me, are there many details about this noodle dish? The noodles I ate before were all made with a noodle machine, either white flour noodles or buckwheat noodles, similar to rice noodles, just a bit more chewy."

  The fellow chuckled and shook his head, unable to resist introducing the noodles to Qin Yan: "This lady, you're wrong, our family's noodles are the most authentic, the most traditional. Especially our shop's traditional northern-style noodles, which originated in the Qing dynasty, have been passed down for centuries, and are renowned far and wide. Our noodles come in three varieties based on ingredients: white flour, corn flour, and a combination of white and corn flour, as well as buckwheat flour. After being pressed into shape, they also come in three colors: white, yellow, and black. In terms of broth, there are two types: thin and thick. Some customers prefer to eat the noodles with just a little broth, stirring it in so that the noodles absorb all the liquid, leaving no soup visible - this is called 'thin broth' noodles. Others like to eat their noodles with oil cakes, which they swallow whole, so they need more broth and less noodles - this is called 'thick broth' noodles. Additionally, there are seasonal variations, such as cold broth in summer and hot broth in winter, or adding garlic, ginger, chili peppers, or Sichuan peppercorns to the broth for different flavors. In terms of texture, there's also a distinction between 'overcooked' and 'undercooked', with some people preferring their noodles soft and sticky, while others like them firm and chewy - each has its own unique flavor."

  This fellow was loquacious and introduced in great detail, not to mention Qin Yan, even Ye Feng, who had been here several times, listened with relish.

  Qin Yan couldn't help but admire the boss's eloquence, and after a few words, she was so hungry that her fingers were itching to eat, and her saliva almost flowed out. She didn't ask any more questions and said directly: "Okay, let's start with a large and small bowl to fill our stomachs. After hearing you say this, I'm starving. We'll order the dishes and wine later, first have the kitchen make me a bowl of wonton soup."

  "Coming right up!" The waiter yelled and turned away.

  Qin Yan looked at Ye Feng and smiled: "This store is not bad, although it's a bit small, but the feeling it gives people is very good. To be honest, I've never been to this kind of place for dinner before."

  Although Ye Feng didn't know Qin Yan's family background, he could guess that her living conditions were definitely good. He said, "Attorney Qin, the noodles here do taste great, but the environment isn't very good, don't mind it."

  Qin Yan furrowed her brow and said, "What? You think I'm the kind of rich young lady who's never been to a place like this? I've been to many places that are worse than this. The reason I said I rarely come to eat at places like this isn't because I look down on the environment here, but because I was too busy in the past. Either I'd eat fast food or just order takeout to fill my stomach, it's been a long time since I've actually sat down and had a proper meal."

  Ye Feng was scolded by Qin Yan for a few sentences, and for a moment, he didn't know how to respond. However, in his heart, he thought that it's no wonder she's a lawyer, with just two or three sentences, she can shut people up.

  Qin Yan ordered another plate of braised beef and some cold dishes, asking Ye Feng: "Do you drink baijiu or beer?"

  "Never mind, I won't drink then," Ye Feng said with a wave of his hand. "I still want to go for an interview this afternoon and drinking is not good."

  The dishes were all served at once, and two bowls of beef noodles made from sorghum also arrived, with a fragrant aroma filling the air.

  Qin Yan smoothed out her sleeves, picked up the chopsticks, and said with a smile: "Ye Feng, I'll start first. Just smelling it makes me feel hungry, eating it must be even more delicious."

  In one gulp, she ate a bit hastily, the soup was scalding hot, and Qin Yan's mouth was wide open as she puffed out air.

  At this moment, Qin Yan no longer has any elegant, refined and intelligent demeanor, giving Ye Feng the feeling that she is just like a big girl from the neighboring family back in their hometown.

  But Ye Feng also felt that at this moment, Qin Yan was very beautiful and very real.

  Shaking his head, Ye Feng poured a large amount of vinegar from the bottle into the noodles and stirred it evenly before taking a bite.

  Qin Yan looked at Ye Feng's actions, somewhat curious, and asked vaguely while chewing on her rice: "Ye Feng, is this vinegar really that delicious? Won't it be too sour?"

  Yefeng smiled and said: "Vinegar can remove some of the beef's fishy smell, making it taste better."

  Qin Yan also learned from the example, and poured a small amount of vinegar, stirring evenly. After eating a few mouthfuls, she smacked her lips and said: "It's really not bad, the sour and spicy flavors are just right, the taste is even more rich, and with the hot soup, it feels really good. No wonder you told me that once you start eating, you can eat several bowls."

  Ye Feng had not finished his bowl yet when Qin Yan had already finished hers, without even leaving a drop of soup behind.

  Looking at the empty bowl, Qin Yan seemed to have some lingering thoughts, her tongue involuntarily licking her lips. After taking a sip of the hot soup, her face was covered with fine sweat and her cheeks flushed red. She took out a wet wipe from her bag and gently wiped her face, her complexion radiant and her demeanor languid, beautiful to the extreme.

  Ye Feng looked at Qin Yan in front of him, and suddenly felt that the emotions he had suppressed deep within his heart after experiencing the Liu Mei Mei incident burst out again. One Liu Mei Mei was enough to make him feel excited and impulsive, let alone Qin Yan who surpassed her by far?

  For a moment, Ye Feng was stunned, he knew it wasn't good, but the turmoil in his heart couldn't be controlled.

  Qin Yan also noticed that Ye Feng's expression was not quite right, so she deliberately coughed and said: "Ye Feng, are you full? I'll get you another bowl."

  Ye Feng suddenly felt embarrassed, lowered his head and swallowed the noodles and soup in one breath, stammering: "Nothing... oh... no, it's just... I... I'm already full."

  For Ye Feng, who came from a rural area and had never been in love before, this situation made him feel somewhat awkward.

  "If you're not hungry, then let's have two bowls of noodle soup. It's good for digestion and appetite." Qin Yan seemed to feel a bit awkward too, after saying this, she got up and went to the dining area, calling out to the waiter to bring two bowls of noodle soup, also taking the opportunity to dissipate the sudden awkwardness between them.

  After Qin Yan got up and left, Ye Feng's heart finally relaxed. He felt that he was very unsuccessful, and his mental state cultivation was still far from enough. It seemed that in the future, he would have to find opportunities to practice and improve his mental state cultivation.

  After a while, Qin Yan came back and sat down. Her facial expression had returned to normal. She looked at Ye Feng and took the initiative to ask: "Ye Feng, tell me about your previous working life, such as what you ate and where you lived?"

  Ye Feng wiped his mouth and said, "When I first started working, the food was actually not very good, with a daily food allowance of less than 5 yuan. After doing it for a few years, my skills improved, and I became a big worker, and my food allowance increased to 10 yuan per day. Later, after becoming a team leader, my treatment improved greatly, and my food allowance was raised from 10 yuan per day to 25 yuan per day, with a special stove for the team leaders. As for living conditions, it can be summed up in four words: hot in summer and cold in winter. In the summer, a group of workers crowded into a workshop, feeling stuffy and hot, and the food was not good either. On winter nights, I would feel cold."

  Qin Yan squinted her eyes and sighed, "It seems what the TV and newspapers say is true. Migrant workers are indeed living at the bottom of society. Not to mention wage arrears, just looking at their material living conditions makes one feel both sympathetic and heartbroken. I really don't know how you've managed to hold on all these years."

  Ye Feng sighed and said, "Actually, the conditions of migrant workers are much better now than they were in the past. The country and government have started to pay attention to the living situation of migrant workers, and cases of malicious wage arrears and extreme methods of asking for wages have decreased significantly. However, there are just too many migrant workers in China, and even if the government wants to take care of them, it's hard to do so. My mother used to tell me a phrase, 'People are divided into three six nine grades, you are which grade of fate, that is which grade of fate, don't force it.' I was very resentful of this at first, but after struggling and striving in society for many years, I have come to see the truth. Although my mother's words were a bit biased, they made sense. People have different fates, so there's no use blaming others."

  I've already fallen out of the new book rankings, I'm begging for all kinds of support to rush back up!!! Also, the recent two chapters are transitional episodes, a bit dull, but it will pass soon, and the main character will soon meet truly powerful opponents.

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