Chapter 15: Hand-Pulled Noodles

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Duan Chengliang waved his hand and said, “I don’t care how I fixed it, as long as you pay me twenty cents to get your knife handle perfectly repaired, that’s all that matters. Hurry up and pay; I’m waiting to go home for dinner. You don’t care about my meal anyway. Or should I come eat at your place once?”

Unexpectedly, Yan Bugui replied, “Alright then, today our house smells of meat while we eat cornbread. Just forget about the twenty cents; you can join us for a meal. Even charging you twenty cents for food is cheap, isn’t it?”

Duan Chengliang glanced at their cornbread and then at the four worried siblings, chuckling twice, “Come on now, just hand over the money. I want to get home to eat. I’m not used to your cooking.”

Yan Bugui weighed the knife, looking it over from all angles, studying it for a while. Under Duan Chengliang’s persistent urging, he reluctantly and painfully took out twenty cents.

After Duan Chengliang pocketed the money and turned to leave, Yan Bugui said, “If the knife handle breaks again, I’ll come looking for you. You have to fix it for free next time.”

Duan Chengliang laughed and waved his hand, “Third Uncle, I see you’re always thinking optimistically. This twenty cents is just for this one time. If it breaks again and you want me to fix it, that’ll be another twenty cents. Goodbye now.”

Ignoring Yan Bugui’s sullen expression, Duan Chengliang happily returned to the east wing across the street.

The good mood Yan Bugui had from smelling meat while eating cornbread now vanished. He felt that his scheming today ended with all the benefits going to Duan Chengliang across the street, who had casually picked up twenty cents.

When he sat back down at the table and looked at the cornbread, he lost all appetite and sighed heavily.

Yang Ruihua couldn’t help but ask, “Can Duan Chengliang really fix a broken knife handle?”

Yan Bugui shook his head, “Who knows? Anyway, our knife handle is fixed now. The key thing is, I haven’t heard any hammering or banging from across the street. Where does he get it repaired? Probably this kid has some special connections. We need to keep an eye on him. I feel lately he’s gotten a bit strange.”

He then looked over at Yan Jiecheng, who sat there frowning, eating cornbread dipped in hot water. “How’s your apprenticeship in the forge workshop going? Confident you’ll get permanent employment?”

Yan Jiecheng’s face tightened further. “Eating such a huge piece of cornbread every day, I can barely lift the hammer. Apprenticeship? Dad, I told you, if you don’t improve the nutrition and upgrade our food quality, I might not make it through. I’m realizing more and more that forging is hard, just physical labor with no real skill involved. Now I regret it so much. If I’d known, I’d have stayed honest and taken a temporary job at the street office rather than join the forge workshop.”

Yan Bugui glared and slammed the table, “If you don’t work hard and can’t become permanent, you’ll have to repay every penny I spent on you. Not a cent less.”

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“Dad, how am I supposed to repay? I make 20 yuan a month, give 15 to the family, leaving just 5 for myself. Now you want me to repay? You’re tougher than those capitalists.”

“I let you give 15 a month because I cover your food and lodging. Everything at home costs money. You think 15 yuan covers all your expenses? We spent a lot to get you this job. If you can’t make permanent, I won’t accept it unless you repay.”

Yan Jiecheng curled his lips and said fiercely, “I think we got tricked. Why didn’t they find me a fitter? Forget the fitter, even Duan Chengliang working as a loader makes 32 yuan a month, isn’t that better than 20?”

Yan Bugui glared fiercely, “You’re just a coward who fails at everything and complains about everything. What do you know? Forget it, I’m too lazy to argue. Just remember, if you don’t do well, you repay the money yourself, I won’t care.”

Yan Jiecheng puffed angrily, while the others, Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekang, looked tense, glancing between Yan Jiecheng and Yan Bugui. They were already worrying what their own futures would be like when they started looking for work.

Honestly, witnessing this situation put a lot of pressure on them. They suddenly resolved to study hard and improve themselves, determined to rely on no unreliable father in the future.

Duan Chengliang happily returned home and set a small table in the entrance room. He placed a cutting board on it, took out half a catty of white flour, sprinkled some salt, and began kneading dough, preparing to enjoy a good hand-rolled noodle meal.

His noodle-rolling skills were impeccable. It was this very skill that had won the hearts of many beautiful actresses and given him many chances to get close to them.

Humming a song, “We common folks are really happy today...”

With the cutting board on the small table and the rolling pin rhythmically rolling, and now with strength in his waist, he rolled the dough thin and even quite fast.

Just as he was about to sprinkle flour and start cutting noodles, someone knocked on the door.

Duan Chengliang ignored it, set down the rolling pin, and got up to open the door.

“Hey, Sister Qin, you’re here.”

Qin Huairu stood shyly at the door, her cheeks flushed.

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Duan Chengliang looked outside to make sure no one was around, then quickly pulled her inside and closed the door.

Caught off guard, Qin Huairu barely steadied herself before her eyes fell on the white dough on the cutting board.

Surprised, she asked, “Chengliang, you’re making noodles with white flour?”

Duan Chengliang wiped his hands of flour and smiled, “I bought half a catty today and thought it’s been a while since I had hand-pulled noodles. I was craving them, so I’m doing it myself. By the way, Sister Qin, what brings you here? Have you eaten yet?”

Qin Huairu stared unblinkingly at the dough on the board and said, mouth watering, “No, not yet. First Uncle sent word that Banggeng’s father went to support the reservoir construction. When he left this morning, I told him to find some food to bring back so we could get through the next few days. But since he went to the site, I don’t know what to do. There’s nothing left in the jars at home. The whole family can only drink the northwest wind.”

Her eyes reddened, standing there pitifully, but her gaze never left the dough.

Duan Chengliang thought to himself, so this is how things will go from now on? Looks like they’re planning to turn me into a fool. I can’t fall for the temptations of a siren.

So he said reluctantly, “Sister Qin, I don’t even have a flour jar in this place. I want to give you some flour, but I just can’t. This half catty of flour took me a long time to save up for, biting my teeth to satisfy my craving. It’s only enough for me alone. Well, since you’re here, let’s eat together.”

With that, Duan Chengliang picked up the kitchen knife and skillfully sliced the rolled dough into noodles with a swish, swish, swish.

He spread out the noodles and sprinkled some cornmeal to prevent sticking.

Just then, the water in the pot on the stove in the inner kang bed warmed and boiled. Duan Chengliang carried the cutting board over and dropped the noodles into the pot.