Two Realms: A cartload of rice arrived at the end of the Ming Dynasty

0029 Instant Noodles

Modern time and space.

Zhu Shiting, who had just been teleported back, hurriedly rode his electric scooter out the door.

Upon arriving at the town's supermarket, he asked the owner to help him pack up all the bagged instant noodles on the shelves and in the warehouse.

I bought all the brands, whether they were Master Kong, Uni-President, or Baixiang, as long as they weren't extra spicy.

"Handsome, buying so much instant noodles? Are you giving them to your employees as a perk again?" the middle-aged supermarket owner asked curiously.

He was deeply impressed by Zhu Shiting, whose previous purchases of recycled bedding had essentially cleared out their entire inventory.

Unexpectedly, just a few days later, this small business owner, whose factory was located somewhere, came to their supermarket to shop again.

Although I only bought cheap items, I couldn't resist buying large quantities.

If more customers like that who spend so lavishly come along, their supermarket will make a fortune.

"The factory is having a promotion, so we're stocking up on extra supplies to provide late-night snacks for the workers on duty," Zhu Shiting casually replied.

Without much explanation, he called a Lalamove truck on his phone to load the dozens of boxes of instant noodles and deliver them to the warehouse in Xie'ao Village.

He himself had drunk a little and didn't dare to drive recklessly, so he followed on his electric scooter.

……

The late Ming Dynasty.

Following the instructions of the deity, Sun Lu woke up all the sleeping villagers in the village.

With the help of more than a dozen women, boiling water began to be heated in the iron pot set up on the dam.

"I wonder what the immortal face that the immortal master mentioned is."

"Noodles boiled in boiling water, could it be a type of noodle like suomian?" Sun Lu wondered to herself.

Just as I was pondering this, a familiar figure appeared in the village with dozens of large cardboard boxes stacked up.

"The immortal lord has returned!"

"Welcome, Your Excellency, to the mortal realm!"

The mountain people gathered around cheered in unison.

After several rounds of criticism and education, the mountain people learned their lesson and stopped kneeling and kowtowing indiscriminately, but they still made sure to express their gratitude verbally and bow.

"Please, everyone, no need for formalities!"

Seeing this, Zhu Shiting waved to the more than three hundred people gathered around him.

Then he called Sun Lu and the other women over to help, instructing them to do as he did, opening the packets of instant noodles one by one and throwing them into the pot.

The deep-fried golden pancakes, after being briefly scalded by boiling water, release a rich aroma of flour and a unique fragrance of oil that permeates Jiyun Village.

"It smells so good!"

"Is this the celestial noodles that immortals eat?"

"It's truly a divine product; it smells so good even as soon as it's put into the pot." The crowd stirred with excitement.

Many of the mountain dwellers, who had just fallen asleep, were still fuming and complaining when they were woken up at night.

But as soon as they smelled the rich aroma of instant noodles, they all started swallowing hard.

"This is called instant noodles. You can eat it right away after cooking it in boiling water until it's soft."

Zhu Shiting pointed a flashlight at the pot of glistening instant noodles as he explained.

To prevent the mountain people from getting sick, he deliberately didn't put the heavy, spicy, braised, numbing-spicy, or pickled-pepper seasoning packets into the pot. Instead, he tore off some light seasoning packets for seafood fish cake noodles and chicken stew with mushrooms and poured them into several pots.

Sun Lu and the women helping out were stunned as they looked at the golden noodles and dried vegetables that swelled up when they came into contact with water in the pot!

"Instant noodles?"

"Can it be eaten immediately after being cooked until soft?"

"So the food in Heaven is so convenient! No wonder it's called instant noodles. It tastes so much better than regular noodles."

Sun Lu swallowed hard, feeling a little ashamed, and slowly slurped up a mouthful of instant noodles from the small bowl Zhu Shiting handed her.

The intense flavors, infused with modern technology, almost brought this young lady, Ms. Sun, to tears!

Before the Sun family fell on hard times, they were considered wealthy farmers with some assets in the area. The family provided their young lady with a constant supply of chicken, duck, fish, and meat.

But when she thought back on all the meals she had eaten in the first half of her life, none of them could compare to this bowl of instant noodles, and Sun Lu couldn't help but wipe away her tears.

Thinking of her father, who was imprisoned, Sun Lu stared at the colorful shrimp, fish cakes, scallions, and radish pieces in the bowl, thinking, "I really want Daddy to try this divine instant noodle."

Zhu Shiting was unaware of the young lady Sun's girlish thoughts. Instead, he listened to the mountain people repeatedly mentioning "Suomian" and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

Although Wenzhou Prefecture is located in the Jiangnan region, its fertile land is not only suitable for growing rice and sweet potatoes. Wheat has been cultivated on some alluvial plains in Cangnan Mazhan and Pingyang Tengjiao since ancient times.

Wenzhou's specialty handmade noodles originated in the Southern Song Dynasty and were named for their thinness, resembling silver threads, and length, resembling ropes.

In folk tradition, whenever there are weddings, funerals, or the birth of a child, relatives and friends who come to give gifts will bring a red plastic bucket of noodles, symbolizing longevity, peace, and good health.

However, compared to the plain and bland flavor of instant noodles, the instant noodles he brought from the modern era were clearly superior in taste.

More than 300 people gathered around the open space to eat noodles. Having just experienced the novelty of instant noodles, which smelled incredibly delicious but tasted just average, these mountain folk wanted nothing more than to lick the oily residue floating on the large iron pots clean!

Watching the mountain people's blissful and oblivious expressions as they ate instant noodles, Zhu Shiting felt a pang of emotion, thinking to himself, "These people at the end of the Ming Dynasty were really starving. I should prepare more supplies for them to eat more in the future."

……

After about half an hour of eating, the dozens of boxes of instant noodles that Zhu Shiting brought were all eaten up by the mountain villagers as a late-night snack.

Sun Lu, who was appointed by the gods after the village was established, led Zhou Ren, Lin Yu and the others forward to express their gratitude: "Thank you for your grace, Immortal! We are all of humble origin and do not know how to repay your kindness."

As the well-educated and polite eldest daughter of the Sun family, Sun Lu knew that constantly taking from others was not a sustainable way to live.

Furthermore, Zhu Shiting was unwilling to reveal his immortal name to them, nor did he allow the mountain people to erect statues and shrines in his honor.

Therefore, after this delicious late-night snack, Sun Lu mustered up her courage and went up to ask Zhu Shiting for advice, hoping to get some answers from him.

"These mountain people are kind and righteous. They eat my food and use my things, and they know they want to repay me." Zhu Shiting smiled knowingly as he looked at the simple scene before him.

Then he thought of the 13 million yuan in liquid funds in his account and the value of the remaining two large gold ingots, which together were enough for these mountain people to eat instant noodles for several years.

Thinking of this, Zhu Shiting waved his hand and said in a pretentious manner, "I have descended to the mortal realm several times to take pity on you, and naturally I have my own plans and considerations. Miss Sun, please be patient."

"Once you have eaten your fill and rested, I will personally issue a decree to command you after some time!"

Upon hearing that the immortals seemed to be going to give them an important position, Sun Lu and the group of simple mountain people were extremely excited.

As long as you don't freeload off the immortals all the time, it's fine!

At this moment, Lin Yu, standing at the front of the crowd, seemed to have guessed Zhu Shiting's intentions and stepped forward to plead, "Imperial Immortal, some of the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled from our villages have not yet come here. There are not enough houses in the villages, and the new houses have not yet been built. If we force them to move here, it will easily cause the elderly, weak, women, and children to suffer from frostbite and fall ill at night. Please be lenient and postpone the gathering of the villages for a while."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Shiting glanced at Lin Yu and felt that what this scholar Lin said did indeed make some sense.

For his own convenience, he forcibly gathered these mountain people together. If he didn't provide them with a way out, it would be easy for conflicts to arise.

After pondering for a moment, Zhu Shiting, in order to further establish his authority, pointed to several areas near Jiyun Village overgrown with weeds and bamboo groves and instructed, "The matter of gathering the village should not be delayed. Starting tomorrow, you should arrange for able-bodied men to cut down and clear away the vegetation in this area."

"As for housing, there's no need to build those laborious stone and thatched huts. Once you've cleared the land, I will personally go to the Heavenly Court and bring down celestial houses to shelter you from the wind and rain!"

After saying that, Zhu Shiting disappeared from everyone's sight again, leaving the mountain people in a state of turmoil.

"Fairy house?"

"The celestial abode that the sage spoke of... could it be a convenient divine object like instant noodles?"

Sun Lu muttered to herself, glancing at Lin Xiucai, who had just contradicted the immortal, with a hint of wariness in her eyes. She thought to herself, "This Lin Datoujin, I won't allow him to speak recklessly in front of the immortal again next time."