CH 80

Aug 27 2023

Playing with Food

Upon learning that Yu Qingze had recognized Jiabao as his younger brother, everyone in the snack shop was delighted and happy for Jiabao. He had been alone and pitiful, but now with Yu Qingze taking care of him, everyone felt relieved.

Jiabao was in a good mood all day long. Ever since he met Yu Qingze and Chang Le, they had been taking care of him like older brothers. When he visited Brother Chang Le’s house before, he envied the warmth and harmony of their family. Now, Big Brother Yu had become his older brother, Brother Chang Le became his brother-in-law, and Grandpa Chang and Chang Hao also became his family. They were a true family.

Thinking about this made Jiabao unable to contain his happiness.

At noon, Yu Qingze turned the sweet potato powder he had brought into sour and spicy noodles, and everyone in the shop tasted it. They all exclaimed that it was incredibly delicious.

The people here preferred strong flavors and loved spicy food, so the taste of the sour and spicy noodles perfectly suited their preferences.

Seeing their enjoyment, Yu Qingze felt slightly relieved. He also sent a message to the Cai and Zhao residences, inviting Old Madam Cai and the others to visit the shop tomorrow to taste the noodles. He valued their opinions, especially the feedback from Cai Yunwei. If he said it was delicious, the snacks they introduced would be highly popular.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

After closing, everyone stayed and gathered in the backyard. After tidying up, they watched Yu Qingze and Jiabao complete their ceremony of brotherhood.

The ceremony was simple, held in the backyard. The two faced north, bowed three times to the heavens, then bowed to Jiabao’s ancestral tablet, recited their oath, drank the brotherhood wine, and it was done.

In the evening, Brother Chang and his mother went back home. Today, Yu Qingze stayed at the shop. Starting tomorrow, he would return home and start hiring people to produce sweet potato noodles in bulk. In a while, he would also make cured meat and sausages, so he would be busy.

He came to the shop today to confirm the market response to the spicy and sour noodles. Plus, he really missed Brother Le, and he learned about Jiabao’s situation yesterday, so it worked out well to handle everything together.

After sending Jiabao back home in the evening, Yu Qingze began drawing a sketch of a bunk bed. The sketch was simple, and he quickly finished it. Tomorrow, he would bring it back to the village chief and his family to have it made. He would make two beds, one for his home and one for the shop. It would be ready around the time Jiabao’s house lease expired, which was perfect.

After finishing the sketch, Yu Qingze looked up and saw Brother Le biting off a thread.

“Is it done?” Yu Qingze asked.

Brother Le nodded and handed him a pair of cloth shoes, gesturing for him to try them on.

Yu Qingze took them, took off his shoes, put on the new ones, took a few steps, and said, “Very comfortable, the size is just right. It’s warm.”

Brother Le smiled at his words and went back inside. He took out the new cotton clothes he had made a few days ago and asked Yu Qingze to try them on. During Yu Qingze’s absence, Brother Le had spent all his evenings making clothes and shoes, and he had finished making Yu Qingze’s cotton jacket, pants, and shoes.

Yu Qingze put on the cotton jacket and pants. Brother Le examined him from every angle, then put the outer coat on him. Seeing that there was no need for any further adjustments, he finally felt relieved.

Yu Qingze lowered his head and looked at his new clothes and shoes, chuckling.

Wearing clothes and shoes made by his beloved felt completely different!

He pulled Brother Le over, hugged him, gave him a kiss, and said, “Brother Le, thank you.”

Brother Le patted his back, indicating that there was no need to thank him.

They affectionately hugged each other for a while, then let go. It was getting late, and it was time for them to clean up and get ready for bed.

During this period, Brother Chang and his mother slept in Brother Le’s room, while Brother Le slept in Yu Qingze’s room.

After finishing his washing routine, Brother Le habitually took the lamp and walked towards Yu Qingze’s room. Yu Qingze watched him from behind, blinked, but didn’t say anything. He followed Brother Le into the room.

Brother Le entered the room and was about to close the door when he saw Yu Qingze entering, which puzzled him for a moment.

Yu Qingze closed the door, took the lamp from Brother Le’s hand, and placed it on the table with his own lamp. Then he pulled Brother Le into his arms, smiled, and whispered in his ear, “Brother Le, you were really proactive today. Let me guess, is it because you missed me so much, hmm?”

Brother Le finally realized what had happened and blushed instantly. He gestured, indicating that he had walked into the wrong room.

“Isn’t it because you missed me?” Yu Qingze made a sad expression, looking pitiful, and said, “I missed you a lot, you know.”

Brother Le’s eyes flickered and hesitated for a moment, but then he gently nodded and gestured, saying, “I miss you too.”

“Is that so? How do you miss me? Do you miss me here?” Yu Qingze looked into Brother Le’s eyes, caressed his face with one hand, brushed his thumb over Brother Le’s lips, and with the other hand, he slid it down to give a gentle squeeze on his hip. Then he pressed him closer to himself and whispered, “Or do you miss me here?”

Brother Le’s waist pressed against Yu Qingze’s body, and he clearly felt that little Aze was starting to awaken. His face turned red, as it had been many days since they last saw each other, and naturally, he missed him a lot.

“Hmm? Brother Le, tell me, I want to know.” Yu Qingze pressed his lips against Brother Le’s, coaxing his beloved.

Brother Le couldn’t bring himself to utter such shameful words, so he simply reached out, wrapped his arms around Yu Qingze’s neck, and slightly leaned forward, pressing his lips against Yu Qingze’s. He answered through actions!

After ten days without intimacy, the two of them ignited like dry tinder meeting a fierce fire, burning instantly.

Little Aze and little Lele hadn’t seen each other for a long time. They played with great enthusiasm, rubbing against each other. Soon they were both sweaty. Little Lele couldn’t handle the vigorous activity and ended up vomiting, followed by little Aze who also vomited. After resting for a while, they regained their energy and continued playing until they couldn’t play anymore. Both of them vomited twice, exhausted and satisfied, they fell asleep…

Afterward, Yu Qingze went to the kitchen and brought a basin of hot water to the room. It was already mid-November, and the weather was getting cold, with a strong north wind blowing. Yu Qingze couldn’t bear to let Brother Le go outside again.

He wrung out a towel and wanted to help Brother Le wipe himself, but Brother Le blushed and snatched the towel from him, insisting on doing it himself.

Once they were both cleaned up, Brother Le was about to return to his room.

Yu Qingze hugged him tightly, not letting go, and said, “Let’s sleep here tonight. It’s cold outside, and we’ll keep each other warm.”

Brother Le hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. Although they had done what they shouldn’t have done, they had never slept on the same bed before. Sleeping together felt different, and it was also easy to get carried away.

Yu Qingze anticipated his response and played a pity card. He lowered his eyebrows, saying, “We haven’t seen each other for so many days, and we haven’t made up for lost time. Tomorrow, I’ll have to leave, and it will be a while before I can see you, hold you, and embrace you again. Let’s sleep here tonight, okay? I promise not to do anything. We’ve already released our desires earlier, and I don’t have the energy for anything else. Hmm? Is that okay? I just want to hold you.”

As he spoke, he pressed his forehead against Brother Le’s forehead, shaking it slightly while acting cute.

Normally, a tall and masculine man like Yu Qingze suddenly acting cute like this made Brother Le unable to resist. He felt his heart melt, warm and tender, and involuntarily nodded.

Big Brother Yu even acted cute. What else could he do but agree to him?

Seeing Brother Le’s agreement, Yu Qingze happily arranged the blankets, took off Brother Le’s outer clothes, tucked him into the bed, kissed his forehead, and said, “I’ll go pour some water. I’ll be back soon.”

Yu Qingze quickly washed and dried the cloth towel, poured water, and then eagerly returned to the room. He blew out the lights, undressed, got into bed, and cuddled Brother Le tightly, embracing him.

It was their first time sharing a bed, so they were both a little nervous. Brother Le’s body was slightly tense, and Yu Qingze felt it. He rubbed Brother Le’s nose and gave him another kiss, comforting him, saying, “It’s okay, I won’t do anything. Let’s sleep, goodnight.”

After a while, seeing that Yu Qingze truly remained still, Brother Le slowly relaxed. After a busy day and releasing their desires twice just now, exhaustion swept over him. He nestled in Yu Qingze’s embrace and fell asleep.

It was only when the breathing of the person in his arms became steady that Yu Qingze gently opened his eyes, smiled silently, lightly kissed his lover’s forehead, and then closed his eyes to sleep again.

The next day, both of them woke up almost at the same time.

Yu Qingze was afraid of waking Brother Le up, so he got dressed in the dark, but to his surprise, Brother Le also sat up.

Yu Qingze quickly went downstairs to light the oil lamp and then handed Brother Le his clothes, asking, “Good morning, baby, did you sleep well?”

Brother Le rubbed his eyes and was still a bit dazed for a moment, then remembered that they had slept hugging each other all night. He nodded gently and quickly took the clothes, turning his back to put them on.

Yu Qingze smiled, knowing that he was still a bit shy. After getting dressed, he went out to freshen up first.

After opening the shop in the morning, Old Madam Cai came with Cai Yunwei, and Madam Zhao came with his youngest son.

Yu Qingze asked them to have some dim sum first to fill their stomachs, as eating hot and sour noodles on an empty stomach might be too harsh on their digestive systems. Then he made three bowls of hot and sour noodles for them to taste, with a separate snack prepared for the little boy who couldn’t handle the spiciness.

The three of them looked at the bowls of dark green noodles, somewhat translucent and slippery, with peanuts and pickled green beans inside. The red soup was topped with white sesame seeds, Sichuan peppercorns, and chili powder, as well as green onions and cilantro. The sour aroma filled the air, and even before tasting it, their mouths were already watering.

Cai Yunwei swallowed and asked, “Brother Yu, is this sweet potato noodles?”

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “Yes, give it a try.”

They picked up their chopsticks and started eating the noodles.

The noodles were smooth and chewy, and the soup was sour, spicy, and slightly numbing, making it very appetizing.

“How does it taste?” Yu Qingze asked.

The three of them ate with narrowed eyes and vigorously nodded their heads.

Cai Yunwei gave a thumbs up, Old Madam Cai smiled and nodded, and Madam Zhao managed to answer in between bites, “Delicious! Appetizing! The soup is also great!”

Upon hearing their comments, Yu Qingze felt completely relieved.

After they finished a bowl of hot and sour noodles, Madam Zhao asked, “When will this be available? It’s perfect for the winter, nice and hot.”

Old Madam Cai also chuckled and said, “Yes, my old man will definitely love it. He didn’t come today because he had a headache, but when he hears about this, he’ll be craving it.”

Everyone burst into laughter, and Yu Qingze said, “Making these noodles is a bit troublesome. I’ll go back today and start looking for someone to make them. It will probably take a few days to produce the first batch.”

“That’s fine. When you launch it, we’ll definitely come and support you. By the way, I’ve been busy with family matters recently and haven’t had time to come by for a while,” Madam Zhao said.

Old Madam Cai asked, “Are you starting to get busy with the Lunar New Year preparations?”

Madam Zhao replied, “Exactly, there’s so much to do inside and outside the house, I’m getting overwhelmed.”

Old Madam Cai patted his hand and comforted him, “Your son-in-law is capable. Once he can take over completely in a while, you’ll have an easier time.”

Madam Zhao nodded and smiled, “I’m looking forward to that day.”

Speaking of which, Madam Zhao said to Yu Qingze, “A while ago, Shi family caused trouble for Boss Yu.”

Yu Qingze sighed in relief and said, “Fortunately, you resolved it. Otherwise… sigh…”

Madam Zhao waved his hand and said, “It was just a small matter. Don’t worry. After that incident, Shi family advanced their wedding plans. By the end of the month, Shi Sheng will marry into the Zeng family. If he causes trouble for you again, just let me know, and I’ll deal with him.”

Yu Qingze nodded and gratefully said, “Thank you, Madam Zhao.”

Madam Zhao shook his head, sighed, and said, “Shi family really lost face by having such a son.”

After chatting for a while longer, when they saw them off, Yu Qingze tidied up and gave instructions regarding the shop, then returned to the village.