While preparing the ingredients for the Stir-Fried Rice Noodles, Lu Qin had already soaked ten pounds of mung beans in clean water.
Mung beans soak best for 25 to 30 minutes.
Lu Qin rinsed and sifted the beans twice, scooping out the floating husks.
He put the mung beans into cold water to boil, adding some dried tangerine peel as well.
The tangerine peel not only enhances the sweet and mellow flavor of the Mung Bean Paste but also balances the cold nature of mung beans, helping to strengthen the spleen and stimulate appetite.
He turned the heat to high and kept stirring constantly with a long spoon to ensure even heating and prevent the beans from sticking to the pot.
Once the skins separated from the beans, he filtered the whole pot and pressed the bean residue to extract the juice.
The filtered soup went back into the pot, where he added brown sugar and two and a half slices of lemon in water. Once the brown sugar dissolved, the Mung Bean Paste was ready.
Lu Qin poured a small bowl, blew on it to cool, and tasted it. He was immediately amazed.
The texture was soft and smooth, sweet and fragrant—much better than any Mung Bean Paste he'd had before.
Nowadays, with advanced technology, blenders were popular and many households owned them.
Mung Bean Paste could be made using a blender, but that seriously affected the taste and nutritional content.
There was no comparison to Lu Qin's handmade Mung Bean Paste.
He packed the soup into cups and sealed them—120 cups in total.
At 7 a.m., Lu Qin called the little guy to wake up.
The child seemed still half asleep, blinking drowsily, his little mouth making munching sounds as if he was eating something.
"Yaoyao, get up! The sun is about to kick your butt."
"Daddy, if you want to kick my butt, just say it straight, don't make excuses."
Lu Qin squeezed toothpaste onto the brush for her. "Brush properly, I'll make breakfast for you."
"Okay, Daddy! For breakfast, I want a custard bun, the piggy one—can I have that?"
"Sure."
The little pig custard bun was the kind you buy frozen at the supermarket—not especially delicious, but the kid liked the cute pig shape.
After washing up, Lu Xiyao found breakfast already laid out on the table:
Fried egg, custard bun, and Mung Bean Paste.
"Yaoyao, time to eat breakfast."
"Yay! Daddy, the fried egg smells so good! What's this?" She pointed at the Mung Bean Paste.
"Mung Bean Paste. Try it, it's sweet."
"Okay~!"
Her eyes lit up as she held the soup and took a sip.
"Wow~! Daddy, this Mung Bean Paste is so yummy~!"
"Eat the fried egg and custard bun first, then drink the soup."
"Daddy, last night I had a dream about a huge, huge big bun, as big as a table. I kept eating and eating, my belly was about to burst, but I never got to the filling. It was so frustrating!"
While eating, she exaggeratedly described the shape of that bun to Lu Qin.
Lu Qin chuckled. What a little foodie.
"Then keep dreaming tonight and keep eating—make sure you get to the filling."
"Of course! Tonight, I definitely have to eat the filling." Lu Xiyao declared firmly.
After breakfast, Lu Xiyao held Lu Qin's big hand, swaying it softly and sweetly:
"Daddy, I don't want to eat kindergarten food at lunch today. I want to eat your Stir-Fried Rice Noodles and this yummy Mung Bean Paste, okay?"
Lu Qin paused, then asked, "Is the kindergarten food not good?"
"It's okay, but your Stir-Fried Rice Noodles taste better. And this Mung Bean Paste is sweet and super delicious~!"
Lu Qin thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay."
"Yay! Thanks, Daddy~!" The little one happily bounced up and gave Lu Qin a kiss on the cheek.
When the little guy first started kindergarten, Lu Qin worried he wouldn't like the school meals, so he brought lunch from home for a while.
Later, he decided not to spoil the kid's palate and since his little foodie wasn't picky, he stopped bringing lunch.
Lu Qin cooked the Stir-Fried Rice Noodles and took out the lunch box he used to bring for the little guy, washed it clean, and packed the noodles inside—completely full.
He also scooped some Mung Bean Paste into a bowl, packed everything, and put it into a tote bag.
After sending the kid to the gate of Starlight Kindergarten, they waved goodbye to each other. Lu Qin then rode the food cart toward Sunshine Primary School.
It only took seven or eight minutes to arrive.
Opposite Sunshine Primary School were only two breakfast shops: a bun shop and a bakery. The rest were all small food stalls on wheels.
The crowd was thick at this time—residents from nearby communities, parents dropping off kids, and students all mingling, making it very busy.
At 7:18 a.m., Lu Qin arrived late. Other stalls had already made several sales.
He could only set up his stall at the edge.
The school started at 8:30 a.m., so most students were still buying breakfast at the school gate.
Though Lu Qin's spot was not good, some people still noticed his stall.
But elementary kids loved things like hand-grabbed pancakes, purple sweet potato sticky rice, and buns—not much interest in Stir-Fried Rice Noodles.
A father with a child stopped by Lu Qin's stall when he saw no crowd.
"Boss, one Stir-Fried Rice Noodles, with egg."
The child immediately protested loudly:
"Dad, I don't want Stir-Fried Rice Noodles. I want hand-grabbed pancakes!"
"No way. Eating pancakes every day isn't good for your health. Today, it's Stir-Fried Rice Noodles only."
Most kids were picky eaters, and this father knew his kid well—when he bought pancakes, the kid only ate the sausage and chicken strips inside and left the pancake itself.
Sausages, hot dogs, chicken strips, and meat skewers sold on the street often contained lots of additives.
Today, no spoiling. Whatever you buy, you eat. No more picky eating.
"I don't want it! I want the pancakes!" The kid yelled louder.
The father's face darkened as his hand slowly moved toward his waist.
The belt buckle, shaped like a wolf, gleamed under the light.
The kid's cries gradually softened until silence.
This little incident didn't affect Lu Qin—he had already started stir-frying the noodles in the big pot.
Soon, a rich aroma filled the air.
The father sniffed a few times and couldn't help saying, "Boss, your Stir-Fried Rice Noodles smell amazing!"
The kid nearby began to drool.
When Lu Qin scooped the Stir-Fried Rice Noodles out of the wok, the golden, glossy color was mouthwatering.
"Takeout?" Lu Qin asked.
"No, we'll eat here."
The man scanned to pay nine yuan. The kid reached for the noodle box but couldn't reach it.
The man slipped his phone into his pocket, grabbed the Stir-Fried Rice Noodles, and began eating.
He'd already forgotten the noodles were supposed to be his kid's breakfast.
The child panicked: "Dad, let me eat! That's my Stir-Fried Rice Noodles!"
The kid looked at the fragrant noodles but couldn't get any, frantically grabbing his father's pants.
"Son, don't worry. Dad will have a couple bites first, then give you some. There's plenty—kids like you can't finish it all."
The father said while shoveling noodles into his mouth.
Wow, these Stir-Fried Rice Noodles are so good!
Three or four bites later, half the noodles were gone.
The little boy almost cried seeing only half left.
"Dad, hurry up and give me some! I want to eat too!"
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]