Chapter 85: Housewarming Party, Eating Instant Noodles!

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Housewarming Party, Eating Instant Noodles!

After buying the sample designs and paying, Yun Zhen realized she had forgotten something. She quickly asked, "Sir, do you sell the magnets for the back of fridge magnets here?"

The shop owner nodded. "Magnet sheets are five yuan a piece, and the small magnet stones are fifty cents each."

Having watched video tutorials that afternoon, Yun Zhen knew that both could stick to things. The most obvious difference was that the sheets could be cut to size, while the stones had a stronger magnetic pull and looked like little silver beans. Since she was making small wooden ornaments, the stones were more suitable.

After a moment of consideration, Yun Zhen said, "I’ll take ten magnet sheets and a hundred magnet stones."

The shop owner deftly retrieved her requested items. "The magnet sheets are all the same size and one millimeter thick. The magnet stones vary in size and are four and a half millimeters thick. The packaging has instructions on how to use them, but in most cases, it depends on the size and weight of the fridge magnets you’re making."

"Got it." Yun Zhen took out a hundred-yuan bill.

Once outside, she tossed the small items she had just bought into her mind-space. She had asked the owner to deliver the rest of her purchases to the alleyway from before.

Thinking about her mind-space made her want to facepalm. Perhaps because she still wasn’t entirely used to possessing such a wonderful thing, she had followed her old habits and dumped the vegetable leaves back in her dormitory, meaning she still had to make a trip back. Fortunately, she had bought two more pushcarts, and the farm tool shop owner had found someone trustworthy to keep an eye on her goods.

As Yun Zhen walked toward the farmers’ market, she suddenly caught a whiff of a bizarrely delicious aroma. It was a mouth-watering blend of meat and savory oil. She recognized it instantly just by the scent.

It was the fragrant noodles she had brought home for the first time! It was one of the many food items Sister Huang had given her.

She had eaten a lot of delicious food since coming to this world. The glistening braised pork and stir-fried sliced meat from the agency’s cafeteria, the restaurant owner’s ever-changing daily lunches, the milk tea and starch sausages Su Yue had kindly fed her—each and every item had left her feeling satisfied and amazed. But the one thing she would never forget for the rest of her life was absolutely instant noodles!

It was the first time she realized that something so delicious could exist in this world. The smooth, chewy noodles! The broth, bursting with the savory flavors of meat, oil, and salty spice! Every bite was incredibly addictive.

Parked at the entrance of the farmers’ market was a large, grey beetle-like van. A small red megaphone in the vendor’s hand blared at the top of its lungs: "Clearance sale on near-expired instant noodles! Eighteen yuan a box! Buy twenty boxes and get ten stainless steel thermos cups for free!"

An assistant stood next to the vendor, boiling the instant noodles. Once cooked, he scooped them into palm-sized paper cups for people to taste. This was exactly where the mouth-watering scent was coming from.

Someone asked skeptically, "Boss, how come you have all sorts of random brands here? Master Kang-Shuai, Lingmailang, Big Elephant... are these even safe to eat?"

The vendor replied loudly, "Why wouldn’t they be safe? They’re all big brands! Near-expired noodles aren’t expired noodles—they won’t make you sick. This is a blessing for office workers! Normally, a box of instant noodles costs thirty to fifty yuan, but today it’s just eighteen! That’s nearly half the price!"

Hearing the price of eighteen yuan a box, Yun Zhen stepped forward. "Sir, are the instant noodles really eighteen yuan a box?"

She noticed that the vendor had called them "steeped noodles," while the bags were labeled "instant noodles." She thought, "Well... they do soften when steeped in hot water, so calling them steeped noodles makes sense too."

"They really are eighteen yuan a box, miss," the vendor said with a smile. "If you buy more, I’ll even throw in some stainless steel thermos cups for free. Why not buy two boxes? They might be near-expired, but they’re still good for another two months."

Yun Zhen mentally calculated. If nothing unexpected happened, the villagers had already moved into their new homes. Usually, moving into a new home called for a housewarming banquet. The village wasn’t short on rice or flour right now. Everyone had rice porridge and dough drop soup, so filling their bellies wasn’t an issue, but they had never tasted anything with such a rich, mouth-watering aroma. Even though she had added pork and pork cracklings to the porridge and soup, there were too many people and not enough meat. Each person only got one or two small cubes of meat in their bowl—just enough for a taste.

Should she buy some instant noodles to take back? Although the others hadn’t said anything, she knew that when she first gained the ability to travel between the two worlds, the meaty, savory scent of the noodles she brought back had drifted through the entire village. Everyone had smelled it. They were definitely curious about what her family had eaten those two nights.

She made her decision—she would host a housewarming banquet tonight! And the main course would be instant noodles! There were one hundred and thirty people in the village. If everyone got one packet, she would need a hundred and thirty packets.

"Sir, how many packets are in a box?" Yun Zhen asked.

"Twenty-four packets," the vendor replied, gesturing exaggeratedly. "The noodle blocks are bigger than my face! They’re very filling! We’ve got five flavors: braised beef, pickled cabbage, spicy numbing, chicken soup, and tomato. How many boxes do you want? And which flavors?"

She thought, "Braised beef? Pickled cabbage? Spicy numbing? Chicken soup?"

Yun Zhen looked at the pictures on the instant noodle boxes. She figured the first one she had eaten must have been the braised beef flavor.

The vendor continued his sales pitch. "Miss, if you buy ten boxes, I’ll give you five large bowls. If you buy twenty boxes, I’ll give you ten thermos cups. Of course, even if you just buy one box, I’ll still give you two instant noodle sausages—the ones that normally sell for two yuan each."

Yun Zhen understood what the large bowls were—they had brims as big as a person’s head and blue water-ripple patterns on the outside. But she was curious about the other item. "What is a thermos cup used for?"

Holding up a tall box, the vendor explained, "Out there, these sell for forty to fifty yuan each. But here, if you buy twenty boxes of noodles, I’ll give you ten for free. They’re made of 316 stainless steel, certified by top brands, and are safe enough for mothers and babies! Safe, healthy, and environmentally friendly! But the most important thing," he emphasized, "is that they can keep things warm for twenty-four hours! If you brew a cup of tea at seven in the morning on the first day, it’ll still be hot at seven the next morning."

"Is it really that magical?" she wondered.

Yun Zhen had originally only planned to buy ten boxes for the housewarming banquet. But now, hearing that there were cups in this world capable of keeping water hot for an entire day and night, she was truly tempted.

"I want forty boxes," she said. "Does that mean I get ten large bowls, twenty thermos cups, and eighty sausages?"

The vendor was stunned. "Forty boxes?" he exclaimed. "Miss, can you really finish all those noodles? Or are you planning to resell them at the original price? Let me tell you, that’s illegal."

Yun Zhen answered vaguely, "They’re for my family to eat. Everyone in my family absolutely loves instant noodles."

The vendor suddenly understood. It seemed he had run into a whole family of instant noodle fanatics. He immediately beamed with excitement. "Miss, do you have any specific flavor requests for your forty boxes?"

"A mix is fine. Anything works," Yun Zhen replied before adding, "Sir, you still haven’t answered my question."

Slapping his thigh, the vendor said, "Miss, you’re just not giving me enough credit! If you buy forty boxes, not only will I give you the ten large bowls, twenty thermos cups, and two whole boxes of sausages, but I’ll also throw in a special clay pot for cooking instant noodles! Buying one of those online would cost you over a hundred yuan."

Satisfied, Yun Zhen nodded and pointed toward the alleyway. "Deal. Please drive your van to the alleyway up ahead and leave everything on the ground. My family will come pick it up later."

Yun Zhen paid him. "Seven hundred and twenty yuan."

Receiving the money made the vendor even happier. Like a highly responsible salesman, he drove his van to the entrance of the alley. Right in front of the man the farm tool shop owner had hired to watch Yun Zhen’s goods, he unloaded all forty boxes, stacking the various flavors into a small mountain. He then brought out the promised items: ten large bowls, twenty thermos cups, two boxes of sausages totaling one hundred and twenty links, and a large clay pot.

Yun Zhen asked the noodle vendor, "Do you know where I can buy a large iron wok?"

Although the wok at the village head’s home was large, cooking for the entire village still required at least two batches. If they had an extra wok, they could cook in both simultaneously and save a lot of time.

The noodle vendor pointed the way. "Go to the very back of the farmers’ market and turn the corner. There’s a store that specializes in pots, pans, and bowls."