Chapter 103: Soul Seasoning

Back at the siheyuan, Zhou Yimin pretended to return to his room to fetch the “finished product.”

In reality, all he did was open a few packets of instant noodles, take out the noodle cakes, and pour the small seasoning packets into a little bottle.

“Let’s go!”

Zhou Yimin then turned to Zhou Dazhong and said, “Dazhong, you go back to the factory first and let our team lead know I’ll be coming by later to explain everything, so he doesn’t get anxious.”

“Alright!” Zhou Dazhong didn’t say anything more.

He respected his Sixteenth Uncle even more now—multiple factories were competing for him.

Zhao Zhenguo kept staring at those noodle cakes. Other than their wavy shape and egg-yellow color, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly special about them.

He quickly urged Zhou Yimin to come with him, afraid that someone from the steel factory might show up to block their way.

After all, Zhou Yimin technically belonged to the steel factory, and they would have every right to intervene.

At the noodle factory, Director Yang kept glancing at his watch, wondering why that guy hadn’t returned yet. It had been hours. Was it really that hard to find someone?

He said that man was his cousin—was he just trying to make himself look good?

“Director, Director Zhao is back,” a subordinate reported.

Director Yang quickly turned his head. “Is he alone or…”

“There are two people!”

Director Yang was overjoyed and immediately went out to greet them.

As soon as he saw Zhou Yimin, he reached out from afar. “Comrade Zhou Yimin! We’ve been waiting and waiting, and finally you’re here. Welcome! Welcome to our noodle factory. I am…”

What followed was the usual self-introduction.

Director Yang had eyes only for Zhou Yimin and acted as if Zhao Zhenguo wasn’t even there.

Zhou Yimin shook his hand. “Director Yang, you’re too kind.”

“Come, this way, please.”

Zhao Zhenguo: “…”

Do I really have zero presence?

Trying to regain some, he told Director Yang, “Director, Yimin brought the finished product.”

Oh?

Director Yang lit up with joy. “It worked?”

Zhou Yimin nodded. “It wasn’t that hard.”

Director Yang: “…”

You make it sound so easy. Don’t we know how difficult it’s been at our own factory?

At the same time, Director Yang couldn’t help but marvel—of course it was Zhou Yimin, the guy who invented the hand pump and the solar stove. Naturally, he wasn’t ordinary.

Zhao Zhenguo asked, “Uncle Yang, is the department leader still here?”

Uncle Yang?

Zhou Yimin was a little surprised.

Zhao Zhenguo then explained his relationship with Director Yang.

“I see. Then there’s no need for formality, Director Yang—just call me Yimin,” said Zhou Yimin.

Director Yang was happy to get closer. He quickly smiled and said, “Sure! Then you can call me Uncle Yang too, just like this guy.”

Just like that, the relationship between the two sides became much closer and the atmosphere lightened up.

In response to Zhao Zhenguo’s earlier question, Director Yang said, “Director Huang is still here. Come, I’ll take you to see him.”

This Director was someone sent by the department. Though he was only a department head, his power and status were far above that of a factory director.

At the moment, accompanying Director Huang was a deputy factory director who was sitting on pins and needles, extremely uneasy. He desperately hoped Director Yang would show up soon—he couldn’t hold the line much longer.

“So, is it going to work or not?” Director Huang was getting frustrated.

He had stayed at the noodle factory for quite a while and had seen multiple attempts by the staff, but there were always issues.

If it had just been minor problems or flaws, that could be overlooked. But the results so far were far off from the instant noodles described in the reports.

The deputy director was practically sweating.

Just then, Director Yang showed up with the others, and the deputy director let out a breath of relief.

“Director Huang, let me introduce someone. This is Comrade Zhou Yimin, the one who proposed the development of instant noodles. Before this, he also…” Director Yang gave Zhou Yimin a formal introduction.

At first, Director Huang didn’t pay much attention, but upon learning Zhou Yimin was also the inventor of the Hand pump and solar stove, he immediately began talking to him warmly.

“Director Huang, Comrade Zhou Yimin has already produced a batch of instant noodles. Would you like to test them now?” Director Yang asked.

The moment he said this, everyone’s face—including Director Huang’s—lit up with surprise and delight.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s do it!” Director Huang nodded eagerly.

After all, his whole purpose for coming was to witness real instant noodles in action, so he could report back with good news.

“Yimin, what do you need to prepare?” Zhao Zhenguo asked.

“Two big bowls and a pot of boiling water.”

After saying that, Zhou Yimin took out a few noodle cakes from his bag, handing one each to Director Huang, Director Yang, and the others. “These are the finished products I developed, made from flour, eggs…”

He briefly walked them through the production process.

First, mixing the dough and what ingredients to include—that part wasn’t difficult, and the senior craftsmen on site could actually do it even better than Zhou Yimin.

Next was cutting the noodles into wavy shapes.

Doing this in a factory setting wasn’t hard either.

The kneaded dough is pressed into a sheet—called a “noodle belt.” This belt moves quickly through a pair of cutting rollers, is sliced into strands, then transported via a forming mesh belt. Because the blades move quickly while the mesh moves slowly, the difference in speed causes the noodles to take on a wavy shape.

Then comes the steaming process, where steam is used to cook the noodles thoroughly.

Both fried and non-fried instant noodles go through this stage—without it, they wouldn’t be ready-to-eat just by soaking in hot water.

“No wonder we couldn’t get it right. Turns out they have to be steamed.” The veteran craftsmen suddenly realized.

Everyone listened attentively, including Director Huang.

Director Yang was the happiest—after all, Zhou Yimin was explaining everything in great detail.

Zhou Yimin even offered suggestions on how to upgrade and retrofit their machinery. It was practically a custom production line design for their factory!

“Slow down—we want to take notes,” someone said.

At that moment, Zhao Zhenguo returned with two large bowls, a few pairs of chopsticks, and a pot of boiling water.

“Let’s soak two bowls and test the results,” said Zhou Yimin.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Zhou Yimin placed a noodle cake in each bowl. Then he took out the small bottle of seasoning and said, “This is a secret recipe—or what I call the soul seasoning. I believe that just this alone can make our instant noodles stand out.”

Zhou Yimin knew that the earliest instant noodles didn’t come with separate seasoning packets. The seasoning was added during dough mixing, and the finished product didn’t look very appealing—it was more of a burnt yellow.

But by separating the seasoning into its own packet, he could easily outshine the Japanese version.

After he added the seasoning and poured in the hot water, a delicious aroma immediately filled the air, making Director Huang and the others’ eyes light up.

This is where instant noodles shine—they smell amazing. Eating them, on the other hand, was another story.

At least, that’s how Zhou Yimin saw it: the scent was tempting, but the taste was nothing special.

Of course, in a future world rich in gourmet food, instant noodles were considered junk food—no nutrition, and not to everyone’s taste.

“Smells great!”

Three minutes later, Zhou Yimin turned to Director Huang and the others. “Go ahead, give it a try.”

(End of Chapter)