69novels Chapter 119 Qin, that guy is really annoying.
Chapter 119 Qin, that guy is really annoying.
Meanwhile, in Hagrid's cabin, Qin Yu had already taken off his wizard's robes, wrapped a large black cloth around his neck, and was busy at work.
The black cloth, which looked exactly like Hagrid's oversized napkin, was now stained with white flour and water, making it resemble an abstract oil painting.
However, Hagrid didn't care too much about this, because he was more concerned about the food Qin was making.
According to Qin, this food is called "birthday noodles".
As the name suggests, it is a special type of noodle eaten on one's birthday, a unique Eastern birthday delicacy with auspicious meaning.
The giant uncle, who always prided himself on his passion for food making, naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity to learn. He sat down behind Qin Yu with his hands at his sides, watching his movements intently.
Qin Yu had just opened the lid of a pot to check the chicken soup simmering inside when he returned to the cutting board and began kneading the dough.
"...In the little garden, dig and dig, plant tiny seeds, and let tiny flowers bloom...In the big garden..."
As he added water and kneaded the dough, he hummed a song, his hands moving back and forth in the flour as if following the trajectory of a spell, which surprisingly matched the lyrics quite well.
Hagrid couldn't understand the Eastern language Qin Yu was humming, but that didn't stop him from knowing that the melody was very light and cheerful, with a nursery rhyme feel to it.
Of course, his focus was still on the food itself.
He watched as Qin Yu rolled out the kneaded dough into a large, irregularly shaped sheet, then rolled it up and cut it into thin noodles. He then put the noodles into a pot of boiling water—not the same pot used to cook the chicken soup, which Qin Yu had already set aside.
"Five minutes should be enough," Qin Yu murmured, glancing at the magic wall clock in Hagrid's house.
So Hagrid and Qin Yu waited anxiously for five minutes, during which Qin Yu added water to the boiling pot several times and stirred it from time to time.
Five minutes is neither a long nor a short time, depending on who is watching the minute and second hands. As Qin Yu shouted "Out of the pot!", Hagrid subconsciously glanced at his huge black glazed pottery bowl.
However, Qin Yu scooped the noodles into a bowl and soaked them in cold water.
This disappointed Hagrid somewhat and once again puzzled him about Qin's motives.
However, Qin Yu paid no attention to Uncle Hagrid's thoughts as an observer. Instead, he continued his work, reheating the chicken soup. After the soup had been boiling for seven or eight minutes, he added the appropriate amount of seasoning, tasted it to check the saltiness, and turned off the stove when he was satisfied.
"Merlin's beard, it reminds me of Potions class, it's like the nightmare of the past has suddenly come back to haunt me..." Hagrid couldn't help but mutter to himself, shocked by the complicated production process.
However, his expression quickly brightened as he saw Qin Yu lay out two bowls, one of which was his large black bowl.
"Finally, we can eat..." Hagrid couldn't help but sigh softly.
Sure enough, Qin Yu then used a pair of long wooden chopsticks to scoop the noodles soaking in cold water into two bowls, one large and one small.
After the noodles were put into the bowl, Qin Yu added some pre-cut shredded vegetables and egg crepes. Green cucumbers, red carrots, yellow eggs... it was colorful and looked very appealing.
Place the ladle in the pot, scoop up the hot chicken soup, and pour it into the noodle bowl.
In an instant, the savory aroma of chicken soup mingled with the wheat fragrance of noodles, creating an even more complex and irresistible aroma.
"Gurgle!"
Hagrid, unsurprisingly, swallowed hard again, making an unusually loud noise.
……
Three minutes later, Hagrid finished his noodles and drank the last drop of soup in the bowl, as quickly as a whirlwind.
"How does it taste?" Qin Yu asked solemnly, putting down his chopsticks.
He had just eaten half a bowl as well, though of course, he couldn't compare to Hagrid in terms of speed.
Although Qin Yu thought his cooking was passable, he still felt he should listen to the opinions of others, especially those accustomed to Western food.
Hagrid nodded readily and said, "Delicious! The noodles are soft and smooth, and the soup is very flavorful! In short, it's especially, especially... delicious!"
Uncle Hagrid wanted to use more words to describe this special dish, but after thinking for a long time, he could only come up with the word "delicious".
However, Qin Yu had already understood what he meant and nodded, saying, "That's good, then we didn't waste any ingredients."
The most important ingredient in this "birthday noodles" dish is not the noodles, but the chicken broth, or more precisely, the herbs and mushrooms added to the broth. These ingredients cost him a lot of Galleons and were recently purchased by Hagrid from Diagon Alley.
Thanks to his general understanding of Eastern cooking methods, combined with his knowledge of herbalism and potion-making that he had learned in the past year or so, the chicken soup he finally brewed was innovative and had a certain potion effect, although the taste was still the main purpose.
Judging from Hagrid's feedback, Qin Yu's goal has been basically achieved.
"I'll adjust the proportions of the ingredients to preserve the original flavor of the chicken soup as much as possible..."
With his consistent dedication to research, Qin Yu decided to conduct further experiments.
"No problem, feel free to use whatever you have here." Hagrid would never object; he wholeheartedly agreed.
After all, I'm quite satisfied with this kind of food and wouldn't mind being a test subject and eating it a few more times.
There were still some noodles left in the bowl, and Hagrid couldn't wait for Qin Yu to serve him, so he got up himself and used a fork to scoop the noodles into his bowl.
"Don't worry about me, you can eat the rest." Qin Yu said understandingly as he watched Haige hesitate slightly while scooping the noodles.
Hagrid chuckled and happily scooped the noodles out. Following Qin Yu's instructions, he added some side dishes, and even added some onions, which he liked, with his own initiative. Finally, he added chicken broth, a few spoonfuls of which seemed to breathe life into the bowl of noodles.
After mixing it well, Hagrid used his fork to scoop up a large clump of noodles and stuffed it into his mouth.
Slurp! Slurp!
For a moment, the cabin was filled with the sound of Hagrid eating noodles.
……
After dinner, Hermione took her notebook and went to the library.
She needs to find some reference materials.
The content taught in class wasn't difficult for her and was easy to understand. However, since it was only a first-year course, the teacher only touched on more complex knowledge briefly and didn't explain it in depth—even if they did, many people might not understand it.
As a highly proactive magical student, Hermione certainly didn't want to leave so many questions in her mind.
Fortunately, the library's collection often provided some answers to her questions.
"...Even without that guy Qin, I can still understand these books!"
The girl placed a thick stack of books on the table in the reading area and murmured to herself.
Her tone carried a clear resentment, as well as her pride and stubbornness.
Without hesitation, Hermione took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, calmed herself down, and then opened one of the books she had just chosen.
The ancient parchment, inscribed with words imbued with the spirit of time, is like an old and wise wizard passing on his knowledge and wisdom across centuries and even millennia.
Such associations evoked a sense of inexplicable emotion and solemnity in the young girl, and she was quickly drawn to that knowledge, becoming completely absorbed in it.
Time passed slowly, and night fell. The magic wall lamps in the library emitted a soft, bright but not glaring light.
Students come and go in the library; some sit down to read, some take the borrowed books with them, and some wander aimlessly—the list goes on.
Hermione, however, was completely oblivious to this, continuing to diligently flip through the books and occasionally scribbling in her notebook.
Until a passage of obscure content made her frown, and she couldn't quite understand it even after racking her brains for a long time.
So, she subconsciously pointed to that sentence and asked in confusion, "Qin, why is this herb used twice here, and in different parts of the same herb?"
"Let me see... It's quite simple. Because the roots and leaves of this plant have different properties, they need to be added at different temperatures when making potions... This is the 'order' that Professor Snape has been emphasizing. The order is one of the keys to ensuring the success of potions." The familiar voice explained in detail.
"Oh, I see... Hmm?"
As Hermione was talking, she suddenly realized something was wrong, because Qin, who hadn't been there before, was now sitting next to her, with a book in front of him as usual, and answering her question as usual.
"Hmph! When did you arrive?" Hermione asked, pouting slightly.
"Around the time you've turned to page eight," Qin Yu said, pointing to the potions-related book Hermione was reading and raising an eyebrow.
Why didn't you tell me you were coming?
"I saw you were reading very intently, so I didn't want to disturb you."
"So what did you just do?" Hermione couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering her the most.
To everyone's surprise, Qin Yu pondered for a long time before saying, "Hmm—it's a secret!"
“You…” Hermione’s eyes widened in displeasure.
"Alright, focus on your book, or Mrs. Pince will get angry again." Qin Yu didn't give Hermione a chance to ask any more questions, using the librarian teacher as a shield.
This made Hermione feel annoyed.
As luck would have it, Mrs. Pince happened to stroll over nearby at that moment, giving him a somewhat unfriendly look.
Hermione had no choice but to give up and lower her head to read.
However, she kicked hard to the side with her left foot, which was hidden under the table.
"That Qin guy is so annoying," Hermione thought to herself.
After being lightly kicked by the girl, Qin Yu shrugged and continued reading his book.
The surprise is something that loses a lot of its fun if you tell people beforehand.