It's night—

Edo, Koisikawa Kohigaricho, Test Hospital—

"Soba noodles are here!"

Inoue Genzaburo walked into the living room with a smile, holding a large basin of freshly baked soba noodles that were still emitting translucent heat.

The living room is filled with joyful air.

Qingdeng and others, who had just taken a shower and had changed into refreshing and clean clothes, were already sitting in their respective seats.

After Inoue Genzaburo entered the hall, they all looked at the pot of freshly cooked soba noodles in his arms, looking forward to it.

"Oh! Nian Yue buckwheat! Finally here!"

Harada sucked hard.

"Uncle Yuan! Please make sure to serve me a little more noodles!"

Harada pushed his bowl in front of Inoue.

"Don't worry, don't worry."

Inoue is happy and authentic.

"There are soba noodles, so you can relax and eat them openly! Ah, but don't eat them secretly. Before the master finishes his New Year's speech, be sure to be patient."

Inoue took everyone's bowls and used skillful techniques to fill each person's bowls.

Eating soba noodles on New Year’s Eve - this is one of the special folk customs in Japan.

The buckwheat noodles on New Year’s Eve are commonly known as “New Year’s Buckwheat”.

There are quite a few reasons why I eat soba noodles on New Year’s Eve.

First, the soba noodles are slender and long, symbolizing longevity.

Secondly, in the traditional Japanese concept, soba is a very healthy food that can remove the five poisons.

Third, buckwheat noodles are softer and easy to cut off. Therefore, eating soba noodles during the Chinese New Year has the meaning of "cutting off all the worries of the past".

Qing Deng and others who had been busy all day long were already hungry.

They opened their eyes wide and looked at the soba noodles in their own bowls, always preparing to launch a "large-scale offensive" against the noodles in front of them.

However, although everyone is very hungry now, everyone is showing considerable restraint at this time.

They turned their heads in the same direction in an orderly manner, focusing all their eyes on Zhou Zhu, who was sitting on the main seat.

Although no one spoke, their straight-calming eyes had already conveyed a precise and oppressive message to Zhou Zhu:

Master/Mr. Kondo, hurry up and give your New Year’s speech! If you have anything to say, just say it quickly!

Zhou Zhu, who sensed everyone's "entertainment", laughed dryly.

Then, he cleared his throat without expectation, and stood up with Tu Su wine.

Due to the profound influence of Chinese civilization, the Japanese also drink Tusu wine symbolizing avoiding the plague during the New Year.

"Everyone!"

Zhou Zhu's eyes swept across everyone's face.

"I don't say too complicated and stingy words."

"In the past year, I and this sword hall have really received your care!"

After saying that, Zhou Zhu bent down vigorously and quickly, bowing 90 degrees to Qingdeng and others in front of him.

"In the past year, many things have happened... I think back now that I think it's incredible and dreamy!"

"Looking back a year ago today, there are only 6 people who gathered in the Examination Hall to celebrate the New Year, but I, Neizi, Yong, General Officer, Yuan, and Sui San, totaling only 6 people."

"And now, there are so many new faces in front of me!"

"I recall a year ago, my Test Hall was still a small sword hall in Edo, which was not well-known. It was despised by countless people as the 'taro dojo'."

"Now, my test hall is no longer as lonely as before! The population is becoming more and more prosperous!"

"To be honest, compared to the past days, my current life is really like a dream to me."

"I can have today, and the test hall can have today depends on your support and help!"

"In the new year, I hope you can give me some advice!"

"At the same time, I wish you all peace and joy in the new year!"

After the last syllable landed, Zhou Zhuo bowed to Qingdeng and others in front of him at a standard deep angle of 90 degrees.

Qingdeng and others bowed back the gift as soon as possible.

"Okay! Get your chopsticks!"

Zhou Zhu smiled and sat back to his original position happily.

"To be honest, I've been hungry for a long time! I'll start to move first!"

Before he could finish his talk, Zhou Shuo picked up the soba noodles on his dining table and started whipping the noodles "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

With Zhou Zhu, the head of the family, the beginning, the next thing will be natural.

"I'm starting!" *N

The words "I'm starting" shouted in unison gathered into the joy and lively atmosphere that would spread in the air of the test hall, which pushed the climax.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of "sucking, sucking, sucking, sucking, sucking, sucking, sucking, and sucking, sucking, and sucking, sucking, and sucking, sucking, and sucking, sucking, and sucking, sucking, and sucking, sucking, and sucking, sucking, and s

As soon as the first bite of noodles was eaten into his mouth, Qingdeng's eyes immediately shone out.

The next moment when the light yellow noodles are sandwiched into the mouth, the rich umami taste spreads from the tip of the tongue to the entire mouth.

The soft and slightly viscosity noodles have a perfect saltiness. They taste great and are very chewy.

With every bite, the unique sweetness of the flour will spread in the mouth. The unique flavor is wrapped in the noodle soup rich in seasoning. The aroma of the noodles is integrated with the deliciousness of the noodle soup and complement each other.

Before the noodles could fall, Qingdeng grabbed Tu Su wine beside his legs and drank a big mouthful of it.

It seemed as if there was a spicy taste of firecrackers exploding in the mouth, which cheered Qingdeng's spirit.

The powerful food feeling mixed with the stimulation of sprinkling sprinkled through Qingdeng's throat, and Qingdeng felt a sense of pleasure rushing through his whole body.

Qingdeng is not the only one who has similar feelings.

When you look at the expressions of everyone present, you will find that everyone is now looking shining and eating voraciously.

Even Saito, who was slow in everything he did, was not too slow, didn't even bother to raise his eyes, and wanted to grow one hand to help him take off the face.

"Delicious! Delicious! So delicious!"

Harada, who had finished a large bowl of noodles in less than half a minute, went to serve the noodles happily while happily.

"This soba noodles are so delicious! Uncle Yuan, where did you buy this noodles? After eating this noodles, I feel that I can dream of Mount Fuji, eggplant and flying eagle tonight!"

Mount Fuji, eggplant, flying eagle - this is a popular allusion from the Edo period.

Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan, homophonic with "nothing" and has meanings such as immortality and peace.

Flying eagle and "Gao" are homophonic, and have the rich meaning of flying highヽ king of birds.

Eggplant was a food that was not particularly cheap in the Edo era, and it was also homophonic with "Success".

Therefore, the proverb "one Fuji, two eagles, and three eggplants" was born.

According to legend, dreaming of these three things in the first dream of the New Year means that there will be good signs in the future.

Inoue smiled:

"I bought this noodles in the market. This noodles were handed down by the Chief Executive."

As soon as Inoue finished speaking, all the people on the field, except Kondo and Tuoka, who were old acquaintances of the General Office, focused their attention on the General Office.

"Okita."

Nagakura looked at the Chief Officer with disbelief.

"This side... was it made by you by yourself?"

Suddenly, so many people stared at him with shocked eyes, the chief executive, who has always been careless, showed a shy expression.

She put down the bowls and chopsticks in her hands, placed her two small hands on the tubes on her legs, and clamped the fabric of the clothes with her ten fingers.

"Well, I did this, how? Do you agree with your appetite?"

“That’s so delicious!”

Harada said loudly.

"Okita, the noodles you made are so delicious! They are much better than the noodles I ate when I went to a restaurant outside!"

Nagakura followed Harada and handed over the praise:

"Okita, I think you can try to open a noodle shop in the future. With your skills, you will definitely make a big profit and you will never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of your life."

Saito, who has always been quiet and silent, can speak but doesn't speak, also spoke at this time:
To be continued...