Kneading the dough, letting it rest, rolling it into strips, and brushing it with oil.
"Watch carefully, this is how you pull hand made noodles."
Reminding the Indeedee siblings to observe closely, Silas picked up a portion of well rested dough.
He grasped both ends with his hands, palms facing upward, and gently stretched the dough outward, pulling it into two thick strands before folding them together.
Then he rotated his wrists inward, shaping the dough into a U form, and stretched outward again.
He repeated the same two movements over and over, turning and stretching in a steady rhythm.
While pulling the noodles, he lightly shook them to ease the tension and reduce the chance of breakage.
Very soon, Silas had finished pulling a bundle of noodles.
The thickness was just right, and they had a wonderful elasticity, perfect for making zhajiang noodles.
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the pulled noodles onto the cutting board. The strands scattered with a soft swishing sound, drawing looks of admiration from the Indeedee brother and sister.
The master has finally handed over the secret technique. Silas' playful joke in his heart.
"Now it is your turn to try." Silas clapped the flour off his hands and stepped back, giving them space.
"Indee!"
(I will go first, I will go first!)
The younger sister Indeedee excitedly raised her hand. She picked up a rested piece of dough and, imitating Silas's earlier movements, used her psychic abilities to manipulate and stretch the dough.
The moment she pulled, the dough sagged loosely, and several strands snapped apart.
"Do not rush. Use equal strength on both sides." Silas reminded her gently, cheering her on.
The sister kneaded the dough back together and tried again.
Silas stood behind her, pointing out her mistakes and guiding her step by step.
In the end, she managed to pull out noodles, though just barely.
Very barely.
The strands were uneven in thickness, and small clumps of flour still clung to them.
Even so, the sister was very satisfied. Being able to succeed on her first try was already impressive in her eyes.
Silas smiled and gave her a thumbs up, praising her sincerely. "You are already very good. With a few more attempts, you will master it completely."
"Indee indee~!"
She nodded seriously, lifting her chin with a confident little expression.
It was as if she were saying that once she mastered it, she would teach her brother, because he was usually clumsy in the kitchen and surely had not learned it properly.
Silas shook his head with a faint smile. That might not necessarily be true.
For Indeedee, pulling noodles was mainly about precise control of strength, and that happened to be the brother's advantage.
The older brother Indeedee first kneaded the dough with both hands, pressing and folding repeatedly until it became smooth.
Only then did he use his psychic power to stretch the two ends, applying very gentle force, moving neither too fast nor too slow.
Each stretch was steady and controlled. From time to time, he gave the dough a small shake during the pull, already grasping about seventy percent of Silas's technique.
"Very good. Keep it steady like that," Silas reminded him.
After repeating the process several times, the brother completely grasped the trick. He placed the finished noodles on the cutting board.
They were not as neat as Silas's, but they were far better than his sister's.
"Indee!"
The sister puffed up angrily and secretly used her psychic power to pinch her own noodles thinner.
"You both did very well. I will leave the rest to you. No problem, right?"
"Indee~!" "Indee."
The siblings nodded together, full of enthusiasm. All they lacked now was more practice.
Having handed over the noodle pulling task, Silas planned to head out and call Minccino, Cyclizar, and the others back for lunch.
Once everyone returned, he would cook the noodles bowl by bowl.
Otherwise, if he cooked them too early, they would clump together before anyone even started eating.
Morpeko swallowed hard and hurried ahead of Silas, acting as his guide.
It was the most anxious of all, eager to eat as soon as possible.
Litten followed closely behind Silas, keeping a fixed distance from him.
Morpeko knew where Minccino and the others often played, near the small wooden bridge.
The little ones were wearing headphones and playing a guessing game.
Minccino was gesturing energetically with both hands and feet. Across from it stood a shiny Clauncher.
Clauncher was guessing, but after several attempts in a row, it still got everything wrong.
Minccino planted its hands on its hips and stomped its feet, its tail swishing angrily as it chattered nonstop.
After complaining for quite a while, it finally noticed that Clauncher was wearing soundproof headphones. Clauncher blinked in confusion and raised its massive claw.
Minccino deflated like a punctured balloon, covering its forehead with a paw and sighing.
So all that stomping and gesturing had been wasted on thin air.
It rushed forward, yanked the headphones off Clauncher, puffed up its cheeks, crossed its arms, and glared at it.
Clauncher looked bewildered, circling around Minccino with its claw raised.
Minccino started gesturing again, even smacking Clauncher's claw with its tail. It had made such obvious hints earlier, yet Clauncher still could not guess correctly.
Clauncher explained that Minccino had looked very cute just now, so it had not been paying close attention.
"Fine, fine," Minccino muttered, suddenly embarrassed by the compliment.
It shot two annoyed glances at the snickering Cyclizar, then tapped Clauncher twice, telling it to focus next time.
Clauncher nodded, and Minccino decided not to dwell on it anymore.
Just as they were about to start another round, Morpeko dashed in, waving its tiny claws wildly.
"Morpeko!"
(It is time to eat. Silas told me to call you back for lunch.)
"Cyc!"
"Meow."
Cyclizar and the regualr Meowth immediately removed their headphones and ran toward Silas.
Minccino, however, was unwilling to accept defeat. It had been losing all day. It wanted to win at least once.
But as the others began running back, even Clauncher slowly made its way toward Silas.
Silas rubbed Meowth's soft, round face and asked Cyclizar to take the others back first.
He picked up Minccino and comforted it with a few gentle words. The little one's mood instantly brightened, and it burst into cheerful laughter.
Under the shade of a tree by the lake, he found Kangaskhan. The Mudsdale brother and the Mareep herd were there as well.
"Kangaskhan, it is time to eat. Take them back to the cabin."
He patted Kangaskhan's side, signaling for it and the Mudsdale to head back and wash up before lunch.
Kangaskhan stood and agreed.
Silas looked around but did not see Jigglypuff. He lowered his head and asked the Minccino clinging to him, "Did Jigglypuff not play with you today?"
Minccino shook its head. Its tall ears trembled, and it could not help yawning as it pointed toward the beach.
"There is singing over there."
"Do not tell me it is still singing to the Heliolisk."
Silas felt uneasy and decided to walk over to check.
Before he even reached the shore, he saw several Wingull sprawled across the grass, sleeping peacefully, clearly lulled by Jigglypuff's song.
When he arrived at the beach, he noticed many Pokémon lying on the sand and even floating on the sea, all fast asleep.
Following the sound, he saw the entire Heliolisk tribe collapsed in slumber.
Jigglypuff stood atop a sand dune, humming passionately. Above its head floated another Pokémon, transformed into a glowing sphere of light.
Flashing lights shimmered dazzlingly, perfectly complementing Jigglypuff's emotional singing.
If Silas had not been wearing headphones, he would have been fast asleep like the Minccino in his arms.
No wonder Jigglypuff had not returned. It had found a singing companion.
However, when Silas recognized the Pokémon floating above, he clenched his teeth in frustration.
It was you, the ultimate nemesis of all fishermen, Inkay.
(End of Chapter)