Our wheat is particularly unique
due to the environment it grows in.
In the mountains of our hometown,
the growth conditions for wheat are very harsh.
In the winter,
the wheat seedlings are covered with a white layer of frost.
Other plants covered with snow will die,
but wheat won't.
As warmer weather melts the snow,
the wheat grows better and fuller.
Wheat is quite tasty.
Wheat noodles have a richer aroma.
The moment you open the cooking basket lid,
the aroma of the noodles fills the room.
Even without anything added,
you can appreciate the special fragrance.
This tradition of flour-based food culture spans thousands of years.
It's something at my core that I cannot lose.
To me, wheat is incredibly precious.
In Shaanxi, there are about 100 types of noodles.
The most famous are Biang Biang noodles.
These noodles give you an understanding of the culture of Xi'an.
As a Shaanxi native who grew up in Xi'an,
I have an obligation to carry on the cuisine's tradition.
So, I use the traditional handmade technique.
The original flour aroma should remain.
When I was a kid, my grandma and my mom taught me how to make noodles.
When slapped on the board, the dough makes a "biang-biang" sound.
I really enjoy this process.
We usually add seasoning to the noodles
like local vinegar, scallions, chili, and garlic.
When you pour the oil on top of the seasoning,
you get a sizzling sound.
The noodles look so beautiful.
They bounce around like they are dancing.
After the first bite,
I know one bowl won't be enough.
They're soft, chewy, and smooth at the same time.
I doubt I'll ever get enough of them.
I want to spread our Shaanxi noodles to more people around the world.
My hope is to make Xi'an noodles reach people far and wide.
It is my duty and responsibility.
There's a Chinese saying, "No one is promised a life of happiness."
I had a rougher childhood than my peers.
I was born in the south of Shaanxi Province, China.
There were 800 people in our village.
The village was extremely poor,
and our family was one of the poorest.
We were peasants.
Every year, our family struggled to have enough food.
I am the eldest kid in my family.
I have two younger sisters.
Back then, Chinese people would say, "Three daughters end a family lineage."
My parents thought that without a son,
there would be no one to do physical labor
or to support them in old age.
As the eldest daughter in the family,
I had an obligation to bring in a live-in son-in-law.
I didn't think it should be this way.
I should go out in the world and learn more.
I thought to myself,
"Even if my parents don't have a son, someday I'll show them
I'm, without a doubt, as capable as sons."
My first dream was to go beyond the Qin Mountains.
Studying was our only way out of the mountains at the time.
But our family couldn't afford the tuition for all three of us.
When I was 11 or 12, I made a decision.
I would drop out of school and start earning money,
so my sisters could get a good education.
And the whole family would be better off.
I found my first job at a Paomo restaurant.
I would wash dishes and do various chores.
While washing dishes, I'd watch the master chef at the stove.
That looked so cool to me.
There was a rhythm to it.
When to put in the seasoning,
when to toss the wok,
and when to scrub and wash the wok.
I didn't have music education as a kid,
but those kitchen sounds were like music to me.
The swooshing sound of washing the wok,
the clanging of the ladle as it stirs,
and the crackling of flames.
I knew what was happening in the kitchen without even looking.
"The master chef is adding seasoning."
"Oh, the dish is done. It's being served."
I thought to myself, "One day, I'll be in that position."
One day, my cousin came back from Xi'an,
the big, provincial capital city.
She said, "Come with me to Xi'an."
"There are many job opportunities."
"You'd probably earn much more money there."
After hearing that, I decided I had to go to Xi'an.
My family was against it.
I was only 13 at the time.
It took over ten hours by car from our town to cross the Qin Mountains.
If I went over to Xi'an,
they wondered if I'd ever come back.
I firmly told them that I would come back
and not leave my parents neglected.
When I left, I spoke with my sisters.
Pointing to the wall behind our kitchen, I said,
"Look, I've always been an excellent student."
"My certificates are all over the wall."
"If you don't study hard in the future, that's your problem."
"Not being able to afford your tuition is mine."
In front of my family, I acted really optimistic and strong.
But the moment the bus left, I actually cried.
When I got to Xi'an, my cousin took me downtown.
Xi'an is a historical capital.
Its rich history and prosperity span thousands of years.
I had a feeling that in this city I would definitely find my place.
All kinds of markets were under the ancient city wall.
There was a huge variety of foods.
Steamed buns,
different Xi'an-style dumplings…
and so many kinds of noodles.
I thought people in my hometown loved noodles,
but people in Xi'an love noodles even more.
While we were walking around,
my cousin said, "You should learn a trade."
She suggested that I could learn flower arranging.
I said, "I can't learn that. Look, I'm like a boy."
"That's not for me."
Then she said, "How about a seamstress?"
I said, "They sit all the time. That's even worse."
She said, "Then what do you want?"
I replied,
"I'd like to learn to be a chef."
My cousin was really worried.
Generally, it was a trade for boys.
I said, "No need to worry. I'm just as capable as boys."
I first make the dough from flour
and soak it in water.
I wash it until the gluten and starch are completely separated.
Then I steam the gluten.
I use the settled starch water to steam the cold skin.
Once they're cool,
I cut them into thin noodle-like slices.
The process is complicated and requires a lot of work.
But it's worth it.
Nowhere else in the world can you find these water-washed noodles of my hometown.
To me, it's unmatched by other types of cuisines.
After all, our cuisine dates back thousands of years.
There must be a reason.
After I graduated from culinary school,
a flood caused by a landslide hit our hometown.
Over the phone, my sister told me the water came directly into our home.
If the house had collapsed, my family could've been crushed to death.
It's in Chinese people's DNA to take care of their parents.
I felt upset because, at that time, my internship salary was very low.
I didn't have much saved to help my family.
I also couldn't go back to see them right away.
That's when I had an idea.
I should improve my skills and make more money
to help my parents build a new house.
I spent a long time planning.
I simply couldn't stop working in the kitchen.
I'd even help others.
Making cold dishes,
chopping ingredients,
stirring dishes,
making flour-based dishes, and more.
I didn't see it as working for others.
I was doing it for my family.
I worked at a hotel for many years,
trying my best to improve myself and learn the craft.
One day, our head chef went to Tokyo, Japan.
I spoke with my manager and said,
"I think I can do the job of a head chef."
"Could you give me a chance?"
She said, "Yes, you can try the head chef position."
I was worried, especially about one thing.
I'm a woman, and the only woman in the kitchen
in charge of a group of men older than me!
They were all more experienced than me.
Taking attendance, I would be the youngest and the only woman
looking at the rows of men, calling out their names.
I did feel it wasn't going to be easy.
But I was still convinced that I could do it.
I just kept working in the kitchen, doing my thing every day.
Our team gradually adjusted.
And later on, they worked well with me.
My dream of managing a kitchen had come true.
No cucumber shreds?
This doesn't need cucumber shreds, so no.
I was so excited, because in London, the salary was very high.
I thought if I worked abroad for a year,
I might be able to build my parents a house.
Besides, I had always dreamed of going abroad.
But this wasn't like going from my hometown to Xi'an.
I had never been on a plane.
The moment I landed on British soil, I wanted to see what Britain was like.
It was drizzling outside.
It was 4:30 p.m. and already dark.
The roads were very narrow.
Not a single new or tall building in sight.
London was said to be prosperous,
but all I saw were old and shabby buildings.
I felt anxious.
In London, there were many types of cuisine.
I had Malaysian food, Spanish food,
and pizza.
But Chinese food wasn't well-developed yet.
There were very few Xi'an people here and no noodle shops.
I was the only chef on the team who didn't come from Sichuan.
Traditional Shaanxi cuisine and Sichuan cuisine are different.
I love cooking food from my hometown.
So one day,
for the staff meal I made Biang Biang noodles.
They all said, "We like this."
That made me really happy.
So every Sunday night,
I'd make different flour-based foods.
My colleagues looked forward to Sundays.
"Ah, finally a break from Sichuan food."
"Time for Shaanxi flour foods."
It really inspired me
to open a noodle shop with my hometown cooking.
You just came back?
I came back around 9:00.
Where is Little Lemon?
She is still in Hunan.
Oh.
She's having fun,
so she'll stay in our hometown until school starts.
That makes sense.
Maybe she doesn't even want to go to school now.
She is very naughty, just like Little Yue Yue.
Yeah.
She is good at persuading her grandparents.
She rides on Grandpa's shoulders.
Oh.
At her grandparents' home, she is the boss.
I worked at Barshu for seven years.
During those years, my work went quite smoothly.
-Shall we hang up? -Okay.
Every year, I gave extra money to my parents
so my sisters could continue to study.
I felt a small sense of accomplishment.
I could have stayed at Barshu for the rest of my career.
But I still had this desire
to introduce Shaanxi's flour-food culture to more Westerners.
So I said to my boss,
"I really want to open a restaurant."
He didn't want me to resign and leave.
He said, "Our restaurant is doing great."
"You could be the head chef when we expand to a new spot."
"I can also send you to a Michelin star restaurant to learn."
"All good options."
I said, "I'd love to learn those things,
but they're different from the direction of my dream."
I turned down his offer.
That's when I left Barshu.
I got the lease for my first restaurant.
To start, I needed to draft the menu.
It had to include the core dishes of Shaanxi cuisine.
But I was worried Westerners might not be receptive to that.
We northerners love chewy noodles.
Many restaurant owners saw this as a challenge.
They couldn't imagine selling such glutinous noodles in London.
HAND-ROLLED NOODLES
I was told Western customers would not like it.
When cooking Sichuan food at Barshu,
we'd use fewer numbing Sichuan peppers given Westerners' limited tolerance.
At my hometown-style restaurant, I didn't want to alter our food culture.
I procured and shipped chili peppers from China,
and ground my own chili powder.
I had no idea how the business would go.
I was quite nervous.
My new staff had never seen Shaanxi noodles before,
so I had to teach them from scratch.
Across from my Xi'an Impression restaurant
were two tall buildings with many residents.
They'd come down to try our food.
Gradually, customers started coming back two, three, four days in a row!
We didn't need to advertise. Word of mouth was enough.
Three weeks in,
The Guardian called me.
Time Out also called
to write about us.
It was quite a shock.
And just like that, business was booming.
I felt quite pleased with that.
Two months later,
I started to feel discomfort throughout my body.
I thought I was just exhausted from the restaurant.
I went to the doctor and the doctor asked,
"You didn't know you're three months pregnant?"
I said I had no idea.
Mentally, I was really torn.
Developing a career while being pregnant
is extremely difficult.
I always thought that restaurants were my calling.
This business could change my family's fate.
I couldn't give it up.
I didn't know how it would go,
but I was extremely determined.
My friends were so worried.
"How can you be in the kitchen with your big belly,
walking around knives and woks?"
"Aren't you afraid?"
I said I would find a way to do what I really wanted to do.
That is, to have a child and my career.
I took about a month off after giving birth to my daughter.
Then I hired a nanny to help look after her,
so I could go back to work.
Because business was good,
I opened my second restaurant called Master Wei.
I'd start working at 7:00 a.m.
Sometimes I wouldn't get home until midnight or 1:00 a.m.
No water. I'll heat the oil there.
Don't add water.
It's fine. The wok has just dried.
For most of my daughter's childhood,
I didn't spend much time with her.
I struggled in my heart.
I wasn't sure if I should spend more time with my daughter
or put more time in and keep giving my all to the restaurants.
The most difficult time was when my daughter was sick with a fever,
and I couldn't be with her.
I had a friend take her to the hospital.
My daughter kept asking,
"Mom, when can you spend time with me and rest?"
I know my daughter didn't want me to work too hard.
I wasn't a good mother.
I felt quite lost about it.
Hold my hand.
Okay.
-Do you hear the ducks quacking? -Yeah.
Wow, they must be starving, right?
Right.
Come here, Mom.
Where?
Here.
Let me help you.
Put it here.
They're coming!
I want to give my daughter a much better life than I had.
For her to have a better education,
I have no choice but to work this hard.
I need to believe everything is worth it.
What if you fell in?
You can save me.
Is that so?
I can't swim. Can you swim?
-Can you? -A little bit.
A little bit?
Is this fun?
Yes.
Come over here, Yue.
Whenever I manage to have some free time,
I take her to see and learn about the world.
I barely have time for her,
but I can provide the opportunities for her to learn
This is my responsibility in life.
Wow, how do you throw it so far?
I have no idea.
Because as soon as I throw it out,
it just goes far.
Oh, I see.
-Then teach me that. Okay? -Okay.
I took my daughter to a pretty good school.
At her interview, she was really happy.
She was great at answering the questions.
The principal said, "Welcome to our school."
It was such a good feeling.
What did they say?
-They're talking, right? -Yeah.
-Chatting. -I know what they said.
"Hello, you ate this bread as well?"
"It's so yummy."
Because the school is far away,
I had to move south.
I spend about 3.5 hours commuting to and from work every day.
Although challenging, I think it's all worth it.
My daughter has a great time in school.
She wishes we could spend more time together.
But now she understands
why her mom goes to work every day and works so hard.
Yue, I'll wrap you in it.
Come on. Yue, wrapping you in.
Sounds good?
Can I wrap you up with it?
It's big enough to wrap you up.
I feel like I've been on the right path all these years.
Cooking has not only fulfilled my own dream
of doing what I love,
but also helped to improve my family's life.
My two sisters are now fully independent.
My youngest sister is a doctor.
And my other sister is also doing pretty well in Xi'an.
I still support my parents.
I built four single-story houses for my family.
And now, my parents think that
this daughter is much better than other people's sons.
I hope when my daughter grows up,
she'll realize her own potential.
I won't force her into or steer her away from anything.
My daughter knows this too.
Up to now, my life has been like that of Shaanxi wheat.
The wheat is tenacious and resilient,
growing step by step.
My path has not been easy,
but the hardships I faced shaped me
into a person of responsibility and independent thinking.
I also hope my future is like the wheat.
Overcoming obstacles, one step at a time.
Subtitle translation by: Fiona Springer