Call Me Daddy

As the saying goes, experience counts for a lot. After lecturing his son, Su Aobai confidently turned to his elderly parents and spread his hands wide.

“Mom, Dad, give me some money.”

Miao Yinhua felt relieved, exchanging a smile with her husband, showing a relaxed expression.

Indeed, there was a reason why their son was so proactive in helping today, not because there was something wrong with his brain.

Su Tianyuan, who had just been fooled and felt dizzy, instantly regained his senses and then exploded in anger.

He thought; Why did my old man obstruct me so much when I asked my grandparents for money today? It turns out, he also wanted money himself!

But do these two things conflict? With my grandparents having so much money, they could totally support both of us.

Stingy! Too stingy! Since when did relying on parents become such a trend!

Su Aobai ignored the kid and instead pulled out his phone, getting up and walking over to his elderly parents.

“Dad, you move first.”

Su Aobai shamelessly squeezed himself between the elderly couple without even fetching a chair, nudging aside an old man on the side, and the two fathers shared a chair.

Su Quangen recalled the image of holding his son during meals when he was little. In the blink of an eye, more than 40 years had passed. His son had grown up, and their father and son rarely had such intimate moments.

He smiled, lips pursed, with deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes showing both seriousness and affection.

Su Tianyuan watched the family of three sitting side by side, enjoying themselves, feeling that his old man was quite cunning. He had quickly thought of a way to win over his grandparents. He chuckled to himself, unsurprised that this man, who had been mooching off his elders for over 20 years, had such schemes.

He couldn’t lose to him.

So Su Tianyuan quickly set down his bowl, got up, and walked behind his dad, as if he wanted to see what good things his dad was preparing to show his grandparents.

He half-crouched behind Su Aobai, hands spread out, lightly resting on his grandparents’ shoulders, embracing the two old people, showing their closeness.

In this game, he did not lose!

“Mom, Dad, this time when I ask for money from you, I really am preparing to start a business.” Su Aobai tapped away on his phone while stating his purpose for needing money.

“Mm-hmm,” Miao Yinhua and Su Quangen nodded in understanding.

Indeed, every time he asked for money, he claimed he was going to start a big business.

The elderly couple considered how much money their son needed this time, and if it wasn’t too much, they would give it to him.

But this time, Su Aobai didn’t directly state how much money he needed.

“Mom, Dad, take a look at these short videos. This time, my entrepreneurial direction is somewhat similar to what Tianyuan just mentioned. As you know, I’ve been playing games before, aiming to become a professional gamer. However, over these years, I’ve found that I’m not suitable for this industry. Professional gamers require high reaction speed, hand-eye coordination, and physical stamina. I’m too old for that now.”

“If it were ten or 20 years earlier, if I hadn’t put all my energy into writing novels, maybe I could have succeeded. But now, it’s not possible. I can’t match the spirit of these young people anymore.” Su Aobai said shamelessly. It wasn’t because he played poorly when he played games, but because he was old and couldn’t keep up with the younger generation.

The elderly couple didn’t understand, just nodding and murmuring.

Su Tianyuan, standing behind him, couldn’t help but roll his eyes. This kindergarten-level rooster who couldn’t even compete with elementary school chickens dared shamelessly claim that the reason he didn’t become a professional gamer was because he was too old. Was his skin made of steel?

“So I thought maybe I should change direction. That’s why I set my sights on live streaming and short videos. Tianyuan had a few good points before, saying that if you do well in live streaming and short videos, you can indeed earn a good amount of money.”

“But this kid wants to be an internet celebrity purely because he’s been duped. He hasn’t done any research himself, just listens to others and thinks he can succeed. It’s basically just throwing money away. But I’m different. I want to enter this field after thorough preliminary research.” Su Aobai was skilled in both elevating himself and subtly criticizing his son.

Su Tianyuan, feeling roasted, took a deep breath after hearing this, his frustration building.

“I definitely—”

He was just about to retort.

“Exactly, this one.” Su Aobai interrupted him, tapping open a short video.

The camera focused on an elderly lady wearing a large floral jacket, her face kindly.

The scene was simple, set in a spacious rural courtyard with several lush trees in the background. In the middle of the courtyard, there was a table and a stove. The elderly lady stood behind the table with a cutting board and a large knife in front of her, holding a piece of dark pig liver. She smiled warmly at the camera.

Su Quangen and Miao Yinhua were puzzled. What’s so interesting about such an ordinary elderly lady?

Miao Yinhua even compared herself inwardly, feeling she was more attractive than the elderly lady. She even smoothed out the stray hairs at her temple, feeling a bit pleased with herself.

[Grandma, can you still eat this pig liver when it’s cooked like this?’

There was even background sound, and the man speaking in the video called the elderly lady ‘grandma.’

[You young man don’t understand, it’s delicious when cooked this way!]

The grandma in the video beamed as she picked up the piece of pig liver and began to clean, prepare, and cook it.

Oh, it was just a cooking video. Su Quangen nodded as he watched.

“This pig liver must have been cooked in an old stove. The outer layer that looks dark gray is wood ash. It’s edible. I remember when I was young, many people in my hometown used this method to cook pig liver because it’s simple to handle, and wood ash helps remove some of the liver’s odor.”

Su Quangen pointed at the video and explained to the others around him. “However, nowadays few people do it this way. Firstly, in cities, they use gas and natural gas, not earthen stoves to cook. Secondly, there are now many seasonings available that can remove the smell of pig liver. Besides, if you pre-cook it with wood ash, the pig liver tends to become tough, and when you stir-fry it later, it doesn’t remain as tender.”

Although he didn’t fully inherit his chef father’s skills, he knew quite a few tips on how to cook delicious dishes. Plus, after running a snack shop for decades, he had accumulated a lot of experience, definitely stronger than most chefs.

The video continued, showing the elderly lady cleaning off the wood ash from the pig liver, slicing it, and then stir-frying it with various seasonings. The array of reds and greens in the seasonings made the brown pig liver look especially enticing. Combined with the glossy sheen from the stir-frying and the rising steam, it seemed like the aroma was going to waft through the screen to those watching.

[Grandma, why does it smell so good?] The video’s narrator suddenly changed his tone from initial skepticism to mouth-watering admiration.

[Smell that fragrance? If you want to eat, give grandma a little love heart.]

The elderly lady beamed as she scooped the stir-fried pig liver out of the pan. Throughout the entire video, besides the appetizing dishes, her hearty and loving smile also left a profound impression on the viewers. Many people paid attention not just to the food itself but felt as if they were seeing their own grandmother, recalling the warm feeling of having meals prepared with care by their elders.

The video was quite short, only about three to 4 minutes long.

***

“She didn’t cook this dish right. She added too much soy sauce, and why did she add salt later? It’s too salty to taste. Is she from the islands or from the spicy province? Hmm, she also cooked it a bit too long. It was pre-cooked pig liver, and if she had stir-fried it for thirty seconds less, it wouldn’t have been so tough.” Su Quangen was still there, critiquing someone else’s cooking methods.

However, he was looking at it from the perspective of a professional chef. From the viewpoint of ordinary home-cooked dishes, the elderly lady’s skills were already quite good; colorful, aromatic, and tasty, a very satisfying and hearty dish.

“Dad, never mind whether her cooking is good or not. Look at all these likes she’s got.” Su Aobai pointed to the small red hearts lighting up on the right side of the video.

Miao Yinhua and Su Quangen leaned in for a closer look.

Wow! 123.4K!