Call Me Daddy

“We won’t disturb the chef cooking anymore. Let’s go see how the guests are enjoying their meal up front,” said Su Aobai as he headed towards the kitchen door.

[2333]: Haah, so you know you’ll disrupt the chef if you stay.

[National Level Argumentative Athlete]: Scary, he actually realized he’s a novice in cooking.

[Dragon Lake Department Store]: Hehe, I’d like to hear how those guests are commenting. Let’s not ruin our reputation.

[Excavator]: I agree; the head chefs have already adjusted the flavors. Adding random things again, even if they’re just basic seasonings, can affect the taste.

[Run Little Duck]: Everyone, stop arguing. Once the host goes out, let him interview a few tables of guests to find out.

[Chicken Pecking Rice]: Duck sis is right.

[Run Little Duck]: Thanks for the chicken bro’s support, bowing.gif

The audience, who had been discussing whether the host’s haphazard seasoning would affect the dish’s quality, eagerly anticipated the next scene.

The taste of the food, whether it was affected or not, was something the diners had the most authority to judge.

As they voiced their opinions, Su Aobai had already arrived at the dining area up front.

The storefront of the Su family’s shop was simple in decoration. Apart from the roughly 40 square meters occupied by the kitchen, the actual dining area was about 90 square meters. The shop was slightly square-shaped, with a colorful menu posted on one side of the wall offering a variety of dishes, from individual stir-fries and steamed dishes to set meals priced for white-collar workers. The shop’s business license and the results of the quarterly inspections by the health department were also framed and hung on the wall. Additionally, there were health certificates for the boss and the assistants.

On the same side, there was a staircase leading to the second floor. To save space, underneath the staircase was a storage room where the breakfast cart, used during mornings, and some kitchen utensils not currently in use were stored.

Due to the nearby public restroom, there was no additional restroom in such a small room to avoid affecting the dining atmosphere.

Because of its small size and large number of customers, it appeared somewhat crowded. Once tables were filled with diners, the remaining space in between was just enough for one or two people to pass through.

Miao Yinhua navigated through the narrow aisles, constantly taking orders, serving dishes, and fetching drinks in response to the diners’ calls…

The diners’ calls, Miao Yinhua’s hearty responses, as well as the conversations of neighbors and acquaintances, did not seem noisy but rather carried a lively and festive atmosphere.

The shop also attracted some young white-collar workers from nearby CBD areas. Due to Su Family Snacks’ fair prices and good taste, many discerning young people worried about the hygiene of takeaway meals were reassured dining here. Most diners at Su Family Snacks were local neighbors who trusted the cleanliness of the Su family’s food, so they naturally had no worries.

Most of these white-collar workers sat quietly eating in the corners. However, they didn’t find the laughter and lively chatter of the locals too noisy. For them, listening to the elderly chat about daily life and gossip was also a very enjoyable pastime. Occasionally hearing interesting stories, they would smile along.

In a metropolis where distances between people were growing, the bustling atmosphere of this shop momentarily silenced the viewers in the livestream room, followed by even more vigorous discussions.

[Jobless Oil Man]: Is this a self-built small building by the host? The first floor is a shop, and people live upstairs? Looks like business is quite good. If it’s their own building, they must be making quite a bit without rental expenses, right?

[Dragon Lake Department Store]: The host just mentioned that his grandfather used to be a head chef at the Xijiang Youlian State-owned Restaurant. So, the host’s family should be from Xijiang. This place looks somewhat familiar. Could it be the urban village near the financial center that hasn’t been demolished? Wow, the host is a local tycoon.

Dragon Lake Department Store, who had previously expressed doubts about Su Aobai, was indeed a local from Xijiang. Although Su Aobai stood inside the snack shop without going outside, he could vaguely see the scene outside through the shop’s glass door.

These were all self-built houses. Nowadays, except in the suburbs, there were basically no such old houses in the city center anymore, except for that area near the financial center. The cost of demolition was too high, and the original residents there weren’t satisfied with the compensation offered by the government several times. As a result, over the years, while the surrounding areas have become more prosperous, that area has maintained its original appearance.

But don’t be fooled by the rundown appearance of the urban village houses; these people are truly wealthy. There are plenty of seven or eight-story self-built buildings there. Due to the location and relatively cheaper rent compared to the surrounding areas, rental houses in the urban villages have always been in high demand. In that urban village area, the probability of owning a house without being rich was quite high.

[Young and Dangerous]: Just ordinary houses, right? How much could they be worth?

Everyone knows that housing prices in Xijiang were high, but they have no concept of the prices of these self-built houses.

[Dragon Lake Department Store]: Let me put it this way, if it’s really self-built houses in the area near the financial center, they start at 150,000 yuan per-square=meter. At this price, many people were unwilling to demolish them.

[Chicken Pecking Rice]: Ahhhh, I should ask grandpa if he needs another grandson.

[Run Little Duck]: Honestly, when I saw grandpa cooking just now, I knew I’d be having his porridge for sure.

The barrage of comments once again veered off topic. Everyone wanted to confirm if the house was owned by the host himself and if it was indeed in the location mentioned by Dragon Lake Department Store.

***

“I apologize for bothering everyone. I’m livestreaming my dad cooking here. As per audience requests, I’m going to interview everyone. If you don’t want to be filmed, just let me know, and I’ll try not to catch you.”

Su Aobai didn’t answer the audience’s questions. For now, he wanted to maintain a bit of mystery. If he suddenly solved all the mysteries, where would the fun be?

He projected himself as a mysterious man worth exploring slowly.

“Live broadcast!”

Even the elderly in this urban village area were quite trendy nowadays. They were not short of money; after retirement, they danced in the square, formed groups for travel, and some of their gadgets on their phones were even more advanced than those used by young people.

However, due to saving money for their two freeloaders, the elderly couple from the Su family didn’t have as much leisure time, which sharply contrasted with these old neighbors.

“No problem, no problem. We’re not afraid of being on camera. Just make sure you make us look good. You know about beauty filters, right? Turn up the beauty filter a bit for me. I got quite tan when I went to Xinjiang recently. Normally, I could be a bit fairer. Can you give me a whitening effect? That would be close to my original skin tone.”

The aunties were fearless, checking their makeup in mirrors and immediately flashing radiant smiles at the camera in Su Aobai’s hands.

[Chicken Pecking Rice]: Haahh, why are aunties so adorable? They even know about beauty filters.

[King of the Battleground]: I think the owner of this shop must be very nice to attract such lovely customers.

“That’s right, go ahead and film us. Xiao Su, if you want to film, just film us. We old folks don’t mind looking a bit ugly. But don’t film those young white-collar workers. Their skin is so tender, and during meals, with all the steam, their faces are sure to get sweaty and oily. It wouldn’t look good for them, especially since they’re still looking for partners.”

An old grandpa chimed in with a chuckle.

“Bah, you’re old too. I’m still young.”

The old lady next to him gave him a white-eyed look, then turned to the camera with a dignified smile, in stark contrast to her fierce scolding of the old grandpa just moments ago.

The audience behind the camera burst into laughter again.

“No worries, uncle, I don’t mind being filmed,” said a young man sitting in the corner, raising his hand. He wore black-framed glasses and a checkered shirt, typical attire for a programmer. When he noticed everyone in the shop looking at him, he nervously pushed his glasses up with his finger, suddenly regretting sticking out.

“Hahaha, good one, young man. You look quite handsome indeed. We can definitely film you. Do you have a girlfriend? If any young ladies watching the livestream like you, just find Xiao Su here. He’ll play matchmaker for you,” the old grandpa said, giving the young man a thumbs-up, which made the entire shop burst into laughter.

The young man scratched his nose. Although he thought the old grandpa’s suggestion was unrealistic, he felt less nervous now.

“Alright then, let’s interview this young man. Since most of the elderly folks dining at my place are neighbors, if I ask them, you might feel the feedback isn’t objective. So, let’s ask a few customers who can give impartial answers.”

With that, Su Aobai walked over to the young man with the black-framed glasses.

On his table were two plates, both nearly half-eaten stir-fries; one of sweet and sour pork and the other of minced pork with eggplant, typical comfort dishes.

Seeing these dishes, the audience watching before the livestream burst into laughter. Weren’t these the dishes that were messed up by the novice cook in the kitchen? Moreover, during the making of the sweet and sour pork, the novice cook was the most active.

He intervened when mixing the sweet and sour sauce, and also when adjusting the batter. During frying, he even competed with the head chef, an elderly gentleman, for control of the temperature knob. In short, with every dish prepared, the novice cook’s influence could be seen everywhere.

[Dragon Lake Department Store]: Looks like it’s going to crash.

[National Level Argumentative Athlete]: So the host’s family is wealthy after all. Opening a small shop and making customers eat your experimental dishes. If they really care, they should comp the meal; otherwise, they might get reported.

Regarding the taste of this dish, everyone had their doubts and thought it might turn out poorly.

“Young man, how do you find the taste of these two dishes?”

This young man with black-framed glasses looked only a few years older than Su Tianyuan, so it wasn’t too much for Su Aobai to call him ‘young man.’

“Excellent, absolutely excellent!”

Facing the camera, the young man in black glasses seemed a bit excited and also a bit shy and nervous. But when he started talking about the taste of these two dishes, his eyes suddenly lit up, and those prominent dark circles under his eyes seemed to add to his enthusiasm.

“I’m from Northeast China, you see. Since coming to Xijiang, I rarely get to taste authentic sweet and sour pork. Actually, even back home, not many can make sweet and sour pork taste like this. This is the most authentic flavor!”

***

As it turned out, this young man was a new customer at the Su Family Snack Shop. He had heard from colleagues that there was a small shop here with great stir-fry dishes and reasonable prices. His colleague couldn’t join him today due to a last-minute issue, so he came to explore the place on his own.

When he first ordered the sweet and sour pork, he was worried he might have chosen the wrong dish. Compared to local specialties, which were more likely to reflect the chef’s skill, the sweet and sour pork seemed less promising. But when the dish arrived and he smelled its distinctive aroma, he knew it was halfway to being a success.

Ignoring the steam rising from the dish, he grabbed a piece and took a bite. His teeth broke through the crispy coating, and the hot juices stimulated his tongue, yet he couldn’t bring himself to spit out that piece of sweet and sour pork.

Because it was just so delicious!