Call Me Daddy

Even the tastiest cakes become cloying if eaten too quickly. But now, his appetite was whetted, and he eagerly grabbed his chopsticks to eat the hot dishes.

“Delicious, delicious.” He muttered again, his words muffled by the food.

Su Tianyuan felt that his grandfather’s cooking today was much better than usual, especially the Mapo Tofu. It was soft, spicy, and numbing, and each bite of rice with tofu almost brought tears to his eyes.

Could this be the taste of hard work?

The yam in the stir-fried yam was peeled and cut by him. The pork in the Mapo Tofu was washed by him and then minced by his grandfather. The ingredients for the stir-fried beef were also prepped under the faucet he used.

“Grandpa, don’t you think today’s dishes taste especially good?” Su Tianyuan swallowed a mouthful of rice and looked at his grandfather expectantly.

He thought, his relationship with his father might be superficial, but his grandpa would surely appreciate the extra sweetness from his grandson’s sweat in the food.

“Hahaha, yes, you noticed too!” Su Quangen laughed heartily.

“Thanks to your dad’s great seasoning skills. You probably don’t know this, but your dad has a golden tongue. I’ve been cooking my whole life, but my seasoning has never been as precise as his. Recently, my cooking skills have improved entirely because of him.”

As he spoke, Su Quangen looked expectantly at his grandson, wondering if there was any hidden talent in him.

Su Tianyuan: “…”

He realized his expectations from his grandfather were misplaced.

But I’ve only been gone for a few days, and Dad’s evaluation had changed so drastically in my grandparents’ eyes?

As for his grandfather saying his dad had a golden tongue, Su Tianyuan didn’t believe it.

A man who used to spend every day sitting in a gaming chair, playing games, reading novels, and leisurely eating junk food like spicy strips, pickled chicken feet, chips, and sugary drinks, couldn’t possibly have any taste.

Grandpa must have been deceived!

While quickly shoveling food into his mouth, Su Tianyuan warily watched his father, silently raising his danger level by several notches.

***

“Hello everyone, today Xiao Pang is taking you to explore a new eatery!”

A slightly chubby young man held up a handheld camera mount, strolling through an alley.

He was a well-known food streamer on Douxiong Live, recently starting a new series called “Exploring Eateries,” aiming to uncover some small, hidden restaurants in the streets and alleys.

This stop brought him to Xijiang. After wandering around the busiest city CBD and taking pictures of some landmark buildings, he began his exploration journey.

“Look, this is a piece of residential area that hasn’t been demolished yet. Though these houses appear decades or even a hundred years old and look dilapidated, the actual price of these old houses on the second-hand housing market has soared to around 160,000 to 170,000 yuan per square meter. They are in such high demand that nobody wants to sell unless they urgently need a large sum of money.”

Xiao Pang had done his homework before the live stream.

“If these houses were demolished, most of the locals would instantly become millionaires or even billionaires. So don’t underestimate the elderly folks in flip-flops and yellowed T-shirts; they’re hidden millionaires.”

As he spoke, Xiao Pang noticed a small restaurant. Peering inside, he saw that it was quite busy.

“Su Family Snack Shop!”

Xiao Pang read the name of the restaurant aloud. The midday temperature in Xijiang was very high, and despite walking in the shade, Xiao Pang was drenched in sweat. He didn’t want to keep searching any longer.

“I’ll show everyone around this area. Su Family Snack Shop is located at the intersection of Yingxian Avenue and Chuan Yang Road, which is a prime location. This building is right on the edge of an urban village, almost like a storefront along the street. So, the value of this building is higher than those within the urban village. Alright, enough chit-chat, let’s go inside and taste the food.”

With that, Xiao Pang pushed the door open and walked in.

As a popular food streamer, his live stream already had nearly 130,000 viewers at this point.

The ample air conditioning inside made Xiao Pang sigh with relief, and his sweat started to dry up.

“Wow, this place actually sells set meals.”

A few days had passed, and the menu on the wall had been replaced with a large blackboard that updated daily with the available dishes.

Today’s meat dishes included minced pork eggplant, soy sauce chicken, braised flatfish, and steamed Hairtail fish. There were more vegetarian options, including stir-fried asparagus, home-style triple delight, Hakka stuffed tofu, braised mushrooms, and scrambled eggs with chives. The soups offered were Crucian carp tofu soup and tomato shrimp egg drop soup.

Each dish had a different price, and customers could mix and match as they liked. Considering different appetites, dishes could also be ordered in half portions.

This seemed to be a fast-food place?

Xiao Pang was a bit discouraged, thinking he probably wouldn’t get to taste any gourmet food today.

“Excuse me, excuse me.”

A customer who had just collected their meal from a newly established window in the kitchen walked past Xiao Pang.

It smells amazing!

A meal consisting of one meat dish, two vegetable dishes, and a soup, all steaming hot, with the delicious aroma wafting into his nose.

He looked around and saw everyone engrossed in savoring their meals.

Xiao Pang immediately perked up and went to the window to order.

“Boss, I’ll have one of each dish on the blackboard today.”

“Young man, can you finish all that? It’s not good to waste food.” Miao Yinhua reminded him.

“I can finish it; I have a big appetite.” Xiao Pang’s expression was earnest and honest.

[Black Hole]: Here we go, here we go, Black Hole is here, Xiao Pang is about to show the boss a lesson.

[Where There’s Good Food, There’s Me]: Haha, every time he orders, he always gets the same question. Boss, how could our Xiao Pang not finish? He always wants more.

Xiao Pang’s live stream was filled with laughter. They were used to the skepticism from restaurant owners during their broadcasts.

[Little Snow]: Hey, the background looks familiar. Ahhhhh, Xiao Pang, you went to the restaurant of another streamer I’ve been following recently. Is this a collaboration?

Xiao Pang noticed the comment from the user named ‘Little Snow.’ He frowned slightly, then carefully observed the restaurant’s setup. He saw the fixed camera positions and a banner with a reminder…

(The owner is also a video blogger who edits and uploads dining clips from the restaurant. Faces of non-consenting patrons will be blurred. If you mind it, please talk to the staff to move to a no-camera zone.)

It turned out he had stumbled upon a fellow content creator, but Xiao Pang didn’t mind. Since he hadn’t been paid for this, he would give an honest review.

“I didn’t know the owner here was also into streaming. This visit isn’t a collaboration; I didn’t take any promotional fees. All my comments will be honest.”

Having been on Douxiong Live for several years, Xiao Pang had built a reputation for integrity. Apart from a few habitual haters, most viewers trusted him.

***

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Su Aobai was guiding his son on how to chop vegetables.

Chopping was a basic skill for any chef. Su Tianyuan, having just started, was slow and inconsistent. Fortunately, the dishes for the day didn’t require precision, so his efforts were passable.

[2333]: The streamer is strict.

[Dragon Lake Department Store]: It might just be me, but it seems like the streamer and his son are distant.

Over the past few days, viewers had watched this poor kid being ordered around and couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

Even though both were father and son, the old man was brimming with fatherly love, indulging his novice son. Meanwhile, the novice son treated his own child harshly, almost like a servant from the old days.

But over these few days, viewers had witnessed Su Tianyuan’s gradual improvement. At least now he could peel a section of yam before it oxidized.

[Little Snow]: Streamer, streamer, there’s a big influencer at your restaurant right now! Xiao Pang the foodie is in your shop!

Fans who followed both streams started sharing each other’s room numbers, sparking curiosity and visits between the two rooms.

[Where There’s Good Food, There’s Me]: Wow, even the kitchen helpers here are handsome?

[Golden Tongue]: I haven’t tasted the food yet, but I bet it’s delicious because it looks great.

A flood of new viewers was shocked by the handsome guy chopping vegetables on the stream, and the conversation quickly turned to admiring his looks.

[2333]: Looks are superficial, our Xiao Yuan is a pure-hearted sweetie.

[Run Little Duck]: Don’t be fooled by appearances. Give it some time, and you’ll see. That clever-looking kid is so easily tricked, he’s like a little lamb trapped under his dad, the streamer’s, thumb.

In Xiao Pang’s food live stream, the atmosphere was different. These viewers, having come from Su Aobai’s stream, hoped Xiao Pang would give an honest review. They had been tempted by the streamer’s food for days. If Xiao Pang confirmed the food was good, they would save up to visit Su’s Snack Shop.

Soon, several easy-to-cook dishes were served.

Steamed ribbonfish, minced meat stir-fried with eggplant, stir-fried eggs with chives, and a large bowl of rice.

Xiao Pang lifted his phone to take a close-up shot, adjusted the stand to focus on himself, and eagerly started tasting the food.

The first bite was the juicy steamed ribbonfish. Then another bite, and another. Soon, the fattiest part of the fish was reduced to a single bone.

[Golden Tongue]: Is it good? Why isn’t the streamer talking?

[Drunken Sword Immortal]: If the streamer isn’t talking, it must be delicious. But steamed ribbonfish isn’t that difficult to cook.

Viewers in the live stream were getting anxious. Xiao Pang took another piece of ribbonfish and finally remembered his fans.

“Three words; fresh, fatty, oily.”

Good ribbonfish should be fat and oily. Xiao Pang, having tasted food all over the country, knew what was good and what wasn’t. With one bite, he could tell this steamed ribbonfish was made from authentic Yellow Sea ribbonfish.

“If you love seafood, don’t miss this. The quality of the ingredients is very high. This dish only costs 28 yuan; it’s a steal.”

“Haha, you know your stuff, young man. Old Su’s ingredients are always top-notch,” said an elderly man nearby, noticing Xiao Pang filming. He quickly started promoting Su’s Snack Shop.

Xiao Pang was interested in chatting. Having other diners share their thoughts during a food exploration live stream always enhanced the effect.

“Uncle, do you often eat here?”

He picked up the filming equipment from the table and, after getting the old man’s consent, pointed it at him.

“This place is like my canteen. The owner and I grew up in this area. Old Su, oh, Old Su is the owner. This building is his, so there’s no rent. Not only that, but he also has an eight-story building next door that he rents out. He doesn’t need money, so he’s particular about his cooking. He never skimps on ingredients. Everything is fresh daily. Without rent costs, the same quality food here is better and cheaper.”

After hearing what the old man said, the audience in the live stream felt a mix of envy and shock. Xiao Pang was also a bit taken aback. He had just told his fans about the high property prices in the area before entering the shop, only to find out that the shop owner owned two buildings. Was he running the shop just to enjoy life?

Fans of Su Aobai, who had wandered into Xiao Pang’s live stream, quickly ran back to Su Aobai’s stream, eager to share this juicy news with the audience there.

[2333]: The streamer is actually a man who owns two buildings in the city center. I feel sorry for myself for just giving the streamer a thunder gift.

[Chicken Pecking Rice]: Suddenly, Xiao Yuan’s clear and handsome face, with his wise and steady eyes, seems like a trustworthy person for life. Streamer, can I call you father-in-law? I hope you won’t reject me.

[Haha Weirdo]: Ahhh, two buildings! Are city center properties now counted by the building?

[I’m Jealous]: Eight floors! Even in my hometown, we can’t afford to build a house that high.

[Run Little Duck]: So the streamer isn’t a rookie.

Seeing this comment, Su Aobai showed a gratified smile.

[Run Little Duck]: The streamer is a golden rooster.

Great, his smile froze again, and he remembered this ‘Little Duck.’

A bunch of viewers from Xiao Pang’s live stream came over to admire the wealthy landlord, leaving comments like [Watching the landlord!]

Previously, some fans had asked if the shop was his own, but Su Aobai had never given a direct answer. Now it was proven that not only was the shop his, but there was also another eight-story self-built building.

With the influx of traffic from the big influencer, Su Aobai’s live stream quickly became popular.