Call Me Daddy

[Shocking! Famous Streamer Visits a Small Eatery in the Urban Village, and the Owner Turns Out to Be…]

[Owning Two Buildings, Cooking is Just a Hobby]

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Nowadays, any slightly interesting news on the internet will be quickly picked up and spread by netizens.

Little Fatty Gourmet, Xiao Pang, was already a well-known internet celebrity. The broadcast clips of his live streams were highly circulated. Coupled with this news involving a demolished household, a tycoon, and statements similar to “I have never been interested in money” by a certain tycoon surnamed Ma, it naturally caused a sensation in a small circle.

Su Aobai’s live stream quickly flooded with numerous accounts, coming to pay homage to the rumored owner of two buildings worth tens of millions, running a small restaurant.

Of course, such a massive influx of accounts was only temporary. Whether people would stay depended on the content of the video.

“Cutting potatoes is simple.”

At this moment, Su Aobai was instructing his son on how to cut potatoes. Among today’s vegetarian dishes was a home style Stir-fried Three Fresh Vegetables which required cutting potatoes, eggplants, and green peppers into chunks.

Su Tianyuan had only practiced his knife skills for a few days, so the cut ingredients were uneven, some big and some small.

When Su Quangen and Su Aobai were setting the menu, they considered this. In the ‘Di San Xian’ recipe, the eggplants, potatoes, and green peppers are all deep-fried first and then stir-fried with sauce for flavor and stewed, so the ingredients themselves would be thoroughly cooked. Poor knife skills wouldn’t significantly affect the taste of the dish.

(T/N: Di San Xian = a stir-fried dish of the vegetables above mentioned.)

Perhaps because of the low requirements for knife skills, Su Quangen didn’t say anything when he saw his grandson present those unevenly cut ingredients, leading Su Tianyuan to mistakenly believe he had done quite well.

But Su Aobai couldn’t stand it. He sighed, took a peeled, round potato, and then took the sharp cleaver from his son’s hand.

“Cutting potatoes into chunks is already the simplest method.”

Hearing that, Su Tianyuan pouted. He had practiced his knife skills for 4 days, and his father hadn’t touched this cleaver yet. If compared, he certainly wasn’t as good as himself.

Although Su Tianyuan admitted that his father did better when peeling yams, cutting vegetables with a cleaver and peeling them with a peeler were completely different things.

“Not convinced?” Su Aobai raised his eyes and spoke faintly.

Su Tianyuan didn’t respond to this question, just hummed lightly to express his dissatisfaction.

[Traveler]: His knife skills in chopping vegetables are indeed mediocre. My son, who often helps with household chores since he was over ten years old, cuts better than him. The streamer should really teach him properly.

[2333]: Hahaha, the one above must have just joined the livestream. You might be disappointed. The streamer himself doesn’t know how to cook. If he really needs teaching, he’d have to ask the old man to step in. But the old man manages the stove, probably doesn’t have the time.

The barrage was filled with spectators waiting to see the show, thinking that the streamer might fail in teaching his son and end up embarrassing himself.

“It’s not difficult to cut into chunks. Let me show you how to julienne.”

Su Aobai was accustomed to speaking through actions.

First, he shaved off a small round face from the potato, so that the potato could be placed flat on the cutting board.

“When holding the knife, your posture should be correct. The blade should be perpendicular to your finger joints, and the height of the knife shouldn’t be too high. Now, slice the potato as thinly as possible. If you’re not proficient at first, you can slow down.”

Su Aobai explained while demonstrating. He let his son cut slowly, but he himself only slowed down at the beginning of slicing the first few pieces, then accelerated. In the video, only Su Aobai’s chest and below appeared, focusing everyone’s attention on his chopping hands.

The screen was filled with the dense sound of knife blades contacting the cutting board. In just over 10 seconds, Su Aobai finished the last cut. He gently pressed and twisted the sliced potatoes with his fingers, instantly transforming what seemed to be a whole potato into slices, neatly arranged on the cutting board, each slice uniformly thin, almost less than a millimeter thick.

“When julienning, curve your fingers, with the middle joint pressing against the blade.”

The first sound of chopping vegetables rang out, paused for a moment, then accelerated as if someone had hit the accelerator.

While chopping vegetables, Su Aobai also focused on teaching.

“Keep your fingers pressing down on the potato slice as the knife moves. The finger joint must press against the back of the knife, just like when slicing earlier. Don’t lift the knife too high off the board to avoid cutting your fingers. Start slowly at first. Once you’re skilled, you can speed up like me.”

Su Aobai finished the last cut, then pressed the knife blade tightly against the cutting board, scraping under the potato shreds and dumping the pile of shredded potatoes neatly onto a large knife face, all shaking into a clean basin of clear water.

The naturally sticky potato shreds, due to the starch naturally exuding from the potatoes, spread out in the water. Each strand looked as fine as silk thread.

[Believer]: So this is the streamer you all say can’t cook… Turns out the standards for cooking these days are so high.

[You’re all right]: Knowing how to chop vegetables doesn’t mean you can cook, but I really admire the streamer’s knife skills. They’re so precise.

A heap of tips rushed in.

[Chicken Pecking Rice]: Why did I, a mere salaryman, unknowingly drop a landmine even though I knew the streamer is a local tycoon with two buildings?

[Run Little Duck]:  Brian = “I want to drop a bomb.”  Wallet = “No, you can’t.” Hands = “Already dropped.”

The impact of such precise knife skills was completely different from the feeling brought by Su Aobai’s precise peeling of yam skins earlier. Many people had begun to doubt Su Aobai’s previous claims; Had he really never cooked before?

Or is it that he’s never cooked, but can he chop vegetables? Judging by Su Tianyuan’s expression when his father mentioned teaching him how to chop vegetables, their skill levels should be about the same.

Even the netizens watching through the screen felt this way, let alone Su Tianyuan, who was watching from up close.

His mouth gaped open, his eyes widened.

This must be an illusion. He couldn’t help rubbing his eyes, but just moments ago he had chopped a bunch of green peppers. The eye he rubbed instantly welled up with tears, stinging painfully.

[Little Snow]: Such a touching father-son teaching scene, the son was moved to tears.

[Heaven Gave Me Two Buildings]: Hahaha, why do I feel like the son cried out of anger after being embarrassed by his dad.

Fortunately, Su Tianyuan couldn’t see the live barrage now; otherwise, his tears would have flowed even more fiercely.

It wasn’t from being moved or angry, but purely from feeling stupid and making himself cry.

“You see, chopping vegetables is actually quite simple.” Saying this, Su Aobai handed the kitchen knife back to his son.

“At the beginning, don’t rush. Take it slow, and once you’ve mastered the technique, speed will naturally increase.”

The auntie who had been helping with washing and chopping vegetables was now assisting Su Quangen at the stove, so he could spare some attention to his grandchild.

Seeing his son demonstrate his knife skills, Su Quangen’s mouth almost stretched to his ears.

“That’s right, Xiao Yuan, your dad is talented. We can’t compare with your dad, so just go at your own pace.”

He intended to comfort his grandson, but in such a stark comparison, Su Tianyuan felt even more like crying.

Could it be true what his grandpa said? Was Dad really a rare culinary genius of the millennium?

If that were the case, Grandpa would surely like Dad more. Trying to catch up to his father’s place in Grandpa’s heart seemed like a distant dream.

***

As Xiao Pang ate about half of the first few dishes that were brought out, several more dishes were served one after another.

Miao Yinhua came in carrying the empty dishes.

“We’ve got a kid doing livestreams like our son here in the shop. He’s chubby and quite a hearty eater. Looks like a lucky child.”

(T/N: Chine people find that chubby, fair children auspicious/lucky, hence most art depiction of children are plump and white (not Caucasian), are called lucky child.)

Miao Yinhua came in to share this news, although Su Aobai had already learned about it through the barrage in the livestream room.

Audiences who came from Xiao Pang’s livestream couldn’t help leaving comments like [hahaha!] after hearing the old lady’s praise for Xiao Pang, and they were prepared to return to Xiao Pang’s livestream to share what the old lady had just said about him.

Lucky, this was probably an extremely commendatory term in the old lady’s mind.

By now, Xiao Pang had been captivated by the dishes that had been brought to him and didn’t bother to interact with the fans who came to share.

“Stir-fried Three Fresh Vegetables! I’m familiar with this dish. My Mom used to make it often at home. It should also be a common home-cooked dish for most families. However, precisely because it’s so ordinary, trying to make it outstanding becomes difficult.”

As he spoke, Xiao Pang picked up a chopstick and sampled the eggplant, which had already been stewed soft.

Eggplant easily absorbs oil, so if not done well, it can become greasy.

Su Quangen had a habit when making Stir-fried Three Fresh Vegetables; he first coated the thickly sliced round eggplants with a thin layer of starch and then deep-fried them. This not only helped the eggplant hold its shape but also prevented it from absorbing too much oil during later stir-frying, making it easier to coat with the sauce and giving it a rich flavor.

Just before serving, Su Quangen would sprinkle a pinch of five-spice powder or beef seasoning for extra flavor to the already savory dish.

“Perfect! This taste is perfect! I used to think my Mom was the best at making Stir-fried Three Fresh Vegetables in the world. No restaurant’s version could compare to my Mom’s skill. But now, this bowl in front of me, although prepared slightly differently from my Mom’s usual method and seasoning, is equally delicious.”

Xiao Pang kept picking up four or five pieces in a row, stuffing his mouth full, with sauce dripping from the corners of his mouth.

The remaining half-bowl of rice had long been devoured in a couple of mouthfuls, enjoying the flavorful Stir-fried Three Fresh Vegetables. Xiao Pang quickly refilled a full bowl from the nearby self-service rice cooker.

This time, he placed a soft eggplant piece on top of the rice and then scooped half a spoonful of sauce from the dish onto the rice. The steaming hot rice instantly absorbed the sauce.

Then he used chopsticks to pick up the rice and eggplant soaked in sauce, opened his mouth, and swiftly stuffed it in, squinting his slightly swollen eyes into crescent shapes, showing a happy expression on his face.

Behind the camera, almost simultaneously, the audience swallowed a bit of saliva.

Is it just Stir-fried Three Fresh Vegetables? Is it really that delicious?