Call Me Daddy

Su Tianyuan couldn’t stay still when he heard that there was an internet celebrity doing a food broadcast in the restaurant. Luckily, there weren’t many people ordering at this moment, and the side dishes prepared earlier were enough to use. He quietly slipped to the kitchen door and observed every move of the streamer Xiao Pang.

“If any of you have the chance to visit this restaurant, you must try their Stir-fried Three Fresh Vegetables.”

[Foodie Expert]: Understood, understood. When the host ate steamed belt fish, he suggested we check in and definitely try the steamed belt fish. When the host ate soy sauce chicken, he suggested we definitely check in and try the soy sauce chicken. When the host ate Hakka stuffed tofu, he suggested we definitely check in and try the Hakka stuffed tofu. Now that he’s tasted Stir-fried Three Fresh Vegetables, he suggests we definitely check in and try Stir-fried Three Fresh Vegetables. There are some dishes he hasn’t suggested checking in yet, probably because he hasn’t started eating them.

[Excavator]: To summarize, everything in this restaurant is delicious. Did the host really not get paid? Dog’s head to survive.

Watching these barrage comments, Xiao Pang replied seriously.

“At least up to now, I haven’t had a single dish that disappointed me. If you insist that I’m getting paid to do this, then I can only find faults.”

Xiao Pang wasn’t angry either, pointing to the dishes he had already tasted.

“For example, this Stir-fried Three Fresh Vegetables. Whether it’s the cooking time or the seasoning, it has already reached perfection in my opinion. But this knife work, I really can’t agree. Look at these potato pieces, some are large, some are small. When the smaller ones have already stewed into a mush, the larger ones in the middle still lack seasoning penetration. However, this doesn’t really affect the taste because the potatoes themselves are already cooked. It’s just that because they are too big, the soup hasn’t penetrated inside. When eating, you can simply use chopsticks to split them in half and soak them in the soup.”

Originally, Su Tianyuan’s mouth was upturned as he listened to Xiao Pang praise the food, but when he saw Xiao Pang nitpicking the noticeably different-sized potato pieces, his mouth immediately tightened.

Because these ingredients were all prepared under his knife.

“Maybe it’s because the restaurant is short-staffed, or maybe the assistant chef’s knife skills aren’t up to par. Actually, I suggest the restaurant could invest in those machines specifically for cutting vegetables available online. They can slice, dice, and cube, and with today’s technology, it could also save on labor costs.”

Xiao Pang chuckled and said to his fans.

[Little Snow]: Hahaha, Xiao Pang not only understands eating but also cooking. These potato pieces were cut by the boss’s grandson. The young man just started learning cooking not long ago and is still practicing knife skills.

[Where There’s Good Food, There’s Me]: Hahaha, Xiao Pang, that guy cutting vegetables is peeking at you behind the kitchen door right now. Aren’t you afraid of speaking ill behind someone’s back when they can hear you? Awkward, isn’t it?

Following the prompt, Xiao Pang’s gaze followed and coincidentally met Su Tianyuan’s for a few seconds.

Having experienced big scenes before, he calmly waved at Su Tianyuan, revealing his trademark silly smile.

“Don’t try to sow discord here. He’s the rich second generation who’s set to inherit two buildings. I’m just a poor wage earner waiting for you all to support me. Besides, does the young master need to rely on knife skills to eat? Hey, he’s learning cooking just for fun!”

After Xiao Pang joked around with his livestream fans for a few more sentences, when he looked again, Su Tianyuan was no longer in that spot.

He didn’t pay it much mind and continued enjoying his food.

When Su Tianyuan returned to the cutting board later, his expression was noticeably more serious.

I……… am???

***

“During the day, Old Zhang and Old Wang invited both of us to go on a trip, saying they planned to visit all four famous Buddhist mountains.”

In the evening, Miao Yinhua chatted with her old husband about what had happened during the day.

“Old Zhang and the others have traveled to many places over the years. They even showed me some pictures they took before. They had a great time.”

Su Quangen finished soaking his feet and was drying them with a towel.

He could tell from his wife’s tone that she was envious. But she herself was a devout Buddhist; there was even a small room upstairs dedicated to the Buddha shrine. On important days, she would observe vegetarian diets. For her, visiting the four famous Buddhist mountains held a stronger allure than going elsewhere.

“Why don’t you go with Old Zhang and the others this time? It’d be nice to have company, and you wouldn’t have to worry too much about the shop. Worst case, we can hire a temporary worker.”

Su Quangen was sure he couldn’t go himself. He felt the kitchen couldn’t function without him as head chef. But his wife was different; she handled ordering, serving, collecting payments, and doing miscellaneous tasks.

“I was just talking casually. I didn’t really want to go. It’s such a hassle to travel. You have to pack, spend money, and who knows if it’ll be enjoyable. Forget it, forget it. I’d rather stay home.” Miao Yinhua dismissed her husband’s suggestion without much thought.

“You three men wouldn’t know how to take care of yourselves. If I leave, can I really relax and have fun?”

Old Su only knew how to cook. In other household matters, Miao Yinhua put in more effort than her husband. She felt if she left for more than half a month, the three of them wouldn’t take good care of themselves.

With that, Miao Yinhua lost interest in chatting further. She turned over, switched off her bedside lamp, and prepared to sleep.

Su Quangen understood his wife’s determination and didn’t try to persuade her further.

When he returned from pouring out the foot-washing water in the bathroom, he heard a faint snore from his wife; she was obviously asleep.

Seeing this, Su Quangen knew it was impossible to wake his wife up again and discuss the topic they had talked about earlier. He lifted his blanket and was about to get into bed when he heard a noise from downstairs in the kitchen.

It sounded like someone chopping on a cutting board. At this hour, who else would be staying in the kitchen?

Su Quangen didn’t wake his already sleeping wife. He treaded softly, slowly making his way downstairs.

The kitchen door was half-open, and dim light seeped through the crack under the door. As he got closer, the sounds from the kitchen became clearer.

Someone was indeed chopping vegetables in the kitchen, and quite quickly too; Su Quangen soon heard a familiar exclamation from inside.

It was his beloved grandson!

***

Su Quangen approached and pushed open the door. He saw Su Tianyuan standing in front of a basin filled with potatoes, cucumbers, and carrots. The exclamation had been because he had accidentally dropped a round potato, which rolled off and hit his leg.

Su Tianyuan looked surprised when he saw his grandfather push open the door, but then he quickly became happy.

“Grandpa, did I disturb you? I couldn’t sleep, so I came to the kitchen for a while.”

Su Tianyuan said reservedly. He was someone who cared about his image and had a bit of vanity. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been praised by his friends like a fool, showing his heart and wallet to them.

Su Tianyuan also knew his little fault, so he thought that if his grandfather could praise him at this time, he would definitely have more motivation to practice.

But Su Tianyuan couldn’t say clearly that he wanted to be praised. What he wanted to hear was his grandfather’s heartfelt words.

Su Quangen hesitated for a moment, looking at the vegetables prepared for tomorrow, most of which had already been handled by his grandson; cucumbers, potatoes, and carrots, all cut into shreds.

But these vegetable shreds were uneven in thickness.

Shreds were different from chunks; dishes that required shredded vegetables had certain requirements for knife skills. Otherwise, if the thickness varied too much, it would affect the texture when chewing.

Moreover, stir-fried shredded vegetables also emphasized appearance. With these potato shreds like this, Su Quangen felt embarrassed to accept their money.

It hurts!

The old man quickly calculated the cost in his heart.

“Xiao Yuan…” He began, and Su Tianyuan felt secretly excited.

He’s going to praise me; he’s going to praise me!

Should I be modest and let Grandpa feel the diligence of my virtue, as well as the humility of my good character?

“Forget it … let’s go to sleep…”

Sleeping is good, and sleeping won’t waste ingredients. Su Quangen was thinking in his heart that he should change tomorrow’s menu. Instead of spicy and sour shredded potatoes, he could steam and mash these damaged potatoes and carrots, making full use of them again.

“Dad, why don’t you go upstairs and rest? I’ll practice knife skills with Xiao Yuan.” Su Aobai appeared behind his old man at some point.

“What?” Su Quangen was startled by the sudden appearance of his son. After processing his son’s words, he instinctively shifted his gaze to his grandson’s downcast face.

I was wrong!

He had been busy thinking about the wasted ingredients and forgot how remarkable it was that his grandson had started making efforts for the first time.

Perhaps in the old man’s mind, his grandson’s image hadn’t yet detached from the lazy child he used to be. When he saw him practicing knife skills, he thought he was just playing around with food again.

The old man opened his mouth, but didn’t know how to explain it to his child.

“Dad, I’m here.” Su Aobai patted his father’s shoulder.

Seeing that, Su Quangen left the kitchen in a few steps, thinking that he should give his grandson a little extra pocket money at the end of the month to appease him.

After the old man left, Su Aobai rolled up his sleeves and walked to the sink to wash his hands.

“Not bad.” He glanced at the pile of neatly shredded vegetables, which surprisingly didn’t dampen his spirits.

Su Tianyuan’s mouth was originally downturned, but upon hearing his father’s words, it couldn’t help but lift slightly.

“A clumsy bird that flies first. You know, choosing to practice knife skills overtime shows you’re smarter than your average clumsy bird.”

The upward motion of his lips paused, Su Tianyuan puffed his cheeks, glaring at his father beside him.

I’m a clumsy bird, but who’s the man raising a clumsy bird? The old clumsy bird?

Though the words were quite irritating to hear, Su Tianyuan couldn’t stay mad for more than 3 seconds. His lips couldn’t help but curl upward, his smile becoming more pronounced.

He didn’t care; he took it as his father praising him.

Since Su Aobai came into this world, his plummeting favorability finally started to climb.

“Wanna learn how to chop vegetables with me?” Su Aobai picked up the nearby kitchen knife, looking at his little clumsy bird.

Su Tianyuan: “…Yes!”

Under the bright lights in the cramped kitchen, father and son stood side by side.

Su Quangen returned to the bedroom. Hearing the noise from downstairs, he turned around, thinking of waking up his wife. But listening to her snoring, he hesitated with his hand halfway raised, then turned back and lay down in bed, inexplicably smiling.

Tonight, he was sure to sleep well and have a good dream.