Call Me Daddy

Zhang Lang couldn’t force Su Tianyuan to make a decision, so he tried to appeal to him emotionally and logically. He analyzed for Su Tianyuan how his future might be limited if he continued working in his family’s small restaurant. Then, he hung up the phone.

The man sitting in the office looked at the call records on his phone, revealing a sinister expression. If Su Tianyuan refused to come back, he would cut off his options. He didn’t believe that Su Tianyuan wouldn’t come back begging once Su Family Snack Shop’s livestream couldn’t sustain itself.

***

Su Tianyuan sighed after the call was disconnected. He actually wanted to tell Brother Zhang that he didn’t plan to return. As for the 30,000 yuan given earlier, after deducting the portion for helping with his online presence and shooting short videos, could he get the remaining money back?

Su Tianyuan understood the value of every penny, and he was no longer the naive spender he once was.

Unfortunately, Brother Zhang didn’t give him a chance to speak at all when he hung up, just telling him to think it over.

Su Tianyuan quickly tapped on his phone screen and opened a hidden folder.

The folder was named ‘Evolutionary History of the Divine Chef,’ filled with nothing but praise for him.

“Hehehe.”

Looking at these rainbow-colored comments, Su Tianyuan shook his sore arm and suddenly felt full of energy again.

He really wanted that guy who insulted him in their livestream with [Your Dad is Still Your Dad] to come back to their livestream room. It would be best if it was when his knife skills had improved further. That day, he must slice up a plate of cucumber garnished like a gown to see if that guy still dared to call him a straw bag beauty.

Yes, he must conquer that person with his skills!

***

Finally, after sending off the lunchtime customers, they were only busy for 2 or 3 hours, and from the head chef to the dish servers, everyone was exhausted.

Su Quangen rubbed his sore shoulders. Fortunately, he listened to his son and stopped serving breakfast. Otherwise, with his old bones like this, he really didn’t know if he could hold on.

The two helpers in Su Family’s shop didn’t eat there; their wages included meal allowances. Since they rented homes in the urban village, they usually chose to go home for meals and rest during the break between lunch and dinner shifts.

Today, the shop had two big internet celebrities, and because of their livestream, it attracted a large group of fans who lived nearby. Business was much busier than usual during peak times.

Su Quangen slumped in his seat, took a few sips of strong tea, and finally rallied some energy to prepare lunch for their family of four.

“Dad, you should rest first. Xiao Yuan has been practicing basic skills for a while now. Let him cook a few dishes today, and I’ll supervise,” Su Aobai said, gently pushing his father back into his chair.

“No, no. Xiao Yuan hasn’t cooked on the stove yet,” Su Quangen shook his head repeatedly.

“Everything has a first time, right? Besides, if it doesn’t turn out well, we still have instant noodles and bread at home. We can manage with that for a meal,” Su Aobai’s decision was firm, his tone not open to objections.

During this period, both grandparents had seen changes in their son and grandson, so they generally wouldn’t oppose Su Aobai on matters of their grandson’s education. Seeing his determination, they could only reluctantly agree.

“Well, just be careful when lighting the fire and when stirring. He hasn’t mastered the strength in his wrist yet. Let him use a spatula to cook honestly. That big iron pot is too heavy. Be careful not to knock it over when stirring. And the oil, be careful when pouring it hot into the dish so you don’t get splashed with hot oil…”

The old man went on and on, still feeling it necessary to watch over himself.

“I know all that. Just sit and rest for a while, Dad. You’ll still have to work tonight,” Su Aobai pushed his father back into his chair again before pulling his nervous son back to the kitchen.

Because it was his first time cooking, Su Aobai didn’t have high expectations for him, just asking him to stir-fry a few dishes he thought he could handle.

“How about stir-fried garlic spinach, tomato scrambled eggs, and sliced pork belly?”

Despite practicing basic skills for so long, it was Su Tianyuan’s first time cooking. This made him excited and nervous.

After careful consideration, stir-fried garlic spinach and tomato scrambled eggs were the simplest. He had watched his grandfather do them countless times, so he thought mimicking the steps wouldn’t be too difficult.

As for the sliced pork belly, it was even simpler. There was still a piece left over from lunch, and all he had to do was cut it into moderately thin slices and prepare a garlic chili sauce.

Su Aobai let him do it his way, only stepping in to handle unexpected situations.

Su Tianyuan took a deep breath, rolled up his sleeves solemnly, and put on the chef’s hat.

The method for stir-frying garlic spinach was simple; crush a few cloves of garlic into minced garlic, heat oil in a pan, fry the minced garlic until fragrant, then add the cleaned spinach.

At first, Su Tianyuan’s actions were decent, but when the cleaned spinach went into the pan, the hot oil splattered with a crackling sound due to the water droplets on the spinach.

Unable to dodge in time, Su Tianyuan’s hand holding the spatula got splattered with several drops of hot oil. Startled, he stepped back several steps until the splattering subsided, then cautiously approached the pan.

By this time, because it had been left on the heat for too long without stirring, the minced garlic at the bottom had already turned dark brown and crispy, imparting a burnt flavor mixed with the garlic aroma.

Su Tianyuan bravely stirred the dish again, flipping the top layer of spinach to the bottom. Once again, the hot oil encountered new water droplets, splattering more oil drops.

In the midst of these surprises, Su Tianyuan managed to finish stir-frying the garlic spinach. By this time, beads of sweat had formed on his forehead.

It was such a simple dish, something Grandpa effortlessly handled during cooking. How did it become so difficult in my hands?

Next, when cooking tomato scrambled eggs, he encountered a slight problem. He forgot to control the heat, and the high flame completely dried out the tomatoes. Su Tianyuan belatedly added a little water, but by then, the bottom of the pan had already developed a dark brown crust. The burnt bits speckled the red and yellow of the tomato and egg dish, making it look unappetizing and failing to arouse any diner’s appetite.

The only passable dish was probably the sliced pork belly, but strictly speaking, his grandfather had already cooked it; Su Tianyuan merely sliced it.

Currently, Su Tianyuan’s knife skills were barely passable. The pork slices were moderately thin and uniform in thickness. Over the past few days, his father had tasted various sauces, seasonings, and spices with him every night. He followed his grandfather’s recipe to prepare dipping sauces, adjusting the flavors based on taste tests to correct any shortcomings. In the end, what was initially planned as a small bowl of dipping sauce ended up being a full bowl due to continuous adjustments and improvements in seasoning.

Clearly, such a small amount of meat slices couldn’t possibly use up so much dipping sauce.

Looking at the two vegetarian dishes and one meat dish he had managed to prepare, Su Tianyuan felt a mixture of embarrassment and a novel sense of accomplishment. This was the first meal he had cooked for his family.

After finishing the three dishes, Su Aobai also ladled out the remaining soup from lunch.

One was clam and winter melon soup, another was mushroom soup, and together they were placed on the outdoor dining table.

***

“This was made by Xiao Yuan himself, hahaha, better than my first time cooking.”

The old man didn’t mind the unappealing appearance of his grandson’s dishes. He couldn’t wait and immediately picked up a piece of spinach with his chopsticks.

Hmm…

Glancing at his grandson beside him with hopeful eyes, the old man realized something; he forgot to add seasoning.

How should I put it, the spinach wasn’t cooked properly, the garlic got burnt and bitter, and the spinach was stir-fried for too long, becoming mushy and lacking the crisp texture. Moreover, there was no seasoning added, making it taste extremely bland.

As for the tomato scrambled eggs, in the Su family’s recipe, a small amount of sugar is added not for sweetness but to enhance the freshness. Therefore, tomato and egg dishes should have a savory taste with the natural sweet-sour flavor of tomatoes. However, when his grandson made this dish, he clearly added too much sugar, making it taste more like something from the coastal cities, overly sweet and somewhat cloying, far from appetizing.

“Delicious, delicious!”

But this was his grandson’s first time cooking; obviously, one couldn’t dampen the child’s confidence.

The old lady thought the same way. She exaggerated even more than the old man, claiming these were the most delicious dishes she had ever eaten.

Su Tianyuan, naive and sweet as he was, believed it. But when he picked up his chopsticks and tasted, his excited expression instantly fell.

How could this be delicious? Only the sliced pork belly was somewhat acceptable, but even the sauce wasn’t as good as his grandfather’s.

“Don’t eat these two dishes.” Su Tianyuan moved the tomato scrambled eggs and garlic spinach to the side, then placed the sliced pork belly and two soups in the middle.

“After I practice for a while longer, I’ll definitely make the best tomato fried rice and garlic spinach for Grandpa and Grandma.”

Su Tianyuan felt ashamed but determined. Seeing that he wasn’t disheartened but rather full of confidence, the old couple smiled broadly.

At that moment, Su Aobai mixed the rice from his bowl into the tomato scrambled eggs, stirred it, and then scooped it up with a spoon, eating while also opening a jar of chili sauce on the table and adding some to the plate of unseasoned spinach.

“The spinach is a bit overcooked. This dish is prone to being undercooked. Start with high heat, stir quickly, and keep flipping to ensure each piece of spinach is cooked enough but not overdone. If you’re worried about oil splattering, you can wear those long kitchen gloves when you practice.”

Su Aobai didn’t praise his son’s cooking skills but instead ate heartily while pointing out what could be improved.

With each reminder about the two unpalatable dishes, they gradually disappeared from his plate.

Su Aobai thought to himself, these two dishes really were quite awful. It’s been a while since he had eaten something so bad; it was a lesson in appreciating the good times.

Su Tianyuan watched as the food he was about to discard was devoured by his father, feeling an inexplicable warmth surging in his chest.

Su Tianyuan’s affection: 63, 67, 69, 71, 73

His affection suddenly soared. Over the past half month, despite Su Aobai’s fluctuating approval, he had only managed to increase his son’s affection from 47 to 63. Now, just by eating his son’s poorly cooked food, his affection increased by ten points.

Su Aobai felt a hint of doubt in his heart.

Does this kid enjoy seeing me suffer?

This little rascal!

Su Aobai glared at his foolish son in front of him.

Su Tianyuan was even more touched. So, Dad really did love me. He just didn’t know how to express it. Look, Dad not only finished the two dishes he cooked for the first time but also gave him an encouraging look.

***

Su Aobai decided to check out the reward for breaking a good impression above 70.

Ten sets of houses in Binjiang Garden, with ten red books lying there.

(T/N: Red book = official documents; these are probably for the houses.)

Binjiang Garden seemed to be a high-end property in the city center. The smallest area there was 140 square meters, and each house started at a price of at least 20 million.

What would I do with so many apartments?!

Su Aobai swallowed saliva. He wasn’t interested in houses at all. He just wanted to cultivate a good son who would be filial to him.

(T/N: yeah, right…).