The fat man had tried to persuade Xing Jianshu, saying that while the railway bureau was a good place, its future prospects were limited. He wasn't a college graduate with a degree in railway engineering, so his future development was very restricted.

To become a dispatcher in the railway bureau, one must first have experience working in a dispatching position.

Unfortunately, Xing Jianshu did not.

So instead of just drifting along like this, not quite good enough for anything, it's better to go into business.

But Xing Jianshu had a different opinion: "Why can't I make something of myself? When your sister first joined the grain and oil company, she only had a primary school diploma and started as a temporary worker."

Upon hearing this, the fat man sighed. Incompetent, arrogant, sensitive, and insecure; Xing Jianshu is hopeless…

It's too late to say all this now. If Fatty had known he was this kind of person, he would never have agreed to let Chen Fang marry him.

※※※※※※

Of course, a birthday cake is a must for a birthday celebration.

The first time Fatty made a birthday cake was in the winter of 1977.

From then on, he made several birthday cakes every year.

At first, they only served Yu Li, Chen Yan, and Chen Mengqi; later, Chen Fang heard about it, grabbed the fat man by the neck and questioned why she wasn't included. So they had to add another one.

After eating, Chen Fang showed off everywhere. Zhou Haiqin called the fat man home and "friendly" asked him three questions, which he now had to answer as well as those from Chen Gangqiang and Zhou Haiqin.

Later, Chen Rong also heard about it, and three more people were to be added; until one day, Gong Qian also came to him hesitantly, and the fat man broke down...

In a moment of desperation, he simply taught Aunt Pang how to make birthday cakes.

Yu Li even threw a tantrum at him: "This is our family's craft! How could you teach it to an outsider without even consulting me? I was planning to open a cake shop!"

This wife is sometimes shrewd and sometimes silly, which is very cute.

Now Yu Li never mentions opening a cake shop again; she's exhausted from all the work she has to do every day.

However, occasionally, when the night was quiet, she couldn't help but tell the fat man, "I used to dream of opening my own little shop, not a big one, just a small stall on a street corner. I wouldn't sell many things, I'd just specialize in one kind, open for business when customers come, and when no one comes, I'd just daydream, read, and listen to my favorite music..."

"..."

Today, the fat man decided to make the cake himself, without relying on anyone else.

In 1977, we were still struggling with a lack of animal cream, butter, and even less fruit.

Now, we have it all.

Cream cakes are all the same, and I'm tired of eating them all these years. Fatty is going to do something different.

If you're tired of cream, try chocolate instead—hide the chocolate inside the cream.

When you take a bite, the warm chocolate flows out like lava, hence the name "molten chocolate cake".

You've all heard the story of burning the back of your head while eating a sugar pancake, right?

That's Sha Zhu! When he was little, someone gave him a candy cake, and he just tore it apart with his bare hands!

The sugar dripped down his arm, and Sha Zhu, not wanting to waste it, quickly tried to lick it off. But when he raised his hand, the whole pancake landed right on the back of his head!

It was a terrible burn; I even had to go to the clinic...

The entire kitchen was practically bursting with laughter. Sha Zhu, his face flushed red, was about to go and beat up Xu Damao!

That's right, the story of eating sugar cakes was told by Xu Damao.

The fat man held Sha Zhu tightly around the waist, keeping him rooted to the spot, and let Xu Damao finish speaking.

After Xiao Dang and the others had finished laughing, they said to Xu Damao, "Uncle Damao, aren't you going to run? My fat uncle is about to let go!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao quickly made his escape; Sha Zhu put on his hat dejectedly: "Fatty, you're so biased, always on Xu Damao's side. You two are the real lovers!"

"..."

Everyone gathered in a circle to watch Fatty make what he was melting—a lava cake. Aunt Fatty, in particular, watched intently.

Who among those born in the 70s and 80s can forget "Chee Cheese Chocolate"?

The outer packaging is black and red. Inside, there is a whole bar of chocolates, with the words "Qishilin" printed in small print in the middle of each piece.

Do you know how much this thing costs?

One dollar!

What was the concept of 1 yuan at that time? Fatty's older sister, Chen Rong, worked in the boiler room of the Red Star Factory. Because the factory was suffering heavy losses and restructuring was imminent, she could only receive 70% of her salary each month, which was 42 yuan.

Fatty's brother-in-law, Cao Zhengyang, earns a bit more. How much? 60 yuan!

It was 1984, and the couple's combined salary was only 100 yuan...

Now you know how precious this 1-yuan bar of chocolate is?

The wealthy and chubby man took two trays at once, ignoring the longing looks from Xiao Dang and Chen Mengqi, and melted them in a spoon.

A rich aroma filled the kitchen, and Zhao Lao Er couldn't help but sniff and exclaim, "It smells so good!"

After the chocolate melts, take half of it and mix it into the cream to make the filling; then use the other half with butter, sugar, flour and eggs to make the cake base.

Everything is ready; just put it in the big refrigerator.

When the time is up, take it out, put the two things together, and bake it in the oven for 20 minutes. That's it!

At noon, as the star of today's birthday banquet, Chen Yan was surrounded by everyone and pushed to sit in the main seat.

The fat man pushed a birthday cake in a small cart to her.

Chen Mengqi led a group of children in singing the birthday song first, and the others, whether they knew the song or not, hummed along.

Chen Yan was very emotional today, with tears in her eyes, saying, "Why is it my birthday again? It reminds me that I'm another year older..."

Before she could continue, Zhou Haiqin flicked her forehead: "What do you think you're doing?"

Chen Yan trembled from the knocking, and everyone else fell silent, unable to resist their mother's powerful aura.

Fortunately, the fat man changed the subject: "Alright, alright, let's start eating! Mom and Dad, please start eating first."

Chen Gangqiang chuckled and placed a piece of fish on Zhou Haiqin's plate: "Old woman, now that your children are all grown up and successful, you are the greatest contributor to our family. Eat fish, eat fish..."

Zhou Haiqin, like a victorious tiger, savored the fish in her bowl. After a while, she asked the fat man, "What kind of fish is this? I've never eaten it before?"

The fat man stood up and said, "Let me introduce this dish to everyone. It's called 'Double-skinned knife fish.' This fish comes from Jiangnan, and every spring is the season for eating knife fish. This dish, along with squirrel mandarin fish and steamed shad, is known as one of the three delicacies of Jiangnan."

Knife fish? Never heard of it. Upon hearing this, Zhou Haiqin tasted it again and said, "Why is the fish meat chopped up?"