Chapter Sixty-Two: Taro with Anti-Sand Sauce + Taro Coconut Milk Sago Pudding...

The food smelled just as good as the food he had stolen last night. The shameless Xiaoming cursed himself in his heart before walking to the dining table.

Dad was in the kitchen pouring vegetables into plates, and Mom was serving rice. He glanced at his parents, who didn't seem to react, and guessed that they probably believed him.

In the kitchen, Yu's mother whispered to Yu Guang, "Xiao Ming is finally willing to eat now, so let's not talk about those things anymore, let's hint at it indirectly."

Yu Guang hummed in agreement. "Alright, his homeroom teacher also told me that every flower has its own blooming season. Our flower hasn't reached its time yet, so let's not force it."

Yesterday, my son was so hungry that he got up in the middle of the night to steal food. His parents knew exactly what was going on. My son even cleverly messed up the shoes by the door to make it look like a thief had broken into the house.

"Come on, let's eat. This is something your dad queued up for ages to buy." Yu Guang brought out the braised pork belly with dried bamboo shoots, along with a few other dishes.

Yu's mother joked, "This is food that even thieves would love; it really is delicious."

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, Xiaoming sat up straight as if he'd been electrocuted, realizing that his parents already knew about it.

"Xiaoming, let's eat," said Mrs. Yu gently.

"Mmm." Xiaoming picked up a piece of pork belly with a rich, dark brown color and a faint aroma of bamboo shoots and put it in his mouth.

As you pick it up, the sauce drips onto the rice. The hot, braised pork belly with dried bamboo shoots is so fragrant! The pork belly skin has no fishy smell at all, and the soft, juicy pork belly pairs perfectly with the crisp bamboo shoots. The fat inside the pork belly has been rendered out, leaving only the purest aroma of the fat, which melts and combines with the fresh fragrance of the bamboo shoots, making it not greasy at all.

"This is so delicious," Xiaoming said. He had felt awkward when he first sat down at the table, but the meal seemed to have dissolved their conflict without him even realizing it. Xiaoming had originally planned not to say anything, but the braised pork belly with dried bamboo shoots was so fragrant that he blurted out his innermost thoughts.

"If it's delicious, eat more," said Yu's mother. She hesitated for a long time, but in the end, she didn't say anything. If a child wants to fly and leave, then don't hold him back anymore.

Like a microcosm of countless family relationships, none of them apologized, nor did they voice their conflicts, but after a meal, the relationship between the three returned to normal. It's like when you were a child, you argued with your parents, slammed your bedroom door in a huff, and your mother knocked on the door to call you for dinner or left some hot food in the rice cooker for you, which meant the sulking was over.

In the evening, Yu Miaoyin took out the taro that Grandma Chen had given her. She cut the taro into chunks; the taro was white with a hint of purple, a beautiful color. There wasn't any special technique for making taro soup, and since the taro Grandma gave her was so good, it tasted delicious no matter how she made it.

To enhance the texture, Yu Miaoyin also cooked some sago. She cooked taro and sugar together until the sugar dissolved and the taro seemed to "melt," then poured in the cooked, translucent sago, and finally added coconut milk.

She also shared some plain taro soup without any toppings. When making taro soup, people in Yuncheng add galangal. Galangal is warming, while taro and sago are cooling, making the combination more mild and nourishing, not to mention the richer flavor.

People in Yuncheng pursue balance when cooking. For example, when making mung bean soup, they usually add dried tangerine peel, which complements the other ingredients perfectly.

Grandma Chen gave her a lot of taro, and she made a lot of taro soup. Yu Miaoyin even felt that she could set up a stall and sell the soup. Because it was Grandma Chen who gave her the taro, she felt she was benefiting from it, so she quickly sent a message to invite Grandma Chen over for some soup.

She called Aunt Zheng over to eat, and after tasting it herself, she praised herself in her heart, thinking that she could open a dessert shop.

Just then, Xiao Tangbao came home from school, and Yu Miaoyin brought out the taro coconut milk sago pudding she had made for Xiao Tangbao. "Little customer, this is our store's new product, taro coconut milk sago pudding. Because you are so cute, we're giving it to you for free."

After a moment of confusion, Xiao Tangbao quickly recovered and cooperated with Yu Miaoyin's acting, saying, "Thank you, boss."

She jumped off the chair and quickly hugged Yu Miaoyin. Little Tangbao bumped into her, like a big cotton candy rushing over. "Thank you, sister! This is a little customer's reward for the big boss!"

"What's wrong?" Grandma Chen walked in, patted Xiao Tangbao's head as she leaned against Yu Miaoyin, and looked at their heartwarming interaction.

"Big sister has made delicious sweet soup again today." Xiao Tangbao let go of Yu Miaoyin and let her do her work. She sat with Grandma Chen and Aunt Zheng.

Aunt Zheng also cherishes the childlike innocence of children, agreeing, "Yes, I watch the boss make so many delicious dishes every day in the kitchen."

Even though she knew it was all fake, Xiao Tangbao was still very proud to think that she had a magical older sister.

A large bowl of sweet soup filled a white porcelain bowl, the aroma of taro and coconut milk mingling and filling the air with a sweet fragrance. Soft, powdery taro chunks nestled in the milky white coconut milk, while nearly translucent sago pearls poked their heads out. The young customer picked up her spoon and began to drink.

The taro is soft and powdery with a natural sweetness. When you bite into it, you can taste the taro's smooth texture. The sago pearls are slippery and coated with the creamy aroma of coconut milk and the rich fragrance of taro. The sweetness of the coconut milk and the refreshing sweetness of the taro blend together. The coconut milk is very smooth, and you can also taste a few taro chunks.

"Xiao Yin could open a dessert shop and become a hit, it's so delicious." Grandma Chen was drinking the simplest taro dessert, the taro was soft and powdery, and the taste was mild and sweet without being greasy.

Yu Miaoyin replied from the kitchen, "It's always better if you give me taro; it tastes good no matter how you cook it."

She cut the remaining taro into strips of roughly the same size, and when the oil was hot enough, she put the taro strips in and fried them until they were golden brown and crispy on both sides. When she took them out, the taro strips made a crisp sound when they bumped together.

Mix sugar and water together and cook until dissolved and bubbling with dense, dense bubbles. Quickly pour in the fried taro pieces, turn off the heat, and stir-fry rapidly until each taro piece is coated with syrup. As the temperature drops, the crystallization reaction will cause the syrup to solidify into a white frosting on the surface of the taro.

The candied taro looks delicious; from a distance, it looks like it's been sprinkled with coconut flakes. It looks even better up close: the white taro pieces have subtle purple veins, and the outer layer of sugar frosting resembles the frost that forms on trees in winter.

"This is so beautiful! I've tried making it at home, but I can never make it like this," Grandma Chen said. Every step is so simple, but she never knows which step she did wrong, and the result is nothing special.

There are many intricacies to cooking, and it's easy to fail if you're not careful. For example, with this candied taro, she guessed it was because she couldn't control the oil temperature when making the sugar syrup.

A plate of taro with sandy coating and a bowl of taro sweet soup made the group feel like they were in a dessert shop.

Little Tangbao loves sweet things. Her eyes lit up as she looked at the candied taro. After getting her older sister's permission, she picked up a small piece and started eating. The frosting was fluffy like a layer of marshmallow, but the texture was different. The taro inside was just as delicious as taro in sweet soup—soft, powdery, and chewy. However, this taro had a richer texture, with a slightly crunchy feel.

"It's delicious." The crunchy and sweet flavor lingers on the tongue.

In the hotel, Yunhe thought of the grand scene at noon today and was afraid that she would have to queue up again and watch others eat with envy, so she made sure to leave before high school ended this time.

When she arrived at the store, she only saw a table of people and a cute little child, who were all trying to make her laugh.

She didn't know who the boss was, and after looking around, she couldn't tell who the boss was either. This grandma wasn't the boss, and this pretty girl didn't seem like the boss either. She knew Aunt Zheng; she was an employee.

Yunhe's gaze was fixed on Xiaotangbao. What an adorable little girl, could she be a little master chef?

"Hello, sister." Noticing someone looking at her, Xiao Tangbao greeted her generously.

Yu Miaoyin then noticed someone had arrived. Seeing Yunhe carrying large and small bags, she went to greet her, saying, "I'm about to open for business. Please sit down and wait for a while."

After eating the fragrant, sweet, and sticky candied taro, Aunt Zheng also drank a large bowl of taro soup. At this moment, she was full of energy. She didn't care if the boss treated her like a cow. She called out to Yu Miaoyin, "Boss, I'm going over first."

Yu Miaoyin nodded.

boss? ? ?

With seven parts shock and three parts disbelief, Yunhe looked at the pretty girl and asked, "Are you really the boss?"

Yu Miaoyin nodded.

Yunhe asked even more excitedly, "Did you also make the braised pork belly with dried bamboo shoots for lunch?"

Yu Miaoyin nodded again.

After nodding, she smiled, "What, don't I look like it?"

Yunhe wanted to say that it didn't look like it at all, but it was also because she had such strong stereotypes. Just like when she was in school, she thought that the top students were all oblivious to what was going on outside of school, wore glasses, had a few pimples on their faces, and were always carrying books, like the perfect look of those who got full marks in physics, chemistry, and biology as described online.

"No, I was just really amazed by how beautiful you are and how you can cook." Yunhe smiled, then looked at the cute child and asked, "Is this... your daughter?"

Little Tangbao blinked her big eyes and looked at Yunhe, utterly shocked.

"No, no, I'm not my elder sister's daughter, I'm her younger sister. My name is Yu Wentang, you can call me Little Tangbao."

She likes to be called Xiao Tangbao, just like the "Tangbao" in the TV series. And "bao" means treasure, which is a very nice name.

“Okay, Xiao Tangbao.” Yunhe repeated. In Yuncheng, people like to call little girls that. Little boys are usually called by a single character followed by the suffix “zai”, such as Xuanzai or something like that.

"So cute!" Yunhe exclaimed. The boss is so beautiful, and the child is so adorable; if they posted pictures online, countless people would be willing to virtually raise the child. At least, Yunhe was willing.

Noticing that she was carrying large bags, Yu Miaoyin asked her to go to the large table, but Yun He quickly waved her hand, "No need, I'll be fine in the corner, I'm going to do a live stream later."

Speaking of live streaming, Yunhe assured Yu Miaoyin, "Boss, I'm going to do a live stream, but I promise I won't disturb your customers. I'll speak very softly."

"It's okay, I'm actually very happy that you're helping me promote this," Yu Miaoyin said.

Yunhe nodded, then her gaze shifted to the few remaining pieces of candied taro and the bowl of taro sweet soup on the table, which she had noticed as soon as she entered the room.

If there's nothing to eat, can't she at least feast her eyes on it?

Yu Miaoyin noticed her little action and brought out a bowl of taro sweet soup from the kitchen. "Please have a bowl. You can also try the candied taro."

An angel! This is simply an angel! The little voice in Yunhe's heart knelt down and pounded the ground with tears, "Thank you, boss."

She frantically rummaged through her live-streaming equipment, saying in a flurry, "I need to start a live stream, everyone says they love watching me eat your food..."