Chapter Twenty-Four: Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple

Thanks to Yu Miaoyin's generous hospitality, Xu Jiajia enjoyed a very satisfying meal, and Yiling and Grandma Chen were equally happy.

The two high school students had to endure a barrage of subjects in the afternoon, so they didn't linger. Xu Jiajia didn't want to go home, so she went home with Yiling and took a short nap at Yiling's house.

Grandma Chen didn't have anything else to do, so she stayed at the shop to help Yu Miaoyin pack her things and chat with her.

Grandma Chen put away the bowls and chopsticks and asked, "You're doing all the grocery shopping and food preparation by yourself, aren't you planning to hire someone?"

Yu Miaoyin thought for a moment, "They should be able to hire someone, but let's wait a bit. I can manage on my own now." Saying this, Yu Miaoyin dried her hands, gently patted Grandma Chen's shoulder, and said with a smile, "Thank you so much for helping me today, Grandma."

"Alright, alright," Grandma Chen smiled, her eyes crinkling with laughter. "It's nothing."

September was already more than halfway over, and the afternoon sun had become gentler. Yu Miaoyin tied her hair up and took her little cart to the vegetable market.

Next to the wet market is a supermarket, and outside the wet market is a large fruit and vegetable market. Yu Miaoyin likes to visit these places with a lively atmosphere.

After the trip, she had a very fruitful haul. Yu Miaoyin pushed the cart with one hand, biting into a pineapple. The pineapple was crisp, sweet, and juicy—delicious!

There's a city near Yuncheng famous for its pineapples, known for their large, juicy, and crisp fruit. It's said that one in every three pineapples in China comes from there. Yuncheng is quite close to this pineapple-famous city, so the pineapples from Yuncheng are generally of high quality and reasonably priced.

She peeled the skin, then cut a large piece and soaked it in salt water so she could share it with Xiaotangbao when she returned.

Lu Yao Studio.

Yang Churuo guided the customer's poses through the viewfinder. She'd been very busy lately, but she was happy with her busy schedule. The customer quickly understood her instructions and cooperated very well.

"Thank you for your hard work!" The customer came to see the finished product and was very satisfied.

After filming all afternoon, Yang Churuo was a little tired. She smiled and went to the break room. Lu Yao came over and said, "After get off work, I'll treat you to dinner. Do you want to come?"

Before anyone could react, Lu Yao continued, "Want to go to that little restaurant you mentioned?"

Yang Churuo's eyes lit up. "Yes, yes, of course I'll go! Thank you, Sister Lu Yao."

The other girls in the shop were also very excited, chattering away, "Is this the shop where Chuchu gave us water chestnut cake this morning?"

“Yes, yes, that’s the shop!” Yang Churuo said.

Upon hearing that they were going to eat at that small restaurant, everyone became even more excited and more motivated to work.

At 5:30 p.m., the photos were taken and everyone was free, so Lu Yao called them over and announced, "Let's go home early for dinner today. We'll continue working on any unfinished tasks tomorrow."

"Thank you, sister!" Yang Churuo said. "I love you, I love you."

The girls were incredibly excited, quickly packing their things—water bottles, power banks, earphones—stuffing them all into their bags like elementary school students on a school trip. Yang Churuo grabbed Lu Yao's hand, "Let's go, Sister Lu Yao, I really love you the most!"

Yang Churuo blew her a kiss as she spoke.

"You're so sweet-talking."

...

Little Tangbao is eating pineapple. Her older sister gave her a huge piece, and it was so sweet! Xiao Ran is also in the shop. The two children are sitting together, swinging their legs and shaking their heads, looking very happy.

Yang Churuo and Lu Yao chatted and laughed as they walked to the small restaurant. Before they even went inside, they spotted two adorable little ones eating pineapple and swinging their legs.

"So cute! Are they the boss's daughters?" Lu Yao said, adding that both kids could be child models.

Yang Chu Ruo smiled and said, "How could she be the boss's sister? The boss herself is very young and beautiful!"

As soon as Yang Churuo entered the room, she couldn't help but show off her peacock-like tail feathers in front of the two children. She was so cute, who could resist teasing her?

Xiao Tangbao jumped off the chair, pointed to the empty seats, and said, "Are you here to eat, sisters? Please sit here."

"Thank you, little sister." Lu Yao smiled.

“Baby, you’re so cute!” Yang Churuo said, then looked at Xiao Ran, “Two of you are very cute.”

Xiao Ran became embarrassed, her face turning bright red like a little tomato. "Thank you, sister. You're cute too."

Yu Miaoyin came out of the kitchen. "Hello, what would you like to eat today? You can check the blackboard."

The boss is indeed very young and beautiful, and doesn't look like a chef at all.

There was fried rice noodles with egg, tea eggs, sweet and sour pork with pineapple, and stir-fried pork belly with pickled cabbage. The thousand-layer water chestnut cake for this morning was sold out, marked with a line by the owner.

Since it was their first time eating here, and they trusted the owner's cooking skills, each of them ordered one dish.

"Sisters, the tea eggs are here." Xiao Tangbao handed the tea eggs to them.

"Thank you, little sister," Lu Yao said, then couldn't resist patting her head. "Are you the boss's sister?"

Xiao Tangbao nodded, "Yes, my name is Yu Wentang, Tang as in crabapple blossom. You can also call me Xiao Tangbao, sister."

Xiao Tangbao, what an adorable name! It reminded Yang Churuo of a TV series she watched when she was a child. "Okay, thank you, Xiao Tangbao!"

Yu Miaoyin served the fried rice noodles, followed by sweet and sour pork with pineapple.

As soon as Yang Churuo smelled the aroma of fried rice noodles, she felt hungry and quickly tried it. The fried rice noodles were fragrant, with the aroma of meat and eggs, and they were moist and not dry at all. Delicious!

Several girls also thought it was delicious. Lu Yao said, "It's much better than the fried rice noodles in those big restaurants, and it's so cheap here too."

Yang Churuo said while eating, "Yes, yes, I agree too, it's delicious and cheap!"

Lu Yao then turned her gaze to the sweet and sour pork with pineapple. The green and red chili pepper pieces and the golden pineapple chunks were mixed together, and the fried pork tenderloin was golden in color and glistening with an enticing sheen.

The pineapple was juicy and still crunchy when you bit into it. The sweet and sour juice spread in your mouth, with a hint of saltiness. Lu Yao's eyes lit up. "This pineapple is so delicious!"

Yang Churuo was a little full after finishing her fried rice noodles, but the sight of the pineapple stir-fried pork made her even more tempted. The sweet and sour taste was very appetizing, so Yang Churuo served herself another half bowl of rice and picked up a piece of meat. The meat was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a refreshing pineapple aroma.

"Everything is so delicious!" Yang Churuo said. "Sister Lu Yao, can we come here for dinner every day from now on?"

Lu Yao smiled and said, "Okay, you did a good job. I'll bring you here to eat every day."

Lu Yao picked up another piece of pineapple for herself, thinking to herself that it was a very simple home-cooked dish, not some rare delicacy, but it tasted delicious.

"Why didn't I have such delicious restaurants in my old high school?" Yang Churuo exclaimed. "The food in my old school cafeteria was awful, and if you went late, you couldn't get any food."

When it comes to high school, Lu Yao can relate. "My high school was the same. Everyone liked to buy bread or eat instant noodles. Look how thin I am now. It's all because I starved myself in high school."

As Xiao Tangbao listened, she thought of what Jiajia had said about high school. Jiajia didn't like high school either, saying that the food there was terrible and made her lose weight.

Once everyone found common ground, the conversation flowed freely, with several people expressing envy for the high school students' happiness in being able to eat such delicious meals every day.

Grandpa Xu was also envious. He wondered if there was any medicine that could reverse aging so he could take one and then work hard to get into Yuncheng No. 1 High School!

Zhou Gui listened and took the opportunity to educate her son, "Xu Ruian, you must study hard and get into Yuncheng No. 1 High School. If you don't get into Yuncheng No. 1 High School, you won't be able to eat such delicious food in the future, understand?"

"Work hard for a good meal," Zhou Gui said.

Xu Changxing ate a large bowl of rice with satisfaction, slowly savoring the taste of sweet and sour pork with pineapple. It was sweet and sour overall, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with the fruity aroma of pineapple, making it a great accompaniment to rice. "Yes, yes, yes, whether you can eat such delicious food in the future depends on yourself."

Xu Ruian, his mouth glistening with oil from eating, looked up in confusion upon hearing this. If he didn't get into high school, would he never be able to eat such delicious food again? No way! He wanted to eat here every day, and he would definitely study hard!

Xu Ruian said very seriously, "Mom and Dad, don't worry, I will definitely work hard to make sure I can eat such delicious food every day."

Then he said, "But Mom, I'm still in tutoring classes, and you take me out to eat every day, so I can't study at all."

Zhou Gui: "..."

Teacher Li and Qi Yue also expressed their envy, saying that high school students these days are so lucky. No! It's the students at Yuncheng No. 1 High School who are so lucky! They actually managed to find a shop like this.

Qi Yue still had a mouthful of rice and vegetables in her mouth. She chewed and chewed, and after she finished, she said seriously, "After my internship ends, I want to work at Yuncheng No.1 Middle School. I can't bear to part with the delicious food my boss makes."

Once you've eaten at Yu Ji Restaurant, your taste buds are set. From then on, when you eat other food, you'll compare it to what you've had at Yu Ji Restaurant. You'll know early on that other food can't compare to what you've had at Yu Ji Restaurant, and your taste buds will be elevated to an unbelievable level!

As dusk approached, many people were still eating in the small restaurant. Xiao Tangbao was drawing, while Yu Miaoyin washed the bowls that had been collected.

Just then, another person entered the shop. Xiao Tangbao put away her paintbrush and said, "Welcome."

The boy glanced at the blackboard and saw that the layered cake had been crossed out. He sighed, but was still unwilling to give up, so he continued to call out, "Boss."

Yu Miaoyin came out and responded, "What's wrong?"

The boy scratched his head. "Well, do you sell layered cakes here? My grandma loves them, and it's rare for her to find something she likes. I just wanted to ask if you'll still be selling them in the future?"

Seeing that Yu Miaoyin did not reply immediately, the boy continued, "I can pay double the price, please make me one, my grandma really likes it."

"No need for double the price. How about this, I'll make some tomorrow too. Whatever flavor you want, come and pick it up tomorrow," Yu Miaoyin said.

The boy was delighted to hear this and quickly said, "Thank you, boss. I don't know why my grandma has become so picky. She said she didn't like other brands, but only likes yours."

The boy bought the water chestnut cake when he was passing by. He took it to his grandmother while he was keeping her company in bed, and she tried some. Unexpectedly, she liked it so much that she specifically asked to eat more. The boy, however, didn't eat a single bite; he gave it all to his grandmother.

He thought his grandma wanted to eat water chestnut cake, so he randomly picked a shop to buy it. Unexpectedly, she said the taste was wrong and she insisted on eating the one from this shop.

"As for the flavors, I'll take them all. If you're worried about not selling them all, I can buy them all." There are many people in my family, so I'll divide them up among everyone. I don't care if they taste good or not; we can't waste them!

Upon hearing this, Zhou Gui also wanted to eat it, "Xiao Yin, let's order one too!"

Yang Churuo also quickly raised her hand, "Me too! Boss, I want a serving of water chestnut cake too!"