The kitchen door opened, and Zhao Liang came out carrying a large plate of mutton. The aroma instantly filled the entire room. "Time to eat! Delicious stir-fried mutton cubes!"
Ma Donglai stood up and walked towards the restaurant. "I didn't expect Xiao Yang to be such a good cook! Old woman, come and try Xiao Yang's cooking!"
Zhou Xin helped the old lady sit down in the dining chair, then went to the kitchen to get bowls and chopsticks. "Old Principal, Xiao Yang's cooking is delicious. You should visit Shanghai more often, especially Grandma. It will be good for your health to stay in the South for a while."
The old lady looked at Ma Donglai and said, "You're such a grown man, yet you still eat so much, like a little kid."
Zhao Liang brought out another dish, "Here comes the bright red braised pork!"
Zhou Xin found it amusing. "Zhao Xiaoer, another pot of wine and five catties of beef!"
"Alright, please wait a moment, sir."
Zhao Liang went into the kitchen again and came out a moment later with a plate of tofu. "The famous Pocket Tofu is here!"
Looking at the exquisite and fragrant dishes on the table, Ma Donglai couldn't help but rub his hands together. "Old woman, how about a drink for lunch?"
"Why don't you have a drink with some kids? Try your best, but don't let them drink endlessly!"
Ma Donglai turned around and took out a bottle of Laojiao liquor from the cabinet. It was a gift from his son last Chinese New Year. It was a 20-year-old vintage with a mellow and fragrant taste, and it was Ma Donglai's favorite.
Zhao Liang placed a bowl of stewed cabbage and pork with vermicelli on the table. "Old Principal, how about some of the wine Yangzi brought over? It's delicious."
Ma Donglai held up the aged liquor in his hand, "Isn't this good enough? It's been aged for twenty years!"
Zhao Liang whispered in Ma Donglai's ear, "Old Principal, that's a 20-year-old Daughter's Red wine, the kind used for weddings in Suzhou and Hangzhou. I've never had it before. Shall we try it today?"
Upon hearing this, Ma Donglai immediately put away the two bottles of wine that Fang Yang had left in the living room and put them in the wine cabinet. Then he sat down at the dining table and said in a serious tone, "That's for old people. Why would you, a half-grown kid, drink that? Isn't 20-year-old aged wine better? If you don't want to drink it, don't pour it. It'll save this old man some wine!"
Fang Yang brought out a small bowl of pear soup and placed it in the middle of the table. Seeing Zhao Liang and Ma Donglai arguing, he couldn't help but laugh and say, "What are you two arguing about? What kind of nonsense can you come up with while eating a meal?"
As soon as Zhao Liang saw Fang Yang come out, he quickly said, "I just wanted the old principal to bring out that Daughter's Red wine to try, but who knew the old principal would refuse no matter what, he's so stingy!"
Fang Yang slapped Zhao Liang on the back of the head. "That was specially prepared for the old principal. It was collected from the countryside by the manager of Qianzhang Yougu a while ago to thank us for the traffic we brought to their tourist area. Every bottle we drink is one less. Do you think you can buy it everywhere?"
Zhao Liang shrank back, snatched the wine from the old principal's hand, and said, "Old principal, come, come, let's drink. The food is so delicious today. How can life be complete without a bottle?"
Zhou Xin scooped a bowl of soup for the old lady. "Grandma, let's drink the soup first and see if Fang Yang's pear soup is authentic."
"Okay, then have some. I used to make this soup often when I was young. Principal Ma loves it."
The old lady took a sip, her eyes narrowing into slits. "Mmm, it really tastes good. This is the first time in all my years that I've had such delicious pear soup!"
"Really?" Zhou Xin also took a sip. "Mmm, it tastes so good! It's sweet and refreshing with a slight sourness. It's really delicious!"
Ma Donglai, who was standing next to him, had already raised his glass. "Come on, Xiao Yang, Little Fatty, drink this glass and I wish you a happy new year, all your wishes come true, and your careers flourish!"
Fang Yang and Zhao Liang quickly raised their glasses and clinked them with Ma Donglai's. "Old Principal, I also wish you and Grandma a healthy and prosperous New Year."
Ma Donglai took a sip of wine and had already picked up the bright red braised pork with his chopsticks. "This old man loves this braised pork the most. I haven't lost any love for it over the years!"
Fang Yang picked up the stir-fried diced mutton, saying, "In terms of nutrition, this mutton is the best. It's a pity that it was cooked for too short a time and could only be stir-fried. But the taste should be alright. Everyone should try it."
Zhou Xin finished the soup in one gulp, then used serving chopsticks to put a few pieces of mutton on the old lady's plate. "Grandma, try this mutton, it's very nourishing!"
The old lady smiled kindly. "Hmm, let me see. I don't usually eat much at home. This was bought by my eldest son before the Lunar New Year. But lamb is delicious but hard to handle. If it's not cooked properly, it has a very strong gamey smell and is hard to swallow!"
The old lady took a bite of the mutton and said, "Hmm, it tastes really good. There's no gamey smell at all, and the meat is very tender."
Five people, four dishes and a soup, were all eaten up in an hour. Ma Donglai ate a bit too much and walked around the living room to digest. "Xiao Yang, your cooking skills are really something else. You're even better than those five-star chefs. I haven't eaten this much in a long time!"
"Old Principal, I wouldn't dare compare. The head chef has to cook so many dishes every day, and the portions are quite large, so sometimes it's inevitable that he can't take care of everyone. If it were just like me cooking for a few people at home, the skill level would definitely be different."
Ma Donglai walked around four or five times and felt a little better. "What you said makes sense, but among young people, your skills are still very rare. What's most remarkable is that you can still maintain the original local flavor. I really don't know how you learned it."
Fang Yang chuckled and brushed it off, not really knowing how to answer. After all, Fang Yang wasn't a professional chef, but he did have a lot of tricks up his sleeve.
"I've read your album. The songs are very well written, and you sing with great skill. It's perfect in every aspect. I hope you can stay humble and reach even greater heights!"
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