Chapter 73 Chapter 73 Entertain your respective guests! ...

There are two tables placed on each side of the small yard, making it convenient to entertain their respective friends.

As the second oldest child at the table, Shi Shuwen is quite the host.

After Wang Nian served all the dishes, he also brought drinks and orange juice and placed them in glasses in a similar manner.

"Soda or orange juice?"

Except for Shi Feiying, the other six people all chose juice, and Qiu Shasha also added some brine beef slices brought from home.

"Shi Shuwen, was Aunt Wang a chef before?"

The table full of sumptuous dishes was dazzling to look at. The best banquet Xia Wei had ever attended was his cousin's wedding banquet, but that was nothing compared to the food on the table in front of him!

Xia Wei only recognized the bright red prawns and the steamed fish, but he couldn't even name the others.

"My mother is better than any chef." Shi Feiying raised her head proudly and said without hesitation: "My mother is the best cook in the world."

Judging from his figure, one could tell that Ding Hongyun's family must be well off. He had indeed seen all kinds of delicious food, and at this moment he was very calm in front of the table full of dishes.

"Auntie's cooking skills are really amazing."

It is because I have seen it before that I can tell at a glance how rich and colorful the dishes on the table are.

Sour radish duck soup, steamed yellow croaker, mapo tofu, pepper and salt shrimp, braised pork, boiled chicken, sweet and sour pork tenderloin.

The vegetables that were in the garden just a minute ago are now on the table. Just based on their freshness, they must taste great.

Perhaps because most of the people present were from provinces that don’t eat spicy food, the food was mostly salty and fresh, and I specially made two spicy dishes.

"They are all home-cooked dishes. Ding Hongyun and Xia Wei, don't be polite. Just take whatever you want to eat." Wang Nian greeted them from a distance.

The children there started eating immediately without any formalities, while the adults had to exchange a few pleasantries first.

Situ Lan's husband, Lao Gan, has half white hair and wears a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He looks bookish, but his eyes are filled with fatigue that cannot be hidden.

"Thank you Ms. Wang Nian for your hospitality today." Old Gan raised his glass, and a dimple appeared on his right cheek as his lips curled up. "Meeting is fate, let me toast to you all."

After one cup, everyone started to drink.

"What does Mr. Shi do for a living?"

Sister-in-law Gan, who had been wanting to ask this question for a long time, couldn't wait to ask the question as soon as she put a piece of braised pork into her mouth.

"My wife is an engineer." Wang Nian smiled.

"There are many types of engineers..." He took another bite of fish and didn't even have time to swallow the braised pork. He spoke vaguely, "Welding or repair?"

It seems that this person thinks that engineers are either welders or repairmen...

"My sister is ignorant, don't listen to her nonsense." Lao Gan raised his glass and gestured to Wang Nian.

Wang Nian just smiled and said, "My wife is an engineer at the Design Institute, specializing in mechanical engineering."

"That's not just an engineer..." Zhou Yuying picked up the braised pork with chopsticks and emphasized with a smile: "He's the chief engineer."

"Chief Mechanical Engineer... um... the one who makes parts?"

Wang Nian seriously suspected that Sister-in-law Gan didn't hear clearly what the others were saying and her attention was probably all on eating.

He is quite honest with his mouth... He never stops talking for a moment.

"Don't worry about her, she's focused on the food..." Situ Lan also noticed that Sister-in-law Gan was absent-minded, and waved her hand to smile apologetically at everyone: "Outsiders think we make a lot of money, but they all forget that the consumption level in Hong Kong is also frighteningly high."

Lao Gan nodded: "A table of food like this would cost at least 500 yuan in our place, and we don't live in the city center, otherwise the price would definitely be higher."

The yellow croaker alone can be bought for at least two hundred dollars in Hong Kong, which is already considered high-end seafood.

"After all, we are all ordinary people, and we all earn and spend a little," said Wang Nian.

"I agree." Lao Gan smiled.

Lao Gan is a not-very-genuine gourmet who loves to eat but is strapped for cash, so most of the delicacies he knows are from street stalls.

Among the dishes on the table, he was quite knowledgeable about the braised pork, but he could only describe the yellow croaker as delicious.

The braised pork is soft, glutinous and salty, and melts in your mouth. The taste is sweet, which is nostalgic, and there is a slightly sweet aftertaste.

The spices neutralize the greasy smell of fat very well. After eating the braised pork, take a sip of the second pot, and your whole throat and stomach will feel extremely refreshed.

Lao Gan also particularly likes stir-fried vegetables.

The pak choy, which I usually think has no taste, becomes crispy and has a light sweet taste when stir-fried with lard over high heat.

To use the words of Hong Kong people, the food is delicious!

Since the meal started, the adults talked less. Only Meng Cheng would occasionally reminisce about his business days in Hong Kong with Lao Gan when he was serving food to Zhou Yuying.

Wang Nian's attention naturally drifted to the children's table.

Children are not as concerned about nutritional balance as adults. If they eat a greasy meal, they have to eat some vegetarian dishes to slow down the process.

Seven or eight pairs of chopsticks reached out to the sweet and sour pork tenderloin at the same time, and the whole plate of pork tenderloin was wiped out in two rounds.

Traditional sweet and sour pork tenderloin requires vinegar and sugar to flavor, but children prefer the sweet and sour taste made with tomato sauce. Most of the tomatoes grown at home are made into sauce for cooking.

Xia Wei had never eaten meat that tasted like this before. His cheeks were bulging but he was still stuffing his mouth with food.

Seeing this, Shi Shuwen considerately brought the juice and said, "Eat slowly, don't choke."

"Hmm..." Xia Wei didn't have time to speak. He nodded hurriedly, still chewing in his mouth. After swallowing, his chopsticks immediately reached out to the pepper and salt shrimps. In just the blink of an eye, he picked up the juice and took a big gulp.

"Shi Wan, let's change mothers!"

While eating, Qiu Shasha suddenly blurted out "Mom, I want to be beaten."

If her parents hadn't stopped her, she would have run to Shi Wan's house at dawn.

"Although Aunt Hongyan is also very good, I still like my mother more." Shi Wan answered her friend's suggestion very seriously, and shook her head repeatedly: "I won't change no matter who comes."

"I wish the food in our school could be this delicious!"

The idea of ​​swapping mothers is just a casual remark, but the expectation for the school cafeteria is 100% real.

There were students from elementary, middle and kindergarten schools at the table, but when they heard this, they all nodded in agreement.

Junior high school and elementary school share the same cafeteria. Even though they only live seven or eight minutes’ walk from home, they can only eat in the school cafeteria.

In Shi Shuwen's words, the food in the school cafeteria is clean and hygienic... but tastes bad.

The school has very strict requirements on food hygiene, but not much on taste.

If you wash the cabbage four times and stir-fry it with water and oil, it will still taste bad even if it is clean!

Xia Wei's home was the farthest from No. 8 Middle School, and he ate the most in the cafeteria. Every day when he returned home, he was so hungry that he wished he could eat the whole pot of rice.

"Last week, the cabbage was cooked without any oil. I saw with my own eyes that the chef poured a bowl of boiling water into the pot, and then put the vegetables into the pot... and then scooped two spoonfuls of meat soup on it when it was taken out of the pot..."

Xia Wei vividly acted out the chef's series of actions at the time, including how the oil kettle swayed over the pot without spilling even a drop of oil.

Even Shi Shuwen, who is not a picky eater, couldn't help but murmur, "It's really unpalatable."

"If Dad were here, he would definitely say that you don't know how to appreciate your current life. Their lives in the past... were so hard... You should cherish it!"

Shi Feiying imitated Shi Xiangming's sighing look in a condescending manner.

Not to mention that the frowning look was pretty similar, but the helplessness in the tone was copied 100%.

Wang Nian's lips curled up slightly, and his heart was almost bursting with joy.

In her previous life, when she saw those parents educating their disobedient and ignorant children, Wang Nian always thought in her heart that if she became a mother, she would definitely not be that kind of nagging parent.

But it wasn't until I became a parent myself that I realized that the behaviors that my parents considered necessary should indeed be educated.

If left alone... Shi Feiying could make two holes in the wall of the house.

When she first married Shi Xiangming, Wang Nian thought she had married a taciturn man who did more than he said, but now that man never stops talking.

"I don't know who comes home every day when nothing happens." Shi Wan ruthlessly exposed her brother: "Your teacher told your elder brother the day before yesterday that you didn't sleep at noon and climbed out the window to play. I'll tell Dad when he comes back!"

Shi Xiangming is an absolute supporter at home, and "Little Cotton-padded Jacket" Shi Wan immediately fought back.

Shi Feiying glanced towards the adults' table and saw Wang Nian lowering his head to pick up food. Only then did she feel relieved and pouted pitifully to beg for mercy.

"I'm never going to imitate my dad again."

Wang Nian pressed his brows, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Don't blame Feiying, don't you often ask Feiying to take you to school after lunch?" Shi Shuwen is always the fairest of the siblings, and slowly pointed out her sister's mistake: "You also secretly took snacks from home to school to feed your classmates."

"Brother, I won't dare to do it again." Shi Wan also begged for mercy.

The three siblings are each other's nemesis, and Shi Wan is most afraid of her eldest brother Shi Shuwen.

Shi Shuwen then nodded with satisfaction, looking calm and composed, as if everything was under control.

Wang Nian also shrank her neck as if she was being taught a lesson, because she was the one who prepared meals for the siblings to bring to school... The eldest brother didn't say anything, so she ignored it.

"In fact, I think what Xia Wei said does make some sense. If Aunt Wang Nian opens a small restaurant at the entrance of the school, the business will definitely be booming."

Ding Hongyun put down his chopsticks, drank a sip of juice, and then began to speak slowly.

Wang Nian pricked up his ears and continued to listen to him.

The school does not actually require the children to eat in the school cafeteria, but most of the students' parents are dual-time workers in nearby factories, so they basically have no time to cook at home at noon.

As for his three children, they just happened to reflect what Shi Feiying had learned above.

Shi Xiangming has always been a believer in not spoiling children. Even though the school is only a few minutes away from home, the children can only eat in the cafeteria.

The three children were already accustomed to having a lunch together at noon at Factory 431, so they accepted the arrangement without any hesitation.

Wang Nian often saw students eating at the small restaurant in the living area of ​​the chemical plant at noon, but they were a minority, after all, the food in the restaurant was not cheap.

Ding Hongyun continued, "The prices of those small restaurants across the street are too high. My grandfather said that they will not adapt and their business will not last long..."

As expected of a family that has been engaged in business for generations, Ding Hongyun’s business acumen is more flexible than many adults.

Wang Nian had just thought that the prices in those small restaurants were beyond the reach of students, when Ding Hongyun pointed it out, even thinking more carefully than she did.

Wang Nian listened more seriously...