Chapter 82 Chapter 82 The restaurant is open!

As a first-grade primary school student, Wang Niangang is at the age when he listens to adults the most. When he was told to queue up for food, he quickly lined up.

One meat and two vegetables. The price is indeed more expensive than the school cafeteria.

However, when a full spoonful of shredded pork with fish flavor was scooped into the lunch box, the sour, spicy and slightly sweet taste immediately made the first girl who got the rice excited and her face flushed.

"Ah... Auntie, please give me less food. I can't finish it." The little girl said shyly.

The little girl was the one with the sleeves of her school uniform rolled up twice. She was skinny and had sunken cheeks, and looked malnourished.

Wang Nian thought the child was hungry and ordered more dishes, but she didn't expect that he just had a small appetite.

However, after making too much medicinal soup for the child at home, I soon discovered that the little girl had a poor appetite due to a weak spleen and stomach.

"Today we have free yam and pork rib soup. Everyone can get a bowl of it later."

While thinking about how generous Wang Nian was, Hu Wenli took the bowls to the kitchen to serve soup to the children.

Fifty cents for a pork and a vegetable, which suddenly becomes two pork and two vegetable, and it's real meat.

After the children received their meals, they sat down and ate obediently, their cheeks puffing out like a group of little rabbits, looking very cute.

While Hu Wenli served soup to the children, Wang Nian went into the kitchen to cook for the three elders upstairs.

The exhaust fan was blaring, but the children eating in the lobby didn't even notice the fumes.

"Auntie said this is called Shredded Pork with Fish Flavor. It's delicious!"

In order to cater to children’s tastes, we specially selected non-spicy pickled peppers for the shredded pork with fish flavor and added a little more sugar.

For the people of Changshengpo, this dish is too sweet, but for the elementary school students in Anhuai, it has all the flavors of sour, sweet and spicy, and they are very satisfied with the meal.

"The meat doesn't get stuck in your teeth, it's really delicious."

"I think stir-fried wild rice stem is the best, sweet and fragrant."

"I don't even like the carrots fried by my mom at home, why are the carrots fried by my aunt so delicious?"

The children chattered about their opinions, and the small restaurant was filled with their happy voices.

The laughter drifted up to the second floor.

"I think Xuemei is a pretty good daughter-in-law." Gao Rong looked at the decoration on the second floor, and finally his eyes fell on Ren Xihong's thoughtful face: "What are you thinking about so absent-mindedly?"

"I just came to my senses now." Ren Xihong frowned, still recalling Shi Feiying's appearance in his mind: "That child does look a lot like Xuemei."

"Stop guessing."

Gao Rong knew that his friend was slow to react, but he didn't expect it to be so slow. It took more than 20 minutes for him to start to sigh.

"Xiao Rong is right. Let's not overthink it. The child just looks a bit like him."

It sounded as if these words were spoken to other people, but also as if they were spoken to Xu Xingbang himself.

The beauty is gone, don't recall the past.

Thump thump thump——

As the sound of crisp footsteps approached, Xu Xingbang suddenly felt his heart begin to beat wildly again.

"We haven't prepared much food today. Uncle and aunt can just eat something together at noon. We can have a good gathering in the evening when Xiang Ming comes back."

Wang Nian and Hu Wenli each carried a large tray and walked slowly towards the staircase.

What this meant was to invite a few people to stay for dinner and meet Shi Xiangming, the person they most wanted to meet.

"My niece-in-law wants us to have two meals here." Gao Rong stood up with a smile and helped serve the dishes.

It’s said to be a quick lunch, but these dishes are not simple at all.

Gao Rong first brought over the largest bowl of white and green soup and immediately saw several large oysters and prawns floating in the soup.

Steamed sea bass, steamed spareribs with chestnuts, and even stir-fried vegetables with mushrooms all look lush and green.

When the last dish was served, everyone pursed their lips at the same time.

As it was put down, the braised pork trembled a few times and a rich caramel aroma filled the air.

The distinct layers of pork belly and the rich red sauce are a typical Anhuai way of cooking.

"I started cooking the braised pork early in the morning. You guys eat first while I go downstairs to cut the vegetables."

Although there were no new customers downstairs, Wang Nian, as a chef, certainly could not stay upstairs to accompany others for dinner.

Seeing that there was nothing to do upstairs, I prepared to exchange a few words and go downstairs.

"Wang Nian." Xu Xingbang suddenly called out to Wang Nian, who had already turned around. After a slight hesitation, he asked, "I heard from Xiang Ming that your parents died when you were young, and you grew up with your uncle and aunt?"

"My parents died one after another when I was six years old..." Wang Nian didn't think there was anything wrong with what Xu Xingbang asked, and he recalled it carefully.

When I traveled through time, I was already in my teens. My memories of my childhood were very vague, and I couldn't even remember what my parents looked like.

All my memories about my parents come from my aunt Wu Ying.

I heard that my father had been in poor health since he was young, and he was able to marry my mother, the beautiful captain of the neighboring brigade, only because my grandfather and grandmother were good people. Others came for their family tradition.

Her mother was ill when she gave birth to Wang Nian, and later encountered famine and plague, and her health has never been good since then.

Later, after my father died of illness, my mother also died of grief not long after.

As Wang Nian continued to tell his story, the last bit of hope in Xu Xingbang's heart died. He closed his eyes and smiled slightly, "Your mother was originally from the next-door brigade."

"Then your mother must be very beautiful, giving birth to such a beautiful daughter." Gao Rong complimented with a smile.

Wang Nian smiled as a reply.

In those years, the countryside was very poor. Not to mention taking photos, even going to the county town to take photos required a letter of introduction.

There is only one wedding photo of my parents hanging in the main room of my house. Even the black and white photo cannot hide my mother's beauty. She is indeed a very pretty girl.

However, she couldn't describe her mother's appearance to others and could only smile instead of answering.

"Let's not disturb Wang Nian from his business, let's eat and talk at the same time." Gao Rong said again.

As soon as Wang Nian stepped down from the stairs, Gao Rong reached across the table and pushed Xu Xingbang hard: "You have finally given up now, right?"

She regretted that she had spoken out her thoughts so casually, causing Xu Xingbang to have some inexplicable thoughts.

How could there be resurrection from the dead in the world? Luo Xuemei was buried by her parents themselves, and there will be no follow-up.

She had no intention of stirring up her old friend's emotions, which had been calm for many years, so naturally she had to make it clear.

"I'm just imagining things!" Xu Xingbang sighed fiercely, tilted his head and waved his hands at the air, and the bitterness on his face finally dissipated: "Eat, eat."

"I also brought a few bottles of wine. Can you drink some at noon? Then I'll have a good drink with Xiang Ming in the evening."

Ren Xihong was a well-known drinker and he had to have a drink with every meal, so he always kept a bottle of wine in his bag.

As he spoke, he took out a palm-sized wine bottle from his bag, shook it gently a few times, and then slowly unscrewed the bottle.

The rich and intense aroma of wine wafts out.

Xu Xingbang took the initiative to pass the cup: "Give me some too, I'll drink with you at noon."

"Then give me a sip too." Gao Rong also took the wine glass and moved over.

No one else came up to the second floor except them, and as the elementary school students finished their meal and left one by one, the small restaurant became quiet again.

Although it looked deserted, Gao Rong was sure that the restaurant would be a booming business just by looking at the colors of the dishes.

The braised pork tastes slightly sweet, crispy and melt-in-the-mouth, and the soft and glutinous meat skin melts between your lips and teeth with a light lick of the tongue.

Fatty but not greasy should be the most important evaluation of braised pork.

But Gao Rong felt that the braised pork in her mouth was not just delicious. After the meat was swallowed down her throat, the lingering aftertaste in her mouth was truly admirable.

"How is it?" Xu Xingbang asked Gao Rong.

Gao Rong's husband used to be the chef of the provincial government's reception hotel, which specialized in receiving foreign guests, and his cooking skills were quite impressive.

It was a pity that he died a few years ago due to a sudden cerebral hemorrhage and could not be rescued. Gao Rong's family finally returned to An'an.

"It's delicious, the quality is absolutely good." Gao Rong changed his smiling face and commented very seriously: "I have eaten Anhuai braised pork made by Lao Zheng, and I think Wang Nian's is better."

Better not only in taste, but also in texture and cooking method.

The braised pork made by Wang Nian is not the authentic Anhuaikou, but its fresh and elegant taste is more suitable for the general public.

People from both the north and south will love this braised pork.

"Hongzi, would you like to try it?"

Ren Xihong has been working in the north for more than ten years. Gao Rong asked him to try it out just to see if his guess was correct.

"tasty."

Sure enough, my friend who never tells lies only used two words to explain it - Wang Nian did fine-tune the taste of the dishes according to the diners.

No wonder none of the kids downstairs said the fish-flavored shredded pork was spicy.

Xu Xingbang had tasted Wang Nian's cooking skills before, so he just took the fish with chopsticks slowly and took a sip of wine after eating.

"That's why I said that instead of reciting the spell to your Xiaoxin every day, it's better to cook a few more meals for the child."

"I agree."

The warm white wine flowed down his throat, washing away the last bit of aroma of the braised pork. Ren Xihong sighed with satisfaction and said.

"Life is nothing more than eating, drinking, defecating, urinating and sleeping, and eating comes first." Xu Xingbang was particularly touched.

Eating together is the easiest way to enhance relationships. There is no need to be particular about not talking while eating or sleeping. Wouldn't it be nice to just chat about work, life, and study? Why do you have to ask about your studies as the first thing you do when you get home?

Xu Xingbang had such a feeling because he had seen with his own eyes the way the two families got along and made a comparison.

At the dinner table, Shi Xiangming and Wang Nian never asked the children about their academic performance. They just asked if there was anything new in school and talked about what they wanted to eat the next day. They had a relaxed and enjoyable meal.

But Gao Rong's family is completely the opposite.

The meals were served in the cafeteria and had already gone cold before we started eating, so they had to be heated up again in the steamer.

I haven't even started eating yet! The stir-fried vegetables have already turned black and yellow, which makes me feel very unappetizing.

At the dinner table, the dad started by talking about buying a workbook, and the mom ended by talking about the test scores. Who wouldn't be furious?

"I married Lao Zheng because he could cook. Who would have thought that he would be ahead of me..." Gao Rong raised her hands to show her two old friends, "I only started using my hands to wield a spatula a few years ago."

My son and daughter-in-law are used to eating ready-made food. As long as Gao Rong doesn't cook, there is no way they can have hot meals at home.

Ren Xihong then spoke up again, and pointed out Gao Rong's family problems very sharply: "Xiao Rong, if your son and daughter-in-law were half as diligent as Wang Nian, your family wouldn't be like that."

Gao Rong was speechless.

You can only understand what life is like by comparison.

All of a sudden...it seemed that even the burning liquor didn't taste so spicy anymore.

At the same time, across the street from the restaurant's entrance, several young men and women were pointing and talking about the restaurant.

After a while, several people crossed the street and arrived at the restaurant entrance.