Chapter 83 Family Banquet 1
The telegram was sent by Huang Yunqiao, who left a phone number and made an appointment with Cheng Yang to bring Cheng Lin and Cheng Kai to call her.
Looking at the telegram, Shi Xiaoai couldn't help but ask after trying for a while, "Is there any news about your father yet?"
Cheng Yang nodded.
Cheng Yang sent two telegrams at the same time, one to Cheng Fanying and the other to Cheng Kai's mother Huang Yunqiao, to inform them that they were safe and that the two children were now at his home.
After the divorce, Huang Yunqiao moved to the city where her eldest son lived. Cheng Yang did not have her specific address, so the telegram was sent to the regiment headquarters where her eldest son lived.
Cheng Kai had previously mentioned that his eldest brother's regiment headquarters was quite a distance from the city, and that his eldest brother didn't come home every day. Perhaps because of this, Huang Yunqiao received the news a little late.
But even if it was too late, at least they reacted after knowing that their son had run away from home. But what about their biological father?
Still no one cares about it until now.
Although Cheng Lin had been trying to smooth things over for his father, saying he was going to the grassroots to inspect work, going to the countryside was not like burying someone, so he couldn't be isolated from the world.
Even if he didn't receive the telegram, he still had the secretariat. With so many people in the secretariat, they would definitely report the situation to him after seeing the telegram.
With Huang Yunqiao as a comparison, Shi Xiaoai felt even more disgusted with this father-in-law whom she had never met.
Cheng Yang did not come to the tea stall to help in the morning. He went out to buy materials.
Although Guo An promised to help find a construction team, don’t people have to prepare materials such as gravel, sand, and cement themselves first?
In addition, there are wood, various consumables, even glass and nails... If you don't find any of them in advance, it will be troublesome if they are missing later.
He spent most of the morning running around according to the addresses Chen Min gave him yesterday, and finally got most of the things he needed.
Because according to the agreement, he had to take his two younger brothers to the post office to make a phone call after lunch, so Cheng Yang hurried and finally returned to the tea stall just after lunch.
Before he even entered the door, he heard his brother's passionate speech: "Sister-in-law, do you know what time is the best time for business at school?"
"What time is it?"
"I'm telling you, there are two time periods: one is 9:30 in the morning, and the other is 11:20 in the afternoon. 9:30 is their break time, and even though the school won't let us through, they have a small gate! The school doesn't care if kids buy things through the small gate. At this time, you have to be quick. As long as you run fast and get a good position, you can sell anything! Forget our stone buns, even shoe soles can be sold for money if you dip them in sauce!"
Cheng Lin's words caused several people in the room to burst into laughter.
"What nonsense! It's getting more and more ridiculous." Cheng Yang walked in, cursing and laughing.
"Brother! You're back! Have you eaten? Kaikai, pour our brother a cup of tea!" Cheng Lin was not angry even though he was scolded by his brother, and continued to make arrangements happily.
Shi Xiaoai could see that ever since he promised not to let them go back, Cheng Lin had been completely immersed in joy and couldn't pull himself out of it.
I don't know what he's so happy about. He's flapping his wings like a little bird, looking so happy.
But it’s better for a child to be happy than to have a lot of worries, right?
Thinking about how the two kids looked when they first came, Shi Xiaoai felt that the current Cheng Lin was more pleasing to the eye.
Shi Xiaoai gathered up the bottoms of several vegetable bowls, rolled up a steamed bun and handed it to Cheng Yang: "You haven't eaten yet, right? Do you want to go after you finish eating, or find a place to eat on the way?"
Cheng Yang took the steamed bun and took a big bite. After chewing and swallowing, he said, "Let's each have a bowl of noodles on the way. Let's finish the call early and come back early. They will be here tonight."
The few people Cheng Yang was referring to were Chen Min, Master Liu, Guo An and others. These people would come over for dinner in the evening, so Shi Xiaoai would cook at home in the afternoon.
Cheng Lin and Cheng Kai had to guard the tea stall for her.
So there is not much time to waste.
Shi Xiaoai didn't object, but just asked one more question: "Do you still have food coupons left in your pocket? Do you want some more?"
"No, there's more." Cheng Yang shook his head.
After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Do you have any more pepper oil? Do you want to go to Master Zhou to buy some more?"
"Don't use it for now. We have two bottles at home." Shi Xiaoai refused.
Previously, when she and Cheng Yang went to the noodle shop opened by Master Zhou for dinner, she bought a bottle of pepper oil from him. After returning, she used it as the side dish for the rolled steamed buns.
At that time, no one thought that this unintentional act would win the favor of so many people, especially the kelp shreds mixed with pepper and sesame oil and fried potatoes have always been favored by customers.
During this period they went to buy oil several times and used up almost ten bottles of oil.
Although Master Zhou never asked, there is no impenetrable wall in this world. Shi Xiaoai felt that he must have known what they were going to use the oil for.
It’s not that there’s anything wrong with pepper and sesame oil, but Shi Xiaoai still feels that when doing business, one shouldn’t rely too much on external things that one can’t control.
Just like this pepper oil, if customers get used to it and think the food doesn’t taste good without it, what if Chef Zhou stops selling it one day?
Or has the price increased?
It’s hard to say.
Xiao Ai has been thinking about making her own exclusive sauce these days, and she is almost done with the experiments.
It might be a little inferior to the pepper and sesame oil from Master Zhou’s house, but she knew it was mainly because it lacked two special seasonings.
She has already asked Master Liu to look for it. Once it is found, she believes that her own cooking oil will taste good too, and it will not be much different from other companies' when used for cold dishes.
The three brothers put the teacups to be washed on the tricycle, and then Cheng Lin rode it back first.
Shi Xiaoai locked the tent with her two children and slowly walked home.
When I got home, there was already cooked rice in the pot. Cheng Kai had cooked it before going to the stall.
Shi Xiaoai quickly prepared two quick dishes. After she and the children finished eating, they went back to their room to take a nap.
At 2:30 in the afternoon, Wang Xiaofeng knocked on the door and came to make steamed buns. Shi Xiaoai got up and began to prepare for the family dinner in the evening.
Shi Xiaoai prepared six dishes today: braised spare ribs, stir-fried shrimp, spicy chicken, and yesterday's popular braised fish with three sauces. The vegetarian dish was stir-fried potato chips, and finally, a large pot of clear chicken soup.
There aren't many types of dishes, but they are large in quantity and full of flavor. They haven't been fully prepared yet, but the seasoning alone makes Wang Xiaofeng, who is sitting on the side working, sniff frequently.
"Sister, is this the newly prepared cooking oil?" Wang Xiaofeng asked, looking at a small can of red chili oil on the chopping board.
"Well, how does it smell to you? Does it smell good enough?"
"Enough! It smells almost the same as the one we used before. Let's use this one from now on. That pepper and sesame oil is too expensive. They dare to charge us two dollars for a small bottle!" Wang Xiaofeng couldn't help complaining.
"The high price means they are confident!" Shi Xiaoai sighed.
She scooped a small spoonful of chili oil and handed it to Wang Xiaofeng: "Try it."
Wang Xiaofeng licked it, then smacked it in her mouth and said, "It tastes really good, but...is it missing something?"
"You see, you can taste it too, right?" Shi Xiaoai smiled.
"The chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns used in the pepper sesame oil we bought before were all bought directly from Sichuan. We couldn't get them here at all. So it was impossible to imitate them completely.
But I didn't think of imitating it. My situation is different from that of Chef Zhou. Chef Zhou specializes in various Sichuan-style noodles, while I use it as a side dish. The usage is different, so the preparation method does not necessarily need to be the same.
I'll think about it a little more and add one or two things, and the effect should be good."
Wang Xiaofeng nodded in admiration, feeling that Sister Xiao Ai knew a lot!
She actually didn't understand much, but that very reason made her admire Shi Xiaoai even more!
It also made her look forward to her future life more.
Chen Min and Cheng Yang came back together.
He was a very warm person. As soon as he entered the room, he rushed to Shi Xiao Ai and said loudly, "Sister-in-law, what delicious food are you cooking? It smells so good! Cheng Yang told me before that you are a great cook, and I have always wanted to try it. It seems that I am in for a treat today!"
Shi Xiaoai had almost finished the preparations by this time, so she quickly washed her hands and came out to greet the guests.
She said politely to Chen Min, "Hello, Brother Chen. I've been saying that I'll find a chance to thank you properly. You've helped us a lot."
Chen Min quickly waved his hand: "Sister-in-law, we are a family and there is no need to be so polite. Let's not talk about formalities!"
He handed over the two bottles of wine he was holding. "I brought two bottles of Xifeng. Sister-in-law, where do you think we should put them first? This is a good wine. I've stored it for several years. I brought it here today so that everyone can have a taste. Sister-in-law, you can have a few drinks later."
Shi Xiaoai took the wine with a smile and said, "Okay, I'll put it with you guys first and take it out when we eat later."
She looked at Cheng Yang and said, "You talk to Brother Chen first, the food will be ready later."
Cheng Yang nodded: "Go ahead and get busy."
Shi Xiaoai returned to the kitchen. Through the window, she heard Cheng Yang calling the two children out to greet Chen Min, and she also heard Mingrui greeting Chen Min politely.
After a while, there was another knock on the door, and soon there was a commotion in the yard again.
No need to ask, it must be Master Liu and Guo An.
She went out again to greet the guests, and then found that it was not only those two people who came, but also Guo An's elder brother Guo Quan.
Guo An is the youngest in the family, about ten years younger than his eldest brother. Guo Quan is almost forty years old this year.
Shi Xiaoai had only heard Li Qiaoyun mention her uncle a few times before, saying that he was the director of a lumber mill and was quite capable, but she didn't know much else.
When they met, I found that this man looked much more imposing than Guo Anke, and he looked like a tough guy.
He is almost 1.9 meters tall, very strong, and full of strength.
Guo An was like a kitten that had not grown up in front of his big brother.
Shi Xiaoai hurried forward to greet them, and during the conversation she found out that they and Chen Min actually knew each other.
Actually, it is normal if you think about it. Yuncheng is not a very big city, and everyone lives so close to each other and belongs to the same jurisdiction, so it is not strange to know each other.
It was a good opportunity for them to know each other, and they saved the trouble of getting to know each other. The men quickly became friends, and there were constant sounds of talking and laughter in the yard.
Cheng Yang went into the kitchen twice and asked if there was anything he could help with.
Shi Xiaoai gave him a basket of stone buns that she had specially reserved for lunch, and asked him to take it out for everyone to eat while chatting, and then drove him out.
Although there was only one person working, Shi Xiaoai did not have to rush when cooking because the dishes had already been prepared in the afternoon. Soon the aroma of the food spread out through the kitchen window.
At the beginning, the people outside were still chatting and laughing, but as they talked, their voices became quieter and gradually everyone became absent-minded.
“This smells so good!”
Chen Min was the first to lose patience, scolding Cheng Yang with a smile, "I never realized before, you're so lucky! Tell me the truth, how did you trick my sister-in-law into your hands?"
He even deliberately looked Cheng Yang up and down and said, "I don't think you're anything special. How did you marry such a talented and beautiful wife?"
Hearing him say this, Guo An on the side also fanned the flames: "That's right! Cheng Yang, you need to explain how you deceived our Xiao Ai back then and how you managed to get our school beauty!"
Before he could finish his words, Master Liu slapped him on the back, making Guo An scream.
"Speak properly! What are you talking about, Xiao Ai? How can you say that?" Master Liu glared at him.
"Eh? What's there to hide? Xiao Ai and Qiao Yun are like real sisters. They've been good friends since they were young. What's more, the three of us were in the same class in junior high school, so we grew up together. What's wrong with our Xiao Ai? Xiao Ai is not like my real sister!"
"Say that again!" Master Liu glanced at Cheng Yang and raised his hand to slap him again.
Guo Quan still loved his younger brother very much. Seeing him screaming and crying after being beaten by his master, he also laughed.
He spoke up to explain, "Master Liu, you really misunderstood Xiao An. He, Qiao Yun, and Xiao Ai really grew up together.
Xiao Ai has been away from home for so long that she almost forgot about me. I used to hold her in my arms when she was little!"
He narrowed his eyes as he spoke, his whole body seeming to be lost in memories: "I remember when they were in elementary school, there was a rainstorm and I went to school to pick up Xiao An. The rain was so heavy that the water in their school playground was up to their thighs.
As a result, she was so small that she stood on the steps, dripping wet, afraid to go down, and there was no one to help her. Later, I had to carry them one by one on my back and get them out of school.
Hearing this, Guo An also sighed: "At that time, Xiao Ai's mother was in poor health and could not take care of her at all. She was alone every day, going to and from school by herself, and eating at school by herself. I was in a different class from her at that time, but she was in the same class as Qiao Yun. I later heard from Qiao Yun that she just saw how pitiful Xiao Ai was at school, so she took the initiative to go over and play with her."
"I didn't expect the result..." At this point, Guo An showed a strange smile and clicked his tongue slightly.
"What didn't you expect?" Cheng Yang, who had been silent and just listening quietly, raised his head.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com