Chapter 104: Old Customer Returns

Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Old Customer Returns

After Qiqi and Xiao Li sat down, Xie An’an held out the menu she was clutching to her chest and pulled out a small notepad and a pen.

She certainly looked the part.

Unfortunately, An’an was so young that her little hands could barely hold the pen steady.

It made the whole scene a little comical.

Xiao Li’s heart went out to her as she watched, and she silently cursed the girl’s parents a thousand times over.

"Little girl, where are your mommy and daddy? Why did they make a little child like you come out here instead of coming themselves?"

"Daddy? He’s in the kitchen cooking! Everyone’s really busy, so I have to do my best to help!"

An’an was thrilled about this, beaming with pride!

’Daddy got to cook on the main stove today!’

’He’s amazing!’

Hearing this, Xiao Li sighed to herself.

’So it’s a family-run restaurant.’

’A child so young and well-behaved... Some kids get to be carefree at kindergarten, while others have to help out at their family’s little restaurant.’

’Life really is tough!’

Xiao Li said, "We’re ready to order, but do you know how to write? How about I help you write it down?"

"I know how to write 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and the menu has those!" An’an replied.

An’an pointed with her tiny hand, and only then did Xiao Li notice that every dish on the menu was marked with a number.

Its purpose was, indeed, to make it easier for the kids to help take orders.

But in Xiao Li’s eyes, it took on a different meaning.

They ordered two meat dishes and one vegetable dish.

An’an nodded cheerfully, then clutched her notepad and ran off.

Xiao Li called after her to slow down.

Once the little girl’s figure vanished into the kitchen, Xiao Li frowned.

"These parents are so reckless."

"I know, right? Forcing such a little kid to help out. Can’t they afford to hire someone? Business is obviously booming, they must be making plenty!"

Qiqi nodded in agreement, equally indignant.

The two of them grumbled for a while.

...Until the dishes they’d ordered began to arrive.

The aroma wafted to their noses, making their mouths water.

Qiqi couldn’t help but swallow.

She looked up and saw Xiao Li doing the exact same thing.

They both felt a little awkward. After all, just moments ago they were complaining about the restaurant, saying that if it weren’t for the pitiful little girl, they would’ve already left this "scam" of a place...

’So what was this now?’

’Was this karma, slapping them in the face?’

"Q-Quick, let’s eat."

Xiao Li urged, picking up a piece of meat with her chopsticks.

Her mouth was instantly filled with a rich, savory flavor. Xiao Li never knew a simple, home-style dish could be so incredibly delicious!

It brought back the same sense of amazement she’d felt when she first tried the Golden Egg Fried Rice—in fact, it might have been even better...

’No! That’s not right!’

’The Golden Egg Fried Rice was her one true love, the untouchable ideal. How could she betray her one true love so easily?’

Though Xiao Li was frantically scolding herself, the speed of her chopsticks only increased.

Qiqi was doing much the same, scarfing down her food and mumbling indistinctly,

"No wonder the original poster on that thread was praising it so much! This is so, so good, *sob*!"

Because she was eating too quickly, Qiqi accidentally burned her mouth.

But she couldn’t bear to spit out the pork rib in her mouth. She fanned her mouth and gasped for a while before finally managing to swallow it, tears welling up in her eyes.

Just then, a small figure stopped and approached their table, asking,

"Do you need some water?" ℯℯ𝑙.

The question was for Qiqi.

But it was Xiao Li who froze.

Xiao Li was so startled she nearly jumped out of her chair.

"Y-y-you! Young Boss!"

Nan Yi turned his head in confusion and blinked as a memory surfaced.

"Hello, ma’am. You’re back?"

Xiao Li forced down a mouthful of food and asked, both surprised and delighted,

"You remember me?"

Nan Yi nodded.

"Of course. You were a customer at our old fried rice stall. You came three times."

The expression on his little face was perfectly calm, as if remembering one customer out of hundreds from over half a month ago was no big deal at all.

Xiao Li, however, was so excited she started nodding furiously.

"Yes, yes, that’s me! We used to come by almost every day, but then we had a family emergency and had to go back to our hometown for a while. When we got back, your fried rice stall was gone!"

Xiao Li never imagined she’d be fated to meet the Young Boss of the fried rice stall here again!

’Could it be...?’

"Did your mom open this restaurant, too?"

Nan Yi thought for a moment.

"I guess so."

’After all, his mom called the shots in the restaurant.’

He was very bright and perceptive.

So he anticipated Xiao Li’s next thought.

"But we aren’t selling fried rice right now."

"Understood, understood!"

Xiao Li was disappointed, but she quickly came to terms with it.

’The fried rice was delicious, sure, but this full-page menu was just as good, if not better, in terms of both flavor and variety!’

’What was that about not betraying her one true love?’

’It’s not betrayal if it’s all in the family! These new dishes weren’t here to tear the family apart; they were here to join it!’

’A big, happy, delicious family! How wonderful!’

Nan Yi saw the glint in the lady’s eyes and shook his head. He was already used to this.

’Are all adults this strange?’

"I’ll go get you that water, then."

Nan Yi was a busy boy, so he quickly excused himself and left.

Xiao Li wasn’t disappointed.

’A small restaurant is much easier to find than a mobile fried rice stall!’

"I’ll explain in a minute!"

Xiao Li gestured to Qiqi, then called her husband, Old Zhang.

Old Zhang’s listless voice came through the phone:

"What’s up? I’m eating. Sigh, even looking at pictures of that fried rice doesn’t help my appetite anymore..."

Xiao Li cut right to the chase.

"I’m sending you an address. Get over here now! I found the owner of the fried rice stall!"

"Wh-what? Seriously? You found them? Where are they—"

"Are you coming to eat or not?"

"I’m coming!"

Xiao Li hastily hung up, then called An’an over to add another dish.

"We’d like to add an order of Yan Du Xian!"

Xiao Li was ready.

’She was going to eat her way through this entire menu, and as quickly as possible!’

"Okay!" An’an said.

Yan Du Xian was a new dish at the restaurant.

Nan Zhi had originally planned to introduce it after three days.

But business had been far more explosive than she’d anticipated, so she’d moved up the date for adding new items to the menu.

As a seasonal spring delicacy, Yan Du Xian was often called the "Fairest Flavor of Jiangnan."

The *yan* in the name refers to cured salt pork.

The *du* is a term from the Wu dialect meaning to simmer slowly over a low fire.

And the *xian* refers to the fresh spring bamboo shoots.

Some bamboo shoots, some fresh pork, and a bit of fresh pork belly...

...and you could make a simple bowl of Yan Du Xian.

Some people might add green bamboo shoots or tofu skin knots to enhance the flavor, but Nan Zhi felt it was unnecessary.

Her personally-made stock was a rich enough base on its own.

Stock is arguably the foundation of Chinese cuisine, and the method for preparing it varies subtly between different regional styles.

Nan Zhi had started simmering her stock at six o’clock that morning.

Using an old hen and pork bones as the base, she let it simmer in a large pot over a constant flame for a full five hours, without adding any more water, to produce a top-grade stock.

Of course, Nan Zhi was capable of making an even finer, top-tier stock, but that would require more time, and it simply wasn’t necessary.

After all, she was making Yan Du Xian, not something like Cabbage in Consommé.