Chapter 231: This Episode Isn’t for Kids
Chapter 231: Chapter 231: This Episode Isn’t for Kids
Beside them, Jun Qingmeng nodded and chimed in with a serious air, "It really was incredibly awful! I’m starting to suspect aliens have conquered Blue Star, because there’s no way someone from Blue Star could make a dish like that, right?"
Jiang Liu was busy wrapping steamed buns.
Listening to his girlfriend and daughter’s complaints, he smiled and agreed, "Stir-fried carrots and green onions really can taste bad if they’re not prepared well."
The sweetness in the carrots clashes with the green onions.
"Hehe, right?" Jiang Tongtong’s mood brightened considerably. Seeking credit, she raised her little face and said,
"But you know what, Dad? The other kids thought it was gross and threw it away, but Tongtong was a good girl and didn’t waste food. I ate it all up, you know."
’Dad, hurry up and praise your little cutie!’
’Hurry up!!!’
’Any later and Tongtong’s gonna run away from home, you know.’
Jiang Liu felt helplessly amused. Wiping his hands on a rag, he smiled and pinched Tongtong’s little cheek. "That’s my girl. My daughter is the best!"
Yay!
Tongtong excitedly clenched her little fists.
She absolutely adored her dad’s praise!
Jun Qingmeng gathered her courage, moved closer to Jiang Liu, and asked expectantly, "Boyfriend, I didn’t waste any food either. Is there a special reward for me?"
"Whoa, this part isn’t for kids!"
Jiang Liu glanced at Tongtong, who was covering her eyes, then smiled and praised Jun Qingmeng, "You were great too."
"And then? Don’t I get a pinch?"
Jun Qingmeng looked at Jiang Liu, a smile in her eyes, and offered her flawless cheek to him.
In mock exasperation, Jiang Liu raised his hand and gave it a pinch.
"If you like being pinched that much, I can do it for a whole hour when we get home tonight. How about I pinch your cheeks until they’re red and swollen like a little pig’s?"
Jun Qingmeng’s cheek was delicate and tender, feeling soft and smooth to the touch.
It felt almost the same as Tongtong’s cheek.
Both were very soft and pleasant to the touch.
Jun Qingmeng blushed and shot Jiang Liu a look. "In your dreams."
Jiang Liu just smiled and didn’t respond.
"Dad, can I have some juice?"
"The juice is in the fridge. Grab a bottle for your Teacher Qingmeng, too."
"Okay~"
The two of them sat in the kitchen, happily sipping their juice.
"The juice is sweet and sour, hehe. After drinking Dad’s juice, Tongtong feels so much better. Dad, you’re your little cutie’s greatest pride."
Tongtong gave Jiang Liu a big thumbs-up.
’Dad praises me, so I have to praise him often too!’
Jun Qingmeng took small sips of her juice, her pretty face filled with sweet-and-sour satisfaction.
The moment the juice touched her tongue, her taste buds tingled. It was just too delicious.
Perfectly sweet and sour, with a silky-smooth texture.
She found herself liking Jiang Liu more and more.
「7:00 PM.」
The light rain had stopped, but the hair of some customers waiting outside was already soaked.
The local customers in line started chatting.
"Have you guys noticed? There are more and more new customers coming to eat at Boss Jiang’s place. It means word about him has really gotten out. I’m so happy for him!"
"Sigh, what’s there to be happy about?"
An auntie said with a forlorn expression, "It’s getting more and more competitive. Especially at night. I’ve seen dozens of new faces in the line, and a few of them, based on their accents, sound like they’re from He Province. That’s hundreds of kilometers away."
"I’m telling you, these people are crazy, coming all this way to snatch our food!"
An uncle beside her said indignantly, "I mean, really. Why can’t these people just stay where they belong? They come all the way to our Yangzhai Street to eat, and now we can barely get a meal here."
It was so hard for him to get a taste of Boss Jiang’s food nowadays, leaving him feeling anxious, angry, and helpless every day.
「7:20 PM.」
Jiang Liu announced he was open for business right on time.
"In, in, in!! Stop dawdling, let’s go!"
"Not even God himself could stop me from eating Brother Jiang’s steamed buns!"
"Xiao Jiang is getting lazier and lazier! He used to open at six..."
The customers rushed into the shop like a horde of hungry ghosts.
The regulars were already used to the routine. There were only four items anyway, so they just rotated through them each day.
However, it was a different story for the new customers tasting Jiang Liu’s food for the first time. They all wore expressions of sheer disbelief, exclaiming in amazement.
One after another, they declared that the trip had been worth it.
Some of the wealthier ones were already making plans to buy a house in South City.
’With food this good, missing even one meal would be a crime against life itself!’
’I have to buy a place here, no matter how expensive!’
’Once South City gets popular, it’ll be too late to buy property!’
A little after 8:00 PM, all the food was sold out.
Xia Changzhi arrived late, wearing a pink helmet and four or five short-sleeved shirts.
God knows what he’d been up to.
"Boss Jiang, still busy? I sent you a message on WeChat, hehe."
He rubbed his hands together sheepishly.
Jiang Liu gave him a curious look. "Where’d you wander off to now? I was about to close up."
As he spoke, he retrieved a prepared package from behind the counter: ten shrimp buns, five three-delicacy buns, and a bottle of watermelon juice.
Two hours earlier, Xia Changzhi had sent him a WeChat message, saying something had come up and he couldn’t wait in line, but he still wanted some buns and juice.
So Jiang Liu had set an order aside for him.
"Thanks for going through the trouble again, Boss Jiang."
Xia Changzhi happily accepted the takeout bag, drawing a volley of jealous stares.
He waved his hand in resignation, picking up on Jiang Liu’s earlier question. "Don’t get me started. I get mad just thinking about today. A bunch of my card-playing buddies insisted on dragging me into a game and even made some bet about taking off clothes."
Jiang Liu found this hilarious. "So, that’s why you’re wearing five T-shirts?"
"Haha, it’s called taking precautions," Xia Changzhi said with a smug smile, taking pride in his shamelessness.
Jiang Tongtong nibbled on her finger as she stared at Xia Changzhi’s helmet. "Grandpa Xia, why are you wearing a helmet?"
At the mention of this, Xia Changzhi looked furious.
"Don’t even ask, Tongtong. Let me tell you, your ol’ grandpa here got royally screwed!"
Tongtong blinked her big eyes, not understanding...
Xia Changzhi didn’t bother hiding it anymore. He took off his helmet, revealing a red and swollen forehead.
He’d been invited by Old Liu and the others today for a game where the loser had to strip, and they’d claimed Aunt Wu, Aunt Meng, and a bunch of other pretty ladies would be watching.
Naturally, Xia Changzhi wasn’t going to pass up a chance to be the center of attention, so he confidently went to meet the challenge wearing four pairs of underwear and five T-shirts.
He was determined to single-handedly take on all comers.
Who would have known that when he got there, his opponents took one look at his shameless preparations and changed the rules? Instead of stripping, the punishment was now a flick on the forehead.
Xia Changzhi initially refused, but with the aunties egging him on, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and play.
You can imagine what it’s like to be ganged up on by a whole group.
Every single one of those forehead flicks felt like a hammer blow.
They left his head ringing with resounding THWACKS.
To save face, Xia Changzhi had specifically bought a helmet on his way back to wear. It wasn’t just for the rain; it was also to hide his shame.
"Pfft, hahaha."
Seeing Xia Changzhi’s red, swollen, and comical-looking forehead,
Tongtong couldn’t hold back and clutched her belly, letting out a high-pitched, childish laugh.
"...Grandpa Xia, don’t be mad. Tongtong didn’t mean to laugh at you, I just can’t help it..."
"Pfft." Jun Qingmeng and Jiang Liu couldn’t help but laugh as well.
’This Uncle Xia is a real piece of work!’
Jiang Liu asked with a laugh, "Uncle Xia, how did your head get that swollen?"
"Yeah," Tongtong chimed in, "it looks even sadder than my head."
Xia Changzhi put his helmet back on and muttered sullenly, "The shame, the utter shame of it all... Ugh! I don’t want to talk about it. It’s all because those old bastards who can’t play fair set me up!"
"Hmph! But those old coots didn’t get off easy, either!"
Every time he won, he’d use all his strength to flick them back.
Old Liu and the others ended up with foreheads covered in welts from his counterattacks.
After a bit more chatter,
Xia Changzhi paid and took his leave. "I’m heading back now, Boss Jiang. The wife at home is getting impatient for her buns."
"See you tomorrow, Tongtong."
"See you tomorrow, Grandpa Xia~"
With Xia Changzhi’s departure,