CH 6

Li Qiuqiu is a hardcore food enthusiast. Her favorite thing to do is to watch popular food influencers’ live cooking broadcasts online, especially those handsome guys who show their faces. It’s a perfect combination of visual appeal and delicious food!

Note! The word “visual appeal” has two meanings here.

And Li Qiuqiu’s favorite is a live streamer named Da Bai. Not only does he cook amazing dishes, but every time Li Qiuqiu watches his live streams, her mouth waters uncontrollably. And most importantly, he is incredibly handsome!

He is truly handsome, to the point where every time Li Qiuqiu watches his live streams, she feels like she’s chasing after an idol. But maybe it’s not just her imagination because those enchanting and flirty people in the live chat are also crazy about Da Bai.

However, Da Bai hasn’t streamed for half a month, and Li Qiuqiu feels that her takeout meals don’t taste as good, and her phone isn’t as interesting anymore. She thinks she might have caught a disease called lovesickness. She checks her phone dozens of times a day just to see any new updates from Da Bai!

Today, Li Qiuqiu instinctively took out her phone and opened a certain app, and then she saw a notification:

【The influencer you follow, “Da Bai,” is currently live streaming】

Li Qiuqiu widened her eyes and quickly clicked into the live stream. When she saw Da Bai’s familiar face, it almost brought tears of joy to her eyes. Did the heavens hear her prayers? She got to see Da Bai again!

“Hello, everyone. I’m Da Bai. I haven’t been live streaming recently because of a family bereavement, but now I’m back.”

“Alright, without further ado, today I’m going to show you how to make a dish that many people love—braised pork belly. Let’s get started.”

Bai Xianzhi picked up some pork belly and introduced it in front of his phone, “When you buy pork belly at the market or supermarket, choose the kind with an even ratio of fat and lean meat. For braised pork belly, if the pork belly is too lean, it will be dry, while if it’s too fatty, it will be too greasy, which may not be friendly for those trying to lose weight.”

At this point, the number of viewers entering the live stream started to rise, and several comments immediately appeared on the phone screen:

【Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh】

【”Da Bai, you’re finally back! I’m crying tears of joy!”】

【”Da Bai is right! Let’s show our support for Da Bai!”】

【”Da Bai, you finally returned! If you didn’t, you would have lost your wife!”】

【”The main wife is here! Let me see who’s trying to seduce my husband!”】

【”Da Bai, Da Bai, I love you like a mouse loves rice! When can I taste the food you cook yourself?”】

…

While cutting the meat, Bai Xianzhi saw this message and looked up at the screen, saying, “I have good news to share with everyone: Da Bai has opened a restaurant!”

The number of viewers in the live stream continued to rise, and upon hearing his words, several viewers expressed their surprise.

【!】

【!!】

【!!!】

【!!!!!! +10086】

【Address, restaurant name, I want to know all the information about this place in one second!】

Bai Xianzhi smiled and said, “The restaurant I opened is the one left by my uncle. It’s located at No. 231 Wutong Lane, Jinshan Road, S City. The name of the restaurant is “Three Thousand Food House. Those who want to taste Da Bai’s cooking are welcome to visit.”

【Aaaaahhhh, S City! I’m in S City! Is Da Bai open for business this afternoon?】

【”Storm crying, I’m in A City, which is separated from S City by a large part of the country! Sob sob sob~”】

【”Me too—sob sob sob~”】

【+1, sob sob sob~】

【+2, sob sob sob sob~】

…

Bai Xianzhi heated up the pan and added the diced pork belly, flipping and stir-frying it. He said, “We are open for business at Three Thousand Food House from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. So, for those who are working, don’t worry. And for those who are not in S City, don’t be too sad. Three Thousand Food House will continue to operate, and you can come and taste our food whenever you visit S City.”

【Tender hearted Da Bai, I love it so much!!】

【”I’ve decided. I’ll buy a plane ticket to S City tomorrow and go see Da Bai!”】

【Me too! Anyway, I’m in City B, just a few tens of minutes away from S City by plane!】

…

Bai Xianzhi sighed helplessly and said seriously, “Everyone, Da Bai’s food isn’t that delicious, and eating it won’t make you immortal. So, I don’t want you to spend money and take a flight just to taste Da Bai’s food. Let things happen naturally.”

However, it seemed that no one in the live chat responded directly to him. Instead, all the responses were:

【Hahaha, become immortal? Da Bai, you’re so funny!】

【”Da Bai, tell me, what dish can make me immortal?”】

【”Hahaha, Da Bai’s food won’t make us immortal, but who knows…”】

【”Blind person, you’ve discovered the core point!”】

…

Helplessly watching the comments in the live chat take a strange direction, Bai Xianzhi chuckled and stopped talking. He focused on cooking.

He threw star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves into the pot, along with scallions and ginger slices. He stirred and sautéed the meat until the edges of the pork had a slightly burnt color. Then, he took out the meat and spices from the pot.

He added lard to the pot that had just been used to stir-fry the meat, heated it up, and sprinkled in white sugar. He slowly simmered it over low heat until all the sugar melted and turned into caramel. Then, he added the meat back into the pot to color it. Once the color was even, he added light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and a little rock sugar. After that, he added potatoes and finally poured in yellow wine, enough to cover the meat and potatoes.

He turned up the heat and brought the yellow wine to a boil. He quickly skimmed off the foam and then lowered the heat, covering the pot.

Next was a waiting process. Bai Xianzhi took his phone and ended the live stream. Liu Qingshan, with eager eyes, looked at him and asked, “Xianzhi, when can we eat this?”

Bai Xianzhi smiled and said, “It will take at least an hour. If you’re busy, you can go back first, and I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

As a tenant, Bai Xianzhi had exchanged phone numbers with his landlord, Liu Qingshan, yesterday.

Liu Qingshan stared closely at the pot. From the steps he had seen, he knew this pot of braised pork would definitely be delicious. He hadn’t had breakfast, and his mouth was already watering. He could go and have breakfast now, but how could he? Letting inferior food occupy his stomach? How could he enjoy eating the meat later?

So Liu Qingshan shook his head and said, “No, I’ll wait here. I want to be the first one to eat this pot of meat!”

Bai Xianzhi chuckled, “There won’t be anyone coming to my restaurant anyway. Even if you leave, you’ll still be the first to taste it.”

Liu Qingshan looked at him with a hint of melancholy, “You’re new here, so you don’t understand.” The people in Wutong Lane are a unique group.

…

At half-past eleven, a fragrant aroma quietly spread through Wutong Lane…

At half-past eleven, every household in Wutong Lane had their kitchen windows open, cooking, frying, or boiling. Suddenly, a delightful aroma wafted through the kitchen windows, instantly capturing the noses of the mothers and grandmothers. These kitchen masters stopped their hands, following the fragrance with their noses

“What is that? It smells so good!”

That was almost the first thing that crossed the minds of all the mothers and grandmothers. Their second reaction was,

“Whose house is cooking? Do I know them? If I do, I’ll go and exchange a bowl!”

So, the mothers and grandmothers quickened their pace, and even those who originally didn’t plan on eating meat for lunch took out meat from the refrigerator.

Half an hour later, in Three Thousand Food House, Liu Qingshan stood there obsessively, watching the covered clay pot that was constantly emitting hot steam. His lips were slightly parted, and drool seemed to be visible at the corners of his mouth.

“Gulugulu—”

Swallowing his saliva, Liu Qingshan snapped back to reality and checked the time. It was already past noon. He gratefully found Bai Xianzhi in the front area and said, “Xianzhi, it’s been cooking for an hour already. Is it ready?”

Bai Xianzhi had just made himself a cup of tea and, upon hearing Liu Qingshan’s words, he put down the teacup and checked the time. “It’s about time. I’ll thicken the sauce.” He walked into the kitchen, lifted the lid of the pot, and a wave of heat mixed with the tantalizing aroma of the braised pork hit him in the face.

Standing at the doorway of the kitchen, Liu Qingshan’s stomach growled. Bai Xianzhi looked over and saw Liu Qingshan’s embarrassed yet polite smile. “Um, I’m a bit hungry.”

Bai Xianzhi smiled, “I’m hungry too, but it’ll be ready soon. Just a few more minutes to thicken the sauce.”

Liu Qingshan nodded eagerly, “I’ll wait!”

Just looking at it could make one imagine the melt-in-your-mouth texture.

The rich aroma filled the entire kitchen. In this aroma, Liu Qingshan couldn’t stop salivating, and he stared fixedly at Bai Xianzhi’s every move. When he saw Bai Xianzhi fill a bowl for him, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and asked hesitantly, “Xianzhi, can I use the restroom?”

Bai Xianzhi pointed upstairs and said, “The restroom is upstairs. Go ahead.”

Liu Qingshan hurriedly ran upstairs while Bai Xianzhi divided the braised pork into three bowls—one for Liu Qingshan, one for his own lunch, and an extra one. Maybe he could save it for dinner?

“The aroma is coming from Old Bai’s shop!”

“Old Bai’s shop?”

“Let’s go inside and take a look!”

There was a commotion outside the door, and Bai Xianzhi quickly stepped out of the kitchen to see four or five middle-aged and elderly women entering the shop. The leader was an auntie wearing a shirt with large rose patterns, and her eyes seemed to light up when she saw him.

“Oh, young man, you must be Old Bai’s nephew?”

Bai Xianzhi nodded obediently, “Yes, may I ask who you are?”

The auntie laughed heartily, “Hahaha, my surname is Wang. We all live in Wutong Lane and are friends of your uncle.”

“Xiao Bai, what are you cooking? We could smell the fragrance from afar.”

Auntie Wang craned her neck to look in the direction of the kitchen, and Bai Xianzhi smiled, “Auntie Wang, I’m cooking braised pork. Please come in and have a look, all the aunties and grandmas.”

With that, Bai Xianzhi walked towards the kitchen, and the four or five middle-aged and elderly women who had been tantalized by the aroma followed closely. When they saw the three bowls of bright red braised pork in the kitchen, they were instantly speechless.

For a while, the sound of swallowing saliva filled the kitchen.

“Xiao Bai, did you make this braised pork?” Auntie Wang asked incredulously.

Bai Xianzhi nodded, “Yes, I made it.”

The four or five aunties and grandmas looked at him, and Auntie Wang expressed what everyone was thinking, “Your uncle’s cooking looks like that, how did you make it so delicious!”

Bai Xianzhi felt a little embarrassed, “I learned to cook from other chefs.”

The aunties and grandmas nodded one after another, that made sense.

“Well, Xiao Bai,” Auntie Wang said again, “since you made three bowls and you can’t finish them all by yourself, how about selling one bowl to Auntie Wang?”

“Xiao Bai, I want one too!”

“I want one too!”

“What’s going on? I spoke first, it’s mine!”

“So what if you spoke first? I’m older than you, don’t you know to respect your elders and care for the young?”

…

Auntie Wang opened the floodgates, and the four or five aunties and grandmas started clamoring. Bai Xianzhi felt a headache coming on. Even if he counted his own bowl, there were only two servings. How would he divide them among the four or five aunties and grandmas?

1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ”