CH 7

Just then, a voice came from behind Bai Xianzhi, “No! The braised pork is mine! It’s specially made by Xianzhi for me!”

Knowing that the braised pork cooked by Xianzhi would surely attract the attention of the aunties in Wutong Lane, Liu Qingshan had been guarding the shop all along, just to protect his portion of the braised pork. After the braised pork was finally done and scooped into bowls, he finally relaxed and went to attend to his personal matters. However, he didn’t expect that in just a few short minutes, these infuriating Wutong Lane ladies would come knocking on the door!

A group of fierce middle-aged and elderly women surrounded the weak, pitiful, and helpless Xianzhi, their eyes glinting with determination as they stared at his bowl of beautifully enticing braised pork!

To protect the braised… no, to protect Xianzhi, Liu Qingshan stepped forward and successfully diverted the attention of the aunties and grandmas.

Auntie Wang glared at him, “Liu Qingshan, what are you, a young man, doing here? Aren’t we all your elders? How can you have something good without letting us taste it? Are you saying you’re worthy of the food we’ve fed you, these old bones?”

Liu Qingshan, sworn defender of the braised… Xianzhi, fell silent. The age suppression technique was in effect, who could compete?

He was just an ordinary young man from Wutong Lane, neither too young nor too old. He had to respect his elders and care for the young. Should he endure the pain of giving up his beloved braised pork?

Liu Qingshan didn’t want to compromise. He took a deep breath, preparing to speak…

“Ah!” The four or five middle-aged and elderly women glared at him in unison.

Liu Qingshan instantly yielded and retreated behind Bai Xianzhi with a look of helplessness.

“Wang Meili, you’re bullying my son!”

Liu Qingshan looked at the person walking in from outside the door, tears welling up in his eyes, and shouted, “Mom!”

Liu’s mother gave him a disdainful look and walked confidently past the others, going to Liu Qingshan’s side. She directly picked up a bowl of braised pork and handed a Mao Zedong bill to Bai Xianzhi, saying, “Xiao bai, your cooking is really good! Thank you for this. Here’s the payment.”

After speaking, Liu’s mother pulled Liu Qingshan and walked out. Bai Xianzhi hurriedly said, “Auntie, it’s too much money! Let me find you some change!”

Liu’s mother waved her hand arrogantly, “Xiao bai, your pork is so delicious, even better than those star-rated hotels. I think a hundred yuan is too little!”

As Liu’s mother continued to leave, she was stopped by the four or five aunties who exclaimed, “Zhang Chunhua, what do you mean! There should be a first-come, first-served rule. Those of us who came first didn’t get to directly have the meat!”

Liu’s mother turned around, glaring at them, “You disrespectful people! My son is also a person! We’ve been waiting here since ten in the morning! We arrived earlier than you all, and of course, the meat should be divided among us!”

The aunties and grandmas looked at each other, realizing that Zhang Chunhua was the toughest person in Wutong Lane. They couldn’t win against her when she was unjust, and now that she was in the right, they had no choice. So, Liu’s mother pulled Liu Qingshan and confidently walked out of Three Thousand Food House.

There were two bowls of braised pork left, and the four or five aunties and grandmas no longer fought over them. They simply divided the pork evenly, leaving a large portion for Bai Xianzhi. Each of the four or five people received four or five pieces of meat, and in the end, they gave Bai Xianzhi two hundred yuan. Bai Xianzhi wanted to refuse the money, but the aunties and grandmas glared at him, saying, “What’s wrong? You accept Zhang Chunhua’s money but not ours? Are you looking down on us?”

Helpless, Bai Xianzhi had no choice but to accept the money. The aunties and grandmas held their small bowls of braised pork and left satisfied.

Wang Meili had prepared the meal before leaving home, so when she returned with a few pieces of braised pork, there were already two debt collectors sitting at the dining table.

“Mom, where have you been? I’m starving!”

“Yeah, old woman, why are you running around like a child? It’s already mealtime.”

The two debt collectors grumbled a few words and started eating with their chopsticks.

Wang Meili, holding the braised pork: !!!!!

Those two debt collectors only knew how to eat, eat, eat, eat, eat!

With a cold snort, Wang Meili sat down and served herself a bowl of rice. She placed the braised pork in front of her. This was the meat she had fought so hard to get, and she had decided to enjoy it alone!

She picked up a piece of braised pork, the meat was tender, juicy, and trembling on her chopsticks. It was a sight that made people tremble with anticipation. Carefully, she put the meat into her mouth, and in an instant, the rich and flavorful taste exploded on her taste buds.

It was as if she had returned to the time of famine when she had her first taste of meat. The ultimate aroma of pork, tender and melt-in-your-mouth, with the soft and luscious fat, the tender meat that melted in her mouth. After many years, Wang Meili once again experienced the allure of pork!

This braised pork was incredibly delicious!

Wang Meili’s exaggerated expression caught the attention of the two people at the table. Her daughter asked, “Mom, what are you eating? It looks so delicious.”

Wang Meili snapped back to reality and tried to suppress her expression, saying, “It’s nothing, just a few pieces of braised pork from Three Thousand Food House. I wanted to taste the flavor.”

“Three Thousand Food House?” Wang Meili’s daughter showed a disgusted expression. “Well, you can have it, Mom.”

Everyone in Wutong Lane knew that the food from Three Thousand Food House was considered dark cuisine. As soon as Wang Meili’s daughter heard it was fromThree Thousand Food House , she instantly lost interest. Even Wang Meili’s husband turned his head away.

Seeing their lack of interest, Wang Meili let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the braised pork had already started to cool down, and the aroma had diminished. Otherwise, these two wouldn’t have let her eat it in peace!

So Wang Meili successfully enjoyed two pieces of braised pork, and with two pieces left in her bowl, she hesitated but decided to start with the potatoes.

Just as she picked up a potato, a pair of chopsticks swooped down and took one piece of meat, and then another pair of chopsticks took the last piece of meat. Wang Meili looked up in anger, only to see the two pieces of braised pork disappearing into the mouths of her daughter and husband.

“What the hell! It’s so delicious! Mom, you actually lied to me!”

“It’s so fragrant! Old woman, go buy some more!”

Wang Meili shouted angrily, “Buy my foot! There’s only these few pieces of meat, and you both ate them all!”

That afternoon, word spread in Wutong Lane that Three Thousand Food House had changed owners, and the braised pork they made was explosively delicious!

By the evening, during the time for square dancing and the elderly art class in Wutong Lane, the news had spread to many people. The braised pork from Three Thousand Food House was incredibly tasty.

So the next day, when Bai Xianzhi opened the door, he found that the number of customers had suddenly increased, and almost all of them were the uncles, aunties, grandpas, and grandmas from Wutong Lane, all of them specifically asking for braised pork!

Under the demands of these elderly customers, Bai Xianzhi took out a large piece of pork belly. Today, his main theme was braised pork!

Li Qiuqiu was from City S. After watching Da Bai’s livestream yesterday, she had planned to visit Three Thousand Food House in the afternoon. But who would have thought that the damn boss suddenly decided to work overtime, and by the time she finished work, it was already 10 o’clock. It was clearly unrealistic to go to Three Thousand Food House at that time. Fortunately, the next day was Saturday, so Li Qiuqiu decided to come and see Da Bai the next day.

At ten in the morning, Li Qiuqiu set off from her home and drove for forty minutes to Wutong Lane. It took her another twenty minutes to find a parking space. Finally, after parking her car, she followed the navigation on her phone, wandering around the alley for a full twenty minutes.

Seeing that it was almost half past eleven and she still hadn’t found Da Bai’s restaurant, Li Qiuqiu felt a bit anxious. It was at this moment that she suddenly caught a whiff of a delicious aroma.

It wasn’t the fragrance of flowers or the scent of perfume, but the aroma of food.

Li Qiuqiu twitched her nose, and just by smelling it, she had already developed great expectations for the dish emitting this fragrance. They say that a woman can be identified by her scent, but Li Qiuqiu felt that this saying was wrong. It should be “a dish can be identified by its scent.”

The rich aroma, a blend of several spices, silently but dominantly entered her nostrils, instantly causing her salivation.

It was so fragrant! Incredibly fragrant!

In the same alley, such a tantalizing scent, could it be…

Li Qiuqiu’s anticipation grew as she followed the scent in the air, making turns left and right in the alley. After a few minutes, a small restaurant appeared before her eyes—it was Three Thousand Food House!

And the scent she had been following all along came from Three Thousand Food House!

She would soon see Da Bai. However, Li Qiuqiu suddenly became a bit anxious—

Would Da Bai think I’m ugly?

Yesterday, I said I would come, but I only arrived today. Will Da Bai think I’m unreliable?

Li Qiuqiu also noticed her attire—a floral dress, fresh and cute. It seemed fine, but was it too ordinary?

Caught up in various doubts, Li Qiuqiu suddenly realized one thing: she was just here to show support to Da Bai, not for a blind date. Why was she feeling so anxious?

Taking a deep breath, Li Qiuqiu stepped into Three Thousand Food House. Instantly, she was shocked by the bustling atmosphere inside the restaurant.

Looking around, she saw seven or eight grandpas, grandmas, uncles, and aunties crowded in front of the kitchen. Each of them held bowls of different styles, shapes, and colors, and they were all shouting at the top of their lungs.

“Xiao Bai, is it ready? How much longer?”

“Why are you shouting at the old man!”

“That’s right! Are you the chef, or is Xiao Bai the chef? Braised pork should be simmered!”

“Why the rush? When Xiao Bai finishes cooking, he’ll let us know. By pushing like this, aren’t you just adding pressure?”

…

Under the siege of several grandmas, the grandpa who had just spoken closed his mouth and obediently stood at the back of the line. At that moment, the aroma in the air suddenly became even stronger. Then, a clear male voice rang out from the kitchen, “Grandpas, grandmas, uncles, and aunties, the braised pork is ready!”

After seeing off all the elders from Wutong Lane, Bai Xianzhi finally noticed a girl in the restaurant. He quickly came out of the kitchen and apologized, “I’m sorry, I was busy earlier. You can now place your order. Here’s our restaurant’s menu. May I ask what you’d like to eat, miss?”

Seeing her favorite YouTuber up close, especially with Da Bai looking almost identical to how he appeared in the livestreams—his translucent skin, prominent nose, and starry eyes, particularly those gentle eyes looking at her—Li Qiuqiu’s heart skipped a beat. What should she do? This handsome YouTuber makes her want to bring him home!

“Miss?” 

Li Qiuqiu snapped back to reality, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. She casually replied, “Just…just the braised pork, please.” When presented with such a divine visage, does it really matter what she eats? And if it’s something made by Da Bai himself, it must be a taste of happiness in every bite.

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 ”