Chapter 42: The Most Important Person

When Su Taotao came out holding the little angel who was rubbing his eyes, Fu Zhengtu had just finished showering and was walking out of the bathroom. The noticeable mark on his Adam’s apple was particularly conspicuous, and Su Taotao almost lost her grip on Chenchen.

The evidence was undeniable, and even if she wanted to back out, she couldn’t.

Anyway, now that she had no shame left, she didn’t care about blushing or feeling shy. She walked over, shot a glance at his Adam’s apple, and lowered her voice, saying, “Go put on your clothes and button up properly.”

Fu Zhengtu, with those deep, affectionate eyes, stared intently at Su Taotao’s slightly embarrassed eyes. His long fingers gently touched his own Adam’s apple. Suddenly, he moved closer, his voice devoid of emotion as he asked, “Do you like it here?”

Last night, the area she had cared for the most was his Adam’s apple.

This is deadly!

Su Taotao took a step back, closed her eyes, and, giving up, said, “Yes, yes! There’s a minor here, can you please be mindful of the influence?”

Fu Zhengtu curved his lips into a smile and reached out to pat Chenchen’s head. “Go wash up. Later, Daddy will teach you how to play military chess.”

Chenchen, nibbling on his chubby little fingers, looked at his dad, then at his mom, his eyes rolling around a few times. He shook his head, tightened his hug around Su Taotao’s neck, and with a babyish voice said, “I don’t want to play~~ I want Mama~~”

Su Taotao hugged her son back, gave him a big kiss on the cheek, and walked towards the bathroom. “Good boy, Mama will take you to work today.”

In the bathroom, the little one obediently opened his mouth so Mama could brush his teeth. After Su Taotao finished brushing, she gave him a cup of water. He gulped it down and then spit it out, grinning and showing off, “Clean~~”

Su Taotao praised him, “Chenchen is awesome, so clean.”

Su Taotao twisted a cloth for him to wash his face himself. For tasks within his ability, she generally let him do it himself. Afterward, she helped him comb his hair and then carried the fragrant little guy out for breakfast.

Today’s breakfast was sweet potato porridge with wild vegetable pancakes, and five bowls of wheat milk powder were also served. Chenchen had an additional small bowl of steamed egg custard.

Su Taotao told the little one to start with the egg custard, teasing him, “Uncle didn’t go to get goat milk today, so there’s no goat milk tea. Can we drink Chenchen’s wheat milk powder instead?”

Chenchen lifted his head from the egg custard, his big eyes precisely focusing on the wheat milk powder, and nodded in agreement: “Okay~~”

At two years old, children are usually possessive about their food, but the little one wasn’t, which made Su Taotao feel comforted.

She picked up the first bowl and asked, “Who should this bowl go to?”

Without hesitation, Chenchen replied, “Mama~~”

Su Taotao smiled with squinted eyes, feeling a little moved. She had finally become the most important person in the little one’s heart.

From then on, Su Taotao stopped asking and gave everyone a bowl. The order didn’t matter anymore; as long as she was first, that was enough.

When it came to giving a bowl to Fu Zhengtu, he shook his head and pushed the bowl back. “I won’t drink it. You guys drink.”

Fu Zhengtu was sitting beside Chenchen, who had paused from battling with the egg custard, pushed his own wheat milk powder towards Fu Zhengtu, and said, “Drink~~ everyone~~”

Fu Zhengtu: “…” He lowered his gaze, staring into the little one’s big eyes.

Chenchen wasn’t intimidated at all. He raised his little chin and said, “Drink~~”

Su Taotao couldn’t help but giggle, seeing how the little one was giving Fu Zhengtu no face.

Everyone laughed.

Fu Yuanhang explained, “The rule at home is to share the good things. It’s not like this every day.”

Fu Zhengtu looked pale. He didn’t expect to be drinking the sweet, cloying wheat milk powder at over twenty years old. He really didn’t like it.

But seeing the little one’s black-and-white eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse, so he braced himself and drank it all in one go.

Chenchen looked at him after he finished and nodded in satisfaction. His chubby little hand patted Fu Zhengtu’s arm in encouragement before going back to his egg custard.

Su Taotao couldn’t stop laughing at Fu Zhengtu’s expression, which was worse than drinking medicine.

After breakfast, Fu Zhengtu prepared to drive Su Taotao to the county town, but Su Taotao said, “Today is market day. I’ll take the tractor, and you can bring some candy to school for Xiao Hang to say goodbye to the teachers and classmates. Just pick us up at noon.”

Understanding social etiquette wasn’t Fu Zhengtu’s strength. His work didn’t require him to flatter anyone, and he saw no reason to make this extra trip. In his view, the village school had been in session yesterday, and it was common for children to leave school early and stay home to take care of their younger siblings. The teachers didn’t mind and wouldn’t even ask questions when things got busy. Just telling the teacher was considered respectful enough.

But he still followed Su Taotao’s arrangement.

Fu Yuanhang was the happiest. He wouldn’t have asked to go, but knowing his brother was willing to go, purely for his sister-in-law’s sake, made him extremely happy. He could already imagine the envious looks from his classmates when they saw his brother.

Before leaving, Fu Yuanhang changed into the green military uniform and liberation shoes that Su Taotao had bought for him and carried the new backpack that Zhou Linglan had sewn for him. He looked clean and energetic.

He rarely acted childish, but this time, he spread his arms and twirled in front of Fu Zhengtu, proudly saying, “Auntie bought this for me, and Chenchen has one too. It’s exactly the same. Auntie says it’s a brotherly outfit.”

Fu Zhengtu reminded him, “It’s an uncle-nephew outfit.”

Fu Yuanhang only smiled without arguing. He knew that Su Taotao raised him like she did Chenchen, and she treated them both as her own children.

Fu Yuanhang’s backpack was full of candy. He patted it and said, “Let’s go, big brother.”

Then, like a proud rooster, he walked out the door with his chest held high.

It’s hard to say whether time changes a person or if it’s true that those who are around the best can also become their best. Fu Yuanhang had undergone a complete transformation. He was no longer the shy and timid little boy from before.

Fu Zhengtu thought to himself, Su Taotao really knew how to educate children.

After arriving at the county town, Su Taotao first went to the meat processing plant to buy fresh pig intestines. She bought quite a bit, some of which she planned to bring home for herself to eat at lunch.

This time, she didn’t need to get her hands dirty. She kept Chenchen on her back and personally supervised Chef Xu and the others as they prepared the ingredients and cooked a pot of satisfactory braised sauce.

“Remember this recipe and preparation method, and you won’t go wrong. Selling braised food can save you a lot of trouble, and you won’t have to work so hard.”

Chef Xu nodded, cheerfully saying, “Yes, I heard the second restaurant started selling braised food, but the taste isn’t quite right. No one’s buying. After getting used to your recipe, everyone’s taste buds are spoiled.”

Su Taotao smiled and said, “Even the best food can get tiresome if you eat it too often. That’s why you need to keep innovating. The steamed pig intestines in black bean sauce are ready to go into the pot. Let’s check the cooking time.”

Chef Xu didn’t take over the task. The ingredients were ready, and he directed the second chef to handle it.

Fresh pig intestines don’t need to be cleaned too thoroughly; the starch inside is the essence of this dish. Just drop a garlic clove in and swirl it around to ensure there are no worms or dirty stuff.

When choosing the intestines, there’s a small trick: you have to pick the white or light pink section of the intestines. Avoid the yellow part—it’s bitter and doesn’t taste good. It can be cleaned and used to make soup, but it’s not suitable for this dish.

This is also why many people say pig intestines are not tasty. If you buy them all together and cook them, the whole pot will be bitter, making it inedible.

The way to cut the intestines also requires skill. First, cut them into ten-centimeter long segments, then score the back of each piece, ensuring the cuts are evenly spaced. Every slice must be cut through, but the fatty side should remain intact.

This is the key to making the intestines easy to chew.

Then, it’s all about controlling the heat. Blanch the intestines in boiling water for ten seconds, drain, and mix them with the pre-prepared garlic bean sauce and shredded perilla. Steam on high heat for three minutes.

When the time’s up, take them out, sprinkle with some chopped scallions, and drizzle with a little hot oil. Then, it’s ready to serve.

Offal is inexpensive, but dishes that require a lot of effort to prepare can be quite labor-intensive. That’s why, in the 21st century, offal can sometimes be more expensive than meat.

Many traditional, labor-intensive dishes have been lost over time. In this fast-paced era, taking the time to research and appreciate food is considered a luxury.

Su Taotao took a bite of the dish and gave the second chef a thumbs up. “Comrade Xiao Ding, I’m passing this dish down to you. From now on, it will be your signature dish. You must make sure it becomes a hit.”

Su Taotao asked for some rice and fed a little to Chenchen. The little one liked it a lot, his eyes squinting happily as he ate.

Su Taotao said, “Even Chenchen can bite it, so you’ve got the cooking time just right. A little more and it’ll be overcooked, a little less and it’ll be undercooked. It really takes skill.”

Xiao Ding was excited, his hands rubbing together nervously, unsure where to place them. Normally, he handled simple home-style dishes like steamed fish, steamed eggs, stir-fried vegetables, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. This was the first time he was formally making a signature dish, and while he was very focused, he was also worried about messing it up.

He never expected it to turn out so well, and for Su Taotao to say she was passing it on to him.

“Thank you, thank you, Comrade Su,” he said, glancing at Chef Xu.

Chef Xu replied, “Why are you looking at me? You did well. From now on, this dish will naturally be yours to make. I’ll enjoy the peace and quiet.”

Xiao Ding beamed with joy. “Ah, I got it. Thank you, Master.”

As for the other nine dishes, they had also tried making a few over the past days, and the results were good. Su Taotao’s recipes were detailed, so even if they couldn’t perfectly replicate them, they were close.

Su Taotao gave some more instructions before it was time to leave.

Before she left, Chef Xu handed her an envelope and a bag of things, patting Chenchen on the head. “Though I’ll miss you, I hope you’ll continue to do well.”

Su Taotao took them. “We will. I hope you and the restaurant will do better and better as well.”

Su Taotao looked up at the red sign with black lettering that read “First Restaurant” and felt a lot of emotion. This was her first job since arriving in the 1970s. Though she hadn’t worked here long, she had formed a connection.

As she stepped out of the restaurant, Fu Zhengtu was already waiting outside. He was leaning against the car, one arm crossed over his chest, the other holding a cigarette. He was looking up at the sky, and as the smoke swirled around him, he suddenly turned his head to look at her. The sunlight fell on him, warm and dreamy, making him look so strikingly handsome that he seemed almost unreal.

When he saw Su Taotao come out, he immediately extinguished the cigarette in his hand, strode over, took Chenchen in his arms, and also took the things from her hands.

His calm voice followed, “Let’s go home.”

Su Taotao paused for a moment, then slowly smiled. “Mm, let’s go home.”

Perhaps, in some future day, she and Chenchen would become the most important family to him.

Love and indifference might not need to be examined so deeply.