Chapter 197.1

The plan to dig for gold was on the agenda, but it had to wait until Han Cheng finished his graduate school entrance exams.

Recently, the Gu Zhanwang has been going to “Three Meals and Four Seasons” frequently.

Coincidentally, Su Xiaoxiao and Han Cheng used to rarely eat in the school cafeteria, but now that Han Cheng is in the sprint final stretch of his graduate exams, Su Xiaoxiao either accompanied him to the cafeteria for lunch or had Uncle Yang prepare a lunchbox in the morning, which she’d reheat at the cafeteria for lunch. In short, she seldom came back home for lunch.

During this long period, Gu Yuanjing had yet to run into Su Xiaoxiao even once. He even suspected whether the kids were intentionally letting their mother not meet him.

However, he enjoys chatting with the children. He liked the lively atmosphere of “Three Meals and Four Seasons,” enjoyed the food, and admired the décor. As long as he wasn’t too far away, he’d have his driver bring him over for lunch and dinner. Whether chatting with the kids or just glancing at their neat handwriting while they did homework, it was all enjoyable.

Gradually, it became a habit. On days he couldn’t make it and didn’t see the kids, he felt uneasy all day long.
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One day when he didn’t come, even Xiao Doubao, who didn’t talk to him much, would ask, “Why didn’t Uncle Four-Eyes come today? Maybe he was not feeling?”

……..

In the blink of an eye, it was mid-May, and the gates of the graduate exams that had been closed for ten years finally reopened.

Han Cheng’s foundation is already very solid, and coupled with his diligent studying during this period, he has a stable mentality and a confident mind. He is not a bit nervous.

However, in Su Xiaoxiao’s eyes, regardless of who was facing the big exam or whether their test scores were perfect, they had to have a “perfect score” meal before leaving for the exam. Early in the morning, Comrade Han Cheng had deep-fried dough sticks and two eggs and drank a bowl of soybean milk before going out.

Today, Peking University had a holiday. Su Xiaoxiao walked him to the door, straightened Han Cheng’s collar, and smiled. “Comrade Han Cheng, I wish you great success and to be the top scorer.”

Han Cheng curled his lips and kissed his wife on the cheek. He whispered, “I’ll do my best. I’ll hand in my paper early and come back for lunch with you.”

When Su Xiaoxiao smiled, her small dimple appeared. She nodded and said, “I will inform Uncle Yang that we will have our lunch at home today, and I will make delicious food for you with my own hands.”

Since opening “Three Meals and Four Seasons,” Su Xiaoxiao has rarely cooked at home. At most, she cooked something for the kids at the shop to satisfy their cravings. The pots and pans at home were probably all rusted.

Han Cheng shook his head. “No need to trouble yourself. Eating at the shop will be fine.”

Su Xiaoxiao tiptoed and kissed him on the face. “It’s no trouble. I want to cook for you. What do you want to eat the most?”

Looking at his wife’s smile, Han Cheng felt he could maintain a good mood all day long. “I like whatever you cook.”

Su Xiaoxiao said, “Then I’ll decide. You just focus on your exam and try to come back early for dinner.”

The curve at the corner of Han Cheng’s lips never faded as he nodded, “Okay.”

…

The cubs went to school, and Su Xiaoxiao rarely had the chance to visit the market alone. The market was almost semi-open, with a growing variety of goods, and more and more people openly set up stalls. Hardly anyone talks about cutting off the tail of capitalism anymore.

Han Cheng was indeed not picky about food. No matter what Su Xiaoxiao made or bought for him to eat, he always finished it cleanly. However, Su Xiaoxiao knew that Han Cheng actually liked eating chicken drumsticks. But with four children at home, buying one chicken each time meant each person got half a piece, and she and Han Cheng would share a chicken wing each. Han Cheng knew she liked chicken wings, so he always put the chicken wing in her bowl, saying he preferred chicken breast.

People in the 21st century ate chicken breast for health reasons, but in those days, everyone lacked oil and water. If they had the choice, no one would really prefer chicken breast.

Today, Su Xiaoxiao bought two smaller hens in one go, intending to make soy sauce chicken and let the whole family eat chicken legs.

In fact, Su Xiaoxiao was quite unaccustomed to the first winter in the capital. In the south, there were vegetables all year round, but in the north, it was hard to find fresh vegetables in the winter. The available ones were mostly radishes and cabbages. It’s not that radishes and cabbages were not tasty, but eating them at every meal could make anyone tired of them.

The vegetables in their greenhouse at home didn’t grow well. The thin plastic film couldn’t resist the absolute cold. Han Cheng had to pot onions and garlic and place them by the heated bed to sprout, but their growth was very slow.

Su Xiaoxiao was thrilled to find wolfberry leaves today. This common southern vegetable was something she saw for the first time after almost half a year in the capital.

She planned to use chicken offal to make a wolfberry leaf soup. She didn’t waste the chicken’s blood either, asking the vendor who helped slaughter the chicken to collect it in a bowl. She would cook it with the chicken liver, gizzard, heart, and intestines, add some ginger slices, and add white wine to make a soup that would be delicious enough to make one’s mouth water.

It had been some time since Su Xiaoxiao cooked, and her culinary skills seemed a bit rusty. She cleaned the chicken, tightened the skin by briefly blanching it in hot water, then rinsed it in cold water. This method made the chicken skin crisper.

She heated oil with ginger slices to stir-fry, then seared the chicken until slightly charred all over before setting it aside.

Red sugar was the soul of soy sauce chicken. For one chicken, the ratio was one bowl of soy sauce to three bowls of water, plus a piece of red sugar. These two chickens were smaller, so Su Xiaoxiao used the amount for one and a half chickens. She added enough water and soy sauce to cover the chickens. If there was rose wine, adding a bit would be better. Lacking that, she added some yellow wine instead. Finally, she put in a knot of scallions, two star anise, and a few slices of ginger, covered it, and let it simmer.

During this time, the chicken needed to be turned over several times for even coloring. When chopsticks could easily pierce the meat, it meant the chicken was cooked through. At that point, she increased the heat to reduce the sauce until it clung to the chicken, giving it a beautiful color.

Taking advantage of this gap, Su Xiaoxiao made the soup and left the wolfberry leaves until they were ready to eat. She was planning to blanch them with a handful of red wolfberries for just a few seconds before eating.

Su Xiaoxiao had told the children in the morning that they would have lunch at home. When Zhuzi came to pick up the twins for school, she also instructed him to bring Grandpa Zhang home for lunch.

At this moment, Xiao Doubao was just returning from school with his younger siblings.

Xiao Roubao sniffed the air, and he drooled instantly. He let go of his brother’s hand and ran towards the kitchen. “Mom, what did you make today? The smell is driving us kids crazy!”

Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but smile at this little foodie. “Mom made soy sauce chicken. We’ll eat when everyone is here.”

Though Xiao Roubao was very tempted, he didn’t ask to eat early and obediently went back to his room to wait.

Tiantian missed her grandmother, so Su Xiaoxiao didn’t force her to stay. She asked Fantuan to take Tiantian back to “Three Meals, Four Seasons” and also to bring back a pot of rice since she hadn’t cooked any.

When Han Cheng got home, Zhuzi brought his grandfather over just after him. Su Xiaoxiao instructed Han Cheng to chop the chicken. Han Cheng habitually cuts each drumstick like a flower before splitting it in two. Su Xiaoxiao added the red wolfberries and wolfberry leaves to the soup, bringing it to a boil again and seasoning it with salt before serving.

Fantuan returned with the rice, and Su Xiaoxiao had the children serve everyone a bowl of rice and soup. A sumptuous lunch was ready.

Grandpa Zhang was particularly happy. He loved eating Su Xiaoxiao’s cooking, though she rarely cooks nowadays.

Grandpa Zhang was so happy that he even asked Han Cheng to bring over some wine for a little drink.

Before starting the meal, Su Xiaoxiao gave each person half a drumstick. She placed half a drumstick on Grandpa Zhang’s rice and smiled: “Han Cheng still has an exam this afternoon, so he can’t drink with you.”

Grandpa Zhang grinned. “That’s okay, I’ll drink alone. With such good dishes, I can still enjoy myself. But I won’t eat the drumstick; leave it for the children.”

Xiao Roubao picked up the chicken leg that his mother had picked up with his meaty little hand and said, “Grandpa, we all have drumsticks. In our house, everyone gets a share. I’ll toast with you using my drumstick!”

After he finished speaking, he raised his drumstick to the center, and Grandpa Zhang clinked him with Xiao Roubao’s, his eyes smiling. “Alright, alright, Grandpa will toast with Xiao Roubao.”

Zhuzi reminisced, “Grandpa, when I lived in Qingfeng Town with Aunt Su, Uncle Han would also split the drumstick in two and cut it like this so we could bite it easily. Xiao Doubao was only two years old then and could eat a drumstick by himself.”

Every time Zhuzi recalled the past, all his happy memories were tied to Su Xiaoxiao’s family.

Grandpa Zhang put his drumstick in his grandson’s bowl. “Grandpa regrets not knowing about you back then. From now on, our family will eat drumsticks like this.” He had expressed his gratitude to Han Cheng’s family many times, and it felt redundant to say more. He kept it all in his heart.

Zhuzi placed the drumstick back in his grandfather’s bowl and said, “Alright, Grandpa, let’s eat together.”

Even Su Xiaoxiao, who usually didn’t eat drumsticks, raised her drumstick like Xiao Roubao: “Come on, let’s toast with our drumsticks and pre-celebrate Comrade Han Cheng’s success in his exam!”

Han Cheng, who hadn’t felt any pressure, suddenly felt it keenly. He laughed. “I haven’t even finished the exam yet, and we’re celebrating already? What if I don’t do well?”

Grandpa Zhang smiled and said, “There’s no such possibility. Han Cheng, don’t be modest. Xiaoxiao was the top scorer in the college entrance exam. You should at least set an example for the children and come back as the top scorer. From now on, the goal for our children is to be the top scorer.”

The children cheered, “Top scorer, cheers! Top scorer, cheers!”

The joyous lunchtime passed quickly. Grandpa Zhang, a foodie, couldn’t stop praising Su Xiaoxiao’s cooking skills. Regardless of the cuisine, she could make it authentically, which was rare.

Grandpa Zhang had a couple of drinks and looked radiant. “Xiaoxiao, you must open a multi-story restaurant in the future to promote cuisines from all over the country.”

Su Xiaoxiao nodded. “I will, and I believe this wish will soon come true.”

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Soy Sauce Chicken