Chapter 27: Dad Wins the Championship on TV

  The day of the final is approaching, and the location of the final is also different from the previous two times. CCTV provides a venue for the entire live broadcast on TV. It's not surprising that cooking competitions are on TV, after all, in a few years, with the improvement of people's living standards, food programs will become more and more popular among audiences. There are CCTV's Liu Yawei's "Everyday Food", Taiwan's "Foodie Players", Hong Kong's "Daily Food God", Shanghai's "Popular Food" and so on. In short, the food trend is sweeping across China, even with documentaries like "A Bite of China", showcasing the delicacy and long history of Chinese cuisine, winning praise from people at home and abroad. Now it's quite rare, and everyone feels very curious and fresh.

  Our whole family as a support team of course fully supports Dad, but considering Mom has to go to work and other factors, we were unable to accompany Dad to the capital for the final match, so we could only watch by the TV at home. I was a bit disappointed, but Dad comforted us saying: "Darling, it's good that you're not going, otherwise if you all came to the scene, Dad would get nervous and wouldn't perform well. You stay at home and quietly cheer for me, pray for me, maybe Heaven will hear your sincerity, plus my cooking skills, and I'll be able to achieve a good result when I come back! Dad promises you, next summer vacation we'll have time to take the whole family to the capital to play, this time Dad goes first to explore the road."

  "Ah, Dad, when you appear on TV, I'll be watching your every move without even blinking. You'll definitely make a triumphant return, I have faith in that. As for the trip to the capital, it's a promise. " He said, and to my surprise, Dad actually stuck out his pinky finger, so I quickly did the same, saying: "Still, Dad understands me, hooking up is forever, no changing allowed." In my past life as a kid, I really believed in this, didn't I?

  Three days before the final, my parents packed their luggage and our family went to the train station to see off my dad. Watching him wave goodbye to us and then walk into the carriage, he set off towards his dreams with a solid foundation already in place - we should all be happy for him. My mom and I were both reluctant to part with him, even though in my past life I had never been this far away from my dad before. The one who was most reluctant to part with him should have been my mom, since she and my dad got married they've always been inseparable, suddenly he's going to be gone for a whole week, it really feels like an adjustment.

  Dad arrived in the capital and called us to chat, but because it was a long distance call, he only roughly said a few words. Mom reminded him of a few things, I only managed to say a few words of concern, really hoping that computers were already widespread, so we could have video calls.

  It's already three days later, at 8 o'clock in the evening, our whole family sat on the sofa watching the cooking competition show "Cooking Master", introducing the contestants. My dad was wearing a white chef uniform and a tall yellow-edged chef hat, looking very handsome and stylish. Next, it entered the cooking segment, the camera switched to the judges, then to each contestant's cooking process. Wow, each contestant was busy processing various dishes, stir-frying, braising, steaming, they were all masters! After a while, the camera turned to my dad, who was handling duck giblets over there. I heard my dad say he wanted to make "Beauty Liver", could it be this dish?

  The host curiously asked, "What dish are you preparing?" My father replied while putting the duck liver into boiling water, "Beauty Liver." "What is Beauty Liver?" "Beauty Liver uses duck liver as the main ingredient. First, stir-fry chicken breast, winter bamboo shoots, and mushrooms. Then blanch the duck liver in water and serve with drizzled cooked duck oil."

  Watching my dad's busy figure, looking at the time passing by one minute and one second, I feel very nervous, as if I were experiencing a major exam. After 9:30, all the dishes were served, and the hourglass was empty, the host announced that the time was up. The dishes were sent to the judges' table for tasting, and I took a closer look, surprisingly, there was still an old man in his sixties as a judge, he was indeed impressive, later I found out that he was a famous foodie and nutritionist Fei Xianjing, but that's another story. The contestants were all waiting for the judges to score their dishes, it was like ants on a hot pot, I said to my mom: "Mom, doesn't dad seem like he's going to Beijing to take the imperial examination, carrying his dreams, and being the focus of our whole family?"

  Mom smiled and said: "En en, it's really like that. When the camera turned around, your dad touched his ear, which is his usual little move. He was very nervous. Actually, as long as he did his best, whether or not he won the award doesn't matter, he's the pride of our whole family." The host held the names of the gold, silver and bronze medalists in his hand and said mysteriously: "After repeated deliberation by the judges' panel, our gold, silver and bronze medalists have finally been decided. I believe everyone has been waiting anxiously for this moment. So, who are they? Now we will reveal the answer. First, let's start with the bronze medalist, which is No. 3 Chen Guosheng, the silver medalist is No. 9 Lu Yajun, and the gold medalist is No. 1 Li Jiankang."

  Yaoyao's didn't have a father, this group of people is really blind, my inner universe exploded in protest. "And number six Nan Zheng just now, after the judges' panel deliberated again and again, number six's beauty liver has its own unique characteristics, unanimously agreed that number one and number six are on par, so it was decided that the two would be tied for first place..." I jumped up from the sofa excitedly shouting "Ah, ah, ah, Dad won the championship! Dad is indeed the best!"

  Mom smiled and said: "Hehe, be careful, happy as you are, don't bump into the coffee table. It seems your dad is returning home with glory this time." "Mom, I thought they were blind to Dad's greatness. Turns out they were just pretending. And the name of the runner-up is so funny, it's Lu Yajun, although he's not a military man, his name sounds like second place is his fate. Hahaha, Mom, we should reward Dad well."

  "Alright, I've decided to use this month's salary to treat you all to a meal at the Hualing Hotel, and also fulfill your dad's wish of getting to know us better by trying out the best dishes our hotel has to offer."

  Just as my mom finished speaking, the phone at home rang. It was Ye Shu, the second-in-command of our family's restaurant, congratulating my dad on his victory and asking if he could come over for a drink. My mom readily agreed. Then several other relatives and friends called to congratulate us. My mom immediately decided that when my dad returned, we would host a banquet at our small restaurant to entertain the relatives and friends, and make a name for ourselves.

  The day after Dad came back, a reporter from a local newspaper actually came to Dad's small restaurant for an interview. Dad didn't put on any airs of being a champion, but simply said that his cooking skills were okay and that he was just lucky this time. He invited the reporter to try some of our signature dishes in our store and welcomed everyone to come and eat at his restaurant. Sure enough, the next day, our family's restaurant was featured prominently on the social food page of the local newspaper, with our "Beauty Liver" dish being particularly popular, attracting many customers who came specifically for it. Our small restaurant's business has been booming ever since, mainly because our prices are reasonable, our dishes are innovative and delicious, and we've attracted a lot of repeat and new customers. In short, our small restaurant has become famous far and wide.

  It just so happens that Wu Hanwen and his family booked a private room for tonight, and my mom reminded my dad to reserve the better Xiangxiang Hall for Wu Hanwen's family. She said that Grandpa Wu is very good to me, and my kung fu skills are improving quickly, which is quite meaningful. A few days ago, Grandpa Wu even discussed with her about signing me up for the city's junior martial arts competition. Moreover, Grandpa Wu is a kind person who refused to accept our tuition fees, saying that he was just retired and had nothing better to do, and that I and Xiaoxiao are two interesting and lively girls who bring a lot of joy to his leisure life. In my heart, Grandpa Wu is a kind and amiable old man. Tonight, my parents decided to seize the opportunity to invite Wu Hanwen's family out for dinner.

  At the dinner table, my parents expressed their gratitude and together raised their glasses to toast Wu Laoye. Wu Laoye smiled and said: "Xiao Nan, Xiao Lu, don't be too polite, I and Xiaoxiao are also fated to be friends, we're good classmates of our family's BBQ..." As soon as he mentioned BBQ, I winked at Wu Hanwen, and surprisingly, his face turned red instead of glaring at me.

  Grandpa Wu asked over there: "Little Nan, this dish of beauty liver is now a rare commodity, I'd like to understand the subtlety behind it. How did you make it?"

  "Wu Lao, actually it's nothing much, my dish just happened to win an award, that's why it's so popular now, it's just a temporary craze. Since you want to know, I'll tell you, the beauty liver dish requires preparing some duck livers and putting them in boiling water for about 10 seconds, then taking them out and cooling them down in cold water, removing the membrane, cutting into strips, and placing on a plate... Then pour in the duck liver and chicken breast strips, stir-fry a few times, add 15 grams of cooked duck oil, and serve."

  "It's really made with great craftsmanship." Wu Hanwen's dad continued, "I heard there's a story behind this dish. It was created in the 1920s. One time, a doctor ordered a table of dishes, and when the chef was preparing them, he realized he had forgotten one ingredient. By the time he wanted to add it, they were out of stock. As he looked around, he was attracted by the pale pink color of the duck liver soaking in water. He decided to pair it with chicken breast and stir-fry it with duck oil, which turned out to be a huge hit. When asked what the dish was called, the waiter saw its milky white color and said 'Beautiful Woman's Liver' on the spot. The name spread like wildfire." Old Dad chuckled and said, "That's how it is."

  Dad insisted on treating, so Wu Hanwen's parents didn't persist. They had a happy meal together, and the adults chatted with each other.

  We sat down again, and I smiled and said: "Wu Hanwen, I've come up with a brain teaser, can you guess? How about it?" He nodded to indicate that he was ready. I had a feeling of wanting to show off my skills, "Here we go! Among the numbers one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven, which number is the laziest and which number is the most diligent?"

  Wu Hanwen thought for a moment and said: "One is the laziest, two is the hardest working." "Why?" "Because one doesn't do it, two won't rest until it's done."

  "Clove flower, jasmine flower, rose, which one has the least energy?" "Jasmine flower, what a beautiful jasmine flower."

  We came back and forth, Wu Hanwen didn't show any signs of defeat. It seems I have to bring out the killer move. "A bean fell down, only you can encourage him, why?" Wu Hanwen thought for a moment, calmly saying: "I don't know, you announce the answer."

  I "heh" and laughed, pretending to be mysterious: "Because... because... because this bean is Zhu Geli Bean Pig Encouragement Bean."

  Wu Hanwen obviously didn't react at first, so I asked him to read it a few more times. As he read on, he suddenly reacted, "Oh, it's 'Pig Encourages Bean'! Xiao Xiao, you really have a lot of weird ideas in your head, haha, this time I really didn't think of it, I lost." I took the opportunity to tease Wu Hanwen, but Wu Hanwen had a gentle expression on his face, and couldn't see any signs of anger, at most there was a slight flush on his face, I don't know if it was from shyness or anger. I found it even funnier, so I gave him a piece of crispy-skinned duck as an apology.

  Grandpa Wu saw our interaction and said, "Bao Bao, how can you let Xiao Tong take care of you? Boys should be taking care of girls!" Wu Hanwen immediately served me several dishes, which were all my favorites. I smiled and said, "Grandpa Wu, no way, she's bullying him, he needs to make amends." Grandpa Wu stroked his white beard and said, "This is really good," then continued chatting.

  I really don't know what Wu Grandpa means, anyway, I don't care, they continue to chat, we continue to play, Wu Hanwen said he went out to play and brought me a souvenir, next time I'll dig it up for you. Of course, I smiled and said thank you. It's still Wu Hanwen who is good, never like Xuan Yuanrui, who would argue with me, but going out to play will bring me gifts, one sentence is too good.