Chapter 525: Hot and Sour Soup, the Husband-Protecting Jun Qingmeng

Chapter 525: Chapter 525: Hot and Sour Soup, the Husband-Protecting Jun Qingmeng

"Alright, you two go ahead and sit." Jiang Liu pinched his wife’s cheek again.

"Okay."

Jun Qingmeng’s face flushed faintly red.

She was still embarrassed thinking about how she and Jiang Liu had hugged and cuddled last night.

「Time passed.」

The two of them helped Jiang Liu at the shop.

"Boss Jiang, now that you’ve expanded the shop, when will it be officially open for business?" an older lady asked happily, full and content.

Ever since Jiang Liu opened his shop here, she would pop in whenever she had a free moment.

Jiang Liu answered gently, "In a couple of days. The tables and chairs arrive on Monday."

The older lady chuckled. "Hurry them along! And when it’s ready, you have to make more food. Now that the shop is bigger, shouldn’t you be selling more?"

"Oh, yeah! What we have now isn’t nearly enough. I have to wait in line for days just to eat here once. It’s been torture! And it’s all your fault, Boss Jiang."

"Once the shop expands, Xiao Jiang, you should just make ten thousand buns a day. That’s not too much to ask, is it?"

Many customers chimed in, teasingly demanding that Jiang Liu work harder.

Jiang Liu smiled and shook his head. "We’ll see. I only have two hands; there’s a limit to what I can do."

’He had no intention of becoming a slave to money.’

’He could have done that in the past, but now, he just wanted to live a comfortable life.’

’Wasn’t it better to spend more time with his gorgeous wife and adorable daughter?’

Hearing this, the older men and women in the crowd were immediately exasperated.

’We’ve been waiting on pins and needles for you to expand, and you hit us with this?’

The shop closed early today; by seven o’clock, all the customers were gone.

Lin Qiu and Jiang Dahai hurried over in a taxi.

Jiang Dahai, worried, asked casually, "Son, how are the preparations? Are you confident?"

Even though he believed his son wouldn’t disappoint, he was still very nervous.

After all, there was a lot at stake in this competition.

"It shouldn’t be a problem." Jiang Liu nodded. "Don’t worry, Dad. Just wait and see."

Lin Qiu took out her phone. "Liu’er, look. I found some videos on Sichuan cuisine for you. They might help."

’What good will this do?’ Jiang Liu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but not wanting his mom’s efforts to go to waste, he took the phone and glanced at it.

As he expected, they were all videos from online "gurus." Most of them were spouting nonsense, using flashy ingredients to create dishes that weren’t even good enough to be considered home cooking.

"Ahem. Right, not bad. I’m done watching, Mom."

Lin Qiu glared, displeased. "You brat. Think you’re a big shot now, huh? You finished watching in one minute? Are you just placating your old mom!"

"I really did finish. I may have watched it fast, but I’ve already absorbed all the useful information."

"Fine, then. Son, you have to win. That chef, what’s-his-name, Fu Yuan, is still mocking you online. You have to crush him!"

Lin Qiu said with an indignant huff.

’She could criticize her son, but no one else was allowed to!’

"I knooow," Jiang Liu drawled in response.

Jiang Dahai frowned anxiously and asked from the side, "Son, I heard from Old Jun that the rule for the competition is that you each choose one dish to go up against the other?"

"That’s right."

"Are you confident? What dish are you planning to make?"

Jun Qingmeng’s eyes fell on Jiang Liu; she was very invested in this matter.

Jiang Liu smiled. "Want to know?"

"Yes!" Tongtong was the first to raise her little hand, ever her daddy’s loyal sidekick.

"Honey, I want to know too," Jun Qingmeng said, pursing her lips.

Jiang Dahai smacked his lips and glanced at Lin Qiu.

Jiang Liu chuckled. "In that case, follow me into the kitchen, and I’ll let you have a taste."

The dish he was preparing for the competition was a hot and sour soup.

Hot and sour soup is a famous traditional Sichuan soup. It is sour with a hint of spice, followed by a fragrant aroma. It’s an excellent appetizer, and many important figures who have tried it have praised it endlessly.

However, Jiang Liu’s version was different from the ones commonly available. If ninety-nine percent of the hot and sour soups on the market were knockoffs, then his was the complete, improved original.

Its flavor was even more outstanding than the original.

Although the traditional recipe is delicious, it still has some shortcomings.

"Yay!"

"Daddy, I want some!" Tongtong’s eyes lit up at the mention of food.

However, just at that moment, Jun Xinghe walked in carrying a bottle of red wine. With him was a middle-aged, bespectacled man with a receding hairline, wearing a black-and-white checkered shirt.

Jiang Liu stopped and waved.

Jun Xinghe looked surprised as he walked in. "What are you all doing standing here? Haven’t you eaten yet?"

Jiang Liu had told him the meal was ready, so he’d even brought a bottle of red wine to go with it.

"We were waiting for you," Jiang Dahai said with a chuckle as he walked over to take the wine. He then looked politely at the middle-aged man with the receding hairline and asked, "And this is?"

"Oh, hello, Mr. Jiang. I’m a reporter Boss Jun invited to document and film the competition."

The man was very polite, bowing slightly as he shook Jiang Dahai’s hand.

Jun Xinghe chuckled and added, "I plan on using this opportunity to boost Xiao Jiang’s public profile a little."

’Of course, what he didn’t say was that if Jiang Liu lost, they’d just drop the whole thing.’

"Old Jun, you’ve gone to too much trouble. Please, have a seat. Mr. Reporter, you too."

As the man of the house, Jiang Dahai took the lead in showing them to their seats.

Jun Xinghe looked at the spread on the table and feigned displeasure. "Old Jiang, honestly. I told you all to go ahead and eat. You didn’t need to wait for me."

He wouldn’t have said such a thing to strangers, but Jun Xinghe truly considered Jiang Liu’s family to be his own.

He was genuinely unhappy that his family had waited for him while hungry.

Lin Qiu jumped in, explaining with a smile, "Old Jiang said we should start, but the ’kids’ insisted on waiting for you."

"Is that so..." A warmth spread through Jun Xinghe’s chest. He was used to being on his own and wasn’t a sentimental person, so for a moment, he was at a loss for words.

Jun Qingmeng added, "It was Jiang Liu’s idea. He wanted to wait and eat with you."

As she spoke, Jun Qingmeng reached under the table and took Jiang Liu’s hand.

Jun Xinghe deliberately put on a stern face. "Xiao Jiang, don’t do this again. When it’s time to eat, you eat. You can’t let Tongtong go hungry."

Jiang Liu shrugged. "Alright, I get it."

Looking at the table piled high with food, the reporter, Gong Shen, swallowed hard. He had fought tooth and nail with other agencies for this opportunity, and Jun Xinghe had to call in quite a few favors to make it happen.

Normally, when a news agency provided publicity, people ended up owing them. In Jiang Liu’s case, however, it was the exact opposite.

"Chairman Kui, bring the red wine over and open it," Jun Xinghe said, suddenly in the mood for a drink.

"Right, right away." Kui Shen scrambled to his feet to open the wine.

Jiang Dahai’s eyes filled with anticipation.

"Xiao Jiang, you’re having a couple of drinks with your Uncle later!" Jun Xinghe’s face was red with excitement. ’I’ll post this on my feed later and show off a little,’ he thought.

"Sure," Jiang Liu nodded.

’If he wants to drink, let him have a little.’

Seated at the table, Jun Qingmeng’s expression turned cold. "Drink?" she said, her voice sharp with displeasure. "How could you suggest such a terrible idea? Jiang Liu has a competition soon. It was bad enough that he had to wait for you on an empty stomach, but now you want him to drink alcohol?"

Being utterly devoted, she naturally had to protect her husband at every turn.

Lin Qiu and Jiang Dahai lowered their heads, pretending they saw nothing.

Jiang Tongtong’s eyes sparkled as she stared at Jun Qingmeng without blinking.

’She loved seeing her mom protect her dad! She found it especially captivating when her mom got fierce!’

...