Chapter 326: Chapter 325: Yun Chicken A-Level
Jiang Feng was making Yun Chicken.
After so many days of failure, Jiang Feng had a wealth of experience and unique insights into failed Yun Chicken.
As long as you are serious, attentive, and follow Cao Guixiang’s method, the Yun Chicken you make is bound to be a disaster.
This time he was somewhat distracted.
Jiang Feng was thinking about Jiang Weiming’s 99th birthday, contemplating what dish to prepare for him tomorrow. Sweet and Sour Yam would be too cliché, Fish Head with Chopped Chili would be like showing off before experts, and making Yun Chicken was basically just another disaster not fit to be served.
When Jiang Feng habitually thought about adding sugar to make the sauce, he suddenly remembered Jiang Shoucheng telling him to use less sugar. Jiang Feng knew Jiang Shoucheng’s tastes very well; he liked sour and sweet flavors like a child, so it could be tangy but not too sweet.
A few minutes later, the Yun Chicken was ready.
[Yun Chicken Grade A]
Jiang Feng: ???
The Yun Chicken he had carefully and meticulously made had all turned out to be disasters, yet the one he casually made for Jiang Shoucheng turned out to be a success.
Could it be because Yun Chicken was originally a dish Cao Guixiang made up on the fly for Zhang Zhiyuan, so it required a nonchalant attitude to succeed?
Jiang Feng took a bite with his chopsticks.
Sweet and sour, appetizing, with a crispy outer layer—it was a taste kids would love.
Thinking back on how he had just made the Yun Chicken, Jiang Feng didn’t see any difference. He had simply prepared it according to Jiang Shoucheng’s taste preference.
Could it be that he just got lucky and finally made a Grade A dish?
Soon, Jiang Feng stopped wondering whether it was sheer luck or not. His thoughts drifted to the afternoon he was punished by Sir to wash pig intestines.
It was a flavorful afternoon, but during dinner, Sir made a special dish of Nine Turns Intestine just for him. It was the most delicious Nine Turns Intestine he had ever tasted, made especially for him—neither Jiang Shoucheng nor Jiang Zaide got a share.
Having finally made a Grade A Yun Chicken, Jiang Feng felt a bit excited. He stir-fried some green and white vegetables haphazardly, plated them, and, as always, headed to the emergency department with the dishes.
At noon, the emergency department was filled with the aroma of takeout. Jiang Shoucheng was sitting on a small stool in the observation room, able to distinguish the scents of many restaurants’ takeout just by the smell.
Man Kee’s stewed pork rice, Zhao Family’s Teriyaki Chicken Cutlet, the back gate’s Braised Chicken, the vice-principal’s aunt’s Mapo Tofu, Yonghe House’s…
Hey, what’s that? It smells like Yonghe House’s jarred pork.
The aroma of jarred pork wafted closer, and Jiang Shoucheng couldn’t help but peer toward the entrance. Sure enough, Dr. Lu’s wife was carrying jarred pork packed from Yonghe House to deliver to her husband’s office.
It seemed that today Dr. Lu’s wife was too busy to make him a lunchbox of love, so she had to get a packed meal for him from Yonghe House.
Two minutes later, Zhou walked out of the break room and returned with a plate of minced meat eggplant rice. The bonus had just been distributed yesterday, three months’ worth at once. It looked like Zhou was planning to upgrade his meal today.
Jiang Shoucheng looked toward the door with eager anticipation.
He was hungry. He had only eaten a bowl of noodles, six buns, and a bowl of wontons for breakfast. In the morning, he also just had two packs of instant noodles and a portion of what tasted like sweet and sour chicken, which he snacked on as Yun Chicken.
Now was lunchtime, and the whole emergency department was surrounded by the fragrance of meals. Jiang Shougheng felt he could eat six portions of braised pork rice.
“Jiang, haven’t had lunch yet? Let’s have some instant noodles together, have a couple of packs to fill up the stomach,” said Xu and Sun, who had quickly finished their instant noodle lunch, as they came out of the break room and warmly invited Jiang Shoucheng to join them.
“No thanks, my little brother will bring me lunch soon!” Jiang Shoucheng immediately refused. He was quite clear on the distinction between proper meals and snacks.
As he spoke, Jiang Feng walked in with Yun Chicken and two plates of vegetables.
“Second brother, did you order rice for takeout?” asked Jiang Feng.
“I did, it’s all in the break room,” replied Jiang Shoucheng as he put away the stool and couldn’t help but express admiration, “This stool is of really good quality, I’ve got to buy one myself!”
Jiang Feng: …
Both men pushed open the door to the lounge, where Zhou was sitting and eating minced meat eggplant over rice.
Seeing Jiang Feng come in, Zhou quickly put down his disposable chopsticks to fetch Jiang Feng ginseng, two big bags of it, with large plastic bags stuffed full.
“There aren’t any specialties from my hometown, but if you like them and want more after you finish these, just let me know, and I’ll have my grandpa send some more,” Zhou said, as reserved as ever, before returning to his meal.
“Thanks a lot,” Jiang Feng said with a smile.
Jiang Shoucheng had been hungry for almost half an hour now. The sour and sweet smell of the Yun Chicken was so appetizing, and now that he could finally eat, he eagerly picked up a piece of Yun Chicken and popped it in his mouth in one go.
Delicious!
Jiang Shoucheng felt that the Yun Chicken he was eating now was much tastier than the one he had in the morning; the earlier one was too sweet and not to his taste, but he could tell this one was specially made for him by his younger brother.
My little brother really does love me!
Jiang Shoucheng instantly forgot the pain of having to eat unsalted boiled broccoli in the previous period.
Jiang Shoucheng picked up the second piece.
He remembered the times he would slack off while practicing cooking at his grandfather’s house as a child, getting caught by Sir, who then severely punished him before assigning him to chop winter melon.
Although the punishment hurt, the winter melon soup he ate that evening was really delicious.
It was a winter melon soup Sir had specially made for him, perfectly suited to his taste. The soup was usually made with dried shrimp, but Sir used fresh shrimp that time because Jiang Shoucheng was very fond of fresh shrimp during that period.
The harshest punishment, the tastiest winter melon soup.
Jiang Shoucheng picked up the third piece of Yun Chicken.
He remembered his 10th birthday when his parents took him to an amusement park in the neighboring city, which was newly built and also featured a water park.
Jiang Shoucheng picked up the fourth piece of Yun Chicken.
He remembered slacking off with De when they were kids and then dumping the responsibility on Jiang Feng.
Jiang Shoucheng picked up the fifth piece of Yun Chicken.
He recalled when he slacked off alone as a child and then dumped the blame on Jiang Feng, for which Jiang Feng was punished by Sir and had to wash pig intestines for an entire afternoon.
Jiang Shoucheng…
Gradually, Jiang Shoucheng fell into his memories, blessed with so many wonderful recollections with his family that spun through his mind like an old movie on loop.
Tears welled up in Jiang Shoucheng’s eyes as he exclaimed, “Little brother, I’m sorry!”
Jiang Feng: ???
Jiang Feng reached for another piece of Yun Chicken.
He remembered the day of the college entrance examination’s end, how extremely hot it was, with a few steps outside enough to drench one in sweat. The cacophony of cicadas was exceptionally annoying, agitating the mind. When he and his classmates walked out of the exam hall, Jiang Jiankang was standing at the school gate with a big palm-leaf fan, smiling at him.
Even though there were cooler places to rest near the school, Jiang Jiankang insisted on standing at the gate and watching him come out for peace of mind.
Jiang Feng remembered how that day Jiang Jiankang was wearing a white tank top, completely soaked with sweat, his forehead and face dripping, and in his hand, he held a newly opened bottle of ice water, which he handed to him the moment he saw him come out.
“Son, how did the exam go? No worries if it wasn’t good, our Jiang family has already produced a number one scholar, and we’re not short of one more. We’re not asking for top-notch universities, just make it into a 985 or 211 university, that’ll be fine. Your mom’s gone to buy you some iced watermelon, you…”
Jiang Feng smiled.
This really is a warm and comforting dish, the flavor of home.