Chapter 170 — The Happy Tang Zhi Family
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
"What? Getting greedy?" Mother Tang had not tasted it yet, but judging by the aroma alone she could tell it would be delicious. Grilled like this at the school gate or on a snack street, there would surely be no shortage of customers. "It'll be ready in a moment — I'll let you have a taste first!"
Tang Jucheng felt a little ashamed. Lying in bed, he could do nothing at all, yet when mother and daughter had something good, they still gave it to him first — which made him feel utterly useless. If not for the depth of his love for his wife, and his certainty that if anything happened to him she would be heartbroken, he would have wanted to end it all himself.
For all that his wife grumbled about this and that, saying she had made the wrong choice back then, she still worked herself to the bone every day for this family, keeping the household in perfect order.
"Yun'er, take this chicken wing to your father to taste." Mother Tang handed a freshly grilled wing to Tang Zhi and told her to bring it to Tang Jucheng.
Tang Zhi took the wing and looked at it — golden-brown, giving off an irresistible aroma — and could not help swallowing. It really did smell wonderful! But she could not bear to eat it. She ran to her father's sickbed and handed the wing to Tang Jucheng.
"Yun'er, you eat it." How could Tang Jucheng fail to see the longing in Tang Zhi's eyes? A girl of eighteen or nineteen was at the age when she was growing; ordinarily, Tang Jucheng did eat some of the less fresh meat skewers, but that was only out of fear that Tang Zhi would eat the leftovers and upset her stomach, affecting her schooling the next day. These chicken wings, though, were clearly freshly marinated and very fresh, so Tang Jucheng wanted his daughter to have them. "Dad, I'm not hungry. Eating too much makes me fat," Tang Zhi said, shaking her head.
"All right, you two, stop arguing. Old Tang, just eat it while it's hot. Another batch will be ready here in no time, and Yun'er and I will eat from this side!" Mother Tang said with a smile.
"All right then," Tang Jucheng said. Only after hearing his wife's endorsement did he nod and take the roasted chicken wing. One bite was all it took for his thumb to shoot up. "Well I'll be—the flavor really is something unique. I'd say this is bound to take off."
By then the remaining wings were done as well. Mother Tang handed a skewer to Tang Zhi and took one for herself.
Tang Zhi did not want to admit it, but this batch of wings was far, far better than any her mother had ever roasted before—indistinguishable from the ones Xiaofen's boyfriend had once treated her, Xiaofen, and Liu Xinsou to at that big restaurant.
"Yun'er, what do you think?" Mother Tang had not tasted hers yet, but seeing how eagerly Tang Zhi was eating, she felt sure this attempt had been a success.
"It's all right, I guess," Tang Zhi said against her own judgment. She did not want Wei Zhao to get too full of himself—though Wei Zhao was not even there beside her.
Mother Tang took a bite, and her eyes lit up at once. "You call this 'all right'? Child, have your taste buds gotten that picky? I'd say there's no difference between this and the signature wings at those big barbecue joints! From now on we roast them just like this—I'm telling you, it'll work. Tomorrow I'll go to the wholesale market and buy up a batch of seasonings."
"It should sell better than before," Tang Zhi had to concede. The flavor really would draw more customers. True, most students ate just to fill their bellies and were not terribly fussy about taste—so long as it beat the school cafeteria, that was enough—but there was no denying that good food always brought in more buyers.
"Yun'er, this weekend, why don't you invite Wei Zhao and that classmate of his over to our house? I'll treat them to a barbecue, as a thank-you!" Mother Tang was eating happily, and she had not forgotten who dug the well.