Seeing that her dad was tired from carrying her, Xuanxuan offered to walk on her own.

Now, the father and daughter, hand in hand, strolled through West City Old Street.

Some old folks out for a walk greeted them as they passed by.

"Boss Huang, picking Xuanxuan up from school?"

"Yes, and you're out for a stroll…" Huang Tao smiled and nodded to them.

Xuanxuan waved her little hand at them, politely saying, "Hello, grandpas and grandmas…"

"Hello… What a good girl…"

"Boss Huang, save me ten pan-fried buns, any filling will do, and two bowls of preserved egg and pork congee. I'll be over soon!"

"You better come early then, as we have only half as many pan-fried buns tonight compared to usual."

All this was part of Huang Tao's plan.

Currently, the lunch and dinner menus focus on steamed ribs with lotus leaf sticky rice, nourishing fish soup, and braised pig trotters, with pan-fried buns and preserved egg and pork congee as sides.

As new dishes are introduced, the quantity of pan-fried buns and preserved egg and pork congee will continue to decrease.

Eventually, they'll become a breakfast specialty.

But the old folks were worried upon hearing this.

"Half as much? Who's that enough for?"

Huang Tao maintained his charming smile and patiently said, "We still have steamed ribs with lotus leaf sticky rice and nourishing fish soup! Although the buns and congee are less, there'll be more ribs and soup than usual."

"All right then, I'll head over now to queue up."

Huang Tao nodded: "Good, I'll head back to the shop. See you there later."

"Grandpa, grandma, see you in a bit…" Xuanxuan, with a slight dimple, waved back at them as they walked.

They arrived at the store entrance.

There was still a crowd gathered outside.

Most of them were just chatting.

Some were discussing mahjong, some fishing, some family issues, and others gossiping about entertainment, such as a male celebrity whose decade of effort went up in smoke, being banned overnight, with all his titles stripped, and facing a multi-million endorsement compensation claim on the way…

In short, the front of the store was bustling like a small market.

"Oh, Boss Huang is back."

The crowd parted neatly and Huang Tao led Xuanxuan closer, hearing voices saying, "Boss Huang is back" and "Xuanxuan is back from school."

Huang Tao responded with a courteous smile: "Yes, I'm back…"

After greeting them, Xuanxuan happily scooped up Mimi, who was sunbathing at the door, and carried her into the store together.

As soon as they entered, Ding Suqin and Xu Hao came forward, putting on a warm, welcome home display.

Xuanxuan looked at the unfamiliar Xu Hao, her big, beautiful eyes sparkling with surprise.

She was momentarily stunned.

Huang Tao patted Xuanxuan's little head and pointed at Xu Hao, introducing, "Xuanxuan, this is Dad's new assistant chef…"

Oh~

With understanding, Xuanxuan gave Xu Hao a bright smile and crisp greeting: "Hello Uncle."

Uncle…

Haozi nearly cracked up.

It was the first time he'd been called an uncle, somewhat flustered — was he already old at 22?

His face darkened as he grumbled, "I'm only 22 years old!"

Huang Tao glanced up at him.

Ding Suqin was silent for a moment, then said, "But you don't look 22! You look more like 26 or 27."

Xu Hao nearly knelt before Ding Suqin… Suqin, why did you have to be so brutally honest? Life is already tough, do some things really need to be spoken aloud?

Speaking of this!

It reminded him of the summer of his sophomore year in high school when he had to return to school early for something.

Coincidentally, the freshmen were undergoing military training, and he bumped into them.

At the time, he was wearing shorts, with a backpack slung over his shoulders.

The instructor saw him and commanded the freshmen to stand at attention and salute him.

He was puzzled at that moment.

He was just a sophomore, and an underperforming student at that, why were they saluting him?

As he got closer, the freshmen, led by the instructor, shouted to him:

"Hello, teacher!"

At that moment, there were tens of thousands of crazy creatures rampaging in his mind ahhhhhh…

From that day on, he realized he looked older than he was Ծ‸Ծ.

This latest double blow left his wounded spirit a bit distressed.

Unwilling to give up, he pulled out his phone as a last resort, crouched down, and offered it with both hands, saying sweetly, "Xuanxuan, how about I play cartoons for you on my phone?"

Xuanxuan didn't reply but looked to Huang Tao.

Though tempted, she needed her dad's nod of approval.

Huang Tao nodded: "Xuanxuan, if you want to, go ahead, but only for half an hour. We have to protect your eyes, okay?"

"Yes, yes, Xuanxuan got it."

Like a little chick pecking at grains, Xuanxuan nodded, then gave Xu Hao a sweet smile: "Thank you, Uncle, I'll watch Peppa Pig for half an hour!"

While finding Peppa Pig cartoons for her, Xu Hao chuckled helplessly and said, "No problem, but don't call me uncle. Call me brother, got it?"

"Got it, uncle," Xuanxuan's little eyes never left the phone screen as she replied subconsciously.

Xu Hao couldn't help but be moved to tears…

He shook his head helplessly: "If you won't call me brother, at least don't call me uncle, just call me Haozi."

Xuanxuan's eyes turned into crescents as she said, "Sure, Uncle Rat."

Xu Hao was in despair…

Sigh!

The kids these days are harder to trick!

Huang Tao stepped in to smooth things over: "Haozi, it's getting late, and there are quite a few customers waiting outside. Let's prepare to open up."

"Alright, boss…"

Xu Hao went to wash his hands and get ready.

Huang Tao gently patted her little head and softly said, "Xuanxuan, go ahead and play, Dad has to work with Uncle and Auntie now. I'll bring you a fish soup later."

Xuanxuan answered with a soft "Mm," being very well-behaved.

Noticing a big box beside her chair, her curiosity piqued: "Daddy, what's in this box?"

"Oh! It's apples and some snacks your grandma sent you."

"Can Xuanxuan eat them?"

"You can, just don't eat too much since dinner's soon."

With a cheeky gesture, Xuanxuan made an ok sign, then took out a bag of chips to share with Mimi.

In front of food, Mimi dropped her aloof act and meowed at Xuanxuan.

Huang Tao watched them sharing chips and watching cartoons, being so harmonious, he felt reassured and got back to work.

A short while later.

Huang Tao had finished steaming some sticky rice ribs, pan-frying some buns, and making some nourishing fish soup.

Customers waiting outside, enticed by the aroma, lined up and entered the store.

"Waiter, I'd like two orders of sticky rice ribs, two braised pig trotters, two bowls of nourishing fish soup, to-go, thanks."

"Okay, please wait a moment."

Ding Suqin smiled and served them, turning to pack two braised pig trotters from the warm pot, then quickly packed the rest.

With the experience from packing breakfast and lunch orders and her nimble hands, she was now fully competent at the task.

Busy with a steady rhythm.

However, she noticed quite a few unfamiliar faces in the queue, thinking they must be drawn by the reputation.

After all, the boss's cooking is really amazing.

She figured they were probably here for that.

Huang Tao, amid his busyness, would glance over to check on Xuanxuan in the corner.

But Xuanxuan had already set the phone aside on the table.

Though Peppa Pig was entertaining.

She still honored the agreement with her Dad to protect her eyes and only watched for half an hour.

She wasn't eating snacks anymore either.

She took a picture book from her bag, spread it on the table, and read it carefully.

Mimi was napping beside her chair.

When Huang Tao's gaze fell on her, the little one seemed to sense it and looked up at him.

When their eyes met.

Her rosy little face displayed a faint dimple.

Huang Tao winked at her, letting her know he was always keeping an eye on her!

Then he rejoined the work.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.