Huang Tao took Xu Hao to the market.

As soon as they entered the market,

the nearby vendors greeted him warmly, "Boss Huang, you're here to shop again?!"

Huang Tao responded with a smile, "Yes!"

Seeing him nod, the vendors immediately turned into Sherlock Holmes.

Based on his recent appearances at the market,

all for purchasing ingredients for new dishes...

Oh my~

Could it be that Boss Huang is launching a new dish at noon?!

The vendors quickly picked up on the important information!

One after another, they eagerly asked, "Boss Huang, what's the new dish at noon?"

Huang Tao answered while walking, "Crab stir-fried rice cakes! Come and try it if you have time!"

Wow!

It's crab stir-fried rice cakes!

The plump crabs with red roe, stir-fried with soft chewy rice cakes, must taste absolutely delicious.

Just hearing the dish name made the vendors drool!

They wanted to eat it!

Since they wanted to eat, they decided to go buy it early at noon!

Thinking of being able to eat Boss Huang's crab stir-fried rice cakes at noon, the vendors were in high spirits, not caring if it was impulsive or not, reasonable or not, they just really wanted to eat Boss Huang's crab stir-fried rice cakes.

At this point, Huang Tao, with Xu Hao, arrived at the seafood stall.

The seafood stall owner was very happy to see Huang Tao stop by, feeling lucky to finally be favored by Lady Luck.

Seeing Huang Tao looking down at the prawns and crabs in the basket, the seafood stall owner eagerly said, "Boss Huang, these are freshly unloaded, very fresh. Look, these blue crabs are still alive!"

"These blue crabs, how much per kilo?" Huang Tao pointed at the blue crabs still blowing bubbles in the basket.

The seafood stall owner thought for a moment and smiled, "They usually sell for 30 yuan per kilo, but for you, Boss Huang, the lowest price is 25 yuan per kilo. How much would you like?"

Huang Tao saw that the quality of these blue crabs was indeed very good.

Thinking that his parents were also around, he decided to buy a bit more, so he could treat them, Xuanxuan, and the two employees to some steamed crabs for lunch.

"Let's start with 100 kilos!"

"Alright!"

With that, the seafood stall owner began to help select the crabs.

Huang Tao also got hands-on, selecting the crabs.

Selecting crabs requires some skill.

First look, second check, third weigh, fourth pinch.

The first step is to check the color of the blue crab.

If it's entirely white, it indicates that the crab's meat is very plump, as the nutrition has been well-absorbed.

The second step is to hold it up to the light and look closely at the color of the two corners of the shell (commonly known as the sharp corners). A slight red color suggests it's full of roe.

To determine if the crab is plump or thin, check if the triangular area of the navel is full and purple-red.

The third step is to weigh it by hand.

This is similar to picking a pomelo.

Heavier is better.

However, if you don't have Huang Tao's skill to differentiate by 20 or 30 grams, just skip this step.

If you weigh it lightly, and the crab legs don't fall off, it means the crab is of high quality.

The fourth step is to pinch, pinch the crab legs and shell.

Pinch the base of the penultimate leg. If it's hard to pinch, it indicates that the crab is especially plump, even the legs are full of meat, so the body must have plenty of meat.

Otherwise, it's a thin crab.

This is a particularly accurate way to determine quality!

Only insiders know this.

If the seafood stall owner sees you not weighing it, but pinching the leg base, they'll know you are an "insider"!

They will also recommend those genuinely plumper crabs, so you won't be duped again.

To distinguish male from female, look at the crab's navel.

A male crab's navel is triangular; a female crab's navel is round.

There's also a secondary type of female crab with a semi-circular, semi-pointed navel!

This kind of crab has roe and crab paste inside, which not only tastes wonderful but is also extremely nutritious.

"Boss Huang, you are a connoisseur..."

The seafood stall owner, observing Huang Tao's selection skill, immediately recognized him as an insider.

He felt fortunate not to have chosen subpar ones for him.

Otherwise, not only would it have been embarrassing,

this big order might have also been lost!

He reminded himself internally that for anything Boss Huang requires, he must select only the highest quality crabs.

"Just a little knowledge, just a little."

Huang Tao smiled modestly and said.

After making the selection, Huang Tao looked at the blue crabs the seafood stall owner picked for him, and they were all top quality.

He felt that the seafood stall owner was someone worth dealing with and considered forming a long-term business relationship.

He immediately asked for the seafood stall owner's contact information.

The seafood stall owner was very shrewd!

He quickly realized that Huang Tao was interested in a long-term partnership!

He promptly offered to help with deliveries and promised that as long as Huang Tao needed goods, he would ensure priority delivery with guaranteed quality.

Huang Tao nodded in agreement and thanked him.

After buying the blue crabs and washing his hands, Huang Tao, accompanied by Xu Hao, bought the required water-milled rice cakes at the cake stall before heading to the frozen goods stall.

He intended to buy some duck necks to diversify his selection of marinated flavors.

"Excuse me, do you have frozen duck necks here?"

"Yes, we do, Boss Huang. Look, these here are the high-quality ones, these are mid-range, and the ones on the far edge are the lower-end ones. The prices for these three grades are different, but rest assured, I will give you the best price, Boss Huang. Which grade do you want?" the frozen goods stall owner hastily got up and said attentively.

"I want the best grade."

"Okay, the duck necks are packed 24 pounds per box, with 12 packs in a box, 8 pieces per pack. How many boxes would you like, Boss Huang?"

"Give me ten boxes for now!"

Upon hearing this, the frozen goods stall owner nearly grinned from ear to ear.

He swiftly moved the goods.

After everything was purchased, the frozen goods stall owner also offered to help with the delivery.

One must definitely hold onto a big customer like Boss Huang!

After all, there aren't many customers who buy ten boxes of duck necks at a time, and if not handled well, losing such a customer would be a huge loss...

Since the other party was willing to help with the home delivery, Huang Tao naturally wouldn't refuse.

The frozen goods stall owner briefly instructed his wife, then attentively drove and delivered all the purchased ingredients to the Delicious Restaurant.

Back at the restaurant.

He saw Ding Suqin, Huang Yide, and Jiang Guowei all helping to unload and move goods.

Xu Hao, seeing this, also joined in this "group exercise."

"Dad, don't carry something so heavy; be careful not to strain your back."

Huang Tao stepped forward, reaching to take the duck neck box from his dad's hands.

"Don't worry, I know my limits!"

Huang Yide, holding the box of duck necks, bypassed Huang Tao and briskly walked into the store.

To show he was still spry and vigorous!

"Uncle is really going strong!" Jiang Guowei said with admiration, watching Huang Yide's back.

Huang Tao patted Jiang Guowei on the shoulder, thanking him, "Thanks, Jiang..."

"Just giving a hand; it's nothing much,"

Jiang Guowei replied with a cheerful smile.

Every day, having Huang Tao set aside food for him and offering some help in return seemed only fair.

"Daddy..."

Still helping her grandparents peel longans, Xuanxuan perked up at the sound of her father's voice, quickly looking toward the shop door. Spotting her dad, she instantly dropped the half-peeled longan and ran to him eagerly.

Song Cailian called out worriedly and with concern at Xuanxuan's back, "Xuanxuan, slow down, slow down…"

"Ah!"

Huang Tao, intending to help move goods, quickly walked over, squatting down to catch the running Xuanxuan and scoop her into his arms.

He picked her up and couldn't resist planting a kiss on her forehead, asking, "Did you miss Daddy?"

"Yes, I did."

Xuanxuan nodded earnestly, dimples emerging on her cheeks.

"Daddy missed Xuanxuan too."

Huang Tao affectionately tapped her little nose, making Xuanxuan burst into giggles.

Seeing her little hands were dirty, Huang Tao curiously asked, "What were you doing just now, Xuanxuan?"

"I was helping grandma peel longans! Grandma says that Daddy has been working hard recently, and Xuanxuan has been studying hard too, so she wants to make longan soup with egg to nourish us!" Xuanxuan blinked her beautiful big eyes.

He generously praised, "Xuanxuan is amazing, helping grandma with chores!"

Hearing her father's praise, Xuanxuan's grin grew even wider.

"Tao, you must be tired, take a seat for a moment…"

Song Cailian said, pouring him a glass of water.

Huang Tao looked at the scattered longans on the table; their appearance was quite ordinary.

Huh?

His mom, who always had a high standard for quality, bought longans with such an average appearance?

Feeling puzzled, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Mom, these longans don't look so great; why did you buy them?"

Song Cailian softly replied, "I saw the old lady selling them was quite elderly, just like your grandmother."

Upon hearing this, he fell silent.

Thinking of his grandmother who passed away more than five years ago.

Yet, deep affection and longing cannot be easily spoken nor let go as one wishes.

Perhaps time might ease it, but some love etched in the heart may last a lifetime.

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