The gift box she bought back then cost five or six hundred yuan for just a dozen or so crisps.

It was ridiculously expensive.

"Right, Grandma? Dad made them."

Jiang Tongtong continued to look at Lin Qiu with anticipation.

Lin Qiu said with a smile, "My son is amazing. The almond crisps he makes are the most delicious!"

"Hehe, of course. Tongtong’s dad is the best dad in the world," Jiang Tongtong said smugly.

Listening from the side, Jiang Liu almost laughed out loud.

"You guys sit for a bit. I’ll go make some food."

He decided to make braised prawns.

He selected fresh river prawns.

Doused in craft beer and seasoned with his secret "royal" spice blend, they would turn out unbelievably fragrant.

It would blow any other recipe out of the water.

Jiang Liu got the garlic, green onions, dried chili peppers, and ginger ready.

He took out the prawns and began to devein them—a step many restaurants were too lazy to take.

"Wow, Dad, are we eating prawns today?"

"Daddy, why are you hurting the little prawns?!"

"Then you don’t have to eat any."

"SOB, SOB... I permit you to hurt the little prawns."

After deveining the prawns, Jiang Liu submerged them in the craft beer to soak.

He flash-fried the prawns in a wok of hot oil.

The moment they hit the scorching oil, the river prawns instantly turned red and curled up, their savory aroma slowly wafting from the wok.

Tongtong watched, mesmerized. "Daddy, are you performing a magic trick?"

Jiang Liu explained, "Prawns contain a lot of red pigments. When exposed to high heat, the proteins break down..."

"So, the prawns turn red when they get hot."

"I don’t get it!" Jiang Tongtong declared confidently.

Jun Qingmeng was a little surprised to hear this.

’My husband knows so much,’ she thought. ’No wonder he was such a good student.’

After flash-frying the prawns, he poured out most of the oil, leaving just a little in the wok.

Jiang Liu tossed in the prepared green onions, ginger, garlic, and chili peppers. Then he added black vinegar, light and dark soy sauces, two spoonfuls of white sugar to bring out the flavor, salt, oyster sauce, and another splash of craft beer.

Simple and unadorned.

He put the lid on to let it simmer.

Seven or eight minutes passed.

When he figured it was about done, Jiang Liu lifted the lid. The aroma exploded out with a WHOOSH.

Tongtong sniffed the air with all her might, as if afraid to let any of the fragrance go to waste.

"Honey, is it ready yet?" Jun Qingmeng’s mouth was watering.

"Almost! Is the rice ready?"

"I’ll go check!"

As he spoke, Jiang Liu added some cornstarch to thicken the sauce and garnished it with chopped green onions.

Then he covered it again for another minute.

A dish of glistening, bright-red braised prawns was ready.

Nearly a hundred of them in total.

More than enough for the five of them.

"Daddy, let me feed you one!" Tongtong clumsily peeled a prawn, dipped it in the sauce, and held it to Jiang Liu’s lips.

Jiang Liu ate it in one bite. The prawn meat was tender and white, and coated in the savory, spicy, glistening red sauce, the taste was absolutely divine.

"Mmm! The prawn my daughter fed me is delicious!"

"Hehe, what Daddy makes is yummy too!"

"Go on, eat up."

Lin Qiu and Jiang Dahai had already peeled several prawns. They dipped the meat in the thick sauce, placed it on their rice, and took a bite, their mouths filling with fragrance.

You could only say this wasn’t just eating; it was an experience.

During the meal, Jiang Liu asked, "Qingmeng, do you think your dad will like the almond crisps?"

A sweet feeling filled Jun Qingmeng’s heart as she nodded affirmatively. "He’ll definitely like them."

’If he doesn’t, I’ll just force him to,’ she thought.

"Great. I’ll pick up a nice gift box tomorrow to pack the almond crisps in."

"Mhm, whatever you say," Jun Qingmeng said in a soft voice.

After dinner.

The family of five went for a little walk.

They faced the fading sunset, watching the gray doves fly past.

「Elsewhere.」

Jun Xinghe walked out of the conference room with a file and went straight back to his office.

In another twenty minutes, he had to attend a meeting about revising the management system for the pharmaceutical factory.

Secretary Wang thoughtfully brought him his meal.

Jun Xinghe quickly ate a few bites, then expressionlessly wiped his mouth with a wet wipe.

Ever since he had tasted Jiang Liu’s cooking, everything else he ate felt like just going through the motions.

Wang Zhe said, "President Jun, after your meeting, you still need to discuss the research trip to Europe with several shareholders. Please don’t forget."

"Mm. Is my flight for tomorrow booked?"

"It’s booked!"

Jun Xinghe said no more, leaning back in his soft ergonomic chair to rest his eyes.

「8:30 PM.」

The meeting ended.

"Goodbye, President Jun!"

"Good work, President Jun."

The departing senior and middle managers paid their respects quietly and politely.

Jun Xinghe simply smiled and nodded in response.

His phone vibrated.

He took it out and glanced at the screen.

Jun Qingmeng had sent him a message: "Six Flavors Restaurant tomorrow, 11:30. Don’t forget!"

Jun Xinghe, feeling listless, casually replied, "Got it."

Jun Qingmeng: "My boyfriend is taking this meeting with you very seriously. He just made a batch of almond crisps especially for you. I hope you’ll give them a serious critique. Thank you."

Jun Xinghe was quite surprised after reading the text.

’My daughter’s boyfriend knows how to make dessert?’

’Not many men know how to do that these days.’

’My impression of him improved slightly, but so what? Even if it’s good, it won’t be as good as Boss Jiang’s.’

Jun Xinghe only admired Jiang Liu; everyone else could step aside.

’Sigh, I haven’t been to South City to eat lately. I feel like I’ve lost a few pounds. I’ll have to eat a lot more tomorrow. If only Boss Jiang could pack me a few days’ worth to go...’

Jun Xinghe fantasized.

He knew it was impossible. Boss Jiang would never make an exception for him; after all, they had no special connection.

And it wasn’t a matter of money; Boss Jiang wasn’t short on cash.

Jun Xinghe sent another perfunctory reply.

He wasn’t in the mood.

After replying, he went back to his work.

...

「9:00 PM.」

Jiang Liu lay on the bed, staring into space.

Jiang Tongtong was already fast asleep.

Just moments ago, she had been bouncing on the bed, excitedly yelling about how Daddy was taking her out to play tomorrow.

A few minutes later, she was out like a light.

Jun Qingmeng was hugging one of Jiang Liu’s arms, her head resting against him. "Honey, you’re meeting my dad tomorrow. Are you nervous?"

"A little."

"Don’t worry, honey. I’ll become One-Punch Man and protect you!"

Jun Qingmeng clenched her little fist and thrust it into the air.

Jiang Liu smiled, looking at his adorable, lively wife.

"Then I guess I should thank One-Punch Man for the protection?"

"No need for thanks. I’m your wife!"

Jiang Liu casually gave her a flick on the forehead.

"Go to sleep!"

"SOB, SOB... You’re bullying me!"

"How about I hold you then? Be good now, let’s sleep, okay?"

"Okay~" Like a gentle kitten, Jun Qingmeng snuggled into Jiang Liu’s embrace, even taking his hand and placing it on her belly.

Jiang Liu glanced at his positive review count.

Over ninety thousand.

’Almost there.’

Yue Longfan had sent him a stream of messages again today.

Jiang Liu hadn’t read them. It was all just bragging about how popular their stall was and how awesome they were doing.

He sent a message to Yue Longfan: "Tomorrow’s the last day. Finish up, pack everything away properly, and come back. When you get back to the shop, we’ll start a two-shift system."

He transferred him 30,000 yuan.

Over 10,000 of that was for expenses.

Jiang Liu typed: "The rest is yours. Give Xiao Han a bonus, too."

Yue Longfan was ecstatic. "Thank you, Master!!"

"Long live Master!"

Jiang Liu: "Good night."

Yue Longfan: "Good night, Master."

To this day, the thing Yue Longfan was most grateful for was his decision to follow Jiang Liu.

His intuition told him that by following Jiang Liu, he would achieve things he couldn’t even dare to imagine now.

Jiang Liu looked at his phone for a while longer. Listening to the gentle breathing of Jun Qingmeng and Tongtong, he drifted into sleep.

...