Seeing that his father-in-law's condition had stabilized, Feng Yifan asked his uncle to stay by his father-in-law's bedside while he tiptoed out of the room.
When he retreated to the door of the room, he saw his wife and daughter guarding the door. Both his wife and daughter's faces were filled with worry. They were even afraid to go in and take a look because of worry and fear.
Feng Yifan squatted down and picked up his daughter, then reached out to hold his daughter in his arms and comforted her softly.
"It's all right now. Don't worry. Let the two brothers have a good chat. We'll go downstairs first. The restaurant will be open soon."
After hearing Feng Yifan's comfort, Su Ruoxi and Feng Ruoruo rested their heads on Feng Yifan's shoulders respectively, and the worries in their hearts were completely calmed down.
Feng Yifan then led the mother and daughter downstairs. There were already quite a few guests sitting downstairs. When they saw the family of three coming downstairs, they all smiled.
"Boss and boss lady, you two are really in love."
"Yes, yes, and the young boss is here too. This scene is so heartwarming."
"It seemed like the old boss was not feeling well just now? Is he okay now?"
"Boss, is the old boss okay?"
…
Hearing some well-intentioned inquiries from diners, Feng Yifan responded sincerely: "Well, everything is fine now. Thank you for your concern. We are open as usual today at Su Ji. You can start ordering."
Su Ruoxi gradually recovered. Thinking that her father should be fine, she calmed down, got out of her husband's arms, and began to greet the guests.
"Well, everyone can start ordering. Our main dish tonight is long fish."
Long fish is also called eel. When it comes to eating eel, it is naturally familiar to the locals of Huaicheng. Moreover, there are many ways to cook eel in Huaicheng, and even each restaurant may have different ways.
The most common one, which is made by many families, is "Big Burnt Saddle Bridge".
Some young people may be unfamiliar with this name, but it also has a more common name "grilled eel meat".
This dish is very common and also a very common dish. Simply put, it is pork belly and eel slices. Of course, some places use bacon or cured meat to cook it, which is basically the same.
The most famous eel cooking methods in Huaicheng are stir-fried soft eel and stir-fried tiger tail.
Many people may not be able to distinguish between these two dishes because both dishes only use the back of the eel for cooking.
Moreover, if the finished dish is not carefully arranged by the chef, many people may not be able to tell the difference just by looking at the appearance.
The biggest difference between the two dishes is that the stir-fried tiger tail can be served as a cold dish. And the stir-fried tiger tail can be eaten hot or cold, and eating it cold or hot will give you a different taste experience.
Fried soft-shelled pork must be eaten hot, otherwise it will not taste good.
I heard that Su Ji’s main dish today is eels, which naturally makes many diners full of expectations, especially some old diners who have already started to plan what to order
Su Ruoxi handed the menu to the guests. The old diners glanced at today's menu and started ordering immediately.
Stir-fried tiger tail and stir-fried soft-shelled turtle are what many old diners will order.
When ordering stir-fried tiger tail, old customers will ask for it to be heated up before eating, which will give it a different flavor.
In addition, some connoisseurs will quickly set their sights on an interesting dish on the menu.
The magical egg is stewed and cracked.
This dish is also made with eel, but in fact it is not a local dish of Huaicheng.
However, if you want to make this dish really well, the taste requirements are also very high, especially the processing of the eel is really labor-intensive and time-consuming.
When old diners see such a dish, they will naturally order one to try.
Finally, old customers will order the "Braised Navel".
This dish also uses eels, but it uses the belly part of the eel. So in terms of ingredients, it complements the stir-fried tiger tail and stir-fried soft pocket.
The old customer ordered very quickly and immediately ordered the dishes he wanted.
New diners are often a little confused and may order the more famous fried eel paste or stir-fried soft-shelled pork.
There are also some new diners who may not be very fond of eels and order other dishes.
Of course, these are the personal needs of the guests. Su Ruoxi didn't say much, and Feng Yifan even put his daughter down and went to the kitchen to start preparing.
After her mother finished writing the menu, Feng Ruoruo took the menu from her mother's hand, ran to the kitchen, and gave the menu to her father.
"Come on, Dad."
Feng Yifan smiled and nodded to his daughter: "Okay, Dad will definitely do his best."
After receiving the order, Feng Yifan and his apprentice started cooking.
In fact, cooking eels is relatively simple for Feng Yifan, because he had already processed the eels in the afternoon before making them.
Small eels are used to make stir-fried tiger tail, fried soft-shelled eels, and braised navel. They are killed directly in the afternoon. Use a wooden skewer to cut open the eel and remove the bones, separating all the meat from the spine and abdomen.
The reason for using a wooden skewer and knife is that the eel meat is very soft and fragile after being blanched.
If you use a kitchen knife, you may damage the meat and make the eel meat no longer intact, so you have to use a wooden skewer knife.
Of course, when working in the afternoon, Lin Ruifeng also learned from them seriously.
However, not only could Lin Ruifeng not keep up with the speed, but his knife was often not steady and accurate enough, and the eel meat was cut into pieces.
However, Feng Yifan would not throw away the broken parts, but would use them to make eel soup.
Because most of the pre-processing was done in the afternoon, the cooking efficiency in the evening was very high and the dishes could be served quickly.
When the new diners saw the dishes ordered by the old diners being served, they were all very curious, but also a little regretful that they did not follow the old diners and order.
The first things to be served were naturally the stir-fried tiger tail and stir-fried soft-shelled turtle.
Both dishes were served very quickly, but they were also a bit tricky to eat.
Usually, if the stir-fried tiger tail is cold, it will be served first and diners can eat it as a side dish to go with wine.
After the diners have had a few drinks, the fried soft-shelled pork will be served so that they can taste the deliciousness of the fried soft-shelled pork while it is still hot.
After eating a few pieces of fried soft dumplings and having a glass of wine, it is really very comfortable.
If the stir-fried tiger tail is to be heated, Feng Yifan will serve it together with the fried soft-shelled bun. Then the old diners will definitely eat the fried soft-shelled bun first, so that when the stir-fried tiger tail is cold, they can order rice or noodles to eat together.
The various ways of eating eaten by the old diners are also very novel to the new diners who come to Su Ji.
Especially some new diners who often come to Su Ji find that every time they come to Su Ji to eat, they always have some new experiences and see some eating methods that are rarely seen in other places.
Dishes were served one after another. Feng Yifan was becoming more and more skilled, so he was very efficient in serving the dishes.
After the first wave of customers' dishes were served, Feng Yifan took the time to come out of the kitchen and went upstairs to take a look at the two old brothers upstairs.
When Feng Ruoruo saw her father quietly going upstairs, she quickly followed him upstairs quietly.
Not long after Feng Yifan went upstairs, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw his daughter following him. He smiled and stretched out his hand to his daughter.
When the little girl saw her father extending his hand, she walked forward with a smile and took his hand.
The father and daughter came to the door of grandpa's room together. The two brothers talked a lot inside, sighing. It was obvious that the two brothers were also quite emotional about some people and things in the past.
Feng Ruoruo stood behind her father and peeked into her grandfather's room.
It was soon seen by Shi Jinbin who was sitting beside the bed.
"Jinrong, this is your granddaughter, right? Come in and let Grandpa Shi take a good look at her."
Su Jinrong also saw his granddaughter, and a smile naturally appeared on his face. He waved to her and said, "Ruoruo, come in and meet Grandpa Shi."
Feng Ruoruo was still a little embarrassed. Seeing this, Feng Yifan smiled and pulled his daughter out: "Don't be shy. Didn't you bring Grandpa Shi in here? So there's no need to be shy."
Finally, with encouragement, Feng Ruoruo also walked into her grandfather's room and came to her grandfather's bedside.
"Grandpa, are you okay?"
Su Jinrong smiled while lying on the bed and replied, "Grandpa is fine."
Then, Su Jinrong pointed at Shi Jinbin and said, "Ruoruo, call me Grandpa Shi."
Feng Ruoruo was very obedient and turned to greet Shi Jinbin: "Hello, Grandpa Shi."
Shi Jinbin smiled: "Ruoruo is so well behaved. Jinrong, you really have a very cute and well-behaved granddaughter. I envy you. Your family must be very happy."
Feng Yifan then stepped forward and greeted him: "Hello, Master."
Shi Jinbin looked at Feng Yifan and sized him up and down. The tall Feng Yifan still gave a sense of oppression when he stood there.
However, Feng Yifan's attitude was relatively humble, but he was not the type who tried to be humble and flattering.
This also made Shi Jinbin look very satisfied.
"Well, very good. I heard about you before I came here. You went abroad alone for five years, and you came back completely transformed. Whether it's for your family or supporting Su Ji, you have done an impeccable job."
Feng Yifan immediately said, "Master, these are all praises from others. I actually have a lot of things I haven't done well."
Shi Jinbin smiled and said, "Whether it's good or not, everyone has a scale in their heart to measure it. You can ask your father-in-law, wife and daughter whether you have done well or not."
Feng Ruoruo immediately said after hearing this: "Ruoruo thinks Dad is very good."
Shi Jinbin burst into laughter: "Hahaha, look, my daughter told the truth, right? Dad is very good."
Feng Yifan put his arm around his daughter and responded with a smile, "Uncle Master, don't mind. Ruoruo is more free and easy at home, so she just interrupted like that."
Shi Jinbin, on the other hand, liked it very much: "This is great, this is the nature of children, they should be freer."
Feng Ruoruo thought that this fat grandpa was very interesting and his smile was very cute. Although still a little unfamiliar, the little girl was willing to get close to the fat grandpa.
Especially the fat grandpa’s big belly, which the little girl found very interesting and she even wanted to reach out and touch it.
However, although she really wanted to touch it, Feng Ruoruo knew that it was impolite, so she never dared to reach out.
After they chatted for a while, Su Jinrong said, "Brother Shitou, you haven't eaten yet, right? Let's go downstairs and have a taste of my nephew's cooking."
Shi Jinbin smiled and nodded: "Okay, then we must try it and see how good the chef of Su Ji is at cooking now."
Feng Yifan then carried his father-in-law on his back. Shi Jinbin nodded secretly when he saw this. He then extended his hand to Feng Ruoruo: "Grandpa will take you downstairs."
But the little girl said, "Grandpa Shi, Ruoruo can go downstairs by herself."
Shi Jinbin was stunned for a moment and then said, "Then Ruoruo can pull grandpa downstairs, okay?"
This time Feng Ruoruo thought about it and agreed: "Okay, Grandpa, I'll hold your hand and we'll go downstairs slowly."
The same sentence, if said in reverse, the little girl will be able to accept it.
She doesn't need anyone to pull her downstairs, but her grandfather is old and needs her to pull him downstairs. Feng Ruoruo feels that she is really useful, and everyone in the family can't do without Ruoruo.
After going downstairs, Feng Yifan put his father-in-law in a wheelchair. Seeing this, some old diners took the initiative to greet the old man.
"Is the old man okay?"
"Uncle Rong, are you feeling well?"
"How's the old boss? Are you feeling better?"
…
Facing the old customers' concern and care, Su Jinrong responded with a smile: "Thank you, everyone. I'm fine now. I haven't seen you for many years. I'm a little excited to see you, my old brother."
The old diners all breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the old man speak clearly.
"Grandpa, please take care of yourself."
"Uncle Rong, don't be too careful and don't get too excited."
"Yes, yes, old boss, you have to take care of yourself. You are the treasure of this restaurant. If we don't see you sitting here, our meal will not be enjoyable."
The last sentence immediately caused everyone to laugh, and the atmosphere in the restaurant suddenly became joyful.
Su Jinrong smiled and said to everyone, "Okay, everyone eat more, I'm happy."
Seeing that his father-in-law was in good condition, Feng Yifan reached out to take the newly recorded menu by his wife, and walked towards the kitchen to prepare to serve the next batch of guests.
Shi Jinbin pulled Feng Ruoruo downstairs and happened to see and hear the laughter in the restaurant. Seeing Su Jinrong chatting and laughing with the guests, the old man couldn't help but think that the current Su Ji is really good.
In the past, when Shi Jinbin and his master were around, he was a relatively serious person.
Many times after cooking, the chef would not chat with the guests like this, but would prefer to stroll around alone with a small teapot in his hand.
Today, Su Ji’s large round tables have been replaced with small square tables that can seat more people. Each table also has its own private space, but the restaurant seems to be more lively.
Especially in Shi Jinbin's opinion, Su Jinrong has also undergone significant changes, and he is now much more cheerful.
It would be really fun to chat with customers, even make a few jokes with them and tell them some stories about the dishes.
Shi Jinbin was full of curiosity about the kitchen and said to Feng Ruoruo, "You go to grandpa's place, and I'll go to the kitchen to watch your father cook, is that okay?"
Feng Ruoruo thought for a moment and said, "Well, Ruoruo agrees, but Grandpa Shi, you still have to go and tell Grandpa."
Shi Jinbin was stunned for a moment, but when he saw the little girl's serious look, he immediately said cheerfully, "Okay, let's go ask your grandpa."
Walking to Su Jinrong together, Shi Jinbin suggested going to the kitchen to take a look, and Su Jinrong naturally agreed.
Then Shi Jinbin took off his coat and walked towards the kitchen very solemnly.