No one spoke in Su Ji Restaurant, only the sound of swallowing saliva could be heard, and all eyes were focused on the casserole in the middle of the table where the food was served.
The stewed raw croaker in the casserole is really mouth-watering just by looking at it, and the rich flavor makes people want to taste it.
After waiting for a while, Su Ruoxi reminded him, "Hey, hurry up and try it while it's hot."
Su Ruoxi's reminder seemed to pull everyone back from their ethereal state in an instant.
In an instant, everyone in the restaurant came to their senses, and at this moment they seemed to remember where they were.
The diners at that table picked up the chopsticks in front of them and slowly reached for the casserole.
Slowly peel away the chopped green onion and minced garlic on top to reveal the shiny and rosy eel slices underneath.
After a little hesitation, he finally picked up a piece of eel with chopsticks. When the eel left the soup, the soup hanging on the eel began to drip.
The diners quickly grabbed the small spoon in front of them and reached over to catch the soup dripping from the eel slices.
Carefully move the eel slices from the casserole, move them to your mouth, open your mouth and slowly take a bite of the eel slices.
The eel slices were already very soft, but because they were fried, the surface was still a little crispy.
Chew it slowly in your mouth, and a complex taste spreads in your mouth.
This delicious taste is truly intoxicating.
The soup looks very thick, but it is not salty at all. It feels very salty and delicious when you eat it. The eel meat is also very soft and glutinous, and the skin is a little crispy because of frying.
Add to that the fat from the pork belly, and it really has a very rich texture and flavor.
Watching other people eat is really a torture.
Especially when you see others eating with relish, it will make you feel extremely painful.
At this time, other diners in Su Ji Restaurant felt tortured.
One of the diners finally couldn't help but ask, "Madam boss, when will ours be served?"
"Yeah, when can we eat it? I'm really greedy."
"I'm so hungry. I want to eat it."
When the diners at the table were about to eat, their companions immediately said, "Wait a minute, we haven't taken pictures yet. Let's take pictures first and then eat slowly."
Then everyone at the table took out their cell phones and started taking some photos.
Only afterwards did they start to enjoy the food slowly, with their mouths drooling with oil.
The diners around were drooling at the sight.
After waiting for a while, the dishes for the second table finally came. It was also a casserole in the middle. The people at the second table couldn't wait to lift the lid.
Although it didn’t have the same shocking feeling as the first pot, the aroma rising from the steam was still irresistible when the lid of the casserole was opened again.
The second table was served with the food, which made those who didn’t get to eat even more greedy.
And the diners who had not yet ordered their dishes also began to scramble to order this stewed raw croaker.
At this time, Lu Cuiling was sitting together with her father-in-law Su Jinrong and Shi Jinbin, and next to them were Yang Zhiyi and Chen Yaofei's grandparents.
Seeing the pots of stewed raw food being brought up, Lu Cuiling's expression became a little complicated.
For Lu Cuiling, this dish is the key to reconciling her relationship with her son, but it is also a token of her longing for her mother.
Watching the casseroles being opened one by one, smelling the familiar aromas, and watching the diners scramble to taste the satisfaction.
Lu Cuiling is very proud of her son.
In addition to this pride, Lu Cuiling missed her mother even more.
With such a complicated mood, Lu Cuiling watched the diners at each table savoring the stewed raw dumplings tonight and listened to the diners' endless praises after tasting the food.
The complicated feelings were hard to describe, and Lu Cuiling could only bury her longing deep in her heart temporarily.
Finally at eight o'clock in the evening, Su Ji closed early.
Because today is Feng Yifan's birthday, Su Ruoxi no longer accepts new diners after 7:30.
Everyone waited quietly until the last table finished eating and left. Su Ruoxi wrote a menu for her daughter personally.
"Ruoruo, go give this to daddy, and tell him this is the last table for today."
Feng Ruoruo looked at her mother in surprise after hearing what she said, "But mom, we don't have any customers anymore, why do we still have this last menu?"
Yang Xiaoxi was also curious and asked: "Auntie, should we send it to others?"
Chen Yaofei was smarter and guessed something. She said to her two friends, "It seems that the last table is ours."
Hearing what Chen Yaofei said, Feng Ruoruo and Yang Xiaoxi looked at each other, and then the two little girls understood.
Feng Ruoruo said with a smile: "The last table is for my dad to make for my birthday, right?"
Su Ruoxi smiled and nodded, pinching her daughter's face: "That's right, so Ruoruo, you have to go quickly and give the menu for the last table to Dad, and let Dad make it quickly."
Feng Ruoruo took the menu and immediately agreed and ran to the kitchen: "Okay."
The other two little girls followed along.
The three little girls went into the kitchen and handed the menu to Feng Yifan together.
"Dad, this is the menu for the last table."
"Father Feng, you have to do this seriously."
"Yes, Father Feng, you must do your best."
Feng Yifan took the menu and looked at the dishes on it. He almost instantly guessed who the last table was for.
However, Feng Yifan did not point it out. Instead, he smiled and agreed: "Okay, Dad will do it well."
The menu for this last table was something Su Ruoxi specifically asked her mother-in-law about and then wrote down.
Every dish on the menu is Lu Cuiling’s son’s favorite dish in her memory.
In the restaurant, Su Ruoxi first hung a sign saying "temporarily closed" at the door, then closed the door inside, and then decorated the restaurant with Yang Zhiyi and Li Feier who had rushed over.
When arranging the seats, Su Ruoxi specifically arranged her mother-in-law to sit at the top seat.
"Mom, you must sit in the upper seat today. You are the real protagonist today."
Lu Cuiling was a little uncomfortable at first, but the elderly people present all agreed. After several attempts, Lu Cuiling finally sat down.
After Lu Cuiling sat down, Su Ruoxi asked everyone to sit down. She waited for the little girls to come back and went to the kitchen.
After entering the kitchen, Su Ruoxi said to Lin Ruifeng and Zhao Daxia in the kitchen: "Xiao Lin, Sister Zhao, you should also go to the front and sit down and have a meal together."
Lin Ruifeng and Zhao Daxia, who were still busy, felt a little strange.
Zhao Daxia said: "I still have a few dishes here, wait for me to finish washing them."
Lin Ruifeng also said: "I still need to help Master."
Then Feng Yifan said, "It's okay. I can handle it by myself. Ruifeng, take Sister Zhao with you and sit down in the front. Leave the kitchen to me and your wife."
Seeing this situation, Lin Ruifeng didn't ask any more questions in the end. Zhao Daxia did notice some clues, and the two of them went to the restaurant in front together.
When the two arrived at the restaurant, Feng Ruoruo asked them to sit down: "Uncle Xiaolin, Aunt Zhao, come and sit down. Today is Dad's birthday. Dad and Mom will cook for us. You should sit down and wait for Dad and Mom to serve the food."
Lin Ruifeng and Zhao Daxia walked over and sat down.
Zhao Daxia felt a little uncomfortable: "I'm so sorry. I had Ruoruo's birthday party yesterday and the boss's birthday party today. I've only been here for such a short time. I'm really sorry."
Lu Cuiling smiled and said, "Don't be embarrassed. There are only two days like this in a year. It's because their birthdays are consecutive."
After hearing what Lu Cuiling said, Li Feier suddenly realized, "Oh, yes, yesterday was Ruoruo's birthday, and today is Chef Feng's birthday. They are actually connected. This is really interesting. The daughter's birthday is one day earlier than her father's."
Everyone then reacted and suddenly felt that Feng Yifan and Feng Ruoruo were an interesting father and daughter.
Lu Cuiling smiled and said, "This may be the fate between them as father and daughter."
Feng Ruoruo suddenly stood up and said, "Grandma, am I older than Dad? I had my birthday before Dad, so Ruoruo should be older than Dad."
When everyone heard this, they all laughed happily.
Lu Cuiling said to her granddaughter: "Of course Ruoruo is the biggest. Ruoruo is the biggest in the whole Su Ji."
Feng Ruoruo was naturally very happy when she heard her grandmother's words: "Hahaha, Ruoruo is the eldest. From now on, Ruoruo will be the king here."
Then Ruoruo said to Yang Xiaoxi and Chen Yaofei: "Xixi, Feifei, you are also the oldest. You and Ruoruo are good friends, so you are the same age as Ruoruo."
Yang Xiaoxi said with a smile: "I am also the oldest in the family."
Chen Yaofei glanced at her grandparents, then smiled and said, "At home, there are grandparents, and then there is Feifei."
Hearing Chen Yaofei say this, Yang Zhiyi immediately said: "Look, Feifei is still sensible. She knows to respect grandparents and let them be the most important."
Yang Xiaoxi immediately reached out and slapped his father: "Stupid dad, Ruoruo and I are older than you and mom, not older than grandpa, grandma, and grandpa."
After being slapped twice by his daughter, Yang Zhiyi did not dare to fight back and could only accept it.
Seeing Yang Zhiyi being "bullied" by his daughter, everyone present burst into laughter.
In the kitchen, Feng Yifan looked at his wife who stayed behind and said with a smile, "Why? You want to cook this meal with your husband?"
Su Ruoxi smiled and moved closer to her husband and said, "Of course, today is your birthday, we should present a delicious meal to everyone together, especially to thank mom."
Feng Yifan thought for a moment and said, "If that's the case, shouldn't we let Dad go back today?"
Su Ruoxi immediately said, "It's all your fault. You didn't try to persuade Dad to stay yesterday."
Feng Yifan saw his wife's angry look and smiled: "It doesn't matter. For a father, his son is an adult now, so it doesn't matter whether he attends his birthday or not. My dad didn't stay because he wanted me to be more like a man, so I have to keep my birthday simple. It's better not to celebrate it. He doesn't spoil me."
Su Ruoxi understood that this was what her father-in-law meant by fatherly love as high as a mountain.
It’s not that Feng Jiandong doesn’t want to stay, nor is it that Feng Jiandong doesn’t want to celebrate this birthday for his son.
It’s just that Feng Jiandong feels that his son has grown up and has become a father.
Since you are already a father, you should act like a father. You can celebrate your child’s birthday and there is no need to be extravagant on your own birthday.
Feng Jiandong hopes that Feng Yifan can be an upright man and father.
Feng Yifan understood this sentiment, and Su Ruoxi could probably understand it as well.
Su Ruoxi urged: "Okay, hurry up and start. Everyone outside is waiting for your food. You can't keep them waiting too long, right?"
Feng Yifan smiled slightly, stretched out his hand, took his wife's hand, and walked slowly to the stove.
Then Feng Yifan reached out and lifted the lid of the big pot on the stove, and suddenly all kinds of dishes appeared in the pot.
It turned out that Feng Yifan had already prepared all the dishes, and almost every dish was what Su Ruoxi had written on the menu.
Finally, Feng Yifan opened the casserole on the stove again: "Well, now we just need to cook this last dish of raw clams, and then we can start eating."
Add minced garlic, pour in hot oil, cover the casserole, and cook over high heat for a while.
After the final stew, open the lid again and put the prepared chopped green onion on it. The last pot of stewed raw chopped vegetables today is ready.
In Su Ruoxi's eyes, this last pot of stewed raw clams, the casserole and the amount inside were obviously much larger than the previous ones.
Seeing all this, Su Ruoxi immediately understood that her husband had been prepared for all this.
Su Ruoxi pouted and said, "So you've already prepared this for your birthday, right? Really, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to celebrate your birthday in time, so I closed early."
Feng Yifan hugged his wife and said, "Thank you, my dear wife. I didn't prepare all this for my birthday, but for everyone. I know that because it's my birthday today, Yang Xiaoxi and Chen Yaofei's families will not go back early, and they will definitely wait until after closing time to celebrate my birthday together.
So I prepare in advance, which can save some time and won’t let the children go hungry for too long.”
After hearing what her husband said, Su Ruoxi nodded and said, "Well, you are right. Okay, hurry up and serve the dishes so that the children can eat early."
Afterwards, Feng Yifan and Su Ruoxi served the dishes that had been prepared in advance one by one.
Everyone was stunned to see the dishes being served so quickly and with so many dishes at once.
After all the dishes were served, Yang Zhiyi exclaimed, "Oh my god, it was so fast? Chef Feng, are you performing magic?"
Feng Yifan smiled and replied: "It's not a magic trick, I prepared it in advance."
Feng Yifan then sat down and said, "Well, thank you all for staying here again to celebrate my birthday. Although I am already a father and shouldn't celebrate my birthday like this anymore, I want to thank my mother on this birthday.
Thank you for raising me, thank you for tolerating my rebelliousness, thank you for protecting my little home. Thank you, mom, I love you."
Feng Yifan's series of thanks and his final words of "I love you" to his mother really shocked Lu Cuiling and moved her deeply. When she heard the last part, Lu Cuiling couldn't hold back her tears.