“Ha-ha-ha…” Jiang Da let out a hearty laugh, feeling quite proud of himself.
Little Brother Jiang blinked his eyes, put down his plate, and stared eagerly at a plate of salted pork on the table, his mouth watering.
“Dad, can I eat that?” he asked Jiang Da.
Being his biological son, Jiang Da served him another helping of rice. “Salted pork tastes best with plain rice.”
Little Brother Jiang smiled happily, his eyes forming crescents. Remembering Jiang Fuyue, he offered her a piece of meat first, then started eating himself. He found that rice really did make it taste better!
San Panger looked at the siblings, then glanced at his long-lost senior, Jiang Da. “Are these…?”
Jiang Da nodded. “My daughter and son.”
San Panger gasped. “Wow! The siblings are so beautiful!”
Jiang Da chuckled again. “They take after their mother. Yue Yue, Chenxing, say hello. This is your Uncle San Pang.”
Little Brother Jiang cheerfully responded, “Hello, Uncle San Pang!”
Jiang Fuyue simply said, “Hello, Uncle.”
“Ah, so polite!” San Panger reached into his shirt and pulled out 2,000 yuan, splitting it between the siblings. “It’s our first time meeting, and I didn’t bring a proper envelope… but the money’s what counts. Use it for school supplies or a treat.”
Little Brother Jiang hesitated, looking to Jiang Da, who quickly shook his head, trying to stop San Panger. “San Panger, why are you giving them money? They’re just kids!”
“But I want to give it to my niece and nephew. Here, you two take it,” San Panger insisted.
Unable to refuse, Jiang Da finally let the siblings accept the money.
Little Brother Jiang said, “Thank you, Uncle San Pang!”
Jiang Fuyue, “Thank you.”
Their sweet manners made the man laugh out loud.
San Panger had started a trend, and the others couldn’t be left out. What followed was a full-blown cash-giving session. The six uncles each took turns giving money, and the siblings simply accepted one after another—
“I’m Fuman. You can call me Uncle Fuman.”
The siblings responded, “Uncle Fuman.”
“I’m Da Zhuang, your Uncle Da Zhuang.”
“I’m Uncle Biao.”
“I’m Uncle Xiangqing.”
“I’m Douzi. Technically, you should call me Uncle, but that sounds a bit old… Maybe just call me Brother Dou, like everyone else in the kitchen?”
Little Brother Jiang chirped, “Brother Doudou!”
“No, not Brother Doudou! Just Brother Dou!” he corrected.
“Brother Doudou!” Little Brother Jiang said again with a grin.
“Fine, whatever…” He didn’t mind, seeing the kid was so adorable.
Then, he handed over his portion, which surprisingly included a proper red envelope with cash.
San Panger’s eyes widened. “Little Dou, you sly fox! You came prepared and didn’t give us a heads-up!”
Cao Dou replied, “Oops, I forgot.”
San Panger rolled his eyes. “….” Yeah, right.
After receiving the money and finishing their meal, the siblings said their goodbyes and left.
Now, only Jiang Da and his six former junior brothers remained at the table.
“San Panger, now that the kids are gone and your sister-in-law’s busy in the back, there’s no one else around. If there’s something you need to say, just spit it out.”
Jiang Da might be simple, but he wasn’t oblivious.
The six of them wouldn’t have come all the way to Linhuai just to reminisce.
Sure enough, San Panger let out a heavy sigh. “We didn’t think we’d be able to hide it from you. We just don’t know how to bring it up.”
Jiang Da sat up straight. “Just say it.”
San Panger wrung his hands. “Well, we brothers would like to invite you back to take charge of things.”
Jiang Da’s face hardened, and he replied firmly, “Impossible. You should give up on that idea.”
“Senior Brother, you never should have left! Our master’s will made it clear that Cao Ji was meant to be yours. It was that conniving mother and son who stole it. You’d already be a billionaire by now!”
Jiang Da remained unmoved. “What billionaire? I’m just a cook.”
“Senior Brother, don’t you want to reclaim what’s rightfully yours?”
Jiang Da shook his head, his mind clear. “Cao Ji was never mine.”
“But it wasn’t theirs, either!”
“San Panger, watch your words. After all, our master’s wife is still our elder,” Jiang Da said with disapproval.
“Senior Brother, you—”
“Enough. Don’t try to persuade me. I’m doing just fine here.”
“But I—”
“My shop’s about to get busy. You guys don’t come to Linhuai often; go explore a bit. Or stay and help out if you like.”
In the end, the six of them decided to stay.
Their first attempt at persuasion had failed, but they figured if they stayed, they’d have more opportunities to try again.
As for helping out, well, they didn’t expect such a small shop to have much work. After all, they were six people.
Only Cao Dou had a sense of what was coming, having seen videos of this shop swarming with customers, so he wasn’t underestimating it.
By 1 p.m., a long line had already formed outside Jiang Ji, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Most customers were tourists, especially young people who queued politely without shoving or making a fuss. Occasionally, they’d chat with Jiang Da.
“Uncle Jiang, it’s Saturday. Do you think we might see God Yue today?”
At first, Jiang Da didn’t understand the “God Yue” nickname. Eventually, he got used to it.
“Yue Yue already came by. She finished lunch and left.”
“Aw, bad timing!”
Jiang Da gave them an apologetic smile.
“Uncle Jiang, what does God Yue usually do on weekends?”
“Well… she starts with test papers, then exercises, tutors her brother, eats, watches TV, uses her phone, or goes out with friends. Pretty much the same as anyone else.”
“Just like anyone else? We thought a goddess like her would stay home studying all day!”
“In my experience, she doesn’t spend that much time on books. She goes out more than she studies.”
“What? Then why are her grades so good?”
Jiang Da flipped the pancake over, packed it, and handed it over. “Here you go. Eat it while it’s hot.”
“Uncle Jiang, come on…” we need answers!
“Honestly, I don’t know. Her mother and I don’t interfere much.”
“…” Ah, they were speechless, dazzled by her natural genius.
Next in line finally stepped up.
Jiang Da’s hands moved swiftly, and his pancakes were perfectly made. Customers lined up one after another, and logically speaking, the speed was quite fast.
But why did the line never seem to end?
Sanpang and Fuman exchanged a look: “?”
Xiao Douzi: Hmm, the videos weren’t lying.
Besides those waiting to buy pancakes, there were also customers lining up to take home Han Yunru’s signature desserts.
In addition to the original few, Han Yunru would update the dessert menu seasonally, constantly coming up with new ideas and giving them elegant names, such as—
Double-layer milk custard was called “White Waves of Sweetness”
Sesame glutinous rice balls were called “Dark-Hearted Beauty”
Osmanthus jelly was called “Golden Osmanthus in the Sky”
Each name struck a poetic chord, especially with young customers.
Of course, a good name was just the cherry on top—the real key was the taste!
Not too sweet, never greasy, made with fresh ingredients, entirely handmade, healthy and nourishing—these were the most commonly mentioned praises left by customers on food review apps.
One person’s opinion might be just personal taste, and a group of people could be paid to hype it up, but when almost everyone agreed, that spoke volumes.
Of course, competitors also tried to stir up trouble with fake negative reviews. But with such a massive customer flow, those comments quickly got buried, and any drop in ratings was instantly balanced out.
“Sanpang, take the payments!”
“Fuman, clean the tables! The seventh wave of customers is about to come in.”
“Xiao Douzi, you look good—go greet the pretty ladies at the entrance and guide them in.”
“Xiangqing—”
“Ah Biao—”
The six of them were commanded like a well-oiled machine.
And once they started, there was no stopping.
Sanpang was sweating buckets.
Xiao Douzi’s feet were aching.
Fuman’s legs were trembling.
Ah Biao’s face had turned pale…
They had thought running Cao Ji was exhausting enough.
But compared to this—it was like Jiang Da’s shop had ten times the customer volume of Cao Ji.
Absolutely terrifying.
It wasn’t until the sun had set that the long queue finally showed signs of thinning.
At long last, the last customer approached: “I’d like 50 Family Feast pancakes, 50 Bacon & Pork Floss, 50 Vegetable, and also 60 portions of desserts—any flavors will do.”
Sanpang: “?”
A Biao: “?”
Xiao Douzi: “!”
