After picking up Sheng Nian, Sheng Qiu handed over the task of hosting the little friends to him and went into the kitchen herself.
Even though it was just a few kids, Sheng Qiu wasn’t going to cut corners. That morning, after dropping Sheng Nian off at kindergarten, she’d gone to the market for a big shopping spree, ready to show off her skills.
As for what dishes to make, Sheng Qiu didn’t even need to overthink it—she simply made what she loved to eat.
Because what Sheng Qiu loved were “kids’ dishes.”
It wasn’t a specific dish but a category—food that kids generally love.
Whenever Sheng Qiu went out with friends, she’d always order one of these kinds of dishes, and today she planned to make a few of them.
The fresh shrimp she’d bought that morning had already been deveined, shelled, and had their heads removed. She planned to make fried shrimp balls, served with ketchup—Sheng Nian and the others would definitely love those.
The beautiful cut of pork tenderloin would become sweet and sour pork tenderloin—a favorite of both kids and Sheng Qiu herself.
The fresh beef brisket she’d bought in the morning had gone into the pressure cooker early on, simmering with potatoes. The soft, mashed potatoes mixed with rice and beef—absolutely heavenly.
She’d originally wanted to buy some chicken wings, but unfortunately they weren’t sold separately yet, so she ended up making a rich, flavorful braised chicken stew instead. She’d just have to remind everyone to watch out for the small bones.
Then there was a refreshing smashed cucumber salad to cut through the richness, a stir-fried lotus root and vegetable medley, and a simple tofu and cabbage soup to round it out.
That made seven dishes in total, plus a bowl of baked milk for dessert.
Eight dishes—a lucky number!
Sheng Qiu thought her arrangement was perfect.
But since she’d transmigrated, she’d never made so many dishes at once—especially since she and her kitchen tools were still past the honeymoon phase—so she found herself a little short on time.
She couldn’t afford to waste a single minute.
While Sheng Qiu was busy in the kitchen, Sheng Nian wasn’t just sitting around. His auntie had asked him to prepare the snacks for their guests. He laid out the newly bought sponge cakes, peach crisps, sunflower seeds, and also brought out the whole jar of cartoon-shaped cookies.
The coffee table in front of the sofa was packed full.
Just as he was admiring his handiwork, there was a knock at the door.
He opened it to find Haohao standing outside, with Uncle Zhang behind him.
“Uncle Zhang, Haohao.” Sheng Nian greeted them.
“Niannian, I’m here! I think I can already smell the delicious food your auntie is making.” Haohao walked right in without any hesitation and beamed with delight when he saw the spread on the coffee table.
So many good things to eat!
Zhang Yuejun felt a little embarrassed by his son’s lack of reserve. “Niannian, where’s your auntie?”
“Uncle Zhang, Auntie is in the kitchen making dinner. Did you need her?”
“No, no, I was just asking. I’ve dropped Haohao off, so I’ll head back now. Thanks for having Haohao over, Niannian—and please thank your auntie for us.”
Zhang Yuejun felt like he owed his neighbor more and more these days. It was all because of his son’s greedy mouth.
“Haohao is my good friend. Good friends share things.”
Hearing that, Zhang Yuejun felt deeply moved. How did other people’s kids turn out so sensible? Meanwhile, his own son hadn’t even been willing to spare a single cartoon cookie for his old man last night.
“Alright, I’ll head back now. You kids can come over to play later—I’ll leave the door open.”
“Okay, thank you, Uncle Zhang.” Sheng Nian said goodbye politely.
Before leaving, Zhang Yuejun couldn’t help but remind Haohao, “Haohao, be good at Niannian’s house.”
“Don’t worry, Dad.” With that, Haohao stuffed a cartoon cookie into his mouth. To him, everything else on the table was stuff he could eat at home—only Auntie’s homemade cookies were an absolute delicacy.
Seeing Haohao shoveling cookies into his mouth, Sheng Nian reminded him, “Haohao, we’re about to have dinner soon. If you eat too much now, you won’t have room for rice later.”
Haohao froze. He’d forgotten—today was the day he was eating dinner at Niannian’s house! And Auntie’s home-cooked meals were definitely better than cookies.
But the cookies were so good too!
Especially with so many of them right in front of him—Haohao really couldn’t control himself.
“Today my auntie bought shrimp and meat—lots of delicious dishes. If you can’t eat later, the rest of us will just have to eat more.”
Hearing that, Haohao shoved the cookie in his hand into his mouth and didn’t look at the table spread again.
He wanted to eat Auntie’s cooking.
Within two minutes, Mingming arrived with Feizai in tow, each carrying a bag.
“Niannian, we’re here! My mom asked me to bring these apples.”
“Niannian, these are lychees from my mom—they’re really fresh, from my grandma’s orchard.”
The two eagerly handed their fruit to Sheng Nian.
“You didn’t need to bring anything. My auntie made plenty of food—it’ll be more than enough for all of us.” Sheng Nian thought Mingming and Feizai were worried there wouldn’t be enough food. He’d already sneaked into the kitchen to take a look.
There were so many dishes.
There was definitely more than enough.
“No, it’s not that. My mom asked me to bring these to share with you.”
“Same here!” Feizai echoed.
Just as Sheng Nian was unsure what to do with all the fruit, the last guest, Kangkang, arrived with his grandmother.
“So you’re our Kangkang’s friends! All such good children. You should come over to our house to play sometime too.” Kangkang’s grandmother smiled warmly.
“Niannian, Mingming, Haohao, and Feizai—come over to my house next time! I have lots of toys too.”
“Sure! We’ll come to your place next time, and then after that, we’ll go to mine.” Mingming had already made plans for his own house.
Feizai quickly raised his hand. “And after Mingming’s, we’ll come to my house!”
“Okay,” Sheng Nian and Haohao replied in unison.
Kangkang’s grandmother watched them, her smile never fading. She placed the chocolates she’d brought on the shoe cabinet by the door and was about to leave when the kitchen door, which had been closed, swung open. Sheng Qiu came out carrying a clay pot.
“What are you all doing at the door? Come sit on the sofa.”
Sheng Qiu then noticed the elderly lady standing outside. “Hello, I’m Sheng Qiu, Sheng Nian’s auntie. And you are…?”
Seeing Sheng Qiu, Kangkang’s grandmother’s eyes lit up—especially when she caught the faint, enticing aroma wafting out. Her eyes grew even brighter. No wonder her Kangkang loved the food Niannian’s auntie made.
It really did smell wonderful.
“Hello, I’m Kangkang’s grandmother. I just came to drop him off. I’ll be going now—thank you for having him, Niannian’s auntie.”
Sheng Qiu tried to invite her to stay, but the old lady moved quickly and was out of sight within seconds.
The moment Sheng Qiu turned around, the little ones were all gathered around the dining table, leaning in toward the clay pot.
“Auntie, when can we eat? It smells so good—my tummy is already singing!” Haohao, who was familiar with Sheng Qiu, naturally voiced his thoughts.
Sheng Nian also looked at his auntie with eager eyes. “Auntie, my tummy is hungry too.”
The other three little ones gazed at Sheng Qiu expectantly as well—clearly all hungry.
How could Sheng Qiu resist that? She quickly announced that dinner was ready. The kids cheered and then followed Sheng Nian to the bathroom to wash their hands.
Soon, Sheng Nian’s voice could be heard from the bathroom, reminding everyone to wash their hands properly.
Sheng Qiu didn’t keep them waiting long. By the time they came out of the bathroom with clean hands, the table was already filled with dishes.
“Come on, let’s eat!”
Looking at the full table, Feizai kept swallowing his saliva. Mingming’s eyes were fixed on the fried shrimp balls. Haohao held his chopsticks at the ready, poised to attack the sweet and sour pork tenderloin.
“Niannian, tell your friends to dig in!”
“Mingming, Feizai, Haohao, Kangkang—eat up! Stop staring,” Sheng Nian said, picking up a fried shrimp ball.
The golden, round shrimp ball released the fresh aroma of shrimp the moment he bit into it. The crispy outer layer added a wonderful texture to the dish.
But Sheng Nian didn’t think about all that—he just knew it was delicious.
“Auntie, this is so good!”
By now, Haohao had already stuffed two pieces of sweet and sour pork tenderloin into his mouth. He absolutely loved the tangy, sweet meat.
“Auntie, this meat is sweet and sour—so yummy!”
Mingming had already eaten two shrimp balls and was working on his third. Feizai alternated between sweet and sour pork, beef brisket, and shrimp balls, eating so fast he couldn’t even speak.
Only Kangkang, because the lotus root and vegetable stir-fry was right in front of him, didn’t go for the shrimp balls first.
But the greens stir-fried by Niannian’s auntie were also delicious! The sweet green beans made Kangkang reach for another bite, and then he stretched out for some meat. The sweet and sour flavor made his eyes go wide.
Was this meat made of candy?
At first, Haohao and Niannian could still give some feedback, but after a few more bites, they were too busy eating to talk. It was just too good to stop.
Sheng Qiu ate while keeping an eye on the little ones, worried that someone might have trouble reaching a dish. But that concern was clearly unnecessary—they simply knelt on their chairs to reach whatever they wanted.
Even though there were only five kids, they ate with the momentum of an army. The dishes disappeared at an astonishing speed, and Sheng Qiu quickly picked up her own pace.
Before long, most of the plates on the table were empty.
Kangkang was now nibbling on a piece of braised chicken, not because he didn’t like it, but because he was too full—yet he couldn’t bear to put the meat down.
Sheng Nian had already stopped eating. He looked at Haohao, whose belly was already round and bulging, yet he was still eating. “Haohao, stop eating. Your tummy is full now.”
“I’m not full yet!” Haohao protested.
As small as he was, he could eat a lot—he could definitely handle a little more.
That said, his eating pace had noticeably slowed down. Mingming and Feizai were the same.
“Why can’t my tummy hold more? Why can’t it be bigger?” Feizai patted his stomach, frustrated. He wished he had a big belly, just like his dad’s.
His mom always said his dad had a big beer belly.
If he had a big beer belly too, he could definitely fit all the food on the table. He wondered if his dad could buy one for him.