Chapter 4: It’s Really So Yummy…

This was Anyang Town in D City—considered urban by rural standards.

Although the era of grain ration coupons had only recently passed, the economy was already beginning to stir with life. Scattered along the streets were various small shops, creating a pleasantly lively scene.

Xiao Baobao had never strolled through such a bustling street before. His dark, bright eyes could hardly take it all in, his little head turning this way and that. His long eyelashes fluttered adorably, his eyes sparkling, and two sweet dimples occasionally appeared on his cheeks. He didn’t make a fuss at all.

Even when he spotted toy or snack vendors, he simply clung obediently to Xiao Naiwang’s neck and gazed over, never clamoring to buy anything.

This drew repeated glances from passing aunties, older women, and grandmothers, who couldn’t help but look back.

Noticing Baobao’s gaze, Xiao Naiwang felt both touched and heartache. He gently kissed Baobao’s cheek, causing the little one’s face to flush instantly. Shyly, Baobao buried his face in Xiao Naiwang’s shoulder. After a moment, he lifted his head and, still blushing, planted a soft kiss on Xiao Naiwang’s cheek, his voice sweet and tender: “Daddy…”

“Baobao is so good. Daddy will earn money to buy you lots of things.”

Baobao’s exceptional understanding only strengthened Xiao Naiwang’s resolve to start earning money as soon as possible. He immediately quickened his pace, no longer lingering to browse. After asking an elderly woman for directions, he headed straight with Baobao to the town’s largest department store.

While cooking potatoes yesterday, the idea of making “wolf tooth potatoes”The signature dish! Wolf tooth potatoes are a real and very popular Chinese street snack. They’re extremely common at night markets and street stalls across northern China today. had crossed his mind. However, lacking a full set of seasonings in the kitchen, he hadn’t attempted it. Later, upon further reflection, he realized that selling wolf tooth potatoes could actually be a promising business venture.

Being in the north, wolf tooth potatoes were a relatively novel snack here, meaning there would likely be no immediate competition. Moreover, as a food blogger, he had once experimented with improving the seasoning recipe for wolf tooth potatoes during his free time, creating a version tailored to northern tastes. After sharing it on Weibo, many fans from both the north and south tried it and commented that the flavor was excellent and they loved it.

Thus, he was confident that this improved version of wolf tooth potatoes would be well-received taste-wise.

After walking for over half an hour, Xiao Naiwang arrived at the department store.

The two-story store wasn’t particularly large. A middle-aged female salesclerk in a Dacron shirt sat behind the counter, idly cracking sunflower seeds. Her permed hair was pinned up at the back, her eyebrows drawn darkly, her lips a bright red, and her face heavily powdered in a pale shade. Seeing Xiao Naiwang enter, she didn’t stand up, merely lifting her eyelids to ask casually, “What are you buying?”

Xiao Naiwang paused, then offered a friendly smile. “Hello, I’d like to buy some seasonings, and also two knives—one regular kitchen knife and one wavy knifePerfect for cutting wolf tooth potatoes, both for cutting vegetables.”

“A wavy knife?” The salesclerk was about to say they didn’t have any, but seeing such a handsome young man smiling so warmly, she ultimately tossed aside the sunflower seed shells and stood up. “Wait a moment, I’ll go look.”

“Alright, thank you.” Observing the change in the salesclerk’s attitude, Xiao Naiwang thought to himself that the saying “a smiling face is never met with a raised hand” indeed held true.

The salesclerk clacked around in her black leather high heels for quite a while before finally digging out a pack of knives from the bottom shelf of a certain aisle. Among them were several wavy knives. She took out one wavy knife and one ordinary kitchen knife, placing them on the counter. “That’ll be one yuan and thirty cents in total.”

Xiao Naiwang pulled a few crumpled one-yuan bills from his trouser pocket and added, “I also need to buy some roasted nuts, peanuts, and seasoning powder.”

“What kind of seasoning powder?”

“Well… what do you have here? Can I take a look?”

The female salesclerk paused, then pointed toward a corner. “They’re all over there. Come in and take a look yourself.”

“Thank you.” Surprised that the salesclerk was so good-natured, Xiao Naiwang quickly flashed a smile. The salesclerk was momentarily taken aback by his smile and absentmindedly grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds to snack on. After chewing for a while, she realized they weren’t sunflower seeds at all—they were just the shells she had discarded earlier. She couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed, thinking to herself, Thank goodness the young man didn’t notice, or I’d be mortified.

Once inside, Xiao Naiwang was genuinely delighted. Not only did they have chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and bay leaves, but they also had spices like cardamom and cinnamon! He had originally thought that cardamom might be hard to find in the north at this time, but he hadn’t expected this department store to be so well-stocked. It really lives up to being state-run, he mused.

“What are you buying those for? Can you cook with them?” the salesclerk asked, noticing Xiao Naiwang picking up cardamom and cinnamon.

“You can use them in dishes, like stewed chicken,” Xiao Naiwang replied with a smile. “Can you grind these into powder here?”

“Yes, but it costs five cents per batch.”

“Then… please grind all of these,” Xiao Naiwang said, taking out the star anise, cardamom, and cinnamon. “Grind them separately.” He then took out his money and asked, “How much for all of this?”

“Let me weigh them.” The salesclerk brought out a small scale and weighed each item one by one. “Why are you buying so much? It’ll take years to finish.”

“I’m planning to start a small food business,” Xiao Naiwang explained without hesitation, smiling. “That’s why I’m buying in bulk.”

“You’re going into business?” The salesclerk looked at Xiao Naiwang in surprise, her interest piqued. “What kind of food are you planning to sell?”

“Wolf-tooth potatoes.”

Xiao Naiwang’s arms were getting tired, so he set Xiao Baobao down and held the child’s small hand, letting him stand on his own. Xiao Baobao opened his dark, bright eyes wide, obediently tugging at Xiao Naiwang’s clothes and clinging to his leg.

“I’ve never heard of that dish. Where are you planning to sell it? I’ll come try it sometime.”

Noticing Xiao Baobao secretly looking up at her with his adorable little face, the salesclerk smiled and added, “Your child is really good-looking and well-behaved. I haven’t heard him fuss or ask for anything at all. How old is he?”

“He’s a little over two, almost three,” Xiao Naiwang replied, gently squeezing Xiao Baobao’s small hand. “I haven’t decided where to sell yet, but once I do, I’ll let you know. I’ll bring you a portion to try.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that!” Surprised by Xiao Naiwang’s enthusiasm and generosity, the salesclerk’s smile widened. “Young man, no need to be so formal. Just call me Sister Liu. I’ll come support your business when you start.”

“Thank you, Sister Liu.” Xiao Naiwang gently shook Xiao Baobao’s hand. “Baobao, thank Auntie Liu.”

“Thank you, Auntie Liu,” Xiao Baobao said in a soft, childish voice before hiding his little face behind his father’s hand.

Sister Liu burst into laughter, her voice loud and cheerful. Xiao Naiwang chuckled and picked up Xiao Baobao, kissing his little cheek. “Baobao is shy…”

Xiao Baobao’s face flushed even redder, his eyes glistening with a hint of reproach. “Daddy…”

“Alright, alright, Daddy won’t laugh anymore.” Xiao Naiwang was in a good mood. Watching Sister Liu grind everything, he said, “Sister Liu, do you know where I can buy a small wooden cart? Just something simple that can hold a small pot and a small coal stove.”

“This…” Sister Liu thought for a moment. “Places that sell furniture might have them. They’re not expensive, and some people can even make them themselves… Oh, right!” She suddenly remembered something and said, “I think Old Zhao’s family at the west end of town, the ones who sell honeycomb briquettes, also sell these small carts and coal stoves. If you want to buy them, you could go there. Maybe they’ll even give you a discount.”

“Thank you, Sister Liu.” Xiao Naiwang hadn’t expected to get so much information all at once, and his smile grew even sweeter and more sincere. “Once I start my business, I’ll definitely bring you something to eat.”

“Sure, but I won’t accept it a second time.” The young man was handsome and sweet-talking, and Sister Liu was happy too. She packed everything up and handed it to Xiao Naiwang. “The knife and seasonings come to two yuan, one mao, and five fen.”

“Alright, thank you, Sister Liu.”

After paying and receiving his change, Xiao Naiwang headed straight for the market as soon as he stepped outside. He bought a bunch of fresh greens, two jin of chili peppers, two jin of garlic, and three jin of potatoes, spending a total of five mao and one fen. That one fen was eventually haggled down to nothing.

With everything purchased, Xiao Naiwang took Baobao and hurried to Old Zhao’s house at the west end of town, the one that sold honeycomb briquettes.Honeycomb briquettes, also known as beehive briquettes, are cylindrical, perforated fuel briquettes made from coal or charcoal dust, commonly used for cooking and heating in East/Southeast Asia. After all, he was confident in his skills and determined to start his business, so it was better to buy everything early.

Realizing just how little money he had left, Xiao Naiwang haggled with Old Zhao for a full hour and a half. Finally, they settled on a price of seven yuan and two mao for a coal stove, eight yuan and seven mao for a small wooden cart, and two fen and five for each honeycomb briquette.

They also agreed that he would buy all his honeycomb briquettes from Old Zhao in the future.
Xiao Naiwang bought thirty honeycomb briquettes, a small wooden cart, and a coal stove, spending a total of sixteen yuan, six mao, and five fen. At this point, all his remaining assets amounted to eight yuan and five mao.

Xiao Naiwang felt so poor he could cry.

With a burning flame of determination igniting in his heart, Xiao Naiwang clenched his left fist and strode back home with Xiao Baobao, full of vigor and pride. He barely managed to push the cart loaded with the coal stove and honeycomb briquettes into his bedroom and immediately began testing his recipe for Xiao-style wolf tooth potatoes.

Zhou Yurou and Zhou Yiguo were at work, and the troublesome child Zhou Chuanjing was at school, so no one was around to disturb him.

Xiao Baobao stood by the kitchen door, watching his father energetically chop potatoes. His eyes sparkled like they were filled with little stars, and his cheeks flushed red. He thought his father was… so amazing!

Soon, Xiao Naiwang had all the ingredients prepared. The wolf tooth-shaped potatoes were fresh and tender, the chopped chili peppers were bright red, the minced garlic was white and appealing, and the finely chopped scallions were a lovely mix of pale white and vibrant green—all very pleasing to the eye.

Xiao Naiwang first sent Xiao Baobao back to the bedroom to avoid him getting choked by the fumes later. Then, he took out a small bowl, used a knife to scrape the minced garlic into it, heated the pan with oil, and added Sichuan peppercorns once the oil was hot. Instantly, the rich aroma of Sichuan peppercorn oil exploded throughout the kitchen.

Once the fragrance was fully released, Xiao Naiwang scooped out the peppercorns and poured the hot oil over the minced garlic. The white, moist garlic was immediately coated in a layer of golden, bubbling hot oil, emitting a sizzling, enticing sound. Soon, the aroma of Sichuan peppercorn oil in the air was complemented by the fragrance of garlic, stimulating the taste buds and making it impossible not to salivate.

This is one of the seasonings—the specially made Sichuan pepper garlic oil. After that, Xiao Naiwang used chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon bark, and bay leaves to fry a bowl of bright red, enticing special chili oil.

With both special oils prepared, Xiao Naiwang started another pot. After washing and heating it, he added no oil but instead put in chili powder and a small amount of fine salt, stir-frying until fragrant.

Once stir-fried, Xiao Naiwang transferred all the chili powder into a clean bowl. Following a strict ratio, he added ground tsao-ko, cinnamon powder, and star anise powder, mixing them evenly to create the special chili powder.

He didn’t add Sichuan pepper powder, planning to add it separately later.

With all the seasonings ready, Xiao Naiwang began frying the potatoes. As the jagged potato strips entered the pot, a large, golden, fluffy “mushroom” formed by numerous oil bubbles instantly rose in the wok. He flipped the “mushroom” with a spatula, spreading the jagged potatoes apart, and the “mushroom” evenly covered the entire surface of the oil. Soon, the enticing aroma of fried potatoes filled the kitchen.

Once the potatoes turned golden brown, Xiao Naiwang removed them and placed them on a fine mesh rack to drain the oil. Then, he transferred the well-drained jagged potatoes into a small bowl, sprinkling them with an appropriate amount of special chili powder, Sichuan pepper powder, a little special chili oil, and Sichuan pepper garlic oil, mixing everything evenly.
Finally, he garnished the top with bright red chili flakes and tender, green scallion pieces.
In fact, minced garlic, cilantro, or crushed peanuts could also be added, but Xiao Naiwang preferred the version without any extras, so he decided not to include them for now. When it was time to sell, he would prepare these ingredients separately.

The bowl of aromatic and beautifully colored jagged potatoes was incredibly tempting. Xiao Naiwang picked up a piece to taste. The jagged potatoes were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a savory, spicy, and fragrant flavor. The natural aroma of the fried potatoes was rich and enticing, making one want to chew heartily. At the same time, the seasonings blended perfectly—fresh, salty, spicy, and aromatic—creating rich layers that instantly overwhelmed the taste buds, stimulating the mouth to salivate and making one’s fingers twitch with anticipation. Before long, Xiao Naiwang had eaten more than half of it!

Delicious! Xiao Naiwang licked his lips and smiled, feeling even more confident.

“Daddy…” Little Xiao Baobao wobbled out of the bedroom, heading toward the kitchen. His small face showed a hint of fear, and his voice was timid and soft: “Daddy… Daddy…”

“Baobao.” Xiao Naiwang quickly put down the bowl and walked out of the kitchen, scooping Xiao Baobao up in his arms. “What’s wrong, Baobao?”

“Daddy…” Xiao Baobao tightened his grip around Xiao Naiwang’s neck, burying his little face into the crook of his neck and pressing close, not moving at all.

“Good boy…” Xiao Naiwang suddenly understood—the little one felt very insecure. He sighed inwardly, gently patting the child’s back and kissing his cheek. “Baobao, be good. Daddy made something delicious. Want to try it?”

Xiao Baobao’s little head moved slightly. After a while, he whispered softly, “Okay…”

Xiao Naiwang kissed Xiao Baobao’s cheek again, gently setting him down. He picked up his chopsticks, took a potato strip, and crouched slightly. “Baobao, take a small bite first. This might be a little spicy. Daddy will make you a portion without chili peppers later.”

Xiao Baobao sniffed the enticing aroma, unable to resist taking a deep breath and swallowing his saliva. His eyes sparkled as he stared at his father, trustingly opening his little mouth to take a bite of the potato strip. After chewing twice, his small face suddenly flushed red.

“Ah, so spicy, so spicy, Daddy… but so delicious too!”

Xiao Naiwang quickly poured a glass of water for Xiao Baobao to drink. “Good boy, Daddy will make another serving without chili. Wait here for Daddy.”

“Mmm…” Xiao Baobao held the water cup with both little hands, obediently nodding his small head. He then opened his reddened little mouth to blow air, but his eyes couldn’t help glancing back at the plate of wolf tooth potatoes that had made him so spicy.

“Daddy, it’s really… really so delicious…Baobao here says “Bàba zhēn…… Zhēn de hǎo hào chī wa……” which can be translated as “Daddy really… really so so delicious.””

—

Author’s Note:
Xiao Naiwang: The potatoes are delicious, not Daddy…

The ML on his way: Delicious! Super delicious!!

Xiao Naiwang: →_→