The chicken was made into a variety of dishes by Meng Yao.
The chicken thigh meat was used for Kung Pao chicken, the breast for chicken steak with sauce, the carcass was braised with potatoes, and the skin and giblets were made into spicy stir-fry.
The meat bun was made with top-quality skin-on pork belly that had been braised in advance and soaked overnight to get just the right flavor. Since Zhao Xiaoshu loves egg-filled buns, some eggs were also soaked in the braising sauce.
The bone soup was made with bones that were a gift from Butcher Zhang.
Additionally, shredded radish and garlic mustard cabbage were also prepared.
There was both meat and vegetables, making it quite a feast.
Although everything looked ordinary, the tantalizing aroma told Qin Zheng that each dish on the table was extraordinary.
Once the dishes were arranged, Meng Yao invited everyone to sit down.
Song Xiu'er was adamant about not joining the table, until Meng Yao quipped, 'Then no one will eat,' which startled her, but she still only ate the garlic mustard cabbage in front of her.
Meng Yao glared at Zhao Dajiang, and he immediately understood, serving some of each dish to Song Xiu'er.
On the first bite, Qin Zheng could still maintain his elegance.
After taking a bite, seeing Zhao Dahe utterly unconcerned with table manners, he also let loose.
He had no choice; it was too delicious. If he didn't eat quickly, it would all end up in Zhao Dahe's stomach.
Meng Yao happily watched them relish the meal. Although she was an amateur cook, seeing her dishes so well-received made her happy.
"Mom, your cooking is even better than the chef at Hundred Flavors Building," Zhao Dahe said after putting down his chopsticks and serving himself a bowl of bone soup to drink slowly.
Qin Zheng also put down his chopsticks and drank the soup slowly, just like Zhao Dahe.
"Auntie, this is clearly bun stuffed with meat, so why is it called meat stuffed bun?"
Qin Zheng asked a question anyone trying a meat bun for the first time would ask.
"When you're eating it, do you think the meat or the bun is the main component?" Meng Yao replied with a question.
"The meat is richer and tastier, though the bun is also good, especially chewy," Qin Zheng contemplated before answering, "So because the meat is tastier, it's called a meat stuffed bun?"
Meng Yao nodded; right or wrong, this explanation would suffice.
"From now on, meat stuffed buns will be my favorite food," Qin Zheng declared solemnly. "Auntie, can I come to your house for a meal every month during my days off? Don't worry; I won't eat for free."
"If you don't mind, of course you can," Meng Yao replied.
"Qin Little Fatty, have some restraint. Do you know what restraint is? You said you'd visit once, so why are you clinging now?" Zhao Dahe was displeased.
"In the face of Auntie's cooking, I can't be restrained," Qin Zheng replied helplessly. "I'm already worried that once I return to school, I won't be able to eat the food made by the school chef."
"Isn't it good if you can't eat it? Aren't you always complaining about being fat? If you eat less, you can slim down a bit," Zhao Dahe mercilessly commented. "I noticed earlier that Zhao Xiaohua ate very little. You have to know, she used to eat a lot. Sometimes I couldn't even compete with her."
Zhao Xiaohua couldn't hold back any longer, "Mom, control Second Brother. Why is he so annoying, always revealing my flaws?"
Meng Yao glared at Zhao Dahe, "Eating doesn't even stop your mouth. The reason these dishes are so delicious is largely due to Xiaohua's contribution."
If not for Xiaohua's guidance, although the food wouldn't be bad, it wouldn't achieve this level of flavor.
Zhao Dahe was curious, "Mom, you don't have to be so biased towards Zhao Xiaohua, right? What can she do? What does she know how to do? You can't just praise her unrealistically to make her look good, can you?"
"Mom, look at Second Brother, how can he be like this!" Zhao Xiaohua pouted, feeling upset.
"Dajiang, you tell Dahe what Xiaohua did?" Meng Yao said.
Zhao Dajiang was honest and incapable of lying.
"Mom's cooking wasn't initially this tasty. It was Xiaohua who told mom if any flavor was overdone or lacking, and moms followed her advice to make it better," Zhao Dajiang said earnestly.
Zhao Dahe was surprised, "Wow, Xiaohua, you have this skill?"
"Mom always said I was born with the palate of a gourmet, knowing what tastes good and what doesn't," Zhao Xiaohua said proudly.
"Little sister Xiaohua, can you tell me how you notice when a flavor is lacking? I'm quite a foodie myself," Qin Zheng asked with a cheeky grin.
"How to explain it? You just feel it when it enters your mouth," Zhao Xiaohua answered.
"There's really no trick?" Qin Zheng was unwilling to give up.
Zhao Xiaohua shook her head, "Nope."
Qin Zhen sighed, "Heaven is unfair."
"If you want a more sensitive palate, you need to eat plain food for a while," Meng Yao said.
Qin Zheng's eyes lit up, "Auntie, what do you mean?"
"If I'm not wrong, you eat a lot of rich and heavy flavors daily, right? And when you eat a dish for the first time, it seems good, but the second time it's not as good as before, right? And so on, the more you eat, the blander it gets, right?"
"Yes, yes." Qin Zheng nodded, the flesh on his face quivering with each nod, "Auntie, what's wrong with me?"
Looking at him, Zhao Xiaohua seemed to see her former self.
Indeed, plump and not very pleasant to look at.
"Oily and heavy flavors have worn your tongue out. If you eat lighter for a while and let your tongue rest, you'll be able to enjoy all sorts of delicious food again. Just remember, in the future, balance your diet with both meat and vegetables, not just meat," Meng Yao advised. She had observed earlier that this chubby boy hadn't touched a single shred of radish or cabbage.
"But I don't like eating vegetables," Qin Zheng complained.
"Then in the future, your tongue will slowly lose its ability to taste, and eventually, everything you eat will taste like wax," Meng Yao warned.
Though slightly exaggerated, it wasn't far from the truth. Over time, insensitive taste buds really do decrease the joy of tasting food.
Qin Zheng turned pale with fear.
"Auntie, you're not scaring me, are you?" Qin Zheng's voice was trembling.
He was quite timid.
"I'm not scaring you," Meng Yao said. "I heard Dahe's father talk about it once. He's met someone who couldn't taste anything."
Mainly, the little chubby boy was too fat. Even one meal would make him sweat through a handkerchief. Meng Yao thought, if it were in modern times, a health check would likely reveal lots of issues despite his young age. Although things like high cholesterol might be an exaggeration, a fatty liver wasn't a stretch.
Zhao Xiaohua, being shrewd, could see her mother was purposefully making it sound severe because the chubby boy was too fat.
"Brother Qin Zheng, actually, my second brother didn't lie. I used to be as fat as you," Zhao Xiaohua began. "I loved eating meat and always ate quickly. After meals, I'd still have snacks. Later, I started finding food tasteless and walking made me tired, and people teased me for being a pig. So I thought, I can't get any fatter, I have to slim down."
What Zhao Xiaohua described was essentially Qin Zheng's daily life.
He also wanted to slim down, but each time he faced the temptation of food, he couldn't control himself.
Forcing himself to starve a few times only led to even more indulgence in binge eating.