Even before the call connected, Tang Xiaokang already knew why his mom was calling.
"Grandfather is indeed coming to see me."
Once the call was connected, without giving his mom a chance to ask anything, Tang Xiaokang decided to answer preemptively.
There was a long silence, and then, on the other end of the line, Tang Xiaokang's familiar voice finally spoke.
"What's your grandfather going to Dongju for? He's not going to help you clean up a mess, is he?"
"Hey, what are you saying? Can't he just come to discuss the Tang family's Recipe Book with me?"
"You, discuss recipes with the old master? Can you even cook Cantonese Style Lamb Soup well?"
"Well, of course I can cook it well."
To say the most boastful words in the most timid tone perfectly captured Tang Xiaokang's current situation.
As the saying goes, a higher rank crushes the lower. His mother, Cheng Guixia, who held a higher position on the Tang family's status chart than his father, Tang Qingbo, undoubtedly had the ultimate authority within their small family of three.
Because there wasn't such a huge gap between him and his grandfather, Tang Xiaokang could more directly feel the pressure from the next hierarchical level.
However, it was clear that Cheng Guixia didn't intend to argue further with Tang Xiaokang. Once she understood the purpose of the old master's visit, she stopped pressing for details. She rarely interfered with the inheritance of the Tang family's Recipe Book.
After all, she knew the importance of this matter in the old master's heart. Tang Qingbo himself had strived to break free from the old master's control by diligently starting a new venture, forcing the old master to re-level.
As for Tang Xiaokang, he actually had the ability to start his own venture now to escape the old master's grasp.
However, considering the old master's current age, Tang Xiaokang likely wouldn't get that chance.
At this moment, all Tang Xiaokang could do was to stubbornly survive under the old master's nagging and urging about inheritance, asking for nothing more than to please the old master. Of course, it would be even better if he could completely inherit the culinary skills of the Tang family's Recipe Book.
Cheng Guixia wasn't entirely sure how difficult the Tang family's Recipe Book was, but she had a general idea.
Considering her son's cooking skills, Cheng Guixia didn't have any lofty expectations. As long as he could reach the standard of cooking for pigs, everything else would be negotiable...
"I'll transfer another 500,000 to your account later. We have to make Dongju last a bit longer, don't let it die in your hands too quickly, or the old master will be furious with you."
After saying a few more caring words on the phone, Cheng Guixia, as usual, ended the conversation with a money transfer.
Comrade Cheng's rule was terrifying, but Tang Xiaokang had always been satisfied with her habit of sending money at the slightest disagreement.
Growing up, although Tang Xiaokang seemed to lack in terms of family affection, he had never lacked money.
And under his grandfather's training during the Winter Three Months and Summer Three Fú, and his parents' belief that filial piety comes from strict discipline, it was quite miraculous that Tang Xiaokang hadn't gone astray at all.
Speaking of which, we must mention Tang Xiaokang's parents, Comrade Cheng Guixia and Comrade Tang Qingbo.
As the son of the boss of Dongju, no one expected Tang Qingbo, who grew up in a family of chefs, to have a business acumen. A family of generations of chefs produced a business talent.
With a keen eye, he instantly spotted a business opportunity among Dongju's suppliers and transformed into a food supplier.
After meeting his mother, Cheng Guixia, the two became a perfect match, expanding the entire supply system by tens of times. The company's service areas were distributed throughout the eastern and southern regions of the country.
One managed the internal operations of the group, while the other handled external business negotiations and supplier contacts, gradually building their commercial empire.
Furthermore, by leveraging his grandfather Tang Youwei's exquisite culinary skills, they controlled the channels for producing all high-quality ingredients, thus establishing an unshakeable position.
This was why, after Tang Qingbo started his new venture, Tang Youwei decisively shifted his focus to Tang Xiaokang.
According to the old master, Tang Qingbo was a traitor to the Tang family, unable to even properly make a soup, and unworthy of the Tang surname.
Of course, in the past, Tang Xiaokang was also included in this group of targets.
But now...
Looking at the Cantonese Style Lamb Soup simmering in the pot, Tang Xiaokang felt that from now on, the only traitor of the Tang family would be Comrade Tang Qingbo.
The revolution has not yet succeeded, comrades must continue to strive!
With the path now being corrected by the old master's visit, Tang Xiaokang was no longer in a hurry to experiment with what kind of chicken meat would be most suitable for making Delicious Salt Baked Chicken.
Instead, he shifted his focus to seasoning.
With the rewards provided by the system and the control of rich experience, creating a satisfactory seasoning for salt-baked chicken was an easy task.
But to make it excellent, perfect, even exquisitely masterful, reaching the pinnacle of success.
This was no longer something that could rely on the system, but on the chef themselves.
Only through hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, even hundreds of millions of repetitions of practice and research could the flavor potentially advance further from the original foundation.
To let the body remember that feeling, to let the hands and brain transform it into instinct.
Tang Xiaokang had studied under his grandfather for nearly ten years. He couldn't confidently say what else he had learned, but there was one saying he truly understood: practice makes perfect.
Whether it was seasoning, heat control, or stir-frying, only by continuously refining and constantly thinking could one make further progress.
Batch after batch of marinades were prepared by Tang Xiaokang, constantly researching combinations and experimenting with the possibilities of each flavor.
And the salt in the pot was not neglected either; it was constantly stir-fried, using excess frozen chicken for practice and experimentation.
Tang Xiaokang had always understood that the system could not give him much. Although it was very important, what it actually provided him was only filling the void that a chef lacked when cooking, a state that Tang Xiaokang had been unable to grasp, which the system had compensated for.
As for whether he could become a master chef, whether he could restore the Tang family's Recipe Book to its former glory, it depended on him, and only on him.
Tang Xiaokang was confident. This confidence came from the pride of the Tang family. The glory of his ancestors still shone upon him. Hundreds of years ago, how many noble lords and lords came knocking, all seeking to taste the Tang family's culinary skills.
However, he was not arrogant. Tang Xiaokang understood that those glories that made him proud came from his ancestors, from the Tang family's heritage, and as for himself, he still lacked a great deal.
Throughout the entire day, apart from preparing lamb soup for customers, Tang Xiaokang had been practicing the preparation of salt-baked chicken in the back kitchen.