Meat was something he could still try.
Thinly sliced meat was easy to pick up with chopsticks, but a bit tricky with a fork and spoon.
August, however, struggled with the braised beef in front of him with great patience.
After taking a bite, August nodded repeatedly.
He had visited many countries and tasted many delicacies, but he had to admit that Chinese cuisine was truly first-class.
Even though the entire country was currently poor, its culinary culture was profound and extensive!
To have such delicious food in a small, obscure restaurant was truly astonishing.
Christina, on the other hand, after tasting it, firmly declared that while the braised beef and braised pork were also delicious, the braised pig trotters tasted even better.
"Christina, in our China, we have not only braised pig trotters, but also braised chicken feet, braised pig skin, and braised dried tofu, all of which taste very good."
Many ingredients could be made into the most delicious braised dishes. As long as the braising liquid was good, the taste would not be bad regardless of the ingredient.
After listening to Su Xiaotian's introduction, Christina suddenly felt that returning home was not as appealing.
Christina once again thought how wonderful it would be if she could recognize Grandma Su as her grandmother.
She wanted to stay!
Having been rejected once, Christina didn't have the nerve to voice her thoughts.
Just then, Grandma Su personally brought over dumplings.
Although Grandma Su did not fulfill Christina's wish of recognizing her as a granddaughter,
the old lady had indeed grown very fond of the girl through their interactions over the past few days.
Perhaps it was because girls who smiled often were more easily liked by others.
Grandma Su felt that this child was quite nice.
Knowing that the Christina siblings would be returning home the next morning, Grandma Su had prepared dinner with great care.
In addition to various dishes the siblings liked, Grandma Su had also specially prepared dumplings to see them off.
"My dear, tell them I'm reluctant to see them go so soon and that they should come back again when they have the chance," Grandma Su said with reluctance.
Su Xiaotian felt Grandma Su's reluctance and smiled at the Christina siblings, "We have an old saying in China: dumplings for departure, noodles for arrival. My grandma specially made dumplings to see you off. My grandma said she is very reluctant to see you go and hopes you will have the opportunity to visit China again."
The siblings thanked her politely, and Christina, in particular, even stepped forward to hug Grandma Su.
Foodie Christina hugged Grandma Su, reluctant to leave.
Su Xiaotian suspected that she wasn't reluctant to part with Grandma Su, but rather with Grandma Su's delicious food!
After seeing the siblings off, Su Xiaotian fiddled with the exquisite Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse watch that Christina had given her, unsure of what to do with it for a moment.
She couldn't bring herself to accept gifts from others without reason.
Although such a watch might not be considered valuable to Christina, Su Xiaotian felt she didn't deserve it.
As Su Xiaotian was contemplating this matter, Grandma Su noticed.
"My dear, what's wrong? Why do you look so troubled?"
Su Xiaotian then showed the watch to Grandma Su.
"This watch looks nice, much nicer than the ones bought at the department store," Grandma Su remarked with emotion.
Su Xiaotian: "..."
It was truly a candid statement; this one watch could buy dozens or even hundreds of watches from the department store.
"Grandma, the price of this watch is probably equivalent to a house in our area!"
Su Xiaotian wasn't entirely sure of the exact price, so she could only guess.
Grandma Su almost stumbled, a house, my goodness, it's really valuable.
"Then we can't accept it!"
"I couldn't refuse, and I was thinking about what gift to give Christina as a return present."
Grandma Su said generously, "Didn't your cousin Yu give you some jewelry before? Take out a piece to give back!"
Su Xiaotian then remembered that she still had a few exquisite pieces of jewelry hidden away, lying in her system's storage box.
Thinking of those treasures, they were indeed comparable to this watch.
With the problem solved, Su Xiaotian also became happy.
"My dear, I see that the situation has improved a lot this year. Shouldn't we take out some of our family's treasures?"
Su Xiaotian then remembered, indeed, she had acquired many good treasures over the years, which could be sold for quite a bit of money.
However, jewelry wasn't very valuable now, and even gold and silver weren't worth much when taken to the bank.
"Let's wait a bit longer, Grandma. Better safe than sorry," Su Xiaotian said casually.
Grandma Su nodded repeatedly, "You're right, being careful doesn't hurt."
Besides, the family wasn't short of money now; she and her husband had saved several thousand yuan, making them quite well-off!
In an era before the emergence of "ten-thousand-yuan households," a savings of several thousand yuan was enough for Grandma Su to feel her back straighten.
Su Xiaotian remembered that she had to see the Christina siblings off at the airport tomorrow and asked for Grandma Su's opinion.
"Grandma, Christina really likes our braised dishes. How about we prepare some for her to eat on the plane?"
Grandma Su repeatedly said that this was a good idea.
That night, Grandma Su specially prepared a lot of delicious Chinese food for the siblings, keeping her busy until late at night.
She prepared a considerable amount of preserved foods, including dried pork, fragrant deer meat, and beef jerky.
Grandma Su also found two large lunchboxes and packed two boxes of various braised dishes.
One of Christina's lunchboxes contained various braised items such as pig trotters, chicken feet, pig skin, and pig hearts.
August's portion was much simpler; it didn't have the variety of braised items in Christina's lunchbox, but simply contained some braised pork, braised beef, and braised dried tofu.
As a result, the next day when Su Xiaotian went to see them off, she brought a large bag of food.
Christina was so delighted that she almost went crazy, repeatedly praising Su Xiaotian and thanking Grandma Su.
Christina wasn't particularly interested in the gemstone necklace Su Xiaotian gave her.
Su Xiaotian was truly speechless!
She couldn't understand the world of a foodie.
After seeing the Christina siblings off, Su Xiaotian didn't stop her pace.
She was very busy, having to read more books every day to fill in the gaps in her knowledge, and also plan her next money-making venture.
That's right, Su Xiaotian's next money-making plan was focused on braised dishes.
Through the recommendations of the past few days, the braised dishes at Yiming Pavilion had gained some recognition.
Su Xiaotian planned to develop this business as quickly as possible.
Although Yiming Pavilion's business was good, the place was still too small.
There were also few family members to manage more business.
Just then, she received a call from Su Laosan, saying that he would be on the train tomorrow and would arrive in Beijing three days later.
The whole family was very excited, especially Liang Xiu, who was so emotional that she almost cried.
It had been a long time since they were apart, and it was a lie to say she didn't miss her husband, especially after a busy day, when she wished someone was there to talk to.