I Am A Gourmet: Just Eight And You Want Me To Start A Roadside Stall Novel! - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: This Is the Taste of Home!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“It’s fu*king exhausting.”
A man in a suit dragged his tired body slowly up the stairs.
His name was Peng Yan, and he was a real estate architect.
If Xu Le saw him, he should be able to recognize him as the male protagonist in Ms. Li’s wedding photo.
In other words, Peng Yan was Teacher Li’s husband.
“What’s that sound?”
Peng Yan stood at the door of his house. Just as he was about to take out his keys to open the door, he suddenly frowned because he heard a strange sound coming from the house.
There was the sound of a woman, his wife Li Jing.
There was no doubt about that.
However, there seemed to be a man’s voice. It was very soft and could only be heard by sticking close to the door.
What Peng Yan was more concerned about was that he heard Li Jing panting and only a few words she said. Peng Yan could not help but clench his fists.
By that time, Peng Yan had already lost his rationality.
There was only one thought in his mind—there was another man at home!
When he was at work, Li Jing actually brought another man home.
Thinking about it, Peng Yan usually worked overtime in the office at this time in the afternoon. He only had time to go home that day after his project had ended.
Before he had time to think, he pulled the key from his pocket and inserted it into the keyhole.
Ching!
The moment the lock turned, Peng Yan could no longer suppress the anger in his heart and directly pushed the door open.
“Li Jing, you!”
After entering the living room, Peng Yan’s angry roar stopped abruptly.
There was only Li Jing and a young boy around eight or nine years old at home. They were eating.
Peng Yan’s face instantly flushed red.
After seeing the Kung Pao Chicken and Oil Doused Noodles on the table, as long as he wasn’t stupid, he could guess what had just happened.
“You guys are… eating.”
Peng Yan forced out a smile that was uglier than crying.
“Hello, Uncle!” Xu Le stood up and greeted him politely.
“Hello, little friend…”
Peng Yan stuttered when he spoke.
After all, the scene just now was really a little awkward. It was clearly Li Jing who was having a meal with the little kid, but Peng Yan misunderstood it as his wife having an affair.
“It smells so good…”
A tempting spicy fragrance entered Peng Yan’s nose, causing his body to tremble slightly. Saliva quickly accumulated in his mouth, causing him to feel the urge to eat.
He once again turned his attention to the Kung Pao chicken and oil doused noodle on the table.
“Darling, did you make these two dishes yourself? Or did you order takeout?”
Peng Yan asked doubtfully.
After all, according to his understanding of Li Jing, although she was a good teacher, she was definitely not a good chef.
Apart from cooking instant noodles, Li Jing knew almost nothing else.
“Xu Le made this,” Ms. Li answered with a smile.
“Xu Le?”
Peng Yan was stunned at first. He tried to recall in his mind and realised that he did not seem to know someone called Xu Le.
But soon, a shocking thought flashed in his mind.
“He is Xu Le?”
Peng Yan pointed at Xu Le who was eating innocently and asked in surprise.
“Hello, Uncle. My name is Xu Le. I’m eight years old today.”
Xu Le put down his chopsticks and introduced himself cutely.
“You can cook at eight?”
Peng Yan was still muttering.
Li Jing asked expectantly, “Do you want to eat some too?”
Peng Yan hesitated slightly. After hesitating for a few seconds, he still nodded.
While he went to the kitchen to get the cutlery, Mr. Li leaned over and whispered into Xu Le’s ear, “His job is a real estate architect. He’s usually very busy with work. He has a 996 working system and often has to work overtime.”
After saying that, Teacher Li realized that Xu Le was still a child.
“Do you understand what 996 means?”
Xu Le shook his head in confusion.
“Uh… 996 is the system where you start work at nine in the morning and end at nine in the evening and work six days a week,” Ms. Li explained quietly.
“Your Uncle Peng Yan usually eats irregularly, so he suffers from anorexia. Today is a good time to let him taste your cooking.”
At this moment, Peng Yan walked out of the kitchen with a bowl and chopsticks. Teacher Li immediately stopped talking and started eating.
However, Teacher Li and Xu Le’s attention were still on Peng Yan.
Even Xu Le was very curious.
What kind of reaction would Uncle Peng, who was suffering from anorexia, have after eating his food?
Peng Yan had a bowl of the remaining oil doused noodles.
Peng Yan, who had been suffering from anorexia for some time, suddenly felt his appetite returning when he smelled the spicy fragrance.
Anorexia was a serious psychological disorder.
It was not that the patients did not want to eat, but because of some psychological problems, they over starve, refuse to eat, and even refuse to maintain their minimum weight.
The rate of anorexia was low, but the death rate was very high.
This kind of mental illness was difficult to treat, so about 10-20% of the patients would usually die. The mortality rate was even more terrible than the plague.
Peng Yan had to go to the hospital every week for treatment. He would take medicine every night, but it never worked.
Until just now…
After smelling the fragrance emitted from the Oil Doused Noodles and Kung Pao Chicken, Peng Yan actually had an appetite!
People who didn’t understand anorexia might think it was nothing.
But Peng Yan himself knew that this was simply a miracle, a medical miracle!
The smell of food alone had controlled his psychological problem to a certain extent.
Peng Yan’s hand that was holding the chopsticks was trembling.
Having an appetite did not mean that his anorexia had been cured.
After eating, there was a high possibility of vomiting or even diarrhea.
Peng Yan picked up a piece of chicken and put it into his mouth.
The first thing that entered his mouth was the fragrance and spiciness!
He bit down lightly, and the crispy chicken meat exploded in his mouth. As it was from the chicken thigh, the meat was soft and juicy.
His mouth was filled with the fragrance of spiciness and oil, giving his taste buds the greatest stimulation.
“Delicious!”
Peng Yan’s eyes lit up.
Xu Le’s dishes were both Sichuan cuisine, and Peng Yan happened to be from Sichuan.
Therefore, to him, this was the taste of home!
After feeling the stimulation of the spiciness, Peng Yan picked up a few strands of noodles and put them into his mouth.
The bounciness of the noodles and its smoothness, coupled with the rich aroma of the oil further added to his appetite.
It had been a few months since he had a proper meal.
He usually relied on medication to suppress his psychological barrier towards food and needed to go to the hospital for nutritional injections every week.
At that moment, the two home-cooked dishes in front of him evoked his memories of his hometown.
These two dishes all tasted like home!
In less than two minutes, Peng Yan had finished the entire big bowl of Oil Doused Noodles.
Perhaps it was because of the spiciness, but the corners of his eyes were also wet.