I am a Chef in the Modern Era

Chapter 97: Cumin Beef Skewers

The moment New Years ended, the temperature rose. The sun was getting hotter by the day and nearby scenic areas (attractions, parks) saw their flowers blooming. Attracting many tourists.

Neither brother Shen nor Chen Fang left, so Shen Fu was worried that they would have nothing to do in the house, unlike him, who had a wife and children. Thus, he got two outdoor grills for picnicking. Brother Shen had never attended these kinds of outdoor barbecue events before so he agreed readily, since it peaked his interest. Chen Fang was even more willing as if he was bored to no end, and he didn’t want to go back to listen to his parents’ nagging. He much preferred to be out and about.

It was the eighth day of the lunar year and most companies had already started working again, however, these four were the clear exceptions. Neither Chen Fang nor Shen Fu took over the family business, with the prior being a freelance photographer, he went to work based on his feelings that day. As for brother Shen, even though he was in charge of a large company, not everything needed his attention, thus, if he wanted to take a break, who was to say no? Lin ShuYi was operating his own restaurant and there weren’t many people out during the New Years so he was also free.

Shen Fu didn’t choose a weekend as that was when things were the busiest and he had no intention of squeezing past a horde of people. Especially since he had two kids and his brother wasn’t one for the crowd either. Thus, everyone chose Monday, a day where most people were already out at work to travel.

At first they considered calling old man Yang and Xiao Wan’s grandma along, but when they asked, they were informed that they had their own plans. It was so going out, walking around, picking some wild vegetables etc. Old man Yang also considered that these were all youngsters, so if they were together, they would have to take care of him and wouldn’t be able to freely enjoy themselves, so he rejected the offer and told them to have fun.

So, when they departed, they only had six people.

Brother Shen was okay but as Chen Fang watched the family of four and him being all alone, he felt the pain of being single. The pain grew as he watched them be all lovey-dovey, especially since he willingly signed himself up for this. The good thing was, by the time they got there, the pain faded with the beautiful scenery.

Although, in reality, the place wasn’t so interesting anymore for Lin ShuYi, as this was the place where old man Yang brought them fishing. There were a few small attractions here, mostly lakes and mountains, which were all connected. But to be honest, other than the blooming flowers, there was nothing more to see. However, once they start picnicking at a place like this, the feelings got much better.

Shen Fu picked a good day as the weather was nice, there was no strong winds and the sun was nice and warm.

Xiao Yu was instantly captured by the scenery the moment he got out of the car. As he ran, he shouted, “Daddy, look here! The flowers are so pretty!”

Lin ShuYi was carrying TaoTao, who was still in a sleepy daze, as he smiled in response, “Be careful! Don’t get too close to the water.”

Xiao Yu nodded like a good kid then ran farther away.

Brother Shen got out from the back and Chen Fang got out from the passenger’s seat as he exclaimed, “Wah, I didn’t think S City had so many good places.”

Shen Fu replied mockingly, “What else do you know but the hotels you stay in?”

Chen Fang burnt red, unable to find a comeback.

Different from his usual business attire, brother Shen wore a casual outfit. With his thick waist and tight butt, he looked like a model straight from the catwalk. Although Chen Fang looked like a ruffian (not serious, rough, type), he was a different kind of handsome. With their group, there was a mix of handsome and cute, so almost everyone who passed by, took another look. Good thing there were many people around, or they might have been surrounded like some celebrity.

The grass here wasn’t man-made, so it was a bit uneven, but it was fresh and green. Shen Fu took out the picnic blanket out from the trunk and laid it on the grass field. Lin ShuYi, took the initiative and put TaoTao on it.

The moment they left the house, TaoTao had been super excited, jumping around for the whole trip and finally fell asleep when they almost arrived. In the time of him being carried out of the car by Lin ShuYi, his hp completely rejuvenated. He looked around excitedly at the flowers and green scenery. So, the moment he was placed down by Lin ShuYi, he started wobbling, wanting to walk over there.

It seemed that it was about time for him to start walking. Before, they had to pull him along, for him to walk a few steps, now, he didn’t need anyone and could wobble a few steps. Lin ShuYi was really happy about that. The grass here was soft and the blanket had some thickness to it, so even if he fell, it wouldn’t hurt. Thus, Lin ShuYi let him go to discover on his own and he’d just watch over him.

They came here not long after breakfast so no one was in a hurry to cook. They just setup all the equipment and talked about going fishing.

Xiao Yu was clearly interested in fishing, but the adult fishing equipment was all too big for him and he couldn’t even hold on to them, so he just looked longingly at Shen Fu. Shen Fu, on the other hand was just getting into the grove of things, when he turned around to see Xiao Yu looking at him, so he laughed and said, “Do you want to play too?”

Xiao Yu nodded.

Shen Fu backed up a bit and patted the spot in front of him, “Come sit here and I’ll teach you.”

Xiao Yu happily walked over and sat down. Shen Fu held his hand and taught him, step by step how to place the lure, how to throw the line, how to watch the floats and finally how to rear in the fish. In reality, Xiao Yu couldn’t even hold the fishing pole, but he still stared wide-eyed at the float, unblinking.

He had gone on for a long time but nothing happened, so he turned around and looked at Shen Fu confused. Shen Fu rubbed his head and smiled, “You need patience and wait for the fish to eat the lure.”

Xiao Yu nodded as he continued to watch the surface of the water.

As Lin ShuYi watched over TaoTao, he also took time to watch the other two’s interactions. He felt his lips curl as Shen Fu became more and more like a dad. As if he noticed his gaze, Shen Fu suddenly turned around and saw Lin ShuYi’s warm smile. He then, very suggestively, licked his lips.

Lin ShuYi:......

Seeing the whole, ‘what did I just see’ expression on Lin ShuYi, Shen Fu couldn’t stop laughing. In the end, he still liked to tease him and make him expression a feeling that only he got to see.

All Chen Fang did was accidentally turn around to change his lure and was force fed a bunch of dog food. He felt his whole body go bad. (T/N dog food = lovey-dovey behaviour of couples)

Beside him, brother Shen smiled mysteriously, “At a time like this, you just have to pretend to be blind.”

Chen Fang:......The brother was the true master.

That was when Xiao Yu suddenly shouted excitedly, “Daddy! Daddy! Fish! The fish got caught!”

Shen Fu turned around and with quick reflexes, retracted the string. Not to anyone’s surprise, there was a fish, about the size of a hand, struggling as it was hooked onto the lure.

Shen Fu took the fish down and put it in a water bucket nearby. Carrying the bucket, Xiao Yu came running to Lin ShuYi. With a bright red face of excitement he said, “Daddy, look, a fishy.”

Lin ShuYi rubbed his head as he praised him, “Xiao Yu caught it, amazing!”

Xiao Yu was still red, clearly super happy.

TaoTao bent over the bucket and stared at the fish to the point he almost went cross eyed. He stared at the fish for a while then looked up at Xiao Yu, “Brother~~Brother~~”

Clearly, he was very curious at this ‘thing’.

Xiao Yu carefully rolled up his sleeves and held the fish up with both hands. He held it tight enough that even though the fish was struggling, it did not break free. Then, he gently, brought it in front of TaoTao, “Look, the fish your brother caught.”

TaoTao was clearly afraid of the fish tossing and turning, but he didn’t want to not look either, thus, with hesitation, he got closer.

“Touch it, TaoTao. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Tilting his head, TaoTao, like he understood, reached out his white, delicate hands. But it wasn’t just the hands, he also stretched his head forward.

Before he reached the fish, it finally struggled out of Xiao Yu hands and then slammed onto TaoTao’s mouth.

......

“Pia” It landed a solid kiss.

TaoTao was completely dumbfounded as he eyes turned wide. It rolled twice stupidly before finally he burst into tears.

Instantly Xiao Yu panicked. He didn’t have time to worry about the fish that dropped onto the grass, instead he wanted to hug TaoTao but looking at his watery hands, he didn’t know what to do.

As TaoTao cried, he burrowed deeper into Lin ShuYi’s embrace, clearly shocked by the accident. Lin ShuYi quickly hugged him and said, “Did it scare you? Don’t cry, it accidentally got out of brother’s hand, that’s why it touched you. Don’t you still want to touch it?”

TaoTao sniffed a bit more than stopped. He looked at his brother then at the fish, wanting to touch it but also not.

That was when Xiao Yu threw the fish back into the bucket and said, “Brother threw him back, don’t cry TaoTao.”

TaoTao stopped crying as he leaned over, smiling at the fish swimming around. He turned around to say to Xiao Yu, “Brother~Fish~”

Xiao Yu’s eyes widened, “Right, fish. TaoTao’s so smart!”

TaoTao, who just got praised as smart, was extremely delighted and circled the bucket over and over again. However, he never reached in or stood too close. As for his first kiss being stolen by a fish, that became the perfect teasing material when he grew up. When you think about it, that was quite depressing.

They played around with fishing till lunch before Shen Fu started to put the coals into the grill and starting the fire, preparing for the BBQ. They brought a lot of stuff when they came and there was also the fish they caught.

TaoTao couldn’t eat any of the BBQ and Xiao Yu could only eat a few so they prepared a lunchbox specifically for them. Inside was congee and side dishes Lin ShuYi prepared before hand. As for brother Shen and Chen Fang, they started to grill, something they had never done before.

The ingredients were also prepared beforehand. The meats were skewered, as well as pre-marinated chicken wings, chicken hearts, shrimp, squid, etc...Other than the meats, there were also the greens. There wasn’t a lot for each but there was a large variety.

For those who never barbecued before, grilling was much more interesting than eating. Good thing the grill was long enough for the both of them. With two people, there was a good amount of grilling down, but considering the speed of brother Shen who lacked coordination, they wouldn’t be full till midnight.

In the beginning, Chen Fang had a lot of energy, but by the end, he was mostly moving his mouth rather than his hands. As Shen Fu carried TaoTao and fed him congee, Lin ShuYi swiftly placed everything on the grill. Then he brushed on the oils, the sauce, then sprinkled on the spices. Even brother Shen let go and ate quite a bit.

Xiao Yu ate a huge bowl of congee but even then, he looked at everyone with want.

Brother Shen handed him a huge meat skewer with no chilli on it, “It’s said that you shouldn’t eat too much of this stuff, but once in a while it’s still good.”

Xiao Yu took it happily and ate it.

Even though BBQ was often considered a cancer inducing food, it had its reason for its continuous popularity! (T/N probably cuz in China/Asia these are street foods and very unsanitary. Especially in non-major cities, the sanitary level is low. You never know what meat or oil their using is.) As the saying goes, a life without BBQ wasn’t a life worth living!

Brother Shen turned around and looked at Shen Fu. He suddenly felt like this brother of his was really enjoying a fulfilling life. How unfair was this?! Could he tolerate this? Of course not!!

Shen Fu suddenly felt a cold shiver down his back. He looked around to see Lin ShuYi grilling, Chen Fang eating without restraint, and brother Shen losing his thought while staring at the skewer in his hands. That was weird, why did he felt a calculating gaze? Who was it from? Why did his six sense tell him that something was going to happen?!