As the saying goes, you know a master the moment they make a move.
Although Jiang Ming didn’t quite believe deep down that his son, Jiang Fei, had become a master chef—thinking it sounded like a ridiculous joke—his doubts began to fade the instant he saw Jiang Fei’s extraordinary knife skills. They were countless times better than his own, despite his background as a former professional chef who had later spent over a decade as the family’s designated “head chef” at home.
If someone had no culinary skills at all, it would be impossible for them to achieve such mastery with a knife.
“Could it be that while running hospitals and a pharmaceutical company, this kid still found the time to get a chef’s certification at some fancy culinary school?” Jiang Ming mused to himself.
But since he hadn’t yet tasted the actual dishes Jiang Fei had cooked, he decided it was best not to boast in front of his in-laws just yet.
Bai Ruoxi, however, felt differently. She had long experienced Jiang Fei’s many talents firsthand and understood him thoroughly. So when Jiang Fei’s mother, Zhou Xiaobai, voiced doubts about letting Jiang Fei cook, Bai Ruoxi stepped in with a smile to reassure her.
Seeing Bai Ruoxi so confident and certain, Zhou Xiaobai—who had been about to get up, drag Jiang Ming into the kitchen, and pull Jiang Fei out—paused momentarily. She sighed inwardly: Women in love really are blind, and their intelligence drops, doesn’t it? Such a smart girl, and she’s been with my son for so many years. How can she not know his cooking level? But then again, my son’s really something else, managing to fool such a beautiful girl into being this clueless…
Still, Zhou Xiaobai decided in her heart that she would only let Jiang Fei cook two dishes. Then, she would go to the kitchen to taste them. If the flavor was awful, she could officially pull him out and stop him from continuing.
Jiang Ming brought over the bottles of red wine and rice wine, first giving them a curious glance. Looking at their unusual packaging, he couldn’t quite be sure whether his son had brought these back just to mess with him.
“Here, come, my dear in-law, let’s first have a taste of the wine Jiang Fei brought back. He specially brought it home to show filial respect, even thumping his chest and claiming how delicious it was, urging me to open it and try. But I think the two of us should test the poison first, see how it really tastes. Let’s not put the women through it,” Jiang Ming said with a chuckle, looking at Bai Ruoxi’s father and taking out a few wine glasses.
“Sure, let’s give it a try. No need to be too pessimistic—it’s wine brought back by Jiang Fei, it can’t be bad,” Bai Ruoxi’s father replied with a smile.
He was a lover of good drink, and ever since finalizing their relationship as in-laws with Jiang Ming, the two had become drinking buddies. It wasn’t just baijiu; they drank red wine as well, so he was also quite curious about the wine Jiang Fei had brought.
Jiang Ming set out just two glasses, intending to pour one for himself and one for Bai Ruoxi’s father.
But at that moment, Bai Ruoxi brought over three more glasses, one for herself, one for her mother, and one for Jiang Fei’s mother, Zhou Xiaobai. Smiling, she said, “Uncle, pour a glass for each of us, too. I promise you won’t be disappointed by the wine Jiang Fei brought back.”
Bai Ruoxi’s mother didn’t object. In fact, she nodded with interest and said with a smile, “Alright, let me have a taste too.”
Ever since Bai Ruoxi and Jiang Fei confirmed their relationship and introduced each other to their parents, Bai Ruoxi’s mother had been very satisfied with Jiang Fei. She looked at him the way a mother-in-law looks at a future son-in-law—the more she saw him, the more she liked him.
She had always wished the two would get married sooner, not only because the two families were very close but also because they lived in the same city, so she wouldn’t feel the usual sadness of sending a daughter off to marriage. Thus, when it came to things brought by Jiang Fei, she had even more trust in him than his own biological mother, Zhou Xiaobai, did.
Just then, seeing Bai Ruoxi place a wine glass in front of her, Zhou Xiaobai waved her hand. “Ruoxi, I’ll pass. You know I don’t drink red wine, baijiu, or even beer.”
Bai Ruoxi picked up a specially modified bamboo tube and said with a smile, “Then, Auntie, have a little of this rice wine. This rice wine won’t taste harsh at all. It’s more like a drink, and it won’t really go to your head. Plus, it’s not bad for your body—in fact, it’s good for it.” She paused as she poured the wine for Zhou Xiaobai, then added with a smile, “And don’t worry, Auntie. I’ve already tasted the wine Jiang Fei brewed. It’s not bad at all…”
Actually, before she could even finish her sentence, a change occurred: the moment she opened the rice wine, and Jiang Ming uncorked the red wine, two completely different yet equally enchanting aromas began drifting through the air.
Rich, mellow, crisp, and captivating—the diverse notes of the wine fragrance continuously teased everyone’s taste buds. Not only did Jiang Ming and Bai Ruoxi’s father, both seasoned drinkers practically veteran wine aficionados, react, but even Bai Ruoxi’s mother, who rarely drank, and Jiang Fei’s mother, Zhou Xiaobai, who never drank, visibly changed their expressions when they caught the scent, their eyes filling with astonishment.
For no other reason than the smell was simply too wonderful!
Merely inhaling this fragrance spontaneously conjured the feeling that this is a wine only found in the heavens, rarely tasted in the mortal world.
Wine aroma has always been a magical thing. As the ancient saying goes, the fragrance of good wine fears no deep alley. And in the wine brewed by Jiang Fei, this adage was vividly and perfectly embodied.
“What kind of wine is this? Did Jiang Fei really brew it himself? How can it be so fragrant? Over ten years ago, I had a bottle of wine at a friend’s place that had been cellared for years, valued at over fifty thousand. The aroma when opened was about the same as this. How long has this wine been aged?” Jiang Ming asked in amazement.
Holding his glass with a refined air and gently shaking it, he smelled the intensely rich bouquet and couldn’t resist taking a sip almost immediately. That taste, sweet and refreshing like morning dew seeping into his entire being, made him completely and utterly enchanted.
Bai Ruoxi’s father, a seasoned drinker just like him, had the same reaction. Both closed their eyes, too absorbed to even voice praise for how wonderful the wine tasted. All they needed was to savor it in silence.
It was as if they feared that the moment they spoke, the fragrance would slip from their mouths.
Bai Ruoxi’s mother took a sip and wore a similar expression, more or less the same.
As for Zhou Xiaobai, who had just been complaining about her son and saying she wouldn’t drink—after seeing the others’ expressions and catching the intoxicating scent drifting from her own glass—she didn’t hesitate at all. She eagerly drank it down.
Unlike red wine, rice wine doesn’t require so many formalities; you don’t need to sip it slowly bit by bit, letting it linger in the mouth for the taste buds to fully open up. Within seconds of the rice wine entering her mouth, Zhou Xiaobai boldly downed the very glass she had been so dismissive of moments ago!
Seeing the satisfied expressions on both sets of parents, Bai Ruoxi gave a small smile. The feeling of drinking Jiang Fei’s wine for the first time was etched deeply in her memory. And it wasn’t just the first time—every sip of Jiang Fei’s wine was an incomparable pleasure. So, she wasn’t surprised at all.
She was simply happy to see that Jiang Fei’s abilities could bring so much joy to their parents.
The wine fragrance filled the room, lingering in the air.
It took nearly a full minute before Jiang Fei’s and Bai Ruoxi’s parents emerged from that wonderful afterglow, and they all began to lavish praise and sigh with deep emotion, convinced this was the most delicious wine ever.
Under normal circumstances, when parents eat or drink gifts brought by their children, psychological reasons often make them favor those gifts more—a sort of built-in sentimental boost—so things that taste ordinary can feel exceptional.
But this time, the wine Jiang Fei brought was something the parents of both families found genuinely delicious without any such mental boost.
So, soon after they came back to their senses, one by one, they started pouring themselves another glass.
One glass after another…
It was almost like a wine-tasting party. Even Jiang Fei’s mother, Zhou Xiaobai, who had never drunk alcohol before, wasn’t satisfied with just the rice wine. Seeing how blissful the others looked drinking the red wine, she volunteered to try a glass and see how it tasted.
“Didn’t you say you don’t drink? Every time you see me buying wine, you scold me for wasting money and having no ambition,” Jiang Ming couldn’t help but tease as he poured her a glass. Because Zhou Xiaobai didn’t drink and he was a lover of good wine, he often got an earful at home. He naturally wanted to seize this opportunity to tease her.
And he felt that things might get much easier for him from now on. If the wine brewed by his son was this delicious, he wouldn’t have to worry about running out of wine, nor about being scolded for drinking. Because, he was sure, Zhou Xiaobai would fall in love with it too!
“None of your business!” Zhou Xiaobai blushed a little but still glared at Jiang Ming with wide eyes, showing a bit of a “tigress” spirit.
Jiang Ming just chuckled and said nothing.
While the four of them were enjoying the wine, Jiang Fei was busy cooking in the kitchen. Zhou Xiaobai, who had initially planned to pull Jiang Fei out after he finished a dish and get Jiang Ming to take over, once again went back on her word.
As Jiang Fei began to cook in earnest, the aroma of the dishes drifted out from the kitchen and spread into the living room.
Since the scent of cooked food is actually much more potent than that of wine, the fragrance was all the more noticeable. Smelling these aromas, no one could possibly think the dishes would taste bad.
The allure of the cooking aromas, one could say, stirred the appetite even more powerfully than the wine had.
Jiang Fei’s and Bai Ruoxi’s parents, all nearing or already past fifty, found their usual composure completely crumbling today. Each of them was like a greedy child, their taste buds thoroughly tempted. They all felt an urge to rush into the kitchen just to have a taste.
Thankfully, they had the delicious wine to sip on right then; otherwise, someone might really have lost control.
Although Bai Ruoxi was equally drawn by the delicacies, she had already eaten Jiang Fei’s personally cooked food many times and had developed a slight resistance, so she didn’t lose her composure.
“Unbelievable, simply unbelievable. My son is really too amazing. He’s made meteoric progress in medicine, started his own pharmaceutical company, and become a leading figure in Chinese medicine both at home and abroad. Now his culinary skills are this phenomenal?” Zhou Xiaobai’s face showed amazement and a smile she couldn’t hide no matter how hard she tried.
A mother is happiest when her son becomes capable and successful. As the saying goes, a son is a mother’s “pride and glory.” It means if a son achieves great things, the mother gains immense face, able to walk tall and proud wherever she goes.
“I really am something, to have given birth to such an amazing son,” Zhou Xiaobai added, following up her words.
Praising Jiang Fei, she also didn’t forget to give herself some credit.
Bai Ruoxi and her parents smiled gently at this, but Jiang Ming couldn’t quite handle his wife’s self-congratulatory remark. He teased again, “What does our son’s amazing cooking have to do with you? He learned it himself. If one has to insist on some connection, it’s that he inherited good genes in this area from me, his father.”
“What good genes do you have?! It’s clearly from me!” Zhou Xiaobai glared, raising her voice.
Seeing Zhou Xiaobai about to really get mad, Jiang Ming promptly backed down and raised his hands in surrender.
About half an hour later, the clattering sounds from the kitchen finally stopped. Jiang Fei called out loudly, “Dinner’s ready!”
The four elders in the living room couldn’t hold back any longer; they all quickly went into the kitchen to help bring out the dishes.
“Wow!”
The four parents, all past middle age, couldn’t help but exclaim in wonder as they saw dishes that were not only intensely aromatic but also exquisitely arranged—each like a work of art.
“Only after entering the kitchen do you realize how rich the fragrance is. It’s so much more fragrant here than out in the living room!”
“How are these so beautifully presented, even more refined than those in hotels? It’s not just about color, aroma, and taste; even the visual presentation is fully considered!”
“Son, you have to come clean—when exactly did you learn to cook like this? Last time you came home, you still couldn’t cook. It hasn’t been that long, so how did you become so incredible? Did you really go to some chef school for systematic training?”
“Jiang Ming, from now on, stop bragging that you’re the top chef in our family. See this? My son’s cooking skills are countless times better than yours! Don’t go showing off your meager tricks anymore… Mmm! This twice-cooked pork is incredible. I’ve never tasted such delicious twice-cooked pork!”
Zhou Xiaobai, who had been the most skeptical at first because she thought she knew her son too well, was now the least reserved. Before the dishes even reached the table, she couldn’t resist sneaking a taste.
Seeing this, Jiang Fei couldn’t help but laugh. He was used to other young people having zero resistance to his cooking, but seeing his parents react the same way gave him a particular sense of satisfaction.
A table full of delicacies was, half an hour later, almost entirely devoured. The four middle-aged parents completely forgot any ideas about health and diet; every single one of them ate until they physically couldn’t take another bite.
“It looks like for this year’s New Year’s Eve dinner, our two families will have to eat together,” Bai Ruoxi’s mother said with a beaming smile. “If there’s no dishes made by Jiang Fei, I’m afraid the New Year’s Eve meal would feel rather pointless…”
