In the 1970s, it started with contracting out communal dining.

Mr. Li is eighty years old this year. Although his hair is completely white, he is actually very healthy.

It's just that the old man is getting on in years and always has a bit of a temper.

He said he hadn't eaten for three days, but that was just a lie to his son. His daughter-in-law secretly brought him delicious food again and again, so the old man wasn't hungry at all.

It's just that the weather is unbearably hot, so the old man inevitably lost his appetite.

And with my daughter visiting her parents' home, I've been preoccupied with worries, and I've visibly lost weight these past few days.

This greatly worried the filial son Li Yannian, otherwise he wouldn't have had to swallow his pride and beg Chen Wei for help.

The old man's eyes were shining. He sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) with his back turned, gazing longingly at the window. His eyes were fixed on the direction of the kitchen, and his nose was twitching. After a short while, he determined the source of the aroma.

"It's definitely not my daughter-in-law! Who cooked this?"

Old Master Li muttered something, his voice low, not daring to let his son and daughter-in-law outside hear him.

But no sooner had he said that than there was a knock on the door.

Director Li stood outside the door, his face beaming with smiles.

"Dad, we're having a great meal today! I've hired a chef to cook for us, wouldn't you like to try some?"

Li Yannian spoke these words softly, as if coaxing a child.

The old man inside raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, "As expected, it wasn't his daughter-in-law who cooked this. Did they hire a chef?"

No wonder it smells so good!

But it's not like he's never had a good meal before, so he doesn't care!

"I won't eat it!"

The old man snorted coldly and refused outright.

This really troubled Li Yannian. He looked to his wife for help, but she shook her head at him, indicating that he should go outside.

The couple walked into the yard, and Shen Weiping whispered in her husband's ear.

"Dad just had millet porridge and fried dough sticks this morning, so he might not be hungry yet! After Xiao Chen finishes cooking, I'll bring it to his door, and you can use the big fan to fan the aroma inside. He's sure to be unable to resist!"

When it comes to dealing with the old man of the Li family, Shen Weiping is the one with the most experience. Even Li Yannian couldn't help but give her a thumbs up.

"You're so resourceful! Little Chen cooks so well, I don't believe Dad can resist!"

The couple exchanged a smile and furtively lifted the kitchen curtain, letting the aroma instantly fill the entire yard.

Chen Wei, who was busy in the kitchen, was unaware of all this. The large iron pot on the stove had been replaced with a small earthenware pot, and the fire under the stove was turned down to a low flame. The tofu and winter melon in the earthenware pot were bubbling away.

The traditional way to cook winter melon and tofu is to heat an iron pot in an earthen stove and then slowly simmer it.

Of course, Li Yannian's family doesn't have an earthen stove right now, so they can only use a small clay pot instead.

Fortunately, it wasn't a large pot of food; a small clay pot was enough.

The tofu was pan-fried until golden brown on both sides, then floated in the delicious broth of the clay pot along with the winter melon. There was no soy sauce, no MSG, and not even any other seasonings in the broth. Apart from coarse salt, Chenwei did not add any other seasonings to this dish.

But it is precisely this little bit of coarse salt that is the simplest way to enhance the flavor.

Seeing that the winter melon had been stewed until it was translucent, soft, and fragrant, and the tofu had absorbed all the deliciousness of the soup, Chen Wei gently shook the pot, turning the tofu and winter melon over in the soup.

The two ingredients, along with a few slices of pork belly, were thoroughly mixed in the soup. Seeing that the winter melon was already easily broken with a poke, Chen Wei knew that the dish was almost done, so he quickly turned off the heat, grabbed a handful of bright green scallions, and sprinkled them on the soup.

After simmering with the lid on for 5 minutes, the aroma of scallions had already blended with the winter melon and tofu stew. When the lid was lifted again, a delicate and mellow fragrance slowly wafted out.

It ran exceptionally far into the yard.

The flavor wasn't overpowering, but it was refreshing yet not bland, mild and tender, and purely fresh. You could smell the heartwarming aroma of home-cooked food from afar.

This is exactly the effect that aged flavor is meant to achieve!

This time, he deliberately didn't use the system to analyze the recipe, but instead relied on the deepest memories in his mind, those memories that belonged exclusively to his childhood, to recreate the dish.

Chen Wei believes that for the elderly, nothing is more precious than memories.

It is said that the old man of the Li family lived in the Central Plains for many years when he was young, and only later settled down in Jinshi.

If this dish of winter melon stewed with tofu were not available in this world, I'm sure Old Master Li would miss it dearly.

"Xiao Chen? Is the food ready?"

Just as Chen Wei lifted the pot lid, a head popped in through the kitchen doorway. It was Li Yannian. Seeing the excited look on his face, Chen Wei knew that Director Li must have smelled the aroma.

"It's done!" He picked up a towel to cushion the casserole dish in his hands and took the entire casserole dish off the stove.

The lid of the casserole was open, and Li Yannian peeked inside, immediately seeing the contents of the casserole.

I couldn't help but feel a little doubtful. This dish didn't seem to be the same kind of cooking that this Mr. Chen had made before.

Li Yannian still remembered the green pepper and shredded pork and Mapo tofu that Chen Wei had made last time. They were absolutely delicious and had a wonderful color, aroma and taste!

But this dish right now...

It's not spicy, nor is it sour; the whole dish is just light and refreshing, with a pot full of winter melon and tofu simmering in a thick, white broth.

Although the soup base looked very tempting, the winter melon was stewed until it was incredibly soft, and the tofu had soaked up all the broth and swelled up quite a bit, it was still far inferior to the Mapo Tofu I had eaten before.

But Li Yannian was used to being a leader, and he understood this principle.

If someone comes to your home to cook for your elderly relatives, even if the cooking isn't perfect, how can you complain about it?

Moreover, Chen Weilai had already made it clear beforehand that this was originally a trial run, and naturally there would be times when the trial failed.

Thinking of this, Li Yannian didn't say much, but put on a smile again and very earnestly helped Chen Wei lift the bamboo curtain in his hall.

"Thank you for your hard work! It's so hot outside, Xiao Chen, you must be exhausted!"

"Director Li, you're too kind. Please invite the old man to join us for a meal!"

Chen Wei placed the casserole directly in the middle of the eight-immortal table, only to find that four other dishes, two cold dishes, and two side dishes were already laid out on the table, which were obviously bought from outside.

Shen Weiping, standing next to him, had her hands in her pockets and smiled at Chen Wei with an embarrassed expression.

"I'm sorry I didn't prepare in advance, Xiao Chen!"

"Sister-in-law, you're too kind! I originally just came to visit Grandpa, but look, I'm now having to eat at your house! I'm the lucky one today!"

Flattery came naturally to Chen Wei, but he also understood that Director Li's family had gone out to buy some dishes to entertain him, which was considered quite polite.

I just don't know if my skills will win over the old man of the Li family today.