Chapter 12

Huo Baichuan: "..."

Huo Baichuan immediately flew into an embarrassed rage. "If you didn't want to do it, why were you flirting with me?"

Chapter 12

Like a bolt from the blue, Tao Yan's hands trembled, and he nearly dropped the Liangpi and Roujiamo he was carrying. That sentence had thoroughly fried his insides.

Yet Huo Baichuan craned his neck, eyes wide, glaring indignantly at Tao Yan for going back on his word and deliberately stringing him along. Like a Husky that had just torn apart the house, he clearly did not think there was anything wrong with what he had said.

Tao Yan fell silent for a moment, then shuddered at his own bizarre association.

"What are you doing?" Noticing Tao Yan's subtle movement, Husky narrowed his eyes and very alertly took a huge step back. "You want to resort to violence because you can't argue me down? Look at those skinny arms and legs of yours, and you still dream of using force against me! Can't you just reason things out?"

Watching Huo Baichuan howl and grumble with an unconvinced expression, Tao Yan only felt that every movement made him seem even more like one.

Having figured that out, Tao Yan could not be bothered to deal with him anymore. Carrying the Liangpi and Roujiamo, he turned and headed toward the cafeteria.

Huo Baichuan instinctively wanted to follow, but after taking two steps, he suddenly felt that something was off. Looking down at his empty hands, he finally remembered that when he had chased out of the kitchen, he had not brought his food bowl.

His stomach rumbled right on cue. Watching Tao Yan's back disappear into the cafeteria, Huo Baichuan gave an irritated snort and turned back to the kitchen for his bowl.

A few minutes later, Huo Baichuan entered the cafeteria carrying a heaping bowl of Liangpi and Roujiamo. He sat down aggressively across and diagonally from Tao Yan—somewhere Tao Yan could see him, but could not reach even if he stretched out his arm.

Tao Yan saw through Huo Baichuan's little scheme and shook his head with an amused smile.

"Enough! No need to play dumb and act cute over there. You teach me fighting, and I'll make you spicy Tiger-Tooth Potatoes. It's a deal."

Huo Baichuan's ears twitched as he eagerly pressed for more. "Spicy Tiger-Tooth Potatoes are only today's tuition. If you want to keep learning long-term, you'll have to make me delicious food every day."

After a pause, without waiting for Tao Yan to respond, Huo Baichuan added, "Scholarship takes poverty, martial arts take wealth. That's an ironclad rule passed down by our ancestors. If I don't fill my stomach, I won't have the strength to teach."

Tao Yan raised a brow. Huo Baichuan was half-joking, but there was some truth to his words.

Besides, Tao Yan truly wanted to train his body and learn close-combat techniques like fighting and boxing. It would help him protect himself and stay fit, while also fulfilling a small wish he had carried since his youth.

Tao Yan picked up a bite of Liangpi and put it into his mouth. After chewing slowly, he said in an unhurried tone, "Deal."

Huo Baichuan's ears perked up, and an invisible fluffy tail seemed to wag behind him. With great restraint, he took a bite of Roujiamo. "A teacher for a day, a father for life. If you learn fighting from me, then I'm your teacher. Show me some respect from now on, understand?"

Tao Yan glanced lightly at Huo Baichuan. His long fingers tapped the tabletop as he asked with a half-smile, "You want to be my dad?"

Huo Baichuan shuddered. The instincts of a wild beast made him keenly sense a trace of danger. He hurriedly said, "Not really..."

After saying that, Huo Baichuan watched Tao Yan snort with laughter and lower his head to bite into his flatbread. Unable to resist running his mouth again, he added, "...but if you insist on calling me that, I wouldn't mind—ow—"

Huo Baichuan hunched over in agony and cried out in surrender, "You stepped on my foot! It hurts, hurts, hurts..."

Tao Yan calmly withdrew his long leg and reminded him with a smile, "Next time you calculate a safe distance, remember to include the length of my legs."

Huo Husky miserably cradled his big foot, feeling that this meal was impossible to finish.

In the end, Huo Baichuan, who had been thinking nonstop about his half-bowl of spicy Tiger-Tooth Potatoes, still could not finish that bowl of Liangpi and seven Roujiamo. He shared them with the neighbors who had come over upon hearing the news to try something new.

After Tao Yan finished eating, he went to fry the potatoes. He used the half-bucket of soybean oil left over from frying the pork knuckles earlier. The volunteer aunties, already stuffed to the brim, did not know what new food Tao Yan was making and could not help muttering, "Everyone's already full. What are you making now?"

"You're frying things in oil again! It takes so much work and ingredients. Wouldn't it be wasteful if no one could finish it?"

Tao Yan mixed sauces and seasonings, then, just as he had promised, fried Tiger-Tooth Potatoes in three flavors: cumin, sweet and sour, and spicy. He made a full large bowl of the spicy kind based on Huo Baichuan's appetite.

Huo Baichuan held the freshly fried Tiger-Tooth Potatoes and ate them one by one. Though they scalded him badly enough to make him grimace, he patiently explained, "It's just a little after-meal snack. You can eat it hot or cold, and it doesn't take up much room."

As he spoke, he held the bowl out to the volunteer aunties. "Want to try some?"

Seeing this, the volunteer aunties hesitantly took one and put it into their mouths. In an instant, an indescribable spicy fragrance, coupled with the contrast between the crisp exterior and soft interior, conquered their taste buds.

"These are potatoes?" The volunteer aunties clicked their tongues in amazement. "Potatoes can taste this good?"

As they spoke, they could not resist picking up another sweet-and-sour Tiger-Tooth Potato. The tangy sweetness paired with the crispy skin and soft potato inside somehow made it even more appetizing.

As for the cumin-flavored Tiger-Tooth Potatoes, they were simply fragrant. They seemed to possess a charm that made it impossible to stop after taking a single bite.

The orphanage children also came over, drawn by the scent. More than a dozen of them crowded at the kitchen door, craning their necks to look inside like a flock of silly little geese.

"It smells so good!"

The children could not help swallowing. They rubbed their round little bellies and felt hungry all over again.

Children did not know the difference between hunger and fullness. Tao Yan knew that well, so he did not dare fry too much. He only made half a bowl of each flavor for everyone to sample. Just as he expected, the sweet-and-sour Tiger-Tooth Potatoes were the most popular.

The neighbors who had not left after eating their fill also came over to join in and try a bite. Tiger-Tooth Potatoes made differently from ordinary home cooking easily won over everyone's taste buds. Many licked their fingers with lingering satisfaction. Too embarrassed to ask Tao Yan to fry more, they tactfully suggested, "People's Park is showing a free movie next Wednesday night. Why don't you set up a little stall in the park and sell Tiger-Tooth Potatoes? They're so fragrant and crispy. Even after a full meal, there's always room for them. Aren't they much better than dry peanuts and sunflower seeds?"