Huang Jun glanced at the time.
A bit past ten, about an hour and a half before lunch. The kindergarten meals are made in large pots; if he starts cooking now, everything will be ready and steaming hot by 11:30.
Immediately, he changed into a brand new, pristine chef's outfit. The neat uniform gave him quite a professional chef's vibe.
Knowing that there's a soup with every meal at the kindergarten, he decided to start with the corn, spare rib, and winter melon soup.
He turned on the stove and skillfully poured clear water into the pot.
The water in the pot started to bubble slightly under the licking flames, as if eagerly awaiting the addition of ingredients.
Once the water was slightly boiling, he added the cleaned and chopped up spare ribs and bones to blanch them quickly over high heat, removing the blood and impurities.
"Chop chop chop..."
He deftly chopped the washed corn into sections and cut the winter melon into chunks.
When the water in the pot started to boil, he took out the blanched spare ribs and bones, washed them, and put them back into the pot.
He added the winter melon and corn, then poured in more water, added ginger slices, sprinkled a handful of goji berries, added salt, covered the pot, and turned down the heat to let it simmer slowly.
"Chef Huang, you're so swift and clean with your actions, I can't even get a hand in."
Aunt Li couldn't help but tease as she watched him cook, seeing how swiftly he prepared the corn, spare rib, and winter melon soup like a stream flowing smoothly.
Huang Jun smiled, "I've been busy with family matters these past two days and couldn't help out here, so naturally, I need to be more active now."
In between their conversation, Huang Jun also started steaming rice and moved on to prepare other dishes.
There's no denying it.
Dorami Kindergarten indeed excels when it comes to meals.
Every meal consists of three dishes and a soup, ensuring the children have a balanced diet, and the ingredients used are meticulously selected, fresh, and top-grade.
The condiments used in the kitchen are all well-known brands from the market, like Hai Tian, making them safe for use.
Unlike some kindergartens, which, in pursuit of profit, feed children expired, discolored rice, moldy and rotten apples, and unbelievably cheap ingredients not seen in the market.
They use unknown brands of soy sauce and condiments, and the cooking oil is a product with no label...
What's more infuriating is that these kindergartens often deceive parents with seemingly exquisite menus, and since the children are too young to tell the good from the bad, they end up with food poisoning after consuming these foods.
It's only when a parent accidentally bursts into the kitchen, or when a group of kids fall sick and are hospitalized, that the true nature of these kindergartens is revealed, becoming a focus of social attention.
In contrast, the practices at Dorami Kindergarten are reassuring.
It makes him feel he chose the right kindergarten, more at ease with the growth of his two little treasures here.
Aside from the corn, spare rib, and winter melon soup for lunch today, there were stir-fried mushrooms and meat, oil-braised prawns, and scallion tofu.
The corn, spare rib, and winter melon soup and stir-fried mushrooms and meat were originally scheduled dishes in the kitchen. The oil-braised prawns were specially prepared by Liu Suyu upon Liang Yinqiu and the others' requests after they couldn't forget the taste of his last cooking.
As for the scallion tofu, he decided to make it on a whim after seeing tofu and scallions in the kitchen.
...
"Knock knock knock"
Liu Suyu, wearing high heels, walked out of the office, intending to go to the gate to sign for some items. But as soon as she reached the first floor, she was drawn by the enticing aroma and couldn't help but stop in her tracks.
"It smells so good~"
Her nose involuntarily turned toward the direction of the kitchen, where the waves of delightful aroma were wafting from.
Her eyes instantly lit up: "Could it be him?"
Indeed.
The first person who popped into her mind was… Huang Jun.
Because there was no one else.
Moreover, the alluring scent only appeared after Huang Jun took charge of the kitchen. The past few days he wasn't around, it was never this fragrant.
"With such an enticing smell, the taste shouldn't be bad, right?"
At this moment, her resolve started to waver.
She couldn't help but question whether her previous worries were really necessary.
Maybe, Huang Jun genuinely has exceptional skills?
This…
Lunchtime would reveal all!
She stayed there for a moment with an expectation for lunch, then headed straight to the school gate, planning to check out the kitchen once she finished signing and checking the items.
...
The window of class (4) room faced directly toward the kitchen.
Even without stepping out of the classroom, they could smell the aromatic scent of dishes wafting through the air.
Now then.
The three teachers in the classroom, inhaling the aroma, found it impossible to concentrate on decorating the classroom.
"It smells so good, it's making my stomach growl."
Xie Jianing said as she took out her phone to check the time.
Just realized it's only just past eleven o'clock, still half an hour until lunchtime!
This made her extremely disappointed!
"I can tell just by the aroma that it's Qingqing's dad cooking braised prawns."
Yang Yuxi recalled the last time Huang Jun cooked braised prawns, and her stomach growled in response.
She really wanted to eat it right away!
The moment Qingqing and Weiwei, who were playing with toys, heard the words "Qingqing's dad," they simultaneously stood up and headed towards the door.
Oh dear...
Not good!
Seeing this, Yang Yuxi quickly got up and blocked their way, stopping them halfway.
She crouched down and softly reassured them, "Qingqing, Weiwei, be good. Play in the classroom for a little longer, and when your dad finishes cooking, the teacher will take you to find him, okay?"
"Miss Yang, when will my daddy finish cooking?"
Qingqing blinked her beautiful big eyes and softly asked, "Qingqing misses daddy!"
"Weiwei misses dad too~"
The two little ones were separated from their dad for the first time for so long, and even though there were many fun toys in the classroom, they were starting to lose interest.
To be honest, if Huang Jun hadn't given them a heads-up at home beforehand, repeatedly reminding them to listen to the teacher's words after coming to kindergarten, they might have run to the kitchen looking for him long ago.
Yang Yuxi ruffled their little heads, "The teacher knows you miss your dad. Actually, the teacher misses your dad too..."
"Miss Yang, why do you miss my daddy?"
The two little ones blinked their eyes full of confusion.
"Ah..."
Xie Jianing exclaimed in surprise, her rosy lips parted as if to fit an egg, her eyes showing a "Can I really hear this for free?" look of surprise.
Wang Wenxia also looked at Yang Yuxi in disbelief.
Yang Yuxi: "彡(-_-;)彡"
Seeing the gossip look on her two colleagues' faces, as if wondering, "Did I miss some big drama?", she helplessly clarified, "That's not what you think, I meant I miss the food their dad makes."
So that's it!
Just wasted their surprise.
Xie Jianing smiled understandingly.
Yang Yuxi continued to coax, "Qingqing, Weiwei, do you smell the aroma? Your dad is already cooking, it'll be done soon, let's wait a bit longer, okay?"
"Okay!"
The two little ones nodded obediently and returned to their chairs to sit properly.
After calming the kids, Xie Jianing couldn't help but say, "Qingqing's dad looks so young, I didn't expect him to be so good at cooking. It seems the dishes Uncle Wei made before weren't as fragrant!"
"I can't speak for other dishes, but this braised prawn is indeed much tastier than Uncle Wei's."
Yang Yuxi affirmed confidently.
This made a little regret appear on Xie Jianing's pretty face, "If I had known on the tasting day, I should've gone along to join the fun, then I could've tasted it too."
But now, it's too late to regret!
As time passed, the aroma of braised prawns hadn't completely faded, yet another wave of shiitake mushroom fragrance, meat aroma, and corn aroma drifted in, making them unable to focus on work at all.
"Ah...the aroma is making it hard for me to focus on work."
To her, smelling the aroma but unable to eat, and still having to work, was simply torture!
"Help... I really can't stand this environment arrangement for another minute..."
"Miss Xie, if you want to slack off, just tell us directly, don't make excuses."
Yuxi teased.
But she didn't urge Xie Jianing to continue working.
Xie Jianing had no intention to work on the arrangement now.
She simply sat by Qingqing and Weiwei's table, playing with them, while praying for time to pass quickly so she could eat sooner...
Until another twenty minutes passed...
Seeing the time, she immediately stood up, "Qingqing, Weiwei, let's go wash our hands, then find your dad to eat."
"Yay, yay, let's go eat with daddy..."
Qingqing and Weiwei happily jumped up from their chairs and followed Xie Jianing without hesitation, leaving Yang Yuxi and Wang Wenxia in the classroom.
Yang Yuxi's heart was filled with sadness.
Clearly, the two little ones had been closest to her before, but now, just hearing about eating with dad, they ran off with Xie Jianing, completely forgetting about Miss Yang from class (4)...
Oh well!
Yang Yuxi shook her head helplessly and invited Wang Wenxia to go to the cafeteria for lunch.