Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Most Delicious Dishes Are Often at the Kindergarten...

The news that Qimingxing Kindergarten was holding an open house quietly spread throughout the city.

However, the focus seemed to have drifted a bit away from the kindergarten itself.

“Did you know? They have an incredibly skilled cook! My cousin Qian Rui—yes, the one who used to eat like a kitten—now he can eat two steamed buns in one sitting!”

“I heard their lion’s head meatballs taste even better than those at Chen’s Restaurant… Hey, why don’t you believe me?”

“Yeah, I’ve tried their spicy stir-fried squid. Delicious!”

Of course, there were also worried people fearing extra competition.

“Eh, it’s just okay… What? You said you wanted to poach that cook as a nanny? Oh, that’s just because our Qian Rui loves that kind of food!”

The small principal checked the registrations; about three hundred people had confirmed they would come.

This number worried Chen Ran as well.

Including the kindergarten kids and parents, the total was about four hundred.

That was still six hundred short of the mission requirement!

However, everyone except Chen Ran was already quite satisfied with that number.

“Principal, is the open house going to be indoors or outdoors? Indoors might not hold that many people.”

The happiest was Zhu Chenchen.

On the day of the open house, the small principal promised a daily wage of one hundred for helpers, and Zhu Chenchen, using her years of charm skills, not only got an extra hundred but also scored two extra lion’s heads!

“Then outdoors it is!”

The small principal decided decisively, “The weather has been nice lately, and that day looks sunny. The kindergarten’s sun umbrellas are enough.”

“Those nearby places are going to suffer... Chen Ran’s lion’s heads smell amazing...”

Hearing Zhu Chenchen’s words, Chen Ran suddenly had an idea!

If it was outdoors, letting the scent of the S-level lion’s heads spread might attract more people.

“Good idea! The kindergarten also has a big clay pot. We can bring it outside and stew on the spot, so the lion’s heads don’t get cold.”

Zhu Chenchen gasped and turned to advise the principal: “Your Majesty! I fear the hospitality won’t be adequate!”

The small principal thought Chen Ran wanted to take the opportunity to find a new job to compete with the Chen family, and besides, this could also promote her kindergarten, so she wholeheartedly agreed.

“You’re just complaining too much! How about I give you a day off and you don’t eat lion’s heads anymore!”

When the lion’s heads were first taken out of the pot, the small principal didn’t eat any. Her portion was all given to Mrs. Wang’s group.

Usually, although Chen Ran’s cooking was delicious, it hadn’t exceeded the principal’s expectations.

So when she saw the huge crowd at the kindergarten the next day, she was quite shocked.

“Teacher Wang, you’re...”

Teacher Deng, who had once come to taste the lion’s heads, arrived with her whole family! Even their seventy-year-old grandfather came to the open house, walking with a cane.“Principal Xiao, we’re here for the open house… so how does the lion’s head portion work? Is it limited to one per person?”

The small principal quickly covered Teacher Wang’s mouth before she could enthusiastically answer, then firmly corrected herself: “One quarter per person! No extra!”

“Only a quarter each…”

Teacher Deng felt a bit disappointed; the aroma of the lion’s head seemed to still linger around her lips and teeth that day.

But a quarter was still better than nothing.

Her husband was a pushover; seeing this, he immediately stepped forward to show off: “Honey, you can have my portion too!”

Teacher Deng was pleasantly surprised: “Great! You don’t have to give me all of it—you can taste some yourself!”

The pushover husband was delighted; he had done all the housework yesterday and even made his wife a little cake, but had never gotten such a big smile.

However, after cautiously tasting the small piece of lion’s head his wife gave him, he finally understood why her smile was so bright.

“Honey… this lion’s head…”

Teacher Deng immediately turned sour: “You’re not thinking of not giving me any, are you?”

“No, no, no,” the pushover shook his head vigorously, “I just want to taste it again, see if I can recreate some of the flavor at home…”

“You? Trying to recreate the taste of this lion’s head?”

Teacher Deng verbally complained but was slightly tempted. Her husband was indeed a good cook after years of cooking—maybe he could replicate even a tenth of it?

“Then take a small bite—just a tiny bite… Wang Debiao, what are you doing?! Your mouth is way too big! Give me that… No! You’re not getting any more!”

Chen Ran had already started stewing another pot of lion’s heads. She, together with Zhu Chenchen, slowly carried the clay pot to the center of the venue.

Because there were many children there, she instructed Zhu Chenchen to implement protective measures.

Zhu’s mother also came!

Zhu Chenchen was working actively today, all to secure a whole lion’s head for the Empress Dowager.

She sneakily pulled her mother aside: “Mom, here’s something delicious for you!”

Zhu’s mother hadn’t wanted to come at first: “After all that, you’re working part-time just because you’re thinking about your sister’s kindergarten snacks?”

These two sisters, who used to secretly order milk tea at home, now exchanged tips daily about how to snatch dishes at the kindergarten!

“Zhu Chenchen, if your sister gets any fatter, you better go live at your uncle’s house and don’t come back here…”

Just as the tender yet chewy lion’s head entered her mouth, Zhu’s mother stopped talking.

As the head of the Zhu family, rulers of two top food snatchers, she slowly savored the rich, fresh flavor in her mouth.

She hadn’t eaten such delicious lion’s head in a long time.

The ratio of fatty to lean meat was near perfect: the rich fat melted on the tongue, bringing fragrant richness, while the fresh, springy lean meat provided a deeply satisfying texture.

Even more remarkable was that the lean meat retained its granular texture without any toughness or stringiness—no dryness or bits stuck in the teeth.

The water chestnut pieces were perfectly balanced, bursting with a hint of sweet fragrance that never overpowered but subtly enhanced the robust pork aroma.

“Very good.”Zhu Chenchen saw her mother slowly nod and stepped forward to show off.

“Mom, since this lion’s head is so delicious, can you agree to increase my living expenses for next semester?”

The Empress Dowager leisurely scooped up another piece of lion’s head while listing her daughter’s countless offenses: “No increase in living expenses, but it can offset some other crimes.”

“Milk tea last Wednesday, fruit salad last Friday, fried yogurt the weekend before last…” The Empress Dowager shot a sharp glance, “You ate them secretly, then said you had no appetite for my cooking.”

Zhu Chenchen wilted.

Just then Chen Ran called her, and she hurriedly fled the scene.

“Here, lift the lid carefully, bring it straight inside, don’t burn anyone.”

As the clay pot was uncovered, the rich aroma that had been teasing appetites earlier immediately exploded out!

This overwhelming fragrance drifted up from the kindergarten, aggressively invading the entire street.

The nearby rookie delivery station was the first to react. Students holding piles of packages couldn’t help but come closer and ask, “What’s going on? It smells so good, can we go in to see?”

Teacher Wang, holding flyers at the door, felt a bit awkward.

“This is our kindergarten’s open house, hoping to give parents some insight…”

The girl holding a huge stack of packages was clearly a university student! It would be quite difficult for her child to get into this kindergarten someday.

The university student couldn’t stand the smell and had a sudden idea. She snatched the flyer from Teacher Wang and quickly posted both sides on her social media: “How about this—if someone likes your post, you let me in, okay?”

Chen Ran had already taken all the lion’s heads out of the pot, cutting them with Yuan Guozhong into quarter portions, placing them one by one into paper bowls.

The number of servings counted for the task had reached 517.

Is this the dominance of an S-level recipe?

She couldn’t help but wonder: if she could train all her skills to S-level through the system’s taste perception and missions, could she be like that old ancestor from back then?

The system rarely responded with a line.

【No, the Kitchen God of that era had all skills at 3S-level except seasoning.】

3S-level?

Chen Ran was stunned.

If S-level recipes were already this impressive, what would 3S-level dishes be like?

Watching the ever-growing crowd, she felt somewhat comforted.

3S-level dishes were definitely out of reach for now, but she was about to unlock her first unique flavor.

The completion count slowly rose from five hundred to six, seven hundred…

From above, the Xingxing Kindergarten was packed to the brim. The teachers maintaining order were hoarse.

The noise even reached the Chen family restaurant several dozen meters away.

Ms. Wang anxiously glanced out the window several times.

Sitting across from her was the food blogger nicknamed “Cook Man.”Wang Qing’an’s newly invested company was about to develop in the direction of self-media and had a cooperative relationship with this “Cook Man.” Since he came to her place to do a store visit, Wang Qing’an naturally wanted to be a good host.

However, she didn’t expect the timing to coincide with the Xingxing Kindergarten open house!

The other party noticed Ms. Wang frequently looking out the window and couldn’t help trying to ease the atmosphere: “It’s a bit noisy, but fortunately, the lion’s head here is really good. Ms. Wang lives locally, so you must have eaten it many times, right?”

Having worked as a food blogger for several years, Cook Man had tasted a lot of delicacies. His evaluations were relatively objective and to the point.

“No worries, don’t mind me, don’t let it affect your recording.”

Cook Man laughed heartily, “It’s fine, it’ll be edited later anyway. This lion’s head isn’t as good as the one I had at Zhìwèizhāi in Beijing, but theirs costs 998 yuan each, while here it’s less than 200 yuan for five! Definitely affordable gourmet food.”

He also peeked out at the kindergarten outside: “But the dining environment is indeed average.”

Ms. Wang smiled while quickly calculating the kindergarten’s meal cost.

Xingxing Kindergarten’s meal budget for the children was about ten yuan for two proper meals, one lion’s head per child.

Less than… ten yuan…?

Looking at the lion’s head in front of her, she felt the shoot today was a big loss.

Recalling the few pieces of lion’s head she ate that day, plus the soup she hadn’t touched for the sake of appearances…

“Ms. Wang, aren’t you eating?” Cook Man still smiled trying to keep the mood light. “Your company is so big; I bet you’ve had many even better lion’s heads.”

As the saying goes, you don’t hit a smiling face—seeing his friendly smile, Ms. Wang couldn’t keep a cold face for personal reasons.

“Actually, right here, there’s a place whose lion’s head is a hundred times better than Chen’s Restaurant. It’s just that not many people know about it yet.”

Ms. Wang glanced at the bustling crowd at the kindergarten and thought to herself, indeed, not many knew yet—for now.

But in a few days, that would change.

Cook Man perked up.

Traveling far just to shoot one place was a bit tiring. That’s why he rarely filmed in small cities.

But this time he could visit a cooperative company, and he had been thinking of changing jobs for a while.

If he could shoot another video in this small city, still comparing lion’s heads, it would be quite worthwhile.

“You say, which one?”

Ms. Wang pointed toward the bustling crowd outside the window: “It’s that kindergarten. The lion’s head made in their kitchen is a hundred times better than Chen’s Restaurant’s.”