Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Tomato Scrambled Eggs

Chen Ran stared in disbelief at the small boy.

The little boy looked a bit thin, holding his tray high, the bones on his wrist protruding.

Such a frail little boy had a gratitude value popping up above his head—an enormous +300.

And it was still rising!

He had already finished his meal but was still generating gratitude!

However, even if he earned +300 gratitude for every bite of rice, Chen Ran didn’t dare to give that spoonful of beef directly to the boy.

There were still several other children eyeing it hungrily nearby.

Chen Ran had no sense of taste, even for dishes made by the system. So, she ate especially fast.

Anyway, just eat it all.

Seeing the food server teacher looking both hungry and greedy, she volunteered to take over.

Serving food was not teaching, so she thought she could manage.

But now, seeing the crowd of eager children around, she couldn’t decide at all!

The remaining bit of beef was not nearly enough to give every child a portion.

The little director stepped in and made the decision: “Give it to Qian Rui.”

She patiently explained to the other children, “It’s not that he doesn’t like to eat. It’s just that before, he was only given half a portion. Adding this bit makes it about the same amount as what you all got.”

Chen Ran raised an eyebrow at the little director, noticing there was no “the weak have the right” attitude. The kindergarten’s educational approach sounded pretty comfortable.

The other children weren’t particularly disappointed and quickly shifted their focus to other battles.

There was still plenty of cucumber scrambled eggs!

In the end, every child was full. The shocked Teacher Wang tearfully soaked some rice in half a spoonful of broth.

Chen Ran confidently promised, “It’s my first time cooking, didn’t quite get the quantities right. I’ll definitely do better tomorrow!”

She had never cooked large-scale meals like this before and didn’t really understand how to cook for a kindergarten setting.

The first time was essentially her interview, so Yuan Guozhong didn’t offer any advice. The next day when she came to work normally, she’d follow the kindergarten’s standard procedures.

Yuan Guozhong held up his heavily bandaged right hand and showed her the kindergarten menu.

“When we cook, we need to pay attention to balanced nutrition on one hand, and cost on the other. For example, the stir-fried beef from yesterday is normally not something we’d make.”

Chen Ran nodded.

Looking at the menu, most meat dishes were stewed, and the vegetables were lighter.

Occasionally, they’d add some more palatable snacks for the kids, like fried meatballs or tiger-skin eggs.

For Chen Ran, with her skill bonuses, these dishes posed no difficulty at all.

The only slight challenge might be controlling portion sizes, but wasn’t Yuan Guozhong there to help?She laughed heartily: “Brother Yuan, then tell me how much to cook. I’m not good at judging the portions. How long have you been doing this here?”

“About five years.”

After secretly analyzing all night yesterday, Yuan Guozhong was much more confident today.

Compared to Chen Ran, his advantage was still obvious.

Although she was young and skilled in cooking, he had been doing this longer.

Cooking for a kindergarten isn’t just about cooking skills! Controlling costs is one thing, controlling portion sizes is another. If you cook too much or too little, the little director will nag you for a long time.

“Don’t worry, just follow what I say, it’ll be just right.”

Today’s lunch was braised chicken leg, yam with wood ear mushrooms and snow peas, plus an extra seaweed soup.

These dishes posed no difficulty for Chen Ran at all. She even showed off her knife skills while cooking.

—Today’s braised chicken legs for the kids were all deboned!

This pleasantly surprised Teacher Wang.

Serving dishes that require biting and chewing is actually troublesome for kids. Although the kindergarten prepared little bibs, the children don’t behave neatly.

Eating a braised chicken leg you have to hold and bite often means their clothes get dirty and their little faces get greasy by the end of the meal.

Teacher Wang bit into a chicken leg and chatted with another teacher beside her: “This chicken leg is really delicious! I thought deboning would make it dry, but it’s still so tender.”

Teacher Li had already eaten one and was struggling internally—would taking another make her gain weight?

But thinking of her salary and the only benefit of free food and lodging in this job, she decisively took another one.

“This braised chicken leg, I don’t know about that, but this stir-fried dish is even better than that Chen’s restaurant in our city!”

“Really? That’s quite a compliment. But I see the kids are eating this dish well. No need to worry about those who don’t eat wood ear mushrooms. Look at Qian Rui!”

Qian Rui was completely absorbed in eating.

How had he never known that yam and wood ear mushrooms could taste so good!

The yam was crunchy, and the wood ear mushrooms were coated with a delicious sauce — he just couldn’t stop eating.

He even thought this vegetable dish was tastier than the chicken leg.

And the snow peas, which used to have a strange taste, now made him take bite after bite without stopping.

The crispy texture combined with the tasty sauce and the refreshing feeling, paired with the richly sauced braised chicken leg, made him happier than he’d been eating in a long time!

Teacher Wang watched with some worry, even fearing he might get indigestion.

However, her worry didn’t come true because today’s lunch ran out again!

“Chen Ran, your cooking really is delicious, but didn’t you make too little?”

Facing the little director’s question, Chen Ran raised both hands innocently.

“No, Director, I strictly followed Brother Yuan’s instructions on portions. He specified the amounts, and I cut accordingly.”

She hadn’t secretly reduced the portions at all.For a moment, the little director even suspected that the kitchen was stealing too much food. She furrowed her brows and looked at Yuan Guozhong with a probing gaze.

Yuan Guozhong understood the little director’s test, but he really couldn’t bring himself to say the reason.

Was he supposed to tell her straight out: it’s because Chen Ran’s dishes were too delicious, that there wasn’t enough food?

“Make a bit more,” the little director decided, unaware of the tears of relief inside Yuan Guozhong’s heart. “Watch the portions, maybe increase by ten to twenty percent. The kids can’t be left hungry, especially since Qian Rui’s mother is coming to watch him eat tonight.”

“She’s coming to watch the child eat? Should we prepare a portion for her too?”

The little director shook her head firmly: “No!”

She was still upset.

Yesterday, Qian Rui finished eating early, and only after he was done did his mother arrive. She actually suspected what the kindergarten was feeding their child…

If she wants to watch, let her watch, but there’s absolutely no way she’ll get to eat.

Dinner arrived amid the eager anticipation of all the teachers and students at the kindergarten.

According to the menu, Chen Ran prepared minced meat steamed tofu and tomato scrambled eggs.

However, since she didn’t grow up here, she asked an extra question: “Do you add sugar to the tomato scrambled eggs?”

Unexpectedly, this question split the kitchen into two camps.

“Yes, add sugar! How else would it taste good?”

“No, no sugar. Are you even a local?”

Chen Ran wiped sweat off her brow.

She hadn’t expected the tastes in this small city to be so diverse.

In the kitchen, among the three people, one wanted sugar, one didn’t, and there was even one who wanted to add green peppers.

Chen Ran quickly made a decision in her mind.

Since adding sugar or not both displeased someone, she might as well make it in a braised style.

“How many eggs should I beat?”

The dishwasher and helper eagerly approached. Since Chen Ran started cooking, this ordinary job with average pay had miraculously turned into a sweet gig!

“No need to beat the eggs,” Chen Ran smiled at the helper, “Auntie, just help me peel the tomatoes. Blanch them in hot water first, okay?”

The helper nodded repeatedly. Many dishes at the kindergarten required extra preparation, and she had peeled tomatoes a few times before.

But she was curious — why wouldn’t Chen Ran beat the eggs for tomato scrambled eggs?

Yuan Guozhong stood behind Chen Ran watching her, and then he saw Chen Ran heat a pot of oil and start cracking eggs one by one into the pan.

The oil was hot, and the moment the eggs hit the oil, there was a loud sizzle and a burst of sound.

Chen Ran gently swirled the wok, patiently waiting for each egg to set slightly before cracking the next one in.

“Are you making tomato scrambled eggs with fried eggs?”

Hearing Yuan Guozhong’s question, Chen Ran turned and gave him a smile.The girl’s smile was brighter than the sizzling sound of hot oil.

“Yeah, this way it smells better, and there’s no need to hesitate about adding sugar or not. Make it with a bit of a braised flavor, the kids will like it more. It also makes it easier for the teachers serving food—one egg per person each time is enough.”

Seeing Yuan Guozhong remain silent, Chen Ran turned back and eagerly continued frying the eggs.

She repeated the step, frying each egg until crispy and browned, with little bubbles puffing up at the edges of the egg whites.

You can imagine how rich and fragrant the crispy egg white would be when gently bitten.

She was happily cooking when she heard Yuan Guozhong behind her speak with a sigh.

“Little Chen... no wonder your cooking skills are so good—you really put your heart into cooking.”

In the afternoon, Yuan Guozhong heard the teachers discussing how convenient it was that the chicken legs were deboned, and how much easier it made caring for the kids.

He asked himself honestly—he actually knew how to debone chicken legs too. And if the drumstick couldn’t be done, he could always buy deboned thigh meat.

But why had he never thought to do it that way?

And the tomato scrambled eggs—he’d always made them the standard sugary way all these years and never considered that some might not like sugar.

Chen Ran had already moved on to the next step. The deliberately over-crisp fried eggs from before were so that when simmered with the tomatoes, the eggs wouldn’t get too soft.

She stir-fried the peeled and chopped tomatoes until juicy, added soy sauce, oyster sauce, and various spices, then added the fried eggs to simmer briefly until the eggs absorbed the flavors, and finally turned the heat up to reduce the sauce.

She didn’t know about Yuan Guozhong’s complicated feelings and smiled as she said, “Of course, cooking needs care. A hundred people, a hundred tastes, but what’s a cook’s job? It’s to find a way to please everyone’s palate!”

This phrase was told to her by her great-grandfather, who never showed his true face. He said it was a saying left by the wandering divine chef ancestor of the Chen family.

Her great-grandfather didn’t really believe in it—he thought the Chen family’s success was due to catching the eye of powerful officials and nobles, not something as trivial as pleasing every palate.

But back then, Chen Ran, still short as a chopping block, remembered this well.

When she lost her sense of taste, she thought there was no hope for her in this life.

She couldn’t even taste food herself…

But now, she had the system.

Chen Ran glanced quietly at the system’s side quest—the satisfaction progress bar for the braised lion’s head dish had already reached one-third.

With the system, she was sure she could do it.

Since she was five years old, she’d remembered this one phrase: to please every palate!