Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Lion’s Head Has Arrived

At six o’clock the next morning, the little director saw Zhu Chenchen again at the kindergarten entrance.

She frowned: “This parent…”

“Director! Can I come here for an internship?”

Zhu Chenchen took the initiative.

She had quite some experience dealing with caring elders: “Our school requires internship experience, and in this small place, I can’t find anywhere to intern…”

The little director never expected such a start. However, she couldn’t resist the student who came over acting coquettish.

“I’ve already checked three jobs before, all were telemarketing, and one even seemed like a scam…”

The little director immediately got serious: “You can’t go there!”

Zhu Chenchen quickly grabbed the opportunity: “But if I can’t find anywhere else, I’ll have to! Director, please give me an internship opportunity, I don’t even need money!”

“So you just want to eat employee meals, right?”

The little director was clear about this girl’s calculation, but hearing what she said just now softened her heart.

“Well, I have to say, you can come, but no half-heartedness. You have to work hard and stick to it.”

So, when Chen Ran was cooking, she was surprised to see a 300 satisfaction rating appear in the kitchen.

A round-faced female university student in work clothes, extremely eager to please, offered her thermos.

“Sister Ranran, I heard from Auntie that you like sour drinks, so I made you some lemon water. Sister Ranran, also take a look, I wiped the cooking counter again, is there anywhere else I should wipe?”

Chen Ran was shocked to take the thermos, which surprisingly contained homemade lemon water with ice.

She wiped the cooking counter with her finger — not a trace of grease or even water stains.

“You… why are you here?”

If she remembered correctly, the little director said she was a university student?

Even the mask couldn’t hide Zhu Chenchen’s happy smile: “I’m here for an internship! Thanks to the little director for giving me this chance!”

Nearby, Yuan Guozhong snorted: “Don’t get too proud. The little director told me if your work attitude isn’t serious, she’ll send you home immediately.”

He spoke with a bit of a disappointed fatherly tone: “You put so much effort into food, why didn’t you put that much effort into your college exams?”

Yuan Guozhong wasn’t young anymore, so naturally his scolding had a parental flavor.

Chen Ran quickly interrupted: “Alright, alright, this is great. Now there are four people in the kitchen, everyone is more relaxed.”

Normally, three people were enough for the kitchen at Qimingxing Kindergarten. But Chen Ran’s cooking was so good, and the kids were eating so much, that recently the meal quantities had increased by about twenty percent.

That twenty percent turned the originally just-right workload into busy work. The janitor auntie had complained many times already.

Now with Zhu Chenchen here, as long as she doesn’t slack off, it’s good for everyone.

“Uncle Yuan, I’m not here to steal your job, I’m here to join you!”

Driven by delicious food, Zhu Chenchen’s energy and initiative were astonishing.Washing vegetables, she went with a smile; taking out the trash, she went with a smile; even when washing dishes, she went with a smile.

When eating out, she only knew the food was delicious, but when observing Chen Ran up close, she realized every tasty dish wasn’t without reason!

While rinsing rice, she secretly watched Chen Ran’s back.

Sister Ranran’s square shoulders looked so strong, she held the pot steadily, chopped vegetables like flowing clouds, moving the knife swiftly — even faster than her mom practicing counting money at home.

Such amazing cooking skills, putting so much care into every dish. The kids eating at the kindergarten were truly lucky!

Unconsciously, she said out loud: “Sister Ranran, the kids at kindergarten are so lucky to eat the food you make. Why don’t you open a restaurant?”

Because her sense of taste hadn’t fully recovered, Chen Ran didn’t want to make a big deal out of her grudge with the Chen family, so she simply changed the topic.

“Hm? Are you feeling sorry for those parents who can’t eat it?”

Zhu Chenchen nodded enthusiastically.

Chen Ran heard no reply behind her, turned and saw the girl nodding crazily, and couldn’t help but smile: “Don’t worry, in a few days our kindergarten will have an open day with a buffet.”

“Great!”

Yuan Guozhong, just interrupted by Chen Ran, came over to change the subject: “Xiao Ran, for today’s Lion’s Head meatballs, shouldn’t you start making them now?”

Lion’s Head meatballs.

Chen Ran glanced at the system task completion bar — only 300 points left before she could claim this S-level recipe.

The system’s satisfaction rating didn’t just rise when eating; it also increased when someone recalled her cooking.

However, this kind of satisfaction increase was more random. Chen Ran stared at it all morning — still 300 satisfaction points missing.

She looked back at Zhu Chenchen.

“When you made the spicy stir-fried squid yesterday, was the spiciness okay for the kids?”

This sentence triggered Zhu Chenchen’s cravings.

Thinking of the perfect experience that night, two +300 points popped up above her head in succession.

Chen Ran smiled satisfactorily, patted Zhu Chenchen’s head, then turned to claim the system recipe.

Braised Lion’s Head Meatballs: S-level

Flavor Special Effect: To be unlocked

Why is there a flavor special effect attribute? Could she really make the golden glowing dishes like in "Little Master Chef"?

But mealtime was soon, so Chen Ran couldn’t bother to question the system’s sneaky tricks now.

She wanted to try and see what was different about this S-level recipe!

Before starting, she quietly asked the system: “At my current skill level, can I make an S-level Lion’s Head?”

The system’s reply was crisp and a little tsundere:

[System recipes ignore the cook’s personal skill but cannot be upgraded.]

Cannot be upgraded? Could there be even higher levels above S-level recipes?Chen Ran temporarily put aside her doubts and opened the recipe. A flood of grand information rushed into her mind.

She felt the collision and rhythm of the knife chopping the meat, the elasticity and force when shaping the meatballs by hand, and the swirling motion of the chopsticks flicking the fried meatballs...

Most importantly, she sensed the aroma during the final braising.

The passive seasoning skill at A-level already gave her a strong sensory experience, like a butterfly suddenly caught by a swallow, fluttering among flowers and then gliding through the wind.

But now, she seemed to have become an eagle soaring high in the sky; countless previously tangled and hesitant difficulties were like ripples stirred by a breeze, dissipating as the wind passed.

— Chen Ran raised her knife!

Fresh pork belly, four parts fat and six parts lean, was first diced, then roughly chopped a few times. Diced water chestnuts were added, and the meat mixture was mixed with seasoning water and starch until elastic.

If before her cooking had some flair, now it could be said to have reached a smooth, mature state—no unnecessary movements, every stroke precise to the extreme.

When shaping the meatballs, Chen Ran’s hands occasionally tossed and pounded, flipping up and down. When her movements became too fast to see clearly, suddenly a perfectly round Lion’s Head meatball appeared in her hands.

The oil was heated, and the round meatballs were dropped in and fried until set. Every meatball scooped out was perfectly round and smooth.

Because each portion of meat was hand-cut rather than minced with a knife, the surface of the fried meatballs was not smooth but had a subtle uneven texture.

Just by looking, one could imagine the meaty texture upon biting.

Chen Ran had already prepared the braising sauce and placed the freshly fried meatballs into it one by one.

The browned Lion’s Heads made a crisp, wind-chime-like sound when scraped with the iron spatula, yet their color showed no sign of burning.

She began braising.

That hour and a bit was the most agonizing moment in the entire kitchen.

A rich aroma spread from the pot braising the Lion’s Heads, gradually thickening and becoming heavier as the sauce simmered.

At first, it was just a teasing breeze enticing people, but later, it became a hand grabbing everyone’s attention toward the pot.

Yuan Guozhong swallowed hard and couldn’t help but say, “No wonder the Lion’s Heads at Chen’s Restaurant used to sell for nearly two hundred yuan... If only I could eat one too!”

Zhu Chenchen was almost leaning over the pot!

She instinctively retorted to Yuan Guozhong, “No! The Lion’s Heads at Chen’s don’t have this aroma!”

“It smells similar, but it’s just... it’s just...” Zhu Chenchen racked her brains for words, “more solid!”

The aroma of these Lion’s Heads felt almost tangible! She could hardly imagine how amazing the taste would be when eaten.

At that moment, Chen Ran was stir-frying another vegetable dish — garlic broccoli.

However, she felt awkward doing it.

Cooking a dish with the system’s recipe bonuses but using her own B-level knife skills and C-level heat control created an indescribable awkwardness.

Amid the captivating aroma of the Lion’s Heads, she increasingly felt her own cooking skills were mediocre.

Or perhaps not even mediocre.

After finishing the broccoli, she naturally felt it was time to take the Lion’s Heads out of the pot.

When the lid was lifted, the aroma that was once merely captivating suddenly exploded and filled the entire room!This aroma could absolutely be described as overpowering!

The overwhelming, bustling, lively scent wafted out of the kitchen, spreading along the corridor. The people behind the small principal stopped in their tracks.

“What’s wrong?”

The small principal sniffed and caught that faint fragrance in the air.

“Oh, it’s mealtime. Do you want to come see the meals at our kindergarten?”

For the weekend’s open house, the small principal had invited many people to help promote.

There were elementary school teachers, early education institution staff, and members of the parent committee.

Thinking about the spectacular nightly rush for food, the small principal couldn’t help but remind them first: “Normally, everyone should taste the meals served in the kindergarten, but only a little, not too much.”

Not too much?

Ms. Wang from the parent committee, fair-skinned and well-groomed, still wore her big waves of hair despite the 31°C heat.

She looked somewhat displeased and, after the principal repeated the warning, impatiently switched her platinum handbag to the other hand.

“Principal Xiao, there’s no need to worry about that. We’re here to visit Qimingxing Kindergarten because your educational philosophy offers some complementarity and inspiration, not just to grab a free meal.”

For inspection purposes, she would still try the meals here.

But no matter what tricks they pulled—even if they carved the Louvre on quail eggs—she wouldn’t take another bite!