Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Chapter 9 — Dishes Even Have Special Effects?

The children had just lined up when the small principal led a group of people inside.

Normally, children’s attention is very easy to capture.

However, Ms. Wang keenly noticed that as they entered, not a single child turned their head; all of them were intently focused on the food ahead.

She couldn’t help but laugh, mentally deducting one—or no, five—points from Qimingxing Kindergarten.

This was definitely rehearsed!

The small principal led the group to sit down, smiling warmly as she said, “Because we didn’t consider that the inspection would take too long, the dishes are only offered for tasting. If everyone really likes them, there will be a buffet at the formal open house in a few days.”

Ms. Wang’s impression worsened.

This was overacting, right? Besides, the most important thing in a kindergarten is the quality of education; the meals just need to be clean and nutritious. There’s absolutely no need to steal the show here.

Watching the kindergarten children quickly serve themselves and eat, she began to suspect the principal’s educational philosophy, thinking that maybe too much energy was wasted on this “performance.”

Zhu Chenchen, as a newly recruited intern, was assigned to serve food at this table.

She carefully served two lion’s heads and two large spoons of garlic broccoli, and handed out utensils to each guest.

The small principal was maintaining order elsewhere and didn’t pay attention here. When she glanced over, she saw the clumsy college student had made a mistake.

She raised her hand to her forehead.

At least each person should get a quarter of a lion’s head, right?

“Chenchen, you need to divide it up properly!”

Zhu Chenchen had almost no social experience and had never even joined the student council. She thought for a moment, then picked up a communal spoon and cut the lion’s heads into several small pieces just the right size for a bite.

The small principal couldn’t bear to watch anymore.

Fortunately, she still had faith in Chen Ran’s cooking skills; these were just minor details!

Teaching Zhu Chenchen could be done later; scolding her now and hurting the child’s dignity wouldn’t be good.

Zhu Chenchen, unaware of the small principal’s kind intentions, happily made each piece of lion’s head the same size before stopping.

“All right! Everyone, eat! This is really great!”

Ms. Wang’s breathing was slightly heavy.

However, looking at this goofy college student reminded her of her own younger daughter, and surprisingly, she didn’t get angry.

Seeing everyone’s eyes on her, she cleared her throat.

“All right, everyone, have a taste.”

She picked up the spoon in front of her, hesitated, then scooped a piece of broccoli.

Garlic broccoli is considered a dish that’s hard to mess up. In her few cooking attempts, Ms. Wang had made this dish before.

Garlic is stir-fried until fragrant, with oyster sauce as the base. The broccoli is blanched, so at worst it’s a bit watery but not hard to swallow.

However, this broccoli gave her a pretty good impression.The timing of blanching the broccoli was perfectly chosen; its texture was tender yet not mushy, with the flavors of oyster sauce and garlic fully absorbed—fresh and light.

Ms. Wang nodded slightly, beginning to believe that the children’s earlier behavior was not rehearsed.

However, at this level, if it were in a restaurant, she would at most remind her housekeeper to add it to the list for small gatherings with her sisters. The small principal’s insistence on not eating too much was impossible.

She put down her spoon and spoke with some reserve, “The dishes in this kindergarten are indeed quite good.”

After saying this, Ms. Wang was somewhat surprised—why was everyone looking at her?

Organizing the parent committee by district rather than school was indeed a pioneering move locally, which increased her influence among other parents.

But she wasn’t a tyrant; it was just a dish.

Unless…

The woman beside her, who always considered herself Ms. Wang’s close confidante, urged, “You should quickly try this lion’s head!”

As a representative of a small elite group in the city, the Chen family restaurant’s traditional delicacies were almost like cafeteria food to her.

Whenever she visited, the lion’s heads she ordered were always personally cooked by the owner, Mr. Chen, from start to finish.

For her, lion’s head? She was tired of it.

However, seeing others not waiting for her to take a bite before refusing a second one, Ms. Wang still picked up the spoon.

She extended the spoon, scooped up some, and took a bite.

She was shocked!

In fact, as the lion’s head neared her nose and mouth, she already vaguely sensed its excellence.

That rich, intense aroma!

Logically, the lion’s head had been sliced and left for a long time; even the richest flavors should have mostly dissipated by now, right?

After all, lion’s heads are cooked whole, not cooked after being cut.

Yet this lion’s head’s flavor was consistent inside and out!

Smooth and soft on the tongue, melting with a light press, but inside that tender, slightly sticky mass, there were playful chunks of meat. A gentle bite revealed the meat’s superb, almost springy texture.

At the same time, the crisp water chestnuts exploded in her mouth. Amid the rich pork aroma, the faint sweetness was like smelling plum blossoms on a snowy night, winding and twisting.

But the finishing touch—

Ms. Wang was so shocked she lightly covered her nose and mouth with her hand. She finally understood why the small principal emphasized that the food couldn’t be served in large portions.

She also understood why everyone waited for her to taste first.

Ms. Wang was always decisive when making decisions!

She quickly made a decision.

“Xiao Deng, go get another lion’s head. If Principal Xiao refuses, you talk to her about your elementary school’s influence on the surrounding area.”

“Sister Li, you go get another lion’s head too. If Principal Xiao says no, you tell her how many children your early education center has.”

“Old Zhao, you get another lion’s head as well. If Principal Xiao refuses, talk to her about your connections in the education bureau.”Finally, Ms. Wang stood up proudly.

As for her! After working hard running the parent committee for so many years, couldn’t she ask for one more lion’s head than the others?

But the reality proved otherwise—she couldn’t.

The small principal said with a helpless smile, “I already said in advance, there’s no extra. Look at how these kids are eating—I actually gave up my own portion for you all today.”

Just from the aroma, she knew this lion’s head was definitely something special.

Ms. Wang put a lot of effort into it and managed to get one extra lion’s head for the large last table. There was no more than that, but they could share some soup to mix with their rice.

She reluctantly refused this somewhat unrefined suggestion.

Since graduating from university and changing her name from Wang Zhaodi to Wang Qing’an, Ms. Wang had never done anything so damaging to her image.

—Although the soup did look extremely tempting.

She asked in detail about the upcoming visit: “Can visitors bring people? Will this lion’s head be served that day?”

“You can bring people,” the small principal replied, as her original intention was to expand publicity, so she wasn’t afraid of crowds. “Lion’s heads will be made that day, but it might be limited.”

Limited!

Several nearby immediately heard the keyword and began asking: “Limited by headcount? How many can each person have? Are there differences between adults and children?”

The small principal had only just planned this, and being asked so detailed questions made her a bit nervous.

“We’ll talk about that later, later for sure, but there will definitely be lion’s heads,” she emphasized again. “However, I hope no one takes this as the kindergarten’s main advantage. Our chef is only helping temporarily and won’t be cooking here all the time.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, feeling that was the right explanation.

Having food of this caliber in such a humble kindergarten was outrageous—but if it was just temporary help, it made sense.

Ms. Wang couldn’t help but wonder, what happens after this? Since the chef has time to help the kindergarten, it would be reasonable for her to hire such a chef at her own club, right?

But for now, the most important thing was the upcoming visit!

“Principal Xiao, it’s settled then. I’ll bring some friends and family to visit that day. Everyone is very interested in the educational philosophy of Qiming Kindergarten.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll bring people too. Principal Xiao, don’t turn us away!”

“Me too! I have a younger sister who really loves lion’s… oh no, I mean, my sister’s child is about to start kindergarten!”

The small principal smiled so broadly she could barely close her mouth.

Although she knew everyone was coming mostly for the lion’s head, some would surely choose this place because of the kindergarten’s features!

Privately, she told Chen Ran, “Ranan, you’ll have to work hard that day and make more lion’s heads. But don’t worry, you’ll get paid extra!”

The small principal thought for a moment: “We’ll pay you like those chefs who cook at wedding banquets. Let’s make more and make the visit lively.”

Chen Ran nodded, “No problem, Principal Xiao. It’s just a tiring day.”

She didn’t have any special demands for the visit, but she was happy spending time at the kindergarten lately, and it was great to help the small principal before leaving.

“I really like the kindergarten too, and I hope I can help you recruit a few more students!”

Plus, cooking during the assignment was enjoyable for her. Repeating recipes like the S-grade lion’s head was always a pleasure.But she already understood the level—what about the flavor effect?

Chen Ran clicked into the system and tentatively tapped the gray flavor effect. Surprisingly, a mission popped up immediately.

“System, you’re not going to give me a prompt?”

She was shocked. If she hadn’t tried clicking, would she have missed the chance to unlock this recipe?

This time, the system didn’t act aloof, but its reply was even less helpful than pretending to be aloof.

【An endless desire to explore is a necessary condition for a chef’s progress.】

Alright, alright, you have a point.

Chen Ran complained silently and opened the mission.

【Flavor is a chef’s signature. The flavor of each dish requires not only the chef’s effort but also the diner’s shared interpretation.】

【Different flavors bring different effects to the diner.】

【Side mission: Unlock the lion’s head flavor effect unique to the host. Mission requirement: the lion’s head must be eaten one thousand times.】

One thousand times?

Chen Ran, who had just been indifferent about the visit, immediately felt energized!

The small principal was about to turn around when she suddenly felt her arm being grabbed.

—Chen Ran, with bright almond-shaped eyes, held onto her arm.

“Principal! I really want to do whatever I can for the kindergarten!”

“This visit must be done well!”