Gourmet Kindergarten

"So-so."

Aunt Li uttered two words with her mouth bulging.

"real?"

"Honestly, it's just so-so, not that delicious."

That's what she said, but her hand honestly reached for the plastic bag again.

Looking at him like this, not even the passing dogs would believe it, let alone the old foxes around him.

"We're all old foxes, why are you playing these ghost stories with me?" Sister Wang slapped her hand away, picked up a piece herself, and popped it into her mouth.

The next second, his eyes widened like saucers.

"It's delicious!"

Upon hearing this, how could the remaining people remain seated?

They all pounced on it in a flash.

After taking a bite and chewing a couple of times, everyone froze in unison, their eyes widening in surprise.

"My goodness! This is amazing! Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, even better than what you get at fancy restaurants! It's still so fragrant even when it's cold, it's so delicious it makes your teeth ache! Where did you buy it?"

"Good heavens! What were those things I used to eat called? And Xiao Li, you call this 'just so-so'? Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about what 'just so-so' means?"

"What misunderstanding could there be? Old Li is just being dishonest, fooling the ladies here!"

"Li Shufen, I'm not done with you yet!"

Aunt Li shrank back after being scolded, and when no one was looking, she secretly stuffed another piece into her mouth, mumbling indistinctly, "I...I really think it's just so-so..."

"Then why don't you just not eat it!!"

Despite the curses, the crowd didn't hold back, reaching out again to frantically snatch the items.

A bunch of robbers...

Aunt Zhao, who was on the outer edge, got anxious and squeezed forward a step: "Make way! Leave me some—"

Aunt Xu pushed him back with her buttocks.

Aunt Zhao, unconvinced, went around to the other side and squeezed in again: "I'll just take one piece! One piece is enough—"

Aunt Zhang stopped him with her elbow: "Stop fooling around, line up."

"Stop lining up, you big idiot! That's my meat!"

Aunt Zhao tried to break through the ironclad defense formed by her old sisters, but she couldn't manage it, no matter how hard she tried, three or four times.

She stood alone on the outer circle, watching helplessly as the meat in the plastic bag dwindled piece by piece.

The feeling is like watching your savings account balance drop.

Do not…

She had never felt this heartbroken when her bank account balance was depleted.

"Waaah..." Aunt Zhao's eyes were red and brimming with tears. "What sins did I commit in my past life to be stuck with you bunch of bandit sisters..."

The only response she received was the deafening sound of chewing from inside.

"Smack smack..."

"This piece is mine, let go!"

"You still have one piece in your hand and you're still trying to steal it? Shameless!"

"I've got my bite, let go!"

The group of women ignored her warnings and nearly bled over a piece of pork tenderloin.

The warm yellow streetlights shone on Aunt Zhao, making her lonely figure appear even more desolate.

soon--

"Oh dear, that's it?" Aunt Zhang rummaged through the empty plastic bag, licking her fingers with a hint of lingering satisfaction. "I haven't even figured out what I'm missing yet."

"Absolutely! I only ate two pieces, and they were gone before I could even savor them!"

Everyone smacked their lips, their eyes all turning to Aunt Zhao:

"Cuihua, where did you buy this meat?"

"You bought too little; it's not even enough to fill the gaps between the teeth of the sisters."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhao rushed forward, grabbed the empty bag, and turned it over and over—but couldn't find a single crumb.

I almost fainted on the spot.

"I painstakingly brought back these crispy pork tenderloins! I didn't even get a taste! You guys devoured them all! And instead of feeling guilty, you complained it wasn't enough? Where's your shame? Huh? Where's your shame?!"

The older women then noticed Aunt Zhao's almost broken expression, exchanged glances, and scratched their heads awkwardly.

"Oh, Cuihua, don't be so mean, it's just that I ate some of your meat," Sister Wang said with a dry laugh, trying to smooth things over.

"Yeah, you're such a cheapskate. I'll treat you to fried pork ribs next time to make up for it, okay?"

"Seriously, where did you buy it? We'll buy it ourselves, we won't take advantage of you, okay?"

"Yes, yes, buy more! It's been so long since the girls have gotten together and had a good time!"

Aunt Zhao stared at them blankly.

Is such a high-quality tenderloin meat something you can just buy anytime?

"I already said it's leftovers from the kindergarten's get-together! Where are you going to buy this?!" Aunt Zhao completely lost her temper, her voice reaching its highest point. "Use your brains! What restaurant can make something that smells this good? The kindergarten principal made this especially for today's get-together, and she even gave me a little bit of the leftovers to take home for my family since I helped clean up! I—my family didn't eat a single bite—"

I was so heartbroken I couldn't speak.

Sisters: "(^~^;)ゞ"

They had previously assumed that Aunt Zhao had bought it from some fancy hotel, and while they claimed it was just scraps from the kindergarten, they simply didn't want to share it.

Who would have thought that it was actually made by the kindergarten?

By the way...

Are kindergarten meals this hardcore now?

Even more impressive than a high-end restaurant?

Aunt Zhang swallowed hard and cautiously asked, "Cuihua... is this what your kindergarten usually serves?"

"I don't eat here every day, but the quality is about the same." Aunt Zhao gave her a disgruntled look.

Aunt Zhang's eyes changed.

It became profound, it became intense, like a wolf that hadn't eaten for three days setting its sights on a fat pig.

"Cuihua," Aunt Zhang rubbed her hands together, her eyes gleaming with greed, "I've thought about it carefully, and what you said before was absolutely right. People can't live too decadently. Dancing in the square every day is a waste of time. People still need to return to society and find something worthwhile to do."

Aunt Zhao: "...Huh?"

"I was wondering if your kindergarten needs a cleaner?" Aunt Zhang stepped forward. "Could you talk to your headmistress? I don't need a salary, just a meal will do."

As soon as he finished speaking, the eyes of the people next to him lit up.

"Cuihua, I'm quick and efficient, I'll go first!"

"Why should you go first? I'm younger than you, and I've been working here longer!"

"Exactly, I can also help babysit the kids while I'm at it!"

"Come on, are you even capable of taking care of a child? Don't lead other people's children astray."

"Who are you talking about?!"

"Alright, stop arguing!" Aunt Zhang waved her hand, stabilizing the situation, then turned to Aunt Zhao, "Cuihua, just give me a straight answer, okay?"

Aunt Zhao looked at her old friends who had just been stealing her meat and were now trying to steal her job, and she laughed in exasperation.

"Give up on that idea. Our kindergarten has plenty of cleaning staff."

Aunt Zhang's smile froze, and the others deflated like punctured balloons.

"However—" Aunt Zhao changed the subject, drawing out the last syllable.

Aunt Zhang's ears immediately perked up like antennae: "But what?"

"We really do lack..."

"What's missing? Tell me quickly!"

"We're short of kids."

"……what?"

The middle-aged women exchanged bewildered glances. After a long pause, Aunt Zhang finally managed to stammer, "Cuihua, are you kidding us? Even if the kindergarten is short of children, it has nothing to do with us. After all, we're all old folks; we can't become children ourselves..."

"It's not that there's no way to solve it."

"What's your plan?"

"Go back and be reborn! In four or five years, you'll be school age, just come and register with me. Don't worry, all of us sisters are here, I'll pull some strings and give you priority admission. How about that, pretty generous, right?"

A gentle night breeze blew across the square.

Several middle-aged women froze on the spot.

The expressions on their faces shifted from anticipation to astonishment, then to a distorted expression, finally coalescing into a unified, teeth-gritting roar:

"Zhao—Cui—Hua—!!!"

"Do you even want to listen to what you're saying? Are you even speaking human language???"