Gourmet Kindergarten

"belch--"

A loud burp, thick with the aroma of sweet and sour pork, burst through my throat.

Grandpa Li patted his round belly contentedly, put his hands behind his back, and swaggered around with an air of nonchalance, humming a Peking Opera tune as he shook his head: "I'm admiring the mountain scenery from the city tower—"

He glanced at the screen halfway through his humming.

Ok?

Why are there so many heads peeking out from the iron fence at the park entrance, like rockets?

Squinting with my presbyopia, I took a closer look—oh my! Aren't these the parents of the new students who just entered the kindergarten this morning?!

Saying.

Why are they gathering here like "geckos" in the middle of the day instead of taking a midday rest?

With a question lingering in his mind, he kept walking, taking two steps at a time to stroll over.

As soon as Grandpa Li approached, chaos erupted on the other end, with several faces pressed against the iron gate:

"Oh, Uncle Li, you've finally arrived!"

"Quick, quick, open the door for me!"

Grandpa Li gestured for everyone to stop through the iron fence: "Wait, wait! What are you all doing peeking around the park gate? What's the matter?"

Li Shufen, who was leading the group, held up a gleaming stainless steel thermos and smiled ingratiatingly: "Nothing much, we're just here to deliver lunch to our little darlings!"

"What the heck?"

Grandpa Li's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"The park provides meals, why are you coming to deliver them? Are you just bored?"

Li Shufen, with a thick skin, still smiled and patted the thermos: "There's food in the park, but my Jianjian and Haohao have delicate stomachs and can't get used to the food outside. They only like my braised pork!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Aunt Xu, standing nearby, also held up a multi-layered lunchbox. "My Yuanyuan is the same; she only eats my braised chicken leg, she can't swallow anything else!"

The other parents nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

Grandpa Li was so angry he almost laughed.

"Do you have some misunderstanding about the kindergarten director?"

"Who is that?"

"That's our culinary master!"

"That cooking smells so good, even the stray cats on the next street would roll around on the wall three times! Even I'm drooling and I'm peeking through the kitchen window, how could your little brat not like it?"

"Stop messing with me, hurry up and take your buckets back!"

Li Shufen and others: "..."

How could they not know that the kindergarten director is a culinary genius?

Nonsense, that's precisely because I know!

Under the guise of delivering meals, they were preparing to carry out a "switcheroo"—to replace the kindergarten director's divine cooking with ordinary home-cooked meals, pack them up, and take them home to eat themselves!

If we get kicked out now, wouldn't it be all for nothing?

The group exchanged quick glances, instantly forming a united front, and shamelessly persisted:

"No, no! Mothers know their children best. My Jianjian has been insisting all morning that he must eat my cooking today! Sir, please make an exception!"

"Yeah, open the door! The food won't taste good if it gets cold!"

Looking at this group of stubborn, protective "foster parents" in front of him, Grandpa Li felt his head throbbing.

When a scholar encounters a soldier, reason is useless.

Well, I can't afford to mess with them.

Grandpa Li rolled his eyes dramatically, then raised his hands in a gesture of surrender: "Fine, fine, fine, I told you so. Stop poking at it, or you'll scratch the paint off the iron gate!"

After saying that, he took out his old-fashioned mobile phone, pressed the button with his thumb, and skillfully dialed the internal line.

"Feed? Teacher Yu, it's me, Lao Li."

He sighed deeply, his eyes sweeping sadly over the group of expectant parents outside the door.

"Please come to the main gate right away... Yes, something terrible has happened. A group of parents of new students are insisting on bringing their kids lunch, saying that their children can't stand the food the headmistress makes... Sigh, we can't stop them, please come and take a look."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone: "Okay, I understand. Let them in first; it's not good for them to gather at the entrance in the middle of the day."

"Alright."

After hanging up the phone, I pressed the switch, and the iron gate slowly slid open.

Li Shufen and the others, carrying insulated containers, rushed in and hurried straight to the classroom.

Upon reaching the classroom door, Li Shufen raised her hand to signal everyone to be quiet, then crouched down and slowly peeked inside—

In the classroom, fourteen little radish heads sat neatly at the children's dining table.

No crying or fussing, no picky eating.

They didn't even speak.

The audience was silent.

The only sounds were the occasional "smacking" of chewing and the occasional blissful "mmm~" sigh.

Then look at the individual serving plates in front of each child—although they've been rummaged through and are completely messed up, the remaining sauces are still sizzling and screaming: this meal is absolutely amazing!

Oops!

Li Shufen's heart skipped a beat.

We're too late!

We've almost finished all the food!

"Oh, Shufen, you guys actually came to deliver food?"

A strange, eerie voice echoed from within.

Aunt Zhang came out of the classroom, curled her lip, and went straight up to pull Li Shufen aside.

Li Shufen gave an awkward dry laugh and hid the thermos behind her back: "Sister Zhang, I'm just worried, I'm afraid the child's stomach isn't good and he won't be used to it..."

"Don't you like the food?"

Aunt Zhang's smile vanished, and she rolled her eyes so hard they almost reached the top of her head.

"Are you worried that your child won't like the food? But can you really bear to let your child go hungry and refuse the food at the kindergarten?"

"And what kind of bullshit braised pork and braised chicken legs are you? Don't you know your own mediocre cooking skills? You think you can compare to the headmaster?"

"You even have your kindergarten-aged furry kid act as your 'delivery boy' bringing groceries home—"

Each word was deliberate and poignant, each sentence piercing the heart.

"Put your hands on your conscience and tell me, is this something a human being would do?"

Li Shufen and the others all turned a deep liver color.

Shame!

What a shame!

But who can blame them when the kindergarten director's skills are so extraordinary?

They were practically drooling in their dreams last night!

Teacher Yu then stepped in to smooth things over: "Alright, Aunt Zhang, stop talking. The parents are just worried about their children. Come on in and talk. Don't block the hallway."

The parents chuckled awkwardly and slunk into the classroom.

As soon as Hao Hao entered the door, he spotted his grandmother.

With a grain of rice still clinging to his lips, the little one's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed in his baby voice, "Grandma! The food here... is so delicious! I'm already... full, I can't eat any more of the food you brought... You can take it home and eat it yourself!"

"Yes! Mom, I'm full too!"

Jianjian chimed in, giving his bloated little belly a hard pat with a muffled "plop," and said, "Take it back!"

Yuanyuan wobbled over, clutching her belly, and showed it to Aunt Xu: "Grandma, I'm full too! The vegetables the headmaster made were so delicious, but my tummy is full, so I'll save them for Grandma~"

"I'm full too!"

"I ate it all!"

The other freshmen chimed in, patting their round bellies with satisfied expressions.

Li Shufen: "..."

Aunt Xu: "..."

All the parents behind him: "..."

You've all eaten your fill—but what about us?!

When you were slurping your rice, didn't you ever think of leaving us a bite to try?!

ah? ! ! !