Gourmet: Twins' Father and Chef of the Kindergarten-Chapter 206 - 192: Being Full Is What Matters Most
As dusk fell and the clock approached six in the evening, the sky’s colors gradually shifted from light blue to a deep azure, like a vast satin sheet unfurling under the call of night. The last rays of the sun lingered at the horizon, leaving a gentle golden hue that contrasted sharply with the rising silvery-white moon.
The streetlights began to light up one by one, like scattered stars, illuminating the way home for people.
Zhou Zhichong, Chenchen’s father, wrapped up a busy workday with a hint of fatigue on his face and hurriedly drove back home.
"Ding!"
As the elevator doors slowly opened, Zhou Zhichong stepped out, and his gaze immediately fell on his front door. Through the gap in the stainless steel, he could faintly see the light inside.
He quickly walked towards the door, skillfully entering a familiar sequence of numbers.
With a "click" of the lock, the door gradually opened...
The familiar scent of home instantly greeted him, carrying a comforting warmth.
However.
Amidst this familiar aroma, there was an unusual fragrance, rich and enticing, quite different from the usual household scents he was accustomed to.
He couldn’t help but take a deep breath, immediately feeling a lot of the day’s fatigue melt away.
Wait a minute!
Where on earth did this fragrance come from?
He had a good sense of his wife’s cooking skills, and this was definitely unlike anything she usually made.
He sniffed curiously, trying to locate the source of the aroma.
He was unaware!
But the more he sniffed, the more surprised he became!
This aroma was indeed wafting from his very own home.
This deepened his confusion, making him wonder if he had entered the wrong house.
So.
He stepped back a few paces to recheck the house number.
The familiar numbers came into view, confirming without a doubt that this was indeed his home.
"Could it be that my wife secretly went to a cooking class for training?"
With this question, he stepped inside, changing his shoes as he called out into the house, "Honey, Chenchen, I’m home!"
No sooner had he spoken.
Chenchen excitedly rushed over, tightly hugging his leg, tilting his little face up with an innocent and joyous smile, shouting, "Daddy!"
"Hey!"
Zhou Zhichong picked Chenchen up, kissing his soft cheek.
Lin Huiyi greeted him with a smile, holding a steaming plate of steamed pork: "Honey, you’re finally back! Look what I made for you tonight. I guarantee you’ll love it!"
"I could smell it from the door; it should taste fantastic," Zhou Zhichong nodded appreciatively, putting Chenchen down and then changing the subject, "By the way, honey, what’s with the aroma... it’s unlike your usual cooking, did you secretly sign up for a cooking class?"
Lin Huiyi blinked, her lips curling into a smug smile: "Haha, honey, you could think of it that way! But I didn’t take a cooking class; I just had the chance to learn a few tricks from Chef Huang at Dorami Kindergarten today."
Zhou Zhichong was a bit taken aback, curiously asking, "Chef Huang from Dorami Kindergarten? How did you end up learning from him?"
Lin Huiyi explained, "I attended the kindergarten’s ’open kitchen day’ event today! I was fortunate enough to tour the kitchen and saw Chef Huang cooking. I thought he was really skilled, so I asked him a few questions. To my surprise, he was very kind, not only patiently answering my questions but also generously teaching me many cooking techniques."
Zhou Zhichong’s eyes brightened: "Oh? So you got guidance from an expert..."
Lin Huiyi nodded proudly: "Yes, Chef Huang is truly a culinary master. The skills he taught not only make the dishes taste better but also saved me from making many mistakes. And you know, his cooking is just so delicious. Especially the steamed pork, it’s unbelievably delicious, savoring the rice powder wrapped around the pork belly, the fat melting slowly in the mouth without being greasy..."
Saying this, she couldn’t help but reminisce indulgently.
Listening to Lin Huiyi’s description, Zhou Zhichong’s appetite was whetted; he couldn’t help reaching for the steamed pork.
But Lin Huiyi swiftly slapped his hand away: "Go, wash your hands! Once you’re done, we can sit down to eat."
"Okay, okay, I’ll go wash my hands," Zhou Zhichong touched his slapped hand, smiled helplessly, and turned to take little Chenchen, who was playing with toys, by the hand, saying, "Chenchen, come on, let’s wash our hands and get ready for dinner."
After washing their hands, they found that Lin Huiyi had already set all the dishes on the table.
Everyone took their seats.
Chenchen’s eyes lit up with delight upon seeing the familiar dishes on the table: steamed pork, fish head tofu soup, stir-fried yam slices, and celery with smoked bean curd.
Pointing to the steamed pork with his little finger, he exclaimed in disbelief, "Mommy, these four dishes are exactly the same as the ones we had for lunch at kindergarten!"
His little tongue greedily licked his lips, savoring the delicious memory of the kindergarten lunch.
Suddenly.
A thought occurred to him; he turned to Lin Huiyi with curiosity, asking, "Mommy, did you secretly pack the kindergarten lunch home? Or did you invite Uncle Chef Huang over to cook for us?"
These words fell on Lin Huiyi’s ears, leaving her both a little exasperated and overwhelmingly delighted.
After all, Chenchen’s surprise and doubt just showed that these four dishes she made, just from the appearance and aroma, had already reached a level not inferior to Chef Huang’s!
This is undoubtedly... a high recognition of Lin Huiyi’s culinary skills!
She felt that the dawn of revolution victory was just in front of her...
Lin Huiyi couldn’t help but laugh out loud, gently pinching Chenchen’s little cheek: "You little smartypants, how could mom possibly sneak kindergarten dishes home? It’s even more impossible to secretly invite Chef Huang to cook at our home! Even if mom wanted to invite him, he probably wouldn’t come! Chenchen, let me tell you, these dishes are all made by me for you,"
Upon hearing this, Chenchen’s eyes instantly dimmed, and he said somewhat disappointedly, "Oh... it was you who made it, mom!"
Hey hey hey, what’s with that expression?
Do you dislike the food mom made?
Lin Huiyi said speechlessly: "Chenchen, let me tell you, these dishes were actually taught to me by your kindergarten’s Chef Huang, the taste is definitely great, come on, give it a try."
With that, Lin Huiyi picked up a piece of steamed pork and placed it in Chenchen’s bowl.
Chenchen looked at the steamed pork in the bowl, feeling a bit hesitant, but seeing his mom watching him eagerly, he reluctantly started eating.
As he took a bite...
Hmm?
The taste is not bad!
Chenchen’s dimmed eyes instantly lit up with joy.
However, after savoring it carefully, he still felt that compared to Uncle Huang Jun’s cooking, it was still a bit lacking.
With an expectant look, Lin Huiyi asked, "Chenchen, is it delicious?"
Chenchen honestly expressed his thoughts, "Mom, this meat is better than what you used to make, but... it’s still not as good as Uncle Chef Huang’s."
This outcome was within Lin Huiyi’s expectations.
She had only learned some guidance from Chef Huang and never underwent any formal training. To reach Chef Huang’s level with just a bit of guidance, she’d have to be the kind of genius born for this.
To achieve this level now, honestly, she was already quite satisfied.
At least her son, who always disliked the home-cooked meals, was not rejecting them as much now and would sit down and eat.
It seems in the future, she should learn more culinary skills from Chef Huang!
She smiled, patting Chenchen’s head, "Chenchen, you’re quite right. The food I make indeed has a lot of room for improvement, but I’ll keep working hard to learn."
"I think it’s very good! Much better than before, you could almost set up a stall selling it!" said Zhou Zhichong, who had never had the kindergarten’s steamed pork, munching it down, finding the taste pretty good.
It’s as good as what you get outside!
He didn’t understand why his wife and son said otherwise.
Lin Huiyi laughed and explained, "That’s because you haven’t tasted the steamed pork made by Chef Huang. If you did, I’m afraid you wouldn’t say that. Look at our Chenchen, getting his taste spoiled by Chef Huang at the kindergarten. His skills are that good."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhichong was suddenly filled with anticipation about Chef Huang’s skills.
Will have to try it sometime for sure!
And take a look at this legendary Chef Huang to see just how superb his culinary skills are and how delicious the taste can be!
...
Qiu Jingwen also prepared lunch for the family.
As she was serving Guoguo, she asked about Guoguo’s day at the kindergarten:
"Guoguo, did you finish your food at kindergarten today?"
Guoguo looked up at her mom, hesitated a bit, and said, "No, mom, the food at the kindergarten wasn’t good. I didn’t eat the dishes, I just ate rice and soup."
Dou Yuanxin frowned, putting down his chopsticks, and seriously told Guoguo, "Guoguo, at kindergarten, you can’t be picky about food; eat whatever is given, okay? That’s the only way to stay healthy."
Guoguo, feeling a bit wronged, pouted, "But, dad, the food at kindergarten really isn’t good, Guoguo can’t eat it!"
"Even if it doesn’t taste good, you should eat a little bit. Being full is the most important!"
Dou Yuanxin looked at the spoiled little girl in front of him and couldn’t help but sigh, secretly blaming it on his wife’s indulgence since she was young.
Qiu Jingwen thought about it and said, "Honey, today I heard from my cousin Sijun that her daughter’s kindergarten meals are particularly nice, her daughter eats heartily at the kindergarten. I was thinking, should we consider changing kindergartens for Guoguo?"
Dou Yuanxin frowned even deeper, "It’s already been more than half a month since school started, and Guoguo has finally adapted a bit to the Government Kindergarten, and now you want to transfer her? I think that’s too much trouble."
Qiu Jingwen sighed, feeling a bit helpless, "I know it’s quite troublesome, but look at how Guoguo has been eating at the kindergarten this month, it’s even worse than at home, at least she eats some veggies at home, but at the kindergarten, she only eats plain rice, barely touching the dishes. What else can we do if we don’t change the kindergarten?"
Dou Yuanxin was silent for a while, then slowly spoke, "Just because of her eating problem, we’re going to switch kindergarten? If we change and she still doesn’t like the food, are we going to keep switching? You insisted on choosing Government Kindergarten in the first place. Now that she doesn’t eat well there, you’re thinking of changing. You’re being too casual. If it’s just a food issue, we can try communicating with the teacher first, see how they manage meals at school, and then find ways to adjust. I think troubling the child with a transfer isn’t a good idea, maybe as she grows up, she’ll naturally eat better. Besides, no matter how good a kindergarten chef is, how good can it be? They can’t satisfy every single child. Just because your cousin’s daughter likes it doesn’t mean ours will too..."
In the end, the couple couldn’t reach an agreement.
Plus, Qiu Jingwen was reluctant to see the two thousand dollars go to waste, so she didn’t adhere strongly to her opinion and thought about raising the issue with the teacher again.
See how things go.
Even if considering a transfer, they should first thoroughly understand the new school’s situation, ensuring a better learning and living environment for Guoguo, aside from just the food.
