Gourmet Kindergarten

"Everyone, please come with me to the conference room."

Pei Qian had just turned around when a hurried call came from behind him.

"Little Kindergarten Director!"

Turning around, I saw Teacher Yu walking briskly towards me, dragging a little "tail" with her in her hand—Tangtang.

The little girl, with her pigtails sticking straight up, was being pulled around by her mother, her head bobbing like a rattle drum, her face filled with a look of utter despair, as if to say, "What did I ever do to deserve this?"

Can Teacher Yu stop gossiping?

Just as they were at the entrance, Grandpa Li started talking about how Zhao Cuihua had brought the older women and kids into the park, making quite a show of it, and that the young director had already gone in to meet them.

Who can stand this?

She had to come and see what Aunt Zhao was up to.

"Teacher Yu, you've come at the right time. These are all parents who are registering their children."

Teacher Yu paused, stunned.

Sign up?

She thought she had misheard, her brain went blank for two seconds before she suddenly came to her senses.

Sign up?!

Teacher Yu almost burst into tears of joy.

This is not being pretentious.

She has worked in kindergarten for so many years, watching helplessly as the number of students declines year after year.

From a full garden, to half a garden, and then to an empty classroom, only six "last children" remained, staring at each other blankly.

How can I describe that feeling?

It's like an old shop that's about to go out of business, tucked away in a corner of an alley.

The storefront didn't have the word "For Sale" on it yet, but even the stray dogs passing by knew this place was going to close down, and they didn't even bother to look at it.

The result is now—

Suddenly, someone kicked the door open, leading seven or eight lively customers who shouted, "Boss, get us seats!"

This wasn't just a surprise; it was a miraculous escape from a desperate situation.

"Little principal..."

She opened her mouth, but in the end only managed to utter one sentence: "I knew it, handing this garden over to you was the right thing to do."

Tangtang, whom she had forgotten, was already squatting on the ground, intently scrambling for ants while the adults were talking, completely unaware that she was about to welcome a bunch of new classmates.

Pei Qian seamlessly transitioned to the next topic: "By the way, the kindergarten will no longer divide classes by age."

"ah?"

Teacher Yu was taken aback.

"We implement mixed-age education. Older children mentor younger children, adhering to the Montessori philosophy, and facilitating cross-age interaction..."

Hearing these advanced terms he had never heard before, Teacher Yu's face showed an expression that said, "I don't understand, but I am deeply impressed."

"We'll learn the concepts later; please process these people's admission procedures first."

Pei Qian simply handed over the task and became a hands-off manager.

Looking at the babies of different sizes in front of her, Teacher Yu's eyes not only didn't dim, but grew even brighter.

After all, these are living, breathing students. As long as there are students, the kindergarten is less likely to go out of business, and if it doesn't go out of business, she can continue to eat the meals cooked by the young principal.

For that reason alone, she has to get to work quickly!

"Leave it to me!"

She scooped Tangtang up from the ground, brushed the dirt off her trousers, and, filled with renewed hope, rushed towards her with a strong voice:

"Come on, parents, follow me to the meeting room to fill out these forms!"

Once the crowd dispersed, things finally calmed down a bit in the small square.

Pei Qian immediately sidled up to Aunt Zhao, beaming, "Aunt Zhao, you're practically my Goddess of Mercy... ugh, a living Bodhisattva! You've brought me so many students, tell me the secret, how did you manage to swindle them all?"

Aunt Zhao looked like she was about to cry but had no tears.

Fool?

Is there any need to fool people?

I came here entirely because I was tempted by your crispy pork tenderloin!

"Oh dear, my little kindergarten director!" she slapped her thigh in anguish, "All those crispy pork tenderloins you packed for me last night have been eaten by a bunch of pigs!"

"Huh? You got eaten by a pig?" Pei Qian's eyes widened. "What kind of pig is so blind? Daring to steal your meat? Did you call the police? Did they catch them?"

"The old sows in the pigsty in the backyard!" Aunt Zhao raised her chin and pointed behind her. "Those were the ones who went to register. The remaining four are standing here."

The four middle-aged women behind him: "..."

Zhao Cuihua, are you being polite?

Who are you calling an old sow?

If it weren't for the presence of the kindergarten director, they would have been pulling each other's hair on the spot.

All they could do now was cough wildly in unison, signaling her to watch her words.

"Cough cough cough cough!"

It was only then that Pei Qian belatedly noticed that there were several middle-aged women sticking out behind Aunt Zhao.

She neither went to register nor brought her grandchildren with her.

"What brings you here...?"

The leader, Aunt Zhang, was the first to put on a kind smile: "Young director, we're not here for anything else. It's just that our good friend Cuihua works as a cleaner here, and we wanted to ask if our kindergarten needs any more cleaners?"

"That's right, young director! Don't let our age fool you, we're full of energy and our work is just as good as hers!"

"I mainly felt sorry for Cuihua being all alone here, so I wanted to come and lend a hand and keep her company."

"..."

Aunt Zhao rolled her eyes: How tiring is it for me to be a cleaner? Do I need your sympathy? Keep me company, why don't you just fly to the sky and stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun?

Seeing that Pei Qian didn't respond, Aunt Zhang grew anxious and finally revealed her true intentions: "Young director, money doesn't matter. We don't need that little bit of salary, as long as we can eat the food you cook!"

"Yes, yes, yes! If you let us stay, you'll definitely make a profit, little principal!"

The older women chatted amongst themselves, and the scene became quite absurd at one point.

Aunt Zhao sighed and facepalmed: How embarrassing!

Pei Qian finally realized what was going on.

Goodness, the fox's tail is showing, isn't it?

After going through all this trouble, it turns out I was just craving his body... oops, I mean, his cooking!

To be honest, with the original staff leaving for better opportunities, he is now really short-staffed, especially for head teachers and life skills teachers.

But these middle-aged women in front of me are clearly not on the right track.

Become a teacher?

Their age and education level are both insufficient.

Be a life skills teacher?

It's true that there are no strict educational requirements, but he's really worried that if these old ladies hold hands, they'll turn the kids in the park into a square dance group.

but--

The kitchen really needs someone to wash vegetables and do odd jobs.

But the problem is: he only needs one!

There were several people standing in front of her, all of whom were Aunt Zhao's close friends.

Who should be kept and who should be left?

Isn't this just pushing people to the point of being offended?

Pei Qian's eyes darted around, and he tossed the hot potato back to her, grinning innocently, "Aunt Zhao, look how enthusiastic the ladies are! How about... you decide on this kitchen helper position?"

Aunt Zhao: "..."

I thank you, you old man!

He flips the wok around even more smoothly than he tosses a ladle!

But with the die already cast, Aunt Zhao had no choice but to turn around, her gaze sweeping over the faces of her older female colleagues below, trying her best to project a leader-like demeanor:

"Our kindergarten director has spoken; they're hiring one general helper for the kitchen. Who... will do it?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than Aunt Zhang stepped forward, saying, "Then I'll go first! I've been cooking for thirty years, and I've fed my husband so well that he's plump and healthy. Washing vegetables is nothing!"

"Give me a break!" Aunt Li scoffed. "Washing vegetables is a skill! With your hands, they're like old tree bark. You could turn two pounds of good cabbage into rotten scraps. Do you think the garden can afford to pay for that?"

"You're talking nonsense! My hands may be rough, but I'm meticulous when it comes to work! Unlike you, all you do is dawdle!"

"I'm slacking off? Back in the textile factory, I was a model worker for three consecutive years! Who do you think you are?"

"A true hero doesn't dwell on past glories! Let's talk about the present!" Aunt Liu sneered, immediately unleashing her trump card, "I have a health certificate! I just had a physical exam last month, and all my indicators are much better than your old, calloused legs!"

"Liu Guilan, who are you indirectly insulting for being unhealthy?"

"I'm showing you my medical report, so what?"

"Bullshit! I'm telling you right now, nobody's going to take this job from me—I'll do it!"

"I'll do it!"

"I'm the one who calls the shots, I'll do it!!"

In an instant, the small square was filled with the thunderous roars of the middle-aged women, their spittle flying like rain.

Aunt Zhao's lips twitched: "..."

This is utterly shameful!

Pei Qian silently took half a step back: "..."

What was supposed to be a simple kitchen job of washing vegetables and doing odd jobs turned into a fierce competition.

As for?

Is it really that serious?!