At the same time, inside Little Sun Kindergarten, Principal Qin Xiaolan had just finished lunch and was inspecting the premises.
A rich aroma wafted from not too far away.
"What a fragrant smell, did you notice it?" Qin Xiaolan asked Teacher Yu, who was in charge of logistics and walking beside her, out of curiosity.
Teacher Yu took a deep breath, nodded, and replied, "It's really fragrant; it seems to be coming from the direction of the senior class."
Principal Qin pondered for a few seconds, then said, "Let's go, let's go take a look."
The two hurried towards the source of the aroma. As soon as they reached the classroom door, they saw the children all eating with their heads down, not a single one speaking.
It was well known that normally, lunchtime was when the children were the noisiest and most troublesome.
Often, children would fuss about not eating, requiring the teachers to coax them.
This was the first time she had seen such a quiet dining scene.
Qin Xiaolan and Teacher Yu exchanged glances and continued walking.
They went from Class One to Class Two.
They found the same situation there.
Everyone was sitting quietly in their seats, diligently eating their lunch.
At this moment, Xue Yue, the teacher in charge of Class Two, also noticed the principal and the logistics teacher standing at the door.
She quickly trotted over and asked in a low voice, "Principal Qin, is there something you need to inform us about?"
"No, no, I just came over to take a look," Qin Xiaolan said with a smile, adjusting her glasses, and carefully looked into the classroom again.
Finally, she discovered something different.
"Teacher Xue, is there something extra on the children's plates?"
"It looks like it's not the food prepared by the kindergarten."
Facing Qin Xiaolan's question, Xue Yue quickly explained, "Those are extra meals ordered by the children's parents from Su's Little Dining Table."
"Extra meals? Su's Little Dining Table?"
Upon hearing this, Principal Qin's originally smiling face turned serious.
As the principal of the kindergarten, she had over ten years of rich teaching experience.
She clearly understood how important children's dietary health was.
Although there was no explicit rule in the kindergarten prohibiting parents from bringing extra food into the kindergarten.
It absolutely could not be food from a Small Restaurant brought in on such a large scale without the kindergarten's approval.
Neither hygiene nor health could be guaranteed.
If any child had a problem, who would bear the responsibility, the parents or the kindergarten?
Thinking of this, Qin Xiaolan's eyes darkened, and her gaze towards Xue Yue carried a hint of sternness, "Teacher Xue, why didn't you report such a big matter to the kindergarten? Even if the parents requested it, with such a large quantity, as the teacher in charge of this class, shouldn't you have informed the kindergarten?"
"I..." Xue Yue immediately became nervous, looking at Principal Qin, who had suddenly changed her expression, somewhat at a loss, "I'm sorry, Principal Qin. It was my oversight. I thought the children all liked to eat it, and the parents had no objections, so I didn't think too much about it."
"Didn't think too much about it," Qin Xiaolan snorted coldly, "It seems necessary to organize a few more lessons on children's healthy eating for all the teachers, to make sure you remember."
Hearing this, Xue Yue was extremely scared.
Would she be fired because of this?
The scene fell into silence for a moment.
"Teacher Xue is also young and hasn't married or had children, so it's understandable that her vigilance regarding children's healthy eating isn't high enough."
"Now that the problem has been discovered, there's still time to remedy it."
"Old Qin, stop scaring her," Teacher Yu interjected at the right time, breaking the quiet atmosphere.
She and Qin Xiaolan had been friends for many years, and comrades who had worked hard together in this kindergarten for many years.
Their relationship was very good.
Therefore, hearing Teacher Yu's words, Qin Xiaolan's expression softened slightly, and she continued to ask, "Come back to my office and tell me in detail about the situation with this Su's Little Dining Table. Teacher Yu will stay here and cover for you for a while."
"Yes, Principal Qin."
Xue Yue nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
......
Time passed unknowingly, and soon it was time for school to end in the afternoon.
Su Haoze had just finished tallying the food for the evening when he heard someone call out to him, "Boss, two braised lion's head over rice, with an extra serving of rice."
The voice sounded a bit familiar.
He looked up and saw it was none other than the two junior high school students from yesterday afternoon.
They also brought a new face, who also looked like a student from Huayang No. 3 Middle School.
"Alright, please take a seat inside. There's a three-person table by the window, a good spot with a view outside."
"Your food will be out in about five minutes. Please wait patiently."
Su Haoze greeted them with a smile.
"No problem, no problem."
Zhao Mingxuan spoke first, leading them inside to sit down.
Shen Zhong subtly observed the environment of the Small Restaurant, reaching out a finger to lightly wipe the edge of the table, only to find his fingertip clean.
His heart immediately felt much more at ease.
To be honest, when Zhao Mingxuan first suggested coming to this restaurant, he was reluctant.
What a joke.
He had never eaten in such a small place in his life.
The lowest standard he would accept was a restaurant of the caliber of a banquet hall.
Moreover, his family often warned him not to eat at street stalls outside, as they were unclean and unhygienic, easily causing stomach upset.
So, this was his first time visiting a small street restaurant.
If it weren't for Zhao Mingxuan's repeated assurances, and his exaggerated description of how delicious the food at this restaurant was.
It had piqued his curiosity just a little bit.
Otherwise, he would absolutely not have come.
Zhao Mingxuan noticed Shen Zhong's small action and said with a smile, "How is it? Isn't this restaurant as clean as I said?"
"Not bad," Shen Zhong nodded with satisfaction, but he still remained skeptical about the food here.
Especially when he saw that the menu written on the small blackboard only had braised lion's head and vegetable and shrimp roll, he had even less expectation.
braised lion's head was a dish that required some skill, and even some well-known restaurants couldn't guarantee it would taste good, let alone such a Small Restaurant.
And what was a vegetable and shrimp roll? He had never even heard of it; it might be something similar to Western food.
He decided to just eat a few bites to save Zhao Mingxuan's face.
If it was truly unappetizing, then he would say something.
As Shen Zhong was thinking this, Su Haoze served the food.
The rich aroma immediately caught his attention, and his gaze instantly locked onto the plate in Su Haoze's hand.
The tempting braised lion's head was coated in a thick sauce, moistening the greens and rice on the plate.
The reddish, glossy stewed meatballs, paired with crisp green vegetables, the vibrant colors combined with the fragrant aroma, just looking at it stimulated the appetite.
Before Shen Zhong could even start eating, Zhao Mingxuan next to him had already picked up his spoon.
He spooned some sauce from Wang Yipeng's plate and began to mix it with his rice.
Wang Yipeng, meanwhile, used his chopsticks to divide the stewed meatballs in half and placed them on Zhao Mingxuan's plate.
The two ate, alternating between a bite of mixed rice and a bite of meat.
The aroma of rice mixed with the aroma of meat, releasing an even more captivating fragrance.
Shen Zhong didn't bother to ask, and simply followed suit, lowering his head to eat.