novelraw Chapter 296 - 278: The Trick Doesn’t Have to Be Old, As Long As It Works!
Chapter 296 - 278: The Trick Doesn’t Have to Be Old, As Long As It Works!
The first day after the National Day holiday ended, the festive hustle and bustle receded like the tide, replaced by the calm and routine of daily life.
Everyone had to adjust their schedules again and swiftly return to the busy "work" mode.
Around 7 a.m., as the sunshine just bathed the earth, the teachers of Dorami Kindergarten gradually stepped into the campus.
Unlike usual...
Their steps seemed a bit heavy, and there was a trace of undisguised fatigue on their pretty faces...
They looked completely drained!
Obviously.
This was the holiday syndrome at work.
Makes them unable to completely shake off the leisureliness of the holiday!
So much so that when they greeted Uncle Li at the gate, they seemed a bit listless: "Morning, Uncle Li..."
"Morning!"
Uncle Li replied, but his voice also sounded dispirited.
His fatigue wasn’t just due to the holiday syndrome but also because he hadn’t tasted the delicious food made by Huang Jun in a while, which always left him feeling a bit out of sorts...
Logically, at his age, he shouldn’t be too obsessed with food.
But during this National Day holiday, whenever he ate the meals at home, it always felt like something special was missing from the tip of his tongue, bland and tasteless, making him long for Huang Jun’s cooking.
Then...
He started hoping the National Day holiday would end soon, so he could return to the kindergarten to work and enjoy Huang Jun’s delicious food sooner.
Now that work has resumed, he’s eagerly waiting for breakfast time to come faster, so he can first have a taste of Huang Jun’s breakfast to curb his craving.
Exactly!
For Uncle Li and the teachers, both their bodies and spirits desperately need Huang Jun’s culinary delights to wake them up...
With this anticipation, the teachers returned to their classrooms to officially enter the "busy" mode.
Yang Yuxi was the first to enter the classroom. She habitually opened the doors and windows for ventilation and then, along with Xie Jianing and Wang Wenxia, began their daily task—arranging the tables.
After school, to facilitate cleaning, the tables and small chairs were usually stacked together, needing to be rearranged in the morning.
After a week, a thin layer of dust had also accumulated in the classroom.
Wang Wenxia brought a basin of water and wiped down all the necessary places in the classroom.
Yang Yuxi checked the time and felt it was about time to go to the front gate to welcome the children.
Therefore...
She turned to Wang Wenxia and said, "Teacher Wang, I’ll leave this to you, we need to head to the school gate."
"Go ahead, leave this to me," Wang Wenxia nodded.
"Okay!"
Yang Yuxi smiled gently and called to Xie Jianing, "Miss Xie, let’s go to the gate and welcome the kids."
"Sure~"
Xie Jianing laughed as she came over, linking arms with Yang Yuxi as they walked towards the kindergarten gate together.
As they passed near the kitchen, Xie Jianing’s gaze involuntarily turned that way, and she began looking forward to today’s breakfast, thinking to herself, "I wonder what’s for breakfast today? I didn’t have breakfast on purpose to save my appetite!"
If someone else accidentally caught her teacherly demeanor but still with a childlike craving for food, it might provoke a burst of laughter and good-natured teasing.
Listening to her, Yang Yuxi couldn’t help but stifle a giggle and teased, "Miss Xie, how could Director Liang have been comfortable hiring you with such a gluttonous look? Was he not worried you’d be tempted and compete with the kids for food?"
In response to Yang Yuxi’s tease, Xie Jianing laughed and defended herself, "Miss Yang, don’t underestimate me. I’m a foodie but not without sense—I’d never compete with the kids for their food! Besides, when I joined the kindergarten, the meals really weren’t as delicious as now. So naturally, I wasn’t as gluttonous back then! Mainly because Qingqing’s dad makes such delicious meals this semester that I miss them if I don’t eat them for a day, and crave them if I miss them for three!"
Then, she gently nudged Yang Yuxi with her elbow and asked, "Miss Yang, don’t you crave Qingqing’s dad’s food too?"
Indeed!
Ever since Huang Jun became the head chef, even someone like her, who usually had good self-control over food, couldn’t help but be tempted, let alone a natural foodie like Xie Jianing!
So, uh...!
She shouldn’t be "laughing at the runner from a distance of fifty paces away!"
"Of course, I crave it!" She nodded without hesitation, then smiled and sighed, "No matter what Qingqing’s dad prepares for breakfast, it’s bound to be delicious."
Xie Jianing nodded vigorously without thinking, "That’s for sure!"
Then, the two continued to chat and laugh as they made their way to the kindergarten gate.
"Miss Yang, Miss Xie, good morning!" The teachers from other classes greeted them as they approached.
"Good morning, everyone!"
They responded enthusiastically.
Then they stood in their class area, ready to welcome the children.
Initially, they thought that after this National Day holiday, the children would be eager to return to kindergarten like they were after the Mid-Autumn Festival break, obediently following the teachers into the kindergarten without any fuss.
Who would have thought...
Even the older kids who had been in kindergarten for several years, as well as the middle-class kids who were already accustomed to kindergarten life, all showed a slight reluctance to go to school.
But fortunately, they were all quite sensible and didn’t throw a tantrum.
A little coaxing from the teachers, and they soon followed into the kindergarten.
But it was different for the little ones in the lower grades.
Many of them were being half-dragged, half-pulled, or carried by their parents, while still muttering, "I don’t want to go to kindergarten, I want to play outside!"
For them at the moment, going on trips and having fun brings a momentary joy, and continuing to go on trips and have fun brings continuous joy...
That makes the kindergarten less appealing!
After all, the reason they were so eager to go to kindergarten before was entirely to enjoy the delicious food made by Huang Jun...
But these days they’ve been having so much fun that they’ve temporarily forgotten the taste of Huang Jun’s food, which only adds to their reluctance to go to kindergarten.
For the moment...
The scene at the kindergarten gate was like a return to the old chaotic days, with crying and fussing everywhere.
Just then!
Yang Yuxi noticed her student, Liu Yuanyuan, being dragged over by her mom, with a worried grandma following behind, repeatedly saying, "Xiuxian, don’t pull so hard, be careful of Yuanyuan’s arm, don’t dislocate it..."
Seeing this, Yang Yuxi hurriedly stepped forward to greet them.
Yuanyuan’s big round eyes were already a bit red, and her little mouth was pouting so high that it could almost hang a soy sauce bottle.
Looks like... the little one is tired of school too!
It seems... Parents’ efforts before the National Day holiday have finally paid off — the kids no longer yearn for the meals at the kindergarten, and hence lose the motivation to go to school.
It’s just... It really makes it tough for these teachers...
Yang Yuxi adjusted her mood and quickly crouched down, speaking gently: "Yuanyuan, good morning! Why do you seem a bit unhappy today? Come, tell the teacher what’s going on?"
"Good morning, Miss Yang..."
Yuanyuan, despite looking reluctant to go to school, was still polite enough to respond to her greeting.
She just didn’t directly tell her the reason for her unhappiness.
Perhaps she was too shy to say, or afraid of being lectured, that’s why she didn’t answer.
Yang Yuxi smiled, gently patted her little head, and changed the subject: "Wow, Yuanyuan, you look so pretty today! This little braid is so nice, and this little dress too. Yuanyuan, you look like a little princess in this outfit, did your mom dress you up?"
"Mm-hmm, mommy dressed Yuanyuan."
The continuous praise made Yuanyuan break into a smile, happily touching her hair and fiddling with her dress to show it off more.
Seeing Yuanyuan’s mood improve, Yang Yuxi continued to coax: "Yuanyuan, would you like to go play in kindergarten with Miss Yang?"
Yuanyuan lowered her head, not responding.
Yang Yuxi patiently continued: "Yuanyuan, do you want to eat the breakfast, lunch, and snacks made by Qingqing’s dad?"
This question made Yuanyuan lift her head up, eyes brightening.
Of course, she did!
But...
Thinking about how, after returning to school post-Mid-Autumn Festival, she couldn’t eat the food made by Qingqing’s dad, she hesitated, pouting: "Qingqing’s dad doesn’t cook!"
"Yuanyuan, you forgot? Starting today, Qingqing’s dad will be cooking in the kitchen. He will make delicious breakfast, lunch, and snacks for you all~"
Yuanyuan widened her eyes in disbelief and asked, "Really?"
Yang Yuxi nodded seriously: "Of course it’s true! Teachers never lie. Come, let’s pinky promise!"
She extended her little finger.
Cheered up, Yuanyuan happily extended her little finger, and the two made a pinky promise.
Holding Yuanyuan’s small hand, Yang Yuxi said: "Then let me hold your hand, and let’s go to the classroom to have breakfast~"
"Mm-hmm~"
Yuanyuan’s little head nodded like a pecking chick.
Considering the current special situation, Yang Yuxi didn’t prompt Yuanyuan to say goodbye to her parents, to avoid upsetting her again. Holding Yuanyuan’s little hand, she took the backpack handed over by Xu Caihong and quickly headed towards the kindergarten gate.
Watching their backs as they left, Li Xiuxian recalled how nothing worked on the way to coax Yuanyuan, and couldn’t help but sigh to Grandma Xu Caihong beside her: "Miss Yang really knows how to handle it! She managed to coax the little one into submission so easily."
Xu Caihong nodded: "Yes, the teacher’s words work better than ours, see how Yuanyuan behaves once she’s with Miss Yang."
Meanwhile,
The hustle and bustle at the kindergarten gate continued.
Fortunately, inspired by Yang Yuxi, the teachers in each class started using the ’food temptation tactic’ again.
With just this trick, teachers successfully coaxed the little ones to follow into the school, easing the chaotic crying during admission...
As these teachers say: It doesn’t matter if the trick is old, as long as it works!
...
Huang Jun was driving a Wuling Hongguang, carrying Qingqing and Weiwei, slowly approaching the kindergarten, finally parking steadily in a spot near the gate.
Just as they got out of the car...
The heart-wrenching cries at the gate clearly reached their ears.
The two sisters were quickly intrigued, tiptoeing to peek at the gate with confused expressions: "Huh? What’s wrong with the kids? Why are they crying again?"
Their soft voices were filled with curiosity, clearly not understanding why the children loved crying so much.
Huang Jun looked over upon hearing them and immediately understood.
He explained with a smile: "I guess some kids don’t want to go to school after the holiday, so they’re crying."
The two little ones, thinking about how they themselves also didn’t want to return to school after the holiday, nodded in understanding, yet remained puzzled.
Just like that!
If they don’t want to go to school, they don’t have to, why cry?
Does crying mean you don’t have to go to school?
Just then.
Xie Jianing, with a keen eye, spotted the most dazzling Huang Jun in the crowd and approached as if seeing a savior, eagerly saying: "Chef Huang, leave Qingqing and Weiwei to me, hurry and make breakfast. Otherwise, the kids in our kindergarten will start crying again, you don’t know, we’ve managed to coax these little ones who don’t want to school into the classroom with the ’food coaxing plan’. Now they’re all relying on your food to keep them settled..."
"Ah... okay, I got it!"