novelraw Chapter 323 - 301:
Chapter 323 - 301:
The enticing sweet aroma...
Silently drifted out from the gaps in the kitchen doors and windows, swaying with the breeze, leisurely passing through the small playground of the kindergarten, like a winding path of fragrance, it first wafted into the classroom of the small (3) class on the first floor of the teaching building nearest to the kitchen.
At this moment.
A group of little friends who had just awoken from their nap, still with somewhat confused and sleepy eyes, were sitting on their beds in a daze!
But the next second...
When this sweet aroma drifted into their noses like threads and entered their lungs at that moment...
Their faces immediately showed a completely different expression.
They were suddenly energized!
All the drowsiness, all the sleepiness, was swept away in an instant, replaced by a pair of bright eyes filled with anticipation.
"Wow, it smells so good..."
"Yeah, yeah, it really smells so good, I really want to eat it~"
"I also really want to eat it... Look at me, I’m almost drooling."
"My little nose is getting drunk with this fragrant aroma~"
"..."
For a moment...
The little friends were talking while constantly twitching their noses, taking in the drifting aroma...
They looked just like a bunch of cute little hungry kittens!
Yuanyuan licked the corner of her mouth with her round little tongue and couldn’t help but ask: "Miss Yang, Miss Yang, what is the snack this afternoon? Is it particularly delicious?"
Yang Yuxi smiled and walked over to Yuanyuan, gently stroking her hair, and softly said, "Don’t worry, Yuanyuan, Teacher Wang will go to the kitchen to get the afternoon snack soon. You all sit nicely first, wait for the teacher to tie your hair and wash your little hands, then all the little friends can enjoy the delicious afternoon snack together."
"Yes, don’t worry, Teacher Wang will go get the afternoon snack now!"
Wang Wenxia glanced at the clock on the wall, seeing that it was about time, she got up to go to the kitchen to fetch the afternoon snack for her class.
Once she stepped into the kitchen’s meal area...
Her eyes were immediately drawn to plates of sugar-roasted chestnuts.
The chestnuts were neatly arranged on the plates, each one seemed to be wearing a caramel-colored luxurious coat, with a shiny and inviting gloss on the surface.
It was the honey and brown sugar entwined at high temperature, forming a layer of crystalline, syrupy sugar coating.
This sugar coating not only increased the sweetness of the chestnuts but also added an irresistible and appealing color...
That made anyone who saw it feel delighted, greatly increasing their appetite.
And the cross-shaped cuts on the shells of the chestnuts, slightly cracked during the roasting process, were like exquisite little windows allowing one to glimpse the golden yellow, plump and full interior, exuding a rich aroma.
"Wow~"
Wang Wenxia couldn’t help but exclaim: "Just looking at the color and smelling the aroma of these sugar-roasted chestnuts is already making my fingers twitch with desire..."
After she said that, the surrounding nursery teachers who came along started to gather around and also began to praise the sugar-roasted chestnuts when they saw today’s afternoon snack.
"Yes, these sugar-roasted chestnuts are really made so well, with their golden color and overflowing fragrance, not something that the flashy low-quality stuff sold outside can compare to."
"Yeah, the color is so rich, just looking at it makes you want to eat one!"
"I bet the kids will be deeply attracted to these sugar-roasted chestnuts and won’t be able to put them down."
"No need to bet, even without thinking, I can guess how excited the kids will look when they see these sugar-roasted chestnuts."
...
In the midst of the nursery teachers’ praises, Huang Jun couldn’t help but reveal a joyful smile at the corner of his mouth.
Thinking of her own son’s love for sugar-roasted chestnuts, Wang Wenxia couldn’t help but ask Chef Huang for advice: "Chef Huang, your sugar-roasted chestnuts have a much richer color and aroma than those bought outside, how did you manage that?"
Huang Jun smiled and explained: "Actually, there’s no special secret, it’s just that during the making process, I replaced the usual white sugar with brown sugar and added some honey."
A word from you is better than ten years of study...
"So that’s the recipe! It’s really unexpected."
Wang Wenxia had an enlightened look on her face and then said with a smile: "I’ll have to try this method over the weekend. My kid especially likes sugar-roasted chestnuts. I am sure that following your method, he will like them even more."
Huang Jun nodded in agreement: "Then I’ll send you the detailed recipe on WeChat when I have time later, and you can study it more closely."
Wang Wenxia gratefully said: "Thank you, Chef Huang, you’re wonderful!"
The other nursery teachers chimed in: "Chef Huang, you can’t just favor one over the others, we also want the recipe for these sugar-roasted chestnuts..."
"Then I’ll send it to the teacher group so that you all can see it." Huang Jun thought for a moment and said.
The other nursery teachers nodded: "Yes, let’s happily decide on that!"
Afterward, they each carried their class’s snacks with smiles and returned to their classrooms.
"Wow~!"
"Are these sugar-roasted chestnuts?"
"I remember eating sugar-roasted chestnuts, they’re delicious, fragrant, and sweet..."
The little friends saw today’s afternoon snack, whether in the small or medium-large classes, regardless of whether they recognized these sugar-roasted chestnuts before, they all went "Wow" just like usual.
Very excited indeed!
Yang Yuxi picked up a sugar-roasted chestnut from the tray, smiling as she walked into the middle of the children, showing them: "Hmm, to be precise, these are sugar-roasted chestnuts. Come, smell them, don’t they smell great?"
"They really smell great!"
The little friend’s nose twitched slightly as they gave a serious nod.
Yang Yuxi smiled and guided, "Do you know how to eat sugar-roasted chestnuts?"
"Just bite and eat!" Yuanyuan eagerly raised her hand to answer.
"No, no." Qingqing shook her head, stood up, and said, "First, you need to peel the shell and then eat the meat inside."
"Qingqing is absolutely right!" Yang Yuxi praised, then continued to explain to the children, "Look, the caramel-colored part is the shell, and only the golden-yellow inside is the delicious chestnut meat. Before eating, you need to peel off the shell first, but this shell is a bit hard, so be careful not to hurt your hands when peeling. Once you peel it, you can taste the sweet and delicious chestnut meat inside."
As she spoke, Yang Yuxi demonstrated by lightly peeling at the cross opening of the chestnut, revealing the golden-yellow chestnut meat.
"See, this is what the peeled chestnut meat looks like. Now, does everyone know how to peel the shell?"
"Yes!"
The children answered in unison.
Then, they all picked up their sugar-roasted chestnuts and began trying to peel the shell.
Though their movements were somewhat clumsy, they managed to peel the shells with some effort.
Yuanyuan looked at the caramel-colored shell in her hand, a hint of curiosity in her eyes, she stuck out her little tongue and gently licked it, exclaiming in surprise, "Wow, the shell is actually sweet!"
Upon hearing this,
the other children also followed suit and started licking the shells.
It wasn’t until they licked that they discovered the shell had a slightly sweet taste.
One by one, they shared excitedly about this newfound discovery as if it was a new continent.
Yang Yuxi explained, "To make the sugar-roasted chestnuts tastier, Qingqing’s dad especially added sugar water during roasting, so even the shell is sweet. But remember, the shell is not edible; only the chestnut meat inside is the tastiest. Go ahead and try the chestnut meat; the flavor is completely different from the chestnut in the chestnut stew chicken we had for lunch!"
Encouraged by Yang Yuxi, the children eagerly put the peeled chestnut meat into their mouths, savoring the delicious sugar-roasted chestnuts.
Yuanyuan couldn’t resist the temptation any longer as she gazed at the sugar-roasted chestnuts in her hand and began peeling the shell with determination.
"Miss Yang, I want more!"
Weiwei excitedly went to find Yang Yuxi after finishing, and Qingqing quickly followed suit.
Seeing her, the other children who were peeling shells slowly sped up, impatiently taking bite after bite.
Xie Jianing watched as the children enjoyed their food, feeling even hungrier.
She reached out, picked up a sugar-roasted chestnut, and started peeling the shell.
The golden-yellow chestnut meat appeared in front, plump and moist, gently squeezing revealed its fine and rich interior.
The moment of biting down...
The outer sugar coating gently shattered, the sweet but not greasy taste quickly spread in the mouth.
Then the rich and sweet flavor of the chestnut intertwined.
The texture of the chestnut, soft like potatoes, also carried the nutty intricacy and perfect chewiness.
Soft and sticky yet chewy!
Chestnut meat melted in the mouth, exuding a rich sweetness mixed with the unique aroma of chestnuts.
The sweetness also struck a balance, neither overly sweet nor bland.
Perfectly merging the sweetness and the natural flavor of chestnuts...
In short, - it’s delicious!
Xie Jianing was smiling with delight, her joyous mood was evident.
...
After the afternoon snack ended, the children rested for a bit, then followed the teachers to continue the kindergarten’s daily routine training.
These routines included drinking water, using the restroom, dining, napping, waking up, and leaving the school, which are part of the orderly framework of daily life in kindergarten.
In terms of dining, Huang Jun’s meals were very popular among the children, even the younger ones could now independently complete it without the need for teacher’s assistance.
This was undoubtedly a big improvement.
However, for other routines like queuing for drinks and restroom use, the performance of children in mid and larger classes was better, while those in younger classes showed noticeable improvement after more than a month of training. But due to recent holidays, their habits had relaxed and needed continued reinforcement.
Tomorrow will be "Parent Participation Day", to let the children present their best selves before parents, teachers had to intensify training for queuing to drink and use the restroom.
Queuing for drinks and restroom use might be simple daily tasks for adults, but for children, they posed significant challenges.
As their attention could easily divert, unexpected situations often arose during drink and restroom times: sometimes they remained seated, unwilling to move; sometimes they ran off to play during the queue; or lingered too long in the restroom.
If teachers weren’t there to supervise, they might even start playing water fights in the restroom...
It wasn’t until the school’s dismissal bell rang in a soothing tone did the teacher’s tense nerves slightly relax.
They quickly organized the children, lined them up orderly, safely guiding them to the school gate and personally handing each child over to the parent picking them up.
Yang Yuxi smiled and said, "Pengpeng’s dad, tomorrow is ’Parent Participation Day’. Have you discussed who will participate from your family?"
"I’ll come tomorrow!"
Lin Weilin spoke with the firmest tone but the least confidence, immediately inquiring, "Miss Yang, can’t both parents come?"
The surrounding parents also perked up, hoping for Yang Yuxi’s denial.
But unfortunately, things didn’t go their way...
Yang Yuxi regretfully said, "Pengpeng’s dad, I’m very sorry. Due to the limited personnel and space at the kindergarten, each child can only have one parent as their representative."
Upon hearing this, Lin Weilin and the other parents felt a tad bit disappointed.
But what could they do?
They could only accept and comply with the school’s arrangements...
And had to find a way to secure this slot from their other half...