novelraw Chapter 329 - 306: Is It Big Enough?
Chapter 329 - 306: Is It Big Enough?
In the kitchen.
At this moment, it’s still bustling with activity. One pot after another of aromatic braised noodles is being scooped out and poured into serving dishes. Swiftly, Huang Jun adds fresh ingredients into the pot to cook another batch of braised noodles...
Rich aromas waft continuously in waves...
The braised noodles exude a tempting meaty fragrance, mingling with the freshness of beans, the tenderness of potatoes, and the sweetness of carrots.
The scent is intoxicating!
Moreover, it’s not just a feast for the taste buds, but also a visual delight...
It thoroughly awakens one’s appetite, making it hard to resist.
"Gurgle~"
Watching the appetizing braised meat in front of them, Liu Suyu and the others involuntarily swallow their saliva.
Huang Jun looks at everyone who appears to be longing for the food and secretly chuckles to himself.
Indeed.
Every girl has a foodie side hidden in her heart, and when faced with tempting food, her resistance is almost zero.
Even a beauty like Liu Suyu, who usually seems icy, finds it hard to resist the allure of good food...
"Manager Liu, could you grab a plate?" Huang Jun’s voice breaks the surrounding silence.
"Oh!"
Liu Suyu, immersed in the aroma, is slightly startled by Huang Jun’s direction, then quickly snaps back to respond: "Okay, right away!"
Saying this, she turns and goes to the nearby cabinet, bringing over a plate.
Seeing the small plate handed over, Huang Jun helplessly shakes his head and continues: "A bigger one! I need a big plate, please swap it."
"Oh! I get it!"
Before Liu Suyu could move, Chu Qiweng swiftly hands over a large plate, smiling brightly: "Here, Chef Huang, does this plate work? Is it big enough?"
"Perfect!"
Huang Jun takes it with a grin and heaps plenty of braised meat onto the large plate, then hands it back to Chu Qiweng with a smile: "Accountant Chu, go ahead and distribute it to everyone, let them taste it first!"
"Ah... we can try it first? Is this really something I can taste without paying?"
Surprised by the sudden offer, Chu Qiweng can’t help but exclaim.
Huang Jun responds with a smile: "Of course, you can have a taste first. You’ve all been busy all morning, eat something, don’t go hungry. These days, parents always say ’better to suffer themselves than their kids,’ but you need to be full to serve the children better!"
Upon hearing Huang Jun’s words, a wave of warmth rises in everyone’s hearts, unexpectedly striking that Huang Jun considered them first.
It’s just...
Feeling a slight discomfort, having never sampled food in the kitchen beforehand, as if "sneaking a bite."
Mostly afraid of misunderstanding, worried about unnecessary gossip.
Their eyes simultaneously turned to Liu Suyu.
"Why are you all looking at me?" Liu Suyu arches her brows slightly and calmly says: "We’re in the kitchen now, this is Chef Huang’s turf, he has the final say, so since he’s letting everyone eat, let’s just enjoy it!"
No sooner were the words spoken.
She picks up a pair of chopsticks and a small bowl, elegantly takes a bite of the braised noodles, and graciously tastes it in front of everyone.
Seeing Director Liu start eating, everyone else lets go of their concerns, aided by the continual wafting aromas penetrating into their noses...
How could they possibly hold back!
Hence...
One by one, they eagerly pick up bowls and chopsticks, scrambling to claim the braised noodles.
At this moment.
Chu Qiweng realizes the urgency and quickly calls out: "Hey, wait for me! Let me put the plate down, let me grab chopsticks and bowls before you start... Oh no, you’re almost done...oh, please leave some for me...ah, put down those braised noodles, aim for me instead..."
Usually composed, Chu Qiweng’s sudden urgency makes everyone burst into laughter.
Indeed, when faced with Huang Jun’s culinary creations, no one can stay reserved.
Huang Jun smiles as he takes the empty plate and scoops another generous serving of braised noodles for her, comforting: "Alright, alright, don’t rush, there’s plenty left. Eat quickly, because once the parents arrive, you won’t have time."
"Thank you, Chef Huang. You always treat me the best."
Feeling grateful, Chu Qiweng calms down, gives Huang Jun a thankful look, then focuses her attention back on the braised noodles in her hands.
The noodles are piled densely, layered like a golden mountain, shimmering brilliantly.
Between the noodles, visible are the rich meat juices absorbed during braising, weaving a fragrant net that tempts every olfactory cell.
On this golden mountain of noodles, are scattered evenly-sized potato chunks and carrot strips.
These vegetables, after long braising, have become tender and flavorful, with edges slightly caramelized.
Bright green beans add a fresh splash of color to the braised noodle dish,
while the most eye-catching are those perfectly braised pieces of meat.
They lie quietly atop the noodles, their surfaces glossy and alluring, the meat tender and juicy, blending harmoniously with the flavors of noodles and vegetables...
Chu Qiweng breathes in deeply, senses the aroma rising from the bowl, her appetite fully stimulated.
She picks up her chopsticks, grabs a bit of steaming braised noodles, seeing the noodles soaked with rich broth, their surfaces glossy with oil.
Delivers the braised noodles into her mouth...
First felt is the softness and elasticity of the noodles, which gently rebound on the tongue, like dancing ribbons, releasing the savory meat juices.
The texture of the noodles and the richness of the broth weave together at the tip of the tongue.
As she chews further, the meat aroma from the noodles becomes more apparent, being the essence released by the meat chunks during long braising, perfectly merging with the noodles, each bite immersing her in rich meat juices.
Meat chunks, after lengthy braising in the iron pot, release their plentiful juices, these seep into the noodles, endowing them with an added delicious meat flavor.
Meanwhile, as the potatoes and other vegetables simmered, they became tender and delicious, with a delicate and smooth texture that carried a hint of sweetness, adding a fresh rural flavor to the iron-pot stewed noodles while perfectly balancing the richness of the meat.
The green beans retained a certain crispness, and with each bite, you could hear a slight "crunch," bringing a refreshing taste to the stewed noodles and enriching the dish’s overall texture...
"Ah..."
"This is so delicious!"
In the blink of an eye, Chu Qiweng had finished all the iron-pot stewed noodles on her plate. If not for the people around her, she might have unabashedly stuck out her tongue to lick the remaining sauce off the plate.
"I want more, Chef Huang, I want more iron-pot stewed noodles!"
"Yes, I also want another serving. These iron-pot stewed noodles have chewy and bouncy noodles, the meat slices are tender and juicy, the potatoes are soft and delicate, and there are green beans and carrot shreds. Every bite is full of happiness. Compared to these, all the iron-pot stewed noodles I’ve had before are just worlds apart!"
"Whew, all the busyness and hard work of the morning were worth it at this moment!"
"Initially, I was reluctant to be sent to work in the kitchen, feeling like I was banished to the drudgery pool, but now I feel lucky I came; otherwise, I wouldn’t have tasted this deliciousness ahead of time!"
"Yeah, just the chance to enjoy the delicious iron-pot stewed noodles in advance is worth it, even if it means sacrificing my delicate hands... I wouldn’t regret it..."
"..."
Seeing everyone eating with such an intoxicated and happy look, Huang Jun was genuinely pleased.
This is the best compliment for a chef and the highest recognition of his culinary skills.
He smiled and served them a little more, then started preparing egg drop soup.
...
After the parents completed the sign-in registration one by one, they entered the kindergarten and slowly headed towards their child’s class.
As they went further into the school, a strong aroma wafted towards them, making them stop and take a deep breath.
"Did you notice that since we entered, the air has been filled with an aroma that I can’t quite describe."
"Haha, I smelled it a while ago. It must be the aroma of the food! I can’t wait now; I’m going to have a big meal at noon today. Laugh if you want, but I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time!"
"You have no idea, but to save room for this lunch today, I didn’t even have breakfast!"
"Haha, I can’t believe we thought alike. But now my stomach is growling. I really want to have Chef Huang’s lunch right now to satisfy my cravings and comfort my growling stomach."
"Let’s go, let’s go, let’s head into the classroom first, and we’ll get to eat soon."
"..."
With this anticipation, the parents entered their respective children’s classrooms, awaiting the upcoming lunch with high expectations.
As for spending a wonderful parent-child time with their kids...
That doesn’t matter...
Eating is what truly matters; parent-child time can be had at home in the evening!
...
In the classroom of Class (3), the children were each immersed in their own colorful activities.
Suddenly.
The classroom door swung open, and the parents gradually walked in.
This commotion caused the children to turn their heads curiously, peeking out their little heads to scan the crowd.
When they spotted the figures of their mom or dad, the children immediately beamed with radiant smiles, joyfully calling out:
"Daddy~"
"Mommy~"
The classroom instantly filled with joyous shouts, and the children eagerly ran to their parents.
Meanwhile, Qingqing and Weiwei, who were engrossed in their pretend play, couldn’t help but look up, stealing glances.
But...
Before going to bed last night, Huang Jun had already informed them of today’s special parent-child event at kindergarten, where parents would visit around noon to see the children’s daily activities and stay for lunch.
However, since Huang Jun needed to prepare lunch in the kitchen, he could only sneak out to join them when he had time.
Qingqing and Weiwei understood and accepted this arrangement.
At kindergarten, Qingqing and Weiwei often saw their dad, while most other kids could only see their parents after school.
Therefore.
Seeing so many parents coming in this time didn’t surprise them, nor did it make them feel disappointed. Instead, they were filled with anticipation.
"Dad is in the kitchen making delicious food for us. He’ll come find us once he’s done." Qingqing and Weiwei silently repeated to themselves, quickly returning their attention to their pretend play.
Meanwhile, the other children excitedly greeted their parents and eagerly led them into different areas like the building section, art section, role-play section, reading section, and puzzle section.
They picked up their favorite toys or books and showed them to their parents:
"Daddy, look, this is the castle I just built."
"Mommy, I want to look at this picture book. Can you read it to me?"
For a moment...
The classroom buzzed with excitement!
Xie Jianing noticed the parents arriving one after another and couldn’t help but wonder, "Weren’t parents supposed to come at 11 o’clock? Why are so many already here?"
Yang Yuxi explained, "I heard the parents were waiting outside the kindergarten early on, and Uncle Li, worried about too many people affecting the order, let them in."
"So that’s why!" Xie Jianing nodded knowingly.
After a while...
Wang Wenxia checked the time and said, "I’ll go to the kitchen and get lunch."
"Alright, you go ahead; I’ll watch over things here," Yang Yuxi replied with a smile.